Look Out, She's Learning How to Use It

Hope everyone had a great Christmas. I had a busy and social weekend and got to spend time with a ton of great people, except for my sister (see Jen, validating the last post). I also got an insane amount of 'Merry Christmas' texts from friends yesterday. At first, I found it a little odd, but then joined in and sent some out too. I found that it was better than interrupting family dinners and present opening time. While I do intend to actually send cards again next year, the 'thoughts' coming in throughout the day were cute. My favorite came from Maureen who said, 'Happy winter gift giving day!'

For now, the only other thing I would like to announce is that I have finally joined the land of digital photography. My very in-tune and slightly perfect other half (that'd be Justin by the way) surprised me with a tiny little Canon Powershot SD450 Digital Elph. I love it because I will be able to take it everywhere with me and annoy everyone by shouting "this is a perfect picture taking moment!"

Technical difficulties (i.e...Sarah doesn't like to read ALL the directions) have allowed me to erase all my pictures from my memory card twice, and to fail to connect my camera to my computer correctly until midnite, so I have no great pics to show you yet. I have decided to spend some quality time with the 'basics' manual tomorrow, so you should start to see some camera happy action in the next few days. Memories of me with a camera for my high school yearbook class are pouring in...prepare accordingly.

Slacker Me and Wind-Up Dogs

I am still irritated that we got snowed in up here in Portland on Sunday and lost a day of useful holiday prep time. I even took a personal day on Monday to grieve the loss. Anyway, here's what I have to say at the moment...

I have decided not to send off Holiday cards this year. Really, this lies completely on the fact that Christmas has snuck up on me and I have run out of time. I didn't even put up my little fake alpine Christmas trees and decorate them...I just went to Hallmark, picked up the annual ornament, and then tossed it down at home.

That doesn't mean I am missing the Christmas spirit, though I am pretty convinced that Peacock Lane in Portland is out of the loop. I went on a family adventure on Monday night with my dad and that crew (uh-huh, ten of us rolling in a huge white van) to view this once amazing spectacle of lights and holiday cheer. Gotta say that the effort and warmth of the street has diminished greatly since my last viewing in 1995. What is that about?

In other completely unrelated news, my roomies have decided to purchase a puppy. Make that a wind-up toy. Yes, two pound, seven week old Max has joined the household. He is a long haired Chihuahua, and he is actually really cute. Tomorrow, Jess will travel to Medford to pick up ANOTHER wind-up toy...a Maltese puppy, probably about two pounds too. We got a picture of Bailey behind Max, and Max is about the size of Bailey's snout. Bay shows little interest in Max actually, but having two in the house may bring out his herding genes...stay tuned. I am guessing that the puppy thing will be a much more successful venture than their attempt at a pet last year...Lola, the indoor Pygmy goat that sprayed poo pellets all over the house and head butted people. She made for great video, but that's about it.

On Friday, I get to meet Justin's sister Jennifer (hmm, I have one of those too). She is coming from Oklahoma and bringing her twin five month old son and daughter along for the week. I have been helping to set up baby stuff and have to say that for baby stuff, some of it is incredibly complicated. How about another what's that about? I guess babies aren't putting the stuff together, but come on already!

Alright, I may not get around to this again before the holiday madness really sets in sooooo, have a great Christmas, or whatever you prefer to celebrate or not celebrate. Be safe, be happy, and spend time with all the people who really matter to you. That's what I will be doing.

Happy B'day to Many and Aggh!

Besides knowing that at this moment in time, I feel the need to take some days off from work and just mellow out, this is what is on my agenda:

First off, happy birthdays go out to my roomie Bill on the 16th, my dad's wife Sandy on the 18th, and Vince on the 19th. Ryan, who gets mentioned in a minute, also just had one on the 11th, so that's a lot of cake and presents. We will be hitting Alibi on Saturday night to celebrate Bill's bday. Vince, we'd come to see you if you weren't so damn far away, so have a good one.

Justin has been on a business trip for a couple days and has been travelling on a small corporate jet from place to place. I hate small planes and don't like the idea of them. Who cares if they are safer than going by car from place to place...I am of course going to just generalize irrational thoughts in my head about the people who are important to me, and Justin in particular, is of increasingly greater importance to me with each passing day (and not back until tomorrow either, sigh). Better be a good damn pilot on board.

My friend Ryan has decided to go anonymous on all the strangers in the world and only give his new blog address to a selective group of people (me being one, thanks man). So unfortunately, you will not be able to enjoy any further entertaining from the likes of Ryan. But I still encourage you to read his tales from Korea in the now defunct Nuprin Diaries. How he spins stories is great. Sadly, Adeiu is the last entry you unlucky folks will get to enjoy.

I finally scored some new contacts in my eyes today and have a little clearer vision. I am pretty pissed that my sight continues to go down the tube, but appreciate the sharper vision that my new -4.75 and -5.5 Rx supplies me. Anyone want to donate their perfect sight to me?

Well, I need to go now and get my thoughts wrapped around what the heck to get everyone for Christmas. I have YET to start shopping this year, and have a feeling I should probably get that going sometime soon. I am not one of those crazy Christmas Eve shoppers, but I come pretty damn close because I spend way too much time trying to figure out the PERFECT gift for each person. The decision fairy said she's paying me a visit by Saturday though, so I should be good to get started and finished all at once.

Oh one more thing...a bar Justin and I drove by in Portland called O'Briens had this written on their reader board:

Ho Y'all

God, that cracked me up.

Left of the Holiday Ramblings

The ego in me must declare that I have enjoyed catching heat from people who actually read this thing and are wondering where the heck my posts are. Most speculate correctly that I am off in la-la-land with a specific significant other. That's as much as I will report about him except that things are good there and that you would probably want to spend time with Justin too. Well, now I am just playing favorites, but anyway...

So I broke the console cubby in my Saturn. This pisses me off because I did the same thing in my Red Rocket in 1999. Of course, that time, I was kind of taking out my aggression on the console in lieu of frustrations toward a college boyfriend (don't worry, I've mellowed out to some degree since then), but the fact of the matter is that it was already damaged and I think the breaks have something to do with being left handed. I slam those things down because I just don't have the nice control with my right hand that I do with the left. Though, some people just refer to me as a 'slammer' in general. Hmm, maybe I need to go to finishing school.

My officemates and I have decided to go politically correct and decorate our door with trinkets and cutouts from every winter holiday. This really started as a 'point to make' over some coworkers getting frustrated that we are having a 'holiday party' instead of a Christmas party. I, for one, was pretty demanding that it be referred to as a holiday party because not everyone celebrates Christmas. Actually, most celebrate Xcess-mas in my mind. Not that I am into the religion element myself. I mean, in my house, we watched Godspell on Easter instead of going to church.

Oh, and to sound even more hypocritical in response to my own 'X-cessmas' statement...I love getting Christmas presents...but I think it should be a give and get kind of thing. I am heading downtown to Pioneer Square with my dad and my younger sibs to help serve food on Christmas morning. Additionally, I am buying presents for friends and family. But it won't be about size and price...I'll put thought into it all. Anyway my other point, which I didn't make yet, is that I have no problem with people saying "Merry Christmas" and all, but I think it is important to represent everyone who attends your party. And in the end, everyone likes our bizarre collection of decorations on the door, so it just works.

Moving on, and now I may just sound like a damn hypocrite again, but it's getting pretty ridiculous out there with the political correctness surrounding the holidays. As seen on CNN this morning, some city is referring to their Christmas tree as a 'grand tree.' What the fuck? As Marni mentioned today, "They're not going to start calling menorahs 'little candle thingies' are they?" Lets celebrate all the holidays alright? Set up a damn manger in your front yard if you please. Hoist a stuffed Santa onto your roof. Light 'those little candle thingies' on your windowsill. Have a happy bleeping holiday, whatever one you choose to observe.

Lets switch gears. I have managed to fix the dreadful Portland to Salem to Portland commute by getting to work around 9:30 and leaving no earlier than 5:30. This cuts the crammed mad rush of cars on both ends and provides me with extra sleep in the morning and an extra half hour of quiet work time in the evening. And of course, you are all free to call me during my commute hours to chat because we all know how safe driving and talking is. I've decided that my iPod will get cremated with me one day when I die too because that thing saves the hell out of my sanity. Not that I am going anywhere anytime soon. Remember I am shooting for 111.

Alright, I gotta get on with the sleep process, so I leave with some birthday wishes to Greg. This morning when I wrote the date down on a document at work, I realized he'd have hit 28 today. Damn.

Oh, and my song of the moment is still Carry Me Ohio by Sun Kil Moon. That and Santa Clause by Harry Connick Jr. That's a worthy Christmas song.

Pumpkin Pie Season

Hello out there. Time to catch up the days...

30 years!!! First, I have to send a happy b'day out to my sister Jennifer. She hits 30 today, but still looks damn young. Gives me hope that in two years and two months, I will still look damn young too. Anyway, happy b'day you opinionated and dramatic sister of mine.

Daniel-san is crying. It's time to wax on and wax off and send a solemn goodbye to Pat Morita, aka Mr. Miyagi from the Karate Kid movies. Every person my age has to admit that they watched the first two movies over and over in their kid years. The third, not so much, and the fourth, well, Hilary Swank went on to bigger and better things clearly. I'll prune a Bonzai tree tonight in your honor Mr. Miyagi.

Screw the lines. Thanksgiving is over and I refused to go shopping today. I think I might take the advice of a smart coworker and buy everything online this year. Shipping is generally free during the holiday season and I won't have to deal with impatient jerks and traffic. Oh, happy belated Thanksgiving to all. Hope most of you have the day off like me. I will eat lots more pumpkin pie today.

Hey, I suck at poker. After spending Thanksgiving afternoon with Justin's family, we headed to my dad's for dessert. The guys are all big into poker, so we sat down and played. In a particular hand of Omaha (some kind of poker), I had what was equal to 4 Jacks with an eight (kicker?) between my hand and the flop. Well, I folded. The whole combo thing didn't make sense to me. I quickly learned through their uncontrollable laughter that I would have schooled them all. I have a feeling I won't live this down for quite a while.

Heater I.V....I am sitting in my house right now with a sweater and my Northface fleece on and I am still freezing. It is about 42 degrees outside, but totally wet and rainy, so it makes it even colder. In order to beat the cold, my current plan is to invest in one of those tall portable outdoor restaurant heaters and move it along with me everywhere I go, just like a hospital I.V. drip. I won't even care about the weird looks from people on the street...at least I'll be warm.

RENT! Hey, RENT came out this weekend. I plan to see it by Sunday if I can manipulate people into going to see it with me. This may be hard, but I'll be persistent. I'm hoping I like it, but we'll just have to see about that.

Man, I slept well...Monday night, I put in a few hours by myself at my agency's Community Receiving Home. This is a foster home that we have for kids who get pulled out of their homes (usually because of meth busts) so that they can stay in their sibling sets and not have to sit in DHS offices for hours on end while a suitable home is found for them. I had two sets of siblings ages 1, 2, 4, 4, and 7. The oldest kid was pretty aware of why he was in the foster home, which was a little heartwrenching, and his sister just kept saying, "No, mom is at home," even though mom was in jail. The two year old would only call me mom, and the one year old cried if I tried to put him down. Their realities are pretty different than they should be at their age, and that really bothers me.

Hmm, I am out of here, but here, have a quote I like...

Youth would be an ideal state if it came much later in life.

I have it posted in my senior book, and I still agree.

Game #11: LOSE

Oregon State 14
Oregon 56

I've waited too long to post the final score of our losing season, but the mourning has to stop at some point. Oregon managed to slay us in the Civil War, even with those ugly uniforms that:

1) Look like they have polka dotted shoulders from far away.
2) Appear like a kindergartener took cheap yellow tape to mark the numbers on the backs.

Apparently, the better looking uniform doesn't cut it in the decision process for winning anymore. It worked for the Dallas Cowboys when I picked them as better dressed during Superbowl XXX in 1996. Of course, my huge crush on Deion Sanders that year kind of solidified my choice too.

My dad (a Duck) found it completely funny to call with this joke some time in the third quarter: "Hey, my TV screen is really foggy right now. Can you look at the game on yours and tell me if we (the Ducks) are winning?" Oh, ha ha. (Oh, if you missed the game, it was super foggy on the field and you couldn't see a damn thing.)

So, no bowl game for my first year back in Oregon. No pride in beating that green and yellow team. This was hands down one of the most unexciting seasons we've had in a long time actually.

Rest in peace 2005 football season. I'll keep my hold on hope for next year.

My New Codename

As promised, my friend Jamie has morphed my name on his blog from Single Forever to (Not So) Single Forever. Besides being proud of my new codename, I enjoy how he describes it all (and gives evidence that my name has officially been adjusted):

Last Friday, I caught up with Single Forever, who unfortunately gentlemen, is not single anymore. She's hooked up with a lovely bloke by the name of JT (although his initials are actually JS) and he went to the University of North Carolina so we talked a lot about college basketball on Friday as we watched the Blazer game at the pub before going back to Scooter's to catch up with some more old friends.

...Tomorrow, Rivjuando and Soule Sista, will be joining (Not So) Single Forever and yours truly for the Death Cab For Cutie concert at the Crystal Ballroom. It should be a blast, if their new and past work is anything to go by.

And a note to Jamie, it's been fun having you back in Portland. I highly advise that you put in for one of those severance packages and completely relocate to the area. Look, the sun is even out for your last few days here. Isn't that incentive enough to become a permanent foreigner? I'll be waiting patiently.

Me VS Hell?

Last night, I read this on a church billboard in the Sellwood area:

START LIVING FOR GOD TO BEAT HELL

Hmmm, is it just me, or does this kind of scare you out of ever wanting to step foot inside their church? And how exactly do you beat Hell? Are they asking that I figuratively whack Hell with a big white baseball bat? Am I in a win/lose competition with Hell? Wouldn't defeating Hell completely corrupt the society we live within AND the land that God helped to create, thus essentially beating God instead?

Let's try something a little clearer and much less fear based next time Mr. Billboard Designer.

Shopgirl

I went and watched Shopgirl on Friday with a couple friends and really enjoyed it. Jason Schwartzman's character in particular, is absolutely hilarious, and I love most everything Steve Martin takes part in.

A great factoid about this movie is that the lead singer of Red House Painters, Mark Kozelek, plays Luther, a lead singer on tour with his band and Jason Schwartzman's character. He contributes several songs to the movie as well, but they were hard to find online and in iTunes because this guy sings with several groups, and the soundtrack for the movie has been purely reserved for the score. The best song, Carry Me Ohio, is actually by his group Sun Kil Moon, and I found it while surfing through a good 60 tracks by all his different bands. This song now holds rank as the FIRST song I have ever purchased from iTunes...I am joining the ranks of the legal downloaders, sheesh.

Alright, go see Shopgirl...you'll like it.

In the meantime, I will be increasing my collection of songs led by Mark Kozelek...I love his voice.

Game #10: LOSE

Oregon State 20
Stanford 17

This should have been a freebie, our guarantee for a bowl game, but, no. We lost our QB in the second quarter, Serna missed three field goals, and our season is likely to wrap as a losing one next week when we play Oregon at Autzen Stadium for the Civil War.

Of course, I'll still watch, but talk about a heartbreaker.

Not Exactly Feng Shui

I bought a book today. Wait don't get too excited...it's not exactly a mind bending, long and drawn out piece of work. It's called:

The Little Book of Wrong Shui...How to drastically improve your life by basically moving stuff around. Honest.

It's one of those $5.99 pocket books that I would typically NEVER buy. But tonight, while on an extended tour of Borders after a stop for dinner at I Love Sushi with Jessica and Jamie, I picked this thing up and everything in it had me cracking up. If it doesn't make you laugh, you have no sense of humor. That, or I can only blame my head cold... it has clearly gotten the best of me thanks to my many overlapping doses of Sudafed and Ibuprofen over the last three days.

Anyway, here are some of the shorter wise ideas from Wrong Shui. I'll post some longer ones some other day when my head doesn't feel like it has 100 balloons holding it up:

Conversation Piece: To encourage conversation, always have one fewer chair than there are guests at a dinner party.

Mind the Gap: Removing the occasional floorboard from your home will help generate in you, and in those who visit, a heightened sense of awareness of your surroundings.

On Reflection: A mirror on the bedroom ceiling reflects badly on you. Likewise satin sheets, remote control lights, and a baby oil dispenser on the headboard.

Arumortherapy: If your workplace lacks atmosphere, position a different rumor about your colleagues in each room.

How to De-clutter Your Home Without Really Trying: Leave an open window when you go on vacation and when you return, you'll find that the problem of a cluttered living space will have resolved themselves.

Alright, I am going to bed.

Game #9: WIN!

Oregon State 18
University of Washington 10

I have to admit that I slept through 90% of this incredibly uneventful game. All of our points were scored on the 6 record field goal kicks by Alexis Serna..and there was almost not a TD in the house until UW decided to get one in during the last 1.5 minutes of the 4th quarter. By the end of this game, the crowd was gone and the players were asleep. But I guess we got another crucial win for bowl game contention. Truthfully, I was much more captivated by the REAL game that was played between Cal and U of O yesterday. Zzzzzzzz.

Hey, It's November!

Let me start with a big 'love ya' to Kimmie who says she retreats to her office on bad days and reads my blog to cheer herself up. Kim, you are grrrrrrreat, and I hope that November 9th holds some good news for you. Either way, I'll be there for you. M'wah!

Okay, on with the show...

The world traveller returns...So my buddy Jamie has returned to the United States for the final leg of his five month vacation, so I am pretty excited to get to see him a few more times before he heads home to the land of Vegemite in two weeks. On November 16th, Jamie, myself, and two of his friends head to a sold out Death Cab for Cutie show at the Crystal Ballroom! Have I ever mentioned that every time I talk about Death Cab, I have little pangs of guilt for when I was with Mike and hated them FOR YEARS and bitched every time he played them? Sorry dude, I shoulda reckonized.

Two is better than one...It may be a little premature, but hey, mark your calendars NOW for January 7th! Kim and I are planning a joint bash to celebrate our 26th and 28th birthdays. Hers is the 5th and mine is the 11th, and those are both lame weekdays, so we figured we should reassign and enjoy ourselves smack in the middle of them both. We did a smaller version last year with about 20 people, and it was a blast, so stay tuned as we develop a plan for our celebration. It is likely to start in the morning with cheesy girl time and pedicures and then evolve into party time by nightfall. Yeah, that's all we have so far.

The Civil War...Okay, mark your calendars for this too. The Civil War is on November 19th this year, and I plan to do nothing other than bleed orange and black the entire day. The current plan is to head to the McMenamin's Mission Theater to watch the game. Both Beaver and Duck fans are welcome to attend. Last year, my friends here called me in Utah to brag about how much fun they were having...jerks. I haven't been in Oregon for the Civil War in four years, so the fact that I get to watch it with a bunch of good friends this year is pretty high on my list of reasons to be happy.

Damn darkness...The whole daylight savings thing has really messed with any chance of me driving home in daylight. It sucks for a couple reasons...

1) I can't see where the cops are hiding because it is too dark to see the on ramps, so...
2) I can't speed home anymore. Doesn't that suck?

In addition to the lack of light on my commute home, the INSANE amount of rain in the morning and evening has been a nightmare. I feel like my car is on waterskis...an occasionally thrilling feeling, but come on, hydroplaning for an hour on I-5 twice everyday is hardly fun.

Two is better than one, part II...Okay, most of my friends already know, and I don't write much about the subject anymore, but I don't feel the need to hide that I am happily using the word boyfriend to describe a certain guy. His name is Justin, and I won't jump the couch and annoy you all, but he's pretty damn great, really. I met him on my Max Crawling night...he's the eighth grade classmate who thought my shoes were cute. Well, he's more than that, but I'll shut up now.

Alright, gotta go eat some dinner, give my big dog a bath, and get some case notes for work done. I was going to go to the gym, but I haven't been there in so long, I can't remember where it is. Really, that's my excuse.

Getting Up to Speed

I've been slacking on this, so here, have an update:

The foreshadowing of Jude Law...So, I finally watched Closer. Talk about disturbing. What I really picked up on by watching this though, is that Jude Law, while absolutely hot, is a damn idiot. He made Closer, where he cheats on his girlfriend and loses her, and another movie called Alfie, where he cheats on many girlfriends and loses them all, and then STILL cheated on Sienna Miller in real life with his kid's nanny. I believe he has lost Sienna now as well, right? What a f**king idiot! Did he not learn from the movies what would happen in real life? He is pretty damn low on my respect-o-meter and looking less and less attractive as a result. Changing tunes, Natalie Portman's Academy Award nomination for her role in this movie further supports my idea that the people who pick the nominees have the most severe tunnel vision in movieland....talk about over rated. Give me a break and actually look outside the box for talent sometime will you?

Spanky...I went to Harvey's on Friday night with a group of friends and watched this guy's show. He had such an interesting style that was very funny and absent of the typical offensiveness of most comedians. I'll even mention that he left me with a little feeling of inspiration after his encouragement to everyone to laugh more. It was good stuff.

100k...My Saturn wagon is going to hit 100,000 miles this week after 4.5 short years. It's been pretty good to me. All I have had to replace on this thing is one $300 fan and the tires and front brakes. I am pissed that I have to go replace the front windshield because of a crack that has reached over a foot in length...stupid flying rocks.

Functional Family Therapy...This is a new form of therapy that my company picked up recently on a contract. I trained on it last week for a mere 24 hours and am supposed to be able to start it with a new caseload next week. Officemates, don't tell on me, but I am so not excited to sit in a room with fighting kids and parents. Being from the family that I came from, I didn't go into family therapy for a reason. I mean, I like to work with the families, but there's a reason I choose to work primarily with the youth. We'll see how it goes.

Best costume, not me...After all that speculation about what I should dress up as for Halloween, I decided to NOT dress up. It was too damn cold, and I just wasn't in the mood. Pete Lee did send me an email about a Santa dressup event coming up in December though, so maybe I'll head out with him to do that...it's guaranteed warmth, and I won't have to worry about originality....everyone dresses up as Santa Clause.

Alright, I am off to see the fam for dinner soon, so I gotta go get ready so that I'm actually on time. Dad is on to the fact that I am almost never on time, so I figure it may be nice to impress him and actually show up by 6:30.

Game #8: Lose

Oregon State 27
Arizona 29

Hmmm, a chance at a winning season appears to be going the wayside. Is there any hope? Does the injury last week on Oregon's QB at least give us a shot at the Civil War? Will we somehow kick the hell out of USC? For now, I'll answer in the affirmative and just have faith in the black and orange.

Game #7: LOSE

Oregon State 28
UCLA 51

Need I admit that it took me two days to post the score because I was in a deep stage of denial? Or was I just having too much fun this weekend to care? Hmm, probably a little bit of both. Don't worry Beavs, I won't give up on you.

Halloween Costume Decisions

Alright, the earring is in on the teen, so here is the last thing I need to cover...Halloween! On the 29th, I am going to a big 'mandatory costume' party and then out on the town, and I have yet to pick a costume. Here are the only ideas so far, all suggested by males, hence the lack of clothing on my behalf:

1) Schoolgirl/teacher duo: This is Brian Nelson's idea, and it would have me as the naughty schoolgirl and our friend Dave as a kooky Chemistry teacher. One catch, Dave already teaches Chemistry, so technically, this wouldn't be dressing up for him. I say we switch roles and Dave dresses as the schoolgirl, and I get to stay warm in a labcoat for the night.

2) Wonderwoman: I could pull this one off. The question is, do I want to freeze my ass off all night? I am thinking I could go as a combo of superheroes and dress a little more weather friendly.

3) Dead baby: Good old Adam suggested last week that I wear a bikini top, very short loose white bottoms, carry a bottle, and create fake cuts all over my body. He swears this was the hottest costume on a friend of his a few years back. Surrrrrrre. Don't worry, our very recent re-dating easily hashed out to just being friends again after four weeks. No need to call up the Catholic Jockboy Rehab...I mean, I adore the guy, but he's just, soooo not for me. Beneficial for moving heavy things and putting a smile on my face with his really bad jokes though.

Jessica suggests I tape leaves all over my body and go as a bush, or go as a flower, or just dress like an Eskimo and be warm. Oh, now she's saying I should be a Rose Parade float...damn, that'd be a lot of flower petals. Hmm, she is thinking about going as an adhesive strip of fly paper with a bunch of critters and plastic bugs taped to her body. And her husband Bill will dress as a big fly.

I may just paint myself yellow and go as the sun or jaundice. Hmm, endless possibilities. Good thing I have ten more days to decide.

Random Thoughts #???

Hmm, here is what I feel like talking about right now:

Plans by Death Cab for Cutie: This CD is so great. I love it, so much I think I will go and buy it instead of just keeping the lower quality download in my computer and iPod. I recommend the songs Soul Meets Body, Marching Bands of Manhattan, and Brothers On a Hotel Bed.

Breathe in: So, my officemates and I have discovered that many working professionals have odd gasps for air at the beginning of, or within their voicemail messages, and we have decided to coin these people 'The Breathers.' If we find a really good one, we hang up, call again, and play it on speakerphone for eachother. Then we crack up when they pause in between sentences for a loud gasp of air. Yeah, we're dorks. I am totally okay with that.

Bruce, you're going down: My friend Bruce sent this to me in an email today...

The Ducks will always be far superior to the beavers,we are going to win out and finish the season 11-1 with a final ranking of #3 in the nation (at worst) maybe someday you'll come out of the orange delusion that is the life of a beaver fan and see the light...

Notice he didn't even capitalize the word Beaver, but did on ducks. Man, our ten year friendship is feeling pretty tested right now man. Don't think I won't post a high school formal picture of you as payback.

Dates who think of your dog: So I really don't mention the opposite sex in my blog anymore, but this is worth telling. On a date last night, I was presented with a wrapped gift that turned out to be a collection of gourmet dog biscuits and a bone for Bailey. Reasoning? The date kept me away from home over the weekend for too long and figured Bailey's more likely to forgive him if he gets in good with him. I was pretty impressed.

Alright, on that note, I am going to go so that I can help get a gauge ball on the tip of our teenager's earring. Gotta prioritize the needs of the youth, whatever that looks like.

Stupid People

Sorry, this title is a little mean, but COME ON!

1) While in Salem the weekend before last, I saw a VERY pregnant woman in a VERY smoky bar. As the designated driver of my crew, I wanted to have my huge friend Beck just throw this stranger over his shoulder and haul her out to my car so that I could drive her and the future kid home. Apparently, if she would have asked for a drink, they would had to have served her too. Disturbing.

2) Today I was cruising back to work, and a guy on a motorcycle passed me, drinking Starbucks. There clearly wasn't a cup holder on his small bike, and the guy was all over the road while fumbling with the coffee. This whole idea doesn't resonate as safe in my mind.

3) Went to a karaoke spot this week with friends and had to endure the incredibly boring 'God I hope the record exec is in the house tonight' singers. You know who they are...they stand up there, completely stiff and emotion free, but give their all to that serious tune that will hopefully get them swept off to recording contract land. FYI...Karaoke is purely for making an ass of yourself or completely engaging the crowd in your act. If you aren't up for that, go find an open mic night.

4) Just read this and then click on the other link at the end of the story to see the pictures. You will totally agree that these people are stupid.

5) Get down girl, go ahead get down. Okay, last night I downloaded Gold Digger by Kanye West into my iTunes and felt my IQ drop about 50 notches. But I really like the beat, and the lyrics crack me up. God, it hurts to admit this.

6) BCS didn't rank Oregon State this week. Jerks. To those six who voted for us, you are not stupid...just please get the rest of them to believe you next week and vote us in.

Game #6: WIN!

Oregon State 23
Cal 20

I wasn't expecting a win here, so yah! That puts us at a 4-2 overall and 2-1 conference record. On another note, Jose just kicked the winning field goal for Dallas in OT. Good job!

Happy Birthday Trina!

Today is Trina's birthday, so I hope you all remembered to call her (I haven't yet!) This is Trina and her future husband, Steve. They tie the knot on July 29, 2006. Cute huh?

New Pictures, Part 2

Well, I STILL haven't bought a digital camera yet, so here is a new set of pics to round out the summer and beginning of fall. I'll get around to buying one soon, really. I just like to have gas in my car and food on my table though. Damn necessities.

GO BEAVERS!

Yeah, I wasn't lying. We really own one of these at my house. We even blew it up for the game against Washington State. Plan to see him again on the roof during the Civil War. Bailey was terrified of this thing by the way.

Ahh, me and three of the people I love most in the world...Lee, Robin, and Aims, on our annual camping trip. We all grew up together. Actually, we're still growing up together. I love them.

This is my friend Brian on our annual camping trip. He's stooped in front of the awesome area where everyone swam (while I took pictures). 

This was the last day of our annual camping trip. Bailey decided he had had enough, loaded himself up in the trunk, and refused to get out until we left. What a spoiled dog. 

Here's Cedar, the occasional holy terror, but otherwise wonderful nephew, spinning on my desk chair. Hey Jennifer, he had a blast in Oregon...you should probably move back now. 

Cedar met his uncles Kyle and Scott this week and shared his toys. He and Kyle enjoy the same hair style. Man, I can't wait for it to go out of style. 

Here is another one from Lexy and Ben's wedding in June. Yeah, it's old, but now you can see a picture of the tall dad I have and his wife Sandy. Looking at my dad, I think I am guaranteed a good metabolism for life.

Family Week

Hmmm, it's family week here at the bungalow, as my sister and nephew arrived on Monday night to trash my apartment with loads of toys and hippy scented lotion. Here's what's been on my agenda:

Introductions: I took my sister to meet our dad this week for the first time since she was five. They got along very well and Cedar took to him immediately...must have been all those bad jokes :). Last night we headed over to his house for dinner so that she and Cedar could meet the other sibs and dad's wife Sandy. Cedar, Kyle, and Scott all have the same hair and had a great time together, and Jennifer has a ton in common with Sandy. All said, I think the meetings opened up yet another door in our family, and it makes me happy.

Thanks angels: This morning on the way to work, Scott was in a six car pileup on I-205. He got rear ended by a semi and his car was totaled. Amazingly, he appears to have no traumatic injuries and only had to go to the hospital for an evaluation. Dad said the doctors said he should buy a lottery ticket because he's a lucky one to have walked away from the accident alive. People are really driving like assholes out there on the wet roads. Could it hurt to slow down and keep your distance, especially behind my family members?

Days off: I have today and Monday off, creating a nice 4 day weekend. Of course, it will be jam packed with family time, in Salem of all places, but I think I can handle it. Eeegh. Good thing I don't head down til tomorrow morning and we're going directly to the coast for the day.

New music: Okay, not so new, but I finally ordered Final Straw by Snow Patrol and twentysomething by Jamie Cullum. Both are good. Actually, Final Straw is great. I can't stop listening to it.

Alright, this wasn't much, but tonight I'm headed out to Portland City Grill and some other places to hang out and have a fun night, so I'm off to go get some cute BUT comfortable shoes. Trust me, I learned my lesson last week about that.

Bob Loblaw

Arrested Development has a new character named Bob Loblaw. That name cracks me up. I can't stop saying it. Seriously, just say it out loud if you are having a bad day, and it should cheer you up.

Oh, and if you don't watch Arrested Development yet, you should start. It's great.

Yep, that's all I had to say.

Max Crawling

I had my first Portland Max pub crawl experience on Friday night. In addition to celebrating a 30th birthday, the intention of this adventure is to hit a ton of bars along the Max line while maintaining the responsibility to not drink and drive. After one hellish 2.5 hour commute home (for 40 measly miles), I felt that I was quite deserving of an irresponsible night in the hands of another driver...so Jess, Bill, and I headed out. Here's as much as I can accurately report about what my $3.85 all night Max fare got me:

The Max Ride: We got on the Max in Beaverton. My roomies were still buying tickets when the doors closed, kidnapping me. I couldn't come up with this on my own, but upon calling Jessica on her cell, she suggested that I get off at the next Max stop and wait for them to pick me up on the next train. Wow, how did I miss that idea?

Destination #1...The White Eagle: Our first stop in North Portland, where the night began and we met everyone in our crew. One guy looked oddly familiar, and I pegged him as a classmate from the eigth grade and even remembered his name. Jess and I got our first drinks, but no food, and I caught up with the classmate and learned that a total of four girls named Sarah were rolling in our crew for the night. What, is my name really that common?

Destination #2...The Alibi: Fifteen of us jumped on the Max and headed even further north with the intention of landing at The Alibi. We passed it, and had to back pedal on our feet a few blocks. This is the point where I realized that open toed, kitten heeled Steve Maddens are not a good idea for a rainy night pub crawl. Ah well, they're cute.

At The Alibi, we finally ate, got more drinks, got lei'd (it's a Hawaiian themed place), and enjoyed some horrendous karaoke (I mean, this is so not Pete Lee). A girl not named Sarah in our group tipped half a beer into my lap and then brought me soda water to get it out, but not another beer to replace the one she spilled...what is wrong with her? Eventually, a guy bought me one instead and scolded the girl. Later, I used the men's room while a guy in our crew manned the door because the girl's room was just too packed. While I was in the stall, he drunkenly let a guy in to use the urinal claiming, "Hey, it's okay, it's a hot girl in there, you're fine." Never trust a drunk guy to guard the door for you.

Destination #3...Georges: While heading here on the Max, all of us scream Happy Birthday to the newly minted 30 year old. We are clearly a group of inebriated and loud idiots at this point, and everyone looked at us a little crazy. I managed to 'surf' the Max in my cute shoes without holding any rails...I must not have been too bad yet.

At Georges, a quarter of the crew drops off, and those of us who are left have some great conversations about marriage and 'dis'engagment. I also got to yell at a guy when his wedding ring mysteriously disappeared after his wife left for the night. He sheepishly reached in his pocket and put it back on. What a punk. I hope your wife of four months divorces you.

Destination #4: The Nite Hawk: We headed here on our feet, thus breaking the rules of a Max pub crawl, but everyone is too drunk to care. I was ready to be carried because the shoes really hurt, but my old classmate complimented me on how cute they are...validation. Once in the door, I played some pool, but failed all the shots...a rarity for me. That must mean it's time for...

Destination #5: Home: So I realized, I'm about done. Our last Max home was coming too, so my roomies and I headed out. We made it to a transfer station and realized that there were no more Max trains going to the Beav, so we ended up calling a taxi, got in, and zzzzzzzzzzz. I actually fell asleep on the ride home.

Anyway, it was a fun night, and I highly recommend a Max pub crawl. Here are some pointers though:

1) Be one of the few single girls in a group of male business professionals...you won't have to buy any drinks all night.
2) JUST don't pick up on any of the business professionals because they're either married and hiding their rings in their pockets, or have girlfriends, don't bring them, and lie for the night (but still buy you drinks).
3) Screw looking cute...wear your rain jacket and GOOD shoes.
4) Make sure that you MAKE the last train home because cabs late at night are spendy.
5) Keep a lot of water by your bed. You'll need it come morning when you...
6) Try to watch college football at 9:30 am, but then...
7) Go back to bed instead, because all that cheering will just hurt your head.

Keep Them in Your Thoughts

Just wanted to post that Mike's uncle Gary passed away in his sleep on Sunday night at 11:00 pm. My thoughts are just with his wife, son, and the rest of his family right now. And of course, Gary. As I mentioned before, the guy taught me a thing or two about how to enjoy life no matter what gets thrown at you. I'm a better person for knowing him and will always smile when I think of him. He'll be missed.

Game #5: WIN!

Oregon State 44
Washington State 33

And that's after being down two TDs at half time. Good job guys!

Better Than a Bumper Sticker

I don't like bumper stickers, and only have a small OSU Beaver on my car (of course), but I saw this one and it made me smile:

If there are no dogs in Heaven, I'm not going.

Maybe I am too into my dog, but I like to think he is going to live as long as me and then follow me where ever I go next. And I plan to get pretty damn old before I head out. Okay, I sound like the crazy lady who lives on the corner with seventeen cats, but oh well, I love Bailey. Most people who meet him love him too actually. As I may have said before, I have humanized him a bit too much, and he's let it get to his head over the years...he knows how to work people.

Anyway, back to bumper stickers. That gets me to thinking about the crazy people who decorate the back dash of their car with Beanie Babies and stuffed animals. What the hell are they thinking? What could possibly possess a person to stuff freaky little fuzzy dolls into various corners of their vehicles? What about their blindspots? Will the driver blame Clucky the Fuzzy Chicken for the fat pileup that they cause on I-5?

In high school, before my friends got their licenses, Robin's (and everyone's) dad Steve used to drive us to school everyday. We would always get stuck behind this older model Jeep Cherokee that was fully decked out inside and out with Garfield and Odie memorabilia. They even had the seat covers. We would always laugh and wonder what it would be like to be the passenger who had to sit next to the huge stuffed Garfield on the backseat. No surprise though, the person driving never had passengers. Hmm.

I'm thinking about digging out all my old Cabbage Patch Kids to load up in the back of my wagon. When people drive behind me, they're sure to feel all warm and cuddly inside because my chubby cheeked dolls will be creepily smiling back at them.

Hey, whatever I can do to spread a little sunshine people.

Woke Up This Morning...

I got news this morning from my ex-fiance' Mike that his uncle Gary only has a couple of weeks left to live. Over the years, Mike and I got these calls a few times, that he was really sick, that we should fly out...but this time, it's real. He is ready to go.

Gary has had pancreatic cancer for as long as I have known Mike...so long that he has lived longer than any other person in the United States with the disease. I remember when Mike and I got together in the summer of 1999, Gary was given six weeks to live.

Some people prepare to die when they get a terminal diagnosis, but Gary wasn't gonna have that. He retired from work, got married, had a beautiful little boy, built a new house, travelled, and then travelled some more. On top of all this, his sense of humor stayed completely intact, even on his sickest days. On one trip down to his house in San Diego, the swimming pool hadn't heated up yet, so Gary, with a 103 degree temperature offered to go lay out in the pool to heat it up.

I hate that Gary fought the hell out of this disease, and it is finally beating him. There were so many times where the cancer shrank to almost undetectable levels. There was always a hope that it wouldn't come back. Even at the worst times though, he just kept making plans and living his life.

I admit that I have spent the better part of today crying about this situation. I'm guessing Gary would prefer it the other way around, but if you knew him, you'd realize what a bright light this guy is and how much he will be missed. Can't even think of a just way to wrap this except that I finally understand what 'valiant battle' means...Gary epitomizes the phrase, with humor and grace.

Game #4: LOSE

Oregon State 24
Arizona State 42

No comment.

Complaint Session

Things that are annoying me right now:

Cable TV: My house decided to add 60 channels to our typically stripped lineup for football season so we can faithfully root for our Beavers. How can there be this many channels and STILL be nothing on? Besides getting to watch Fox News and CNN again, I think it's terrible. We did run across an episode of COPS that had some crazy lunatic getting hauled off to jail. When the cop asked him if he had a lawyer, he said, "Yeah, I have a lawyer and his name is Ouch!" He said it because his cuffs were too tight, and I don't know why I thought it was so funny, but whatever...that's the extent of entertainment I found in all those channels.

Hurrican Rita evacuations: Some news guy on Fox News pointed out that they are evacuating Texas with only one side of the freeway. As much as I know Texans WANT to sit in traffic for sixteen hours while the six opposing lanes remain empty, I'd like to echo the news guy by asking, What the hell are you waiting for? Open up those damn lanes you idiots...no one is going to be heading TOWARD Texas for a while, trust me.

Alcohol billboards on the roads and freeways: I'm truly thinking about taking this one to the legislature. How can we possibly advertise alcoholic beverages on the roads where thousands are killed by drunk drivers every year? It's stupid, and I want them gone.

The Emmys: Talk about a joke. They are as lame and calculated as the Academy Awards. Why do the same people win every year? Why are the jokes so bad? I had to quit watching after an hour. Oh, and Zach Braff...didn't win. I don't approve.

On that note let me talk more about the Academy Awards. Yeah, it's not that time yet, but let me sum it up for you...Once you're in, you're gold for life ("Ooooh, Kate Winslet was just faaaabulous dying in Finding Neverland, wasn't she?"). I don't buy that these same repetitive nominees are the only deserving actors and actresses in the biz. It's a bunch of crap, and I haven't watched them for a few years now.

Abused animals: Tonight, I got sucked into watching that animal saving cop show on Animal Planet for thirty seconds (because if I watch any longer, I start crying). Being that my dog is pretty much human and treated like a smaller version of God, it makes me sick to see these poor animals all filthy, mistreated, and caged up. Oh, when people don't fix their animals, I get irritated too. I also plan to get petshops banned one day, just in case you're interested in jumping on that bill with me. Now, Bailey is from a petshop, and I love him, but all my future dogs will be rescues.

Ignorant people: So I work at an agency affiliated with the Catholic code of ethics. Most of our employees are great about separating their moral values from the work environment, but some let their feelings be a little too known. One of my coworkers used to work at the Boys and Girls Club, and he ran into a woman who works in another department. She told him that she refuses to let her kids go to the B and G Club because, "They did a billboard with Planned Parenthood, and Planned Parenthood supports abortion." She actually made this comment a long time ago now, and it still pisses me off. I just can't shake my disdain for the woman's choice to passively chastise one of my favorite coworkers.

My commute: 80 miles of driving a day gives me way too much time to think. Being inside my head for that long just gets on my nerves, so I try to make all my phone calls on the road.

Being 'that annoying girl on her cell while driving': Nah, this doesn't really annoy me. It actually keeps me sane, but I'm sure I am contributing to someone else's list of things that annoy them by doing it, thus starting a new cycle of annoyance for someone else. Good thing I can live with that today.

Sixty Degrees and Mellow

Ahhh, life. It's been pretty mellow lately, and here's what I've been up to:

GOOD

My friends Devin and Pinki got married in Manzanita on Saturday and included a lot of Pinki's culture in the ceremony and reception. They even gave out traditional place settings sent from Hong Kong as wedding favors...I got a whole set. The wedding and reception were beautiful and these two make a great couple.

I finally acquired Songs for Silverman by Ben Folds. I was in need of some new stuff from this super talented piano man, and this does the trick. I am pretty obsessed with the song Landed at the moment.

Hmm, I like playing pool. Friday night, about fifteen of us overtook the pool room at the McMenamin's Cedar Hills Pub and ate, played pool, and caught up. The only bummer...I lost in pool and had to buy dinner for a certain guy and myself as part of a deal struck earlier in the evening. I thought I was pretty good, but it looks like I need to hone my skills or quit making bets with better players.

My sister Jennifer and nephew Cedar arrive in two weeks for a visit. Apparently, Cedar has been packing his Power Rangers suitcase since July and has been telling EVERYONE that he is going to go see his 'auntie.' I should add on that he is doing this only because his best friend went to see his 'auntie' and he wants to compete with him. But I still feel a little special.

I was on call again for my job and got one call the entire time. Nice considering that the people on-call before and after me got more than 15 calls each. So I essentially made $175 just for carrying the pager and looking like I was from the early nineties for a week...I can handle that.

BAD

The football teams I've been rooting for had one hell of a week. I don't even need to mention the Beavers game again...it was awful. And then the Cowboys had a freak loss to the Redskins...bye-bye 77-0 record, coach. As supporters of Jose Cortez (my friend Delainie's husband AND a former Beaver), our house had a hard time watching them go down after what was almost a shutout...aggh, hope next week is better all around.

I was sick for about a week and it finally blew over last Friday. I always feel like I am dying when I am sick because I hardly ever get sick. I mean, a headache to me means brain tumor, a stomachache means cancer. Luckily the longest part, the sore throat, means sore throat...but it still sucked.

TEENAGE ETIQUETTE

On Sunday night, my friend Chris came over to watch Fever Pitch and hang out. Raquel (the teenager who lives with us) joined us for the evening. As we were all settling in, she blurted out, "Dude, what happened to Reckless? He was here all the time." Then she continued to ramble on for another few minutes. Reckless, by the way, is Mike, and he got friended a little over a week ago. His license plate on his truck says REKLES, but only because he bought it that way from a friend in AK and never changed it, I swear! Anyway, these awkward situations have happened before with the teenager when I have had the opposite sex around and are bound to happen again in my dating days. Being that I'm not dating Chris, I used it as a training moment and offered up that if I was dating him, it would be pretty awkward for him to hear about another guy, wouldn't you think? Anyway, I may need duct tape for when I have a date over next.

SEND YOUR LOVE

My friend Kim has started going through the prepping for another potential heart surgery. It's a stressful time, so send some good vibes her way and to whatever God you pray to and keep thinking about her.

TUNES

Alright, I'll leave you with some new and old music to go and buy, steal, whatever. My cheese-o-meter self enjoys the new Weezer song Beverly Hills...sorry, it just reminds me a lot of the fun style on their blue album. As mentioned above, Landed by Ben Folds is awesome. And for a nice mellow welcome into fall, go with Coming Home by G-Love. It's good. And Either Way by Guster...it makes me a little sad, but I love it.

Hey, have a good week out there.

Last September

To most, this last week was probably an ordinary week. As for me, I'd like to celebrate the anniversary of a week that changed my perspective on the life I was living.

I actually wrote this in January. But it explains the process pretty well, so read on:

Months ago I excitedly found out that my long term boyfriend was finally going to propose to me. He announced this in an effort to select the exact ring I wanted, and it was one which he eventually successfully created. Having waited many years for him to show some sign of an effort to bump me from his girlfriend to bonafide fiancée, I was thrilled, ecstatic, and told everyone I knew.

By December, we were in the most awkward proposal ever. He was down on one knee, asking me to marry him, and my answer back? “I guess so.” I guess so? Yes, I really said this, and he didn’t seem to even flinch. He still put the ring on my finger, took me to show off to his family. How did we get that far, or better yet, how did I let it get that far?

In September I took an 800 mile roadtrip home to relax and spend time with my best friends. Jessica, one of my dearest friends who had already been married for years and had waited just as long for me to announce an engagement, conned me into checking out the local bridal shops to try on wedding dresses. I excitedly obliged (only to later find out from another friend that it's bad luck to try on wedding dresses before you are engaged), and we rushed to a shop with aisles and aisles of pretty white and cream dresses. We happily picked over the dresses finding three that held my interest…simple, but not too plain, bigger, but not on the edge of making me look like a mobster‘s bride. I tried on one…pretty, I like this, I look pretty on this pedestal. Then I tried on another, did a few twirls…yeah, this is working for me. Then I looked to the pedestal on my left and opened my ears and eyes to this beautiful glowing petite girl. “This song is going to make me cry because I am just so happy,” she said, fanning her eyes to hold back the welling tears. “I can’t wait to get married.” Gulp. That may have been the point where I started to realize that getting engaged had just become a goal for me, the next logical step…not a dream, and especially not the dream of spending the rest of my life with the man I was trying on this dress for.

Yeah, so I already knew last September that I wasn't ready to get married...and worse, that I wasn't sure I wanted to marry Mike. It would become a constant discussion between Mike and I up until the day of his proposal, and we thought about not doing it a few times. I think that I was hoping the real engagement would change my point of view. As you all know, it didn't and it was over a little more than a month later.

Completely unrelated, but equally important in my life...last September on my trip home, I met my dad for the first time. I remember it being the most nerve bending experience of my life, but I really wanted to meet the guy. He came to the mall, brought my little sister Lexy, we had rootbeer floats, and talked about the past. Later that night, I dragged my friend Jessica to his house to meet my other siblings. In January on another trip home, he introduced me to a stranger as his daughter. I think that was the point where it really kicked in that I was comfortable with the idea of having a dad.

Right now, we're still building our relationship, learning about each other and how much we have had in common all these years. I've always had 'dads' in my life, but it is a completely different experience to have a dad who shares your blood, your traits, your oddly loud voice. I'm happy to say that I don't regret the choice to find my dad and make him a part of my life...it's been great.

So finally, my trip last September set off the flashing lights in my head that I really wanted to move back home. I won't expand on the terror of pulling off that move for a while still, but it has been yet another decision that meets no regret. I'm loving life right now...my friends, my family, my job, even the weather. Now, if only that older sister of mine would move back home too...

Game #3: LOSE

Oregon State 27
Louisville 63

Yeah, your eyes are right...it was horrible. The biggest amount of points we've given up in a single game in the HISTORY of Beaver football. What was worst was that ten of us got up early enough to watch the game start at 9:00. Damn, I could have used some extra sleep.

CRASH Into Me

Crash has officially been added to my list of movies that are a sociological and cinematic dream come true. This movie made me scream, cry, and then almost cry several more times, pound my fist on my coffee table, and even cheer at a few points.

I'd analyze this film from my liberal 'lover of sociology' viewpoint for you, but really it comes down to this:

1) I loved it.
2) You should watch it.
3) Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges deserves cinematic respect. Seriously.
4) If you feel no emotion watching it, you are a stone.
5) If you're still pissed at Matt Dillon's character by the end of the movie, good.
6) If you don't rethink some of your own viewpoints, you're lying to yourself.

And lastly, if you don't think this stuff really happens, you are an ignorant ass. In this case, I suggest you spend a rainy Oregon day watching Crash again, along with American History X, The Hurricane, Traffic, and Philadelphia. If you aren't pissed about something by the end of the day, consider yourself a threat to society and move to a deserted island.

In honor of Grandparent's Day (which was yesterday by the way), this is the amazing Charles Knowles and myself in Dalton, Ohio back in July 1983. This was the summer when I lived with 'Grandpa and Grandma' for four months and learned how to feed chickens, take care of my own rabbit, plant bulbs and tend a garden, fish, ride a horse, ride a bike, read longer books, write bigger words, and use lightning bugs as a night light. Grandpa's been Amish since the early 90s and still gets up early, farms, and drops me letters in the mail. This man has had the biggest influence on many decisions in my life, hands down...and the reason that I love the smell of tobacco smoke to this day. Because I am still getting used to having a Grandma again, I didn't call my Grandma Hadenfeld until today, but we had a good talk and caught up. Remember to call and give a happy belated if you forgot to yesterday.

Game #2: WIN!

Oregon State 30
Boise State 27

Phew! Thanks Serna!

I Hate (pause) How News Reporters Talk

I swear I don’t remember reporters talking in their own tonal language when I was younger. But lately when I watch the news, I end up turning it off because I just can’t handle their inability to talk like people (pause) on the street.

If my news annoyance isn’t registering with you yet, go turn on the news and watch for a few minutes, and let me give you more examples:

Yesterday, Sally Johnson shot her husband and now (pause) tragically (pause, lower voice) he is dead…George Smith addressed the chaos in New Orleans today, and what he had to say (pause) moved millions…The car wreck caused a pileup so huge that no one could move their cars (pause) for hours.

It’s all just so damn unnatural, stupid, and annoying.

Who made this awkward form of speech universally acceptable as the way to present the news? I personally like to refer to it as the ‘Stone Phillips’ style. I remember him doing it way back when, the bizarre sounding transitions from one thought to another…the illusion that his words were a prelude to something completely amazing…and oh yeah, I hated it back then too. Rob Lowe made fun of it on Saturday Night Live once, and he barely even had to exaggerate his speech patterns. My friend Steve can mimic the style perfectly too. He lowers his head, his tone, adopts the stupid seriousness.

I think the next time I go on a date with someone new, I will talk only in news talk. I will end every sentence like a closing statement…“So that must have been fun growing up (pause) in Maine.” And, “Hey, I like your shirt. That color would look good (pause) on my bedroom floor.”

I can guess that if I talked like that all night and then tried to say, “Hey, I had fun, you should come in and hang out (pause) for a while,” he would probably be squealing out of my driveway in reverse faster than I could say, “But I thought (pause) we had fun.”

I mean, look at it, look at how awkward it is to just try to read it with pauses in those stupid places. Then add in the serious pose, the lowered voice, and it’s just ridiculous. So I am making a plea to all you news reporters to PLEASE stop presenting the news this way, or just STOP TALKING ALTOGETHER! My internet at home has been out for a week, and that is the only reason I have to watch the news on TV anyway, because I can’t simply enjoy reading it on (pause) my f**king silent computer screen.

Back to you Bob.

Game #1: WIN!

Oregon State 41
Portland State 14

Catching Up

The net was out in my house for a week, so I took a nice hiatus from typing and logged some stuff in my mind instead. Here's a flashback to what my week was all about:

GOOD

Beaver football starts today!!! Yes, in one hour, my face will be glued to the TV screen to watch the most ridiculous matchup between OSU and Portland State. This is such a stupid idea...how are we going to get ranked playing a small time team like them? Last year's LSU opener was a much more strategic plan. Now, we better just win.

I've had the chance to hang out with my friend Bruce again, so that's cool. He pretty much the same as he was in high school and college and a blast to hang out with. The other night while rolling with a crew of OSU alums, I met up with him and several of his pals, all dressed in U of O gear. Man, that much yellow and green just isn't okay.

My brother Jay works on the same street as me, so every time he sees me drive by, he calls to check in. It's been my regular way of keeping up with his life, which includes dating his first brunette ever. This is a big deal, really.

FUNNY

Last night at the Triple Nickel, I watched as a girl took a guy taller than her down to the ground and started to choke him. It was hard to miss considering they fell directly on my foot. We all kind of stood there thinking it was a joke, but she just kept choking him, and the bouncer rushed over, pulled her off, and then kicked the guy out. Yep, the guy deserved it and got 86'ed.

Before heading to the Triple Nickel last night, my friend Chris and I stopped by his buddy's house to witness a Fantasy Football draft. In attendance were twelve pretty cute guys, dressed in football jerseys, crammed around a table full of sheets of paper and laptops shouting out draft picks. I was the ONLY girl there, and though I love football, this whole concept just doesn't make sense to me. Chris and I thought about sticking it out to create a drinking game out of every time they bought a player, but ended up scramming after a half hour. Talk about bizarre.

TV worth watching: So, Family Guy cracks me up. It is so random and out there. The new American version of The Office is actually great. Arrested Development and Scrubs start up again soon too, so I may just have to learn to sit on a couch so I can watch these shows regularly. That is only two hours of TV a week, so I think I can handle it.

The other night as I left the Horse Brass, I waved goodbye to my friend Pete, who responded by saying, "Waving is for yuppies" and gave me a hug instead. It cracked me up.

BAD

What a worm: On Monday I went into the DMV in Salem to finalize my Oregon identity. Little did I know, my ex-stepdad from high school works there. This guy was a true asshole on so many levels, and seeing him made my blood boil. I sat in the waiting area for an hour trying to burn a hole in his head with my eyes, but apparently failed because he remained standing. After I left, I got so worked up that I had to shut the door to my office and zone out for a while. I had no idea that seeing him would unearth so many feelings of anger and discomfort, but it did, and I didn't like it. Looking back, I am pissed that I let him get to me, but he really did cause some extreme chaos in my life and family. Man, hate is a big word, but I think I dug it up Monday.

The Ducks won their first game of the season. Sorry Dad, they aren't supposed to do that. I foresee a beating on their turf this year for the Civil War.

The fat gas hike has created quite an expensive commute for me. Time to get a scooter.

Alright, gotta go watch OSU slaughter PSU.

More People to Learn About

In my sidebar, I've added links to the blogs of my friends who take the time to spout their opinions, log their lives, and entertain me. Zach Braff will be my friend when I figure out his social security number, address, and...oh, I mean, he's just got to be followed until his next creation emerges. As you all know, I loved Garden State, and I'm patiently awaiting something new from this guy.

Girls, I need some female representation in my list. Trina, can't you log your wedding plans or something?

Aight, I'm off to finish camping laundry. Interesting trip. A little bit of a culture shock for me I must admit, but that's a different story.

Read Jamie's blog, then go to bed

Well, it's past 2:00 am and I just took a cab with my friend Jamie back to the Beav from Ptown because we missed the last Max Train. We met some socially inept idiot who wore a shirt with 'goodfuckingmuffins.com' emblazoned across it, annoyed the hell out of me, but also scored us a cheap cab. On the ride home, he kept adding "dotcom" to everything he said...it was sooooo not funny.

Tonight at the Portland Beavers baseball game, I heard my name being shouted from somewhere for a few minutes, and looked up from the beer garden to see my friend Bruce smiling and waving at me from the stands. Haven't seen this guy in years, so it was pretty exciting and we ended up hanging out until 1:00 am. We would have hung out longer had Jamie had his way, because he was quite interested in Bruce's cute roomie, but I had to come home and pack for the big camping trip tomorrow, so I ruined his game. I think intercepting a matchup is technically a crime, so I owe him big time.

I've hung out with Jamie the last two nights and showed him around Ptown. He's a pal from high school who did exchange our senior year, so it has been cool to get to spend some time hanging out with him and listening to the extremely proper English he uses. Anyway, last night, we hit Goodfoot and Dublin Pub, and tonight we did Thirsty Thursday, Marathon, and Scooters. He is on a five month vacation from Australia and I am damn jealous. He's off to see more of the world, and then will be back in November for a few days in which I plan to join him for a Death Cab for Cutie concert. In the meantime, check out his blog, The Life and Times of JB. He gives everyone nicknames, and has decided to coin me 'Single Forever' after hanging out with me and hearing my stories. Let's hope that one day I will be 'Married Forever' instead, but I tend to agree that I am on a path of male destruction at the moment, so be it. Oh, but his blog is awesome. He is a journalist back home, and is using the blog to capture his trip and keep his writing muscles strong. Damn good I tell you.

Alright, gotta go pack for what actually happens to be the 10th annual camping trip. Thought it was the 9th, but apparently, I can't add, so that makes this even a bigger deal than before. We've been doing this ten years? Man, I am old. Oh, if you are joining us, just head 12.8 miles up Brietenbush Road off Highway 22 in Detroit. It's a guaranteed good time.

I'm sure I will have a ton to report come Sunday afternoon when I get back home. Stay tuned.

Look, Pictures

Well, I have decided that it is time for me to go out and buy a digital camera. I took in a roll of APS film today, and found that I just don't take enough pictures anymore. I used to be a camera monster, flashing people as they slept peacefully, capturing random candids to use as blackmail ammo for later. So to realize that I have only taken one roll of 25 print APS film this entire summer just bothers me.

Here are some other reasons for my digital camera NEED (that's right, not want, need):

1) I need the instant gratification of seeing the picture and demanding that everyone pose again for a retake because someone's eyes are closed.
2) I need to find out BEFORE I get the prints that every picture I took with my girlfriends who are rarely all together at once turned out dark. With our schedules, it's hard to know when we will all be together again, so I need to have a million GOOD framed pictures of them sitting on my shelves at home to tide me over til I get to see them again.
3) I need to realize that I have taken way too many pictures of the dog I am overly obsessed with. Now, I love Bailey, but do I really need 1000 pictures of his dopey smile on my camera?
4) I just need to take more pictures. Life goes by pretty fast, and I think it's good to capture as many of the moments as I can in freeze frame. Pictures tell good stories, and I want to be able to stick a photo book in front of my future kids' faces so that I don't have to talk to them. No, I'll tell them all the stories that go with the each one. As many of you know, I really like to talk...so I would never let my kids get off that easy.

Anyway, there are a few pics from the summer to follow. In the near future, I'll be stealing more pictures to post from those smart people who already joined the digital age. Til then, this is what you get.

This is Robin and I at her brother's wedding on July 30th. I love Robin. She loves me. Our friendship evidences that.

Here are Bill and Jess, my trusty roomies who never want me to leave. Don't worry, I never want to leave either! No prob there...we'll just move my husband in when I find one...or you guys can just walk me down the aisle and sadly cut the cord. Hey, the backyard is big enough to add on more rooms.

Ahh, here are Aims, Stef, myself, and Robin in a picture that really didn't turn out. And this is why I will finally be going out to get a digital camera...oh well, though blurry, dark, and tweaked by random Picasa filters, we are still cute.

Fondue anyone? This chocolate fountain proved to be a bad idea for the outdoor wedding we all went to in Philomath last night...wind and flowing chocolate = one big mess that still tasted really good. As you can tell, Bill and Jon really enjoyed it.

Free advertising for Petsmart! Bailey loves frisbee. He tore through 10 of these this summer thanks to his gigantic teeth and neverending will to catch frisbee tosses. This is his famous teetering frisbee/trembling jaw pose.

Here are Lexy and Ben at their wedding reception on June 14th. Terrifyingly young and cute aren't they? These two have packed up to move to Utah so Lexy can play softball at Utah State. Hey, once you guys get used to the cold you should have a great time...that may take a while though. 

This is Robin's mom Kay and step-dad Dougie making kissy faces for the camera. They are two of my surrogate parents who I mention from time to time, and they helped mold me into who I am, so I love them.

ADD Me

This morning during a team meeting, one of my coworkers started silently laughing while looking at me and then wrote ADD on a napkin, held it up and pointed to me. Later he told me that I was holding my thumbs together a foot in front of my face and switching the blinking of my eyes back and forth as if aiming for my fingers. Guess I was bored with the Ph. D we were on a phone conference with.

My job makes me laugh. Friday, I received a message from a probation officer, and at the end he said 'Love you.' You can imagine the embarrassed message to follow owning up to the mistake as thinking about his fiancee' when he made the call. We talked today and I told him that it is a little too early in our probation officer/counselor relationship to be using such endearing words. Maybe next month instead.

My two male coworkers also entertain me. They have also coined me 'SF' which stands for Single Forever because they say I am too picky to ever settle down. Sadly, they only know my current and past boy interests as a series of names that have included No Commit, Hot Guy, Jock Boy, Smart Boy, The Mormon, Future Friend, Make Out Buddy, and Future Husband. Oh and one of them was called 'F**king Pain in the Ass from time to time too, but we don't need to elaborate right now. When I use real names for the four boys, they are often confused as to who I am talking about, so I just leave it at the nicknames.

They also give me suggestions on dating. One of them says his 45 year old rich brother is single. I said I'd rather die poor and with someone by my side than alone when he kicks the bucket first because he's old. Apparently, that's picky. I also told them that I strategically conned the new Mike into shaving his sideburns shorter, getting rid of his goatee, and not wearing a mini mohawk when he is with me...I mean, it's kind of cute, but no. So they said that's just bitchy. But I did it really nicely. They also know that my age range is a mature 25 to a young 33 or so. Apparently, love isn't supposed to know any age, but I'm sticking to my guns until someone proves me wrong here, thanks.

Aight, random thoughts are over. I am going to bed.

For Your Information

I noticed that I haven't written much this past week. What the hell was I doing anyway? Let me pass on the happenings:

Barcode: This place is awesome for late night food. No smoking, awesome pad thai, and a cool atmosphere with a good DJ mixing tunes while you eat.

Dublin Pub: This place in the Raleigh Hills area is pretty fun. The guy/girl ratio is 70/30, and while most of them are pretty much the jock boys I have decided to ban (i.e. Adam got pretty excited when I mentioned I went there Friday night), they are still fun to look at. We were headed downtown, but stopped off here, so I was way over-dressed. Keep that in mind if you head out there because you will look out of place in anything over a t-shirt and jeans.

Family: I went and spent most of Saturday evening with my dad's side of the fam, and it was fun. I feel completely normal hanging out with them, so that's nice.

Darts: I love this game, and played on Tuesday night at the Horse Brass with Mike. He left for AK the next day, and has yet to return. I am officially 'friending' him when he returns though, because I haven't yet, and it still just hasn't evolved into anything I want to get serious about. Oh, but darts, still fun.

Laying by the pool: Everyone needs one day where they lay by a pool, read magazines, and accidentally fry their skin. My day was Saturday, so please pass the aloe.

Meteor Showers: Friday night, after getting bored with the bars, I went up to the Hoyt Arboretum area with a group of friends, a bunch of blankets, and watched the meteors shoot around in the sky. We ran around, acted like a bunch of kids, and had some good conversations while drinking cheap Coors Light out of cans. I felt like I was in high school again, and it was great.

Dixie Tavern: Quite possibly the WORST bar experience ever in my days in Portland. Eight of us basically sucked in a $7 cover to hang out and stand around doing nothing but cry tears of boredom and watch this skeezy guy approach every girl in the bar. This place caters more to the boys, but the five guys with us hated it just as much as the girls. Oh, and what the hell is the cover for? There's no dancing, you have to pay another $5 to ride the mechanical bull (which only drunk ass weirdos and hammered girls trying to look sexy, but failing miserably did), and it will all just remind you of a really bad college party. We stayed 30 minutes, and then just couldn't take the pain any longer. NEVER EVER GO HERE!

Otherwise, I am just looking forward to an upcoming camping trip with several of my friends the last weekend in August. We're hitting the Detroit/Breitenbush area for our 9th annual trip. It is three days of absolute fun, full of catching up, swimming, bridge jumping, forest adventures, and several nice beverages. This year, we are gonna float our little rafts and yellow boats all over too, so that should be fun.

Oh, and of course, we're all happily awaiting the arrival of you too Albright. See you Wednesday when I sleepily climb my stairs to let you in and then stumble back to bed. Speaking of bed, I slept in until 1:00 this afternoon after two insanely late nights this weekend. Time to head back toward the pillow again, so have a good week people.

I Like This

Ahh, this is my horoscope for the day, and I kind of think that it is good advice for everyone anyway, so just pretend your sign is where it says 'Cap' if you aren't one:

Remember, dear Capricorn, that it is insane to do the same thing over and over and expect different results. Don't fall into this trap of habitual blindness to the truth of an emotional issue. There is no real need for continual victimization on your part. Take responsibility for your feelings. Dig deep to find the courage to fight. There is nothing you can't accomplish as long as you are focused in the right way.

Yeah, so I decided to hang out with a 'trap' this weekend, and though I had fun, I really don't think I want to start the whole show again. I'd say I need to take responsibility for my actions instead of my feelings though, and this is definitely a two way trap, so whatever.

This is still good advice for severe situations, so I'll try to remember to look back and read this some other day when someone is pissing me off. I am sure that is bound to happen a few more times before I get it right. Of course, I don't really feel like getting it right at this time, because I'm finally having a blast. Hmm, maybe I AM taking responsibility for my feelings after all.

Measure Your Life In Love

It's not often that a movie trailer gets me all passionate about going to see a movie, but this one for ***RENT*** does the trick. Kind of makes me want to go out and fall in love with someone too, or maybe just make out with them I suppose. Nah, who am I kidding? This damn preview makes me want to have someone for all the Seasons of Love.

Moving on, I think I have Jessica snared into seeing it because the always heavenly Taye Diggs is in it (oh, and HELLO Jesse L. Martin...damn, you are fine too), and Kim's seen the broadway production and loved it, so I'll have another date. Hmm, maybe I will stay true to my second to last post and actually score a male species who I could drag along too. Anyway, I've never seen the broadway production, but that won't stop me from getting in line on November 23rd to see this. Is it a crime to see the movie before you see the real thing? Guess I will have to make the production stop in Portland and give me a performance before November if it is...that'd be nice.

***The best preview is linked through the main site at: Enter the site then to Videos then to Trailers, so the hyperlink will only get you to the site itself. There's no direct link yet, and I am so not a computer buff...sorry, you gotta do some work to watch it, but it's worth it. Or if you have iTunes, you can watch it from the music store homepage.***

A Good and Bad List

Haven't done a good and bad list in a while, so I figured that I could probably slam one out based on my week. Here we goooooo...

GOOD

Girl time: My friend Courtney and I had a girl's night on Wednesday, and yesterday, a group of five of us spent the day together doing typical girl things. I have a great collection of girl friends who span friendships as short as a couple months to as long as 15 years, and I appreciate all of them.

The river: What a perfect place to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon. Bailey got to swim, I got some sun, and I also got to see my friend Chris and his wife for the first time in two years. We had planned to float down it, but ran out of time. It takes four hours, so we're working on making that happen before the summer ends.

My cell phone: I love this thing because I can talk to people on my long drives home from work and get funny texts to cheer on my day. Okay, they are nothing new, but how did we live without these things?

HMMM

Must Love Dogs: Okay, this had John Cusack, and I LOVE him, but overall, this movie kind of bit. Diane Lane's acting was just tanked, and it all just didn't flow. But if I find a guy like John Cusack's character in this movie, I would be one happy camper, let me tell you. He was too cute.

BAD

Sorry guys: Last night, I was once again pretty tired, so I ended up never making it to Chopsticks to see Pete and Marcus. Once I headed home to get my car, I was as good as done. Oh, and Pete, you sound nothing like Marcus, so you betta not think you can trick me on the phone again. I swear I will make it next time. And hey, at least I know where it is now because it's by the Baghdad, and...

Waiting: Service at the Baghdad sucked this afternoon and some guy named Two Feathers kept bothering our tables and scared the hell out of my dog (who joined us for lunch care of dog friendly patio seating). Brian, Mike, and I waited over 30 minutes for our food. Yes, their food is good, but we had planned to eat fast so we could hit the river. Having patience was a pain in the ass man.

Dissolving marriages: Some of my friends are getting to the possible separation/divorce stage of marriage. Damn, this sucks. I was hoping it just wouldn't happen to anyone I know, but it is. That's all I have to say about it at the moment...it sucks.

Duh: If you don't know what this vague category is about, you just don't know me well enough yet to be allowed to know. But it includes having to bite my bleeping tongue and be very nice. I swear I will, but that doesn't change my viewpoint...punk.

Aight, Jon's mentioning that the lyrics to Candy Shop by 50 Cent are funny. Never heard the song, but I guess you'll have to give it a try.

Rebound Twins

Yes, it is technically Friday night, and I am at home writing in this thing. I was pretty sick today, so I slept for five hours after work, sleepily replied to text messages asking, "What the hell are you doing?," and disregarded all invitations to go on adventures so that I can hit the town tomorrow night instead. That leaves me awake and not tired at 2:30 because there is nothing else to do...everyone else is sleeping.

Anyway, I thought about Adam yesterday. Not for any reason of sentimentality, but because I realized that I already dated him seven years ago. Alright, not him exactly, but pretty close. Actually, creepily close. So close I am wondering how I possibly let this happen again.

I have had two long term relationships. Alright, maybe three, but I refuse to count my high school boyfriend, Brian, because he broke up with me three times over the course of a year and a half and it was always just ridiculous...our finale was him offering to marry me so I would know he wouldn't break up with me again. Yeah, great idea. I finally got to be the deal breaker with that one. Anyway, of the two, one ended after two years when I was twenty, and then you all know about the end of my five and a half year one this past January. Each time, I have been the one to kill it off, and I realized that my rebounds from each relationship have been insanely similar.

Nick was my first rebound boy at age twenty. He was a very good looking, but not so smart, Catholic raised, jock boy who came from a rural city and played way too much golf. He had a job with crappy hours that didn't mesh well with my late night personality. Basically he was a morning person and out the door by 5:00 am and had to go to bed early, even on the weekends sometime. He played football for his first two years of college. He could pick me up, carry me, and spin me around. We were together about two months despite some irritating red flags, and then we were as good as over right around the Fourth of July.

Seven years and one botched long term relationship later, Adam enters the picture. He too is a very good looking, but not so smart, Catholic raised, jock boy who came from a rural city and plays way too much golf (oh, and in his case as many know, poker). He has a job with crappy hours that didn't mesh well with my late night personality. Basically he's a morning person who is out the door by 5:00 am and has to go to bed early, even on the weekends sometime. He played baseball for his first two years of college. He could pick me up, carry me, and spin me around. We were together about two months despite some irritating red flags, and then we were as good as over right around the Fourth of July.

Looking at these two guys, I realize they both served the same unintentional mission...they were the test runs to make me realize what I do and don't want in a relationship. I realize that when I am with someone like this, I tend to let my own values and viewpoints slide. I get caught up in their interests and do what they like to do because they don't tend to like to expand into a new realm of ideas and culture and do the things that I like to do. Neither of these guys would have ever watched a foreign film with me or gone to sushi. Trust me, I tried. The conversations are never that deep and I get frustrated with the lack of intelligence in the relationship. There is a very practical edge to this type of guy too, and that comes with a lot of traditional crap that I have never been big on.

So what do I want in a relationship? I like my guys to be sharp, witty, and thoughtful. I like for them to support the sense of empowerment and independence I have carried with me my whole life. I want them to be able to talk about what's on the third page of the paper, different genres of movies and music, and differing views in society. I want them to be willing to check out my interests as much as I do theirs. They can be as good looking as the jock boys, I'll have no problem with that. But if they don't take care of their minds, I'm sure I will remember to pass on them next time. Not that my next long term relationship is going to end, so I probably don't have to worry about adding a rebound triplet to this list anyway. If I make it to that point, you have permission to stick me in Catholic jockboy rehab.