Naked Bicycle Race

Portland has a few naked bicycle races every year. I hear Europe is way into it also. If I'm in Portland for one of them I might have to join (as in DUH I'm totally going on a naked bicycle race). Although, after considering it, I would prefer to wear underwear.

Don't go too fast, but I go pretty far

I bought a bicycle yesterday. It's my size (miniaturized) and gold with sparkling handle bars and I love it. Today I bought a lock and helmet. Then I sat in my room for about fifteen minutes slowly becoming more and more anxious about having to ride it in public. I haven't been on a bike in like, five years. I finally gathered enough courage and went for it. And it was worth the ride :) I'm absolutely obsessed. I've been riding around all day. When I was younger I used to ride around with no hands, turning corners while putting my hair in a ponytail or just holding the seat. Now I can barely take one hand off without scaring the crap out of myself. So I've set a mini goal for myself: I will ride my bike with no handlebars (sorta like this song) in less than three days. I'm not gonna lie, my bum is soooo sore from today's ride. 

Speaking of bums, I got the job at Levi's. I received the phone call last night, before I was going into my first class of this quarter. I'm hired on as seasonal, but I'm going to make them want me for longer. I've decided that I really love the look that Levi's is going for, and I might stick with the company for awhile. 

So I just decided to look up a whole bunch of Levi's commercials....

I love how somebody whispers "Dacron Polyster" after the narrator says it.

This one's really cute (bad quality, but really cute):

And this one was just done really well:

I think I remember seeing that one on tv back in the day.

Anyways, of course I have a class tomorrow at 10:00 and I decide to get the worst insomnia ever. I should be exhausted from all the bicycling I've been doing.

Bent Image Lab

Look who I accidentally just discovered on Vimeo....Unbelievable songs and ridiculous videos. I digg 

"Whale Song" for Modest Mouse from Bent Image Lab on Vimeo.

Thom Yorke, "Harrowdown Hill" from Bent Image Lab on Vimeo.

A New Poem

Here's a new poem, haven't written one in awhile....

BOOM

In January

I discovered that

There had been a stifled a scream

Stuck somewhere deep within the security

Of my rib cage

What happened was

Sound had quietly seeped out through the cracks

Like the first formed cancer cell in a solid body

Infiltrating and conquering

And when the bomb finally went off

My insides rained out in all directions.

After and for so long

I heard the whistling of air

As it moved across a wet surface

Turns out the noise

Was just a shortening of space

As my limbs congregated in the middle

Searching for

And sticking to

One and other

Some More Tunes

Another local favorite who I heard about through Katy Wong...

Ah Holly Family. I dig it, kinda reminds me of Akron/Family mixed with Sufjan (God knows why?)



I also haven't stopped listening to Band of Horses lately. I unfortunately missed them in concert last year, it was a horrible mistake. This video is kind of boring, but it reminds me that slosh ball is an amazing game and I might have to plan a slosh ball palooza soon.




Next, I would like to recognize some of my best friend's from home and their band "Infantree". They just came out with a new album called "Would Work" that is absolutely amazing and you can buy it here:
INFANTREE'S ALBUM
(or at Amoeba or at Best Buy!! Congrats guys!!!) And this is one of my faves by them. They're folksy and awesome :)



Speak Up from Infantree on Vimeo.


ATTENTION INFANTREE: PLEASE GO ON TOUR AND VISIT ME IN PORTLAND BECAUSE US PORTLANDERS WILL WELCOME YOU WITH OPEN ARMS AND LOUD APPLAUSE <3 <3


And then there is also ">Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros


And the new Black Keys album is great and this is the cutest video EVER:





Last but not least, I thought I'd share this song with you because it has become the signature dance song at the parties lately. Introduced to me by Chris, Parker, and Joe <3

A Few New Tunes

The entire XX album is sooooo amazing. I've been listening to it nonstop for the past three weeks. There is also a remix done with Notorious B.I.G. that you can download for free right here:


http://www.waitwhatmusic.com/files/notoriousxx.html



Lately there has been tons of local Portland music that I'm so down with. Like Y La Bamba...



Y LA BAMBA "MY LOVE IS A FOREST FIRE" from Dugan O'Neal on Vimeo.


Love this music video and their sound.


Interestingly, the first house show I ever went to in Portland was last year and a band called Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside. They had a great folk noise and now, a year later, I'm discovering that the random indie band playing in the basement of some guy's house actually has quite a large following....





I'm off for now, but I'll have more coming up later :)

Phenomena

My parents left to go home yesterday, only after helping me to move my furniture in and make my room look absolutely lovely. I'm very pleased with how it turned out, it feels really homey :)


After they left I kinda sat around all day and then went to the Widmer Brewfest with Camila and her roommate and her roommate's friend. It was absolutely beautiful out and the brew was great..but it was a very long day. Before going to the brewfest we had two cocktails, then had two beers at the brewfest, then stopped at my house and took another shot, and then went to see one of the most epic concerts ever and had two more beers. (Heels ended up not being a good choice, hahaha) 


Anyways, Tu Fawning (who I had never heard of but absolutely loved) opened and then Akron/Family came on next. I was going to the show to see Akron/Family and they are some of the best performers I have every experienced. They had the entire audience so into it and, not to mention, their lyrics are unbelievable. I didn't even know who the headlining band was (I thought it was supposed to be Akron/Family) and Camila and I were so drunk by the time Menomena came on that we just left half way through their set (they weren't nearly as good as Akron/Family). I had the hang over from hell today....





The great news is that Music Fest Northwest is going on until the end of the month and Ratatat, Broken Social Scene, and Built to Spill are all headlining. Ratatat is going to be unbelievable. The bad news is I don't have a job yet (I haven't even looked, haha) and so I really can't afford to go to any of it. Oh, Die Antwoord is playing also and I feel like that would be such a funny concert. Crap, I gotta start making an income. Especially if I expect to pay my bills hahahaha.


So life is good :) I've got a great apartment and I'm surrounded by great live music. I'm going job searching tomorrow, wish me luck.

Day and Night

I finally made it to the library today to print out transcript order forms. I'll stick them in the mail tomorrow and then hope for the best =)

I'm also going to go job searching tomorrow. I really hope I can get a chill cocktailing job again. For some reason regular serving really stresses me out. Serving people drinks is just so much more enjoyable. And I really want to train to bartend. I'm feeling confident enough to do it. Then tomorrow night I'm going to make a really great vegetarian lasagna and salad for when my parents get in. Maybe I'll bake them a pie also. It's so great to be cooking again =) And I'm so excited to see them again!!!!!

We're watching Dexter's Lab at Carlee's right now and drinking wine and I forgot how funny this show is. Dexter is a tiny little tweerp and they make fun of how small he is all the time. It's a cartoon about myself! hahahaha

I'm starting school in two weeks. My schedule is looking pretty legit. I have two night classes and my capstone. The capstone is a six-credit class that is required to graduate. I'm taking "Educational Equity" so I'll be tutoring little kids. I'm actually really excited about it, haha. I've gone back to wanting to teach after I graduate. I think I'll do the Teach for America thing, then teach abroad for a year or two, then go back to school, then become a regular teacher or something.

I'm also taking a News Writing class, which I'm excited about. I'm not sure if I'll actually like it, just because I don't usually write like that. But writing is pretty much fun no matter what. So it's all good. And the other class is a Warner Bros movie class. Yay for my schedule.

When I took my little cousins to see Toy Story 3 a few weeks ago, this short came on before the movie started. It's simply brilliant.


Night & Day
Uploaded by prasil_lxi. - Classic TV and last night's shows, online.

Back In Portland

I can't believe it's only been a week since I've been back in Portland. So much has happened! My cousins ended up flying in the same day I did (by complete accident) so I hung out with them a bit. I eventually found a place to live a few days ago. My landlord is awesome and the location is legit. I'm very happy with it. But it's driving me crazy that I have to wait another week until my parents come up with my bed and an office desk. Everything's just on the floor and scattered all over the place, so all my shit is at Carlee's and I've been bed hopping all week. I'm such a bum!

That's me at my new place =)

I've got a crazy amount of things to be doing right now, but instead I'm blogging. I still have to move my futon and tv out of Carlee's, find a job, set up internet at my place (I'm at Coffee Time using their free internet) and I need to find a printer so I can order transcripts for Australia. 

I'm getting more and more excited about the whole Australia thing. I was having cold feet before, but now I'm super stoked to go on another crazy adventure. Plus, traveling alone sounds like such an amazing experience. I think it's a great way to discover trust, not only in other people, but in myself. I go through phases where I'm terrible at trusting myself and I get really nervous and lonely and kinda cut myself off from everything. But I kinda like when that happens. Life isn't suppose to be stable all the time. Actually, now that I think of it, it's rarely a stable thing. So, while I'm young, irresponsible and unstable, I think I should spend my time traveling...because it sounds amazing =)  

I've got one more year before I graduate and then I have to start paying back loans and I guess grow up. Booo, that sounds so lame. Maybe I'll just flee the country and go to Buenos Aires. That sounds like a better plan. Or maybe I'll fall head over heels in love and become a housewife, like this song by CocoRosie...