House of Swank

The Great Trek

I am happy to report that it appears that many more vehicles make the trek from Seattle to Portland than from Portland to Seattle every year.  Mainly because I am one of the people making the trek northbound, and that will likely remain the case for Thanksgiving for the foreseeable future.

While I survived the 8 hour trek South on more than one occasion (on what was normally a 2.5-3 hour drive at the time), I in no means miss it.

I suppose we could offer to host Sweetie's family at our house, but given that his parents, 1/2 of his siblings and all his nieces and nephews live in the Puget Sound area I don't think they would feel very thankful after making the trek southbound, so we'll stick with the current plan.

Weather Wuss

I know, from personal experience, that Seattle has a milder climate than Portland.  A bit counterintuitive at first, what with the being 200 miles north and all, but being on Puget Sound, Seattle's climate is much more similar to coastal Oregon weather.

This means that in general the summers get hotter in Portland and the winters get colder.

In Seattle, once you hit 80 you are in officially hot weather where everyone will start to melt and complain about how damn hot it is.  You may get a day or two of temps topping 90 in your standard summer, and those are the days everyone officially turns into a pile of goo on the floor.

In Portland you need to up those temps by 10 degrees.

It got to 92 yesterday.  Today is supposed to be similar.  I really do think I may melt.

TRAIN-ing

Last Saturday I took the train to Portland to meet my Sweetie down there.  I am a HUGE fan, and am kinda regretting the five billion times I've done the trip by car in the past, and it will take some compelling reasons to get me back in the car for the trip in the future.  I DID have the benefit of being in PDX earlier in the week, so just planned ahead and left my stuff, so the only stuff I needed to carry with me were distractions for the journey.  That also freed me up to take the bus to the train, and choose a bus stop that was further, but provided a preferable route, for the journey.  These are the lessons I learned on Saturday:

• When you're walking 1.4 miles to the bus stop it would behoove you to make sure you are wearing well-fitted socks, and not the variety that constantly want to slip and slouch.
• Check the bus route before you leave the house, so you don't spend the whole walk paranoid that you will go to the stop on the wrong side of the street, and somehow end up stranded as a result of that mistake.
• Metro transit points have schedules and maps right there for you to view, so you can confirm that you are on the correct side of the street, and rest easy.
• Jehovas Witnesses like to hang out at bus stops on Saturday mornings.  They have people camped out at the big transit centers, and roamers that will drive around looking for people waiting at less populated stops.
• Cargo pants, with the pocket on the thigh, are now a necessity when traveling.  That pocket does a very good job of holding boarding passes, ID, bus fare, tickets, transfers, etc, in a handy spot to make things easy to retrieve when necessary.
• The Bellevue Transit Center is not at the big park and ride off I-90, that's the Eastgate Park and Ride.  The Bellevue Transit Center is in downtown Bellevue.  So when you're only as far south as downtown Bellevue shortly before your bus is scheduled to arrive at the transit center there is no need to have a panic attack, you're on time.  This is also the time to be thankful that you decided to walk to the bus this morning and make a bus transfer, rather than just drive to the Park and Ride so as to only take one bus.  Otherwise, you might still be waiting for that bus.  (Although, chances are other buses would have arrived that could have done the job for you).
• Sound Transit and Metro are friends, but not the same.  So you pay the Metro fare on the Metro bus, then use that transfer and pay just the upgrade for the Sound Transit bus.  The bus drivers are very friendly and helpful in getting you through this, but it does help to know if your buses are Sound Transit or Metro, or at least route numbers, so that you can ask the appropriate questions.
• The trip planner on Metro's website is really, really cool.
• Seattle's Amtrak station, King Street Station, is one of the most depressing places ever.  Right on par with Seattle's Greyhound station.  Although King Street Station is under renovation right now, and promises to be all pretty like it used to be when all is said and done.
• People do not really listen to PA announcements.  So when the PA announcer says they'll begin boarding out of door 3 in 30 minutes, everyone will line up immediately.
• There is a strategic element to standing in line at the Amtrak station, at least for the Coast Starlight, which involves not standing next to someone with loads of luggage that doesn't have a complete understanding of personal space, as they will most likely be sitting next to you.  I am told this is not a concern on the Amtrak Cascades.  We shall test that theory on our next trip, as I am also told that you get a free movie on that train.
• It is not enough to make sure you have all the songs and podcasts you want uploaded to the iPod before you go, you must also make sure that you've charged the darn thing.
• The ham and cheese sub sandwich that you can buy in the lounge car may be expensive, but it is also enormous.
• Drunk college students are drunk college students wherever you are.
• If it's raining in Portland the cab stand may run out of cabs before it runs out of people who want cabs.  (Which did not apply to me, but I learned while waiting for Sweetie).

I plan on taking the train for my next trip to Portland, and am thoroughly looking forward to it.

The Daily Grind

I'm heading down to Portland Thursday for nearly a week.  I will need to get some work done while I am down there, outside of the meetings and such that already have me heading that way.  None of my parents neighbors are kind enough to have a wifi connection going that I can get onto.  My parents have broadband, but plugging into their network will be a pain, and I  don't want to do all my internet work on their computer, and other stuff on my computer.  So, I'm looking for a place to call home for a few days, that will allow me wifi access.  Any suggestions?  Willing to pay a small fee if necessary, but would prefer free.

Bonus points for:

• Accessibility to food and drink options, but not required purchases
• Open until at least 8:30 in the evening
• Vaguely quiet

Muchas Gracias!

Portland 101

This post is specifically directed at Portlanders and Portland ex-pats who read the blog, although if you don't qualify as either of the above and have something meaningful to contribute, you're more than welcome to chime in.

A friend from up here is in a situation where she may be moving to Portland in the near-ish future to allow the partner to accept the dream job.  She has come to me seeking information on PDX and, more specifically, where she can go to find out more about the city.  Specifically stuff like neighborhoods, public transport, job searching, etc.

So, where should I point her?  Besides the obvious - Willie Week, Tri-Met, Oregon Live, etc.

I think of particular interest would be information on different neighborhoods, that included maps and maybe information on pricing of housing (both of the rental and purchase variety) would be especially helpful, as the potential job is located down off Macadam, which is not necessarily the most accessible of areas when it comes to public transportation.

Although the original House of Swank definitely fits the bill, both in terms of convenience and affordability.  House of Swank v2.0 - 8 years later - how strange would THAT be?

Request for Good Karma

Over the summer my Sweetie and I were in Portland one weekend, hanging out at the Barley Mill and drinking many beers with many good friends.  We had just recently made the decision to move to the 'Couv, and had started making that news public.

Whilst downing what was most likely a Terminator I said something to the effect of, "I'm going to start looking for jobs now, because ideally I'd like a part-time job for a non-profit that allows me to telecommute, so if the opportunity arises I don't want to miss it."  Figuring that such opportunity didn't exist, and I'd have to figure out a job once we got to town.

I just submitted my resume for that exact job.  So please send any positive karma you've got my way.  I shall return the favor upon request.

Really?

She's running for Governor?  That's the equivalent of Star Jones or Rosie O'Donnell running for President.

Thank God I'm not moving back to Oregon.

Third Annual SwankPoet Portland Baseball Extravaganza

For Immediate Release

The SwankPoets would like to announce their Third Annual Portland Baseball Extravaganza.  For those unfamiliar with the tradition, Swankette and TeacherRefPoet select one weekend each year to travel down to Portland for a Beavers game, and encourage everyone they know (and even people they don't know) to come along for fun.

This year's extravaganza will be Sunday, August 27, at 2:05 pm vs. Las Vegas.  Fan Appreciation Night!  The first 2,000 fans will receive a free 2007 calendar!  We'll purchase reserved tickets - since that seemed to work MUCH better than the year we tried to do general admission.  Infield Reserved are $13/each, so unless a majority want to save a few bucks to sit in the outfield ($10/each), we'll take that route once again.

We can hear your excuses now, "I'm too busy for a baseball game", "I'll be on vacation that week", "TRP scores the game and that intimidates me", "I never really liked y'all that much anyway."  Make as many excuses as you like, but keep in mind that there is a chance that this may be the FINAL SwankPoet Baseball Extravaganza, and if you miss out don't come crying to us later, because you had your shot at fun.  (There will, assuredly, still be baseball games in Portland in the future, but logistics may eliminate the desire for one single extravaganza every year).

As always, feel free to invite friends and loved ones to join us.  The more the merrier.  If you're interested, leave a comment or drop an e-mail.  Ideally we will be purchasing tickets mid-July, but if folks are on the fence we can extend that.  If you're someone we know, we can settle up later.

The Dark at the End of the Tunnel

This morning they imploded the cooling tower to the Trojan nuclear power plant.  Given that the plant was closed in 1993 it's a sensical sort of thing to do, as there is no longer a need for the tower, but I'm still a little bit sad about it. 

Trojan was located outside of Rainier, Oregon, across the river from Longview, Washington.  For the last 30 miles of I-5 in Washington you are just a few miles from Oregon, and can often see it across the Columbia River.  (Go to mapquest to see what I'm talking about.) 

Therefore, when making the drive from Seattle to Portland Trojan was a VERY important landmark along the way.  You start out 172 miles north of the Washington/Oregon border.  Until you get to milepost 100 you're in the Puget Sound Corridor, and Seattle bleeds into Tacoma which bleeds into Olympia, so you've got traffic to deal with the whole way.  And cop traps, especially in Fife.  So nary a chance to get bored on the drive.

Then you're a mere 18 miles from Centralia, the halfway point and where you stop for gas, or a big gulp at the AM/PM or a quick meal at the northernmost Burgerville on the planet.  Then you're in the middle of a cop trap to end all cop traps and a mere 10 miles from the roadside republican.  (Crazy guy has a billboard with Uncle Sam on it that he posts crazy right-wing messages on.  Used to be kinda witty and entertaining, but the last few years I think he's gotten old and senile so now they're just harsh). 

Now you're 72 miles north of the border, and you've got nothing but freeway until you get to Portland.  It's easy to just go insane with the highway and the trees.  But then, just half an hour later, you can see it.  Trojan!  Oregon!  It's a light at the end of the tunnel!  You can SEE the other state, so that must mean you've almost entered the other state!  Soon you will be done with that trip in the car!

But now, not so much.  Since you can't actually see the river from the highway, it's impossible to tell when you actually see Oregon, and when you just see more of Washington to the west.  Be warned my Portland friends, next time I make the trip South I may just snap around milepost 20 without that beacon of hope to greet me into the Beaver State.