Taxes and the Suburbs

This is a little poem I made up the other night while I was trying to do my taxes:
I'm doing taxes, I hate taxes
Used to love taxes
Cause I got all my money back
Now I have to pay instead
Stupid Independent Contractor status
I'm broke, oh so broke
I hate taxes

On Wednesday I went out to Lake Oswego for an interview. When we had lunch and I told Igor where I had gone he said, "Oh, you mean 'Lake No-Negro'?" I was wondering why I was getting stared at so much. I usually have a strong, physical dislike to places like Lake Oswego (for those not from these parts, Lake Oswego is one of the rich suburbs of Portland - people like to say places like Lake Oswego are 'in the Portland metro area', but that's just a pretty name for the 'burbs).

Despite the fact I hate Lake Oswego and am really glad I wasn't brought up to want to live in a place like it, I actually had a pretty interesting time going out there and coming back. There was a guy on the return bus that looked like a younger, tough Lyle Lovett and I couldn't help but stare at the natural pompadour his hair made. Fascinating. I wrote down more while I was on the bus, but I've misplaced the thing I wrote in.

*Temporal Note: I'm actually posting this on April 12th*

What has the IFL got that I haven't

On Monday night I was sitting at home , watching the IFL and feeling pretty useless. That’s the International Fight League for those who don’t know (it's only international because there's one team from Tokyo, even though most of that team is made up of Americans). There's even a team from Oregon, The Wolfpack - grrrrr! Watching Monday night Fox programing is kinda depressing and made me aware of every precious second of my life I was wasting. I was also playing a computer game - but saving the universe from the dark side of the Force is not the kind of productive that makes the world a better place. It was so bad that I was looking at the IFL fighters and feeling crappy that they've done more with their lives than I have. IFL fighters, the rejects of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, were making me feel like a loser. Some days are worse than others.

Yesterday I should have done more to get my little scooter insured , should have packed some - but I worked until 5:30 and then had to take a shower and go shopping. The little things always take up so much time, the minutiae of day to day life, and all my big plans tend to get pushed aside.

So, today I tried to break the cycle of inactivity and feeling useless. I went into the office for most of the day (even got all pur-teed up in a fancy skirt and my cowboy boots), came home and washed the dishes, packed some more while watching Tron, actually responded to some emails and sewed some more of the cloth book for my cousin (yes, I have been working on that since December). Oh and the best thing I did today . . . bought a rad helmet to wear when i ride my scooter.

I have to wait until it's mailed to me to try it on, but as long as it's big enough for all my hair, i will have one bitchin' helmet.

*And* I came to the decision that I need to clarify some of my personal feelings - figuring out how I'm going to do that will have to wait until tomorrow.

Now a quote from one of the IFL's champion fighters:
"I like to punch my opponents in the face because people in the audience like that, it really seems to get people excited."

yup

I wrote this on Friday:

The end of the week and I feel pretty damn weak. Taxes, job interviews, scooters with white reflective paint, killer nuns and museum antics. I am done with this week - I just really hope it's done with me.

Me and Annalisa found a house that's going to work for us. We move on the 24th and I cannot wait to get out of this old house. Aside from the fact that it is on the fringes of what can be considered the city of Portland, it's also at the ass end of nowhere. Although, I'm starting to see more and more hipsters shuffling around Foster, so give it a few years and the yuppies will move in to gentrify everything.

Movies for me this week included "Killer Nun", a disturbing Italian film Igor gave me to watch. It's the kind of movie that made me laugh and then cover my eyes. A critical look at the Catholic church and repression, while also being the cheesiest thing I've seen in a while. I know they're nuns, but do they have to be so dramatic?

In secular news, I am now the proud owner of a 1987 Honda Spree, or, the tiniest street-legal scooter ever.

It was cheap, but it still needs its rear tire replaced, a new battery and one side mirror before it's ready for the open road (not to mention tags and insurance). I haven't even paid for it yet and I'm already trying to think up names for it. I'm thinking along the lines of Number 5, Fizgig, or Muffit. I'm thinking cheezy 80's Sci-Fi movie characters . . . any suggestions?

[I've since picked it up and it's now sitting at my house waiting to be loved. I think I freaked out unnecessarily about picking it up. I wanted to get the whole thing over with and it was stressing me out so I was really weird about the whole thing. Sorry to anyone I freaked out by being freaked out.]

Today was a blur of crappiness (I forgot keys to the off-site museum storage on the day I was supposed to let three groups of people in to look at the collection), followed by a weird interview out at Mt. Hood Community College. Why was I not aware that Gresham is so friggin' far away? Or that it's a totally different culture? I wore what I felt were comfortable, acceptable interview clothes - until I got outside city limits. Alright, call me a snob or an elitist, but I'll freely admit when I'm outside my comfort zone. Still, the people in the HR office were nice so I don't think I'd mind working out there. I think the interview went okay, but I can never tell. I hate interviews, mainly because it's really tiring to try and care what people think about you for a twenty-minute interview. Anyway, I have to wait until next week to find out if I was picked for the job or not.

So, another riveting, intermittent instalment of my life has come to a close and what have I learned: I enjoy movies about psychotic nuns, there's a vehicle out there for everyone, and I hate trying to impress someone.

Today: Good fucking riddance to a crappy week. Everything was made better last night when I went to the Delta Cafe with Annalisa, her sister and Shauna. An Old Fashioned and some southern fried catfish makes the world alright.