Five gone wild (the spring break edition)...

[magnetic_pole]

...and by "wild" I mean "enjoying decadent mid-afternoon naps." I'm in the middle of spring break this week and finally catching up on sleep and feeling more like myself again.

1) Who made you feel good this week, and how? 1) Two old friends--one from high school, one from grad school--who came to the area for work and stayed for a few days to visit. (One of the benefits of living in a popular conference locale.) Plus we still have one more visitor before the week's over! 2) Also, the better half, who's made me scones twice, just because.

2) What did you do this week that moved you closer to reaching your goals? Honestly, nothing. And that's okay. I'll get back to goals next week.

3) What did you most enjoy doing this week? Eating out. Visitors were our excuse to go to the slightly fancy Laotian place nearby, which was amazing (Nam Khao/crispy rice salad, a curry, and a dish with tofu and dill). We also had Cuban food (ropa vieja, pork, plantains), fresh croissants, and white people food for brunch (less remarkable but including a surprisingly yummy quinoa and kale salad with grapefruit and beets). Have I mentioned that I love eating?

4) What did you learn this week? Claritin-D over regular Claritin! We're cat sitting for a downstairs neighbor this week, and the regular Claritin was not doing it for highly cat-allergic me. (Super cute kitties, by the way--one young, curious boy cat with and an elderly, cranky old cat-man who tried to bite me yesterday after ten minutes of apparently enjoyable petting and attention. Not sure what I was doing wrong there.)

5) What’s the funniest thing that happened to you this week? Watching this little guy trying to extradite himself from his predicament.

Comments

[magnetic_pole]

The Claritin D is amazing. I've done cat sitting for extended periods before, and earlier this week I was trying to remember how that was even possible, because I was sneezing and sniffling almost as soon as I sat down in the apartment. As soon as I switched, I realized how differently the two medications affect me.

The food here is really great--and that's just happened in the past ten years or so. There weren't very many places to eat in this neighborhood before about 2008 and not much good ethnic food in this city generally. It's part of a move toward better food nationally, isn't it? Have you seen it in your part of the world, too? One of the out-of-town friends this week was visiting from the midwest and remarked on how much the grocery/restaurant scene has improved in his midwestern city since he moved there about twenty years ago. The 21st century's brought some good things, though it doesn't always seem like it.

Aw, cranky Nellie. *cuddles her memory, but only if she's in the mood for it* M.

[write_out]

Portland has an amazing food scene, not that I'm a gourmand or anything. There are tons of restaurants and a much better variety than when I first moved there. There are lots of pricey places and those seem to be sprouting up more and more, but I have seen more diversity too. As we all know, Maine is WHITE and has very little ethnic diversity, but that is slowly changing in terms of food choices. We have large Somalian populations scattered around the state and we're seeing more restaurants and shops that showcase their cultures. Mexican food is still sadly nothing like it is back west, but I've been seeing more places that seem to be moving away from the standard tex-mex fare. We've got lots more Asian restaurants now, which is great. There are more places to get Pho than there ever were before.

Ha! Oh Nellie..I miss her, but not so much her sharp claws.

I hope you've been enjoying your friend visits! Are you back to work on Monday?

[magnetic_pole]

I was in Portland for a conference a few years ago (actually, quite a few years ago, now that I think about it), and I remember locals saying how much they enjoyed the food there. And more pho places can only mean exponentially better options!

Back to work this evening, actually, in anticipation of class next week. It's the home stretch before the summer! M.