Welcome to Portland

It's hard to like a city that's more wet than in the Amazon. It's June in Portland now, and currently 58 degrees. According to Weather.com, that's one of the coldest temperatures in the United States for this day. To top it all off, there is a nice grey covering of clouds in the sky, the ground is dotted with puddles, and you can't sit on any patches of grass within the city limits without getting a wet bottom.

Despite all that, I like Portland. We may not be home to Starbucks and Pearl Jam like a certain neighboring city, but we've got Stumptown and The Decemberists. And Sam Elliott, according to Wikipedia. Who didn't like him in The Big Lebowski (and can quote every line from the Dude)?


One of my favorite things about Portland, particularly since I am in creative business, is the abundance of underground art culture here. Zinesters and DIY publishers are common buzzwords thrown around in every independent coffeeshop from the Hollywood District to Goose Hollow. In fact, I recently had the good luck to discover a non-profit independent publishing resource center: the IPRC on SW Oak off of Burnside. This Wednesday, I'm participating in a Print Gocco workshop. If you want to know what gocco is, swing by the IPRC at 7pm, or look for my post this Thursday.

I grew up in Hillsboro/Beaverton area, but all my extended family are Californians, so I must like it here if I still live here. I also went to the University of Oregon (GO DUCKS), but after graduation everybody moved to LA. Where's the loyalty? What was all that about bleeding green and wearing shirts that said 'Go Duck Yourself'?*

All in all, Portland is a city dear to my heart, despite the crap weather 10 months out of the year. Where else can you grow three eyes from swimming in our beloved river, or keep up with the streetcar by walking beside it?

In the meantime, go check out GoSeePortland.com for more recommendations for what to do around Portland. We're so cool here, we don't even care.

*Still Available!