Reversal Part 2
I probably should’ve waited to add the valerian root to my noxious blend! Every time I spit flem into my coffee can cauldron I get a whiff, lol. The gunk in my sinuses has thankfully loosened enough so I can breathe. I’m still blowing my nose fairly constantly, and my Vaseline still comes to bed with me every night for post blow application (and is by my side all day). The first plan was to keep adding to the mix as long as I’m coughing, but I think I may bury it tomorrow, and it can keep steeping on a semi permanent basis.
I’m using the fruits of my illness as a tools, see. I have suffered emotionally to a huge extent, and the social isolation has taken a big toll on the robustness of my health. So I will take my illness, suffering and all the negative feelings that generates and put it allllll into the mix to send back.
I’ve decided to take another rest day from exercise. I had to work out the day before yesterday, as days of lying in bed had made my back so sore. Yesterday I chose a no-impact routine, though it was one of Julia’s. It took a lot out of me. Too much. I hadn’t eaten a substantial meal since Christmas Day & I nearly told Charlie I didn’t want to go to Rogue for burgers after all. I’m glad I rallied. Also glad I thought to bring a notepad & pen with me, as it’s most often loud in there and last night it was.
We had the same waiter as the last visit. I’d asked C to tell him I had laryngitis so he wouldn’t think I was rude by not communicating at all. The funny thing was that after that he wouldn’t look at me, as if I were sporting some deeply embarrassing deformity. I could still smile and nod!
And then they were having a sale on some of their bottled beers and C asked if we could get a case of the IPA we were drinking. The table flyer said, “Ask your server about our selections!”, or something like that. The waiter goes, Uhh… I could check and see if we have it if I get a chance. C was momentarily taken aback and the waiter left. So C grabbed one (from the other room) and then wrote on the table flyer, “Actually the server would prefer you check yourself.”
I still like that place. It’s satisfyingly divey.
Tonight we’re going to check out the cafe outpost of an expensive, foodie-type place (think single bit sized “portions” swimming in huge, fancy plates) that I spent some time on Twitter making fun of today.
The cafe is still pricey, but like a quarter of the “fahncy” restaurant, and I’m pretty sure you might even get half plates of food, or C must think so as he wouldn’t have suggested we try it. Occurred to me that it might’ve been a mistake to reserve the table using my Open Table account, in that case, lol, but C couldn’t remember his password. Or I typed it in wrong.
Things about Portland that suck
Portland restaurants are really not any cheaper than NYC restaurants, and there’s a huge gap in the medium range, comfy cafe level. You’ve either got brewpub or EXPENSIVE, it seems. And I never saw a fee for splitting an entree anywhere in NYC. I went to a so-so Italian place in Sellwood on a pre Ch internet date once, and was shocked to see they’d bill you $5 if you wanted an entree served on two plates. Da fuck?
Also interesting, two of the places I liked best when I was trying to be vegan and virtuous are closing. Portobello is one of the few places that comes sort-of close to NYC levels. Like, why do vegan places here have to be like biker bars serving only junk food, or look like fast food restaurants where you might want to have lunch but NEVER dinner? I don’t get it. Portobello serves decent food and at least as a B- ambiance, but they’re done on the 31st.
Vtopia, the vegan cheese place and cafe, is now crowd sourcing to try to stay open, so you know they’re done. I used to live within walking distance and liked going there. C and I have been together several times, but the last time we went we found a new owner and there was no wine, because apparently the liquor license does not transfer. That makes NO sense! And while the owner was nice, the cheese case looked barren and depressing and I remember the detail that they served us each about 1 tablespoon of dressing with our salads and it was impossible to get attention to get any more, even though there were maybe 1 or 2 other occupied tables at best. I had a strong feeling it wouldn’t last, and we weren’t ever motivated to return.
Boodiba 