Still in Portland
Aug. 15th, 2006 11:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jenn_unpluggedI'm getting close to the end of my stay in Portland, and it's been a lot of fun. I'm really looking forward to seeing Doug on Thursday, though. He's stopping off here on his way to India. We both leave Saturday morning, heading different directions. I'm finally going home, and I'm basically glad. It's been a really interesting experience to travel so much this summer. I think I have a better understanding of what Doug's life is like now.
I've always been fascinated by cities, and I've dreamed of living in one since I was a teenager. It hasn't worked out for a variety of reasons, but I knew this summer, in which I would spend six weeks living in the middle of three different cities, would really give me a chance to live out my urban fantasy.
And you know what? I still love it! I like being in the center of everything. I like being able to walk to a cafe or a restaurant, to not need a car for weeks at a time, and to live in a building that has a doorman. I like stepping out the front door onto a bustling street. I like looking out the window and feeling like I'm in the middle of everything. I don't mind the noise, and in the beautiful green cities I've lived in this summer, I don't miss the yard. There's a park across the street from me now, and I don't have to mow the grass.
So these weeks have only reinforced to me that I would indeed love to live in an urban setting. Of course, there's one little problem -- it's very expensive. Our house now is big, bigger than we need, really, and if we lived in the center of our own city we'd half to cut that size down by two thirds. I could give up the yard, cause I never go out there anyway. I could give up the pool (which is really just a very expensive hole in the ground). But I like my big kitchen and my big laundry room and my big closet and my home theater. Those would be hard to give up. But goah, ot would be nice to be able to walk to a grocery store or a coffee shop or a bakery. *sigh*
On another note, I just had a birthday! I'm 35 years old. o_0 Isn't that bizarre? My mother was 35 when I graduated from high school, which is rather frightening. Of course, my students told me the other day that they thought I was about 28. They wanted to know how someone so young could have a PhD. LOL! They were probably just kissing up in hopes of getting a better grade, but they're all graduate students -- so that's not necessarily the case. I've gotten carded here a lot more than I do at home, so maybe I look young by Portland standards. Heh.
So my birthday came and went with no Doug, which was sad. Of course, he was in Colorado to be with his parents -- his dad had surgery -- so he had a very good excuse. His dad came through the surgery okay, but we're still waiting to hear what happens next. :-/
But I got to spend a good chunk of the day with Laura, a friend who lives here in Portland, and we had a great time! She took me on a driving tour of Portland, and we went to her house (where I finally got to meet her husband and adorable children) and had dim sum for dinner! It was a nice day. :-)
I posted a week or so ago that Doug had gotten me a big surprise birthday present, and I'm ready to reveal what it is. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around it, actually!
Backstory: I subscribe to Sirius satellite radio, and one of my favorite stations on Sirius is Broadway's Best, which basically plays show tunes all the time. My very favorite DJ on that station is Seth Rudetsky, who is a Broadway personality. If you don't know who he is, it's kind of hard to explain how awesome this gift is, but suffice it to say he's sort of a Jay Leno for Broadway geeks, only more knowledgeable, snarkier, and funnier. When we went to the Tony's, he did hilarious little trivia segments that we played on the screens during the commercial breaks. In addition to being a virtual encyclopedia of Briadway trivia, he is generally well known for his musical arranging and playing in orchestras for shows, among other things. On the Broadway channel on Sirius, he does a daily show called "Seth's Big Fat Broadway", and Doug and I listen to it whenever we can.
So, back to my birthday present. Doug saw a charity auction and noticed that one of the items up for auction was a chance to be a guest co-host on Seth's show. And... he won it for me for my birthday! I was completely stunned, because this is not the sort of thing you just get to do, you know? This is sort of like getting to sit next to Conan and crack jokes with him, or play with your favorite band during a concert! I mean, really -- I'm still going OMG I'M GOING TO MEET SETH AND BE ON HIS SHOW????
So I have a lot of research to do, obviously. Doug and I have really spent a lot of time seeing shows in New York and London in the last ten years, and I have a lot of stories to tell and questions I'm dying to ask Seth. I would be happy to just get to have drinks with him, but OMG I WILL BE ON NATIONAL RADIO when I do it!!! 0_0 I'm beyond excited -- I'm intimidated and thrilled and flabbergasted, to say the least! Doug said that he chose between bidding on this and a walk-on role in Rent, and I have to say this is SO MUCH COOLER. I'm not that interested in being onstage anymore, but talking with amazingly cool knowledgeable and famous people about theatre??? *dies*
So that is a really amazing gift, and I'm still stunned. I'm thinking 35 is getting off to a great start. :-)
I've always been fascinated by cities, and I've dreamed of living in one since I was a teenager. It hasn't worked out for a variety of reasons, but I knew this summer, in which I would spend six weeks living in the middle of three different cities, would really give me a chance to live out my urban fantasy.
And you know what? I still love it! I like being in the center of everything. I like being able to walk to a cafe or a restaurant, to not need a car for weeks at a time, and to live in a building that has a doorman. I like stepping out the front door onto a bustling street. I like looking out the window and feeling like I'm in the middle of everything. I don't mind the noise, and in the beautiful green cities I've lived in this summer, I don't miss the yard. There's a park across the street from me now, and I don't have to mow the grass.
So these weeks have only reinforced to me that I would indeed love to live in an urban setting. Of course, there's one little problem -- it's very expensive. Our house now is big, bigger than we need, really, and if we lived in the center of our own city we'd half to cut that size down by two thirds. I could give up the yard, cause I never go out there anyway. I could give up the pool (which is really just a very expensive hole in the ground). But I like my big kitchen and my big laundry room and my big closet and my home theater. Those would be hard to give up. But goah, ot would be nice to be able to walk to a grocery store or a coffee shop or a bakery. *sigh*
On another note, I just had a birthday! I'm 35 years old. o_0 Isn't that bizarre? My mother was 35 when I graduated from high school, which is rather frightening. Of course, my students told me the other day that they thought I was about 28. They wanted to know how someone so young could have a PhD. LOL! They were probably just kissing up in hopes of getting a better grade, but they're all graduate students -- so that's not necessarily the case. I've gotten carded here a lot more than I do at home, so maybe I look young by Portland standards. Heh.
So my birthday came and went with no Doug, which was sad. Of course, he was in Colorado to be with his parents -- his dad had surgery -- so he had a very good excuse. His dad came through the surgery okay, but we're still waiting to hear what happens next. :-/
But I got to spend a good chunk of the day with Laura, a friend who lives here in Portland, and we had a great time! She took me on a driving tour of Portland, and we went to her house (where I finally got to meet her husband and adorable children) and had dim sum for dinner! It was a nice day. :-)
I posted a week or so ago that Doug had gotten me a big surprise birthday present, and I'm ready to reveal what it is. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around it, actually!
Backstory: I subscribe to Sirius satellite radio, and one of my favorite stations on Sirius is Broadway's Best, which basically plays show tunes all the time. My very favorite DJ on that station is Seth Rudetsky, who is a Broadway personality. If you don't know who he is, it's kind of hard to explain how awesome this gift is, but suffice it to say he's sort of a Jay Leno for Broadway geeks, only more knowledgeable, snarkier, and funnier. When we went to the Tony's, he did hilarious little trivia segments that we played on the screens during the commercial breaks. In addition to being a virtual encyclopedia of Briadway trivia, he is generally well known for his musical arranging and playing in orchestras for shows, among other things. On the Broadway channel on Sirius, he does a daily show called "Seth's Big Fat Broadway", and Doug and I listen to it whenever we can.
So, back to my birthday present. Doug saw a charity auction and noticed that one of the items up for auction was a chance to be a guest co-host on Seth's show. And... he won it for me for my birthday! I was completely stunned, because this is not the sort of thing you just get to do, you know? This is sort of like getting to sit next to Conan and crack jokes with him, or play with your favorite band during a concert! I mean, really -- I'm still going OMG I'M GOING TO MEET SETH AND BE ON HIS SHOW????
So I have a lot of research to do, obviously. Doug and I have really spent a lot of time seeing shows in New York and London in the last ten years, and I have a lot of stories to tell and questions I'm dying to ask Seth. I would be happy to just get to have drinks with him, but OMG I WILL BE ON NATIONAL RADIO when I do it!!! 0_0 I'm beyond excited -- I'm intimidated and thrilled and flabbergasted, to say the least! Doug said that he chose between bidding on this and a walk-on role in Rent, and I have to say this is SO MUCH COOLER. I'm not that interested in being onstage anymore, but talking with amazingly cool knowledgeable and famous people about theatre??? *dies*
So that is a really amazing gift, and I'm still stunned. I'm thinking 35 is getting off to a great start. :-)
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no subject
Date: 2006-08-16 06:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-22 10:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-16 11:01 am (UTC)And belated happy birthday for the glorious twelfth.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-22 10:39 pm (UTC)How are you feeling these days? You must have quite a round tummy by now. :-D
no subject
Date: 2006-08-16 12:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-22 10:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-16 01:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-22 10:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-16 02:02 pm (UTC)I can understand the appeal of living in an urban situation -- I currently have the best of both worlds, living in the (quiet, sedate) suburbs, but also living on the edge of downtown Redmond -- which means I'm within walking distance of a grocery (across the street), a Starbucks (ditto), a Tully's (a competing coffee shop which I think is better), a movie theater, a gym, the place I get my hair cut, the library, the post office, city hall and a few nice parks around it, a craft store, a Jamba Juice, several fast-food places, several nice restaurants including one VERY nice seafood restaurant (across the street), a full-size shopping mall with a second theater, and on and on and on. You name it, I can walk to it, and on top of that, I have easy access to a superb bus system.
I also don't have to mow my own lawn, as our condo association handles that. And I wouldn't miss having a yard at all -- I'm allergic to grass! :)
The only things I'd like are a bigger kitchen and a room dedicated to our exercise equipment, which is large and bulky. But in order to get that, we'd have to move. And if we move, no more easy access to everything. This is about as big as a condo gets in this neighborhood.
Sooooo we're talking about remodeling, instead of moving! I'm sure sooner or later we'll decide we want a bigger place, but right at the moment I have no desire to leave my cozy little area. And I can't imagine what it would be like to live in downtown, say, Bellevue. It would rock, but wow, it would be seriously expensive.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-22 10:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-23 12:22 am (UTC)*g* Don't mind me, I'm just a refugee from the Midwest and love living somewhere where it only gets above 80 for three or four days per year.
no subject
Date: 2006-08-16 04:48 pm (UTC)I'm still in awe over those books we saw...zounds...
and DAMN I'll have to try to listen on a Sirius pass because I want to hear you on the radio! Cool, Doug!
no subject
Date: 2006-08-22 10:44 pm (UTC)I know you can get a one-day guest pass to listen. I'll be sure to make a post about that when the time comes around.