ok fine! a tag

List 5 things in my bag:
Which bag? I picked the first one on the floor in my room. This is the travel bag, the part that detaches from the top of the backpack that I keep with essentials.
1 first aid kit
2 deodorant
3 Emergency-C packet, orange flavored
4 D-ring, "not for climbing", green
5 roll of toilet paper

List 5 favorite things in my room:
1 window - big, easily openable, weatherized window. totally out of place in the non-insulated, poorly wired bedroom, but I'll take the view out to the yard/garden nonetheless.
2 desk - it's one of those Ikea things, meant as a dining table that folds down against the wall when it isn't being used. That's a nice option, but it's never uncluttered enough to fold it down. It's listed as a favorite because of all the labor that went into make sure it was straight, getting the right damn screws (Ikea and it's European measurements and shitty screws!) and working with the weak battery-powered drill.
3 London Calling poster - probably the third iteration of this particular poster, due to plumbing leaks and hurried moves, etc.
4 my plant, lily thing - my last housemate wouldn't let me have pets and now I'm not sure if I'm going to travel and stuff, so I don't want to own a dog. Hence the plant. I put a lot of effort into rehabing this thing after I left it in my room with the heat off over Thanksgiving weekend last year. When I came home, it was nearly black and droopy. Then when I brought it with me over Christmas my sister's kitten ate all the outer leaves. It's lookin' pretty good these days.
5 the book "shelf" - a system of milk crates and particle board. It kind of forms and "L" shape and I can sit on it. Real shelves are expensive and I don't have the patience or equipment for carpentry.

List 5 things I've always wanted to do:
1 time travel
2 go to Alaska
3 tour with a band
4 win the lottery
5 see North Korea other than at the border.

List 5 things I am currently into:
1 being a lazy piece of shit
2 not blogging
3 playing Civ IV
4 Timbers!
5 relearning the drums and trying to not bring down the rest of the band.

Good God

...but is the news depressing! It's a wonder there's anyone still left alive in Asia, what with floods, earthquakes and bombs bombs bombs. There are also tornadoes somewhere in America, a drought in Spain, and Clinton won W. Virginia.

The amusing story of the day for me though is the "Terror Law Used to Spy on Fishermen". It's amazing how irate people get when they realize that the laws they so fervently clamored for actually apply to them. "What? You mean you're not just using this law to spy on brown people as they come back from the mosque? You're wasting my tax dollars and abusing your authority!" Wahwahwah...

Seattle was a Riot

The last time the Timbers Army invaded Qwest was an enjoyable experience, and a lot less nervy than the previous two trips I've made there. On the other trips, all of the security in the entire building surrounded the Portland fans, taunted us, and randomly threw out people for "swearing." The Timbers management warned the Sounders FO about our treatment up there and this time they backed off a bit. Overall, I'd give them a C. It'd have been higher save for the incident at the end of the game when they let all the fans out at once, instead of escorting the away fans after everyone had left like they do abroad and like we did when Seattle fans came down a few weeks ago. Instead, the concourses were packed with drunk rowdy boys and girls of both teams, families from Seattle and hordes of preteen soccer teams. The Timbers contingent had at least three different chants going, teenager Seattlites ran up to me and screamed in my face, and a few wannabe hooligans from Seattle ran through the crowd, shoulder charging people and knocking over kids of their own fans. The Army gathered outside in a sort of formation, scarves held over head and sang "We'll be coming down the road" for about ten straight minutes. Even the Seattle families were impressed, smiling, shaking hands and taking pictures. The same few assholes who charged through the concourses then tried to start a fight in the middle of this formation, but were outnumbered about 100 to 4, and it ended like a tame mosh pit with nothing but some shoving.

In all, about 400 Portland fans made the trip north, sang, danced and drank to witness an otherwise inglorious 0-0 draw. Portland may never get an MLS team due to market size and economics and blah blah blah, but soccer means something to people here, and I feel like I was a part of that history Saturday night.

Ok, enough sappiness. After the game my army buddy Owen and his girl took Tim and I out to a rugby bar where his sister's team had just finished a lube wrestling contest. The tap selection was superb, but I couldn't turn up the Strongbow, so I sipped a few of those while drooling over a hot guy across the room. Back at Owen's apartment we tried to watch the film Military Intelligence, but Owen and I, perhaps because we once were military intelligence, were the only ones to find it the least bit amusing and both Tim and Laura were passed out about five minutes in.

For whatever reason I couldn't sleep at all, and gave up at about six, surfed the net and waited for the Premiership final games to start. What I wanted to happen from these games was for ManUtd to win, Chelsea to spontaneously combust, and Fulham to miraculously beat Portsmouth to avoid relegation (I've got a soft spot for Fulham due to all the Americans on their team). All of that happened except for Chelsea combusting (but it was apparently really hot there), but honestly the most exciting part of the ManUtd game was watching the bizarre weather unfold - heat! deluge! ponds! rain! monsoon!

The drive home was uneventful. We stopped at a Denny's for breakfast and were served by a sweet old woman, which made me really sad. No one that age should have to work in a shitty place like Denny's anyway, but especially not an old lady on Mother's Day! Please, if there is a god, do not let me be serving at Denny's on a Mother's Day when I'm that age. I hope someone takes me to the tar pits before it comes to that.

quick update

My birthday yesterday began with cleaning someone else's vomit out of my sink. That would ordinarily imply that it was a good night, but really it was just ok. Timbers game and a trip to the Bullpen afterward sealed the fate for my sick friend. His wife wanted him home two hours prior to when he staggered into our house and then he had to be at work the next day at 7am. Poor guy.

The rest of my birthday was spent doing as little as possible, mostly playing that awful addictive game, Civilization 4. I found a People's Republic of Cork mod online and thought it was so funny that that's all I've been playing with. Keano, of course, is the leader and its special unit is Rampaging Hurlers.

Today! Shittle away! Love it! heh, last time the Timbers play in Seattle, possibly ever, as the evil bastards to the north are getting an MLS club and the USL one is then disbanding. No one goes to their games anyway, I guess it's just as well. So this is our last chance to get hassled by security, taunted, spit at, and called foul names in provocation. Woopee! An added incentive is that I get to see an old army buddy. Though raised in Seattle he is wisely a Timbers supporter.

OK, off to change clothes, get coffee and head to Vancouver (WA) to meet the housemate so as to carpool to Seattle.

PS. sorry bout the moody last few months. God I hate winter in the NW.