In Which We Procrastinate

Tomorrow is the CBEST, which might as well be called the SAT for Aspiring Teachers. I have reviewed the Princeton Review book on the subject, taken the reading portion of the test, and am now settling myself down to aspire my way to a "pass." I am assured by everyone I know who has taken the CBEST - which is a much larger number since I started grad school a month ago - that I will pass easily. While this is probably true (almost my entire undergraduate GPA was based on test scores - none of that "homework" for me!), I am still a smidge nervous. Therefore I spent today watching the latest episode of Glee, playing a very little bit of World of Warcraft, and sorting through my Portland pictures to place here for your viewing enjoyment. Sadly, by the time I realized that I should have taken daylight photos of some things, the daylight was waning. Curse you, Daylight Savings Time!

Anyway. My trip to Portland was great fun. Shannon was quite pleased with her gift, it went beautifully with her face (as intended ::cough::), and I got to see lots of friends who are doing very well indeed. I have a couple of dear friends living in high Bohemian style on top of a parking garage across from the Crystal Ballroom who have turned out to be quite brilliant businessmen - or have at least chosen to surround themselves with people who make them LOOK like brilliant businessmen (probably more the case). I am currently mocking up a monogram of "fake it till you make it" that we may or may not be tattooing on our arms for future reference.

I made a morning trip to Mecca:

where I purchased three (3) trashy historical romances and one (1) Russian classic, and where I also came upon this gem of a judgement:
I do love it when a bookstore doesn't sugar coat things. I also love the variable meanings of words. I do not love Jane Austen pastiche, though, and so my three (3) THR's were not of the JA variety. Just so you know.

A hop, skip, jump, and 2 traffic lights down the street from Powells is Knit/Purl, the Portland knitting store of which I have heard so much. Here's a shot of the inside:
That's pretty much the whole store, although there is a basement level that I believe is for teaching classes. I didn't go down there, so I don't know. What I DO know is that the same person who owns Knit/Purl is also responsible for Shibui Knits, and that I love her color sense. I also know that while I left footprints and took pictures, they weren't the only thing to come home with me; I also managed to escape with an Ivy League Vest and Anemoi mittens-worth of Shibui sock yarn and a copy of Alice Starmore's Book of Fair Isle Knitting, all of which I justified by using many logical fallacies but am still quite pleased by. I've decided that if I am to be a teacher, I'd rather wear stranded vests than blazers, and since I have never been a big fan of vests, I should probably start working on my collection. And if I am going to attempt another stranded project, I should probably start with something small. Thus, the mittens. See how I'm not just jumping in the deep end of fair isle knitting here? Acknowledge and appreciate my growth, reader.

Unfortunately, I managed to get a sore throat and headache the day I was supposed to go see Malia and her gorgeous boys, and while I desperately want to see Liam while he's just a little guy, I also don't want to do it at the expense of my friend's health - especially when she's got a 5-month-old baby who would likely also get sick. So instead I stayed in Shannon's apartment, reading books and watching TV and bemoaning my cruel, cruel fate.

Speaking of bemoaning, I think I'll toddle off and do some more homework. This accelerated teaching program is awesome because it's so fast, but shit in terms of how much stuff I have to do all the time! I guess it's good training for being an English teacher, though...