Last Day/First Day

Friday was my last day in my lovely hometown. I got the chance to see Paige, Victoria (who just returned, safe and with a new-found appreciation for sushi, from Japan!), Ashley, and of course, Anastasia. I even got to say goodbye to David. I was happy, but at the same time, it was all very bittersweet, knowing I won't see them again for another ten months.

I went shopping for several items with Paige. We had drinks and walked around, talking about her job, Germany, people we knew, the ordinary things casual friends talk about. Then I went over to Victoria's, where I was shown hundreds (literally!) of pictures of her life in Japan--the food, the clothing, her 'family' there, the friends she made, shrines...it was wonderful to hear, even briefly, of her experiences.

Later, Anastasia and I took the bus to PDX Pop Now. We got there right as Dirty Mittens, a good local band, had their set. As before when I saw them, they rocked the scene. I'll have to get my hands on a cd sometime in the future. We stayed for the rest of the night--and, as usual at PDX Pop Now, some of the bands were very good, and some...well, not so good. Stand outs were, again, Dirty Mittens, Fear No Music and Explode Into Colors. I was actually disappointed by EIC's set, but only because the sound was fucked up (one of the speakers sounded blown), and there were a lot of people being loud and obnoxious (probably drunk, and because their set was outside). This guy next to me kept making obscene gestures (directed at me) and going on about how much Explode Into Colors sucked, how the sound system sucked, blah blah blah. Dude. Not impressing me.

Anyway, the second day of this particular music fest had an amazing lineup, including Maya's band, so I was really bummed I couldn't go. Also, the Korean taco truck (I know, what?! But it's delicious!) is camping out there, and I really wish I could have had some MexiAsian fusion food again before leaving (I bet they don't have it in Germany). The guy who runs it gave me a free side of Kimchi with my taco. It was a good last night in Portland, what with the food, the music, and Anastasia's ice-cold thermos of coffee/soy/milk and sugar that she shared with me. I hugged her a bunch and I miss her already. It's hard to say goodbye to one's best friend of ten years.

Yesterday, after another hard goodbye to family, I boarded a plane to Chicago, where I caught another to Minneapolis. I am now staying in St. Paul, where I have (so far): eaten out-of-this-world delicious Tibetan food (which, for some insane reason, we don't have where I come from), chocolate, and part of a raspberry muffin (my recent-ish breakfast). They have decent coffee here, too, and shortly I'm heading out to do some exploring and sightseeing. More later, in all probability, but right now, I'm getting a little restless.