Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Bus Day

I took the bus everywhere I went today.

I really hope there comes a day soon when that's not notable.

TriMet is awesome.  TriMet plus the Google Maps application on my phone makes anything possible.  I remember the days in Korea where we'd hop on a bus less than half sure of it's route or schedule.  It was fun at times, Jecheon isn't very big, but we often took cabs because the price was the same and you could guarantee (mostly) your destination.

It was nice to be out and about sans automobile.  I even got a little sunburnt.

Ian and I met up after he got off from Oasis and had dinner.  We went to Sushi Land, which turned out to be painfully average.  They did have mini red bean sesame donuts, however; you win some, you lose some.

After dinner we were walking around in the Pearl District and we passed by a very interesting Starbucks (actually, it was called Starbucks Reserve).  It had all of the normal Starbucks menu items, but it also served beer and wine along with some appetizer and lunch offerings.


Ian and I ordered the seasonal wine, which was a single origin prosecco.  It was drier than I expected, but very good.

Apparently, Starbucks is trying to make some of their neighborhood shops more idiosyncratic and diverse.  This one is one of only three that serve the (mostly local) beer and wine.  The original Starbucks Reserve is in Seattle, naturally.



I also hopped into a little artisan shop today and bought myself a couple of new pairs of earrings.  I want real feather earrings, but I can't bring myself to support the practice when I know the origins of the feathers could be (and probably are) shady.

Well, I'm working tomorrow in order to have Saturday off for Grant's sixth birthday party (!!!); good night!

5 comments:

  1. I am loving the evolution of my children. I remember back in the day when the thought of you riding a bus anywhere was a no go proposition. Of course we were talking Grays Harbor where the transit system is less than ideal, or even tolerable. Sounds like you had a awesome day, and I love your earrings. I also like watching Starbucks re-invent itself. They had to eat a little humble pie to get there.

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  2. Sunburnt in Portland? "Man Bites Dog!"

    It's universally alleged, however, that Portland has the best public transit. (Universally in the 2 or 3 places I've read it, that is.)

    Starbucks. I always have mixed emotions about Starbucks, because they essentially ripped off Peet's in the 70s. (Peet showed them how to roast coffee and market it, and there's some murky intertwined corporate history.) IMHO, Peet's still has better coffee, but not a lot better. But maybe that's a geographical bias, since I used to buy coffee at the first and then only Peet's in Berkeley. (Now it's on the stock exchange.)

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  3. Peet's is much better coffee, hands down. What's a bummer for me, is that I don't like their soy milk much. But, I agree with you hands down. I'm apathetically divided, is probably the best way to put it.

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  4. I did not know the history between Starbucks and Peet's Coffee. I too believe Peet's is the best tasting hands down, and I like their choice of soy milk, less sugar. When I drink a soy latte at Starbucks I always think that they added sugar to it, when I know it is just the soy they use, sigh;

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  5. You can read about some of the history here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peet%27s_Coffee_&_Tea

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