This town is crazy, and nobody cares...

the title of this post is in the top two song lyrics that infect my brain lately (courtesy of Beck). the other (courtesy of Elliott Smith) is "walking around, up and down, division street; i used to like it here, it just bums me out to remember..." that last one probably wouldn't be so prevalent were i not living a block from division...

anyway, this town is quite nuts. don't know exactly where i fit in, but i do. that is, i guess i seem native enough. i keep getting asked directions anyway.

and the bus. lord how the bus is a bad thing on which to base your take on a city. i was doing that for a time, but it passed. i mean, the bus is really quite representative, but also shows the underbelly. from a car you aren't so immersed in the underbelly. you can quickly drive by rather than be riding along.

i want a car, but i need a bike. really, i wouldn't use a car but a couple times a week from where i'm at. commuting downtown would be miserable for traffic and parking, and it's 15-30 minutes to downtown on the bus, depending on traffic... and thirty minutes is a stretch. but to be in your own pod is nice sometimes. i guess i'm into the car thinking because i borrowed my roommate's car yesterday to pick up my other roommate's prescriptions, and the convenience is nice... but the cost is unnecessary... maybe a flexcar(tm)?

bike-friendly, thy name is portland. more bikes ride down my street than cars. bikes of all shapes, sizes, models, modifications. crazy.

was walking downtown on friday, on my break from work, and noticed that you're never too far from a park. like the city planners were like, "well, we could put a building here, but we're already three whole blocks from the nearest park," so they made it a park instead. a couple of blocks from my house is the smallest park i've ever seen. i think it's about two or three lots big. but it is a park, named and with a playground and everything.

but i'm not a yuppie living in the pearl, i'm not all tattooed from head to toe, not a white guy with dreads, or a hipster... guess i am just a regular guy, as i've been told... and i guess that's fine.