tick, tock, tick

Just over three weeks until my Europe trip! So far my travel plans only cover the first few weeks and the remaining itinerary is still up in the air. I got my renewed passport this morning, my rail pass a few days ago, and nearly everything I'll need to bring along already. The good folks in Glasgow - I'm sure you know who I'm talking about - have agreed to put me up and show me around for awhile and I'm almost more excited about that as I am about the whole trip itself. A cousin of mine who lived in Portland for years up and quit her job a year ago and moved to Spain. Didn't speak any Spanish and had never been to Europe. She loves it so much that she's still there and has offered a place to crash and some punkrock entertainment. I booked a few nights at a hostel in Malaga, on the south coast of Spain where I hope to find the sun again and thaw my feet on a beach. And, I while I haven't booked anything yet, I plan to spend my birthday weekend in Amsterdam. I'm so pumped about this whole thing that I've forgotten how to use transitional sentences or separate paragraphs! Next subject!

Shoes. I love me some Sambas. You may or may not be aware that there are two different varieties: Classics, and the fancier and slightly more expensive Millenniums. I usually just buy whatever happens to be available (in the kids' section. So I have freakishly small feet, what of it?) and for my first few pairs that happened to be Millenniums. I wore these things nearly every day and they lasted about two years. Last time out, however, I came home with the Classics. What pieces of shit. They took a month to break in, leaving bruises on the tops of my feet, and barely six months later I've worn the heel down to the rubber. Totally not worth the measly ten bucks savings. So now that I'm in the market for a new pair, I set off on the usual tour of stores, only to come home seven hours later empty-handed and still holey-heeled. Yes, you read that correctly, I spent seven goddamn hours SHOE SHOPPING! That couldn't be more out of character if I'd done it in a pink dress and donated to the Republican party on the way home.

I ended up ordering a pair online. Lesson? Never leave the house.

And if the above anecdote weren't enough to prevent you from venturing out of doors, the weather reports are calling for snow. Again. It's already snowed about 17 times more than it is ever supposed to in the Portland area, and here it is MARCH and it's coming again! The storm also thwarted my plans to drive to the coast, as the mountain passes are supposed to get hit, along with THE BEACH ITSELF. Snow on the Oregon beach is supposed to be a rare phenomenon and yet this isn't even the first time this winter. What.The.HELL!

OK, happy hour ends in twenty minutes, so I've got to finish my drink and head home to stare at Eurail maps and scheme.