Ain't Portland Pretty?

And friendly. And not as grey as one might think. And I LIKE it. Very comfortable, very Jen (I think), in some ways. Granted, I spent a great deal of it queasy, but... damn. Good stuff.

'Saw Steph and David (!!!!). Totally dropped my guard, had friendly, cordial encounters with strangers, got rained on, walked around, ate a cupcake, drank beer, saw Fritz (!!!), 'had my ass handed to me, sang some harmony, went to detention, and slept in a hotel room with a balcony. Very privileged way to take on a city. What I learned:

- Be careful where you choose to go outside your comfort limits, and don't use someone else's. Sometimes you can trust you own damn sense, and sometimes you can't.

- I love dinos.

- Cool signage tickles me.

- Walk around and take some space for yourself. I hope I'm getting better at this, or, it could just be this place.

Flight back was fine, and I practiced my knitting. A little wump to be back in the house and driving around this sprawling dirty metropolis of waste and brown and grey, but realized I like what I do a great deal.

There's more stuff, but also glad to be back. I'll work on posting more when I'm not distracted by thoughts of exercise and 'what else should I be doing'.

I liked me, in general, some Portland. It excites me as much as New York does, and that's a huge compliment - - Portland's got a more European vibe than New York (NYC is all America to me), but I was never for want of the newness that NYC keeps offering. I hold NYC in the highest of regards (it's London), and hold Portland just as high, but in a different ventricle of my heart (It's Budapest)... I might be better equipped for Budapest - - who knows. Or, could be just fine here in Mpls.. which is many many good things too.

Onward.