Ten Things, PDX Edition

Ten Things I Learned in Portland, Oregon

  1. Those dams Woody Guthrie sang about are out this way.
  2. You can get just about anywhere armed with a bus pass and a basic understanding of three bus routes.
  3. I like artichokes more than I think I do but I’m still not crazy about kalamata olives.
  4. The hot chicks do all wear glasses like the song says. Even the road-construction-crew chicks.
  5. The musicians out here aren’t exactly hung up on the whole punctuality thing either.
  6. The subway trains run right up on the streets in the daylight, showing no fear of the sun or of being seen in public.
  7. They don’t call it “Downtown.” They call it “City Center.”
  8. It’s cool to be able to wake to sunshine, drive up a mountain in a blinding snowstorm where they recommend tire chains, drive back to sunshine, then head off to the ocean (with sandy beach and everything) all inside of 24 hours.
  9. My pronunciation of “printer,” when talking about computer peripherals (“prinner”), is a Pacific Northwest thing. Probably an artifact of so much tech coming from there.
  10. I still like traveling with my wife.
  11. Bonus Seattle Thing: I thought the Space Needle would be a lot taller.

For those of you who’ve forgotten, here’s the Ten Things, Santa Fe Edition:

  1. I like planes that seat more than 18 people.
  2. I like more oxygen than they have there.
  3. Albuquerque is 19 exits North-South and 17 exits East-West.
  4. The Spanish owned the Philippines in the 1500’s.
  5. It’s not the corkscrew, it’s the foil cutter blade that upsets Homeland Security.
  6. AngelFire Water really works.
  7. I like hot mineral bath soaks, wraps, and massages better than you’d think.
  8. When you change your flight plans, it’s probably best to let the airline know about it.
  9. Red or Green? Both, please.
  10. I like traveling with my wife.

Brattleboro Fire Relief Fund Update

Remember how I left TABLE 10 on sale at CD Baby so we could raise some money for the recent fire in Brattleboro?

Well, I’m in Portland, OR. I get an email from the nice folks at CD Baby telling me that the warehouse has run out of TABLE 10 and would I please send them six more. I find a post office and send them six of the ten I have with me. I get an email the next day, thanking me for the six. I get another email the day after that, telling me that they’ve run out again and would I please send them ten more.

So, thankyouthankyouthankyou. Apparently, folks are buying TABLE 10, which means the fire relief fund will be getting 100% of what you spend: my cut, cdbaby’s cut, shipping, whatever, and we can all feel good about ourselves. Plus, you get to listen to some tunes which are, if I may be so bold, not too bad.

If you’re in Brattleboro this weekend, check out the benefit show on Saturday, May 7, noon-midnight. It’s for a great cause and there are people working really hard to make it wonderful. Because that’s how we roll in Bratt!