aka Molly is wandering…

Seattle!

Friday, October 3rd, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments

I fail at posting, but we already knew this.

Anywho, I went to Seattle the weekend of the 19th to visit Brendyn. There were shenanigans everywhere! It was great to see him since I hadn’t since earlier this year when he pretty much convinced me to move to Portland. I took the train up which was actually not too bad. I had this horrible fear I’d get stuck near a screaming child, but I lucked out and was seated next to a girl my age that slept the whole ride pretty much. Brendyn met me at the train station and then took me back to his place so I could drop my bags off and we could decide what to do. He lives right in the middle of downtown and above a really sweet coffee shop. I’m so jealous. We ended up going to dinner at restaurant called Mexico (guess what kind of food they serve there?) that was super tasty and they made my meal dairy free. It’s still bizarre to me to be in places that are vegan friendly. Trying to get vegan food back in Rochester was kind of a nightmare. Oops, tangent. After dinner, we went to see Mamma Mia (the movie). Oi, it was so very special, and I’m so glad I went with someone I could make fun of it with. Definitely not a Molly movie, but it was still a fun outing.

Saturday, we went all over the damn place. Did I mention it rained all weekend? We walked all over downtown, did a little window shopping, went to the music experience museum, and the science fiction museum. I’m such a nerd, but the science fiction museum was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip. They are opening a horror exhibit in the spring that I’m going back for. By the time we got done with all of that, we were sick of walking in the rain, and stopped and got dinner to take back, and we each snagged a bottle of wine. So, we ate, drank, and watched The Golden Compass (not bad, but the book is a million times better).

Sunday we did up Pike Place Market and the Sculpture Garden. Once again, it was rainy and gross, but it was still cool to get to see the harbor area. We went to a sweet Irish pub for brunch before I had to head back to the train station.

It was really nice to see a familiar face and have somebody to talk to about the move and all of that who has already been through it. I plan to go back and harass him again some time in the near future, but if I don’t get to, he is going to come down and we’re going to do Thanksgiving together which should be awesome.

Tags: Brendyn, Seattle

I’m not cheap, I’m just frugal

Thursday, September 18th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments

Last night I went into the city for the first meeting of a book/ writers club for 20-somethings. It was my first nighttime adventure on the buses, and I was not disappointed! I was actually kind of terrified that there would be some super crazy psycho on the bus…and there was. There was a man in a dress that did not fit him at all. The back of the dress was only half zipped. He was talking to pretty much everyone. He kept trying to give some girl some of his clothing. When she got off of the bus, he started talking to the guys around him. He also broke out some beer and lit up a cigarette. The bus driver squashed that pretty quick thankfully. He had quite the story though. He was going to get a sex change, and he used to play with Bon Jovi. He started singing “Dead or Alive” several times. Of course, he ended up in my seat at one point. I was kinda horrified. But, he didn’t talk to me. He just harassed the poor girl in the seat across from me.

Of course, when I got off of the bus, the place I was going for the meeting, Powell’s, was not anywhere is sight, so I started wandering and had no idea where I was going. The one girl who was organizing the meeting called me at one point, and I was all “HALP, I’m lost!” I was about six blocks away. >.< But, I made it, and it seems like it’ll be a fun group. Everyone there was 24 or 25 pretty much. It was definitely a very interesting mix of people. So, that at least will give me something to do every week now.

Of course, I read the directions for how to get home wrong, and ended up going the wrong direction of the bus stop I wanted. Wandering around downtown Portland at night alone = scary. It’s not that it’s scary down there at all, I’m just not used to it yet I guess. But! I remembered the one bus stop I’ve used several times to get home and booked it over there. I’m learning.

Current Mood: (accomplished)

accomplished

Current Music: The Dresden Dolls - \"Ultima Esperanza\"

Tags: powell's, public transit

So, do you ride this bus often?

Sunday, September 14th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments

Today I went to the Saturday Market. It was like a cross between Park Ave Festival and the junk sellers area of the Public Market in Rochester. It was pretty awesome though. There were a lot of really neat things for sale, but I’m cheap, so I didn’t buy anything. I did buy the tastiest burrito ever from a little organic Mexican food stand. I also got a Thai Tea from a bubble tea shop down there. Unfortunately, it tasted like iced sugar syrup, and I had to throw it away because it was nasty.

Some guy sat with me on the bus on the way there, and the first thing he tells me is that his shower is broken, so he couldn’t shower. The next thing he says is “so, you ride this bus often?” Quite the pick up line especially after telling someone you’re dirty. I was laughing at him on the inside. He asked me how old I was, and I said 24, and he said he was 25, and I was like “oh, you look really young.” And, then he moved to a different seat. XD He was giving off creepy dude vibes anyways, so I was glad he moved.

Some guy near the market invited me to sit in his lap. I had to politely decline. He was with a whole group of guys that looked homeless that were yelling catcalls at any female that walked by.

Current Mood: (amused)

amused

Current Music: Joshua Radin - \"Sundrenched World\"

Tags: downtown, food

Washington Park

Sunday, September 14th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments

*tries to get caught up on updates*

Last Saturday I went to Washington Park. It involved an hour long adventure on the public transportation just to get there. And, some guy in a wig on the bus thought he knew me and kept trying to talk to me, even though I had headphones on. O.o Oh, special people… Anyways, the park is pretty awesome. It’s where the Oregon Zoo is and a bunch of other attractions. I walked through some of the Arboretum, went to the Japanese Garden, and the Rose Garden.

I think I’m going to try going back to the Arboretum later in the fall once the leaves start changing colors.

The trip home took almost 2 hours. I got on the wrong max line, and even though I knew how to get home from that line, there was construction, so I had to get off. It dumped me out near a mall, and since I had no idea how to get home from there, I went into the mall to try to find a city map in the bookstore. That idea failed, but I did find a store that sold nothing but pirate things.

I eventually got back on the max and headed back into the city to see if I could find one of the bus lines I was familiar with. This also didn’t work out so well. So, I ended up calling Joelle for help, and she guided me to where I needed to be. All in all, it was fun. Getting lost is the best way to learn a new area anyways.

Tags: landmarks

I made it

Saturday, September 6th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments

Better late than never, but I made it to Portland this past Tuesday. We got in around 2:30 in the afternoon. Naturally the first thing I did was go to IKEA. I have a place to stay for a few months which is nice. Unfortunately, it’s not exactly located where I’d like to be. I’m too far away from the city and the neighborhoods I want to be close to. I have two bus stops that I can walk to, but even though I was told this area was safe, it still looks a bit sketchtastic. I’ve gone on two public transportation adventures so far. The first one involved me getting on the wrong bus and going way up and through the Northeast part of the city into some interesting areas…Alberta Street looked pretty awesome though, but the rest of it, yikes. The second trip was just around the corner for groceries yesterday. Some 70 year old woman in a mini skirt wearing a huge necklace with a pot leaf on it got off of the bus in front of me, and her ass was totally hanging out and then some. *vomits* I have to say though, Fred Meyer stores are pretty cool. I was pleasantly surprised that they had an organic section and international section. I’ve never seen so many tortilla options in my life. I think I’ll be eating a lot of burritos. It also cracks me up that they sell wine everywhere even in department stores.

I’m thinking of going hiking at Mt. Tabor Park this weekend. That should be nice.

Tags: hiking, public transit

Odds & Ends

Saturday, September 6th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments

I kept a little notebook with me in my purse throughout the trip to write random stuff down. Sadly, most of what I wrote down were silly quotes from the deranged weirdos losing their mind from being trapped in a minivan for five days.

Outside of Cleveland on Day 1:
Joelle: “I once took it on a bus.”
Me: “That’s what she said.”

At the Field of Dreams on Day 2:
Joelle: “Man, it took us forever to get to 3rd base.”
Me: “I like to take it slow.”

You also know you’re losing it when just mentioning the word corn makes you laugh.

Said in the same flavor as “bears, beets, battlestar gallactica” from The Office: corn, cows, & christ!

Stores: Family Beer & Licquor, Kum & Go
Ranches: Boner Ranch (located next to Old Woman Creek)

Tags: funny

Day 4

Monday, September 1st, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments

I thought I’d have a lot more time to update this thing, but by the time we’ve gotten to the hotel rooms each night, I’ve been exhausted. Oh, and I apologize to anyone reading my Twitter updates. I’m keeping them super special on purpose.

Highlights from the past few days:
-Getting pulled over for going 7 mph over the speed limit in South Dakota. I then was invited back to the police officer’s car to play a fun game of 20 questions. He had a drug dog with him. He ended up asking me about 100 times if I had drugs in the car. And, I was like, wtf mate? He even took the dog out to sniff the van. It was ridiculous. The only thing I could think of was that he was really bored at about midnight and needed something to do. Anywho, he wasn’t a jerk about it and gave me a warning and sent us on our way.

-We stopped in the badlands on the 30th which was pretty awesome. I’d love to go back and camp and hike some time. I have a billion picture, most of which involved me climbing up onto places that were probably not safe. We found this tacky tourist trap called Wall Drug on our way back to interstate 90. It was all wild west themed and cheesy like there was no tomorrow. We had a good laugh and then ran for our lives.

-Today we went from cornfields to rocky hills to mountains. We spent a good 9 hours driving. We’re in a suburb outside of Salt Lake City. I really wanted to go kidnap a Mormon, but we didn’t feel like doing an extra hour of driving just to get to the city and go back to our hotel afterward. We found a good local brewery to eat dinner at though, and I actually found a beer I like. I think the world is coming to an end.

Day 2

Saturday, August 30th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments

This is all we saw yesterday. It was the most boring drive I think I’ve ever done. We did attempt to stop at a Frank Lloyd Wright house, but it was closed. There was also a fun run in with the police. Details to follow.

Tags: corn, illinois, iowa, minnesota, south dakota

Day 1

Friday, August 29th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments

Wednesday:
I had a heart attack over the minivan. We went to pick it up, and the center was closed before we got there. So, I called Hertz, and they had already rented it out to someone else and automatically cancelled my reservation because I was late. I blame Hertz’s web site because they let me do 6 p.m. as a pick up time when the center closes at 5:30 p.m. I ended up putting a reservation in at Enterprise for Thursday morning.

My dad came up to say goodbye and have a quick dinner. I hadn’t seen him in almost a year, so that was kind of nice. The rest of the evening was spent with Stephan trying to finish cleaning the apartment. If I never move again, it’ll be too soon.

Thursday:
I had breakfast with Ashley, Matt, Stephan, and Joelle at Bruegger’s. Of course, I’m a tard and set my alarm for 7 p.m. and was woken up by Joelle at the door. It was nice to see everyone before I headed out.

Stephan drove Joelle and me off to the aiport to pick up van #2. But, alas, it was not to be. Enterprise does not do one way rentals. Why it says they do on their web site is a mystery to me and the poor guy at the counter. So, foiled again, we started going to all of the other rental counters trying to frantically find another minivan. National wanted $2,000, and then Joelle talked to the guy at Budget, and they had one. This also turned out to be quite a process because they don’t allow rentals to people under 25 without a major credit card. I don’t have a credit card, but thank goodness, Joelle does. So, we were able to put the van under her name. They also wouldn’t let me be put on as an additional driver due to the age/ credit card issue, but what they don’t know won’t hurt them. >.>

Sparky and I went back and loaded up the van, I was able to fit everything I had planned except one box of books. The van is awesome. All of the seats fold into the floor. A++ I got lots of stamps to send people postcards, so if you gave me your address, expect some nonsense in the mail!

And, I have a place to live! The one chick I’d been in touch with about a room finally agreed to let me live with her after having to check a bunch of references. It’s a month-to-month arrangement, so hopefully it works out, and if it doesn’t, it’s not a big deal since I won’t be tied into a lease. I was so relieved I almost started crying on the phone.

What’s round on both sides but high in the middle? (courtesy of a text msg from Stephan) I said a penis, but apparently it’s Ohio. I’m currently writing this from somewhere in Ohio from the passenger seat of the minivan.

We ended up at an Applebee’s for dinner (vomit), and the food took so long that we got free dessert, so that was pretty nice. And, now it’s 2 a.m. and time for sleepies. Hopefully, I’ll be able to post some pics tomorrow.