livinginpdx

So the last segment, I discussed a little bit about where I feel comfy and normal.. I was thinking about it yesterday and I think the main reason for my vote of confidence when it comes to the ER is mostly because this is where the ol skool lesbos hang out. I’m not talkin crusty and stale, I mean the builders of the community as it is now. The ones who’ve been the warriors… Or at least the ones who remember who the OCA is.

I want to give a shout out to the places in town who are mostly gay, but also caters to a multitude of community members. The Embers Avenue, and CC Slaughters. I choose these because not only have they served the community for AGES, but also because ALLIES are more than welcome. I believe our allies are condusive to our community because I for one had allies long before I actually came out. They are totally important and need to be recognized! They aren’t. But they need to be. The most amazing thing about our community in Portland is the abundance of performers.

Yes, in this town, everybody is a drug-store drag performer. Half of them ‘know their words’, and they can choreograph a piece of music. That’s a great start, but we do get much more elaborate. You can’t throw a nonfat soy latte on any corner without hitting a grrl with her guitar. Alberta Street Fair is FAR crazier than I can sometimes handle, but it’s great to venture out during the Summer when the PPD puts up with the mob of ART-Frenzied participants slinging homemade wears and recycled pieces fit for any true and savvy hipster. There are some who delve into the internet world of Genderqueer activities, either blogging, making videos writing pieces or just jumping into the world of comminuty networking through their solo performances. I love it! We come together as performers and participants to put benefit shows together while we assist our neighbors and loved ones. And every year there’s always at least one rally in the PSU Park Blocks against a group of biblical malice machines from a little town in Jesusland. FAB-U-LOUS! This IS the life.  I <3 Living in PDX.

Welcome to the Mecca that is the GLBT scene in Portland! It’s sustainable, and just a little splintered and small, but it’s definitely alive!

The GLBTQ scene has seen quite a change in the past few years, with clubs opening, closing, moving and struggling mostly, as a community we’ve been able to hold onto our venues and improve upon certain ones while others have left us feeling a little stretched thin and stale.

Being a major out and proud member of the community for almost a decade now has earned me a little clout and more experience in dealing with catty and dramatic individuals than anything. What can I offer? A clear view, free from the BS that consumes this community. Some may say that I have baggage, but let’s face it, this is experience that can’t be won through a charity raffle. Grrls, bois, queens, qwirrs, ya feel me? Oh yes.

I am going to really show where my alliances lay here, and though I have them, there are valid reasons for such choosings.

PDX is a genome in the world of GLBTQ issues. We are the bio dome of experimentation, holding our own as a queer community with the likes of NY, SF, Chi-Town and LA. Boasting some of the most intensively queer zip codes in the States. So we need to be able to cater to our community.

I’ve heard the rumors about how our Queens and Kings need work. I agree somewhat, but when they’re on fire, they are HOT!

Our musicians are lacking in the PR department, and our music community is REALLY catty! Let’s face it, if you don’t sound like Ani, you’re not a real musician, while a majority of our great talent will undoubtedly be found doing open mics at local coffee shops. No wonder the musicians are unknowns. Who goes to an open mic unless:

a. Your friend is playing or,

b. You are playing.

The answer is more than likely, no one.

Right now, unless you can GUARANTEE 20 - 30 people in attendance, you don’t have a venue. There are only a few people in town who can pull numbers for events. Even then, our power players are crossing their fingers that their pull doesn’t slip for the next event, cause the silent rules state: Whether you used to get 200 people to an event is moot if you don’t do well at the present time.

PORTLAND is FICKLE!

We are all about the almighty business dollar. So what if I’ve been frequenting your establishment since your inception and you’ve successfully made a niche for yourself and managed to hang on through the rough times. I still can’t get a spot.

I haven’t been to Mississippi St. for some time now, as my experience with the needlessly high-strung hood left me feeling like a number. I go to enjoy, not to be another drone making my way to the cool sector just to be seen there while I sip coffee and daydream about smoking a cigarette on the sidewalk. *(Smoking is bad, mmmkay?) Mississippi has nothing to offer me that I can’t get somewhere else… Like in a Baptist Church sermon. If I want to be talked down to and thought of as lesser-than-thou, I’ll go to Clackamas, thank you.

Let’s talk about the Egyptian Club. Every lesbian in the city of Portland and surrounding areas, it seems has some affliction to the ERoom. There are certain elements of the club that linger on the palate, for example the amount of smoke. Everyone seems to use this as the excuse at the moment, but that’s all soon to change at the beginning of the year when every bar goes smoke-free. What’s the excuse going to be next?

Let me say this for the ERoom.

1. Only successful Lesbian Bar in town for 13 years.

2. Great staff.

3. Great promotions and events.

I’m going one step further, here. Just about every self-identified lesbian in town has been through the doors. Which means:

Your DRAMA has been put on public display there, chances are because YOU wanted to be seen. This bar has seen more than its share of fights, blood, puke, sex, hook-ups, break-ups and everything in between, and she’s still standing. For the entire population to bag on the only place in town where they’ll put up wih your W4W BS for 13 years, HELLO, is more than disrespectful, it’s ignorant and self-absorbed. Yes, ladies… We ARE all part of the lesbain dating wheel, yes, we’ve all been there, but let’s make an effort to create new outlooks and experiences there, shall we?

Listen, I know you’re not going to agree with me outright, but at least I’ve got you thinking about it… And now all you have to do is own it for yourself and take charge. Can you do that? I ask for nothing in return.

Now, get out there and make some new memories. You may just begin to believe in happy endings and far away kingdoms again.

Oh yes. I’m totally going there. So I’m sitting in my local coffee shop/ Wi-Fi dig - Haven Coffee on 35th & Division when I look out the window and observe the quiet street while the leaves fall to the pavement. A couple young hipsters walk by…  They’re dressed in the frumpiest midwestern grampa gear I’ve ever noticed. One bearded, dark-rimmed, thick-plastic bifocal wearing hipster has the red/ black checkered hunter jacket on. I’m reminded of mothballs and overcooked carrots in a  musty room… With a hint of old, stale cologne. Well, and the big neighbor kid from the movie, Better Off Dead.

See, now I can’t judge too much, because I too actually dug my frumpy angora wool sweater out today for some unbeknownst reason. adorned by my punky 20 eyed platform docks. Maybe there really is something in the air.  I don’t know why. The weather is beautiful. Just a little brisk. Just enough to dress comfy. I am wearing my Shakespeare’s Crush T-Shirt underneath though, so I’m redeemed. Haha.

So fashion in SE HipsterTown is embracing the vintage trend right now. So many vintage stores are open around here. We’ve got two good ones within a few blocks, Time Bomb and RAD SUMMER and Lived In Lover on burnside is HOT if you’re looking for an old skool double-breasted suit for Halloween, or hanging out, or DRAG, or just sitting in the coffee shop discussing what she said about what he told her.

I like going in and comparing some of my wardrobe… I kid you not… I’ve had some shirts for so long, they are actually back in style! I’m not sure whether to be proud of that fact or not, but at this point, it’s moot.

Got any cool places for us to check out? Send a comment!

Well, if it wasn’t bad enough when the Portland Metro area was still enjoying the real estate bubble and flipping homes for well to do new residents of the city, the stock market has certainly caused the little people to take note and begin to think about other means of generating income. The good news is fuel prices have slipped under $3 a gallon again, but will it be enough?

With the rising prices of everything lately including our beloved P-Town affliction - yes, coffee beverages, my friends have begun to gently scramble to earn a little cash on the side to pay things like, oh, bills…? Yep.

I’d like to believe this will all pass rather gently and quickly, but being realistic in my idealism, that may not be the case. We’re all quietly freaking out just a little bit, if not wondering how we’re gonna be able to pay for our rent. I know I am.

There’s a reason people have 20 roommates, and don’t own their own homes in their 30’s and 40’s. The Real Estate market really screwed us up around here, and when community members were saying this wasn’t a profitable and productive action to promote, there were no mandates, and the housing programs in the area are less than a drop in the bucket, and more like receiving a fuzzy sticker from the doctor to ease your suffering after an amputation.

The housing market has been this way for over a decade now. This crisis COULD have been averted, but instead, we now have a new TRAM and all our city streets are torn up while the Pearlies are complaining about hearing the train, KNOWING THEY BOUGHT THEIR HIGH END CONDOS near a TRAIN STATION. Hahahaha… Oh, silly people… But I digress…

It is a little unnerving. I’ve got the credentials to hop into a high pay, fast-paced, do or die job, but my field of preferred employment, as with many fields sustained by economic boon is constantly becoming more software indusive and less people oriented. Dude, automation really sucks!

Especially being an artist of whatever medium I so choose at the moment, getting people out to venues and gatherings is a crunch! More now than ever. You can tell whose doing well or in other words - employed, by where they frequent and how outlandish their sense of adventure and tabs are. It’s getting more and more rare to find a group of pretentious grrls out there creating social drama. I must admit, it’s refreshing, but it’s definitely a barometer of how we are all adjusting to work within our means, and letting go of the petty stuff, cause we just don’t have the time or energy for it anymore.

The world will get back to normal, we all know that. We’ll continue to say we’re gonna colonize the moon and we’ll fly our cars in 10 years and people really do care about their civil liberties and love and respect all people without discrimination. Until then, we’re all hunkering down in our gopher holes waiting for the economic spring to arrive again… This time though I have no idea which career field the community will choose to back this time. It would be GREAT if Oregon decided to pick more than just one field as economic savior and divide the opportunity for success into a decent structural model with many options to generate the revenue we need for urban development. And did I hint at maybe oh, uh, say… Affordable housing and living wage jobs? Well, I have now.

Thanks for reading! Wanna meet up for coffee?

So you’ve thought about traveling or moving to Portland, Oregon. As a lifelong Portlander, I’m here to offer up information and a seasoned perspective. My goal is to give you the information you won’t get in a travel book or video magazine. I’m a lover, an activist and a friend of the community. As a Portlander, I also have inside knowledge and a perspective that you will find common, but it’s also an individual interpretation through my own three decades of experience living and surviving here. Portland is famous for its art, music, and environmentally conscious lifestyle. Portland is a city with the feel of modernization mixed with a vibrant and welcoming personality. Portlanders are comprised of the locals who loyally love the city as they serve as architects and guardians continuing to sing the community’s praises and the newcomers who fell in love and came to the area to enjoy the natural richness of the region and to share the title of what it means to be a ‘Portlander’.  Portland, Oregon is also a busy and bustling city in terms of issues addressed daily in the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer community as well. The Queer community is a vibrant and diverse culture among the area. The local community has faced many battles of equality and understanding. We’ve won many, we’ve lost many; the community is mainly welcoming and harbors many public, private and religious organizations who believe discrimination at any level of humanitarianism based structure is unacceptable. The best part about this town is its continued tenacity and courage to dare to be true to ourselves and our community. Yep!So thank you and welcome. J