Kerry the Blue line Max driver

It's been a bad commuting week for Tiffanys. The Steel bridge hasn't been closing and their are fare inspectors at King's Hill that keep making me late. And if this was England, I'd still be filled with righteous commuter rage.

But I'm not.

See, no matter how crappy public transport can get, there are a few people who can make all the difference. One is Kerry, the Max driver that hits Goose Hollow around 8:00am. In the mornings he makes announcements about the weather and tells everyone to have a great day. When I cross at King's Hill or PGE Park, he waves and wishes me a good day. And when I approach the platform at the Fair Complex, he mouths 'Good morning.'

And suddenly all the frustration and anger about late buses and ticket inspections just vanishes. What a difference a nice guy makes!

Related:
TriMet Airline Max

Hey Mambo, Mambo Rock

I didn't really have the time or energy to update while we were moving. I also didn't want to alert our neighbors. Call it paranoia, but the insurance company gave us a really nice rental... eventually. I didn't want the cretins to torch it.

I don't miss them.

I'm back in Portland now. We arrived in late August and I had an interview the next day. I got the job and now work for a place that deals in restoration and preservation of home products. It's a local company. For the most part, I really like it. The money is ok, the benefits are ok and it means I was out of work for almost an exact month. A month is my threshold.

We're living with Mom and Pat, her husband, in Hillsboro right now. I find it frustrating, though I'm grateful. She's pretty critical and it's a bit tiring to come from work where you're being scrutinized just to be scrutinized more at home. Still, it's a nice place to live and I begrudgingly enjoy living with Mom and Pat. As much as I'm having difficulty with the mothering. I'd like to go roller skating right now, but would get told off as my health insurance doesn't come through until November.

But things are finally rolling with the Mr's OHLA application so it isn't much longer. He has a social security number! One that was previously lost, according to the Beaverton office.

I've gone from sitting in the window sill, afraid to be outside in case the neighbors decided to come get involved, to sitting outside in Mom and Pat's little bar area looking at the fields and the barn. We have a little doggy to have fun with, a two year old Shih Tzu that likes to beg, play and gets really excited when anyone comes home. Our older dog, Suda, is going to be put down soon. He has cataracts, arthritis and is mostly deaf. He's also about 18 years old.

I'm going to miss him.

But, in other big animal news, Mom is getting a horse! He's a gorgeous Paint that looks more like a Quarterhorse. He's chestnut and stunning. Mom says he doesn't spook as well. Her last horse wasn't quite broken.

It's Fall in Portland. The leaves are turning, mainly yellow, but some trees are bright red and orange. I took Pip to a pumpkin patch in North Plains a few weeks ago. We wandered around the vines and chose based on size, shape and veiny-ness. We carved them and drank cider.

Life rolls on. I was hit by a pang the other day, I missed Manchester for some reason. Whether that was because I was listening to "Town Called Malice" or not I'm not sure. But I'm happy to be home. I'm happy here.

Cinnamon Bear

Like most kids, my sisters and I used to make yearly trips to a department store to get our wishes granted by a magical figure. We always saw Santa, that was just expected. But what Portland also had, and what we also got to see, was Cinnamon Bear.

Sadly I don't appear to have any photos of him (nor does anyone else) but I remember the anticipation, the cheap suit and the big scary lips. I also remember the cinnamon bears he used to hand out (by far one of my favorite pieces of candy.) When Lippman's finally went out of business, so did Cinnamon Bear and I was old enough to handle it.

I still remember riding escalators and having this sense that there was something special about to happen.

What I didn't know about Cinnamon Bear, and the inspiration for this post, was he was the central character in a Portland radio station's Christmas story. Get Rich Slowly have posted the first 5 mp3s for download. I expect I'll be listening to them on the way home. Maybe it will add a bit of magic to my Christmas malaise.