I just got a crash course in Brutal Weather 101!

It’s my brother’s 28th birthday and I have the day off, so early this afternoon I took him downtown for some window shopping. We only managed to hit up two stores on our list (Finnegan’s and Billy Galaxy) before it started to snow.

At first, we were really excited– it was just a soft flow of snowflakes that melted as soon as they hit the ground. But then we realized how unprepared our feet were for such weather, so we ducked into a breakfast-all-day place for some lunch.

After we were done eating, it still seemed within the boundaries of reality to continue on our to-do list, so we got on a streetcar heading to the NW. Once we saw how much snow was accumulating on that part of town, we jumped off, turned around and headed back to Burnside to defrost inside of Powell’s.

By this time both our feet were sopping wet.

Eventually we made it to Skidmore Fountain and got on the MAX to get across the river. But traffic was so bad and cars were already starting to slide around on the snow and crash into each other, so we decided it would be best if we just walked the rest of the way home.

Alan and myself, about halfway through our journey home.

Alan popped into Starbucks on MLK for a peppermint mocha to warm him up during the homestretch.

The homestretch which, of course, was gorgeous. I’ve always loved living in Irvington because it’s so darn cute, and it only gets cuter when winter comes calling!

Altogether we walked about 2 miles… In the snow… With soaking wet feet… Might as well have been barefoot! (And before anyone else asks, yes it was uphill both ways! Just kidding. :)

Happy Birthday Alan! Sorry we didn’t get to take you to see Zombieland, but hopefully your first snowstorm will make up for it.

And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to put on my galoshes and go explore the park!

We got word yesterday that Chris’s childhood cat, Eddie, wasn’t going to make it through another day. I’ve been trying to suppress my emotions, what with my brother being in town and being trained in yet another new job, but this one has hit me pretty hard… I can only imagine how Chris, who’s loved Eddie for over a decade, must feel.

Eddie has struggled with health issues for as long as I’ve known him… He was blind in one eye, had torn ears, a messed up jaw, and– at one point– a small velvety patch of fur on his back that was regrowing after a scuffle.

But through it all he’s always remained one of the sweetest cats I’ve ever known. I’ll never forget the first time I met Eddie, he didn’t hesitate to nuzzle his head on my lap, with his big thick white whiskers (which I called magic wands). Back then he was affectionately referred to as “Chaps,” because he was losing his fur on his hind legs from suspected anxiety.

Unlike some black cats I know, Ed never bit me, or swatted at me, or showed even the smallest sign that he had an ounce of negative energy in his little body. His business was simply relaxing in the yard and catching some pets here ‘n’ there.

Eddie is estimated to have lived 13 years, if not longer. He was a trooper and will be dearly missed. xoxo

ETA: I’ve been told that Ed was closer to 20 years old. Holy smokes.

Friday afternoon my older brother rode a train into Portland from California and we’ve been trying to treat him to all the best attractions ever since. His geekiness surpasses my own, so one of our first stops this weekend was Ground Kontrol, a barcade on NW 5th and Couch.

I had a bit of luck, too– a few of the games I went to play had quarters in the machines, or games that had been abandoned, etc.

This New Year’s Eve they’re having a free play night starting at 5pm, with a cover charge of $15. I’m 90% sure we’re going, if only so I can have the chance of getting past the first level of Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins. That game has always eluded me, it’s so damn hard!

What a disappearing act I’ve been lately! Many apologies but, as all bloggers know, life has its way of just happening sometimes. This week has been really physically hard on me.

I’ve been working 5am-1:30pm all week… Going to bed at 7 and waking up at 3am to get ready for work is no fun! I’m on my feet all day, racing around the market doing a zillion things at once, so you can hopefully understand why I haven’t felt like blogging when I get home!

The good news is that work hasn’t entirely consumed my life (yet!). I’ve managed to squeeze out some bits of joy out of each day and– since I haven’t been taking photos– I figured I’d blog about them while my energy level’s still relatively high for the evening.

First things first, I’ve become utterly addicted to Legend of the Seeker. The show was created by Sam Raimi and is sort of in the same vein as his Xena and Hercules (the former of which I idolized as a young one to the point of learning how to do her battle call), but with a much more serious twist and a bigger budget.

Think Hercules meets Lord of the Rings, plus more violence and its own world of terminology. Seekers, Keepers, Confessors and Mord’Sith, oh my! (Can we all agree that Cara is a total babe? I’d let her use the Agiel on me any day!)

It’s all loosely based on a series of novels by Terry Goodkind, which you bet your buns I’m gonna read when I’m done with my current book.

Watch this show!

Which brings me to Ender’s Shadow!

It’s taken me way too long to pick up this book, but I’m so glad I finally did. Practically every free minute I’ve had this week was spent either watching LotS or reading up on Bean’s side of the story. I’m about halfway through, and it’s the best “meanwhile” book ever. And… While I love Ender’s Game, I think I like this one even more.

The above images were taken from the official Marvel website– they’re two covers out of the five-issue comic series released last year.

Read this book!

To get me out of my rut, but still keep the geek theme going, Chris took me out for a date last night. We saw Avatar in 3D and it. was. AWESOME!

Normally I can’t handle 3D stuff because it’s too invasive, but since we weren’t at Disneyland and they weren’t spraying scents in our faces and having shit brush against our legs, I managed to get through the flick relatively anxiety-free.

When I first saw the trailer, though, I couldn’t get over how cheesy the CGI looked, but in the theater the Na’Vi looked amazamazing. It was only the “dreamwalkers” that bothered me (Sigourney Weaver’s avatar was so stupid, like something out of a deviantart gallery).

In the end the movie made me really sad because it was only 3/4 non-fiction. It was basically one big sci-fi version of Dances with Wolves, which is one of my favorite movies, back before Mary McDonnell butchered her face. But that’s another sci-fi post for another day.

See this movie!

As long time readers know, I’m a huge geek. Although, if you’ve only been reading along for a short while you’ve probably still managed to catch some whiffs of geekery off me… Heck, this post is proof enough!

So, imagine my surprise when someone contacted me through Flickr about using my tattoos for an article and it actually turned out to be legit!

There are 11 inked geeks altogether who were e-terviewed for the article. You can read the blurbs on Mog and Cactuar here and here!

Speaking of geek ink, I wonder if my brother would get matching “So Say We All” tattoos with me? And if Chris would totally hate the idea?

Al?

Chris?

Whaddaya say? I’ve always wanted a wrist tat! ;)

Not that I’ve tested out too many cookies since moving to Portland, but I’d be willing to bet that Grand Central Bakery is thee best place in PDX to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Ben and I met up with Chris on his lunch break this weekend where I sampled the two tastiest looking cookies in the window: a very caramelized chocolate chip and a gooey, fluffy chocolate crinkle.

YUM!