Sunday night, my flight back from Portland left pretty late and I had plenty of time to kill after checking out of my hotel room. My friend the Flirt lives in town, so after I was done hanging out with the Buddhist, he came to pick me up.
The Flirt is a happily married father, but he is nothing if not a shameless flirt. Thankfully his wife is either okay with it or simply used to it by now. Either way, when he says he's going to hang out with a hot young chick from out of town, she doesn't have a problem. I'm not a man-stealer, though, so while this was a “date,” it wasn't a *date.* Got the distinction?
For lunch we went to a movie tavern. I'd heard of the concept before, but the execution was really neat! It's an old-fashioned theater with a bar and grill instead of a regular concession stand. You buy your food, sit in a seat, and eat while watching the movie. Not terribly fancy, but a great idea. The Hurt Locker was playing, and I figured I owed it to my girl Bigelow to see it. It was good, though I'm not going to get into the politics of whether or not it deserved a Best Director oscar.
For lunch I had a cookie- who can resist the allure of a giant chocolate chip cookie? I mean hell, being able to eat dessert as a meal is the entire point of being grown up, right? The Flirt made a comment that he hoped I wasn't trying to impress him by eating so little, until I pointed out that it was a freaking cookie, for christssake.
After the movie we hung out at Washington Park for a while, then went to go get sushi. You know it's a good sushi place when there is a line of 20 people outside within a half hour of opening for the day. And man was it worth the wait! The first bite I took of the nagiri, it was like heaven had exploded in my mouth (that's what she said). I just wanted to stuff it all in (that's what she said) and eat until I couldn't anymore (that's what she said). I'd never realized until now how sexual sushi sounds when it's being described. Yes, I sometimes have the mentality of a 12 year old boy.
Between sushi and dessert I mention to the Flirt how much I love bridges. Not in an architectural way- all I can tell you is “this one is pretty, that one's not.” It's more about seeing the world from a different view, with a city in front or behind you (sometimes both) and water underneath. He offered to take me on a “bridge tour,” driving every bridge in downtown Portland. And we did! I know it may not have been planned, and it may have only been a “date,” but it was one of the most unique date activities I've ever experienced. Just driving around the city in a zig-zag going over all the bridges and talking...this makes me sound like an even bigger dork than I am, I swear.
After driving all the bridges, we went out for dessert. Going out for dessert gets such a short shift! It's at least as pleasurable as going out for coffee (more so, if you ask me), but people tend to lump it in with the dinner part.
I'm taking back dessert dates!
Dessert was yet another religious experience for me. If it wasn't for school temporarily tying me to where I am, I'd move to Portland just for the food. I'm only half kidding.
Finally the Flirt had to take me to the airport, but not before we stopped at Voodoo Doughnuts for me to grab a few to take home to my roommates. If they ever started shipping, I'd never leave the house. They'd have to make a TLC documentary about me- The Woman Who Gained 500 Pounds on Donuts. But it sure would be a delicious way to die.
Showing posts with label Portland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Portland. Show all posts
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Saturday- Taking Dating With Me, Wherever I Go
I was in Portland this past weekend for a conference. I'm lucky enough to be one of those people who has friends scattered across the United States, so when I go somewhere, I always try to sneak in a visit with a friend or two. This time, it was the Buddhist. The Buddhist actually lives in Seattle, but it's only a couple hours drive away, so he came down to see me on Saturday.
Saturday morning he went in to his company's Portland office for some work thing he wanted to be trained on- I'm not sure I would be willing to go in to work on a Saturday for voluntary training, but I guess that just means I don't love my (hypothetical future) job as much as he does. That afternoon, he came to see my presentation at the conference. It's a true friend who will brave a professional conference just to give you moral support, let me tell you. After I was done presenting and shaking hands (go networking!), we went out to dinner.
One of the problems I'm having in my current city is a distinctive lack of good Thai food options. There are a few restaurants, but none that live up to my standards. The Buddhist knew of a place on the east side of Portland that he'd been to once and was incredible, so we decided to go there.
The first thing we noticed when we got there was the crowd of people milling about outside. We went up to the hostess, who told us there was an hour long wait. But, she said, we could go wait across the street at their bar, have some appetizers, and they'd let us know when our table was ready. They have a walkie-talkie system set up just for that purpose.
That sounded like a plan, so we went over to the bar and sat down. And waited. And waited. And waited. After almost two hours, several drinks, and some delicious Thai fritters (I really wish I'd paid more attention to what they are called- they were delicious!) we finally gave up. We'd thought about going to a movie, but I was still on east coast time, so I was exhausted even though it was only 7pm.
Instead, we went back to my hotel room and watched HBO in bed. I have to say, that's my favorite part about hotels. I don't have a tv in my room and haven't for years, so it feels particularly indulgent to watch tv from bed. It was even better when I saw what was on- Tremors! That terrible Kevin Bacon movie about the giant worm creatures under the ground. I remember loving that movie so much when it came out, and my brother was even worse- he tied up my parents' Netflix queue with all four (that's right, they made four) Tremors movies for months. The Buddhist had never seen it from start to finish, and it had us rolling the entire time.
Naturally, lying in bed together watching a movie led to cuddling, and cuddling led to making out, and making out led to...well, you can figure it out. I hadn't planned for that- truly, I hadn't! I don't go into every date with friends or romantic interests thinking it's going to end it bed- so I was glad I keep a condom in my wallet. I know, it sounds like a guy thing right? But I consider it a feminist act- I am taking control of my own sexuality without relying on a man to be responsible for my health and safety. I outright refuse to have sex without a condom, and it would suck to get to the the point of needing one only to have to stop because he didn't have one. So, I bring my own.
The next morning, we were woken up by the sound of someone on a loudspeaker. Looking out the window we saw people running by dressed in wigs and costumes- apparently it was the 32nd Annual Leprechaun Run. Had I known about it in advance, I totally would have participated! We even saw someone running dressed up as a giant pint of Guinness. We went and got breakfast, barely beating the post-run crowd, and then decided to walk over to the Saturday Market.
Yes, the Saturday Market is also open on Sunday.
We walked around for a bit looking at the different artists and stalls. My favorite part, though, was watching the Buddhist light up when he saw all the Tibetan goods. You see, the Buddhist is so named because he actually is a Buddhist. He even lived in Tibet for several years, and used to work with Buddhist monks in the U.S. At one shop, he found a vendor who he was able to speak a few words of Tibetan with. It's cliché, but seeing him so happy made me happy, too.
After the market, we went and had coffee and chatted while I waited for another friend I was spending the evening with. We both remarked upon how comfortable we felt with each other, especially since this was the first time we'd spent a significant amount of time alone together. It was a great day, but it made me miss all my friends out on the west coast. I'm going back for another friend's wedding in August, though, so this trip will hopefully tide me over until then.
Saturday morning he went in to his company's Portland office for some work thing he wanted to be trained on- I'm not sure I would be willing to go in to work on a Saturday for voluntary training, but I guess that just means I don't love my (hypothetical future) job as much as he does. That afternoon, he came to see my presentation at the conference. It's a true friend who will brave a professional conference just to give you moral support, let me tell you. After I was done presenting and shaking hands (go networking!), we went out to dinner.
One of the problems I'm having in my current city is a distinctive lack of good Thai food options. There are a few restaurants, but none that live up to my standards. The Buddhist knew of a place on the east side of Portland that he'd been to once and was incredible, so we decided to go there.
The first thing we noticed when we got there was the crowd of people milling about outside. We went up to the hostess, who told us there was an hour long wait. But, she said, we could go wait across the street at their bar, have some appetizers, and they'd let us know when our table was ready. They have a walkie-talkie system set up just for that purpose.
That sounded like a plan, so we went over to the bar and sat down. And waited. And waited. And waited. After almost two hours, several drinks, and some delicious Thai fritters (I really wish I'd paid more attention to what they are called- they were delicious!) we finally gave up. We'd thought about going to a movie, but I was still on east coast time, so I was exhausted even though it was only 7pm.
Instead, we went back to my hotel room and watched HBO in bed. I have to say, that's my favorite part about hotels. I don't have a tv in my room and haven't for years, so it feels particularly indulgent to watch tv from bed. It was even better when I saw what was on- Tremors! That terrible Kevin Bacon movie about the giant worm creatures under the ground. I remember loving that movie so much when it came out, and my brother was even worse- he tied up my parents' Netflix queue with all four (that's right, they made four) Tremors movies for months. The Buddhist had never seen it from start to finish, and it had us rolling the entire time.
Naturally, lying in bed together watching a movie led to cuddling, and cuddling led to making out, and making out led to...well, you can figure it out. I hadn't planned for that- truly, I hadn't! I don't go into every date with friends or romantic interests thinking it's going to end it bed- so I was glad I keep a condom in my wallet. I know, it sounds like a guy thing right? But I consider it a feminist act- I am taking control of my own sexuality without relying on a man to be responsible for my health and safety. I outright refuse to have sex without a condom, and it would suck to get to the the point of needing one only to have to stop because he didn't have one. So, I bring my own.
The next morning, we were woken up by the sound of someone on a loudspeaker. Looking out the window we saw people running by dressed in wigs and costumes- apparently it was the 32nd Annual Leprechaun Run. Had I known about it in advance, I totally would have participated! We even saw someone running dressed up as a giant pint of Guinness. We went and got breakfast, barely beating the post-run crowd, and then decided to walk over to the Saturday Market.
Yes, the Saturday Market is also open on Sunday.
We walked around for a bit looking at the different artists and stalls. My favorite part, though, was watching the Buddhist light up when he saw all the Tibetan goods. You see, the Buddhist is so named because he actually is a Buddhist. He even lived in Tibet for several years, and used to work with Buddhist monks in the U.S. At one shop, he found a vendor who he was able to speak a few words of Tibetan with. It's cliché, but seeing him so happy made me happy, too.
After the market, we went and had coffee and chatted while I waited for another friend I was spending the evening with. We both remarked upon how comfortable we felt with each other, especially since this was the first time we'd spent a significant amount of time alone together. It was a great day, but it made me miss all my friends out on the west coast. I'm going back for another friend's wedding in August, though, so this trip will hopefully tide me over until then.
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