Portland in the storm

The office I work for recently upgraded their massively outdated software to a new, ultra modern program that has the staff in mental lockdown because it is so far beyond, so much deeper than the old system that we're like the Neanderthals at the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

To alleviate some of this brain pan pressure, the fine makers of this software hold an annual conference in Portland, Oregon to help their clients learn sneaky tricks and shortcuts to simplify their lives and ease some of those caveman tendancies. Some, certainly not all.

The moral to this story is, I'm in Portland. Ook, ook.

I'm far, far away from the dusty, dirty heat of West Texas and I've never been this far north on the west coast. I was born in L.A. and have been back there many times as well as various other destinations in Cali and it's always been okay. I'm just not a California person, I don't think, and I know that the farther north you go the more mellow it gets. So I wasn't sure what I was going to get here, but I was excited to find out.

First thought was, "How far is Astoria?" because I totally want to see the Goondocks... The answer was not really that far but too far to make it on the time I had available.



Second thought, "Where are the comic shops, music stores and guitars?" (For the record, this is my typical thought process:

-Map out personal points of interest
-Make it as straight forward and simple as possible
-Execute
-Screw the actual reason I'm there.

Once I'm past that overwhelming, obsessive/compulsive urge, I can focus on business.)

I was excited to find that a Things From Another World was here and I'd heard good things about it. The reality was a little disappointing. It's a nice, modern, cool looking store but it wasn't the geek experience I was looking for. I did, however, pick up a copy of The Return of Bruce Wayne and a copy of BOP #1 since I was in Gail Simone's home state.

No, my geek moment came when I walked in the front door of Cosmic Monkey Comics. If you have never experienced the glory that is this fine establishment, I highly recommend you do so. It was everything I could want from a comic shop. The splendiforous graphic novel section that occupies the front end of the shop is enough to make any fanboy drool with anticipation and it's just the tip of the iceberg. The new monthlies area is deep and easy to navigate with selections of just about everything, not just the big companies. A primo back issue room hangs to the right of the main lobby and a little loft for some prepurchase browsing is nestled just above the new issue area. Best of all, it looks like a comic shop should look. I was comfortable right away and had I not had a laundry list of things to explore and a legwork of about seventy blocks to do them, I likely would have camped there for the day.

I found a copy of Robin: Year One that I had been looking for for a couple of years and purchased it. My biggest regret is that I didn't buy one of their nifty t-shirts to proudly proclaim that I, too, was a cosmic primate but I guess that gives me a goal for next year.

Here's a look at the store from last year.



Beyond that, I discovered the wonders of Everyday Music, a wonderful used CD store that is approximately the size of three of my local music stores stacked end to end. This place is large. And they offer listening stations to check out your future purchase and make sure it's of good quality and something you want before you throw down any cash. Great place, I wish we had one here. Found a copy of Pearl Jam's Vitalogy and snapped it up.

The whole trip was fantastic. The sky was gray and rainy, the temperature never went above sixty and the world was an amazing color of green that we just don't see in Texas. I loved the laid back vibe and peaceful serenity that seemed to engulf the city even though there is a population of around two million. The architecture is interesting and there's a nice blend of modern to go with the woodsy charm of the surrounding environment. Put it this way, it rained on me for around twenty blocks while I was walking and I didn't care. I was so taken with the city, I just didn't care. I didn't have nearly enough time to do everything that I wanted to and the thought of a return trip next year has me giddy with anticipation. It won't come soon enough.