Last night we decided to pay a visit to the food cart corner of Hawthorne and 12th. We had grabbed a steaming paper box of poutine a week or so earlier, and although it was surprisingly delicious, the other late night options had caught our eye, too. 
    We pulled up and parked, and made a circuit of the carts. Mexican, soup, potato-based fried things, and an anarchist cart named YARP which just reminds me of that trail mix recipe, GORP.  I got drawn in by the neatly lettered sign advertising Q BBQ. They have a rotating menu, and this week's special was brisket. Saucy, steaming, brisket. I got a smear of dark barbecue sauce on my sweater, but so help me, it was a gorgeous pile of soft meat on a bun, and it was the best thing I've eaten in just about forever.
    Tonight, Dave came by the store as I got off of work, and when we wandered into the Fred Meyer to buy gum, I asked if he was hungry. He wound up admitting that he had gone by and gotten some more brisket, right before he picked me up. I struck a deal, right then and there. I would buy his gum, he would take me back by the food carts for my own brisket. When we both got into the car, I could still smell the sauce lingering in the air. "You wouldn't have gotten away with it for long," I said.
   As I waited for my brisket, Dave crossed the street to Burgerville. He came back with a bag of sweet potato fries and a milkshake, and by God, if life wasn't truly perfect at that moment in time, there would be no reason to ever assume perfection was possible. Brisket,  thick berry milkshake, and sweet potato fries.

Tags: awesome, brisket, food, milkshakes
Current Location: the other side of hungry

     Dot got up in the morning, and boy, were her eyes wide to see all the snow from yesterday gone all slushed and dirty. Here she'd been hoping to have a day off, lots of fun and games and maybe a trip to the liquor store to visit her friends Jack and Evan. But no, it looked like the big old bookstore was going to be open for business, so she yawned real big and got ready to start the day. First, she strapped on an apron and made some muffins. Mmm, muffins, with tiny blueberries bursting with flavor. Why, the whole house smelled good! Soon enough her roommates were sniffing around, and didn't they all have a swell time with the fresh baked goods!
       Pretty soon, though, it was time to go find Mr.Volvo and get across town, so Dot put on her long red jacket with the white fur trim, striped mittens, her brown Doc Martens, a lovely plaid skirt, and some bright red knee-highs. You look like Santa Claus, her roommates said! Ha ha, said Dot, no presents for you! That's a dumb joke! Later, though, Dot didn't care one lick what those nasty old roommates said about Santa Claus, because she could pull her big white foxfur collar up around her ears and even though it smelled slightly doggy, it still kept her so very warm even when the wind blew quick and spiteful down Belmont street.
       Stomp stomp! Went Dot through the snow, while cars went whishing past in the slushy road. She stepped very carefully around the puddles gathered at the curbs, and after avoiding the crazy people talking to themselves at the busstop, she finally found Mr.Volvo, right where she had left him. Don't be sore, Mr.Volvo, she said. The only reason I left you here is so you wouldn't get hurt.
       It's okay, Dot, said Mr.Volvo. And he gave a happy Volvo rumble and started up, just like that! Dot flicked on her lights (Safety first, Mr.Volvo, she said) and pulled away, off to work at the big old bookstore.
       Once she got to work, what did she find there but Bagels, and hot cocoa, and the color comics pages! Boy, was that nice. Dot sat and read the paper, and drank her cocoa, and talked to the blue-mohawked boy. I bet today's going to be great!, she said, but the boys in shipping weren't so sure. It's awful busy in the call center, they told her, so she went in and put on a headset and spent the next 8 hours helping people get their Christmas gifts sent just as fast and as cheap as she could. Isn't it funny, she told her friends, it seems like all these folks plum forgot about the Christmas season, huh? And they all just remembered on the same day!
       Dot looked in the big bin of free books in back, and she could hardly believe it when she found an book older than any other book she had ever found. It was printed the same year that Marie Antoinette was guillotined! This book was so old, that all the letters that were supposed to be "s" actually looked like "f"s. This book was from 1793. Dot decided to take this spectacular, falling-apart book home with her.
      Once work was over, Dot put on her big fur-trimmed coat again. She had promised her friend Magster a trip to the airport, but wouldn't you just know it? While she was taking Mr.Volvo over to Magster's apartment, Dot's neighbor Cole called, with free tickets to the Death Cab For Cutie show at the Crystal Ballroom.
     What a quandary, Mr.Volvo! she said. I mean, who wouldn't want to see Ben Gibbard and Co.? Mr.Volvo rumbled along the road, but couldn't tell her what to do. Dot made a few phone calls, and then a few more, and then she did some arithmitic in her head, and then she worked it all out! First, she picked up Cole from work. Then, she picked up Magster, who lived only a few blocks away, and they all drove to the airport. Dot thought maybe everyone would like to listen to the Killers cd. It was sure catchy. Not everybody felt like singing along, though. Somehow, they just didn't like the Killers, and thought that the line "I got soul but I'm not a soul-jah" was not lyrically sound. No, no, said Dot. The Killers don't have to make sense. They just sound really good, and they make you feel cool when you're driving in your car.  
       After dropping Magster off at the Airport (look at the planes, Mr.Volvo!), Dot and Cole drove all the way back into Portland. Once, they thought they were lost in Gresham, and that they were going to miss the show, because an exit was blocked. Dot got sad, and said a few bad words. Luckily, though, they made it to the Crystal Ballroom on time, after finding a great parking spot. I hope they don't tow my car, said Dot. It's past the time where they enforce shipping zones, right?
      Cole and Dot went into the show. Cole had her name on a special list, and Dot got her hand stamped as a "plus one". What a great show! said Dot. Thanks for being awesome, Cole. As it turned out, not only did Death Cab play a bunch of great songs, but they also filmed a video. Wow! This is the best indie Christmas ever, said Dot, and it's all thanks to my great friends and awesome job and the cool city I live in!

Tags: awesome, friends, lists, music, portland, shows, street cred
what i hear: Killers-Smile Like You Mean It

Oh. My. Goodness.
Be prepared to have your mind utterly blown.
By this link.
It is magically delicious, folks, and you know that if I link something I'm not just kidding around. In fact, this is a downright charitable act, since this means I won't be able to surprise any of you with my own renderings.

Tags: awesome, links
how i feel: Woo!