After two years, Portland is still weird, wet and in walking distance

So I FINALLY got back to the ol’ stomping grounds of Portland to visit my friends, eat real sushi and reminisce about the early days of nametagging. Ah yes, what a great weekend it was! It all started on a high note in the St. Louis airport on Thursday night when I got a phone call that made me want to drive over to Jeff Bezos’ house and give him a big fat kiss.

“I’m one of the editors at Cosmopolitan magazine,” the woman said, “and we often seek out experts to help create our monthly quizzes. Our upcoming quiz in January’s issue will be about approachability, and according to Amazon.com, you’re the only person who’s written a book on it! I’d love your expert opinion on some question ideas.”

Long story short: after several hours of online research (yes, I took a bunch of Cosmo quizzes, shut up!) and an hour conversation with the editor the next day, we put together an awesome approachability quiz due out in a few months! Hopefully as 2006 begins, legions of twentysomething women around the country will get more digits.

Hey, I do what I can to make a difference.

Next I met a woman on the plane who worked for Wrigley, as in, The Gum People. And if there was ever a reason to talk to strangers more often, she was it. Deb and I had the most fascinating conversation about gum styles, flavors and preferences. She even gave me three packs of Orbit samples for my trip. Sweet.

Most of the weekend was spent hanging out with my peeps from OHSU and walking around the city. I even stopped by the Crystal Ballroom to have lunch with my pal Tony Shatter, famous guitar player of Portland’s The Punk Group. Another highlight was a conversation I overheard on The Max between a drunk, aging hippie and a young mother who argued the difference between “eccentric” and “crazy.”

“My friends used to call me ‘Eccentric William,’ but I think what they meant was ‘Crazy Bill,'” the man said.

“Nah…’eccentric’ just means ‘crazy’ but with money and style.”

God I love Portland.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Ever been to Portland? Whaddaya think of it?

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Scott Ginsberg
Author/Speaker/That guy with the nametag
www.hellomynameisscott.com