and how was your Friday?

Yesterday was my SDO ("scheduled day off"; my regular work schedule is set up so that I get every other Friday off.).

What I should have done is dived deep into the books and study for the PE exam (which is in thirteen days.)

What I did instead was go to Portland.

Things I learned about Portland:
1. Lots of bridges. Lots and lots of bridges.

2. The city seems to be divided into quadrants: NE, SE, NW, SW. However, the street that divides North from South seems to be Burnside St, and not Division St, which confused me quite a bit.

3. Powells bookstore is one of the gems on Earth. I already knew this, but it bears repeating.

4. Knit Purl is an awesome knitting shop, and I was able to find a lovely cashmere yarn to make a hat for Oscar, who seems to have an allergy to anything except luxury fibers.

5. Yarnia is a DYI shop where you can create your own yarns. The shop offers finely (in thickness as well as quality) machine spun yarns which you combine with other yarns to create a custom color. It is also inexpensive.

6. For an incredible chocolate treat, go to Cacao for a cup of their drinking chocolate.

A very fun day! Even if the weather sucked. Now back to the books.