July 31st was the last time I wrote? I’ve spent a month on the phone with Dell Customer Service bitching about an order I placed at work for a partner that hadn’t even shipped yet, and I realized tonight that after that immense amount of time in which the order was finally processed, I should probably write again before I praise Dell for shipping an order that late while I ignore things I should be doing.

Hello, my name is Andrew. I’m a slacker.

“Hello, Andrew.”

Truth be told, I’m still feeling little desire to write in my blog, partially because I really haven’t been doing much lately (lately, meaning since March or so), partially because I’ve had little desire to write. I seem to mostly only have an interest in writing when I have fun things to write about, things I want to brag about, people I want to show off, but since not much of that has applied, I’ve remained silent. That’s not to say nothing’s happened in my life in the last month, just nothing particularly interesting.

I upgraded my computer. Whee. Well, whee for me.

I bought CDs for the first time in…I don’t know how long. OK, so that’s worth writing about. Beck’s last album Guero is very good, and I also bought Rock Swings by Paul Anka. You haven’t truly experienced “Black Hole Sun,” “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Eye of the Tiger,” “It’s My Life,” “Wonderwall,” and others when done by Paul Anka. Remember Johnny Cash’s album where he covered “Personal Jesus” by Depeche Mode and “Hurt” by nine inch nails? Same deal, except this album is in Paul Anka’s pseudo-Sinatra swing/big band style. I like it.

Softball finished. We lost.

Last weekend was a BBQ at a partner’s house. She’s the one I’ve gone out to have drinks with fairly regularly, and it was nice to see a bunch of firm people outside of work. I got to know a few people I was on a smile and “Hello” basis with, I had a few beers and a few laughs, and I took a tequila shot with two partners and an associate. How fun is that? Imagine trying that at most other firms. I’m rapdily finding that despite a prevalence of standard office politics that mostly come from administrators and people not originally from Oregon, the people in the firm who are from the area are more laid-back and more, shall we say, “Portlandia” than you’d expect.

Speaking of Portlandia, it appears that I’ve cememted myself as a bona-fide Portland native after I discovered I’d matched myself up pretty well with the annual Willamette Week “Best of Portland” issue.

“Best Italian Barber”

I got my hair cut from this guy a couple of months ago. I remember thinking “Wow, this guy’s good. And cool.”

“Best Roadside Distraction”

I jog past this place three times a week, and every time during the haze of the beginning of mile four I think, “Wow, this place looks cool. I should come here some time.” Within walking distance, easily.

Best Horse of a Different Color”

I saw these things all the time while jogging up Stark, I saw pictures of them people had posted on Craigslist wondering what the hell they were, and I discussed them with my Dad who saw the remnants one day.

“Best Bakery”

Grand Central is the only bread I eat besides my own. It’s not a picky thing, it’s because their bread is so good and they make the stuff I’m too daunted to try making myself.

“Best Burger”

My obsession with McMenamins speaks for itself, whether I get hamburgers or Gardenburgers there.

“Best Burrito”

I prefer Fuego to Cha! Cha! Cha!, but I go to Cha! Cha! Cha! up on Hawthorne often enough that I think this counts. Plus, I took Dan there when he visited, so that makes me even better.

“Best Coffee (Locally Roasted)”

I have Stumptown coffee every morning.

“Best Fish and Chips”

I’ve been saying that Horse Brass has the Best fish & chips for years, and I go there just for that dish. And the beer, naturally. People are just now starting to listen to me?

“Best Hot Dog”

Good Dog/Bad Dog is the best reason to abandon vegetarianism. I took a friend there a couple of weeks ago on the promise of excellent hot dogs only to find they’d just closed, so I sulked across the street at Pizzacato instead.

“Best Mexican Restaurant”

Esparza’s is 11 blocks from my apartment. They serve excellent ostrich nachoes. Ask me how I know.

“Best Local Brewer”

Search my blog for “Bridgeport” and you’ll see how much I love their beer and how often I’ve been there, “Pearl-ized” brewpub or not.

“Best Vintage Clothing”

I have 12 shirts from Buffalo Exchange…plus the one I’ve wearing.

“Best Alternative Transportation”

I don’t spend $60/month to get to work because of the charming people I meet every morning. But I do spend $60/month because we have the best public transportation system in the country.

“Best Movie Theater (Local)”

The Laurelhurst is 11 blocks from my apartment. $3 admission, 5-minute previews, beer and pizza. What more could I ask for? I wait on movies to go there so I can see them in a more comfortable environment than a massive cineplex.

“Best Professional Sports Franchise”

It ain’t the Blazers, that’s for sure. I saw the Beavers three times this summer, which is about par for most years so far.

“Best Radio Station (FM)”

KOPB is #2 on my preset list, while the #2 choice KNRK is what usually stays tuned in while I drive.

Congratulations, I think I’m officially a Portlander. Last year when I read this WW issue, I took it more as a guide to places I should be going. This year, I was surprised to find that it was full of places I’m already going. There was a bit of overflow from last year (Bridgeport, Cha! Cha! Cha!, etc.), but most places were new.

So here we are at the end of August, and I’ve had a topic of interest on my mind for the last few weeks or so, and while I’m not particularly interested in soliciting opinions on the matter, if Erika’s original timetable still holds true, she’ll probably be returning to Portland in a few weeks. So my ponderance is, should I reach out and make an effort to contact her, should I wait for her to reach out to me, or should I just let the whole thing go?  The fact remains that if she’s going to be back home for an extended period of time, it might be a good idea to extend the olive branch. I don’t know. I’m just talking here. I’m really, really not soliciting opinions as to what I should do. I’ve found that the best way to screw things up is to take someone else’s advice on something like this, and I’d prefer that if I do something to screw my life up that it’s my own decision.

As I told someone the other day, I guess patience will have to be the key, and it all comes down to what I feel like my tolerance for emotional pain is this calendar year.

Work’s been going OK. One of my coworkers left for greener pastures, so we’ve been a person short for the last month which has raised my blood pressure a bit, but we’re getting a new manager in a couple of weeks. I don’t know how his technical knowledge is, but at least some of the admin tasks can be offloaded on him and free up my boss to focus more on the tech work we need done. We need a new database admin, but I’ll take what I can get for now.

On another note, I’d like to make another request for donation to my Race for the Cure sponsorship. I’ve been jogging two or three times a week since early January with this run specifically in mind, my goal being to shave three minutes off my total time from last year. That’s an ambitious goal, and it means I have to run at least a seven-minute mile for three miles. If this were just any old jog I’d merely brag about my time, but since it’s for charity I’d like to once again solicit donations if you feel you can swing it. It’s for a good cause, it’s tax-deductable.

http://rfcp.convio.net/site/TR?px=1194928&pg=personal&fr_id=1020&s_tafId=4161%22&

Anyway, that’s about all I can think of for now, and the CD I’ve been listening to is drawing to a close. Not like I don’t have more music in my iTunes library to follow it, but it makes a nice bookend to my writing.

Thanks for reading.