Monday, February 23, 2009

far too long

since the last posting.
really not that accustomed to this. got to find the voice.
where'd i leave off...

Ah, Portland visit.
Went like a charm. Elena was happy to have me, Megan's cat was happy to be petted, and I really enjoyed being in Portland. At this point I was starting to worry about the amount of money expended to keep this trip going. It's not that I thought it wasn't worth a fair bit of money, but more that there was a limited amount of it and not so much coming in. Still in that situation now, though.
So, while I spent a bit in Portland, it was starting to weigh a bit heavily on me.
Elena and I wandered through the winter Portland gave us to wander through. Found a lovely computer recycling place in Free Geek, which does not exist here in Seattle, but really ought to. If I had any idea how to, I might consider opening one (money being an issue there as well, I suppose).
The notion with Free Geek is that a lot of folks have old computers about that they don't want anymore. A lot of folks have computers that need fixing. And a lot of people want to find odd bits of hardware and don't feel like they need to have them new. All of these things combine rather nicely at the Free Geek. They teach classes, fix people's machines, accept donations, provide computers to other non-profits, and operate a thrift store for old hardware. Really nifty.
Elena needed a new power brick for her iBook, and they had one in decent shape for less than half the going price new. Woot.
Megan and Michael, her boyfriend, came into town in time for New Years Eve. The evening was spent at a bar, a disco, and a house party. Not too much hungover the next day, but they needn't all be so. Did get a wonderful head rub by a rather inebriated person I had barely met at the house party. Pretty happy with that.
Michael fell into several walls, then fell over, then remarked loudly about how he wasn't really all that drunk. He probably weighs 250. He'd had a few.
Portland always strikes me as an awesome place when I go there. It's my understanding there's just no work there, but it's like what Seattle could be if it were a little less commercial, a little less based on massive industries, and having a bit more social conscience. May live there some day.
After all that, the last leg of the trip went quite smoothly. Drove up to Seattle and settled in.
6600 miles through 16 states in a bit over three weeks. Ain't unemployment grand.