Weekend in da PDX

I just bought a comfy couch so do come visit in PDX and keep me company....like say, hypothetically, the weekend around Sept 26-27 and come see Calexico with me! Although I am half debating about visiting Seattle sometime in late September. PDX is a good town, check out happenings here. I'm constantly amazed at how nice everyone here is.

After a brief resurgence of fun in my life, I've come to the realization that I'm simply not cut out for regular partying, anymore, which is a shame since tonight is a Prince vs. Michael Jackson dance party in the Southeast.

Okay, okay, this decision to retire from partying is probably influenced by my slight weekend hangover.

Portland has way too many open bar nights. On Friday, I went to the Matador, half a block away from my apartment and played darts (somehow, I did brilliantly despite the gin and tonics) then went to Union Jacks, yes, the strip bar for a bachelor/bachelorette party for Bobby (of the band Joan of Arc, who didn't listen to Cap'n Jazz way back when) and Elise (fellow Vancouver ex-pat) in from Chicago.

On Saturday, I went to this art show/DJ night/Glass candy show at the Nemo Design warehouse in the Southeast. It was a cool space, and had a lot of interesting -look at americana- type of photos from the midwest lining the walls. The show was Adreinne DeBoers "The Preservation of Fleeting Moments":
Adrienne DeBoer Photo Show at StudioNemo from alex mertz on Vimeo.

If I had a spare 500, I totally would love one of the photographs to sit in my living room.

I know all of the PDX kids are sick of Glass Candy, but I've never actually seen them despite being a fan for ages, so it was super rad. Plus, it was open bar. Who doesn't love art openings for that?

Them playing on the French Riviera


After the Glass Candy show, we all left, although the dance night continued into the week hours, stopped in at the East End for some veggie food and soul music. The East End, formerly the legendary Rabbit Hole and, more recently, Noir, is a great hangout with two levels and a performance space. Even on Saturday, without any big event, it was a fun place to hang, eat, and drink. Then we headed to Rotture for the 2 year anniversary party with Caves, Fist Fite, Fleshtone, Atole, and DJ Linoleum. Rotture is a good space and on Mondays the old DJ from Seattle's comeback night (I think, I dunno, that was before my Seattle time) spins a gay dance night, and you know how I love the gay dance nights. Good lord, this entry is reminiscent of my 19 year old days.

Plans are in the works to DJ and improve my horrific drumming skills and jam (at least jam spaces are cheap).

I just ordered the book Vegan Cooking for One based on a review atSuper Vegan, and I'm super excited about it. Not that I need it, I found a stash of slightly dated veggie cookbooks from the 1990s at the thrift store the other day. I can't imagine anything that says more- I'm unmarried and barren- then buying a cookbook with the phrase "for one" in the title. No wonder it's sold out at Amazon, no one wants the shame of buying it in an actual physical store.

I just read Albert Moravia's "Contempt". "Boredom," probably his most successful text, is one of my favourite books, but I haven't really delved into any of his other works. It, of course inspired the Godard film. The director actually dismissed Moravia's work as “nice, vulgar one for a train journey,”according to the Times. There is an interesting discussion of the gorgeous under-appreciated film here.

Finally, I just found out that David Foster Wallace, one of my favourite postmodern contemporary writers, hung himself at 46. If, for some reason, you haven't read "Infinite Jest," it's an all-time recommendation.His obituary is here.
His work is hilarious and confusing but amazing. I've also read two of his essay collections: "Consider the Lobster" and "A Supposedly Fun Thing That I'll Never do Again," both of which resonated with me.

It's awfully sad that he won't be writing anything else.

***
Life in Danielle land, future etc: I hate school. I really do. I love books, I love learning new things, but I've never liked the stress of grades, standardized tests, or being overwhelmed with understanding like 30 different sources for a much-procrastinated paper. No wonder I took a couple of breaks from school.

Right now, I am in the process of finishing a course, and I hate that on a sunny weekend, I'm stressed inside. I have attention span issues and am chronically disorganized. I'm not someone who likes to be rushed or stressed. I like lazy mornings spent drinking coffee and reading under a blanket, and late nights drinking wine in a park on a blanket with friends. This is also probably why I've never been much of a career-oriented person. In some ways, I could really love living out in the country, but, I'd get bored, I love the city streets. I love the culture. I love the people. I love the urban experience. There are only a few cities I'd really be interested in living in: Vancouver, Portland, Montreal, San Francisco, New York, Prague, Paris, London, Barcelona. Maybe others. I have itchy feet. Anyways, I was admitted to a grad program at San Francisco State (yay, some school actually accepted me!) which I'm considering, although I'd probably try to defer until next fall.

Even though I hate school, I hate working dumb jobs, as well. Who doesn't? I'd like interesting and, relatively or eventually, lucrative work. So, I'm in the process of returning to school. There aren't really any programs I'm interested in here, so it would probably be California or, I guess, Seattle. As always, nothing is decided.