about getting from point A to point B in the most interesting ways possible

If you're a large woman in America, your whole life is an opportunity to feel self-conscious, embarrassed, resentful and way too big. You can hide in the corner or on the couch, you can go to therapy, or you can put on your lycra bike shorts and get out there and move.
—Jayne Williams, Slow Fat Triathlete

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January 12, 2006

fact-finding permalink

Well, as expected, every inch of my body hurts today. I feel like I got hit by a mac truck. Parts of my body that pilates theoretically wouldn't come in contact with hurt. And then there's the headache. And the pukeyness. Oh damn it, have I caught yet another passing bug?

But my sternum and my belly (or core, if you prefer, my powerhouse...hahaha! powerhouse!) hurt like hell.

Yesterday was a fact-finding mission. Over lunch, there was this strange yellow orb in the sky every now and again, and I, like the rest of Portland, ran outside to try to absorb it. I took a walk through our Urban Renewal Zone (it doesn't have a name, which irritates me. Sorry, Urban Renewal Zone does not count as a name!), up to PSU, got some lunch, checked out the student-run everything-groovy cafe, and generally succeeded in being inside everytime there was a major downpour. Pretty damn good.

Last night was fun. We went to investigate a newish place on Alberta, and ended up window shopping. We spotted some Queen Bee satchels in a shop, and just as Sweetie said, look at that one, the lights went off inside the shop. We were laughing so hard that we were still laughing once the shop keeper came out. We stopped at a new pet store, which doesn't carry our pet food but would special order it for us. We stopped at the brew pub, which is finally actually brewing. Dude! We talked about going into CloseKnit or Office, but we showed resounding restraint, and just didn't.

We ended up at Zaytoon, where I've been maybe three times before. I've never seen the place even a quarter full, and that makes me nervous. They have a nice burger, and generally, a good lentil soup, and now they have this crazy happy hour deal where appetizers are a buck off, and entrees $2 off. Considering that everything is fairly cheap to begin with, well, it's insane. The two of us, with two beers, an app, and two entrees, paid $18.50 without tip. Even if Tacqueria Don Pancho has its beer license yet (and it may), I don't think we could get out of there that cheaply. I really want Zaytoon to survive, so please go there.

Tonight, another case of pilates. Dear g-d.

My cow-orker re-turned me on to woot! the other day. Very silly, very very silly. What is this woot, you say? Woot sells one electronics-ish product a day. Starting at midnight Dallas time, running until they sell out, or midnight the following night. Wikipedia, which knows everything, describes their marketing style:

Typically, product descriptions will mock the product, the customer, or Woot itself.

I have to say, the sassy, smartass, irreverent and self-depreciating writing style is something I want to master for the portland guide. Check out the FAQ or the Wikipedia entry on woot. Here's part of their FAQ:

If the item doesn't work, find out what you're doing wrong. Yes, we know you think the item is bad, but it's probably your fault.

Anyways, I was drawn in, not surprisingly, by pictures of kittens. The entry for the product is here, unfortunately, with the product picture so small that you can't see the photoshopped in kittens. The tag line on the item:

So it's come to this. Yes, we're resorting to kittens.

The product in question was a Westinghouse SlicerToaster Two-Pack. Sigh!!

Posted at January 12, 2006

Comments

Fun with pilates soreness! I'm jealous.

Posted by: Liz at January 13, 2006 1:53 PM

I, too, live in Portland and am enduring this typical wet, winter weather. As a fellow rubenesque woman, who recently turned 40, my few aspirations include completing a 12K this summer through participating in VOLKSPORT events, but you have inspired me to tackle the Portland Marathon. "One is not born a woman but becomes one." I look forward to reading your future entries.

Posted by: Roxey at January 14, 2006 3:00 PM

So what the hell does "woot" mean? People type it all the time in blog entries, and I always figured it was a Northern expression, but now I'm not so sure. Must do a google search.

I admire you for sticking with the pilates. I was talking with someone the other night who told me that you know you're doing pilates correctly when it really, really hurts. Sheesh.

Posted by: Megan at January 16, 2006 3:53 PM