Trip To Portland Part 2

It never hurts to say something twice, so here I go:

There were a ton of people at the train station.

The orange locomotive sat there, puffing steam, and Miki seemed to be too. Luckily they kept the massive crowds pressing against the orange engine far away from the train we disembarked from, and the door we used to get inside. Unfortunately the entire station was full of people up to our eyeballs. It was ridiculous, really. It took over 5 minutes at least to get from the platform to the doors to the outside, which was a little over 100 feet.

Mostly it was hard because Yuuki had a large suitcase he had to pull.

Last time I was in Portland we walked to the train station from Pioneer Square, and then down to the river where the Gay Pride festival was. I was under the assumption that was because the MAX was nowhere nearby. Imagine my surprise when I found out this Saturday that I could've ridden a MAX from right next to Pioneer Square to about a block from the train station.

I was not amused.

It's a long walk! And it was hot that day.

But I digress.

We got to the MAX stop, and luckily Miki knew which direction to go in. She knows the map better than I do. Which is good, because the one we looked at didn't even have the rose quarter on it and that was where we were going. The train pulled up right away, and we got on.

It was pretty empty, so we got a seat. I was surprised because It was Saturday and the MAX is hardly ever barren on a pretty day. Especially on the weekend.

We rode to the Rose Convention Center and crossed the tracks by accident (my fault) and then crossed back. Apparently Portland has yet another walking marathon for Breast Cancer. Which is interesting considering how huge their normal one is. But that's all right. I guess they walked over a bridge nearby, because the platform was nearly overtaken by women (why do men never walk these?) in bright blue green shirts with the most florescent pink color decorating them that I have ever seen.

The ride to the airport is super long.

I'm also extremely lucky that the company that owns my apartment complex delayed in depositing my rent check, because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to pay the fare for the MAX. Because I hadn't planned on goiing, I hadn't a chance to make sure I had enough money on my debit card, and I had a grand total of about 80 cents in my pocket.

Bravo.

And since I had in essence invited myself along, I wouldn't have asked Miki for help even if you had paid me.

I'm self sufficient. I have my pride.

There was this man watching me on the MAX. I didn't like how he looked at me. He looked at me in that mean way that some people do when they don't like your attitude or something. I was super excited to be traveling, especially in Portland. My heart was in my throat and I was bouncing in my seat and it was super warm outside.

It made me happy.

I'm not sure what bugged him, actually. It could've been the fact that I was obviously American and he wondered what the hell I was doing sitting next to two Asians that were obviously speaking in a language I didn't. Or the fact that I was sitting there with a shit eating grin on my face, bouncing up and down in the seat right next to Miki, but I was turned in my seat in the opposite direction like I was pretending I wasn't with her or something.

He could've been irritated because it did look like I wasn't with them, but I had sat right next to her when there were like 6 other seats in the section alone that I could've sat in.

Maybe he was angry because I refused to look at anyone on the train in particular, including him :D

But nothing was going to bring me down. Not nosy townies that possibly didn't like my Japanese style shirt. Not Yuuki refusing to speak English. Not my terrible sense of directions that had nearly sent us in the opposite direction several times already. And not even Miki's bad mood, which had been created by the Greyhound's fuck up and compounded by the massive crowds at the Union Station.

I was having a wonderful day, and no one could stop me.

I have never seen the airport so desolate in my entire life.

Not only was there about 10 people from our train going there (and it was the last stop) there was barely anyone inside at all. I realize that we took the door inside that is at the veeery end of the terminal, but we must have walked by 10 empty check in booths. You know, where you get your ticket and check your luggage? They were empty, like they used to host an airline and said airline had entirely cleared out.

I've never seen such a thing before.

So instead of doing things the easy way, Yuuki decided to do his ticket thing at an electronic terminal. And even changing it to Japanese didn't help much so I ignored their bickering over it for several minutes.

Everything was rubbing Miki the wrong way that day, I'm thinking. I think even my cheerfulness was. But I'm used to that. And I figured the rest of the day would get better for her. It wasn't even 1 p.m. yet!

But while pretending I had other things to do, I meandered over to the X Ray machine for Delta Airlines, and pretended not to watch them. Apparently I was successful because not a single worker noticed me.

There were at least 5 just lounging around. 2 or 3 unloading the bags, and one that was tearing into them.

Literally.

No pause.

Pick it up, toss it on the table, open it, and start littering things on the table and the floor.

I was horrified.

I felt especially bad for these two men I met that were traveling around the world. Because when their top loaded knapsacks went through, the security un-cinched one, turned it over and dumped it out.

*winces* Ouch.

I turned the other way when Yuuki's bag went through. I didn't want to see the damage.

I don't remember there being so many shops on the visitor side of the airport. But I suppose they've all been put in since they decided to only let people with tickets through the check point. Which makes sense, I suppose.

I had never flown before 9/11. But the first couple of times I did they hadn't put up the new security yet. Which meant that when they had, I pitched an utter fit in the middle of the airport when they tried to confiscate my shampoo from my carry on.

My mother has never forgiven me for mentioning the word 'bomb', by the way.

And after seeing how ruthlessly they rip apart bags, I think I have finally figured out what happened to my favorite body wash that I never saw again after that trip.

Stupid Heads.

Yuuki decided last minute that he needed to get souvenirs for his family. This was something that I couldn't smile and nod about, or turn the other cheek.

"You wanna get what at the airport?! Are you nuts?"

Case and point: A turkey sandwich with Cranberry sauce cost $7.50 at a small cafe.

Of course, this was another thing for Miki to be upset about. Luckily she saved it for after we said goodbye to him. But between him not being able to decide on souvenirs (we went to several shops before we went back to the first one and bought one of the first items he had looked at) and waffling between lunch foods none of us got anything to eat.

It didn't help that the check-in lady informed Yuuki that he had to get his tickets at the actual gate, and he wanted to go get them right away before we got lunch. It took us several minutes to convince him that once he went through, he couldn't come back. And when we finally decided on lunch and he said "I guess I'll have to get something and take it with me" Miki and I looked at each other askance and commented "Can you even take food through the checkpoint?"

And then he rushed through without any money so couldn't eat anything on the other side of the checkpoint, and when Miki went to go help him out he decided to be manly.

"I have a Snickers bar, I'll be fine. In fact, I have two."

Well.

And after we spotted that horrendously overpriced sandwich, Miki and I just said, at the same time no less, "Let's go."

On the Max back to Pioneer square we got a hold of Ai and Kody. They said they'd meet us at Skidmore Fountain.

I'd never been there, that I'd known of, so I let Miki direct us. She is much better at finding names on maps than I am :)

Turns out Kody and Ai were in Vancouver and didn't want to park in town, so drove all the way to Beaverton to park at Fred Meyers or something and ride the MAX to meet us.

We got to the Fountain at quarter to 2. They didn't get there until after 3. But no worries!

We didn't realize until we got off the train in the middle of the humongous crowd, that we had agreed to meet Kody and Ai at the Saturday Market....

Which was cool. We had bypassed one of those in Salem whilst on our trek to the Amtrak station and I hadn't been to the Portland Market in years, and it looked fun.

It's pretty darn huge, nowadays. I mean, seriously. I remember when my Mum took me when I was 13, give or take, and I thought it was big and confusing then. Now it sprawls everywhere.

I want to take my mum there with me sometime soon.

Maybe she can come down to visit, and we can take the train to Portland for the day?

That'd be AWESOME!

It only takes 25 minutes give or take to get to Salem from here, and we could park, and take public transport for the day. For some odd reason it's cheaper to ride the train at night than in the morning (I paid $18 to get to Portland whereas Yuuki and Miki paid $21 each, but to get back I only paid $12...)....But we could take the train (which I officially love!) and then the max to the market. Both the Station and the market are in the free zone, so we'd only be paying for a train ticket. How cool is that?

Kody had something pretty neat for Miki. A piggy cutting board! It was pretty big. I still wonder where we're going to put it. But since Ai carried it around all day, we accidentally left it with her...>.<

But the market was pretty cool. We saw about 2 thirds of it while waiting for our friends. Miki was all worried that I would have a terrible time. I guess the only reason why she didn't invite me was because Kody would be there, but although I don't want him in my house, and I won't go out of my way to visit him, I don't hate him. So I don't mind spending time with him as long as he's not a total ass.

And he wasn't.

We actually got along pretty well, to both Miki's and Ai's surprise.

I'm getting ahead of myself though.

Kody and Ai said they were on the next MAX, so we pushed and shoved our way through the crowds to get on the other side of the tracks. I had just seen a MAX go by so I thought they would be there soon. We had stood there, lost, for about 20 seconds when they spotted us.

Poor Kody, hadn't realized that I've grown my hair out!

I keep insisting that I'm going to cut it soon, but even I am starting to have doubts on that. I look terrible and not so girly no matter what I do with it. So it's not like it will effect my modeling too much either way.

Hugs, cheek kisses, 'wow you're looking good's all around. It was nice. I haven't missed him, but it was nice to see him again. And Ai was looking great. I miss her. Specially now that she's got a full time job and is busy all the time!

I don't even get 6 page emails anymore :(

We got rather distracted at the fair, actually. Miki and Kody spent a bit of time at a Henna booth (she's still absurdly proud of the two pawprints on her arm) and Kody got...I have no idea what.

He told the artist to "be creative."

I think there were even lightning bolts worked into the design!

Then, instead of exploring the mysterious back portion of the market that's under the bridge, we took off away from the market to a famous donut shop called Voodoo Donuts.

I guess that Kody loves it. Not entirely certain why, almost the entire menu changes week by week. But they do a few regular donuts too.

The line went out the door, down the street, and across the intersection.

I've still yet to figure out why it didn't go round the corner instead of across the crosswalk.

Not too surprising that it went out the door, though. Even for a donuts shop the front portion was pretty small.

It was the weirdest place I've been to ever. While we were waiting a kid came out with a regular donut (not a cake one. Or old fashioned. A fluffy one) with white icing and Captain Crunch all over it.

No joke.

Captain Crunch.

And his father had a Maple Bar with two slices of bacon on top.

It's a wonder that so many people wanted these things, it was like 85 degrees outside! My sweater was tied around my waist, and I was wearing my first no sleeved shirt of the season (at home in Monmouth it was still pretty regularly 50 degrees) I was even wearing flipflops.

Who eats Maple Bars when it's this bloody hot? With bacon?!

Ai was jealous of my flip flops. She was wearing boots. Poor thing.

So we stood in line for 20 minutes to get some crazy donuts. I wanted a GrapeApe, but the person in front of Ai took the last batch. It was a fluffy donut with purple icing. One half had purple sprinkles, the other half had purple crystals. I was going to get one of those and an Orangutang, an orange one that was just the same as it.

So I just got the Orangutang and a soda. Which I promptly knocked over after I bit into the donut in a parking lot where we finally found some shade.

WHOA!

I've just figured it out, I didn't then, but I think the powder was like, tang or something. I took a bite, and my mouth went wild. I literally shouted "Shazaaam! That's amazing." And shared it with all of my friends. It was like a punch to the mouth.

I saved half and ate it for breakfast the next day :)

Miki wasn't brave enough to get something, but she doesn't like sweet stuff too much either. Too bad they didn't have buttermilk bars. I think she had one of those at the Cottage Bakery in Long Beach, even non sweet lovers like those. They are pretty mild.

Ai got the Cock and Balls.

No joke.

It was a gigantic chocolate bar that looked like a fully equipped penis. It was bigger than a Texas donut!

She even paid the extra dollar to get written on it "Not to size" :D

I had to explain to Miki what that meant....

So like teenagers having a blast we kicked back in a nearby lot under a tree in the middle of the pavement with the sign "Keep Portland Weird" looming over our heads and giggled like children over our snacks.

It was amazing.

The really fun bit, was that while we were in line Kody looked up and said "Does that sign say what I think it does?"

There was a local *ahem* adult theater, that played hentai. As in, Porno Cartoons made by the Japanese.

Priceless.

We took a picture.

:D

*waves* Love you gramma!

continued in part three :)

Regards from Purgatory,
Monica

Roger, Brain Functions Are at an All Time Low

So yesterday was the day that Miki had to take her boyfriend to the airport for his flight back to Japan.

Yes, Yuuki was here this week. For about 4 days. Sadly I never wrote a blog about last weekend, which is a shame since Miki and I went for a walk and got a few pictures :D

But I have to write this up first, and then write a blog about this week and photos of this week can be posted in that. I'll likely write this, then post it, THEN post photos about yesterday.

So hold your horses and check later for some funny photos :D

I slept terribly the night before last. I remember waking up at 3 in the morning and tossing and turning for AGES either being too hot, too cold, too comfy, too uncomfy, before I finally passed out from all of the exertion.

I woke up at 6:50 on the dot.

Lovely.

Went downstairs, grabbed a snack, fed the cats...Then Miki came downstairs all dressed and ready to go and said 'say goodbye to Yuuki'

We shook hands, I stood there awkwardly in my t-shirt and boxers, and Miki looked absolutely miserable as I tried to tell her to have a fun day.

I sighed.

"Miki, do you want me to go with you?"

Now of course, when I said I had absolutely nothing to do yesterday, I was using that phrase fairly loosely. I had nothing to do after I cleaned the litter box, finished writing a letter to gramma, packed and sent Mum's mother's day gift.....

But with Miki standing there on the verge of tears saying "Yes!" with her lower lip sticking out like that, I think I would've told her I was an alien from planet 9 if that made her happy.

So fifteen minutes later I was dressed, in flipflops (it was 50 degrees *shivers*) and standing on a streetcorner with her and her bf waiting for a ride that had no idea I would be there....She was surprisingly gracious about it (the ride-giver) even though I know she doesn't like me....

I had told myself I would bring my camera, but when it came down to it I ran out the door without it. Which was probably good considering I was running down the street and that would've been bad for mr. cammy, and my satchel got heavy enough as the day wore on: no need to give myself heat-stroke from the exertion or something.

So no cammy.

Anyone wanna buy me a point and shoot? :D

jkjk

We got to the greyhound station with a half hour to spare for the bus, and I bought round-trip tickets to Portland. It was only $22 which wasn't too bad. And I knew I had enough in my checking account for that at least, and if I got desperate later in the day, a stop at an ATM to transfer funds would be a cinch.

The bus was a half an hour late.

Okay, that's fine. I amused myself while Miki and Yuuki chattered in Japanese. I didn't feel left out, truly. And this isn't denial either. I knew why I was there. I was there to keep myself from sitting at home all day, miserable, wondering what Miki was doing. I was there to chip in some good old American common sense in case something happened. I was there to make sure Miki had a companion after Yuuki got on his plane. I was there to meet up with our good friend Ai, even though her bf Kody (we quit talking a bit ago) was going to be there. Apparently he being there was the reason she didn't invite me. But we still get along okay. We talk just fine. It's just I don't want him in my house, and he doesn't like my love-life. So everything is fine and dandy. I was there to make sure Miki go home safe-and-sound.

And maybe to have a little fun too :D

But it was 8 in the morning and I would've been pushing it to hope for some fun that early.

But for someone that got approximately 4 hours of sleep, I was in an absurdly good mood. Chipper almost. I think this rubbed Miki the wrong way too. I was so bouncy that I drove everyone nuts. But I tried to keep in contained.

So as Yuuki and Miki wrote in a private little diary that I was definitely not allowed to look at I spotted a woman that I knew. Not personally, but I knew she'd provide me with all of the entertainment I needed, so my eyes were glued.

She was a tiny little imperious Chinese woman that I've seen before at the Beaverton Asian Superstore called Uwajimaya's. Which is weird because I saw her once, and a year ago at that. She was shopping with her husband in a black fur coat (real), with bright red hooker lipstick, her hair tightly curled in some old 50's fashion, and white gloves. The last was what caught my attention, actually.

She wasn't quit so ostentatious yesterday, and she was also alone. But excitement she DID provide.

First she waltzed into the station like she owned it. Clack clack clack clack, her nose up in the air and sniffing condescendingly at us plebians.

I smiled at her.

Then she peered into every single nook and cranny in the station looking for something. Clack clack clack sniff. Until she found the sign that said the women's restroom was up the stairs. The sign also said that a key was needed to unlock the restrooms, but she's far too important for THAT, doncha know!

So she clacked all the way up the stairs, yanked on the door a few times, and then called waveringly down in a tone that tells you that you don't really wanna mess with her.

"This door is locked."

Even I was surprised how fast the station attendant vaulted over the counter with the keys and rushed them up the stairs to her. With anyone else he would've called the person down. He seemed easily exasperated by people. But considering the idiots he has to deal with on a day-to-day basis, I cannot blame him.

Everywhere she went, she was her own little queen. I always wondered what ethnicity she was, but when some relative or another called on the phone and she was chewing them out, I recognized that she spoke Mandarin.

Jack Pot!

I wrote a poem about her. It sucks. I also drew her. It doesn't suck quite as much.

The bus was a half and hour late, right?

Right when it came the attendant told us that there was a problem. It was late because the bus before it broke down, and it had to pick up those passengers. Which means that the bus that should've been have empty, was full to bursting. They could only take 4 passengers, and those passengers were all people that needed to catch transfers to Seattle or something.

I.e. not us.

The next bus was not until 1 something, and Yuuki's plane was at 2 p.m.

Crap!

I am glad I was there. Because I don't think I realized until yesterday just how confusing colloquialisms can be to a foreigner. For instance, did any of you realize that when you ask someone for directions, they hardly ever give you guidebook answers? When I asked the man at the counter for directions to the Amtrak station, he said "Hang a right."

Miki wanted to hear the directions over and over again, but I got them the 2nd try. Mostly because I just need to hear it twice, repeat it, and then I'm good. And it took me a moment to figure out that she didn't understand the directions at all.

Take Center st. until 12th, hang a right, go 5 or 6 blocks until the sky bridge and it's across the way from the Willamette U. on the left side.

Of course I actually thought we had to cross the sky bridge, not that it would be a walking path over our heads, but that's besides the point.

The directions were perfect. But can anyone out there point out anything about that sentence Miki wouldn't get?

Well, the hang a right for instance, that went over her head. Across the way? Uhuh. And she got a little caught up in what Willamette U. might be, when I wasn't really all that worried about it.

It's amazing the things we take for granted, huh?

Needless to say, I got us there all right. Not to say that it was all me, though. I took care of the colloquial, but Miki is the only one that has been to the Salem Amtrak before. So she was the one that knew that the Sky Bridge was something you walked under, and what side of the freeway we needed to be on to get to the Train Station.

I got to ride a train!

Granted, it cost $18 for a one way ticket, and boy was Miki not happy about that. Actually, it cost me $18, but Miki was a few people behind me in line and she had to pay $21 for EACH of the tickets she bought.

That must have sucked.

But I could not help but be excited though. I am like a little kid sometimes, I guess :D

It was sunny, I was sitting in a nice patch of it at the station and was reading a bit here and there. I kept getting interrupted. But that was okay. Everyone was excited at the station yesterday because it was...National Train Day! And the Portland Station was having a Train Day festival. The thing I love about traveling is either nice locals that will talk to you, fellow travelers, or tourists (yes there is a difference.). They are almost always nice and willing to give you random information that you might be looking for, or might need later.

I learned this from my Mum.

Thanks Mum!

She always likes talking to other people when we travel, and even though I do not travel with her very well, and I always hated it when she chatted with fellow travelers, I did learn that it is useful.

So I chatted up a Grandfather there with what looked like his whole family. And boy was HE a font of information! He even recognized the train my Mum and I might have taken to Denver (From Longview WA) years ago, even though it does not run anymore. We did not have to transfer or get off the train once, and you cannot find a train like that to Denver anymore.

I will have to ask Mum. The man said that it actually went south to Portland, East across Oregon, continued across Idaho, through Wyoming, Then it dropped south into Colorado to Denver.

Nowadays the train cuts across Colorado, but you cannot make the trip on one train.

I digress.

So he told me all about train day (And practically all about his family as well. They were cute) and I learned all sorts of things! For instance, when we made it into Portland, I knew that the bright orange thingamabobber we pulled up next to was an honest to God Steam Engine from the 30s!

How cool is that?

Miki does not like talking to strangers very much so I think she likes to ignore it as much as possible when I do so. Which is fine with me. I do enough talking for the both of us. She does sometimes smile or laugh when I talk to someone especially weird. But I am fairly friendly across the board.

The only time I really get rude or unfriendly is when you are one of those drunks that is really a hazard to everyone around you, or you are being really stupid and drunk. I met one of those last night, needless to say. Otherwise they are harmless and I stay away from them.

But I think that the only people I am well and truly prejudiced against are drunks, but I spose I cannot help that, huh?

So the man at the station filled me in on why everyone was wandering around with buttons, children, and excited smiles on their faces. And then the train was there!

We got on a 9:15. We did not have to wait too long, because it took us about 45 minutes to walk to the station, so we only sat for about a half an hour.

Riding the train is exciting!

First, someone in the station gets on the speaker phone and tells you what to do.

"Attention. The North Bound train with the last stop of Portland arrives in 5 minutes. Please wait outside immediately. The train will only be stopping for 3 minutes, so if you are not outside with your ticket ready you will not be boarding."

3 Minutes!!

But it was true.

Train passengers spawned like rabbits. Somehow it went from the 10 odd people in the station to upwards of 50 outside, and then the train pulled up (as Miki was talking to Ai on the phone and planning where to meet up together in Portland) and I hurriedly took a picture before the conductors ushered us on.

Man, trains are luxurious! I am never traveling another way again, I swear :D We were ushered into 2 different cars (us coach passengers) but the areas looked pretty nice to me. I thought about sitting next to a nice looking girl across the walk from Miki and Yuuki (who claimed two seats next to each other because they did not think they could fit his luggage under the table at the 4 person booth) but I decided to sit at the booth all by myself.

For two reasons.

1. They looked like they needed more time to themselves, and I was just behind them if they needed me.

2. The booth across the aisle from me had another family that smiled and waved at me and proved to be chock full of information.

They were even from Independence OR! (Which is right next to the town I live in, btw)

So I had a fun time.

Did you know, that a train rocks a little like those swaying cradles? It is so interesting. I was bouncing in my seat. I was so sad I did not have a camera. But Miki was so upset about being bumped from the Greyhound I was leaving her be (and man was she mad). So no stealing her point and shoot :D

The family liked me. Told me all about what towns we were going through (I still cannot say Aurora or Mullollah river) and even pointed out the Willamette falls to me!

So of course I had to offer some info too, so when we saw a Barge as we were coming into Portland, I told them a few things about them. I did not get to the part where when it is a super hot day they open the cargo holds to release steam. But oh well :D

And then I saw the locomotive!

It was bright orange. How cool is that?

It was also puffing steam, and surrounded by at least a 1,000 people. Holy cow!

I could see Mikis scowl deepening even though her back was too me.

It was hard to get through the station. Very hard. I mean, it is usually packed at Union Station during the day, but this was bloody ridiculous. There were people EVERYWHERE!

So, that ends part one. We made it to Portland! Pictures to come.

Regards from Purgatory,
Monica

Excerpt of Life

I'll have more to write when it's a decent hour and I've managed to steal this weekend's photos from Miki. But I've just woken up (yes it's 6:30) and scribbled down a poem detailing yesterday (to prove that yes, I AM taking poetry) so I thought I might as well share it.

A cascade of strings ripple
Through the Main Street Park
In place of the old shut off fountain.
A quartet of men croon at their gazebo bbq
And Mother Vultures perch the tiered fountain
Basically ignoring their flighty children.
It's Sunday and the playground Utopia
Is full of All Sorts of people:
Chattering Latina Mothers, Superball Kids, an At a Loss Business man.
And even me, The Minority waiting for
My laundry to buzz across the way.
The middle of the park is a perfect view point
So I sit on the old shut off fountain 'cross
From the wary Latina Mothers
And make like a lighthouse,
Slowly gazing 'round to take it all in.
The businessman has brought his notes,
Which he ditches on the lawn to sprawl
On the bench and tilt his face to the sky.
A cute college couple, Barbie and Ken,
Dine at a picnic table with two hobos,
Munching a potato chip and sandwich lunch.
And the Latina Mothers lower their hackles
To smile at my foottapping enjoyment
Of Oye Como Va and Que Sera Sera
While grinning at two boys
Kicking a soccer over my shoes
At the old dried up fountain,
Under the barren rustling cherry trees,
At Main Street Park.