The Trip North
Jul. 8th, 2008 12:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pasitheaLast Wednesday night, I set out on a road trip with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
centauress and [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com] to visit Centauress's mother and sister in Portland. We got off to a bit of a late start, didn't really get out of San Jose until close to 9PM. Traded drivers and drove all night.
I spent the first part of the trip trying an experiment that really didn't work so well. I have some 3D goggles that I snagged from work for a project and decided to see if I could use them to sidestep being motion sick while doing artwork on my computer in the car. Also, because our car is somewhat small and cramped, it would in theory give me more room to work without being oddly contorted.
On the later, it was successful. On the former, no dice. If anything, it made me much sicker than just using the computer normally would.
I drove the last leg of the trip while the others dozed. We arrived in Portland around 8AM and, deciding that was too early to wake Stacey's family, instead bummed around downtown. Most just walked, got our bearings, hit up a coffee shop, and wandered through some of the parks. Went to her mum's house around 10AM and chatted with her family for a while and took short naps.
Later in the afternoon, Paka and I went back into downtown and visited Powell's. I finally picked up a copy of Mushrooms Demystified Slightly more than it would have been on Amazon but less the cost of shipping, it worked out to a good price. Anyhow. We had a good walk about and didn't get too lost and we spent some time reading and drawing. I spent most of the rest of the evening working my way through my new thousand-page tome of all things fungal. It was written by a guy in Santa Cruz and is focused on bay area fungi. I won't bore you with the details. :)
Anyhow. The following day, we went to the zoo and then shot off fireworks. I didn't really get to draw as much as I would have liked. I'd intended to watch the fireworks instead of light them but due to some issue with packing tape, I ended up setting off quite a few of them. Kind of fun but most of them were less spectacular than I remember from being a child. Jumping jacks have gone notably downhill.
Saturday, Centauress, Paka, and I made our way to downtown again and wandered around at length. Probably walked across the city and back. We started off with a stop at a robot-themed piercing place and I picked up some ointment (my nipple pierces healed up fine within 3 weeks of getting them done but the navel piercing is still refusing to heal properly). After there, we walked to a decent grungy coffee shop that reminded me of the good things about Cafe Pergolesi in Santa Cruz that were missing last time I went there. :( Next was a comic book store they wanted to go to. It was alright, I guess. I'm kind of 'eh' on comic book stores, but whatever makes everyone else happy. ^_^
After that, we went to the Saturday Market. Lots of artisan stuff. Mostly it just made me want to go make things. I also had a bit of a meltdown due to a low blood sugar thing. That's twice in less than a month after a few years of it being a lot less common. I need to keep an eye on that and make sure there's nothing else going on. Anyhow... After I was done acting like a 3-year-old, we walked some more. I would have liked to have spent more time at the market and written down some ideas but I'd imposed on my friends enough at that point.
From there we walked to a toystore and looked around. Stacey got a plastic centaur, I admired the rubber jellyfish but conned myself out of buying one. :)
Then, only a couple of blocks from there, the Doc Marten store. <3 Stacey had been after me to replace my old Doc Mary Janes... I've had them since 1992 and they were really starting to show their age. For a very large part of that time, they were my daily shoe. I think I got out of the habit of wearing them nearly daily around 2000 and then started up again while my toe was mending (since they're more or less identical to the orthopedic shoes in function but much less retarded looking) Anyhow. I guess it was time for a new pair. So.. Now I have these:
Which are surprisingly far more comfortable than my old ones and I like the styling a bit better too.
Of course... That also got me thinking. "Gee. It'd be nice to get a pair of boots that I could wear when I'm going to be out dancing for 10+hrs like I have been lately." I have some very hot platforms with huge heels but they get uncomfortable after about 6hrs. Also, I don't often have much need to wear glossy black patent leather boots. So... I tried some on. Sadly, most of their boots don't fit me well because I bike too much and they're designed for people with thinner calves. Then I found these:
http://www.dmusastore.com/images/PRODUCT/medium/12766001.jpg
The salesperson warned me that they fit funny. They tended to bag on the calves... orly? These are positively the most comfortable boots I've ever worn. I've been wearing them all day and the worst thing I can say about them is that they're like cursed 20-league boots or something. They make me want to walk and keep walking. They feel so _good_ in motion. Le woot.
Of course, immediately after buying them, I felt rather guilty about the amount I'd spent. I've been trying to consume less. OTOH, I know the Docs will last in addition to being comfortable so.. I guess it's alright. Plus I hadn't bought myself any new shoes (except for the black platforms) in about 5 years.
Anyhow. After spending forever at the Dr Marten's store (apologies to Paka for making him wait so long!) we went back to Powell's because Paka wanted a book there. Stacey and I also browsed a bit. I limited myself to a single book. Used copy of Runes of Elfland (more about that in a later post)
That night, I was trying to read but... There was ONE frog in their backyard. A frog with no rhythm. A frog with no style. Just loud, irregular, and interruptive. It was maddening for a while... I tried earplugs. I tried music, but he was just that bad a singer. So... If you can't beat em... Join em. I pulled a few dozen different frog sounds from the web and assembled a froggy techno track that I then played in a loop, drowning him out by using similar sounds that actually had a beat. Of course by then, I was pretty tired, so I only read a little, then went to sleep.
The following morning, Paka and I helped Stacey's mum put up some shelving and then we headed back to San Jose. I spent most of the day in the back seat being anti-social and reading. On the bright side, the anti-motionsickness drugs didn't knock me unconscious for the entire trip, but I think they did make me a little distant and drowsy none-the-less.
centauress and [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com] to visit Centauress's mother and sister in Portland. We got off to a bit of a late start, didn't really get out of San Jose until close to 9PM. Traded drivers and drove all night.I spent the first part of the trip trying an experiment that really didn't work so well. I have some 3D goggles that I snagged from work for a project and decided to see if I could use them to sidestep being motion sick while doing artwork on my computer in the car. Also, because our car is somewhat small and cramped, it would in theory give me more room to work without being oddly contorted.
On the later, it was successful. On the former, no dice. If anything, it made me much sicker than just using the computer normally would.
I drove the last leg of the trip while the others dozed. We arrived in Portland around 8AM and, deciding that was too early to wake Stacey's family, instead bummed around downtown. Most just walked, got our bearings, hit up a coffee shop, and wandered through some of the parks. Went to her mum's house around 10AM and chatted with her family for a while and took short naps.
Later in the afternoon, Paka and I went back into downtown and visited Powell's. I finally picked up a copy of Mushrooms Demystified Slightly more than it would have been on Amazon but less the cost of shipping, it worked out to a good price. Anyhow. We had a good walk about and didn't get too lost and we spent some time reading and drawing. I spent most of the rest of the evening working my way through my new thousand-page tome of all things fungal. It was written by a guy in Santa Cruz and is focused on bay area fungi. I won't bore you with the details. :)
Anyhow. The following day, we went to the zoo and then shot off fireworks. I didn't really get to draw as much as I would have liked. I'd intended to watch the fireworks instead of light them but due to some issue with packing tape, I ended up setting off quite a few of them. Kind of fun but most of them were less spectacular than I remember from being a child. Jumping jacks have gone notably downhill.
Saturday, Centauress, Paka, and I made our way to downtown again and wandered around at length. Probably walked across the city and back. We started off with a stop at a robot-themed piercing place and I picked up some ointment (my nipple pierces healed up fine within 3 weeks of getting them done but the navel piercing is still refusing to heal properly). After there, we walked to a decent grungy coffee shop that reminded me of the good things about Cafe Pergolesi in Santa Cruz that were missing last time I went there. :( Next was a comic book store they wanted to go to. It was alright, I guess. I'm kind of 'eh' on comic book stores, but whatever makes everyone else happy. ^_^
After that, we went to the Saturday Market. Lots of artisan stuff. Mostly it just made me want to go make things. I also had a bit of a meltdown due to a low blood sugar thing. That's twice in less than a month after a few years of it being a lot less common. I need to keep an eye on that and make sure there's nothing else going on. Anyhow... After I was done acting like a 3-year-old, we walked some more. I would have liked to have spent more time at the market and written down some ideas but I'd imposed on my friends enough at that point.
From there we walked to a toystore and looked around. Stacey got a plastic centaur, I admired the rubber jellyfish but conned myself out of buying one. :)
Then, only a couple of blocks from there, the Doc Marten store. <3 Stacey had been after me to replace my old Doc Mary Janes... I've had them since 1992 and they were really starting to show their age. For a very large part of that time, they were my daily shoe. I think I got out of the habit of wearing them nearly daily around 2000 and then started up again while my toe was mending (since they're more or less identical to the orthopedic shoes in function but much less retarded looking) Anyhow. I guess it was time for a new pair. So.. Now I have these:
Which are surprisingly far more comfortable than my old ones and I like the styling a bit better too.
Of course... That also got me thinking. "Gee. It'd be nice to get a pair of boots that I could wear when I'm going to be out dancing for 10+hrs like I have been lately." I have some very hot platforms with huge heels but they get uncomfortable after about 6hrs. Also, I don't often have much need to wear glossy black patent leather boots. So... I tried some on. Sadly, most of their boots don't fit me well because I bike too much and they're designed for people with thinner calves. Then I found these:
http://www.dmusastore.com/images/PRODUCT/medium/12766001.jpg
The salesperson warned me that they fit funny. They tended to bag on the calves... orly? These are positively the most comfortable boots I've ever worn. I've been wearing them all day and the worst thing I can say about them is that they're like cursed 20-league boots or something. They make me want to walk and keep walking. They feel so _good_ in motion. Le woot.
Of course, immediately after buying them, I felt rather guilty about the amount I'd spent. I've been trying to consume less. OTOH, I know the Docs will last in addition to being comfortable so.. I guess it's alright. Plus I hadn't bought myself any new shoes (except for the black platforms) in about 5 years.
Anyhow. After spending forever at the Dr Marten's store (apologies to Paka for making him wait so long!) we went back to Powell's because Paka wanted a book there. Stacey and I also browsed a bit. I limited myself to a single book. Used copy of Runes of Elfland (more about that in a later post)
That night, I was trying to read but... There was ONE frog in their backyard. A frog with no rhythm. A frog with no style. Just loud, irregular, and interruptive. It was maddening for a while... I tried earplugs. I tried music, but he was just that bad a singer. So... If you can't beat em... Join em. I pulled a few dozen different frog sounds from the web and assembled a froggy techno track that I then played in a loop, drowning him out by using similar sounds that actually had a beat. Of course by then, I was pretty tired, so I only read a little, then went to sleep.
The following morning, Paka and I helped Stacey's mum put up some shelving and then we headed back to San Jose. I spent most of the day in the back seat being anti-social and reading. On the bright side, the anti-motionsickness drugs didn't knock me unconscious for the entire trip, but I think they did make me a little distant and drowsy none-the-less.
