Peeing in Portland

Posted by random olio

Over the weekend, I dragged Chris to a few holiday artisan markets. I usually do not buy much, but find I gain inspiration from seeing other artists share and sell their work. One of the markets is called: ADX Gifted. ADX is a design and prototyping facility in Portland that allows for metal, wood, industrial sewing machines, and 3D printing. My kind of place! I have for a long time wanted to do small woodworking projects using a lathe and sander. I have memories of my middle school wood shop class, and while I secretly loved to cook and sew, I also secretly loved playing with wood.

I digress. The reason for this blog has nothing to do with sand paper or wood. I found a book at the ADX Gifted market that I wanted to share. It is called: “The Best Places to Pee.” Yes, I did. It is a book about the best bathrooms in Portland. A fun idea, eh? There are pictures of each bathroom from the author’s list of 51 places to pee. Let me explain further.

I have an app on my iPhone called: Sit or Squat. I have it so that anytime I am out or traveling I can at any time look up where there might be a bathroom. Sit or Squat asks its users to add new bathrooms to the map using crowd sourcing for all of us that often have “gotta go.” I was the child on a road trip (my family’s version of a road trip was an hour away) who would ask if we could stop to go to the bathroom a zillion times. I am sure my father cringed every time I asked, knowing it was going to take five times longer to get there. Eventually he just told me I had to hold it. Sometimes that was successful, other times we had a mess on our hands.

So it is definitely appropriate for me to have a book on the best bathrooms in Portland. It shows a little snapshot of the quirkiness, adventure, and colorful life of Portlanders. You can view a few images of Portland bathrooms from the author’s website. I think you will find Portland is keeping it weird!

#lovemycity

Has this gone too far?

Posted by random olio

Seriously? An iPad potty training chair. What has the world come to? While I do not have kids, I have worked with plenty of children, (daycare and babysitting) who were being potty trained. A good book often did the trick. I am sure there are a zillion ways to engage a child, and train them, as well as a zillion ways children respond. They are all different right? Yet, have we gone too far with an iPad potty chair?

My mind has visions of children growing up in grade school, high school, college, and then in the workforce, that can only do their business while holding an iPad. I mean I already have a husband that does his business with the news on his iPhone, and if that is dead, the default is a magazine. I am also an offender, I catch up on Candy Crush in the bathroom. (The only place I am truly a captive audience). No, I am not ashamed to tell you that I give a few mind-numbing moments of my day to Candy Crush.

Having said all that, I cannot even remember how I was potty trained, most likely I was given a book and told to come out when I was done. If we start early with iPads on toilets, where does that lead us? Does that become a security blanket? Why are we not teaching kids to come up with dreams, tell stories, sing songs, read stories, as well as teach them to sit and be. Maybe that form of meditation on the potty is just what the little tykes need in this non-stop, technology seeking world.

What do you think?

#saynotoiPadsonpotties

Roadtrip + bluetooth = crazy productivity

Posted by random olio

Chris and I recently made a trek up to Vancouver, British Columbia for a few days. Six hours in the car is not so bad. It is a quick trip, but after having some crazy days + weeks, I needed to slowly ease out of the intensity of my life, and so together Chris and I came up with a plan.

I would need to stay somewhat busy in the car, and slowly ease into my vacation. What solution did we come up with to help in my dilemma? My iPhone, an Apple wireless keyboard, and Bluetooth! Why was that life changing for me? I caught up on blog comments, emails, Facebook. I searched the web, shopped for Christmas ideas, and read articles to Chris. All while DJ’ing songs on the radio, navigating, and checking in on my co-pilot. Call me crazy, but getting all that shit done on our 6 mile drive made it fly by so quickly. I was super productive, and could never have done all that if we had flown up to Vancouver. Makes me appreciate my iPhone and technology just a tad bit more.

You might think, wow, that woman is crazy, she does not know how to relax, and you might be right. I look at it as utilizing my time in the best way. Why not get all that done while in a car, so that when I am in Vancouver, or even back home I can focus on my time with Chris, or things we planned to do together. To me it was extremely resourceful, I was not distracted by other competing agenda items, and could focus on what was right in front of me.

Guess what I will be doing on future road trips. Thank you 4G!

#alittlebitcrazy

Black Friday sucks

Posted by random olio

If you are reading this at home, it means you have not left home to brave Black Friday crowds. If you are reading this on your phone while trying to pass the time in line at a big box store in order to get some crazy deals, then you are brave. Maybe you are home and online waiting for that right moment to click “place order” for that bargain Black Friday deal. Hopefully if you are out shopping, it is at your local boutique because you like supporting your neighborhood business.

If you are like me, you are hiding from it all. A colleague from Japan was asking about Black Friday last week. We told her about crazy Americans who trample each other for discounts on TVs, electronics, you name it. A new bra, toilet paper, a trash can? We are crazy!

A week ago Chris was in Hong Kong and happened to be near an Apple store when the new iPad Air was launching. CRAZY. Take a look at the picture taken from outside, and to think that he actually went inside to check it out from the inside. Look at all those people. It is similar to Black Friday craziness in the US.

In all seriousness though, you have to read this Huffington Post article about Black Friday, capitalism, and consumerism. It is so well written, and a good reminder that we really need to get control of the consumerism that is eating into Thanksgiving. Let’s leave gratitude and family for Turkey Day, and let’s leave shopping to Black Friday. We saw that an outlet mall in Washington opened at 10 am on Thanksgiving and would not close again until 11 pm on Friday night. Why? Why? Why? I agree with the author, if we do not shop for that deal for socks on Thanksgiving, they will stop opening on Thanksgiving. Let their employees be with their families.

#SeriouslyAnnoyedAboutBlackFriday

“More than just a princess.”

Posted by random olio

Last night I spent the evening with a group of colleagues, all women. It was a badass bunch of women. Loads of talent, creativity, ingenuity, and well…sassy spunk. I am a sassy spunk kind of girl. I like to laugh. I like to ponder the world, deliberate on how individuals interact, and at the end of the day explore how women can rule the world. Why not, right? The mind of a woman is complex, intricate, and full of multi-tasking wonder. It is fun to have an evening of good food, conversation, and appreciation in the middle of the week.

I drove home thinking, “would I have had the same kind of evening with a mixed group of men and women?” My answer is yes, and no. See I did not know everyone well. I knew some better than others. And yet, I feel like women know how to bridge that gap, and find ways to connect, in ways that men don’t. Or so I think, since the last time I checked, I am not a man. Thank God.

Which is why this video resonated with me (much like “Riley and Pink Toys“). A good friend shared it on Facebook, and I had to share it, because while it is about future girl engineers, and toys for girls, it also makes me think of how the woman’s mind works. How everything in a woman’s mind is interconnected, a puzzle always being put together and solved.

A Beastie Boys twist of lyrics is what also does it for me. By the way, I love the girl’s t-shirt. “More than just a princess.” Damn straight! I am grateful for the openness, sisterhood, and connection that can happen so easily between women.

#womenrock