Concerts: A Year in Review

If you're my friend in any sense of the word, you know I go to a lot of shows. Music has always been a very big part of my life, but it wasn't until I graduated college, moved to the west coast, and had some extra money/time that I started really getting into going to them. I don't really know how to explain why I like going so much, but being able to see somebody live - to be in the same room as them - performing songs you've been singing along to in the car for months (years) is pretty sweet. There's this energy there, and you're surrounded by strangers who all love the same band you do. You sing and dance and let loose and get to spend an evening with someone you look up to/relate to/enjoy. I thought it would be kind of fun to look back at 2015 and reminisce about some of the awesome shows I was able to see this year.

Decemberists Day

I feel like I have a kind of small circle of bands I follow pretty closely, and a lot of them released albums in 2015 - of Montreal, Titus Andronicus, SSLYBY, Telekinesis, and The Decemberists. The Decemberists are a newer to me band that I'm thankful for having friends tell me about, since they're a local Portland band. They released a new album in January, and the mayor of Portland declared it "Decemberists Day" on January 20th. They held a mini-concert INSIDE City Hall downtown. It was short, cute, fantastic, and we stood next to the sister and parents of a pretty legendary Decemberists member. I even got to see Reggie Aqui interview Colin Meloy *swoon*

Kishi Bashi and Tall Tall Trees

A week later Kishi Bashi came to town with a string quartet and Tall Tall Trees (banjo man). I've seen Kishi Bashi many times now, but each time is unique, and this was the first time I'd seen him with more than just him on strings. It was so beautiful, and almost majestic hearing those arrangements - I'm glad he's released a live string quartet album finally! The show was at the Aladdin which I wasn't super excited about because it's seated, but everyone ended up standing anyway. They ended with an acoustic version of Bright Whites and it was gorgeous. I got to meet Tall Tall Trees after the show which was seriously a highlight of the year. I gave him some of the "In Your Pocket" quote things he collects, we talked about JLP, and I gave him about 5 hugs. Life highlight.

OKGo at Crystal Ballroom

March was a heck of a busy month and it was amazing. I saw of Montreal in DC before spending a few days with my mom in San Diego, came home to see OKGo, of Montreal twice with Yip Deceiver opening, and rounded out the month with Kishi Bashi opening for Guster (WHAT). I'd seen OKGo once before, but it was a pretty small show on a small tour before their new album came out last October. It had a few optical illusions and some cool tricks they did, and LOTS of confetti. This time was pretty similar but way bigger and more over the top. They spliced together a video of actors saying "OK" and "go" from movies to open which was cute, Damian came out in the audience right next to use to sing 'Last Leaf', we decided their confetti budget is more than my annual salary, and for the encore they did the 'Million Ways' dance. LEGIT. They're just such a fun, creative, imaginative band, and they find ways to bring that to their live shows. OH and they did a Led Zeppelin cover. So awesome.

Lanc, aka David

of Montreal is my favorite band of all time ever, and I'm lucky enough to get to see them in multiple cities, due to them playing shows in Seattle and having friends gracious enough to host me and go with me in other cities. They also usually do multiple tours a year, so I ended up seeing them 5 times in 2015. Five times!! I saw them in DC, Portland, and Seattle in March. Their shows are crazy, creative, sweaty, therapeutic, dancey FUN. The DC show was fun, they did "We Were Born Mutants Again with Leafling" which had me really close to tears and was gorgeous. I don't think I'd ever heard that song live, and the visuals they did kinda stab you in the heart. It's hard to explain an of Montreal show to someone who hasn't been to one, but they do lots of visuals and dressing up, and Kevin looks better in make up, glitter, and tights than just about anyone. Their Portland show was amazing, and Yip Deceiver opened which was the coolest thing (Dobby and Davey make up Yip Deceiver and they both were in of Montreal for awhile). David actually came out to find me after the show to give me his setlist (with acting notes and all) because I was wearing my JLP Stay Rad shirt. How awesome?! I was getting a drink and I saw him walking out and looked around me like "is no one seeing this?!" and I kinda took a step in his direction and he locked eyes with me and goes "Hey! This is for you!" Amazing. I also got to talk to Dobby after the show. What an amazing night. The next day I drove up to Seattle to see them again. I got picked on by strangers for being a super fan (because I recognized Bennett outside and knew his name...ok). Yip Deceiver was awesome again. They do a killer cover of Jennifer Paige's "Crush" and I got to talk to Davey after the show who remembered me from the E6 tour they did last year/my phone case. While they were setting up the stage for of Montreal, David came over to me and shook my hand and was like hey how are ya? What an awesome guy, seriously.

KB being beautiful

Yip Deceiver (and Clayton)

About a week later was Kishi Bashi again, this time opening for Guster. Hello high school! It was awesome to see that Guster is just as much a laid back jam band as ever. They seem to have so much fun up there and love to laugh. One of the guys messed up on one of the songs, and they were like "Ya know, we messed up, but I don't feel like you're laughing AT us, I feel like we're all in this together" or something of the sort, and it was cute. They had Kishi out for a few songs to play violin parts, and my head exploded a little bit. Somehow I knew every song they played and had the best time singing along like I was 15, and we nabbed the setlist cuz we're cool like that.

Kishi Bashi playing with Guster at the Crystal Ballroom

Deerhoof

Record Store Day was not long after this, and I got the only thing I cared about - the of Montreal live album. Part of it was recorded in Portland, so that made it extra special. It was also the 20th anniversary of The  Dandy Warhols first album, so they played most of that album an in-store down the road from me. It was a small intimate thing and really cool to witness, especially being a "Portlander" myself now. Red Bull Sound Select put on a $3 show at Dante's in early May with Deerhoof, so I went to that. It took me awhile to "get" Deerhoof after I first heard them, but I enjoy them now, so I went. They are loud and nonsensical, but all business. Basically, I want to be Satomi when I grow up. They had some great local openers, too, which is part of the reason they do Sound Select. I almost didn't go, but I'm glad I went.

This is getting way longer than I was anticipating, and I'm mostly just recording this all for myself, so I think I'm going to stop here and break this up into 2 parts. Coming up is more of Montreal, lots of Ben Folds, some Janelle Monae, and much more!

What I Learned From Running

Late last year, I decided I wanted to start running. I've always wanted to like running, but I'm not sure why. I've always thought it was so boring and pointless, I could never run very far without wanting to die, and did I mention it's boring? But I want to like it, and needed some sort of exercise, and really wanted to prove to myself I could do it. It was a good project to start. I feel like running has taught me a lot of surprising things and important lessons. I kept this journey a very private thing, but feel like I want to share it a little bit now. So, in no particular order, here are some realizations I've made since I started running that I feel can be really relevant to other aspects of life.

You can RUN alone, but you don't have to run ALONE. When I decided to start running and that I wanted to do a 5k, I told nobody. I was embarrassed with how much work I would need to do, I was afraid of not succeeding, and kind of wanted to reserve the right to just give up (bad idea, but true). For the most part, I really did kept it to myself, but after a few weeks I just needed someone to talk to about it and share things with. Serious thank you's to Chelsea and Amee for letting me vent, sharing wins/losses, and keeping me accountable. There were a small handful of other people I reached out to for tips and advice along the way - people I knew who had experience and help to offer, and who I was comfortable being open to because I knew they would support me no matter what. I really hate asking for help at anything in general, so I appreciate how willing the people I reached out to were to help me and I need to remember that asking for help is OK. They taught me stretches, helped me get fit for shoes, and were just all around helpful. I hate running when other people are at the gym and I can't run next to somebody outside - I kind of have to run alone. But, I didn't need to experience everything by myself, and for that I'm extremely grateful.

It's easier to keep going than it is to start. What is the saying - it takes 21 days to form a habit? Something like that. Getting started is the hardest part. Once I made going to the gym 3-4 times a week a routine for myself, it became so much easier. Easier to actually physically show up to the gym, not necessarily run! I stopped running after my 5k for a few weeks (ok a month...) and it's been SO hard to get back into it. I think back to the couple months leading up to the 5k and it was just a thing I made myself do. I didn't push it off every day, telling myself "maybe tomorrow..." and that's how it was at the beginning. I found myself going back and reading a blog from Chelsea about motivation more than a few times and kept thinking to myself "Forget motivation. Just do it." You can't wait for it to feel right or the mood to strike you. The first few weeks were rough, but it's so surprising to think back to how determined I was when I was in the swing of things. I even went running on vacation in San Diego!

Running next to the ocean in San Diego

Our minds are SO powerful. I feel like a lot of cliches are based around this sort of phrase, but I've experienced how much your frame of mind and attitude seriously effect outcomes. There were days I went running, and my mind was already in poor state - "Running sucks I hate this I'm tired I don't want to go." I would run anyway, be miserable, not have a good run, then be miserable when I got home because it was a crappy run. I can't always force myself to be positive about running, but I try. Going into it with a good attitude, confidence, and positive thinking changes so much. It was crazy to me to actually see the difference of that - not only did those runs feel better, they were actually EASIER. Every time I had a great run or reached some milestone I set for myself, I went into it with an enthusiastic and positive attitude from the beginning.  I wish I had some trick to keep myself in a positive mindset about running because it really effects so much.

Am I better than I was yesterday? I have this bad habit of comparing myself to other people, in all aspects of life. It's something I kind of do unconsciously, and running pointed that out to me, and how seriously detrimental that can be. It had been a few months of mostly treadmill running, and I looked in the mirror and saw how SLOW I was running. I didn't have any illusions of being a speed demon, but I was like "I FEEL LIKE I'M RUNNING SO MUCH FASTER THAN IT LOOKS LIKE WTF IS THIS SERIOUS?!" I was so discouraged, especially running next to some seeming track athlete at the gym. Negative thoughts started creeping in - "this is it? You've been running for months and this is it? You're hardly even running... look at this girl right here. She's running 7 minute miles and you're barely not walking." It took me awhile to get out of that line of thinking and what did it was thinking back to where I was 3 months ago compared to where I was that day. Was I better than I was when I started? Am I still getting better? It was hard to see, but there's no way I could have run what I did that day on my first day of this. I had progressed so far for myself. Sure I wasn't anywhere close to Speedy McSpeedster next to me, but I didn't need to compare myself to her. Why would I? I needed to recognize all the hard work I had done and all the progress I had made myself - that's all that matters. I had to stop judging myself and just give myself some credit for what I'd accomplished. I know maybe that doesn't seem like a big thing, but it was a huge thing for me to understand and recognize, and to change my way of thinking. I also tend to get discouraged easily. I had to recognize bad days happen. Days where I just don't do as well as I'd hoped or know I can. And that's ok! That doesn't mean I'm a failure and need to quit. It means I had a bad day and can do better tomorrow.

Pet Peeve: "You finished it!" Running the 5k sucked. I had just got back from San Diego and came down with a terrible cold (cussing airplanes). I actually very seriously considered going to the doctor (big deal for me), and wasn't sure I was going to run the race. On the day of the race, I was hacking up a lung and just felt kind of all over miserable. I set out my "Medication Plan" the night before if I decided to run - Delsym, Ibuprofen, Sudafed, Nasacort, Allegra, cough drops, anything to hopefully keep my head and lungs from exploding. It was pretty miserable, I did horrible, but "I finished it." People say that and I'm like... yeah but what other option did I have? I'm not going to just, ya know, stop in the middle of the field and stay there... even if I walked literally the whole thing, I still would have "finished it" so it's really not any kind of accomplishment. I appreciate the sentiment, but it just kind of doesn't make sense. That being said, I AM proud of myself for accomplishing what I did and sticking to my goal, and am actually almost looking forward to another 5k and for it to be more successful.

Ok so the flask was just a matching birthday present...

I need a goal. I need to work toward something. After I signed up for the 5k, I found myself taking things much more seriously. There was so much less procrastination because I had an end game. It gave running a reason because I wanted the 5k to be successful. I also had mini-goals/milestones I set for myself along the way. Accomplishing those felt SO rewarding, and remembering that feeling kept me going and creating new goals for myself because I wanted to reach them and experience that feeling again. And again, I had to keep myself from comparing my goals to other people, and letting myself be excited when I accomplished things I set for myself that were significant for me. Being able to share those accomplishments with my "support crew" and letting them be excited for me helped, too :)

Runner's high is REAL. Seriously real. After my second or third run, I just had this wave of loving EVERYBODY and immediately texted Chelsea and asked if she'd run a 5k with me sometime (fully aware it was the endorphins making me do that). I've felt that way a handful of times after running - happy, energetic, and motivated. And they've always come after having a good attitude and pushing myself.

All in all, it was a really fantastic experience and is something I hope to continue and keep in my life. I mean, I even have 2 pairs of running shoes now!

12x12x12 Pictures Part 2

Let's just jump right in here - the other 6 pictures of my 121212 for 2014!

Top Left - This was a rough one, but a big "life experience" this year. Life hadn't been going so great, so I worked on this big plan to see some people up in Washington I hadn't seen in ages. Everything started falling apart - people all of a sudden weren't going to be around or just stopped answering me, a guy I was sorta seeing totally bailed on me, it just seemed doomed but I was determined to still go and just enjoy a good weekend. I got up to Seattle and I was leaving my car when I forgot I wanted to grab something from my backpack in my trunk, then just threw it back in the front seat instead of opening my trunk again. I got back a few hours later and... yup. Window smashed in, backpack stolen. There was nothing super important in there (no money/computer/etc) but it was a super shitty feeling and I've never had something like that happen to me before, and it was like bad piled on top of bad. Plus, that was the best backpack I've ever had and I can't find a new one just like it anywhere (and obviously don't remember the name of it). Life lesson, etc etc but it still sucked.

Top Middle - HOME! This was taken when I was able to make a surprise trip home a few months ago. Miss that place. A lot. 

Top Right - Kishi Bashi. I was front row for his show at Wonder and it was SO AMAZING. That guy is so talented and it's been great watching his career grow. He is pretty cool interacting with fans and he just released his own coffee (yes I ordered 2). Read my Kishi Bashi history here (I know I'm sorry, without Facebook all my pictures don't link right I'm sorry). Besides coffee, he releases a lot of cool stuff (fun colored vinyl, handmade stamp post cards) and just always has such a positive vibe. And his music is ridiculously original and fun. 

Bottom Left - Woo boy. Snails Pace Race has made a huge life comeback in 2014. We played the game as kids and randomly later on also, and for some reason I was feeling nostalgic and wanted to play it so I bought it and brought it to some HOBY stuff. Smack talk ensued by the truck-full. Also I enjoy that this picture has Branson's door tag in it because he was a big part of many HOBY shenanigans this year and it was the first time he was able to go to HOBY NYCentral.

Bottom Middle - this is a picture of Multnomah Falls just outside of Portland. I stopped here on my way to Idaho and also brought my mom here when she visited. I'm glad I was able to share this with her, and it makes me remember her and Kevin's trips out here, and how much I love this city.

Bottom Right - I took this at probably the most moving and personal concert I went to all year. This is a picture of Bryan Poole, who played guitar for the longest time in of Montreal and who was always my favorite, playing with Elf Power (Jamie was there too and I kind of flipped out a little). It was amazing to be able to see BP and have him play my favorite guitar (on Everlasting Scream, no less). I was right in front of BP, and after Elf Power, the girl standing next to me said "You just looked so happy during that... you had a smile on your face the whole time and it was so awesome to see... and nice shirt" (Stay Rad). However, the thrilling part is they were opening for Neutral Milk Hotel. Jeff asks that nobody take pictures of his shows, and I respect that, so I don't have any pictures of him during the show (yes I do have one of him crossing the road beforehand...). Being able to actually see NMH live was such an amazing experience, and it's impossible to put into words who this band is and what they mean to so many people and how actually spiritual it feels to stand right in front of Jeff and sing along with Holland, 1945, with hundreds of other people. When he stops playing and just asks us to sing with him... so much of it was completely surreal. AND somehow I snagged a setlist from their first night which is proudly displayed on my wall o' musics in my living room. I cannot wait to see them one more time in Eugene next year before they possibly hang it up for good. 

It was a pretty eventful year. Now if I could only make some 2015 goals...

12x12x12 Pictures Part 1

I enjoy taking pictures and being able to look back on moments, but I try not to get too crazy with it. It really annoys me when I see people at concerts have their phone out the entire show - you gotta experience it! Without experiencing it what good are the pictures?! Anyway, so sometimes I miss cool things, but I'm ok with that. Chelsea posted about a 2014 photo challenge, and I thought it'd be cool to flip back through my photos from the year and reminisce a bit and pick out 12 important photos from the past year. What I liked about the "challenge" especially is this part of the description - "Tell us about your year's greatest lessons, stories, insights, sorrows, and triumphs!" So I picked some pictures that were NOT of happy memories, but are still a part of my 2014 experience. Here we go!

Top Left - the most depressing snowstorm of my LIFE. I'm not a big news/weather watcher, so one morning I took off for Roseburg for an appointment with my electrophysiocardiologist. Slowly, snow started blowing lightly around the highway and kind of out of nowhere traffic just STOPPED. I was checking twitter and the news and there was a really big accident (18 cars + tractor trailer I think) about 30 miles ahead and snow started falling like crazy. I left at 10am I think, made it about 1 hour south by 2pm, turned around and headed back, and got home by about 7 I think. It was TERRIFYING. Roads hadn't been touched and it just kept snowing and traffic basically was not moving. There was one hill where it seriously looked post-apocalyptic - there was one narrow path where you could drive through in a 4 lane highway because cars were just turned every which way, and beyond that barely anybody had been driving so there was snow piled up and ruts everywhere and I am just SO thankful I made it home safe that day. The picture was taken in the original traffic jam where I was questioning all life decisions.

Top Right - HOBY NYCentral, my home! This picture combines a great view of Lake Ontario at Camp Hollis, and the Mattecini twins! We tried convincing the ambassadors that Andrew and "Randrew" were twins with moderate success.

Middle Left - Kevin came to visit this summer and we were able to go to the coast and see some HOBY friends. These are our happy birthday faces.

Middle Right - HOBY Oregon facilitators. Enough said.

Bottom Left - ok so I didn't TAKE this picture but it is one of my favorite for sure of the year. This was taken at MusicFest Northwest (MFNW). A few months beforehand I realized I absolutely love the band Man Man and was determined to see them at MFNW. I actually skipped the band playing at the other stage before them and listened to their soundcheck instead so I could be up front and can I say worth ittttttttt!! First off, Honus Honus is so friggin cute. They started their set and he's jumping on amps and stuff, and before I know it in the middle of the first song he comes over and puts his hand on my head and his head on his hand and is singing like he's praying for me. It was kind of awesome and their whole set was amazing.

Bottom Right - Sometimes I forget that I'm an adult and if I want to do something, I can do it. I was going through a bit of a rough time this fall and of Montreal was coming to town. Obviously I had tickets for the Portland and Seattle shows which I got months beforehand. I had some time off and felt like I needed to get away and be by myself and clear my head... so I drove to Boise to see of Montreal before they came to Portland. It was super spur of the moment and I didn't really discuss it with many people, it just felt so right to do at the time, and I didn't need anybody's permission to do it if I wanted and I felt like I needed it. So I just drove ridiculously far. The show in Boise was... different. Definitely not a Portland show. of Montreal has been such an important band to me the past 10 years and listening to them as I drove through the mountains of eastern Oregon where I can't even tell you how many tumbleweeds rolled by really helped me sort things out in my head. Oh and this is Kevin being Falcon Vein. I love that man. 

Thanks again Chelsea for the idea! I'll be back soon for part 2!

These are a few of my favorite (weird) things

I like some weird, off-beat things, and what better time to share them than Christmas time? I'm always sad when I bring them up and literally nobody has any idea what I'm talking about. I'd like to talk about some things that I really enjoy that you might have never heard of, and if they sound cool, encourage you to check them out.

The Up Series. I think Andy (Randrew to most of you) introduced me to this. This is a series of documentaries following a group of kids in England. They took a bunch of 7 year old kids from totally different parts of the country and lifestyles and income levels in the 60's and interviewed them. All of the kids were ridiculously cute, and they were all interviewed and asked a bunch of questions - What do you do for fun? What do you want to be when you grow up? What do you think of the opposite gender? etc. Then, they check in with them (at least the ones who agree to continue the series) every 7 years. Of course it's trying to make a statement about what kids are born with and where they end up, and it's just really interesting to see them grow up, and compare their "phases" to your own. For example, this one girl went to a boarding school (Q: who will raise your kids when you grow up? A: a nanny) and went on extravagant trips, and when she's 21 she's chain smoking and obviously super rebellious. She reels it back in, but I don't want to spoil it for you! At least the first two movies are on Netflix Instant (7up and 14up), and I think up to 56up is out.

The Kleptones. This is a band I discovered in high school and they've stuck with me. They're a mash-up band (klep-tone - get it? so clever) but unlike Girl Talk (who I also like) they generally just use 2 or 3 different song per track. And they have all of their stuff free to download on their website. I first listened to A Night at the Hip Hopera which is hip hop songs laid on top of Queen songs! LOVE! They did a similar album with The Flaming Lips, and one called 24 Hours, where they had times associated with each song and ideally you listen to that song at that exact time of day. I've always wanted to try actually doing that but never have. They're fun, dancey, original, and did I mention their music was free?? They also have a lot of movie/tv clips (Lebowski, Clerks, Aqua Teen, etc) Here's one of my favorite songs, Stevie Wonder and Jet -

Chicken Wing Pizza. It blew my mind when I moved to Oregon that it seemed like nobody had heard of chicken wing pizza. It's the best thing ever, and the best I ever had was actually in high school and you pretty much bribed the lunch ladies to get a corner piece. It's a ton of cheese, chicken, and hot sauce. Some places put blue cheese on it, but I prefer NOT to and to dip it in ranch dressing. The IGA at home has the 2nd best (usually) and I always get it when I'm home. Sometimes we have to add extra hot sauce to it, but it combines some of the best things in life - pizza and chicken wings.

Infinite Jest. This book (by David Foster Wallace) is one of the most amazing thing I've ever read. It's clever, it's intense, it's difficult, it's long, it's crazy, and it's hilarious. It basically took over my life while I read it, and for month afterwards. There are about a billion characters I could never keep straight with weird names, a crazy tennis-based world domination game scene that's probably my favorite passage in all of literature, and a pretty intense puppet show. It's so hard to even succinctly say what it's about... it's set during a time (modern though, not really "in the future") where the government sells years to companies (for example, it's not 2005, it's The Year of the Trial Sized Dove Bar), Quebec wants to secede, most of the Northeast US and Southeast Canada are covered in toxic waste and left alone, a video tape is so entertaining people who watch it literally cannot stop, there are some people very serious about grammar, and a lot of it takes place in a drug rehab facility or next door at a tennis academy. How these worlds interact and what is left up to your mind to fill in is genius and I just completely love his writing. I laughed so hard at some sections and some are very emotional and personal. I'm not eloquent enough to explain how awesome this book is and all of the really cool literary thing DFW accomplishes and just how off the wall so many of the great parts are. One of my favorite books, and as soon as I have 3 months of my life to waste I will be reading it again.

Decemberists - The Calamity Song - took my favorite scene out of the book. Eschaton goes SACPOP. Friggin Kittenplan. I seriously want to go re-read this scene right now for the 12th time.

I can't explain why, but I really like kids educational songs. Not necessarily to learn anything from them, but they're just great. For example, I really like Schoolhouse Rock songs, especially Schoolhouse Rock Rocks. But even the original ones are fun and catchy and I can't tell you how many times I've sung along in my car about how to write a check (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiTC4S5FsCg). A lot of bands I love have been on Yo Gabba Gabba, so of course I really like those songs as well. I mean, bands like of Montreal and Apples in Stereo being adorable and singing about brushing your teeth and how bugs can be your friends? I'm in.

I'm pretty sure this is gonna need a part 2 at some point...

OR/NY differences

I've lived in Portland for over 1 year, and in Oregon for more than 4. How crazy is that to think about?? The questions I get asked the most are "why did you move here from NEW YORK?!?!" "what do you miss?" and "what are the big differences between Oregon and New York?" Here, I'd like to address some of the big differences between Oregon and UPSTATE New York!

One thing I think is genius is how Oregon deals with their highways. In NY, all the highway exits are in completely numerical order. No matter how far apart the exits are, exit 15 will always be followed by exit 16, 17, 18, etc. In Oregon, the exits are marked by miles. Exit 15 will be at mile 15 of that highway, and if the next exit is 5 miles away, it will be exit 20 NOT exit 16. I like it because you know how far you are away from where you need to be. I know I have 5 miles to go between exits 15 and 20, I don't have to wonder "Ok so Exit 15... I wonder how far til exit 16..." like I do on the Thruway in New York, and you don't have to worry about thinking "Oh man did I miss it?!' cuz you can just look at the mile markers and see what mile you're at. Another thing I really like is light-staggered merging lanes. This kind of freaked me out at first, but now I love it. Basically, the really busy entrances to highways are 2 lanes, with a red/green light above each lane. Each lane gets 1 car to go per green light in their lane, and it switches back and forth between lanes with a brief pause in between, so you don't have 2 lanes trying to randomly merge while getting on the highway, and then that whole mess trying to merge INTO the highway. Traffic still sucks, but it just seems organized so much better than the massive free for all that it is sometimes on 481 or 81 or anywhere else I've gotten stuck in crappy traffic in New York.

When I first moved here, I listened hard to try and see if I could hear an accent from Oregonians. When I was in Roseburg, I definitely could hear some southern twang from people who lived way out in the woods, but for the most part nobody seemed to have much of an accent. However, there are some different word people use instead of ones I'm used to. Instead of asking if you want a bag for your purchase, people often ask if you want a "sack." There was a huge "are you saying PEN or PIN?!" debacle with a co-worker once, which I think is a problem I've had with a few people here. And it took me MONTHS to realize that this weird word "awnry" that everybody was saying was actually ORNERY. What the heck?! How is it possible everybody thinks that word is pronounced that ridiculously? I DID have a few people approach me and ask if I was from somewhere else, which I found weird because I feel like I couldn't hear an accent from people, so they'd shouldn't be able to hear an accent on me, right? Wrong. A lot of people asked if I was from Minnesota, but the vast majority of people said I sounded like I was from Wisconsin or Chicago. Chicago, really!? I asked what it was about me that sounded weird, and a lot of people said "Something about your A's. You didn't sound like you had an accent until you said the actual word 'accent' and the A is just weird sounding. Definitely Wisconsin." Since when were Oregonians experts on Wisconsin accents, anyway?! I say no, I'm from New York and nobody believes me. I say "No, no, upstate New York" and they still don't believe me. I usually have to get to the "I'm closer to Canada than NYC, dangit!" stage before they understand.

Another huge difference is the WEATHER!!! Summers get up to the same temperatures as they do back home, but they are so dry compared to the gross humid summers we get in upstate! I've had a few people from places like Utah comment that it is so muggy here, and I always laugh at them and said uh no, this is the driest heat I've ever experienced, please visit Syracuse in August and get back to me. But they're from the desert so I guess I can understand. I think because of this change, my allergies have been completely different than they used to be. Back home, I'd have a few completely miserable weeks of allergies that consisted of sneezing constantly, runny/stuffy nose, and itchy/watery eyes. Here, I get just insane sinus headaches. I don't sneeze much, my eyes don't bug me, it's just crazy pressure in my sinuses. And of course, Sudafed is prescription only here (there's another big difference!). I think it has to do with me not being used to the dry heat and probably just a different set of allergens. Also, I remember so many summers where the high was, say, 85, and the low during the night was, say, 79. It just never cooled off (remember, this is also like, 90% humidity so it's just GROSS) at night. You couldn't open windows, go for a walk, enjoy a cool night on the porch. It cools off significantly just about every night here. You can always have the windows open at night and enjoy a nice breeze or cool air. Winters are long and rainy, but I am completely OK with that. I feel like we get rain like NY gets snow, and you don't have to shovel rain so I feel like we come out ahead. It's dark and dreary but I do not mind at all. You're still able to go out and enjoy the outdoors and not need to defrost your car every morning. However when we DO get snow, everything shuts down, which is kinda nice...

Speaking of cars... I don't really enjoy this difference because it makes me feel like New Jersey and that just makes me feel gross, but we can't pump our own gas. There are signs telling you it's illegal, too. A highlight of every road trip to California or Washington, or trip home, is pumping my own gas! Especially in Washington: I enjoy getting looks from people at gas stations because of my license plate. I feel like I've caught them watching me, wondering if an Oregonian is going to be able to figure out this strange and foreign contraption. I wanna be like "New York born and raised, I GOT THIS!"

Dunkin Donuts does NOT exist out here, which my family has gotten used to because sometimes I make multiple trips a day there when I go back east. There really are Starbucks everywhere, but another thing there is a ton of are drive through coffee places. Like it's just a tiny building that is ONLY drive-through, usually on both sides, that have coffee and sometimes smoothies and tea and stuff. And they all try to have catchier names than the rest. I feel like Dutch Brothers is the original though and there are very die-hard Dutch Bros fans here.

Do you feel like these differences are weird? What would you like to know about living in Oregon or New York?

Why have friends when you can have best friends?!

If you know me, I've probably asked you to be my best friend. I mean, why have friends when you can have BEST friends? Rule 2! And if I haven't, I apologize, however - I DO consider you my best friend! I like to make fun music playlists sometimes, and a few years ago I had a friend who wasn't doing so well so I sent him a care package and included a "BFF Mix" for him to listen to. It's gone though minimal changes over the years, but I thought it'd be cool to share it and explain it a little bit. I listen to it when I'm down sometimes and remember all the really awesome people I have in my life. Here goes!

Track Listing
of Montreal - She's my Best Friend. This one's pretty obvious. It's SUCH an amazing VU cover though. "She's my best friend, certainly not the average girl. She's my best friend, understands me when I'm falling down."

The Muppet Movie - Life's A Happy Song. Super adorable. Life's a happy song when there's someone by your side to sing along! Talks about what it's like to have a best friend walking though life with you. Someone to explore with and make things with and be there for you.

Belle & Sebastion - I'm A Cuckoo. "I'm glad to see you, I had a funny dream and you were wearing funny shoes." This song I feel like is about reminiscing with a friend you haven't seen in awhile about fun times together.

Kishi Bashi photo cred ME!

Ingrid Michaelson - You And I. Ok sure so this is more of a love-love song. But I feel like it's saying that even if you don't have two nickels to rub together, you still have each other no matter what, and that's the most important. "I will help you read those books if you will soothe my worried looks and we will put the lonesome on the shelf."

Kishi Bashi - Q&A. This song is SO simple sweet! "You are the answer to my question, you are my accomplice in a crime, you are my wing woman and did I mention we were together in another life?" Just what a best friend is, sung sweetly with a beautiful violin accompaniment. It also kind of makes me sad because so many of my friends are so far away, and I imagine them being here and being my accomplices and wing women :)


Weezer - My Best Friend. I could literally quote this whole song. Pretty on point description of a best friend.

Ben Kweller - Mean to Me. I feel like I hear a lot of people say someone/thing "doesn't know what they/it mean to me." Well then TELL THEM! There's been a lot of shitty stuff going on in the world lately, and I've been trying to make sure people know what they mean to me because, sadly, you never know when you can't anymore. Unfortunately, throughout my life I've not been all that great at doing that, and I'm still not a "comfortable with talking about my feelings" person. I'm sure there are a lot of people who don't know what they mean to me, but I really have some of the best friends around.

Flight of the Conchords - Friends. First off, if you haven't watched Flight of the Conchords, do it. There's one particularly funny episode that is centered around the idea of friends. "If you cross the road and a truck struck you I'll scrape you up and reconstruct you." That's a friend right there.

Queen - Friends will be Friends. Queen was the first band I ever really discovered and got into on my own, so they will always have a special place in my heart, and this song helps. "When you're through with life and all hope is lost, hold out your hands, cuz friends will be friends right til the end." Thankful I have a pretty endless amount of people who fall into that category.

The Beach Boys - Friends. Another oldie, but pretty great. About memories and helping each other out, even with simple things.

The Avett Brothers - The Perfect Spare. "I want to have friends that I can trust. That love me for the man I've become not the man that I was. And I want to have friends that'll let me be all alone when being alone is all that I need." I had something written for this, but I think this quote is just perfect.

Ben Folds Five - Alice Childress. "I think about my friends. Sometimes I wish they lived out here. But they wouldn't dig this town.""Try not to think about it." It sucks so many BFFs are so far away but, to be honest, I feel like a lot of them wouldn't necessarily love living here. Portland is a WEIRD place with strange weather. It's hard thinking about everyone who isn't here and all the fun we could have if they were.

Weezer - All My Friends Are Insects. Dude, your BFFs don't always have to be people!

Hospitality - Friends of Friends. "Cuz you've got friends who are new friends. And friends who are old friends. And friends lookin' out." I have friends I've had for 24 years, and friends I've had for 2 months. It's so nice that by adding new friends, you aren't taking anything away from old friends. It's awesome to have friends who know everything about you, but then friends too who you are brand new to and they just learn about the you that you are now.

OK Go

Japandroids - Younger Us. This song reminds me of college in a big way. I feel like this is about a friend who understands the crazy spontaneous you, and is by your side doing silly things, and you have the same ideas about what crazy silly things are fun. "Gimme that night you were already in bed and said fuck it and got up to drink with me instead."

OK Go - I Won't Let You Down. "Maybe all you need is someone to trust. I won't let you down." Fun dancey song with a good message.

Dance Hall Crashers - Cricket. I first heard this song because Ashleigh, a BFF from high school, made me some awesome mix cds. It's another song that's kinda more love-love, but it's sweet and still BFFy and fun to sing along to. "I will always hold your hand, I'll never let you fall."

Dana Buoy - Call to Be. "All our life, this is just a call to be true to you."

She & Him - If You Can't Sleep. Zooey has such an adorable voice. Sweet lullaby.

The Beatles - With A Little Help From my Friends. Duh.