Gracias Por Viernes

Ever since returning to an office job, Friday is my favorite day of the week.  Not just because the week is over or the weekend is around the corner, but also it seems like there's more awareness and connectedness between community.  Maybe folks are simply out-and-about more as the weekend approaches enabling more opportunities for paths to cross. 

 

Last Friday, the morning started with complimentary Voodoo doughnuts and Trail Head supermicro coffee on the Steel Bridge.  Every last Friday of the month, Shift2Bikes hosts these breakies on the Steel and Hawthorne Bridges.  Another opportunity for Friday happenstances fostered by Portland community.  I arrived just in time to score the last blueberry which I consider to be Voodoo's 'healthy' doughnut because A) it's the littlest, and B) it comes packed with antioxidants.  

At midday the sun broke from a dense fog, so I went for a ride up to Council Crest.  It's hands-down my favorite ride in town to Portland's highest elevation.  Generally there are stupendous views of the surrounding volcanoes from the top, but not this particular Friday since it's socked in fog.   Still, it was an inspiring ride because of the 'Pioneer Woman' sculpture that graces the crest.  Like most mothers, she's strong as steel but sweeter than pie.

Ooohhhhh, we can't wait to meet our new little guy.  Where is he?  What's he doing in there? 

 Come on out mister and greet your new world!  Mom and Pop are eagerly awaiting your arrival, so let's not be toooo late.

Later that evening, Bunny was having a reprieve from her Braxton-Hicks contractions, and she encouraged me to adventure out on the town to a concert at the Wonder Ballroom.   Our friend Sonja turned us onto Beach House last year about the same time that I received news of my Uncle's terminal cancer.   I listened to their album, Devotion, all summer long thinking about dear ole Uncle Davey.  When I arrived at the Wonder, the show was SOLD OUT.   But fortunately, I ran into a former student (from my professor days) who happily traded her ticket for a ride home.  Perfect!  After the performance, I checked in with Uncle Davey and a friend who's also deep in the midst of a battle against cancer.   

Yep.  It's a Dickens of a time here in Portland (as anywhere).  Somehow, the small coincidences of daily life keep me present in the moment, grateful for the past, and hopeful for the future.

Yesterday, the morning bike commute began with a chance encounter with JP, the new MFA Chair of Applied Art & Craft at PNCA, and his family who arrived into town last week.   JP and I had met on the aforementioned Friday to talk shop about Portland's sustainable development, the state of green building and the subtle cultural differences between our charming neighborhoods.   The night before reconnecting, I was thinking about how I needed his email address to forward an academic proposal on the human experience of working and living in green buildings.  Then, VOILA!  He shows up at my neighborhood cafe of all places, and I happen to catch him from the corner of my eye.  The day ended with Bunny and I running into our cartoonist friend Craig outside the grand premiere opening of Coraline at the Schnitz while on our way to watch Slumdog Millionairre, the ultimate film about divine destiny.  

Gracias por Viernes!