Not sure what this is

No, I have not quite figured out what this is exactly. I can only imagine is will go with the new Green Line MAX. I did a test run of the MAX and it kind of weaves from side to side on 5th Avenue. I call it the drunken MAX.

Rational Exuberance

There are plans to add a 3-acre park next to the Encore. Right now, it is a mere brownfield. Too many plans and not enough money.

They did add a sculpture (temporary loan). I think it would have been better to wait until the park is in.

August

I don't get this blog uploading of pictures...I planned to put these in a certain order, but apparently, this web doesn't listen to me.

Anyway, I really liked the detail over the door of the Mason Building. The building was transformed awhile back into the Mark Wing of the Portland Art Museum (the contemporary and modern art wing). This has gold and the bottom look almost like whale tails.



















I kicked off August with a jump with Skydive Oregon in beautiful downtown Molalla. Such a parallel to Toastmasters. There is a lot of preparation and waiting around (and signing of papers saying if something goes horribly wrong, your loved ones have no right to sue), a quasi-training (if you follow the instructions of your instructor, things will be fine). Then there is a 10-minute ride to get up to the right altitude. Then you go! What a beautiful ride down...






We spent a busy Saturday going to the Street of Dreams in the Pearl District. This year, they showcased a few penthouses. Our favorite was the Benson arrangement at 937. We especially liked the layout, the hot tub, and the view. At Block 90, we really liked the outdoor entertaining options (fire pit, bar and grill). We did not care for the Encore (looked and felt too much like a hotel rather than a home) or the layout of the Waterfront Pearl (awkward corners), but we did like the water features that looked like they flowed right into the Willamette.

Pioneer Courthouse Square

When you live in a place for awhile, you tend to not notice the things you pass by every day. I never realized that certain elements of Pioneer Courthouse were there for a reason. The ironwork gate was crafted before 1900 and was part of the Portland Hotel before the hotel got torn down in 1950 to become...a parking lot...which then became the Square. The umbrella man is a sculpture called Allow Me by J. Seward Johnson. I always thought this sculpture was the real Mr. Portland. The umbrellas are useful when it rains while you are waiting for the MAX. The chess mat (with wallet and coffee cup) is atop a "toppled" column and you can usually find legions of chess players set up there. I am still looking for the weather machine and the horse sculpture. Too hot to look for those today. But we should add a sign. Michelle's House - 10 blocks.

Catching up on June and first part of July

Time runs away when I am not looking. During the last part of June, I got to see the World at Sea and the Flower Festival.

The cruise ship (The World) was docked in Portland for nearly a week, and curious passersby wandered toward this amazing city in the water. I was surprised it actually made it up the river. Wouldn’t it be great to spend some time just traveling this way? Aah…As for the Flower Festival, what can I say? Neat, impeccable rows. My style of garden, so much better than last year's. A feast for my ordered mind. Also, the Portland Pride Festival was a lot of fun. Here is Portland Taiko performing with a lot of audience participation. Joe wanted so badly to be picked to bang a drum, but he was too far away.

Fantatic Independence Day and Blues Festival. It is just not Portland without them.

Welcome to June 2009 & the Portland Rose Festival

Who am I kidding? I am just not interested in the Rose Festival this year. I must have been influenced by the community effects of the Matsuri festival in Tokyo, and am still disgruntled at how Portland is making no real effort in including its citizens in our own Rose Festival. Which is probably why I spent more time watching the dragon boat races than watching our parade. And I love a parade.

The New Green Line

The new Green Line for the MAX is almost done; they have started test runs of the actual MAX trains during this beautiful weather. Along the line at PSU are these sculptures. They look like sea creatures, but I'm not actually sure what they are. Some greenery lines the curbs to help catch water run-off. What a great idea!

Spring has sprung!

April already, can you believe it? The cherry blossoms have bloomed and gone with the downpour. We were blessed with a couple of warm days, then I must have turned into an Oregonian because I started to complain about the heat. Rain tomorrow, and I am looking forward to it! We went to Jodi's wedding in California, and at first I thought it would be neat to live in Sacramento because it was so green and pretty. Then noon happened and the sun was directly overhead. I am staying in Portland.

Who Says Portland is Depressed?

There is beauty in the fog that rolls in off of the Willamette in the morning...though this may contribute to some folk's impression that we are depressed in these parts. Seriously, though, Portland is a wonderful place to live. What makes it not so wonderful is that right now it is very difficult to find a job, especially if you have just lost one. Weather like this just adds to the down feeling. If you have a job, do everything you can to hold onto it! On the other hand, opportunities abound...the doors of creativity are always open.

The Strand & The Housing Market

It was a beautiful day in Portland, so Joe and I decided to check out some recent foreclosures. I know - what we do for fun. These condos were way out of our price range when they first went on the market, which is why we bought where we are currently. I suppose we should have rented until these became available...but the floor plan isn't quite right. And they are still slightly out of our price range. There is a nice garden and river view. The former "posh" restaurant might have been able to make a go of it if the food was actually good. Unfortunately, now there is just empty space, with amazing glass sculptures on display. Hopefully, there will be a reasonable restaurant in there some time soon. We need another place in Portland that serves food late at night when I am actually still awake and craving something delicious.

Oregon Statehood Day

Happy Valentine's Day to you Oregon! Happy 150th Birthday to you too. The State hasn't had a lot of $$ for PR, so I'm sure not many people are into this.

Chinese New Year 2009

Ohhh, I'm too lazy to post today. Who am I kidding? Go check out Joe's blog entry (link to the right titled "Joe's Grumblings" on Chinese New Year activities...we were at the same events, and he took pictures using my camera anyway. I loved the long string of firecrackers, that detour was totally worth it.

Happy New Year! Gung Hay Fat Choy!

I didn't prepare for Chinese New Year like I usually do because I had it in my mind that everything started on February 7. Whoops - that was last year. Chinese New Year 2009 starts tomorrow. Portland got a light dusting of snow, but it melted quickly. Instead of cowering at home with the kotatsu table, I dragged Joe out in the cold for an Art Walk in Old Town/Chinatown, with an excursion to the Chinese Garden and the Japanese Historical Plaza. Joe hadn't been in the Chinese Garden since the time he got in for free when it first opened 8 years ago. We had to leave the tour early at the Plaza because I couldn't move (frozen). The docent was frozen, too.

True Arctic Blast 2008

The storm really did turn into a "Winter Storm." Our flight was canceled out of PDX, so we're back home alternating between staying warm and playing in the snow. I was able to do a little bit of last-minute Christmas shopping while the streets were nice and quiet. Joe tried snowboarding down the little hills in our park, but there was too much powder. My steps sank down at least seven inches into the snow on the hills. We ended the outdoor fun with a couple of snow angels.





































A few TriMet buses got stuck outside our condo & the rescue team(s) are on their way. The rest of the day has been spent sipping hot chocolate and watching intrepid drivers (dummies - I am not the Mean Girl in Portland) crossing the bridges over the Willamette. Crazy people...be smart and stay home!

Winter Storm 2008

Portland-area weather forecasters get overly excited when there is a storm coming, as do members of the public. The storm gets labeled (Winter Storm 2008), and the skeptics get in their cars and find themselves being videotaped by the hovering news helicopter a result of sliding on the Marquam Bridge (which we witnessed from our condo, as well as watched the news helicopter shoot video of the slides). The schools get snow days tomorrow, even though the flurries have stopped. I need a snow day, too. It is really cold outside.

Providence Festival of Trees

This annual event at the Oregon Convention Center raises money for Providence Hospital programs, so the entrance fee and the $$$ raised from the tree auction supports excellent causes. The largest trees raise between $3000 and $20,000...quite spectacular. The photo only shows the little trees. I'd like to be able to sponsor a tree some time, and design it, too. But only if they ask me.

Jury Duty + Hatfield Courthouse Sculpture Garden

I had to report to Jury Duty the first week in November. I had no excuse not to be there because I only live a few blocks away from the courthouse, and I really wanted to serve on a jury. The Multnomah County process is different from Washington County. In Washington County, if you don't get picked for a trial, you are excused. In Multnomah County, if you aren't picked for the first round, you have to come back to the jury room to see if you get picked for another trial. I stayed until 3:30pm, and finished a book, a few magazines, watched CNN's election coverage, and eavesdropped on conversations. My neighbor was with me, and she was picked during the last cycle. She told me later that she had to report back the next day. I got dismissed.
During lunch, I took the opportunity to run across the park to the Mark O. Hatfield US Federal Courthouse. It is a beautiful and distinctive building, with quotes etched into the marble. After going through security, I stood in the huge atrium, looking at the two (or maybe three or four?)-story waterfall coming down the wall. I took the elevator up to the 9th floor (the elevator looks like something out of a sleek space station). There were courtrooms up on the 9th floor, but it didn't look like any court was in session. The view from the large windows is absolutely spectacular. I headed outside to the rooftop sculpture garden. I had heard that there were "whimsical" sculptures up there, and they would probably feel a lot more whimsical if it wasn't drizzling. I would have spent more time out there if it weren't cold and if I didn't have to go back to the jury room. This garden is free and open to the public. The security people are quite nice.

PSU Weekend

PSU weekend, an annual event put on by the PSU Alumni Association, happened this…well, weekend. I am still trying to figure out just how active the alumni association is. I have a lifetime membership, so I should get some type of benefit of being a member (besides being called on my mobile phone every so often to hear pleas for donations). I do get periodic announcements of alumni events, but I have been unable to attend past events because there has always been a conflict. For the past few years of PSU Weekend, I have been out of town, until this year. The event usually consists of a series of free seminars (which were really interesting) and a keynote luncheon (which I had to miss). What struck me about the gathering was the overall mono-ethnic population. What struck me as odd was that I actually noticed to begin with. Usually, I don’t care if I am the only Asian-American in the room, but this was a university-wide event. You’d expect actual university students there in addition to the throngs of alumni. There is an active Multi-Cultural Center on campus, as well as more than several student ethnic groups, and not one of them attended. Their loss…they missed some interesting seminars. The PSUAA recognizes that learning isn’t just for students. I attended: Youth Culture 1968 vs. 2008: Where have all the riots gone? The Artist as Time Bandit: How to find the time to be creative in a world that makes no allowances for such frivolous behavior; and Embraced by the Octopus: How railroad barons shaped history in the Pacific Northwest.
Well, I would have attached a link here to the site, so everyone can see what a fun time we had and what you all missed, but whoever manages the website hurriedly yanked all the information off of the site. Either they didn’t think PSU weekend was all that good and don’t want to brag about it, or they were in a rush to thank those who made it possible (with a terse “Thanks to everyone who made PSU Weekend such a great success!” I think they need me to help them with their publicity.

Bagby Hot Springs

Bagby Hot Springs is about an hour out of Estacada where you can soak in the hot springs for free. You have to buy a parking pass from the ranger station, and then you hike in about a mile and a half. It is a beautiful hike. I think it must get really crowded in the summer or on the weekends. This being a weekend, Joe and I got up really early in the morning to make the two-hour drive there. I was reading the flyer the Forest Service gave us; it said that on busy days, there may be a 30-minute wait to actually get into a hot springs tub, and to pass the time, visitors can hike to another spring and play in the cold water. Ha! As summer was over, it wasn't so busy. We were able to get one of the five private rooms that has a hollowed out log for a tub, which was really nice. While you may get what you pay for, this hot spring is worth it.

The Swifts

Those of us who grew up in Southern California know about the swallows who come to the Mission at San Juan Capistrano for the winter. Apparently, the swifts stop in Portland for a short spell on their way South. There is a chimney at Chapman Middle School in NW Portland. Apparently, it is a Portland tradition, which I have never heard of before. People bring blankets and picnic dinners and make an evening of it. You can see the swifts flying around by the thousands, and then just before dusk, they start flying in the same direction, whipping up a cyclone cone, only backwards, almost like a whirlpool. Then the swifts dive into the chimney until they are all tucked in. There was a hawk hovering near, hoping to get a snack, but there were so many swifts that they chased it away.