It all began at 3:45 am after about 5 hours of sleep. The shuttle came at 5 am and we left our Daisy alone in her crate. We got to the airport and got some asstastic coffee and an equally fecalrific raisin bran muffin. Our plane boarded and it was so small, I couldn’t stand up in the aisle. The two-by-two seater left much legroom to be desired. We got to Salt Lake City where it was slightly snowing and chilly. About an hour later, we boarded our flight to Portland. It was a Boeing 737 with a little bit more comfort. The flight had Wi-Fi above 10k feet. The little entertainment screen in the back of every seat was capable of displaying flight info and a little map of where we were while cruising at 40k feet. It was nerdvana (my awesome boss coined that wonderful word).
We finally arrived around 12:30 pm Oregon time. Me mum and Phil were there to pick us up and we headed to town. After a bit of confusion with downtown one-way traffic and parking, we managed to get checked into our hotel. The Nines was a luxurious 5-star hotel in a perfect downtown location (why we booked it). A lot of the time, we felt like we weren’t elite enough to be staying there, but we were never made to feel like inferiors. The hotel was a unique structure that shared half the building with a big Macy’s. The hotel’s lobby (main) floor was on the 8th floor and then it went up from there. Our floor was number 11 and overlooked the restaurant area on the 8th floor. All photos are on my Facebook Portland album. Suffice to say, it had everything a fancy hotel would have, down to the mini-bar and bath robes.
Our first item on the agenda was to go meet up with lady friend’s peeps for fondue fun. We got to the place early and walked around the area, looking at shops, buildings, and everything. It got closer to the time and we went into the restaurant only to find out that they were booked solid and we wouldn’t get in for another 2 hours. The peeps hadn’t arrived, but when they did, we decided to go into the place next door called “Bartini”. It had awesome fondue (it was somehow linked to the other place) and really good martinis. We had our fill and then decided to check out another bar. After much deliberation, our tour guides decided on Tiger Bar. It was a quaint little place with rocking cool decorations. Our table top was topped with a bitchin’ Iron Maiden poster. They started doing Strip Bingo, and we played a couple rounds. If someone gets a Bingo, they can choose a prize or strip for porn. None of us won, but we got flashed a man ass from a dude who did (see picture). The tiredness of the day set in and it was time to get back to our hotel room. Unfortunately, our fancy hotel isn’t fancy enough for memory foam pillows.
The next day, we got up and went to get some Voodoo Doughnuts. After a few bites of my ginormous peach fritter, I felt like I was going into sugar shock. Then I had to go back and take a test for one of my classes. With the test completed, we went to Powell’s Books, one of the biggest bookstores I’ve ever been in. After browsing and buying, it was then time to travel up the Columbia River and see a bunch of waterfalls. The best being Multnomah, but by that time, the Cuban food we overate at lunch was sitting pretty heavy on our stomachs. We went back to the hotel to rest up before the concert.
We got to the concert venue early to grab a bite at the restaurant. We had buffalo burgers and calamari. The venue was this cool basement setting with log walls and artistic furnishings. The first band was a bit boring (total lamerz). The Wild Beasts went on and rocked the place sideways. It was a spectacular show and worth flying 1500 miles for. I recorded a couple videos which are now on my YouTube page.
Sunday, we started by having coffee with some friends. When we said goodbye, we decided to walk around town until we got to our lunch destination in the Pearl District. We took in the sights and enjoyed all the little parks and interesting architecture. Lunch time at the Peruvian restaurant was with some more friends (Lady friend has a lot of frickin’ friends in the Pacific Northwest). The food and drinks were spectacularly good. From there we went East until we met up with mum and Phil in the Old Town (Chinese) District. Everything was within walking distance and it made it really easy to get around without a car. After the Chinese Garden and second lunch at Old Town Pizza (famous for ghosts and good pizza), we parted ways with mum and Phil.
We walked back to the hotel to regroup and figure out how best to spend our Valentine’s evening. We decided to go to Tube (a little bar with the inside looking like an old subway car). They had cheap happy hour drinks, so we indulged ourselves. I had a White Russian, two Rum and Cokes, and a Mai Tai. Lady friend had two beers. We chatted with the bartender about hipsters and made friends with a bearded drunk guy sitting next to us. Feeling a little tipsy, we made our way toward our next destination, Jake’s Famous Crawfish. On the way, we stopped at Powell’s Books to use the bathroom. I remember going in there, peeing, washing my hands, putting 50 cents into a 50-cent condom machine, turning the thing, getting no condom, and stumbling out of the bathroom. Now, should the question be: Why was I trying to buy a condom in the bathroom? Or: Why was there a self-serve condom machine in the bathroom of a bookstore? The answer to the first question was that I do strange things when I’m drunk. And the answer to the second question is that it’s Portland.
We finally got to Jake’s. Our friends earlier that day had told us Jake’s was known for great seafood and cheap deals for happy hour. We were seated in the back bar, where the happy hour deals were not going on. Bummer. I was still really wasted, but I was hungry. We ended up getting a calamari appetizer and then we split a lobster and steak combo. The lobster was incredible. Stuffed and still drunkish, we went back to the hotel to turn in for the night.
Monday, we walked around by the Willamette river park and then went over to the Hawthorne District to check out the Bagdad Theater and have lunch. We ate at a really great Thai restaurant. Then we drove up Mount Tabor and walked around the park a little bit. When we were done there, we were dropped off at the airport to wait for our flight. We got home around midnight.

ACHTUNG! (baby): What you’re about to read contains spoilers for Lost’s Season 6 opening episode. Do not attempt to grow a brain if you haven’t seen it yet.

So last night was the premiere two-hour event. At first, it seemed a bit chaotic. Clearly, the idea is that we do not yet know whether the bomb scenario did in fact save them from ever going to the island. As far as I can tell, what we are seeing may either be happening or a possible happening. I like to think that what they are showing on the plane and at LAX is what would have happened had they never crashed. The idea being that we will see that not going to the island would be a very bad thing or that they will have to go back at some point.

What I think is interesting is how Boone’s sister wasn’t on the flight, and Michael and Walt (and Vincent) were never shown, but why was Desmond there, brutha? That seems to imply that he was never needed on the island to push the button and thus the reason why the plane didn’t crash. And then what happened to Christian Shephard and Locke’s knives? It’s as if they are still on the island. So it isn’t as simple as “the plane never crashed and this is what happens instead.” It seems more like parallel universes developing.

Now, what about Jacob? It seems like Jacob and the Anti-Jacob are able to inhabit dead bodies that are on the island. The Anti-Jacob is in Locke’s body and Jacob is now in Sayid’s body (maybe?). Also, the Anti-Jacob is the smoke monster, apparently.

I’m going to be very disappointed if there is no episode about The Black Rock before the end.