on Portland humanity

There are some thoughts and memories over the past couple of weeks that will not leave my head. If I share them with you maybe they will grow. Maybe you will reach out into the spirit and contribute a bit of your own, or your eyes will open a little wider and you will see it is happening every day.
A couple weeks ago I was walking to work at around 6 in the morning. It was dark and cold out like it is right now. I am sitting on my king-size bed typing this on my laptop. I may walk around with my blinders on, but when you see some things, sometimes they are impossible to ignore. I was crossing the street on my way to work, and I saw a bunch of sleeping bags huddled together in a doorway. I thought to myself,"wow, there's a lot of homeless people in that door way." How many could there be? I started to count, I got to three or four, when I got to the next one, and it was a ladies shaved head, tucked into the bag and she was sleeping soundly. I don't know what struck me harder, the realization that there would be a lady tucked away into a doorway? That her head was shaved, and it was so cold outside? That I pass them everyday, and pretend that I don't see them? I mean how could all of this go down for me day after day? So in that moment of humanity, I saw that some one had placed above her head a gift. It was a box of cereal, complete with a bow right above her head. Someone had seen them, had seen the same lady and thought they might need some breakfast when they wake up. Maybe the first thing that goes through her head when she wakes up will be, I'm hungry. Why do I do this to myself, and does anybody care? Do I have to walk around invisible again today? Not this morning my friend, someone made sure of that. To the person who took the time to put a bow on it, and to place it carefully above her head, maybe you gave her more than something to eat, she may have started her day with a smile, and hope.
The second thing that happened occurred this evening. I was going to my local convenience store to pick up a soda. They have a table in the store that has miscellaneous items of clothing, underwear, socks, tee shirts. A man was at the table grabbing a bunch of things and he took them to the till. The lady at the cash register said"oh, hey stocking up huh?"
"Well these are not for me, my wife and I have a couple homeless people that live nearby and I just wanted to get them some socks." Was his reply. Simple as that. And he left with two large bags of socks.
I smiled to myself in both instances. I was to witness these things for a reason, and I felt it only appropriate to pass this on to anyone who would take the time to read it. Keep your eyes open Portland, there's good happening everyday.

Mogami on Glisan

Good morning. What a day it has been already. I can tell you this, I can't sleep. I know in a couple hours kitchens all the way across Portland Metro will be sending smells of home cooking throughout the neighborhoods, people hailing each other and welcoming them into their homes, laughter and reunions. I love family.
Last night my father and I got together to spend some time. It was nice. We went for a walk, he asked me where I wanted to have dinner. It was easy. Let me tell you why. First and foremost, I am a bachelor. I am always on the look out for food. I found a nice little place off of Glisan. I had walked past the sandwich board several times before and kept making a mental note to at least go and check out the menu. Well one evening the time was just right, I was in the general vicinity and I thought to myself why not? ( It's called "Mogami", and the address is 511 NE 76th Ave. Portland, Or. 97213. Their phone number is 503-256-9721.) I went in and checked out their small clean establishment, and their menu. I ordered the Chicken Yakisoba from the young man at the counter. He took the order and disappeared in the back. He came back out and followed shortly by a woman. She got busy at the grill. I sat down and picked up my ipod and started to watch a movie. To my amusement another man came out of the back and started in on the grill. I was the only one in the business. This was all for me. I was loving the special feel I got out of it, they were working in unison to produce my togo order fresh and hot. I left and made my way home eager to open the contents of my togo order. When I did, I was not disappointed at all. In fact I was pleasantly surprised. Inside was a generous portion of fresh grilled chicken, crunchy fresh broccoli and Yakisoba noodles. I took a bite of the still steaming dish and silently declared this is the best $6.50 I have spent in a long, long time.
It's very casual,clean and small inside. There are three tables if I recall correctly, and it is designed basically for take out. "Mogami" came to mind when dad asked me where we should go, he's very much into health food.
They are always gracious and considerate inside, in fact the cook had one of the employees come to our little table and apologize, explaining that the food was not cooked to her satisfaction. She then followed suit and explained it did not taste the way that she wanted it to, and that she was very sorry. I was stunned. That's attention to detail. That's something that shows pride in their work, their product and their guests. I'm sold on it. I will go back. I will tell my friends if they are in the neighborhood to stop by, give it a shot.

Thanksgiving reservations

I had a very busy day at work today. Not only are we fielding holiday parties, but we are also taking phone-calls for upcoming events, more office parties, Thanksgiving reservations , and christmas ships reservations. I told you we were going into full swing for the holidays. I have already started. I appreciate the interest in the restaurant I work for. We are a good restaurant and located right on the river. I imagine there are a lot of establishments that are reaping the many benefits of the holidays.
If you are reading this right now and you have not done so, MAKE THANKSGIVING RESERVATIONS RIGHT NOW!! If you have any plans of dining out on the river for the christmas ships, MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS RIGHT NOW!! If you are planning on eating on christmas anywhere, MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS RIGHT NOW!! This will help with the quality of experience you have, your girl thinks its sexy when you walk up and say I have a reservation for (Your last name), the table is ready for you, the server is aware of any special requests, the kitchen is ready for you.
To all of my friends, I am sorry. I wish I could be at the movies with you or out to dinner with you. I wish that I could make those holiday plans with you. But here's the deal, I love my job. I love providing my best everyday that I hit that time-clock. I love representing one of the best restaurants in town and being on the cutting edge of exhaustion. On top of that, I am okay being a bachelor at thirty-six. I have some free time, and you know I use that to nap. Then you. Oops. It's the holidays. My family then you. Oh yeah, I'm building a blog, so I periodically add to it, and try to keep on top of it. Who says that there's nothing to do? Right about now, a boring day would be a welcome sight. Like today. Thursday. There are no meetings, no deadlines, there is a test coming up at work so I can work on that. But right now, I am stepping out of the work zone and checking into my blog world. I have added a couple things and I am trying to revamp my blog to my satisfaction. There is a you-tube on the bottom of the page. I have entered keywords to the you-tube search so it should load and keep the videos rotated yet at least partially relating to the page or my personality. I do want to make it clear I did not hand pick any of the you-tube videos. This is put there strictly for your entertainment, I believe there are links all over my page that will help you and direct you in places to go and things to do. Also about one third of the way down the page there is a red box called a widget. If you are not familiar with a widget, it is just a box that I am able to install somthing in. In this case it is a music player. If you like music, you can scroll through it and click on a song, or not. It's already set to shuffle to keep it fresh each time you click on the page. If the music is distracting you, you may turn it to pause. There are little buttons on the top of the music widget that allow you to also forward to the next shuffle song. I am still trying to install a google search bar. I will be oh so happy when I get that accomplished. Picking the colors and the format was fun, getting this off the ground has been a challenge that I have thoroughly enjoyed. I hope that if you come across this blog, you are able to follow it chronologically and see it progress in a direction you enjoy I hope.

Portland holidays 2007-08

Christmas ships-make reservations right now for water front dining during this display
A Christmas Carol-make reservations right now for dining before the show
Tree Lighting Ceremony-mark it on your calendar see you in Portland's living room.
shopping-get it done right away. Avoid the chaos.
Call your parents, brothers, sisters-friends, family. Tell them no reason. Just checking in.

Portland weather

Man I was just sitting here thinking about my mothers porch. I was the house sitter while she went off to Europe to do some traveling. Bless her heart, I would not be taken aback at all if I heard she was off skydiving. Why not? My Father has his own sense of adventure diving out there in Australia and zipping about the world. But what I was getting at was my mothers porch and the wonderful rain. I would love to come home to her house after a days work or running around town. I would sit outside on her porch. It was dark because that was the time of day I would do this. It would be raining and I could hear the water pat, pat patting on the leaves and an occasional rustle in the dark. All of this water coming down and the sound steady and refreshing. I would sometimes bring my laptop and my phone onto the porch and relax. Thinking about life, my day, my future all of it wrapped nicely into the evening. I would get on the computer and email friends or chat on the phone. I once encouraged a friend of mine to go out in the rain and close her eyes and tilt her face to heaven. I don't know if she did, she asked me if I did, I told the truth. I did. Sweet and cold raindrops on my lips. So refreshing.
We had a dry spell for a while, but there is a lot of rain in Portland. You have to get used to it if you are not, and you will need gortex, sweaters, umbrellas, boots and plenty of socks. I guess I tell you this in case you are coming to visit.
Tonight I was walking through the rain in the dark, weird, I know. But it was again nice to enjoy the solitude and clear my head. It wasn't really cold, but there was an invisible puddle that I submerged my boot in. I thought to myself, I'm taking my max or bus-ride tomorrow and I better be careful where I step. You can't see a puddle in the dark because the wet asphalt reflects everything. Your foot just splashes into a puddle. That was okay with me. I'm not really going anywhere with this. Just letting you know that there are some water hazards out there. For pedestrians as well as vehicles. There is a dip in the curve downtown on market street when you are heading towards the marina. There is consistent flooding there and no sign-age. Often times during heavy rain, there are cars stalled out on that corner. So there is a problem if you are heading around the curve and your car stalls. First of all your stalled in a huge puddle, on a curve, on a corner that sits on a hill. Just be aware of these things.
Have a good evening. I have a restaurant to open tomorrow, and the best advice I could give is this. For your good deed today, over-tip your server. They have one of the toughest jobs in the world. Okay, that's a mild exaggeration, but they do work hard for their livings and smile and serve. I might as well mention something I have posted in my room at the risk of insulting someone. It's pearls of wisdom by David Barry. # 13 0f 14 things that it took him fifty years to learn, and it goes like this."13.A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person.(This is very important. Pay attention. It never fails.)" Sound advice? I think there's a lot of truth in that one, and I just thought I would pass it on. Since I read it, I am able to look at it happen everyday. I love the ones that go into a restaurant on their cell phones and hold their finger up when the host person tries to seat them, or sit and join someone and are on the phone the whole time... Just had to throw that one in there.
I want you to go out and enjoy the weather, when someone says how about this rain? Reply, it's fantastic! I like the rain. Big smile. Until we meet again, have a beautiful evening.

things my family taught me

I have never been shy about telling people I was adopted. Since my last post I gave a lot of kudos to my mother. I think it's only fair to tell you some things about my family. First of all I think that my higher power had a plan for me before I was born. I believe that he looked at me and he said this little guy is going to have a rough go at life and I need to give him a good loving family. And he did. I have a big brother, two older sisters and a very loving mother and father. I was raised in this family since I was two weeks old. We traveled all over the united states and canada in a big yellow ford van. We lived in Juneau Alaska on the coast of the ocean. We had blueberries, huckleberries, salmon-berries and strawberries in our front yard. We could walk down to the water and walk, think, smell, listen, swim, fish and boat. We had a forest as our back yard, we made trails and explored them overgrown with bright green moss. We saw bears, seagulls, eagles and mosquitos. The road I grew up on was not paved and being in Juneau we had a lot of rain. The neighborhood kids would bang on our door when it got really rainy and we would go play in the culverts. We would return covered in mud from head to toe. My parents and my family love me. I am 36 years old now and there is still not a day that goes by when I am not struck with wonder at how lucky I am to have a family that emulates courage, honesty, compassion, love, beauty, understanding, adventure, health, moral fiber and a true appreciation of family values. I am blessed. It may sound like I am a bible thumper, but that is not all that true. I would have to say spiritual. You see, there are two different religious backgrounds that I was raised or actually exposed to. Never pressured, always told it was up to me to find a belief. Go ahead, if you'll listen I will go on and on about how great my siblings and parents are. I am a fortunate man, and should I ever marry and have children, I would like for them to be like my family. The same dynamic, the same beliefs. Even the people that are drawn into each of their lives are amazing. My sisters husband, her kids, my other sisters significant other and her daughter, my brother, his son and his wife, my dads new wife and my mothers recently deceased significant other. All amazing. So I guess my point is it does take a whole village to raise a child. You are the company you keep. You get to choose how you are spoken to. If you wake up one day and find yourself surrounded by beautiful people count your blessings. I think I just did. Have a wonderful day.

portland max

We all have an opinion now of the portland max. That is if you read the news, or see any headlines. Here is mine, and mind you it's influence is from my mother. Recently I was in a car accident involving a drunk driver. They crashed into the back of my car. My car now has a donut on it and sustained no visible damage, although internally I'm sure it will never be the same. The point is this. I now take the MAX. I take it to work and take the bus home. I resisted, as of course I love the freedom and privacy of driving. My mom drove home several points that I think have some serious relevance. First of all it's good for the environment. Secondly it's healthier to do some walking and thirdly it's cheaper. Here are some benefits I can see. I don't have to worry about the drive, I get to see, hear and smell new things. I experience a different view and different aspect a new angle of everything. I can nap or listen to my ipod. They said to stop and smell the flowers, I can. I know that there has been some media attention pointed at security of our daily riders. Don't you think that as a city we should be grateful that now there is a public awareness of this problem? I will not stop using public transportation as a result of the publicity, instead I applaud the media for putting a little pressure on our needs as a community to feel secure on our trips. I feel better already, and if the police step up a presence or security steps up a presence will it impact the criminal activity? Absolutely, so says my humble opinion. Another humble opinion I have is that criminals are cowards, preying on people they see as weaker than them. This is unfortunate but a safe assumption, if they are in the public eye now, and being paid attention to, my guess is they will start to behave, ship out or find somewhere else to cause mischief. I have to publicly thank my mother for a couple things. First of all for her infinite wisdom, secondly for passing it on and I hope to be as wonderful as she is some day. Thirdly for helping me realize once again something I may have been missing for quite some time. An appreciation for the environment and how in my own little way I can influence the impact I have on it. Furthermore, I challenge anyone reading this to hang up your car keys for one week and enjoy our excellent public transportation. One week, is that too much to ask for? Give it a shot, my mom would be proud of you.

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