Moving to Portland was partially to get out of a town I really really really despise, and partially to get to live in a place with an extensive public transportation system. I grew up in California, between the south SF bay area and a town north of Sacramento. As the time I spent there was all pre-driver’s license, I relied heavily on the public transportation there, which in the bay area (at least at the time) was awesome, but was severely lacking 100mi north. VTA (Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority) hours were long, the waiting time was little, and I felt safe on the bus and lightrail (in San Jose). One thing about the busses down there was that they were dirty – kids were always putting gum on the backs of seats and most of the windows had become translucent due to the myriad of scratches that had built up over years of wee taggers satiating their need to mark yet another solid with his/her scribble, as well as any other surface.

TriMet vehicles tend to be really clean and comfortable to ride. Sure, there have been a couple of late-night puking sessions on the MAX (not me, thankyouverymuch), those who don’t shower, and once in a while the bus and even the MAX get to capacity, but for the most part, our public transportation is great. The only big problem I have with TriMet currently is the sometimes missing busses (walked a full 2 miles along my path before the 71 went zooming by one day), and the damned machines that never work (but I have a monthly pass, so that’s moot to me for the most part). What do you love/hate about TriMet? Do you actually send requests into their “comment” lines? I might be notorious for letting them know at least once a week that the machine they’ve never fixed at the 60th Ave MAX stop is indeed still broken…

So it turns out the Rose City had a hand in the progression and eventual failure of the Yahoo/Microsoft merger. An article in today’s Wall Street Journal, among other sources, reports executives from the two companies met here on April 15th at a Portland law firm:

As a result, Microsoft executives were surprised when Mr. Ballmer on April 5 letter sent a letter to Yahoo directors threatening a hostile approach if they didn’t reach a friendly deal by April 26. That spurred Yahoo executives and an entourage of bankers and advisers from both sides to meet with Microsoft on April 15 at a Portland, Ore., law firm. A presentation from Yahoo included a slide that said Microsoft’s offer “significantly undervalues” Yahoo.

Late into the meeting Mr. Ballmer addressed the elephant in the room: “Where are we on price?” he asked Mr. Yang, according to two people who were present. Responding to Mr. Ballmer’s question, Mr. Yang repeated that the original offer of $31 a share “substantially” undervalued the Internet company. Mr. Ballmer again asked for a firm price, and Mr. Yang said he didn’t have a number.

They also reportedly met about “social issues,” such as management and perhaps corporate cultures. I find it interesting the two giants chose to meet in Portland for this meeting. Apart from the law firm, Portland seems to be a good middle ground for the two of them to have traveled to. Wonder if they got a chance to enjoy Stumptown Coffee or Voodoo Doughnuts while here? Anybody know what that law firm is?

POST UPDATED 10:48 AM with more links and info.

I was very proud of Portland this weekend. One of my good friends had a friend in visiting from Ireland, while we were at work she spent the day taking advantage of the weak dollar and shopping her little heart out up and down Hawthorne, Trendy-Third and Lloyd Center. Friday night was then dinner out before we headed over to the Doug Fir for a show. VHS or Beta were the headliners – it was the second time I’d seen them there, and they didn’t disappoint – the opening acts Another Cynthia and Tiger City were also fantastic – and of course the Doug Fir is just a great place to see a show. So we had a great time with what we were doing – but really I was so proud of our people.

Our Irish friend was in the states because she’d gone to Coachella with other friend, after that she spent a few days in L.A. – and about midway through Friday evening she told us how sad it is that when Europeans come to visit the States that they concentrate so much on L.A. and N.Y.C. – because that night, that wasn’t even over yet, was way more fun than the entire time in the LA area. We made new friends with boys and girls, meeting and chatting up with all kinds of strangers outside on the patio and downstairs dancing to the bands. She was overwhelmed with how friendly everyone was – and that they didn’t make snap judgments on people based on appearance. She was heading up to Vancouver B.C. Saturday morning, so she got to spend less than 48 hours in Portland, but couldn’t stop talking about how much she loved it here, and that next time she comes she’s skipping California and spending her time in Portland.

Thanks Portland – for being good people!

Unless you’re living a completely media-free life, off the land and the grid, you’re well aware of our current economic state. These are recession times indeed, and we’re all feeling it in the pocketbook. (I’m not too upset about the high price of gas, but that’s for another post). Anyway, the one beautiful thing that comes out of penny pinching is resourcefulness. Finding cheap or free entertainment becomes a skill. Of course, in this city there are many options so it’s less of a challenge. But just in case you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by the possibilities, allow me to make a recommendation. Every Friday night is poetry slam night at Po’Shines in the Kenton neighborhood. It’s a free event though Po’Shines is an excellent soul food joint so go with enough change for at least a bowl of red beans and rice. You’ll get a free piece of cornbread on top of it, not bad right? The poetry isn’t always slammin’ but it’s a community effort and I believe that participating in the community- in whatever form- is critical at this juncture in our collective history. So Po’Shines ya’ll! 8129 N Denver, right off of the yellow line.

We were driving down Killingsworth last night past one of the large trailer parks – the park is all behind a big privacy fence – but right where one of the openings in the fence is – we see a little boy – maybe 5 years old – standing on the side of the road. He’s right on the curb – looking out into the street with the saddest look ever on his face. Out in the middle of the street is a hippity-hop.

I can only assume that it took a bad bounce and went out into the street, but I’m guessing the kid wasn’t supposed to be out from behind the fence – let alone go into the street. There’s a lot of traffic on that road. So he just had to stare at it almost in tears.

As we drove by I said to my husband how sad that made me – he agreed and whipped a U-y in the middle of the street. We went back, jumped out, grabbed the toy and brought it over to the boy – just as his father (we guess) was coming out from behind the fence just letting into the kid. It looked like it could have been a bad situation – the kid made eye contact, but the adult wouldn’t. I just really hope that the extra few seconds we delayed the man from dragging the kid back behind the fence gave him a chance to cool down a bit.