6.24.99

    What a day. It's been a trying day for the new kid in the office. Me. It's hard being in a new place with new people with new protocols and modes of behavior. I felt a little lost today and had to haul multiple peoples from their cubicle burrows to assist me. Thankfully, the tasks turned out to be not so simple and lots of collective muddling and head-scratching went on. It's just so humbling when you ask for help after trying and trying to do something and then some miscreant wanders by and punches a few buttons, saving the world.

    For example, on my second day of work I was in PhotoShop 5 (which I'm still feeling my way around) and I was merely trying to change the image size. I'd select the size and punch in new numbers and nothing would happen. I tried again and again before sending an email out to a supervisor. "It's the strangest thing... I can't seem to change the size, I've looked at every possible setting and nothing is working." She came over and pressed my Num Lock key.

    Oh. Right. Ha, ha. I knew that. Really.

    After work I rode with one of my coworkers on the MAX downtown. The MAX is the light rail system that runs east and west through downtown Portland and beyond in both directions. I think it runs from Hillsboro to Gresham. She takes it everyday to and from work so I thought I'd tag along and let her be my guide.

    Tonight was another meeting of The Pint, a Portland, new-media networking thing. It was at Kell's Irish Pub on 112 SW Second. They have really good UK fare with Shepard's Pie on the menu and real nice pulls of Guiness. The bar and a restaurant are all dark wood with 20' vaulted ceilings. The bar back is stocked with every kind of Scotch you could imagine. If only I was a Scotch drinker... I wouldn't even know where to start.

    I ordered a Black & Tan (Guiness floated over something light like a McTarnahan's Ale) and a $3 happy-hour hamburger and settled in to watch the World Cup match between USA and Nigeria. I was waiting for a girl from Portland Webgrrls to meet up with me so we could dish about the new group. It was nice to just mellow out and ignore the growing group of Pint-ers and watch the USA team kick ass. I think soccer is one of the best sports to watch. It's all action and all head-to-head combat. The hoorays of the bar crowd when we'd score a goal was pleasant — after all, these are girls.

    Molly found me based on my description and in no time at all I was giving her the full story on Webgrrls Los Angeles. I hope I didn't bowl her over but the conversation just sort of went that way quickly. She's frustrated that the Portland chapter has had a hard time getting off the ground. But, any organization that based on volunteer support takes awhile to get running. I hope that I can help this group get some momentum although someone needs to smack me if I try to lead the thing. Really, please smack me.

    I decided not to stick around and shmooze but went to the MAX station and headed home. I really enjoyed the ride, it was so easy. I'm a big fan of public transportation when it works. When I lived in England I could get all around Oxford, London and in between using buses, trains and the subway. It's a great feeling of freedom. Cars can bog you down.

    Thanks for all your suggestions for travelling with cats. I've gotten loads of ideas! I think the key is to acclimate Oz to the car and also buy a harness that he can wear around and get used to. I read an article about how to train your cat to walk on a leash but somehow I don't think I'll be doing that. It's just too weird.