09 September 2009

You can't take it with you... or can you?

I left my beloved Portland behind about a week ago for Boston. Temporarily? I hope so.

In packing to leave, I had to get rid of a bunch of things. I suppose this was appropriate preliminary training in becoming an archivist, trying to figure out what was worth keeping, what was not.

Some minor physical object things I couldn't take with me:
  • Futon
  • Toaster Oven/Other Gadgets
  • Space Heater
  • Pots and pans

Some objects I managed:
  • my massive collection of books (thank you USPS Media Mail)
  • more clothes than I should have taken
  • my computer (which was delayed. screw you, UPS Ground)
  • my bicycle (in theory as it is still in transit via Amtrak)

Other important things of varying levels of tangibility that I couldn't take with me:
  • waking up next to Will, the smell of his hair, etc.
  • my morning and afternoon bike rides on Water Street and the Esplanade
  • lunch kvetch-fests with my co-workers
  • the Food Carts (whether on 12th and Hawthorne or Downtown) that sustained me when I had $6 in my pocket and was too lazy to cook
  • karaoke nights with my Portland friends and other crazy debauched activities taking place late at night
  • soy milk automatically available in carafes at almost all coffee shops
  • no sales tax
  • my various "territories"
More on "territories:"

When I first came to Portland, I mostly stuck around the Hawthorne area. After living there awhile and getting a bicycle and friends all over town, I explored much of the close-in area. I liked playing a game on the map sort of like a military campaign. If I had ever driven, biked or walked there, I claimed it as a territory. If I frequented the area enough, I referred to it as a patrol.

Territories:
  • The random places in NoPo where I went to various social gatherings (either escorted by Will or with Blue, Kev and everyone)
  • Sandy Blvd to the airport (driving only), to 74th (or wherever the Roseway Theater is)
  • Movie Theaters: Bagdad, Laurelhurst, Roseway, Hollywood, Living Room, Clinton Street, Cinemagic, various Regal Cinema locations
  • Excalibur Comics to pick up the latest issue of Chew
  • The Springwater Corridor
  • Oaks Park
  • Interstate bike lane all the way to the Kaiser Permanente facility on the bigass scary hill (*huffpuff*, *huffpuff* going up followed by "OMGIhopemybrakesstillwork!" going down).
  • Alberta from 10th-ish to 30th for First Thursday

Patrols:
  • SE Hawthorne from the bridge down to Mt. Tabor
  • SE Belmont from 12th to 39th
  • Anywhere between the two streets listed above as well as the streets surrounding the area.
  • SE Stark from 12th to 39th (including Laurelhurst Park)
  • The bike ride from my apartment to the NE where I would meet up with Blue, including Lloyd Center and 7th street.
  • The bike ride on the way to work from 12th and Stark down Water Street (or Grand and then Burnside if I got up late) and around the Eastbank Esplanade to Steel Bridge
  • The bike ride to Kev's place all the way the hell out in Woodstock.
  • The patches of Downtown/SW Will and I wandered down, mostly the West Hills and Goose Hollow leading to W Burnside and then to NW 23rd.
  • Old Town (Ground Kontrol, Voodoo Donut)
  • Pearl District
  • Powell's Bookstore (City of Books on 10th and the Hawthorne store)
Sadly, I think I may be forgetting some areas in the lists of territories and patrols. For example, I think I might be embarrassed by the bar list I'd make: too long for my parents, resulting in shame and too short for my friends who kept yelling at me to get out more often.

I like to think that I make the cities in which I live mine in a way, based on how I claim them in memory, hold stories that could only take place in these spaces.

I aim to do the same thing in Boston.

So far, I have claimed the following as territory:

Not sure if these count since I just took the T and didn't walk/bike this way:
  • Orange Line from Sullivan Square to Haymarket
  • Green Line from North Station to Museum of Fine Arts
On foot:
  • My patch of East Somerville from Everett Avenue to Broadway down to Sullivan Square station. There are a lot of Brazilian/Mexican places here so I don't think I'm likely to starve soon.
  • The 4 block walk to the Stop and Shop
  • Washington Street past Union Square
  • Cambridge Avenue in Cambridge from Harvard to the Lechmere Green Line station.
  • Boylston to Chinatown and the edge of the Financial District (yay for Dim Sum and Asian Food stores where I can get a lot of rice noodles for a dollar and hair salons that will actually know what to do with my hair)
  • Time traveling through Commonwealth Avenue by reading the historical statues along the greenway.
  • Being a consumer whore on Newbury (not really, I just picked up a new set of headphones and an AC charger for my iPod). I have yet to go to the comic book shop though, but I think the new Chew is out so I ought to.
  • a bit of Massachusetts Avenue near Berklee school of music. Found a pretty awesome army surplus-esque store where I got my awesome "tactical bag" (like this one, but in black)
  • and of course, the Fenway area, where my school is. The Fens area is pretty too and has a bunch of garden areas, which I can't get into as they are sort of privately owned as part of a garden-share.
Once I get my bike (aka the Mark II... Mark's an awfully funny name for a girl) back, the claiming of territories may become easier.

Anyway, I hope this update is enough to tie you guys (all 4 of you) over for the next few months while I stress over class, papers, projects and internships (part time job=maybe at this point). I also realize that I more or less gave out information that would be useful for tracking me down and stalking me. Ew.