This weekend, Barberama/Javarama will host two events. They’ll mark a new beginning of sorts for the shop. As previously mentioned, Barberama’s owner Nicole Cathcart put the salon up for sale a few months back. The salon now has a new owner, Brian Fuqua. To mark the occasion, the salon is hosting a party on Friday, November 21 from 7PM - 10PM.

Nicole is still around and is the proprietor of Javarama, which is conveniently in the same space as Barberama. Cool hair and good coffee can’t be beat!

In addition to Friday’s party, Brian and Nicole are hosting an open mic night on Sunday, November 23 from 8PM - 11PM. If you’ve got a song or poem you’d like to share with the world, this would be the perfect opportunity to do so. There will be a PA system on hand as well as beer in case you need some liquid courage to get in front of an audience.

Last week, we learned that BlogHer wouldn’t be visiting our city in 2009. But guess who will be visiting? MEETin!

MEETin will hold its annual celebration in PDX next August 13-16.

In case you’re going, “Er, who?!?”

MEETin, an organization based in Washington, DC, has over 90 chapters across the globe with each chapter run locally by volunteers with the primary goal of bringing people together through various events planned through the site. (Disclaimer: I’m an active member in the Portland chapter.) The organization is free to join and open to people over the age of 21. There are all kinds of events and activities from dancing to volunteering to happy hours to checking out the opera, and much, much more.

And, even better, the Portland chapter is one of the largest and most active in the organization. There are nearly 10,000 members in our area.

The announcement of the 2009 celebration was made today with more details to be provided in the coming months.

Ever wonder what it takes to get your newspaper to your door? Not the writing, printing and trucking, but the actual doorstep delivery. I have an inside scoop; a couple of family members have been doing it for years.

The day starts about 2 AM. She goes to ‘the shack,’ a nondescript building in a bunch of warehouses. After a caffeine infusion, she puts the ads in the papers and wraps them in plastic bags. She can do 300-400 in about an hour. Then she loads the car, a small station wagon. She has about ninety minutes to accomplish her mission, because the Oregonian advertises that the paper will be there by 5:30 AM. It’s a noble aspiration, but sometimes it can’t be done. Often the papers don’t reach the shack until 4 AM, but that’s not the customer’s fault.

So she tries. I have seen her come home soaked from the rain. Ice storms? It’s probably hilarious to watch her from the comfort of your living room as she slips and slides along the sidewalks. If the roads are too bad, she will use a tarp, tossing the bags of papers inside and dragging it along like Santa with a bad shoulder. She has delivered by shopping cart when her car has broken down.

Why does she persist? She likes the hours. She has kids, so it gives her a chance to make bill-buffer money without leaving the kids home alone after school. It’s good exercise. Soon after starting, the weight started dropping off, and she’s lost (and kept off) about 100 pounds. It’s everyday exercise; the job is seven days a week. The last day she took off? About a year ago, when I took her son to his first rock concert, and she wanted to tag along. (I would have been mortified if my uncle and mom had taken me to my first concert, but my nephew was thrilled to have two such cool old people in his life!)

The job has definite downsides. If she’s sick? Too bad. She takes a coffee can and a roll of toilet paper and forges on. The house keeps her awake late? “Oh well, who needs sleep?”

Then there are the FOODDay haters. Recently her pay-per-paper dropped, while the cost of the paper went up. (Delivery people are independent contractors. She even pays TriMet tax.) So she started delivering the bane to most people’s existence, the FOODDay.

For some reason, people love or hate the FOODDay. You know, it looks like a paper, but it’s full of coupons instead of news. She’s been chased down and paper-pelted by people who don’t want them. Others bitch if she doesn’t get there soon enough. It’s an aggravation she’d rather do without, but delivering the big O has hardly been a satisfying experience lately. After the pay-cut, she took on FOODDays to make ends meet. Now, Oregonian staffers are complaining that she’s either too early or too late, but not giving her a time frame in which to deliver. (Other than the specified “Not before 5 PM Monday, or after 5 PM Tuesday.”) She usually delivers them with the Tuesday AM edition.

Other than the one lady who complains every time the paper isn’t there by 5:30 AM, (even though she often leaves it outside until 7 AM) she likes her customers. She greets the dog and power walkers, is a great neighborhood watch, and even clears the spiderwebs from the sidewalks. (A not-so-fun side-effect of her job.) She’s Missouri Mule stubborn, so she drives out of her way to keep the 5:30 Lady happy.

I don’t think I’d be so flexible.

So, if you’re one of the dwindling numbers still getting the dead tree edition, thank you for your support! You are helping to keep a young family financially solvent. I’m asking that you be extra nice to your paper carriers; they go through a lot to get those coupons to you. And if you have issues with your paper or FOODDay, she likes the input. Leave a comment and I’ll pass the thoughts along.

Maybe you are one of the lucky ones she delivers to…

Yes, it is still Fall even though it is the middle of November.  I like saying Fall instead of the more puritan Autumn because it is a verb along with a noun.  Well, my friend Brian embraced all that Fall has to offer this past weekend and recorded it for your viewing pleasure.  Thanks Brian for the video.  I just love the time lapse along with the music choice.  Enjoy.

Make like a tree from brewcaster on Vimeo.

House

Originally uploaded by dieselboi

There is a block close to my house where 9 single family homes are boarded up awaiting demolition. On N. Interstate, a new condo tower is going in - albeit only a 6 story “tower.” While I’m glad to see the change, I am saddened by the loss of some great 1920’s or earlier bungalows and Victorians.

Well, it appears at least one of the houses is going to be saved. I wandered by the other evening and this house is up on steel I-beams awaiting transport somewhere. I thought it would move this past weekend, but alas, it is still there. Such a beautiful house. Someone has a gem on their hands. According to PortlandMaps, this house has a market value where it is at of $275K. I wonder how much the buyer paid. Seriously. They are saving the development company cash money by taking the house away. Yet, the house has value. Was it a $1000 deal? A $10,000 deal? Just think. Wouldn’t it be cool to buy a house for that cheap? Granted, you have to find a lot and pay to move it, but in the end, you would have a gem.

I’m glad the house is being saved. Built in 1907, we should cherish such homes. Now, if only the Rebuilding Center could get the contract to deconstruct the other houses and salvage the materials….