some girls wander by mistake.

i have been working on this list for a ridiculously long time. inspired by makenmelodye, verybadhorse, and the mighty life list on the mightygirl blog, i had a loose idea what i wanted this list to accomplish.

but now it's nearly the end of the year, when most people are starting to think about their Year In Review or Resolutions (or: resolutions) for the new year. i wanted to post this before i even went there: while a lot of items on my "mighty maximalist list" may be goals or hopes of some kind, there's a pretty clear difference. maybe. a work in progress, but here is the start of my list:



bike one way to/from seattle (or: do a multi-day bicycle tour) | brew my own kombucha | climb a mountain | complete immunotherapy and never have allergies again | dance with a complete stranger for more than two songs | develop all the mysterious rolls of film in my possession | drink homemade moonshine | experience maple taffy/candy (or: eat sugar on snow) | foster fuzzy creatures | get a henna tattoo that sprawls a large portion of my body (shoulders?) | get a masters degree | get all of my music, A-Z, on one hard drive, organized by genre | get hair extensions | get professional prints of 10 of my best photographs | give $1,000 to a charity that means a lot to me | go camping | go to carnival in Trinidad | go to kensington market in Toronto | join the sisters of perpetual indulgence | know how to make 10 classy old-fashioned cocktails without consulting the internet (thanks, m!) | learn bicycle maintenance | learn how to make a really good savory pie | learn how to poach an egg | learn how to play one song on one instrument | learn specific dance styles and practice at bars with abandon | live in a foreign country for one month (or longer) | make a remixed track | make cotton candy | open for a band i really like | own a pinball machine | own a tent | own or open a bar or restaurant | play a videogame for one hour with attention to the rules and an interest to do well | read a book in French | read or experience every play written by Shakespeare | record a DJ set and send copies to penpals and friends | ride 10 roller coasters i've never ridden | ride in a cop car | run a mile | see a broadway musical | see leonard cohen perform live | snow-shoe (and/or board?) | stay in the ice hotel | take a cross-country roadtrip (yes, another one) | take a kick-boxing class | take a self-defense class | touch a theramin | try caviar | try to ride a unicycle or tallbike | undo the karmic injustices of the world and meet david bowie | visit 10 u.s. states i've never been to (or maybe…all of them?) | visit mackinac island in Michigan | visit marsh's free museum in long beach, Washington | volunteer at an animal shelter or humane society | volunteer for cannes film festival | volunteer with the sloths in costa rica | watch the director commentary tracks on 5 of my favorite films | wear fake eyelashes with abandon | write short, creative pieces of writing

things i learned last night:
-the aladdin theatre has a very strict "no professional cameras" policy
-i cannot run more than one block
-stephen merritt is a hobbit of a man, but i love him all the same
-i do not like monopolowa vodka

-lily allen
-janet jackson

but specifically:


(the official video is amazing, but no embedding)

-london: 50+ miles of biking, parks, madame jojos, bbc, H&M, fish n' chips, camden town.
-amsterdam: more biking, reunions, homomonument, pancakes; missed a flight/airport drama with the dutch.
-vienna: everything & everywhere with babsi, desserts, baroque & art nouveau, H&M, patrick wolf; platz.
-prague: old and touristy beauty; astronomical clock, charles bridge, marionettes.
-nyc: coney island, gay bar, artichoke pizza, subways, 7.5 miles of walking.

conquered at the new abode:

-unpacking and situating furniture. there's still boxes upon boxes (books and decor, mostly), but things are mostly functional now.
-commuting to work. includes a this beautiful view (this morning, greygreygrey; monday morning, clouds leaving shadows upon forest park across the river) on my bike.
-opening windows that had been painted (?) shut. almost all are functional now, which has been absolutely necessary in this heat (and conversely, during beautiful cool nights like last night).
-new locks.
-local eateries (sushi and thai; we're not counting getting-ice-cream-every-day-from-7-11 a "local eatery"). the two nearest restaurants are passable for sushi/thai fixes in a pinch, but are nothing amazing.
-(beginning to) landscape the backyard. i was going to let all this go until spring, seeing as my garden is all in pots and i have a thousand other things to do anyway, but yesterday's weather was astoundingly beautiful, so i started shoveling a path and making beds for a winter garden (!).
-tile. only i'm not doing this one: i found a pretty awesome contractor whom i've enjoyed having around the house. by next week, i'll be the owner of a black & white checkerboard tiled kitchen and dining room.

(last vegas post--other than pictures--i promise.)

-the strip (las vegas blvd) is by and large not an expansively long area (from north to south, no more than 2.5-3 miles).
-public transit is $3 one way, and the buses take longer than walking.
-cab drivers starting fare at $3.50 may or may not be better than the bus. that said, cab drivers who take you on "short cuts" off the strip that end up tagging on an extra 2 miles are doubtfully better than walking/busing.
-drivers, while driving willingly (regularly?) in vegas, hate pedestrians and traffic, and make this known as audibly as possible.
-shuttles to/from hotel to/from airport are $6-6.50 a person and definitely the most efficient way to go.
-slot machines (by and large) do not take coins, nor do the cashiers.
-vegetarianism is a concept as foreign as vegetables.
-tap water is totally drinkable.
-customer service is optional.
-ladies: your skimpiest dress and/or lowest cut top will never make you think twice--you'll probably still be one of the more conservatively dressed; dudes: it is totally cool to wear your beer bongs around your neck, and worry not about whether or not your collared striped shirt clashes or matches with your dudebros striped shirt.
-like new orleans (but with less incentive), there are no open container laws, which means you can walk/drink everywhere.
-vegas would be intolerable sober.
-it is, apparently, still cool to play "rump shaker."
-for the city that never sleeps, it also never swims (our hotel pool closed at 7pm).

casino summary: treasure island is self-contained creme-de-la-creme (good AND cheap restaurants, not smoky, comfortable rooms, amazing beds); the mirage appears to be completely passable with nothing (other than a beatles-themed bar) extraordinary or awful; the palazzo is new and shiny but plays good 80s music in the casino lobby; circus circus smells like 1986; paris could be better, and could use saucier/thematic cocktail waitress uniforms; flamingo should either be tackier or nicer, but needs to commit to one or the other; stratosphere only gives good drink service to men; wild bill's saloon just might be completely depressing.

i never thought i'd say this, but for essentially being the same city with a different schtick, orlando is doing tourism and customer service and fun stuff and efficiency the way it should be done. i was moderately aware of overly pleasant service after living in the shadow of the mouse after 15 years, but now in contrast all i can say is VEGAS UR DOIN IT WRONG.

01/12-01/27: salt lake city
02/25-03/04ish: san franny
06/04-06/08: vegas

there is schemin' for some euro-action this year, for fall. it is so hypothetical and contingent on other factors (always $, james, crashing) that i can't even think about it. but i wanna.

oh, sweet gloriousness. it's drizzling, overcast. all the windows are open and the house is 71 degrees inside (66 outside). tomorrow's high is 68. i have to remember this...this in august (and the memory of a very chilly june) when i am lost in a sea of misery that is created by hot weather. like this past weekend.

and it's almost september. which, at some point, means fall. fall leaves. less sun. more rain. cool, cold. then...october.

and yeah, i've been thinking about halloween. i bought some supplies this weekend to improve on my costume (just a few details were in need of upgrading). i still need shoes. and, i might need a second costume, depending on and what else is going on in stumptown (and/or the emerald city) for hallow's eve.

october means:
-the bitch magazine sm[art] auction (judy chicago!)
-i will be having a (small) party!
-halloween falls on a friday (shut up and dance!)
-i may be (co)organizing a costumed bike ride!
-i may be going to seattle again (H&M!)
-pumpkins!

(this post is so nerdy i almost got embarrassed and deleted it...but, i'm not going to.)