the unfamiliar bus

neighbor: looks like we got a new neighbor today, maybe more than one, but all i've seen was a guy so far. from looking out the window i see an suv and the basic indie rock uniform. otherwise that's all i know. hopefully he doesn't have an interest in loud music and wild parties...my perennial worry in shared living. landlord was around so we had to hide like illegal refugees in the attic. fortunately he left just when i needed to leave the house. Wish he'd respond to our paperwork so we wouldn't have to lurk around like shadows when the gold colored van comes around. guess all those people that came by didn't make the final cut. it's always fun guessing which one ends up being your new neighbor. the people across the yard and next door are pretty interesting. to protect their privacy i won't use their names, but they're both non-traditional couples who have been very friendly so far. We're a very couple-y black here since these three houses have 4 couples living in them. Makes me wonder if the guy downstairs is single...

today's soundtrack: ashe boshe, baka forest people, ani difranco

homework: a small excerpt from tomorrow's homework assignment:

some cultural attributes of the south: Importance of community and social networks, socializing (small talk, long visits, just about anything is an excuse for a celebration involving lots of food), manners and politeness (southerners are known for this), order of time (nobody hurries, things’ll get done sometime)

some cultural attributes of Japan: collectivism (group based identity-vs-importance of individuality), the idea of “face”, indirect communication styles, not staring at people, reserve, personal space, quietness (not yelling or shouting), reciprocity, keeping emotions to yourself, being humble/modest

thanks y'all i'll have to make a point of thanking a couple of former bosses and liz and jb for getting letters of recommendation to me in time to fill out my gse application and mail it in. it's so nice to have that out of the way. i don't get to read them, but jb sent me a copy to read that's just great. i'll have to return the favor sometime for her. she's a champ.

sunshine it rained a bunch the past few days but has been mostly dry yesterday and today. it gets dark a lot earlier though. the tomatoes no longer appear to be ripening. probably might as well pick them green and bring them inside. i saw otis, my favorite dog yesterday (he'd been gone for a few days) and was excited about not needing an umbrella.

new sights the nice thing about riding an unfamiliar bus in a mostly unfamiliar city is that i get to discover new and exciting things. yesterday i discovered the location of catholic charities (i'll have to go volunteer down there with the refugee program) and the franz bakery outlet (i like their bread and wish i could afford to buy it more often, this may be a solution), as well as a number of new stores and restaurants.
portlands a really cool city and there's tons of eclectic stuff all over the place. i just wish i had some money to go along with my sense of exploration. it's a problem i have a lot...i want to get out more and do stuff but without any money, my routines kinda revolve around what's free (riding my bike and walking around by the industrial park, and going to the library). don't get me wrong though, i'm really good at dumpster diving and finding hidden treasures, but occasionally i want to veg in coffee houses, and go inside a store and not feel like i'm loitering. oh well, some other life.

well i've got class tonight so time to go play student.