Crazy weather

This is what is going on in the Portland area. I have some photos on my picasa site.  I hope to get some more today.  I haven't left the house since Friday night except to take the dog out.  Shovel? We only have a dirt shovel.  Ice?  We removed around 2 inch slabs of ice from our cars.  Snow?  Still coming down.

I haven't received the paper in two days.  We'll see if we get mail or UPS shipments today.  Work? Closed for the second time in a week.   I've had a sore throat/head cold for the last week so my patience is starting to run out.  I would enjoy this so much more if I could breathe normally.

Mary is supposed to fly in Tuesday night.  It is hard for me to remain optimistic.  

Oh and it is still snowing.

Good Times

Ahhh...back in Oregon.  Back to really bad budget news.

I foresee a very rocky future.

Craziness at Walmart

I just caught up on newspapers (life story...I think I am usually 2-3 days behind) and was reading about the death that happened yesterday at a Walmart.  I don't have a problem with Black Friday shopping.  I don't take part in it because I don't like crowds and I really hate to get up early.  I don't have issues with people trying to get bargains.  Money is tight.  Hell, I would have probably considered getting up super early and going to Best Buy if I could get a flat screen tv for super cheap.  

Back to Walmart and the article I was reading...the people who stormed the store and trampled over Walmart employees are sick.  What makes a human try to break through the doors for a bargain?  People are blaming Walmart for not providing enough store security but why aren't they just blaming the crazy shoppers?  Are they sitting around this weekend thinking about their actions or are they just pissed off because they had to leave the store when someone died?

I don't get it.

Still alive...

Yes, I am around.  I just haven't been in a blogging kind of mood.  I've been in a downright funk for most of November.  I wanted to say all of these things about the election and my trip to Charleston, but my real funk descended on me right around that time.  

I'm going to try to get back into the swing of things now that I have caught up on a few personal things.

Stress

I head off tomorrow to a conference in Charleston.  I really hope that this year isn't a repeat of 2004 when I had to drown my sorrows in various Charleston bars.  I don't care what the pundits say...I'm nervous.  I just don't trust anything after the last two elections.

Studs

R.I.P. I loved Studs Terkel.

He is Chicago to me. I have two vivid memories of him - the first time I heard him speak was at Bughouse Square during the Newberry Library book sale. Back in the day, people would go to Bughouse Square and debate. Every year during the sale, they get local Chicago people to stand up and speak their mind. Studs got up there with his trademark red socks and railed about whatever was on his mind that day. The last time I saw him was at the anti-war rally in Daley Plaza when Barack Obama was running for the Senate. I went to hear Studs and no one else.

I can't even select my favorite book because they've all meant a lot to me. Race, Hope Dies Last, Hard Times, and Will the Circle Be Unbroken probably rise to the top.

This is a day that I've dreaded for a very long time.

I would rather die

This climber ate centipedes to stay alive

Now I am sure some of you are thinking that I am crazy to choose death over a 'pede, but I'm not kidding.

Going too far

Things are getting really ugly on the political front.  I am relieved that some of the nasty attacks didn't come up in the debate, however, I would have liked McCain to say some of his attacks to Obama's face.

One of the commenters last night talked about the type of climate that Palin and McCain are creating with their personal attacks and how we are slipping into dangerous territory.  I agree. Speaking at recent Palin or McCain/Palin rallies, people have yelled "off with his head", "kill him" and "treason".  It is offensive that Palin or McCain are not doing anything to stop this type of hatred.  What does this mean? I take away that they have no objections to the comments.  I believe they have a responsibility to speak up and denounce audience members who spout off this crap.  I would expect the same thing of Obama and Biden.    

We are entering dangerous territory and it makes me really pissed off at McCain and Palin.  It just proves that they are not the type of leaders we need.  

Signs the country is falling apart

Why our economy is going down the tubes - within minutes of each other, different individuals from AIG and Lehman Brothers found my blog doing a search on spiders.  

Question 1: Shouldn't these employees be saving our economy?

Question 2: Should I wonder if there is some connection between spiders and the downfall of these two companies?  It is possible they were working on some investigative research.

Palin.  I am still amazed that there are people who think she is qualified to serve as vice-president. What has our country settled for when we take someone who is clearly in over her head and potentially elect her for second-in-command?   I know one person who has defended her and thinks she is the greatest thing on earth.  Personally, I have lost all respect for this person because they obviously have the political intelligence of an acorn.  As Tim Robbins said on the Daily Show, I want someone who is an elite and not like me in the Executive Branch.  

I am scared about tomorrow's debate.

Pelosi?

Now I am pissed off (actually I have been pissed off a lot of times over the last 8 years but this one is more targeted at McCain instead of Bush).  Blaming Pelosi for the failure of the bail out package? Republicans are saying the bail out package failed because of a partisan speech given by Pelosi. Read the transcript of her speech here (scroll to the bottom).  Thank God for Barney Frank.

Aaarrgghh.

State of the World

Last night's SNL skit with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler is the funniest thing I have ever watched on SNL.  I think I have watched it at least 5 times.  I am laughing now just thinking about Tina Fey.

Debate: is McCain 12?  Because when I was 12 years old, I also refused to make eye contact with people that I didn't like.   Mr. Condescending just looked grumpy.  Obama - you need a little more fire in your responses.  

When will someone start talking about the Keating scandal?????

The number one highlight of the weekend:

I am sitting on the couch and I notice Elston darting after something.  I notice she is kinda chewing on something.  I call her. She comes to me and I notice a large black spot on the carpet. A  huge, super large, super duper sized dead spider.  I was somewhat horrified at how large it was and a little disgusted at the thought of Elston trying to eat the spider.  Now I know that I have complained about her lack of spider killing but it grossed me out.  Granted, I am pleased she killed it before it came closer to me but I really don't want to witness these things.  I was going to pick it up but got distracted by the Bears game.  During a timeout,  I went to go pick it up and it was gone.  I swear that Elston grinned at me.  It was one large spider.  The big season of mammoth spiders is upon us.  I really need to call an exterminator to spray the perimenter of the house.  

Quote of the day

I made some reference to Sarah Palin when I was getting my haircut.

My hair stylist: Who is Sarah Palin?

I seriously thought she was joking. She wasn't. She is a really smart woman in her early 30's. Granted, she was out of the loop when she was at Burning Man but she has been back for awhile.

This is why the citizens of this country scare me at election time.

ALERT.ALERT.ALERT.ALERT

Intercepted transmission from Spider Nation: At 1700 hours, a reconnaissance mission was thwarted by Human. Agent #567 was met with a brutal death by Human weaponry. The Human let out some battle cry as It hit #567. All members of Elite Tactical Team are to be on guard for Human, Red Dog, Orange Cat, and Striped Cat. Intelligence shows that the animal units are not a serious threat. See below for the mission plan that was thwarted:

------------18 September 2008 Reconnaissance Mission-------------

All members of the Elite Tactical Team are to canvass the Human's quarters. Objectives include: inventory of weaponry, map launch pads for future attacks, place decoys, and investigate future hiding spaces. All Elite Team members should pay special attention to the "special little space" filled with objects. Your commanders view this space as a vulnerable spot for the Human. It is filled with Human objects where Spider Nation can occupy. Please note that this area poses risks as Human weaponry is stored on the ground floor of this space. Spider Physician says the chemical pneumonia agent was successful but Human has fully recovered. Regardless, Spider Igor Biologist received special commendation from Spider President. Spider Psychologist notes that Human seems distracted these days with Human concerns. For this reason, 18 September 2008, is the chosen day for the reconnaissance mission.

Hiding from the media

Why aren't more people concerned that the McCain campaign is keeping Palin so far from the media?  At least it minimizes the impact of them hitting different states since she is only campaigning with him.   

I keep waiting to wake up from this really bad dream.

Comments....

There was a caller today on NPR who said that she didn't want her kids learning about 9/11 in school. She felt it was her motherly role to tell her kids about something that is disturbing.  The host of the program questioned her since the role of teaching history to kids usually happens in the schools.  She didn't care.

Disclaimer: I'm not a parent.  Doesn't this parent think about her children's education and our educational system if we relied on all parents to teach their kids about our history?  I don't remember my parents protecting me from horrible moments in our past. 

I'm also so frustrated with McCain and all of the hypocrisy.  Since I am one of the cynical few who think McCain will win this because the American people are too stupid - I was pleased to see that Obama is starting to hit back.  I especially like Obama's comment:

"Enough," Obama declared yesterday while campaigning in Norfolk, Va. "I don't care what they say about me. But I love this country too much to let them take over another election with lies and phony outrage and Swift boat politics. Enough is enough."

Lipstick on a pig?  This is what pisses me off about McCain and the media (this is fresh on my mind because Jon Stewart did a piece on this the other night) - McCain used the same quote to describe Hillary Clinton's health care policy.  They cried out when Clinton's campaign cried sexism when questioned by Obama's campaign or the media.  Yet, they are doing the exact same thing.

I guess I'm in a mood today.  I nearly throttled the Rite-Aid pharmacist.

Summer 2008

Now that summer is coming to a close, I've been a little down. I've started noticing some leaves changing colors.  I wasn't as active this summer as I would have liked.  I didn't do all of those things that I tell myself I will do in the summer months.

I started thinking about what I did the summer of '08.

- I spent a great, long weekend on the Oregon coast with some of my closest friends.

- I went to Michigan for a week with my family.  I spent time in a small community that always interested me when I lived in Chicago.  I was able to drink Bell's beer.

- I drove to California twice to see Mary in her new space. 

- I moved into a new place with the first platonic roommate I've had since the mid-90's.  I am still unorganized from the move, so this goes down as the most unorganized move in my history.

- I received great health news and then pneumonia took me down.

- Reconnected with old friends from high school and saw one of my favorite college friends for the first time since 1992.

- Best book: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle.

- Best movie: Once on video and The Dark Knight in the theatre.  I also admit that I loved Tropic Thunder.

- Television: Episodes of "The Wire" and the Olympics.

- Song of the summer: this one is tough.  "Tell Me" by Maria Taylor and "Woodcat" by Tunng were the songs at the beginning of the summer.  Now I am listening to the Once soundtrack with "Falling Slowly" as my favorite.

- Restaurant of the summer: Por Que No.   Favorite find? Fonda Rosa (Shannon, we need to go back!).

- Drink of the summer: Coke Zero.  I really haven't been drinking much this summer except when I was downing all of the Bell's beer in Michigan or the coastal weekend.  I've actually gone almost a month without a beer.  Shudder.

- Best moment of the summer: Going to see a show with all three members of my favorite band standing right in front of me.  One of them performed as a guest member of a band.  I giggled a lot that night.

I'm probably missing stuff but this seems like my summer.

Ode to Elston

September 2003


September 6, 2008.

Elston is 11 years old today. Humor me while I give you the highlights of her life.

Adoption/Coach house on Buckingham
I still remember the random Saturday when Nicole and I drove past the Anti-Cruelty Society and decided to stop in to see the dogs. A few hours later, we had adopted this little red dog. We spent the rest of the day getting dog supplies before we could pick her up in a few days. We went out to dinner with my sister, Amy, at a restaurant that was across from the shelter. We tried to point her out to Amy. She was the one who came up with the name, Elston, as we drank beers. The first few weeks were rough as we tried to teach her to go outside in the bitter cold of a February snowstorm. I wouldn't even take my coat off. I would just sit bundled up at our kitchen table - warming up before the next trip outside.

That was one of Elston's many living spaces and the first of three in Chicago. She mostly stayed out of trouble as she gained weight and grew out of her puppy phase. It was a great neighborhood for dogs. Her favorite spot? The Belmont rocks on Lake Michigan.

Logan Square years
- Taking her to meet our potential landlord. She hated riding in a car so we gave her relaxation medicine so she wouldn't appear so hyper. It had the reverse effect but we still passed the test.
- She would look out the window at the various drug dealers. Good times.
- Elston and I moved to a different apartment in the building when Nicole and I broke up. She had a different view of the same drug dealers.
- She was attacked by a neighbor's Rottweiler. It turned into the feud of the summer.
- She met Jane.

Eugene
- Her first cross-country move was probably the most difficult. She was very agitated on the drive. We couldn't leave her alone at all.
- Her firsts: flowers, crazy spiders, actual parks, and staying in hotels.
- She met Sophie, Brian, Abby, and Bonnie.
- She nearly died from a bee sting.
- She watched different type of drug dealers from the living room window.

New Jersey
- She saw lots of dirt.
- She had a terrific group of dog friends.
- First vacation - Provincetown and another vacation to Chicago.
- Became addicted to Greenies.
- She fell in love with Mary.
- No drug dealers but crazy old lady across the street to watch over.
- Took lots of care of her mom.

Portland
- The last cross country move.
- First place with an elevator and a fireplace.
- Two vacations to California and a vacation on the coast.
- New friends - Vida, Erin, Kiki.
- Back to flowers, grass, and spiders.
- Started living with cats.
- Watched people going into the library and then a boring front yard.

She still looks young and has lots of energy. Elston has been there through the worst - the moves and the break-ups. Yet, she really hasn't changed over the years except a growing addiction to treats and a little more sleeping. When she was a puppy, my vet said that she would be the best dog I would ever own. How true. I just wish she would always stay young. (I can't go there otherwise I'll have a breakdown).

Unlike her first birthday, I didn't force her to wear a tiara on a walk around the neighborhood. A new toy and some treats were her gifts this year. Happy Birthday, Elston.

Time flies

I wish I could say it has flown by because I have been having fun. After 4 weeks of a worsening cough, I was diagnosed with pneumonia. I am now resting and taking lots of drugs. Why is it that I always think of all the things I could do with bed rest but now I am too tired to do any of it? It always works out that way.

Other things going on:

Trip to Davis: I did drive to Davis for a long weekend. We had a nice weekend other than sounding like a TB ward. We spent a nice day in Napa and buying too much wine. Movies, hanging out in her neighbor's pool, and coughing. Elston went along for the ride and enjoyed her second trip to Davis. We also drove down with one of my co-workers. We had a nice drive chatting about everything.

Conventions. I don't really know where to start. I should have just live blogged both of them because I am drawing some blanks. The entire Republican convention left me frustrated. Palin? Hockey mom? Please. If anyone really think she is that involved in the day-to-day lives of her children...you need to be examined. I love that Jon Stewart called her a four eyed wolf hunter. Based on their speeches, you would never know that the economy is in the tank. National security...blah...blah....freedom....blah blah. Change? They are the ones in power. I am horrified and a little scared of the Palin pick. She was far too comfortable getting up there and throwing out her one-liners. McCain was boring. Really boring. Rudy? I can't even describe my anger. Best moment of the convention - Palin's youngest daughter smoothing the baby's hair with her spit.

Democrats - I thought Biden, Obama, Gore, and the Clintons did a great job. Enough said.

I'm just not optimistic about November. I guess I don't have enough faith in my fellow citizens.

Text message

Where was my text message from Obama? Good thing I saw a message from Politico last night telling me that Obama picked Biden.

I was just telling Mary about the '88 election primary season and how Biden was my choice. The summer before the primaries, I watched CSPAN a lot. He was the one I liked...okay and Paul Simon. It was also the summer that I saw a small Simon gathering at the Iowa City Public Library.
I guess it all fell apart when the plagiarism issue hit Biden and I realized he was unelectable. It is pretty cool to see him 20 years later on a presidential ticket. I like the choice.

!0 years and counting

Men happier than women

Great.

Moments of brilliance

I just received a concert ticket update in my email. I was excited to see the list of upcoming shows until I realized it is still an email list from the NYC days. I need an intervention.

Quiet these days

As you already know, I've been pretty quiet these days. I'm kinda going through a hard time right now for reasons I can't really explain or want to explain in such a public forum. It isn't anything earth shattering or cause for alarm. I'm just trying to keep up with things so blogging and emailing are falling behind.

Bangs head

I just can't keep up with everything. I guess vacation threw a wrench into everything along with a hectic work week and a cold that has me down.

I need to keep my anti-Gwyneth campaign going with this news

I saw a picture of someone wheeling Michael Jackson around in a wheelchair. It seems like a thousand years since I thought Michael was a normal superstar.

I still regret not seeing the Wimbledon men's final.

Bell's Brewery is returning to the Chicago market. Who wants to mail me beer and be my best friend for life?

I've started keeping track of my mileage. I've never done this before. Somehow I attribute tracking my mileage to my age. I'm getting older.

Post-vacation blues

I find it funny that while I was in the Midwest, I looked forward to returning to Portland. Now that I am back in PDX, I just want to leave. I know part of my problem is that I am dreading work tomorrow. Really dreading. The next two weeks look really hellish.

I posted vacation pics on my picasa site. How was the trip?

- I drank a lot of Bell's beer. Actually, everyone drank a lot of Bell's beer.

- Saugatuck and Douglas are cute towns. We didn't run out of things to do but they were smaller than I thought.

- I really hate mosquitoes. All of us complained the first couple of days but we still did outside activities around the house. By the end of the week, we really didn't do as much outdoors.

- A* is a ruthless croquet player. I could hear the monopoly game and uno games going on and was relieved I didn't participate. I am far too competitive when it comes to uno.

- Everyone made great meals.

- It was great having Mary join us for part of the week.

- I read two books and almost caught up on three months of Entertainment Weekly

Things I did: walked on a beach, nice birthday dinner for my sister, slept a lot, boat tour of Kalamazoo lake, river and Lake Michigan, played miniature golf, rode a go-kart, played arcade games, nice belated birthday lunch in Holland (Michigan), shopped, played croquet, basketball, and ping-pong.

I didn't do as much as my sisters and their families but I really wanted the time to read and sleep. Now I am back home and in a major funk.trave

Vacation and perfect picture

http://icanhascheezburger.com/2008/07/17/funny-pictures-spider-wuz-huge/

I love goats and you know how I feel about spiders.

Heading out later today for vacation. I am counting the minutes. I really need to get away before I lose my mind.

More on the media

Here is more information on the decline in coverage of the Iraq war.

It brought back memories of my flight to Birmingham and the mini-ceremony when a casket was removed from the plane.

Some links

I am using part of the long weekend to catch up on my blog reading. I also spent a lot of time in the print world by finishing a book and catching up on a weeks worth of the NY Times.

- Reading some library blogs reminded me why I wasn't sad about missing ALA. Annoyed Librarian described it better than any other blogs. Most of the people that I wanted to see were not at the conference. The other group of people were either people I just saw in the last few months or we've been emailing back and forth. There was one dinner that I regret missing but not much else.

- I love the idea of this airline.

- This just cracks me up. Unfortunately the headlines in today's sports section were about his injury and loss in the 200 meters.

And, this just makes me sad and angry.

Overheard on train

Yesterday on my light rail train - a guy gets on the train selling candy.

Guy: Would you like to buy some candy to help me out?

Woman: Do you have anything vegan?

Guy: Uh, I don't know. The mints?

Woman:You should really make sure to sell more vegan things. It will only become more popular. I'll go ahead and give you some money but you should really get more vegan things.

Guy: Uh, okay. Thank you. Bless you.

Woman: Really, vegan things are very important.

Road Trips

At the last minute, I decided to take off on a road trip for my birthday. Elston and I piled in the car for a drive to Davis, California. It was the best birthday that I've had in years. More importantly, we were able to see Mary's new digs and spend quality time together. We had lots of great meals, a WNBA game (go former Rutgers players!), naps, and checking out Davis. Plus, I was able to try In-N-Out burger. Crazy good.

It was also nice to get in the car and just drive. There was no pressure to get anywhere fast. It was 18 quality hours with Elston. The only downfall was the poor air quality from fires in Northern California. Oh and the bird that I murdered when it hit my car. I think it was a suicidal mission.

The weekend was too short. I'm having a hard time adjusting to my regular routine.

Spider Chronicles - North Battlefield

My friends, I hate to inform you but my new home has placed me in the heart of a new, more violent, Spider battlefield. I hesitate to tell you all of the details because I don't want you to fear for my safety or to give children nightmares. Yes, it is bad.

Apparently, the Spiders took advantage of a vacant house to turn it into some sort of Spider safehouse or even headquarters. The exact purpose of my house is unclear to me. What is clear to me is that we are dealing with savvier enemies.

Spider Forces
I need to state right from the start that these Spiders are significantly larger than the NE Portland branch of Spider nation. I don't know what they are feeding on but their size and speed is noteworthy, if not frightening. I can handle small and medium size Spiders. These are gigantic.

Dead Legs: These members of the Spider Forces are standing watch over something that is in the basement. I haven't determined if it is a weapons stash, meeting place, sleeping quarters or the headquarters of North Portland Spider Nation. Unfortunately, the washer and dryer are located in the basement. This poses problems for obvious reasons.

Agents: These are scary agents. Large. Very large. Fast. I have seen them try various maneuvers: hide under the bathroom rug and then strike in the early morning hours; stalk the bathroom floor and run fast; and the sink maneuver. The latter is the most alarming especially at 5:30 in the morning. These agents can swim! I know that the leaders are encouraging them to breach the DMZ - my bed. Red Dog is completely useless in defending our territory.

Assassin: Yes, they exist and I saw one last evening. It died.

Troops: I am assuming that I will only see these troops outside. I am trying to figure out their nutritional habits because they seem quite large.

I am waiting for the Special Orb Forces and Leaders to appear. So far, we are safe but I know they exist. They are watching us.

Human Tactics:
I have tried various measures to counteract the Spider hell I seem to have moved into.

Shoe Weaponry: I have used this twice to great success (One agent and Assassin)

Mowing: I can't take too much credit for the use of mower weaponry. It was purely accidental when I mowed over a Death Leg. Really. It is also isn't an effective weapon inside the house.

Relocation: This is the most controversial tactic and one that I refuse to use. BP and Mary have used this method with Death Legs. Mary did engage in Operation Massive Death Leg Relocation. It was an impressive display of moving at least 7-8 Death Legs out of the home.

Drowning: At this point, I have tried this with the Agents who are practicing sink maneuvers. The Agent who showed up this morning refused to drown. I believe the Agent faked his death and used the drain escape route. Is this considered waterboarding?

I am now moving into more extreme tactics.

Noise Torture: I have deployed multiple noise sensors that are supposed to drive out Spider forces and their prey. While I have noticed a decline in the enemy, I am not completely satisfied especially after the Thursday morning sink strike of an Agent.

Canine and Feline: Red Dog needs training. She took out an Agent that suddenly appeared on her doctor's waiting room floor. I still think it is a big "ha-ha, see I can kill them but only when you take me to places I don't like." Felines are moving in this weekend but I have been warned that they are not trained in Spider warfare.

Chemical Warfare: I am seriously contemplating bringing in a professional chemical weapons expert to secure the perimeter.

Meanwhile, I need to face the dark terrain and do laundry. My personal safety blanket will either be xanax or a lot of alcohol.

It hasn't been an easy time. I hate to say this but they could win this battle.

Weekends

I had one of the best weekends with close friends on the Oregon coast. We rented a house, drank a lot, ate great food and laughed so much it hurt. Elston discovered that she is a future beach bum. I really needed that weekend. More than anything, I loved spending time with some of the finest friends a person could have.

Lots of other things to say especially about the recent political news. I think this video sums it up. By the way, Wonkette is one of my favorite blogs.

Hope for me yet

The French Fry Diet

Utah

I am so far behind in papers that I feel really out of touch with things. I know that some famous people have died this week, including the amazing Bo Diddly. But, I was incredibly sad to read that Utah Phillips passed away last week. Ani DiFranco brought me to his music with her 1996 recording with Utah. I saw him perform in probably 2002 or 2003 at the Old Town School of Folk Music. It was a great show with him mostly telling stories. He told the audience of his heart condition and that he was starting to slow down.

Sad news.

No longer library living

I no longer live above a library. I love our cute house even though I am currently surrounded by chaos. I've decided in-city moves are more hectic than long distance ones. We had some fun with our movers who were some really nice guys. I started off the day irritated because they were running really late but we were all hugging goodbye when they left. The pressure is on to get some order because later this week some of my favorite people in the world are coming for a visit. Granted, we are heading off to the coast after one night but I want them to enjoy our place and not stare at a mountain of boxes.

Elston is adjusting. She developed her annual allergies so I took her to the vet for more drugs. I also had her checked out for a few other symptoms that popped up this week. Everything is fine except my vet enabled her addiction. She asked if I was giving Elston chews, like Greenies. Great. She advocated that I continue giving her Greenies. Enabler or pusher. I can't decide.

There are other funny things from this weekend that I want to write about but I am so fried. I also need to head off to Home Depot to prepare for some chemical warfare against the North Portland tribe of spiders. Oh yeah. It is an ugly situation.

Yea, another move

It is my last night in my apartment. I've decided that moving really brings lots of emotions to the forefront. I think I have relived the last few years of my life in a matter of weeks. I can't say that I have been the most stable person for the last week. At least this move isn't so far away.

A certain dog is starting to exhibit signs of moving stress. Itchy belly? Check. Acting weird towards other dogs? Check. Insisting on more treats? Check. Connected to my body? Check.

On a positive note, the new place is shaping up. We've had some friends help out painting the dining room. We are going on a great trip next week with some of our closest friends. Mary is now on the same coast. Money saving days are ahead of me. And we will have two BBQs. Heh.

Bad news? A new spider issue. Stay tuned.

Spring

One of my least favorite things about living in the Northwest is that we rarely get to enjoy a thunderstorm. Tonight, I am watching from my window (I know...safety) a true Spring thunderstorm. The sky is this amazing purple/gray color with one of the tallest rainbows I have ever seen. I can hear thunder in the distance. It is so appropriate because I have been so homesick today. I should clarify - homesick for Chicago combined with some nostalgia for New Jersey days.

I just realized that I am in the tallest building around.

Everyone is busy

Yea, the title refers to all of the people I know who feel overwhelmed or just crazy busy. Is there something in the air? Even though I was at a conference for 3 days, I was glad to get away from the packing. It was great to see old friends and make some new ones. My big accomplishment? Finally going on the chairlift (Magic Mile). Two people twisted my arm to go along for the ride. I am so scared of heights that I would never go on the jungle gym in elementary school. Yet, I survived. On the way up the mountain, I thought I was going to throw up especially when the lift would stop. Fortunately, my chair mates were patient and didn't mock my shaky hands. The entire time we were going up, I kept commenting on how the ride down would be even scarier. Not true at all. I am not sure if it was the amazing view of Mt Jefferson but the ride down was a piece of cake.

Going up

Coming down

Apparently, a certain dog misbehaved while I was away. Brian notified me that a red dog was hatching a plan with a neighbor's dog to hijack a Greenie truck in Southwest Portland. Brian caught them in the act.
Sophie is the innocent one in this photo

Meanwhile, I became a Great Aunt when my nephew and his wife welcomed a little girl into the family.


Many good things to divert my attention from all of the mixed thoughts swirling around my head.

And another thing

I don't want to hear anymore comments on my Elston posing for group therapy after watching this video. What does it say about me that I laughed hysterically at the "bad" dog when it was laughing as it walked across the room?

Birthday wishes

Studs Terkel turned 96 today. May he live many more years.

Hotter than hell

Busy. Oh, so busy. Why the title? It was at least 95 degrees today in Portland. I would argue that was around 25 degrees too hot. We had temperatures in the 40's earlier in the week. I can't say that I am thrilled with the transition from May to August temperatures.

Tomorrow I head to a conference on Mt Hood. Right now the snow sounds very appealing as I have every fan in the metro area blowing on my face. The timing of the conference couldn't be worse as I try to move and catch up on everything else at work/home. On the other hand, I am looking forward to staying at Timberline Lodge and relaxing with colleagues. It is one of the best venues for a conference. It will be the first time in 3 years that I have attended so it is good to be back.

Moving. It is happening. We picked up the keys on Wednesday and have started moving things in. My mom was here this week and packed up my entire living room and kitchen. I can't believe how we lucked out with this place. My apartment has already rented to the first person who looked at it.

Overall, I had a really busy week with my mom's visit and the whole move thing. It was a really nice week. We did get out a little - a day trip to Astoria, Oregon, celebrated a friend's birthday, had dinner with a college friend (one of the coolest guys I've ever known), celebrated a new place and a friend's new job, a concert (Girlyman) and Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. I hope to post some pictures when I get back from the conference.

Crisis in the Northwest

I haven't enjoyed the taste of coffee for about two weeks. I had a cup at dinner last night that was really good but that is it. I am worried that I will be exiled from Portland or from my circle of friends. I thought about faking it but they are too smart for any deception.

I should really have some Dutch Brothers to see how deep this distaste is growing. I am screwed if this turns to beer.

What I've Been Up To

I am behind in email so I haven't been sending much to all of you.

But, I did get a place with my friend, BP. Photos are on the right hand side (picasa link). It is a great 3 bedroom, two bathroom place in the Arbor Lodge neighborhood of Portland. My commute will suck but the place is really nice and perfect for all of the animals. Yes, animals. I am going to live with cats for the first time in my life. I am sure Dr. Seuss and Parnell will love Elston and she will be nice to the boys. We are crossing my fingers on my allergies.

We get the keys on the 14th and I need to be out of my apartment at the end of the month. I am going to start packing today. At least I am not moving cross-country so I can be a little more sloppy to prevent breakage. Stressed? A little.

It is also a little sad packing up this place. This apartment was such a great place for me to land when I first arrived in Portland. My friends have moved out of the building so the dorm atmosphere changed and my view of Mt Hood is disappearing with the building of a Whole Foods a few blocks away.

Anniversaries

I looked at the calendar today and realized that tomorrow is the anniversary of when I moved from NJ. It has been in the back of my head for the last several weeks but now it is staring me in the face. A year. It seems like yesterday when I pulled away from the apartment with a very drugged up dog as my front seat passenger. The enormity of the situation didn't hit me until I was somewhere in Wyoming or Montana. I still don't think it has really set in or maybe it has and that is why the last month has been especially difficult.

It hasn't been an easy year. Honestly, it has been one of the most difficult times of my life. Up and down, up and down.

I used to work for a professor who used to spend every May 1st at a Chicago bar as he toasted the workers of the world. It was his personal holiday. I joined him one year and thought his choice of a bar was a little off. We celebrated at an up and coming microbrewery located in a changing industrial section of Chicago. I thought it would be more appropriate if we found a bar filled with more workers and not just a bunch of young people who were into good beer.

I don't think I want to celebrate this May 1st. I don't want to sit and reminisce about Union City with Elston. No drinking or special meal. No gifts. I just want to pretend that none of this happened. I guess I could toast survival but that doesn't seem right. I could toast some new start in my life but that doesn't seem entirely accurate or some cause of celebration. I'll probably mope and just watch more episodes of The Wire.

So far behind

I am back from my trip to Alabama and am trying to catch up on things. I'm more worried about catching up in personal emails, things around the apartment than I am with actual worklife. It doesn't help when I crawl into bed at 6 p.m. I think my presentation was well received.

I had an interesting experience on my flight from Atlanta to Birmingham. After we boarded the plane, the pilot made an announcement over the p.a. that we were carrying special cargo. A unit from Iraq was bringing one of their fellow soldiers home for a burial. He asked all of us to stay seated when we landed in Birmingham so the soldiers could show their respect. The pilot apologized for sounding so choked up.

When we arrived in Birmingham and taxied to the gate, I could see a hearse and several Alabama state troopers lined up. When the soldiers stood up in first class, I half expected some idiots in coach to get up and prepare to exit. Nope. Everyone stayed seated. The soldiers left the plane along with the pilots. Several airport workers unloaded the casket from its box and the soldiers went through their routine of placing the American flag on the casket. Everyone on the plane was still silent. People were either watching out the window or craning their necks to catch a glimpse of what was happening. As the soldiers carried the casket to the hearse, I saw men on the plane take their hats off. Several of the men near me were crying. As they gave their final salute, the Alabama troopers joined in. The soldiers did a march around the hearse and walked off the airfield. Everyone remained silent as we gathered our luggage and walked off the plane.

Later, I was talking to one of the fellow passengers who was attending the same meeting. We talked about how we take so much for granted and how this was such a reminder of everything at stake in our society and upcoming election. It was the same day as the Pennsylvania election but I'll save you from my rant on that particular issue. As we talked later that night, we mentioned how we felt uncomfortable watching such a personal ceremony take place, yet we felt honored to silently honor this soldier. I dealt with a fair amount of anger at our government for even putting this soldier in harms way. Ironically, one of my favorite bloggers happened to mention this Esquire article on the same day as my flight. I highly recommend reading it.

Just can't give it up

Why does Elston get all of the attention? I am sure that on some upcoming walk, a group of people will rush out of some bushes - hand her a bouquet of flowers, a basket full of greenies, sticks, carrots and fries and then place a tiara on her head. She had four people stop us today so they can coo all over her. With one person, she actually rolled onto her back.

Why doesn't her mojo rub off on me? Oh yeah. It is because Death decided to set down some tea, put on a coat and take a dog for a walk.

This photo and caption crack me up. Don't worry. It is completely unrelated to the rest of this post.

Grocery store 4/18

I've commented before on the friendliness in the grocery stores and how the clerks strike up a conversation about my purchases. This afternoon, I had to run out to the grocery store because I was out of caffeine. Shudder.

The clerk commented on how I was buying a lot of trial sizes of toothpaste and so on. "Are you traveling sometime soon?"

In my head: I don't like to bathe much or regular sizes of things freak me out or they are for the teeny people that live in the corners of my apartment.

Real me: I am going somewhere next week

Clerk: Where? For work?

In my head: I am going to go wander the streets looking for the PopeMobile even though he isn't anywhere on this coast. What business is it of yours?

Real me: Birmingham for work.

Clerk: Good thing otherwise I would wonder if you thought bathing was overrated.

In my head: What the *&*&*

If she had said anything about my crinkle-cut french fries, I was going to have to throttle her. No, the fries aren't for Elston. I bought her carrots.

She also commented on my cloth bag that is from a winery. Great, now I have to think about the bags I bring.

Am I wrong that the clerk was intrusive? I don't mind friendly but I feel self-conscious shopping there. I hate to be judged. I guess I can always leave and share with you the monotony of my life.

Important questions about dogs

1. I tend to leave some clothes (t-shirts that I sleep in) on the bed because Elston likes to nestle up and sleep on them. I guess she wants to be close to my scent. If that is the case, why does she stay in the bedroom and not hang out with me in the living room when I am actually home? Is it my scent but not my presence? Does she just need her alone time? Granted, she is at my feet right now but I know that she will end up going to the bedroom sometime in the next 30 minutes for some quality time with either my Kansas or Peter, Bjorn and John t-shirts.

2. What does it mean that George Bush served hot dogs to John McCain when he came to the White House for his endorsement? Don't get me wrong. I like hot dogs. I guess I would just expect something a little fancier than a hot dog if I was meeting with the president. I would even think a sandwich would be a step up. Do you think McCain was offended? What would you want for lunch if you met with the president at the White House? I think I would want a really nice soup with a risotto dish or maybe a salad and a small piece of fish or steak.

3. Why does Elston hate freedom? She is really into french fries.

Corruption

It is so hard not to be so cynical about corruption in politics. As a former Illinois resident, it was never a surprise when the newspaper would release details about a politician under investigation. Even the great will fall as in Rostenkowski. We had at least two former governors end up in jail - Walker and Ryan. The latter took the prize with his drivers license for dollars scam as secretary of state. A lot of people shrugged it off at the time as just typical government. The current governor, Blagojevich, is under investigation. Mayor Daley has had so many people in his administration arrested and jailed that it still shocks me that he hasn't been indicted. We can't forget the entertainment for many years in the Chicago area - Betty Loren-Maltese- former mayor of Cicero. The best Halloween costume I have ever seen in Chicago was someone dressed in drag as Betty.

I do think New Jersey trumps Illinois for corrupt politicians. Sharpe James was found guilty today. James, the former mayor of Newark and State Senator, was busted for the usual 13 counts. This guy had sleaze written all over him. Just watch the documentary, Street Fight, to see how he handled one of his last mayoral campaigns. I was just waiting for my former mayor to be indicted for something. As I moved away from NJ, Stack was being investigated for guess what? Yep, corruption because of some questionable grants. One of the beautiful things that I still receive in the mail are the infamous Stack mailings (readers of my former blog will know what I am talking about). There was a great one earlier this week where he attacks people who are saying he accepted questionable donations in a 2005 campaign. Uh huh. Who isn't dirty in NJ politics? The Hoboken mayor practically crawls with dirty money.

It just isn't the same in Oregon. I kinda miss the fun.

Couple of other things

While the photos of the drive back from Seattle point to hilarity and weird behavior, we also talked about our last year. I've been thinking about it some more since I came home.

1. This year has brought tremendous change. A year ago, I was finishing up my last job and planning on a move that was less than two weeks away. I can't really remember how I got through that last stretch of NJ days other than it was one of the most painful experiences of my life. In the last year, both BP and I moved across country, started new jobs and dealt with other challenges. We are probably the only two people who can really understand how that has affected us.

2. We both like our new jobs. There are things I love and hate about my new job. The difference is that I am no longer passionate about either the like and/or the dislike. I wasn't sure how I would react to a job at a much smaller institution or a different type of position. As I said from day one, working at a smaller place has been great. I can do different things and expand my skills. I do not miss my old job for one second. I miss the people but I don't miss the insanity.

3. We both love Portland. I've loved many places I've lived but Portland is close to the top. Chicago will always be home but I am starting to feel more connected to the Pacific Northwest. Last year, I had a choice between Chicago and Portland and I am glad I chose Portland. The city has a great vibe, I've made some great friends and nurtured older friendships, and I can have good food/beer at anytime. I do miss the diversity of NJ or Chicago.

4. Friendships. I've known BP for 7 years. I've known B&A for 16 years (ok that just freaked me out a bit). I've had other friends for less than a year. What I love about all of this is that we go through ups and downs but everyone understands those downs. We don't judge. We are all low maintenance. I recently reconnected with some old college friends and it almost feels like yesterday. I love the ability to pick up where we left off even though our lives have become so drastically different. It all boils down to those connections we made in the first place and it transcends time or lifestyles.

5. Laughter is the best medicine. I laughed so hard today that I cried. I haven't done that in a long time. It is kinda like the subtitle of the blog about having my soul back. I don't but I am getting closer. Letting loose and sharing the same quirky sense of humor with a good friend is one more step to getting back on the right path.

Go Mariners

Had a great weekend celebrating a friend's birthday (BP). A group of people went out Friday to a few bars. I went up to the DJ at the first place and complimented him on his taste. He was playing Bjork and Stone Roses. What else could I do?

We went to Seattle on Saturday to see a Mariners game. Even though it was a billion degrees out and our seats were in the center of the sun for the first hour, we had fun. BP scored the best seats that I've ever had for a game. I love Safeco field. How many ballparks can you go to and get sushi or ramen? We stuck with the largest nacho helping on earth. Mariners won! We went back to our hotel after a beer at a local microbrew (can't remember the name - BP - help?).

Up early for a visit to Archie McPhee, the mecca for fun stuff, and a terrific breakfast. I'll save you from the 5th grade food review. We go out to breakfast at least once a week but this one was tops.

We had fun on our ride home with some of the Archie purchases. Lenin takes a ride down I-5 with animals. More photos from the Picasa link on the right.

Cheap Eats

My food cravings come at really weird times and I have a hard time shaking them. Fortunately, two new places in Portland are satisfying some cravings. The best news is that both are cheap.

Pine State Biscuits - I've had cravings for both biscuits and grits. I had read about their booth at the downtown farmer's market but waited until they opened a storefront operation. I had the Reggie - biscuit with fried chicken, mushroom gravy, bacon and cheese. I also had a side of grits. Not only did I satisfy my craving, but I am also showing tremendous restraint by not returning everyday. For the sake of my health, I will only go as a reward for multiple visits to the gym.

Wayne's Red Hots - It must be in my blood but I've also missed Chicago style hot dogs. Last night after looking at a house, BP and I decided to try out this new place. When I walked in, I was thinking that the Cubs paraphernalia was almost too much for my Sox blood but smiled when I saw a guy at the register wearing a Sox hat. Two owners - one a Cubs and the other other a Sox fan. Great hot dog. BP had an Old Style ($2 during a Cubs or Sox game) but I went for the Anchor Porter. It felt like a little bit of home with all of the Chicago stuff.

Now I want to go the place where I can get a Chicago style Italian beef sandwich.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk

Great plays, great coaching, and lots and lots of stress. I tried all sorts of things to give lots of good energy. You know they won because of my rituals, right? I'm so glad my favorite player, Mario, made that shot. I really hope Self stays at KU.

I feel sick from all of the licorice I ate. But, I started off the game with a Boulevard beer and ended with a Bell's Oberon.

Great game.

Moses

When I was young, I had a "thing" for Charlton Heston. I really can't explain it other than I thought he was really cool. He was this gruff actor who played Moses. What wasn't there to like? This was pre-NRA and crazy days. I wish I could say that I liked him for marching with MLK, campaigning with Kennedy or speaking out against the Vietnam War. I didn't know about any of his politics. I even named a walking stick after him. You can mark all of this down as stuff you didn't know about me and probably never expected.

1) Charlton Heston fascination and 2) I had a walking stick.

Final Four

It really helps taking away the nervousness when you are on pain meds.

Go Jayhawks.

Update: what an amazing first half. Holy crap. They did it.

Clinton

Just a regular day at the office. I was working like mad to send off a document to our provost when I happened to look out my office window and saw Bill Clinton. He was on his cell phone and waving to people standing across the street. He was on campus giving a speech.

Later, I was thinking back to the 1992 campaign and how it seemed like we kept running into the Clintons since Missouri was a swing state (turns out a co-worker also had multiple run-ins with Bill). My group of fellow VISTA volunteers were really into the election. We started off our Clinton spree with a campaign speech on Labor Day in Independence, Missouri, at the Harry Truman place. We tried to get closer to Clinton by jumping over a couple of barricades and bushes but we never got close. We also avoided arrest. A month or so later, Clinton was in KC to prepare for the debates. We got up early on a Saturday morning to join him at the end of a fun run that was somewhere north of KC. As he finished up the race, he stood there shaking hands with people. I was shaking his hand when someone asked him a question. He didn't let go because he was distracted. My roommate nudged me to let go otherwise I would come across as needy. Hours later, we ended up at the Crown Plaza complex to do some shopping. We quickly realized that his debate preparations were taking place in the building. We lingered around and then just walked up to the front of the room and waited for him to come out. I remember chatting with James Carville and trying to discreetly tell my friends who I had just been joking around with. Bill and Hillary came out and talked to us. Shook their hands again and we talked to Hillary about our VISTA volunteer experiences.

Two days later, we saw Hillary twice in one day. We drove to Lawrence to see her speak to KU students. We dashed back to KC to hear her give a different speech at Democratic Headquarters. We soaked all of it in. We had a big sleepover to watch election results. The next day we had to drive to Sedalia, Missouri, for a VISTA training. We had Clinton signs all over the car and were obnoxious whenever we saw someone driving with a Republican bumpersticker.

My two favorite memories of that time in Missouri involve different politicians. We started following a candidate, Geri Rothman-Serot, who was running against Kit Bond. We despised Kit Bond. We started volunteering for her campaign even though we really had no idea what she stood for other than she gave excellent speeches and wasn't Kit. We were told to show up one day outside of a local television station and demonstrate against Kit and show our support for Geri. We showed up and discovered that we made up 5 of the 7 protesters. I actually felt bad for Kit when he walked out and saw us standing there with our anti-Kit signs. As you can probably guess, I had a sarcastic sign that I tried to hide.

Finally, my least favorite Missouri politican was William Webster. He was well-known for his fight against the Kansas City desegregation case and his anti-abortion fights (think Webster vs Reproductive Health Services). I took a lot of pleasure in his downfall and in his earlier defeat by Mel Carnahan. It was a great day when he was indicted. I happened to be at the Kansas City airport picking up a friend when I saw him hiding from reporters. I walked down 10 or so gates and told the reporters where they could find Webster. His stupid mug couldn't hide from me!

Those were the days. I've come a long way from my political stalking. The former me would have probably jumped out my office window to hug Bill. Now I know how to play it cool.

The Good and the Bad

I mentioned Dith Pran awhile ago here on the blog. He died today. NY Times has a nice slideshow of some of his work.

I was sick all weekend. I only left the apartment to walk the dog. Barely ate and slept a lot. I am tired of my couch. When I wasn't sleeping, I had to do some work.

Jayhawks. It was stressful. Relief. Huge sigh of relief.

Idiot of the week

Whoever came up with the brilliant idea of the commercial with the VW car in the show room and someone setting off the beeping noise needs to be taken outside and kicked into the street.

Some kind of sign

I had a fairly horrible day. Just lots of frustrating things that all happened on the same day. It didn't help that I am not feeling well, so I wasn't able to cope as well as I would have liked. All of this was followed by some fairly stupid things. I am only exposing my flakiness as a warning sign in case this continues throughout the week. Anyone who will be around me should be warned.

1) I had to run off somewhere after I got home from work. When I started up the car, I heard an old Sleater-Kinney song. I thought, "this is cool that the radio station is playing this song. It must be the half hour show, perfect playlist, and this is on someone's list." Song ends. Another old, rare Sleater-Kinney song. Wow. Now I started to wonder three things - is this a new show where they play two songs by the same artist? Or, did they decide to end their hiatus and this is the radio station celebrating the news? Why didn't I hear about this earlier in the day? How can Janet play in both Sleater-Kinney and also with the Jicks? Or, did something really bad happen and that is why they are playing lots of old Sleater-Kinney. I know. I always go to the dark places. I went to turn up the volume and noticed that I was playing a cd and it wasn't the radio. Hello? Anyone in there?

2) Came home from my after-work adventure and decided to make a super quick dinner. Super quick as in a frozen pizza from Trader Joe's. Put the pizza in. Timer goes off. Cut up pizza. Look at it and wonder why it doesn't look quite right. Look at the oven instructions on the box. Discover that I cooked it at the microwave minutes and not the oven minutes. Folks, when I can't even handle cooking a frozen pizza then there is a problem.

Please give me back my brain.

Oh yea, Obama

Not to leave you with the impression that all I did this weekend was watch basketball, I did get out on Friday morning to hear Barack Obama speak in Portland. I joined the 20,000 or so people who got up really early to hear him speak. I was grateful that my friend, Brian, arrived before I did and held a spot for me in line. As a result, we had decent seats. I've never been to a political event that had so many people. In the '92 campaign, I saw the Clintons a lot because Missouri was a swing state. Hillary's speech at KU was memorable and inspiring as she implored students to get out and vote. It was also my first encounter with Fred Phelps and his band of crazy family members.

5 years ago, I heard Obama speak at the anti-war rally in Daley Plaza. I went to the rally so I could hear Studs Terkel speak. I was right up front and off to the side by the media so I could get a clear view of Studs. At the time, Obama was in his Senate primary campaign. As I stood there listening to the other speaker, he was being interviewed by local news for his stance on the pending war. I barely paid attention to him. I didn't think he had a chance of winning the more conservative section of Illinois. Who would have thought that I would hear him 5 years later as he ran for president with a much larger audience? I couldn't help think back to that day in Daley Plaza or the really small posted streetpost signs that would just say "Barack" as he ran against Bobby Rush in the House of Representatives race. He lost that race and the Chicago Reader covered this upstart politician from the South Side who would dare to take on Bobby Rush. For years, I would see those "Barack" signs and wonder what he was up to. Well, he is for real. It also shows that anything is possible.

We had the added benefit of seeing Bill Richardson endorse him. I know that it can be easy to dismiss Obama as someone who is just a great orator and says the right things. It is more than that. My favorite moment of the speech was when he described why he didn't wait to run in a future election. I can't adequately describe the energy that was in the arena. It was like nothing I've ever seen before. It was encouraging to see so many engaged younger people in attendance. Who says the younger generation is apathetic?

I do have to say that Portland doesn't disappoint in crazy. I had the pleasure of chatting with someone in the coffee line who gave me his opinion on Clinton. He thinks her talk about experience is a bunch of crap. After all, she had 8 years to change her hairstyle and she never met with success. He repeated this over and over. Considering that I waver back and forth between the candidates, I wasn't into hearing a lot of Clinton bashing. I definitely didn't want to hear illogical Clinton bashing. Pick a policy to bicker about but not her hair.

Yea, Obama is pretty awesome.

Second Round

So many good games this weekend.

Butler/Tennessee - I had a hard time deciding who I wanted to win. I have Tennessee in the final four but Butler....

Davidson/Georgetown - I wish I could have seen more of this game. Davidson could beat Wisconsin.

Memphis/Mississippi State - I would have loved to have seen Miss. State pull this one out.

Marquette/Stanford - this is the first time I have seen Stanford play all season. The game against Texas is going to be great.

Miami/Texas - way too close for me. I couldn't believe the score when I saw how Miami had come back. How did that happen??

UCLA/Texas A&M - I really hated the officiating in this game. They weren't calling anything on UCLA even though they were banging on people. Am I the only one who thought this? I really wanted Texas A&M to pull the upset.

West Virginia/Duke - forget my previous post about Huggins. I can forget all of my ill feelings towards him for this game.

Best of all, Kansas survived the first weekend.

4 days of non-stop basketball. Perfect.

First Round Thoughts

Kansas looked great against Portland State. Did I expect anything else? I have been burned too many times by Kansas losses in the first or second round. It wasn't until this season that I started to really like Brandon Rush. His last few games have really shown him to be an all-around player who doesn't just hit a lot of 3 point shots. I can't help but think how this team would perform if Julian Wright was still in the college game. Poor Portland State. I hope they make it back next year. Oh and Mangino in the crowd? I would hate sitting next to him. That dude is huge.

Why would they bump basketball for Price is Right or Dr. Phil?

I have never liked Bob Huggins, so it is painful to see his current team succeed. I really liked West Virginia under John Beilein.

The Duke-Belmont game. Coach K looked ill most of the game. If only....

I think all coaches should refuse to have their pre-game speeches televised. They always make the coaches look like idiots. They have made Pat Summit sound dumb. The George Mason coach (who I like) sounded even dumber. I laughed when he said that they should make the Notre Dame leprechaun disappear, crumpled up a photo of the Irish guy and threw it into the trash. I don't think giggling is the reaction he is looking for from his audience. I am grateful for the pre-game speech from Bruce Weber when Illinois actually went far in the tourney (4 years ago?) Ever since then, I have always remembered his psychotic eyes and orange suit and have ignored everything else about his coaching.

Oregon played horrible ball. I never thought they deserved their bid and definitely not their seed. I know...I know...blasphemy. They played flat. Should we bet on how long before Kent is fired?

Hansborough - I read a quote the other day that describes how I feel about Tyler's play. Someone said that he would run down the court with his arms in a windmill fashion, knocking everyone down as his eyes bug out and he screams. Perfect.

I have to admit that I napped through the UConn overtime loss.

And, we are off

That time of year again. I am breaking the rules I've had for the last 2 years by having KU going past the second round. I know I am setting myself up for disappointment but I have a good feeling this year. Anyone who watched the Sunday game against Texas can't imagine them leaving the tournament early.

I took my usual first two days of the tournament off from work. I call them my personal holidays. I am making three exceptions to all-basketball all of the time for the next 4 days.

1) Retirement party for my boss. I am taking a break for an hour sometime this afternoon. I told him that it depended on the game but I feel comfortable knowing I am not missing anything too big. Plus, I need to get some provisions for the next few days, so I can hit the grocery store on my way home.

2) Obama is in Portland tomorrow morning, so I am going to hear him talk. The doors open at 7:30 and he talks at 9:30. He better be on time. Seriously.

3) Possibly an open house with B on Sunday.

I love this time of year.

Where are they now?

For all of you Encyclopedia Brown fans, here is a great article.

Man...

I am listening to a NPR recorded concert of The National. It is bringing back fond memories of their live shows I've seen in NYC and Portland. I wish I could play drums. If I could, I would want to sound like their drummer.

One of those days

I couldn't read on the bus today because I kept falling asleep. I grabbed the i-Pod. I tried Prince and Barry White before I settled on Arcade Fire. Now that I am at work, I am facing an entire day of meetings and I am still really sleepy. My cure besides a ton of coffee? Lots of Sleater-Kinney. I have my own little "guitar hero" going on in my little head.

Tastings

I could write about Eliot Spitzer being an idiot but I think I will pass. Actually, I do want to make two comments. Why do politicians do this type of stuff knowing the risks of getting caught? I find it really disappointing because I had a lot of respect for him. I feel horrible for his wife.

On to better news. The theme the last few days has been tasting. First, I went with friends to a wine festival at the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville. Not only was there good wine, we also saw the Spruce Goose. I climbed around in a plane and generally acted a little silly after a couple of wine flights.



Tonight was a meet the brewer event with Ninkasi Brewery. The Tricerahops Double IPA was my favorite. Why wasn't this brewery in Eugene when I lived there?

Thoughts

I read this morning about the illness of Dith Pran. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December. While pancreatic cancer is in the news these days with Patrick Swayze's recent diagnosis, I am more shocked and saddened by Pran's prognosis. One of my top 5 movies of all time is The Killing Fields that tells the story of Pran and Sidney Schanberg in Cambodia. I saw this movie with my parents when I was 14 years old. Looking back, I am a little surprised they took me to see a movie that dealt with so much death and violence. But, I am so thankful because it opened my eyes to genocide and that we never did learn our lesson from the Holocaust.

I recently blogged about the recent trials of Khmer Rouge leaders and how justice has been long delayed. Sad news.

Rock and Roll

Tonight was one of the best nights I've had in a long time. I went to the premiere of Girls Rock. Run to the theatre to see this documentary. Seriously. I went with my friend, BP. We decided to pay a little extra and go for the VIP thing. It included a pre-party at one of the board members of the Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls. One of the mayoral candidates hosted the party. It was just a cool gathering of people. Some kids were on the front porch playing a little riot grrl rock. Members of the Portland roller derby team escorted us to the theatre.

This movie is amazing. First, it made me laugh really hard. Second, I was really touched at how inspiring and thoughtful these kids were. I was never that clued in when I was that age. Third, these girls rock. There were so many moments and lines of the movie that I wish I could remember. I was definitely affected the most by Amelia. I don't know if she reminds me of when I was her age or if it is because my niece has some of her similarities. The fact that she writes songs about her dog (I just blog about mine) and sings songs about not knowing how to tune a taco just endeared her to me. Some of the kids were there, including Amelia, so I had to go up to her and tell her she did a great job. I wish I had been that cool when I was growing up.

B and I are seriously contemplating ladies rock camp. Drums? Guitar? I can't decide.

Go see this movie. Please.

Indiespensable

Moving to Portland created a dilemma for me. How would I curb my book spending if I lived in the same city as Powell's Books? My income kinda solved that issue, along with living above a public library branch. I have done remarkably well considering it is one of the things I tend to splurge on.

I couldn't resist signing up for their brand new book club. Today, I received my first shipment. It is so cool. First, was the actual book. It is in a really nice binding and slipcover with the author's signature. Second, was a cookie from Elephant's Deli. Kinda cute since it was in the shape of an elephant. Not that I really noticed because I was starving (why don't I eat lunch or snack when I work from home but when I am at work, I need to graze?). The third thing was this packet of stuff that included: 5 favorite things on a particular Portland street; information on the author; interview with the author; how the club was created; cards autographed by other authors; and probably a few other things. I love all of the surprise stuff that came with the book. It is like Christmas.

I want another cookie.

Addiction

It has been 9 days. 9 days without any Greenies. It has not been a drama-free 9 days. Can you see the pain in her eyes?
I couldn't afford Greenie rehab for her. I couldn't explain that one of the primary reasons why she is Greenie free is because I was waiting for payday. She doesn't understand the concept of cash. I decided to take the opportunity to see if going cold turkey would help her get over the addiction.

I started worrying about her crankiness. Instead of patiently waiting for walks, she would start saying to me, "take me out now *&*^(&*^*&." It just wasn't cool.

I would wake up in the night because I sensed I was being watched. I was. She would be sitting there and just staring at me. I swear she was whispering, "Greenies. Greenies for the dog. Please ma'am. Please. More Greenies."

I had to make a phone call to the Greenie Addiciton Hotline when she started walking up to other dogs on her walks and shaking them down for a Greenie. So not cool. The counselor just told me hold out a little longer.

I tried until today. I woke up to this:

Arranging her animals and making them listen to her stories about her addiction is too much. Especially when they became so frustrated they staged a walk-out. The fox and the raccoon told me later that these sessions have been going on all week while I was at work.


She made her point. I am going to get Greenies tomorrow morning.

Politeness

I want to keep talking about the bus and politeness thing, especially since Portland is apparently not that unique. Pittsburgh and Denver have the "thank you" down. Where else? Is it part of the culture or are we really more polite than I thought?

When is it appropriate not to say "thank you?" For example, I had a horrible driver the other day. He couldn't seem to adjust to the brakes, so we kept going a few feet past the stops. He also kept hitting the curb. At one point, I thought we were going to drive up the sidewalk and hit a ton of pedestrians. I heard him mutter that the drivers in the other lane were getting too close. He is driving a BUS. We are bigger. Timid is not good. He kept saying "I'm sorry" to the passengers when he would hit the bus or really hit the brakes super hard. When I got off the bus that day, I didn't really want to thank him for his driving. I wanted to get out and kiss the ground because I arrived safely. Should I have said, "Thank you bus driver for somehow getting through this route without hitting another car, only giving us mild whiplash, and not driving up on the sidewalk killing puppies and babies in strollers?" I just muttered "thanks" and gave him a smirk.

I don't want timid drivers. Granted, I don't want crazy drivers. The craziest bus driver I ever had was in Chicago who was driving one of the Lake Shore Drive express buses. I wondered why he wasn't getting into the right lane to get off at Belmont Ave. He overshot the exit - 3 lanes over. What does he do? Does he drive to the next exit? No. He backs up the bus. In rush hour traffic as people are going 50 miles an hour. He backs up and moves over 3 lanes. The passengers kept yelling "What the f*&&*^," "Are you f*&*^ insane?", "AAAAGGGGJJ" and other screams. I don't think anyone thanked him. We were too busy passing around the CTA hotline and writing down his number.

Don't get me wrong. I love public transportation. Okay, love is a strong word. I appreciate public transportation. Bus drivers have more patience than any normal human being. Not only do they have to maneuver a large vehicle in traffic but they have to deal with people. I'm just going to think about how to mix up my greetings or departing words to the drivers. This morning I just said "hey" instead of "good morning" because it is that kind of morning. Maybe this afternoon, I'll say "real soon raccoon" or "after awhile crocodile."

Wednesday morning thoughts

There are certain things about Portland that I am still adjusting to even after 9 months (oh my God. It has been 9 months). Happy people. Two examples:

- I avoid a certain coffee spot on campus because one of the women working is too damn chatty. She talks to everyone. I hate that type of chatter when a stranger is telling you things about his/her personal life. I don't care. I want my damn coffee. The line backs up but she doesn't move any faster or step into a mode where she just serves coffee. I'll pay 50 cents more to go to a silent coffee person, which I have started to do because it isn't worth getting so cranky in the morning over a coffee person.

- Everyone and I mean almost everyone thanks the bus driver. It is almost unconscious to say thank you, have a good day, have a good night or something similar. People yell it from the back of the bus if they exit that door. Who does this in Chicago? New Jersey? No one. I am tempted one day to quote my favorite animaniacs character and say, "love ya bye-bye"

What I am getting used to is the weather. Flowers are blooming, sun is shining (ok, not this morning), and I have been able to walk the dog without a coat on. I did see, my friends, the first spider since fall.

Oh and I woke up today a little more clearheaded about last night's debate. Hillary must have been speaking to my rage last night because the cult of Obama has struck me again.

One comment

Um. Senator Clinton is a feisty one tonight. I am actually applauding her because I do think her views have been misrepresented. I did kinda wince when she referred to the SNL skit and how she has to answer questions first. It would have been better if she had said that she welcomes the opportunity to answer first so her views aren't twisted by Obama, she can attack first, and she can hog the spotlight. Okay. I guess it would not have been productive to say the last two things.

She does look really pissed off. He is rubbing me the wrong way tonight and it has only been 20 minutes. I almost want to give Clinton a vodka tonic because I think she needs one tonight.

Oh...one more comment. She is coming across so firm and strong tonight that I would love to have her negotiate with foreign leaders. She can be gracious but I like this Clinton.

Will I switch my allegiance to Clinton? Possibly. The last few weeks have left me uncertain.

Okay, I think Tim Russert hates Clinton. Seriously hates her. Why isn't he being this tough with Obama?

Opposites

I had one of those weekends when weird things happened.

Last night, BP and I went to a vegan restaurant in her neighborhood. It was our attempt to eat a little healthier than our normal outings. Great meal. We then went to go see "There Will Be Blood." As we waited for the movie to start, we listened to a conversation taking place behind us about deer hunting. Actually, these two guys started talking about shooting bears. Things like the difference between hunting brown and black bears. "Shot it 7 times but she wouldn't go down". 44 caliber, the need to recognize the opportunity when to shoot and so on. After coming from a restaurant that was all about peace and love to a conversation about the best methods to kill an animal...well, you understand.

Today, we decided that it was really important to get outside and enjoy a nice walk. Refreshing air, sun, see some flowers, Elston can play with other dogs - all of the things you want to take in on a Sunday afternoon. That is unless you happen to go to the local park where the police are about ready to pull a body from the pond. We saw the police around the pond and a crowd gathered on the opposite side of the pond from the police. I knew someone had been missing from the park and that they were planning to drain the pond. I thought today was the day that they had lowered the water level and were checking things out. We didn't find out until later that some bird watchers had spotted the body and had called police. We walked around the park for awhile. On our way out of the park, we stopped to observe the scene. I guess we were interested in two things - the way the police were handling the situation and watching the crowd. Who sits at a bench with their children waiting for the police to pull a body out of the water? Apparently, a lot of people. We left shortly after the medical examiner's van pulled up because it just felt weird to still be in that area of the park. As we were leaving, a police officer went up to each family and asked them if this was something they really wanted their children to see. Not one family left. Why would you allow your children to see something like this? Relaxing walk in the park turned out to be really depressing.

Campaign slogan

"He killed my ma, he killed my pa, but I will vote for him anyway" - old campaign slogan for former Liberian President Charles W. Taylor

Austin debate

I was going to start off by just counting the number of times they said change, experience, plagiarism or Edwards. I ended up stopping because they were about even on saying change. Clinton mentioned Edwards twice, and he referred to the community organizer past once. It wasn't as much fun as I thought so I started a running commentary:

- Thank God we don't have to hear Wolf Blitzer screeching tonight.

- Sigh. Ann Richards. I miss that woman.

- Referring to the primaries ahead of them - what? No mention of Oregon. Are we not as important as Texas or Ohio? I know. I know.

- They both look tired.

- John King. Without his special, fancy computer screen that he can draw on and show us demographic information, I don't know how to listen to him.

- I'm nodding a lot more at things Clinton says. She does seem to be on uppers tonight.

- Perfect push-up commercial. Kinda entranced by the commercial. My arms are so flabby.

- Obama did a great job addressing the whole substance issue by pointing out all of the endorsements he has received from leading Texas newspapers. Clinton had an "oh shit" look. I don't necessarily agree with his comment that patients at Walter Reed know of his actions in improving their conditions. Wasn't it the entire Senate?

- Special interests is clearly Obama's theme tonight.

- Obama named every type of divisions that are possible except for gender. Hope it wasn't intentional.

- Liked the way he handled the plagiarism question. I didn't realize Patrick was co-chairman of his campaign. Silly season. Nice. Good Barbara Jordan plug. Her rebuttal was funny because we are all so silly. Xeroxed change. Nice boos from the crowd.

- Boy, he writes a lot. What is up with the blowing air? I am sure that is really going to help his cold. The blowing paper is really distracting.

- What do they do on breaks? Get lines from their advisers? Run to the bathroom? Swig some vodka? Laugh at the dumb questions? Thumb wrestle?

- Not sure which way I go on their health plans. I see her point on people not joining up if it isn't optional but fines?? Obama's Massachusetts tale made me sit up. Is that stuff true? I'm flip-flopping.

- Obama referring to parents not signing their children up for insurance that is already available to them..."Parents, uh (are dumbasses) are not responsible enough."

- Commander-in-chief experience. I do think Clinton would do a better job (possibly). The whole readiness issue - Bill Clinton was governor of Arkansas. How did that prepare him as commander-in-chief? Obama would do just fine.

- Number one job is to keep us safe. Can I get a beach house with lots of cash? That would make me feel really safe.

- I like John King better than anyone else on CNN except Anderson. I keep waiting for Larry King to stumble on the stage because he is lost.

- STOP THE BLOWING AIR! It is a conspiracy.

- I would like a question about addiction to greenies and the turmoil that this can cause in American families. This is a real issue in my household.

- I'm getting bored.

- Third time Obama hasn't heard Campbell Brown talk to him.

- I like Clinton's question about the superdelegates. Concise. He is rambling or it could be my desire to go to the kitchen and make dinner. Can we have a new debate rule of yes/no questions?

- Moment of crisis. Sounds like a job interview question. Two words for Clinton - Monica Lewinsky. Ok, she hit this one. Good for her with a heartfelt, upfront answer.

- Clinton did a great job tonight. She ended on such a strong note that it made me want to run out and pat her on the back. He rambled a lot and just seemed off. I bet it is the cold.