Today, as the bus was turning off Naito Pkwy towards PSU, the back door suddenly flew open. The bus driver turned off the engine and stomped to the back, shouting, "You'd think for a quarter of a million dollars you'd get a bus with doors that stay shut!!"
Next to me, Clarence whispered, "He's always yelling at the bus, every time I ride this route..."
I met Clarence as part of my ongoing research to find out what people listen to while riding the bus. (Fully half this bus was plugged in.) The guy in front of me was reading Ursula LeGuin and rocking his head back and forth. The 18-year-old in front of me, a cross between clean-cut kid and wanna-be gangsta, was listening to the soundtrack from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."
I asked Clarence--a black guy in his late 20's with a soft, round face--what he was listening to. Seems he's a heavy metal fan and his morning music of choice was Mastodon. (He also likes Celtic Frost and Slayer and others whose names I couldn't hear over the driver's shouting at the door.)
Something else about Clarence -- he rides the 54/56 bus all the way north downtown to catch the #44 bus, which he then rides back south to his web design class at PCC Sylvania. Why don't you just hop off in Hillsdale and switch buses and save yourself about 45 minutes, I ask. Well, the bus is too crowded then.
Just another Bus Fan, riding the bus....
P.S. Don't miss more results of my "What are You Listening to Today on the Bus" research...coming soon!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head (Snow, too...)
Portlanders have an strange relationship with rain: they either exaggerate it wildly or they downplay it ludicrously.
Conversation in November during my first month of non-stop rain:
Me: Does it always rain like this?
Guy at bus stop: Yes, and it won't stop until April, so you'd better get used to it.
Conversation in December after doing laps in my basement:
Me: Does it ever stop raining here?
Girl at bus stop: Rain? It's a great day today! I can see some light up there coming through, even some sky...You know, Portland gets a lot less rain than other cities.
Me: Oh? Like which cities?
Girl (without any shame): You know, like in California, like San Francisco or even San Diego.
Me: (Stunned silence).
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Service Portland Style
Last night I took a friend visiting from California to the Doug Fir Room...we skipped the band and went into the bar. Great bread pudding, good blackberry cosmos, not too crowded at 11 p.m. No one came over so I went up to the bar and ordered from the bartender -- nice guy in kind of a laid-back, you're-lucky-I'm-your-bartender kind of way...It struck me once again that Portland has a "service style" that I keep bumping into...
1. On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being amazing, 10 being L.A. "I'm doing you a big favor by serving you because I'm really an undiscovered star" un-service), Portland is a 6.
2. Service here is usually friendly, not over-the-top warm and connecting, but friendly in kind of an offhand way. There's kind of a "I'm waiting on you but I'm more than just this job, you know" attitude--kind of a hip, cool, insouciant friendliness...
3. Notable exception -- Britta at North Star Coffee Shop -- so cheerful and warm in a real and honest way, not fakey at all. And she is more than a coffee server; she's got a business making countertops from sustainable materials. Another exception -- Jake at Sesame Donuts in Raleigh Hills, SW Portland. (see Feb. 17 blog).
4. Way over on the more-cool-than-warm side was a recent night out at Montage. My daughter took me there as a must-do Portland experience. The service was slow, no surprise there. But it was the woman at the front desk (if this were a diner we'd call her the hostess...), would walk ahead and then crook her finger a la Queen Elizabeth at her mightiest to show people to their seats. Amazing! No smile, just a regal nod of the head and stroll back up to the front. I accidentally hailed the woman serving water, thinking she was the waitress (who must have been outside taking a cigarette break and stayed for the entire pack). All of a sudden, our waitperson flew over and huffily said she would take our order...It was kind of funny, actually....and I guess just part of the whole experience. (The food was just not good enough to balance out the indifferent service, but the cocktail--Stinky Kitty? Dirty Kitty? Kitty Litter?--was boffo...a few of those and you wouldn't care if the server ever showed up again!)
1. On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being amazing, 10 being L.A. "I'm doing you a big favor by serving you because I'm really an undiscovered star" un-service), Portland is a 6.
2. Service here is usually friendly, not over-the-top warm and connecting, but friendly in kind of an offhand way. There's kind of a "I'm waiting on you but I'm more than just this job, you know" attitude--kind of a hip, cool, insouciant friendliness...
3. Notable exception -- Britta at North Star Coffee Shop -- so cheerful and warm in a real and honest way, not fakey at all. And she is more than a coffee server; she's got a business making countertops from sustainable materials. Another exception -- Jake at Sesame Donuts in Raleigh Hills, SW Portland. (see Feb. 17 blog).
4. Way over on the more-cool-than-warm side was a recent night out at Montage. My daughter took me there as a must-do Portland experience. The service was slow, no surprise there. But it was the woman at the front desk (if this were a diner we'd call her the hostess...), would walk ahead and then crook her finger a la Queen Elizabeth at her mightiest to show people to their seats. Amazing! No smile, just a regal nod of the head and stroll back up to the front. I accidentally hailed the woman serving water, thinking she was the waitress (who must have been outside taking a cigarette break and stayed for the entire pack). All of a sudden, our waitperson flew over and huffily said she would take our order...It was kind of funny, actually....and I guess just part of the whole experience. (The food was just not good enough to balance out the indifferent service, but the cocktail--Stinky Kitty? Dirty Kitty? Kitty Litter?--was boffo...a few of those and you wouldn't care if the server ever showed up again!)
Saturday, February 17, 2007
A Discourse on Donuts or Open Sesame!
An Ode to Donuts
Donuts...I love them. They're so uncomplicated, so unpretentious. Simple round shape, dependable hole in the middle...and most of all, they cost less than $1, not like the $2.25+ you'll spend on a fancy (but not always good) scone or croissant...
Every place I've lived in has had a great donut place -- Puck's Donuts in Ashland, Mary's Donuts way out east in San Diego, Sunshine Donuts in San Antonio, and the beignets at Cafe du Monde in New Orleans (which are their version of donuts, and once you've had some, you're never the same...)...and now Sesame Donuts in Portland. It's actually closer to Beaverton, along Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy., but the 54/56 bus will take you there in 20 minutes from downtown...it's worth it, believe me....
Open Sesame!
Sesame Donuts is open 24 hours...and true to their name, they've got sesame donuts -- a crunchy saltiness that contrasts with the sweetness. It's folksy, the donuts are fresh and the 15 donuts holes for $1 is a great deal.
Don't Miss Jake
Best of all, they've got Jake. He works the night shift, making the donuts, serving people from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., when he either goes to his PSU classes or home to sleep until noon. He likes his job, he really likes eating donuts--either a maple bar, his favorite, or a handful of donut holes. He's friendly no matter how early in the a.m., and he'll take the time to get you fresh-baked old fashioned out of the back, or he'll wait while you choose from the usual donut line-up...no eye-rolling, sighing or tapping of feet while you choose between chocolate frosted sprinkles, marble bars, twist sticks, toasted coconut, pumpkin spice....or just a bag of donut holes..
That VooDoo That You Do
A sidebar on Voodoo Donuts -- okay, I was curious to go there when I first read about it -- despite the fact that they've been featured on The Tonight Show, Good Morning American, Wall St. Journal, New York Times, Food Network, etc. etc.---a sure sign that a place has gone from too cool to yawn...I figured it was still a Must on the Must-See in Portland list (like Montage, but more about that another time...) Their Voodoo Wedding services ($25 for an intentional commitment, $175 for the real thing) are pretty clever....but...here's the kicker...
Their donuts aren't anything special--and definitely not as good as Sesame Donuts AND
The folks behind the counter were snotty...yes, I know that if you work in such a hyper-hip place, your attitude should say "I'm really much more than a person serving donuts," but it kinda soured me on the donuts -- good thing, too, because they were super-sweet, and I didn't even try the ones with Lucky Charms on top...
So, I'm sticking to Sesame Donuts -- and Jake...
Donuts...I love them. They're so uncomplicated, so unpretentious. Simple round shape, dependable hole in the middle...and most of all, they cost less than $1, not like the $2.25+ you'll spend on a fancy (but not always good) scone or croissant...
Every place I've lived in has had a great donut place -- Puck's Donuts in Ashland, Mary's Donuts way out east in San Diego, Sunshine Donuts in San Antonio, and the beignets at Cafe du Monde in New Orleans (which are their version of donuts, and once you've had some, you're never the same...)...and now Sesame Donuts in Portland. It's actually closer to Beaverton, along Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy., but the 54/56 bus will take you there in 20 minutes from downtown...it's worth it, believe me....
Open Sesame!
Sesame Donuts is open 24 hours...and true to their name, they've got sesame donuts -- a crunchy saltiness that contrasts with the sweetness. It's folksy, the donuts are fresh and the 15 donuts holes for $1 is a great deal.
Don't Miss Jake
Best of all, they've got Jake. He works the night shift, making the donuts, serving people from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., when he either goes to his PSU classes or home to sleep until noon. He likes his job, he really likes eating donuts--either a maple bar, his favorite, or a handful of donut holes. He's friendly no matter how early in the a.m., and he'll take the time to get you fresh-baked old fashioned out of the back, or he'll wait while you choose from the usual donut line-up...no eye-rolling, sighing or tapping of feet while you choose between chocolate frosted sprinkles, marble bars, twist sticks, toasted coconut, pumpkin spice....or just a bag of donut holes..
That VooDoo That You Do
A sidebar on Voodoo Donuts -- okay, I was curious to go there when I first read about it -- despite the fact that they've been featured on The Tonight Show, Good Morning American, Wall St. Journal, New York Times, Food Network, etc. etc.---a sure sign that a place has gone from too cool to yawn...I figured it was still a Must on the Must-See in Portland list (like Montage, but more about that another time...) Their Voodoo Wedding services ($25 for an intentional commitment, $175 for the real thing) are pretty clever....but...here's the kicker...
Their donuts aren't anything special--and definitely not as good as Sesame Donuts AND
The folks behind the counter were snotty...yes, I know that if you work in such a hyper-hip place, your attitude should say "I'm really much more than a person serving donuts," but it kinda soured me on the donuts -- good thing, too, because they were super-sweet, and I didn't even try the ones with Lucky Charms on top...
So, I'm sticking to Sesame Donuts -- and Jake...
Friday, February 16, 2007
We're all a Bit Crazy on This Bus
In five months riding the bus, so far I've only seen one serious crazy -- an emaciated little guy with blonde hair and thick black glasses (not the hip kind) who was shouting at another guy to "stop staring at me, look the other way right now" and "what are you, some kind of homo?" (This guy was definitely not au courant with Portland P.C. Speak)...Everyone else looked in the other direction...
It could be the route - 54/56 through Hillsdale, so there aren't a lot of seriously whacked-out types you normally see on city buses...but it could be that Portlanders are often painfully polite so in general, there's just less rowdiness...I'm definitely going to start taking other buses to other parts of the city to explore this thought.
A new Bus Friend
I made a friend on the bus - he's a PSU grad student majoring in finance from Kashgar, China...he noticed me on the bus with my Turkish flash cards and we started talking, because his language (Uygur) is in the same family as Turkish. Like me, he has real issues with the Chinese political system (totalitarian, to put it plainly) and I don't think he wants to go back, except for his family there. Turns out he only lives a block from me, so he came over to dinner.
Makes me realize how all around me live people who have amazingly wonderful/painful/sad/rich/lonely lives...I may even have a relative living nearby and not know it...makes me also realize how incredibly isolated so many of us are...
Some Other Faces on the Bus
I'm starting to see some regulars:
1. The knitting lady - she has a cart to drag all her knitting, a circular needle wrapped around her neck so she can keep knitting, even when boarding the bus, bags and bags of yarn in the cart and a very weird lopsided knitted hat. Doesn't talk too much. Knits a lot. Fast.
2. The "talker" - this woman talks non-stop to the driver from the minute she gets on to her stop -- she's still talking as she gets off the bus. I think she may be one of the Lonely Bus People.
3. The hard-core bus guy -- sold his car "and it was a really nice one" and now commutes entirely by bus. If he wants to take a trip, he gets a ride from friends or rents a car. He figures he's saving a lot of money this way, and he never, ever has to deal with city traffic.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
If it's Black, it Must be Portland...
Help! I'm in the Twilight Zone and I'm starting to sink! Portland may not have much of a fashion style, but it definitely has a "look" and it's starting to creep into my closets...Here's what it looks like:
1. Black. Raincoat. Pants. Shoes. All the other stuff, too.
2. Clunky shoes. Also black. (I've also seen completely impractical pointy femme-bitch black boots with four-inch stilletto heels, but I'm thinking these are mostly worn by Russian and girls at PSU.)
3. Those messenger bag/book bags casually slung shoulder-to-shoulder. Today I saw 5 in a row on the street--those kind where you get to pick 3 panels in the colors of your choice...I found myself imagining my bag in my colors and then I could hear the sucking sound of Portland-itis and I had to run to Starbucks to clear my head with some caffeine--oh, no they're corporate owned, Seattle's Best - oh, no, aren't they owned by Starbucks? Coffee People? oh hell, I'll go to the Broadway Cafe owned by an Iranian guy who lets you sit as long as you like and isn't in the devil's pocket...at least it's not Satan Starbucks...
4. If you're an older woman (let's say, more than 30), you've got to have hip eyeglasses - preferably black, but if you're artsy, some shrieky pink-red or chartreuse will do. They can't be round, only rectangular or boxy and definitely shout, "I may be old, but I'm still edgy."
5. No makeup. No excessive cleavage. No fake nails (unless you're black and then you can get away with it, because pretty much all white folks would agree that black women can nail looking amazing while going completely overboard on all the above...)
I see all this on the streets, at PSU and on the bus, where everyone's distracted or plugged in to their music or wrapped up in a book so I can watch them and take notes...
1. Black. Raincoat. Pants. Shoes. All the other stuff, too.
2. Clunky shoes. Also black. (I've also seen completely impractical pointy femme-bitch black boots with four-inch stilletto heels, but I'm thinking these are mostly worn by Russian and girls at PSU.)
3. Those messenger bag/book bags casually slung shoulder-to-shoulder. Today I saw 5 in a row on the street--those kind where you get to pick 3 panels in the colors of your choice...I found myself imagining my bag in my colors and then I could hear the sucking sound of Portland-itis and I had to run to Starbucks to clear my head with some caffeine--oh, no they're corporate owned, Seattle's Best - oh, no, aren't they owned by Starbucks? Coffee People? oh hell, I'll go to the Broadway Cafe owned by an Iranian guy who lets you sit as long as you like and isn't in the devil's pocket...at least it's not Satan Starbucks...
4. If you're an older woman (let's say, more than 30), you've got to have hip eyeglasses - preferably black, but if you're artsy, some shrieky pink-red or chartreuse will do. They can't be round, only rectangular or boxy and definitely shout, "I may be old, but I'm still edgy."
5. No makeup. No excessive cleavage. No fake nails (unless you're black and then you can get away with it, because pretty much all white folks would agree that black women can nail looking amazing while going completely overboard on all the above...)
I see all this on the streets, at PSU and on the bus, where everyone's distracted or plugged in to their music or wrapped up in a book so I can watch them and take notes...
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