So I'm not sure if any of you have read the children's book about the "real" story of the 3 Little Pigs but it comes to mind after reading Danny's entry. In the children's book the wolf explains that he was just really ill and needed some sugar for I think tea but the pigs were so mean and slammed their doors on him and then he sneezed and blew their houses over by accident. I feel like the wolf nowadays with Danny spewing lie after lie of my evil doing. Needless to say I'm here to set my story straight just like the poor wolf.
In saying that our transition from living in the condo to the apartment we're at now, Danny was right that it was weird and difficult. The condo was simply wonderful even without internet or most amenities. The streetcar line ran right past it and was free! Whenever we wanted to head downtown to Powell's (the world's largest book store) or to the library (to use the internet), we just hopped on and off for free. Our apartment now is in something of a dead zone for convenient public transit as well as easily located things like a grocery store. But no matter, we're figuring it out as we go.
But when Danny speaks of his stinkiness and my reminding him of his foul smelling clothing, you all must remember Danny's stance on hygiene. Showers? Never! Shaving? Never! Wearing fresh clothing? Never! I'm just looking out for both of us, especially when we went to apartment viewings and Danny is standing there in wrinkled yucky clothing and his unwashed hair is hanging in his eyes. I can't say we looked like promising renters :) But as far as the difficulty of finding a place, Danny was dead on. State law out here made it really difficult for us to rent because of our finances. We still weren't totally positive that the place we're in now was right for us so we signed a 6 month lease just in case we want to move. I think we probably will considering we're in the aforementioned dead zone. I'd like to be closer to the more exciting parts of town where you can actually walk to a restaurant or bar or grocery store. We've been driving waaaay too much because of what we do at night.
But speaking of transportation and perhaps biking, I would like to state my piece on that as well. Biking with Danny is kind of like traveling with someone that has ADHD. Like yesterday, we had a plan. We needed to go to the post office as well as the local library. I knew it was going to be a long ride but I brought water and cookies and was feeling good about it all. Well, we start off and every time we see a sign for a garage sale Danny whips around off the road to go find it. Danny does not get tired and if he does, he simply pushes past it which is admirable. I do not have this same endurance. I don't wake up in the morning and bust out 150 crunches or do plyometrics for my before bed workout. Thus these little side trips to garage sales and interesting looking buildings don't fare well for my weak little legs. Needless to say, I got a little frustrated yesterday on this epic bike ride. Especially when Danny got us lost in a nice neighborhood and took us in a complete circle that included a few giant hills. When we finally got out of said neighborhood we had to take one of the busiest non-highway roads without a bike lane to get where we needed to go. Did I mention the first part was up an incredibly steep hill and I was in my lowest gear out of 24? By the time we reached the library I literally had hyperventilated my way through most of it. To top it off, Danny didn't even get anything from the library. And he wonders why I am unhappy as we bike together....
But despite Danny's shenanigans he's taken us on some pretty crazy craigslist adventures. Out here craigslist is the thing to use to find anything you could want at a pretty reasonable price. The best part is going to pick up what you bought. We found two lamps that have what look like cherubs climbing up the bottoms for $25 and had to pick them up from a guy on the other side of the river. We showed up and went into his apartment to be met by one of the biggest women I have ever seen. She was SO excited to see us and was absolutely fascinated by what we were doing here in Portland. Seriously. I don't think you understand. She had her hands on either side of her face and rested her elbows on the side of the couch and was just "Oh my! Oh my! That's SPECTACULAR! WOW!!!!". Super nice lady obviously. We also picked up a desk from a guy in the weirdest part of town. All sorts of dilapidated houses not to mention we were over there around 9 pm so it was super dark without street lights and just weird all around. Great desk though and interesting guy! Danny continues to troll craigslist and I look forward to many more similar adventures.
As often as we have adventures, though, a lot of our time is spent here in the apartment cooking. We've made some pretty excellent stuff with the blackberries that grow all over here. Like Danny mentioned everyone out here considers blackberries to be a weed so they don't eat them. They are an invasive species but a delicious one at that. I've made blackberry bread, blackberry/carrot cake cupcakes, blackberry sauce.... We even froze some for a later date. It also helps that a lot of our fruits and veggies are local and super delicious so every one of our meals has been loaded with fresh stuff and I think quite healthy. Danny made curry the other night and has taken a liking to making bread. He does have quite the ego about anything he cooks though, "Wow! Did you taste this?! It's amaaaaazinnng! I make delicious artisan bread! Yum yum yum!!!" It never hurts to be humble..... :)
I also had orientation this last week on Tuesday for school. It was an exciting day and Danny said he felt proud dropping me off haha. It felt like my first day of school all over again with him dropping me out front. "Have a good day! I can't wait to hear all about it!" It was for all of the programs that are in my grad department like Professional Mental Health Counseling, School Psychology, Marriage Couple and Family Therapy (my program), and Professional Mental Health Counseling w/ Addictions Specialization. It was great to meet the faculty for all the programs and I really felt like I made the right choice in coming to this school. They have a huge focus on social justice and equality as well as an emphasis on self care for all of us in the program. I know it sound like a big ol' hippie colony out there and perhaps it kind of is but I think my education will be centered on the aspects of the profession that I value: helping others. Other schools focus a lot on research which is something that I'm interested in but doesn't quite appeal to me. Classes officially start this next week on Tuesday so we'll see how it goes!
Ok so enough "facts" and "chronological explanations" as Danny says. Sorry that my writing isn't quite as creative and fantastical as his but now you may have a better grasp on what exactly has been going on out here...or maybe not. It's entirely possible I just pooed all over it with defending myself. But just like Danny ended his entry, just remember that he and I tease each other mercilessly and we rarely actually fight. If neither of us teased the other, we would have the biggest egos ever. Seriously. So be happy this is how we are, it keeps you from listening to us blab about how awesome we are :)
I hope all of you are doing well and we'll post some more as soon as more stuff happens... which hopefully it does.... but only in the best of ways!
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