Opinions

There are some things on my Barf List. Littering is one. Another is how people handle their trash. In the rather small apartment complex I live it seems like majority of the tenants have zero clue about how to throw away their trash and how to recycle, this is very difficult for them to comprehend. Even though there are instructions posted on what goes where and how to bag and dispose of the trash in the garbage and recycle area, clearly written in English. As far as I know I am the only non American living here and I can read and understand the instructions. Bagging the trash in the appropriate trash bag and tying the bag? That is too much to ask. Just throw away half turkeys (?) not in a bag, put trash in the recycling bins, recyclables in the trash bins, plastic in the glass only bin, glass bottles and glass jars in the bins where the glass should not go, chunks of meat in the yard debris bins......whatever.

Food waste. Like WTF is this? Did you just buy a whole salad only to throw it away? Packages of unopened salad dressing just put there to be discarded. Lots of left overs here. I very rarely throw away food. Food scraps in the form of potato peels or apple cores, bell pepper cores etc go back into nature. Is is frightening how much good food is thrown away daily. It is disrespectful to the animals that died in order to end up at someone's plate. I feel the same way about fruits and vegetables. Something grew and I decided to eat it, so I will do my best to honor that. And then of course.....some people would be extremely grateful if they did not have to go hungry. And some people just don't give a fuck.

Public laundromats........yikey. One of the laundromats I used to go to (I do not have a washer and dryer in my apartment) had warm water, like a bit warmer than lukewarm half of the time even when I selected and paid for hot water. Yes, hot water costs more. I pointed that out but these places are not always staffed so there is like nobody to talk to about an issue most of the time. Plus they told me that they never clean the washers on the inside. They considered the washers to be clean enough due to laundry being done. Whaaaaaat? So I found another laundromat, in a "nice" area. They supposedly clean the washers here on the inside once a month. Wow. Progress I guess.

There are often some colorful individuals there......doing their thing. The super wash with hot water is $4.25 for 22 minutes. At least three of those minutes go to the washer filling up with water, draining the water and then the spin cycle. Do clothes get clean in 19 minutes or less? I don't think so.
This is not how Swedish tvättstuga worked when I lived in Sweden. The hot water is always HOT and I don't know if 22 minutes is even an option. That is like a pre-soak.
Since a while now I have been doing my laundry at a friend's house, she has a very nice full size washer with no agitator and a nice dryer. THANK YOU dear friend, my life has improved because of this. My laundry comes out clean and fresh. It really does make a difference where and how you do laudry. I like my stuff a certain kind of clean when I do laundry and laundromats can be very gross.......apparently I am not the only one that think so.

I love reading on Reddit, so many topics to dive into. Anyhow.....I had to copy one of the responses. It could had been me writing this except I would had added that the guy took his clothes off, everything and briefly stood around nekkid before he found a pair of pants to step into. Later he needed help to zip up his back pack so I helped him of course. Good thing I am not a pearl clutcher. I mean, I get it......You had to wash the pants you were wearing so you took them off, after all we are all naked underneath our clothes.  Perhaps I should get naked at the laundromat as well but charge $, then I can use whatever I make to do my laundry. $4.25 is kind of a lot.
"When I lived in Portland I was doing my laundry at a local laundry mat and this homeless guy who was well known in the area with hair so dirty it formed thick disgusting dreads that his his skin infected, hairy face. You could literally smell this man coming from at least six blocks away if the wind shifted. I’m not kidding or trying to be rude I do feel for his situation in such a damp area. Even having access to clean clothes out there feels like they are always damp even out the dryer. Anyway I watched him come into the laundry mat and load his sleeping bag and other clothes all reeking with filth into a dryer and dry them so he could be warm…. These places are unintended and homeless people will take advantage of whatever they can and I’m not judging them for that, it’s really not their fault but it’s a reality. I made sure not to use the same dryer but I left Oregon with a skin infection regardless and I’d never had that issue in my life. I knew I couldn’t be sure he hadn’t already used every dryer in the place over time without them being cleaned I mean it was a crapshoot."
I do NOT use the dryers at laundromats for this very reason. Prior to using my friend's washer and dryer that is. I take all the clothes home, hang dry most. IKEA has good drying racks. Anything that needs to go in the dryer I take back home and put in the two dryers the tenants in my complex have access to. I am fairly certain that the tenants here put their laundry through the wash before putting it in one of the dryers.

A few years ago Oregon voters voted YES on Oregon Measure 110 which decriminalized drug possession for own use, any drug. Since then fentanyl has swept the nation. In fact the leading cause of death nationwide for people age 18-45 is fentanyl. Of course I got that info from the world wide web, it is not like I have interviewed experts on leading causes of death in the US. Best to not do drugs. But people do drugs, that is just how it is. Unless you live in a country like Japan, Saudi Arabia or N Korea or some place where there is zero tolerance to all illegal drugs and the penalties for drug offenses are harsh. Sweden too has zero tolerance but people do drugs there but you won't face the death penalty or ten years incarceration if you get caught with heroin for personal use for example.
With Measure 110 open drug use became kind of normal around Portland. Random people would sometimes come into one of the clubs I worked and smoke drugs in the bathrooms (meth and fentanyl supposedly). I have seen people get high on the streets here and seeing people completely passed out in the middle of sidewalks all over Portland is nothing unusual. You don't know if they are dead or sleeping. I should add here that people were coming in to one of the clubs I worked at in Alaska and smoked meth in the bathroom. So this is not some sudden Oregon issue due to Measure 110.

The difference between rich people doing drugs and poor people doing drugs is that rich people can basically be functioning addicts for as long as they want while poor people run into issues like losing their job due to addiction, homelessness and how they are going to support their drug habits. Had Hunter Biden not had the money his family name has amassed I think he would be living in a tent somewhere or be dead by now. 
I personally know a very wealthy guy here in Portland (richer in dollars than most will ever be) that is an alcoholic with not a single worry in his life. Well, he probably has some worries but nothing close to the worries that most people have. He has a huge home that is paid off by the family trust money, does not work, gets a monthly "allowance", spends most of his days doing not much of anything. The everyday chore is basically getting booze and frying up a large steak. He lost his driver's license years ago cause he crashed his car into another car (driven by an attorney) while drunk. Got off with a slap on the wrist because he is wealthy. Lost his license but still drives. And drives drunk. Yea.....
So yea there is a huge difference here in the US between the treatment of rich people and their addictions and poor people and their addictions. 
Recently a modification to Measure 110 got passed here in Oregon, House Bill 2645 which criminalizes posession of fentanyl, even small amounts. Because a very small amount of fentanyl is lethal. Let's see what changes that will bring. 
I am downtown Portland volunteering on an almost weekly basis since almost four years now and I have seen some stuff.
I have a lot of empathy for the homeless. This is not only a Portland problem like some seem to think. There are homeless people all over the US. At the same time that I have empathy I also feel annoyed and frustrated with what I have seen.
What can be done if anything to deal with these problems? I read the local news and the opinions on issues from the people that live here. One of the biggest complaints the people that live in Portland have is the homeless issue with the tents and the RVs all over and all the problems this brings. Some say that taking away the resources is the way to go because that forces people to hit rock bottom and only when you hit rock bottom you will want to make a change. I don't know, this is not a black and white issue. I would have a hard time denying somebody food and water if they needed it.
Portland is now building tent cities and small homes areas where the homeless will be asked to live so they do not live on the streets or the side of the freeways and roads anymore. I think that this is a good idea but some of the homeless are angry and comparing these places to concentration camps which I think is a ridiculous comparison not even worthy to discuss. And there are in fact some people that rather live on the streets instead of some form of housing.
It is so easy to judge but a lot of the people living on the streets have mental health issues, they self medicate with drugs, many people that were shuffled through the system as foster kids end up homeless. Remember, that person was once a child. Many children live terrible lives filled with abuse. Not such an easy and straight road perhaps to become a successful and functioning person after having a trauma filled childhood.
I do think affordable housing is super important. Rents are way too high in Portland and other places too. That should be illegal. Some people can't afford to live in an apartment even with a full time job, it should not be like that. 
I feel strongly that an early start educating teenagers about family planning is important. I also think that active drug addicts and alcoholics should not be allowed to reproduce until they are completely clean. If you can't take care of yourself, you cannot take care of a child. Being a child's parent is the most important task a person can ever take on and if you are not equipped to go on that journey you have no businesss putting children to this already over populated planet. Rights to reproduction should also be immediately terminated for life if a person commits crimes against children and animals, like pedophilia, child abuse/neglect and animal abuse. To me that person should no longer be allowed to be around children and animals. There are no excuses in my eyes for people like that. Yea I think having children should not be somebody's automatic right just because you have sperm or a uterus. The planet IS over populated. There is no need to put more children into the people pool unless you are able to be a great parent and even then the outcome is not guaranteed.
So Australia recently legalized clinical prescribing of MDMA (often called ecstasy) and psilocybin. Oregon passed Measure 109 a few years ago which allows for the use of psilocybin in a licensed psilocybin center. I personally have very positive experiences with both MDMA and psilocybin. And no I do not use drugs or drink alcohol on a regular basis, on the contrary. The prices to use psilocybin in a theraputic center in Oregon are outragous, I am not sure how many clients these places will actually attract. I have seen numbers like $500 for a microdose and up to $3500 for 4 grams of psilocybin. Also only a certain kind of psilocybin is permitted. Too bad that the Feds closed down Shroom House here in Portland last year.
I strongly believe in the amazing qualities of psilocybin and MDMA which I think can do wonders for humanity if used with care. 

Where is God I am asking myself while slowly crying when looking at the picture of the Dad holding his dead daughter's hand crushed under the rubble in the earthquake that shook Turkey-Syria a few days ago. Is there a God really? If God exists somewhere up there beyond the blue sky.....why is God allowing these things to happen? Why is there so much suffering here on Earth? Can't we just be born and live somewhat peacefully for like 8-10 decades until we die? Why do we need to deal with hunger, natural disasters, painful diseases etc on top of everything else? What good do these things contribute to our already difficult existence? What did those poor people do to deserve to be crushed in that earthquake? And their poor loved ones left behind that have to deal with the mental agony aftermath and having nowhere to live and all their belongings destroyed. I do not know what to believe. I consider myself spiritual, I do not belong to a particular religion. I am not sure what I am trying to say here but I am sure that most of us have at some point prayed to God or asked God why when faced with a difficult situation. Except the atheists of course. I just wish there was no suffering. We have enough to deal with already on our individual life journeys. All I want to do for the remainder of my life is to live as calmly as possible, care for animals and do something positive for......for? I guess positive somehow for the things I care about.....like animals and nature and the World as a whole. Not trying to be a Saint or anything, I am not that nice to everybody. In fact I dislike humanity in general. But animals and nature I do like.

Did you watch the State of the Union today delivered by President Joe Biden? Yes? No? I did not but I briefly read a bit about it just minutes ago so while I still have the enthusiasm and energy I will now deliver to you Tati's State of the Union. The only one you will need. First of all let me address hecklers. People that act as immature and stupid like Marjorie Taylor Greene did during Biden's speech should be banned from attending all public events. She is as ugly on the inside as she is on the outside, a real embarrassment. My eyes hurt when I look at her face......seriously. During MY speeches you either shut up or get kicked out. An adult that holds a position in Congress should be held to a higher standard. Taylor Greene makes $174,000/year and she is not happy with that because she made more money before. Pack your shit up and quit then and I will take your position for LESS pay and actually get stuff done instead of what you do. Let's touch on some of the issues Biden addressed. Fentanyl. I am for the legalization of drugs because people do them regardless. I wish people were not using Fentanyl to get high and instead only used it as it is supposed to be used, closely supervised pain management. Unfortunately Fentanyl is here to stay, so either DO NOT DO these kinds of drugs or get some Naloxone. I do not know how to stop Fentanyl coming into the US since drugs have been coming into the US since several decades now. People do drugs. It is what it is. According to Donald Trump's response to Biden's State of the Union, the murder rate is higher than it has ever been in the US under Biden. OK....? Look people are INSANE nowadays in case you haven't noticed yet. Ever since Trump's presidency the a large amount of the US population has became borderline unhinged. So I would not blame Biden for it. Biden is certainly not responsible for randos shooting people. That too has been going on for decades in the Land Of The Free. Perhaps Trump should scrutinize himself and ask himself if he has a role in the according to him higher than ever murder rate? Sit down Donald. Be glad Melania has not officially left you yet. My input, because Tati's State of the Union is THE real State of the Union......guns are not the answer. Too many crazies out there now with guns. So many that even I'm thinking about getting one just in case. Sorry America, WAKE UP, time to get with the times. This is not 1791 anymore OK. Time to rethink The Second Amendment. I know it is a difficult pill to swallow for many but it is time. Time for the boys to stop playing Rambo and put those guns away. No....the Government will not take over your life more than it already has, you pay taxes so you are not truly free. People in other westernized countries somehow live so you can too here in the US with very strict gun control. Bipartisanship and unity? Absolutely! Remember united we stand divided we fall, there is real truth in that statement. I am all for more help for seniors. Seniors are awesome and should enjoy their retirement and absolutely support Social Security. I will also say that Universal Health Care needs to happen in the US. Like immediately. How should we pay for it? Tax the rich more. Why not? They can afford it. Tax large companies like Amazon. And tax churches and religious organizations. And stop wasting money on bullshit. And spend money where it matters, like on affordable healthcare for all. Also start teaching responsible parenting. To save money it is time to only allow responsible people to reproduce. If you cannot take care of yourself you cannot take care of a child and I do not want to take care of your child. I am for population control as well. This planet has too many useless humans on it. Stop squeezing out kids. By the way.....poor children that have to deal with this disaster that is happening all over this planet. Who in their right mind wants to put children into today's world? And as far as abortion goes? I am PRO CHOICE of course. Pro lifers only care about the fetus. Once the baby is born they do not care what happens to it. Way too many children in this country get severely neglected, abused and murdered by their parents or Mom's new boyfriend. Care about the EXISTING children. Not unborn children. Figure out a way to make rents affordable or deal with more homeless. Many Americans are only one paycheck away from homelessness and that is terrible. Put a cap on rents. Allow people to be able to afford the basics - food and shelter. How to deal with Russia and Putin? I told you many times before, let me deal with Putin. How to deal with North Korea? I am not sure. I hope Kim either gets to his senses but as the dictator he is I don't think he will so my next hope is that he dies soon. I really do not care how he dies. I truly feel very sad for the poor innocent people of North Korea. I cannot even imagine how miserable life must be there. So Americans hold on to everything you take for granted everyday and be GRATEFUL that you have it. As far as the "American Dream" goes.....there is no American Dream. That is an empty promise to keep you from either rebelling like the people in the 60s touched on or completely losing your mind. You will never be truly free unless you are one of those rare very fortunate people. Most of us will be forced to go to school, some will be conned into getting an expensive and useless education, then some will squeeze out innocent children that will repeat all of the mistakes of their parent/s and more, you will be forced to work in order to survive, pay taxes and scrape by until you are a few years or a decade plus from death. So try to make the best of it. It will not be easy. Is that it? What else? Better care for animals. ALL animals. We can always improve on that. Because animals are beautiful contrary from us. Do YOUR part to improve the world.

Sometime in October of last year a place called Shroom House (with the cutest sign) opened up on NW Burnside in Portland. They managed to stay open for about two months with not much buzz......until a local newspaper/website sent in a reporter that purchased some psilocybin. And then he wrote an article about it. After the article was published the word was officially out and people were standing in line for hours to get some. Basically to get some "magic" mushrooms. And a bit after midnight on December 8 2002 local police officers raided the place, arrested several people and Shroom House is now permanently closed. Psilocybin got seized and most likely destroyed which is terrible. Yes yes....I KNOW that psilocybin is considered a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act and bla bla bla but there is no way I think that you can compare psilocybin to heroin (also a Schedule I substance) for example. Cocaine and methamphetamine are considered Schedule II drugs.....just some random facts. People do all kinds of illegal shit every day. Some illegal things are not that bad in my eyes.....like buying and using magic mushrooms. Although personal use of psilocybin here in Oregon is legal. If I am not mistaken it is illegal to pick magic mushrooms like for example psilocybe azurescens in the wild.....like WTF. The law differs on possession and consumption, educate yourself on it because I am certainly NOT doling out legal advice. I totally believe in microdosing although I do not do it. Currently at least. Who knows if I ever will in the future. But I also believe in being responsible and educating yourself about these matters before taking anything mind-altering (for microdosing one can look up the Paul Stamet's Stack Method). Same as educating yourself on the possible side effects of whatever prescription drugs you might be taking. I think it is too bad that Shroom House closed down and that people were arrested. I wanted to at least go inside to see what it looked like and feel the vibe. It would had been better in my opinion to arrest pedophiles, animal abusers and scum like that. Close down some other place that perhaps is not contributing to anything useful or good. Not that the police is not working actively to arrest random scum bags and criminals out there but I think that Shroom House was a nice addition to Portland. The city’s (un)official slogan is “Keep Portland Weird” after all. In case you do not know....I am a sober person like 99.5% of the time. But I am also for psychedelics, to be utilized in a responsible manner as should alcohol and marijuana as well. Most people that can think for themselves have realized that psilocybin mushrooms are an amazing fungi that can be of great benefit for humans. Of course not everybody should eat a handful of magic mushrooms. Just like most people should limit their alcohol intake to one or two beverages in one sitting, three at the most. There are several articles written about Shroom House if you are interested in finding out more about the place. Something called Measure 109 passed here in Oregon in 2020. I was in total support of Measure 109 and went to see Sheri and Tom Eckert speak about it in 2019 and I had a "Yes on 109" lawn sign in my front yard (now it is in the back yard). I have even considered becoming a psilocybin facilitator but for now I am holding off and gathering more information about the whole psilocybin thing here in Oregon since it is still developing. You can read about Measure 109 here. https://ballotpedia.org Oregon_Measure_109,_Psilocybin_Mushroom_Services_Program_Initiative_(2020)