The past couple of days my hands have straight up been too cold to type by the time I get back to Mark the van. Yesterday being my day off, I was excited to go up for another hike to the snow and get some more summer snowboarding in. However, on Sunday night, after spending my evening trying to thaw my fingers with my breath and some expired hand warmers; I decided it was time to get some sort of heat source.. even if it’s only a temporary solution.
So instead, I took the bus down the hill to Sandy to chip away at the long list of things I need to do before winter. Obviously, I had to skate beforehand. So I hit up the skatepark for a couple solid hours before making my way to Bi-Mart and Fred Meyers to weigh some options. I ended up walking away with a small, cost-effective propane heater. No, it’s not a permanent solution.. I ideally
want to rig up a diesel heater to avoid the moisture problem that seems to accompany propane heaters.. but it’s something I can crank for an hour or two on the fall nights that dip below freezing. $80 down the drain on a temporary solution; but I need to plan out the diesel heater and I know I will find a use for my little Buddy heater even after I get everything all figured out. Next project is getting the van’s actual vent heat back up and running; I think I have an air bubble trapped in my coolant line.. so next day off I’ll try to address that. It’s not terribly pressing, as I’m trying to give it a little break from driving at the moment anyway.
When I last left off on here, I was preparing to say farewell to my little spontaneous Portland adventure, in which I got a hotel room comp’ed by one of my “bosses”, and got to experience all the comforts and amenities of sleeping indoors, with a private bathroom and all the electricity I could ask for. It’s funny how much I appreciate these little things now. Well, smart decisions be damned, I actually ended up staying another night. This time on my own dime.
There’s a hostel in Portland that I have been meaning to check out. The reviews are full of high praise, and, well.. honestly I have no idea why I haven’t been here yet. Mainly just because I’m frugal, almost to a fault. A couple of times when I’ve ended up in Portland for the night by accident, I’ve opted to just sleep on the grass somewhere relatively safe and comfortable. But, after looking at the schedule to make sure I could actually get to work via public transportation for my 8:30 shift the next day, I said fuck it, and gave them my $36 for a one-night stay in the bunk room. It’s been a long time since I’ve stayed in a hostel, and I am admittedly not very well versed. However, I couldn’t have been happier with The Society.
Next time I am there, which will definitely be the next time I’m in Portland, I want to kind of give them a little local business post of their own. Thats actually something I want to start doing much more. All in good time. I did snap a couple photos, though, during my short time there to highlight some of the cute little amenities it has.
I somehow completely dropped the ball on taking any photos of the lobby, which is probably the most aesthetically pleasing part of the business.. oh well. But as you are buzzed in, you are greeted by friendly staff ahead of you, with a really nice little lounge serviced by the hostel cafe lighting up the corner. In between these two; an old school photo booth. I wish Apple would stop trying to auto-capitalize that, they existed long before your silly little app. From there, the elevator lays on your left, and a hallway leading to the bunk rooms on your right. After getting checked in, I stashed my stuff in the private locker each bunk is provided with, checked out the kitchenette and shower situation; but then immediately left so I could get some exploring done in the daylight. So more on all that later.
I didn’t head out without at least LOOKING at the roof top deck, however
So, while the sun was still high, I set off on foot to Washington Park; a massive, sprawling green space in the western hills of the city, of which I had frequented plenty of times before.. but it never really feels like you see all of it. It turns out, I didn’t really see any new parts of it this time lmao. I really wanted to go to the Japanese gardens; but they aren’t free as it turns out, and they also aren’t cheap. So I decided to save that for another time and set off for the rose gardens.
The rose garden is pretty fascinating even if you aren’t necessary into horticulture, flowers, or anything of the sort. It’s the oldest “test” rose garden in operation in the states, dating back to World War I; originally set up as a place to try and preserve European varieties. Amidst the throngs of photographers competing to get the best red shots, and couples lazily meandering around on their days off, you’ll also find some beautiful fountains, architecture and views of downtown Portland and the river beyond. It’s an objectively beautiful place; no matter who you may be or the reason for your visit. I was so close to the Japanese gardens, but alas, the $20 entry fee kept me away; I’ve been spending too much money lately. And I still had to make my monthly(let’s be real, turning into weekly) trip to Powell’s Books. So after some further aimless wandering, a phone call to my sister, and a stop at Trader Joe’s; I found myself yet again spending my money on further adding to my collection of books focused on local horror and the macabre.
I somehow forgot how to navigate this place. Just when I thought I had it down, I found myself awkwardly stumbling around a conference going on in the top room; where I could’ve sworn the horror section was. After realizing my mistake, I found where I thought I was, and ended up walking away with two books; one by Marcus Kliewer, a new-on-the-scene author who I discovered by accident in this very same section. I even wrote a review here on his first book, and enjoyed it very much; so I decided to chuck him a couple more bucks and read his new release. It still lies unopened in my backpack; but I’m excited to check it out. The other was a local PNW author with an exciting-sounding story about a punk band/horror crossover. Reminding me of the film Green Room, I was immediately sold. Even if they’re not my favorite books in the world, I can rest easy knowing at least my money is going into the pockets of small-time authors and independent bookstores. Powell’s doesn’t need my measly sheckles, but hey, whatever.
And who knows! Maybe they will be my favorite books ever. We’ll find out soon, as I will review them on here after I finish reading them. At this point in the day though, my backpack was heavy; the need to unload the perishables into the communal fridge back at The Society, and maybe charge my phone for a few minutes before grabbing the last of the daylight.
It was a shorter walk than I had planned. I had to catch the 5am train in order to get back to Mark in time for work the next day, and my phone has been failing to charge reliably. Which I couldn’t care less about- except for the fact that I still don’t know Portland quite well enough to trust myself without one. I do have a particularly good sense of direction, and know I could find my way back regardless.. o it was more the latter. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to sleep right away, and I still wanted to shower, eat and read some of my new books on the rooftop deck now that it was (hopefully) less crowded. It was, and despite it being cold(I had not brought any more than a long sleeve shirt to Portland as I hadn’t actually planned on coming here when I left two days earlier), I spent a good amount of my evening up enjoying the city lights on my “private” little roof top.
All in all, it was a damn near perfect day. Skateboarding, flowers, books, exploration- hell, even a fridge and shower. The only downside was crawling out of bed at 4am to begin a multiple connection labyrinth that turns a 1 hour trip into 3.5.. but hey, thats all good. Much love to you all 🖤