a is for awesome

q is for choir has a tiny location, but a big collection. the place had vinyl i've never seen anywhere else. they actually still sell cassette tapes (milli vanilli to simon and garfunkel for like $2.50).

the guy who works there is really nice and made a point to compliment my choice on a le tigre record.

the place also sells portland-gear (guide books, bike stickers, buttons, etc.) so cool and unique.

now for the best part, they sell refurbished turntables as well as vintage typewriters. !!!!!!!!

i'm in love. go there. now. it's on clinton street, north end, portland. yes.

seriously, who comes to portland for vacation?

well you should. most people, including me once, asked, "what the hell is there to DO in portland?" growing up, i think a lot of people associate oregon with mountains, babbling brooks, greenery— i know. i did a geography report on it in 4th grade. BUT the city of portland is fabulous because not only is it pedestrian and biker-friendly, tree-laden and vegan friendly, it's a big and interesting city. my friend quentin had me read the book fugitives and refugees on the city, which is fascinating, but even getting out today and biking across all the bridges, visiting voodoo doughnuts, bumming down to the pearl district— there's just so much here. i'm hoping this blog can help me chronicle my adventures here.

today: portland has five bridges for biker/pedestrian traffic and they are the hawthorne, morrison, burnside, steel, and broadway. i enjoyed traversing each of them today except the morrison which sau claims is not bike friendly, walking room only. i liked the hawthorne the best, iron the second best. i dig the style of the burnside bridge, but the whole suicide thing related to the bridge weirds me out. the broadway bridge is steep. how steep? steep enough to make me bruise my hands gripping my bike handles on the way up.

+ the hawthorne has a section that raises when boats go under. sweet. the view is also amazing— of pretty much the whole city, the water and other bridges.

+ the steel bridge runs the max on top and people walking/running on the bottom. kinda neat. this bridge also grants riders access to waterfront park where there is also a great view and lots of platforms to look out onto the water. beware the bird poo.

later on: near the pearl/downtown border you see the shops merge with 24 diners, cutsy bars with adult clubs, the yupsters and misfits collide. it's kind of great in a way. walking around for a couple hours, pretty sure you could go to whole foods and buy crack in the same 20 minute period. i like that. i like how things can merge even if they don't seem to have anything in common, and become something absolutely perfect.