I heard once that as you go along in life, gravity plays havoc with your internal organs, stretching them downwards and therefore compromising their integrity. I guess that's aging but until I heard that, I never really thought about the internal side to aging. One would surmise then that acrobats and tumblers have slightly more youthful insides.
Maybe we are supposed to spend more time upside down. Maybe we should be hanging more. Give your organs a break and swing from your legs. I like hanging upside down. I don't do it enough, even with the bar in my room. I was jealous today as I got to watch a bunch of people swinging about rightside up, upside down, in groups and even doing a see-saw action. I used to love tumbling and I still swing from bars whenever I can reach them.
Raven has been at Do Jump camp all week which looks like the ultimate playground, with mats to tumble on and bars to swing from and stilts to walk on and tube to roll on. Wow. I went to his peformance today where they did Capoeira, dramatic (clown-like acting, tumbling, trapeze acts and a whole lot more. What kid wouldn't love that?
In high school, a bunch of the girls in my senior class referred to me as "Our Antonio," in reference to the character on the show Wings who crashed the ladies' slumber party and fit right in. That's how I've been most of my life. I've almost always had more or better female friends than I have had guy friends. Maybe it was just because I was repressing a lot earlier in my life and was afraid of revealing my less-than-macho status, but I could always be more at ease with women.
Sometime around college, I became more comfortable with guys as friends and discovered that, really, it doesn't matter. Gender shouldn't be as much of an issue as it is. A friend is a friend is a friend. Still, I really liked the male relationships in 'I Love You, Man.' The movie did a great job of not being homophobic or even heterosexist in a movie where it would have been really easy to go for the easy queer jokes. Ironically, I went to the movie with two good female friends and ended up hanging outside the movie theater last night, just chit-chatting after the theater people turned off the lights and locked up.
The new thing was I snuck into the movie. Yes, you can say it's wrong but you didn't have to sit through Year One before going into I Love You, Man. If I hadn't snuck in, I may have just went to the ticket office and demanded my money back for that stinker of a movie. I'm kind of surprised that it's the first time in my 33 years that I've ever snuck into a theater but I generally have known people who have worked in theaters who have let me in for free.
A number of people I work with have paranoid delusions. Someone is trying to hurt them (usually the person on the TV or a comic book villain) or someone wants to sleep with them (usually someone they have a crush on). So maybe the paranoia is rubbing off on me. Tonight, we had two guys wearing orange vests with a laminated Comcast label come up to our door and ask about our television, phone and internet service. The weird part was that it was 8:15 pm, they were on foot and they asked if we had a lot of computers in the house. Danger, Will Robinson.
Think about it. It's a pretty sound scam. Look official with an orange vest that you can buy anywhere. Go to Kinko's and laminate the name of some well-known company for an official looking badge. Walk up to houses with the door/windows open and ask how many computers they have in the house. Come later in the evening so people will simply answer your questions just to get you gone. Ask if they're satisfied with their service to seem more official but really you're just looking for a house that'll be more exposed tomorrow due to lack of AC.
It all seemed sketchy to me so I grabbed some shoes and followed them. They walked across Holgate, only stopping at my next door neighbors briefly. They parked on a side-road and were driving an unmarked blue sedan. Only one of the guys drove away. I lost the other guy. It wasn't sitting well with me still so I called Comcast and weirded out the call-room guy with my questions. They said that it was possible they were legit but suggested I talk to my neighbors to see if they got a card from them. I checked the neighbor's door and saw that the Comcast guys left a doorknob hanger, advertising a deal on an expanded cable package.
It seems convincing but I'm going to be on alert just in case. Yes, I will eventually end up a shut-in wearing a tin-foil hat.
Having a heavy black coat on in 100 degree weather can't be fun. My parents used to have my old dog Skip shaved. He usually got a lion cut, leaving his head and the tip of his tail. I won't shave Dean. It'd be undignified for a black lab. Instead I woke up an hour early this morning and took him for a 6 am walk to Kenilworth Park. It was around 70 degrees already but it's the best it's gonna be for the next week or so. I'll try to make a habit of this since I can't sleep in the heat anyway.
I don't think that I can say I have a talent. I mean, I'm good at certain things but people usually won't pay a $5 cover to watch me correct their spelling and grammar. By talent, I mean a physical ability. My brother and I can both bend our legs in a messed up manner but, again, it's not worth $5.
Tonight, though, I realized that I may have talent that I just haven't tapped. The Egyptian Room, Portland's most famous lesbian bar, hosted Homo's Got Talent, a talent show for queers, complete with sassy judges and all. I think that I may have missed a part of it but I got in on the dance portion. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED the acts. There were some cool, overly gay acts and then some funny skits as well. The two I particularly thought were creative were the Dino Ballet that told the story of omnivores vs carnivores and Cattitude which illustrated the love between an older lady and her pussycat (set to Melissa Etheridge's Come to My Window). Both were fun and imaginative. I particularly loved when the Dino Ballet turned up the Jurassic Park music and the Dinos fell in love. Then it turned to the Jurassic Park rave music and they threw glow sticks into the audience.
I think that all of the acts were very creative and it's made me think that maybe I can exhibit some talent as well. I can dance. I just need to get some choreography and costumes....
I have had a lot of fun on this scooter over the past few years but it's left me high and dry too many times now. I can't rely on it anymore and now look at it.
It refused to start for me while I was out at a store on Wednesday. I had to ask the manager if I could charge it and come back when I was off work. Fortunately, he said yes and it ended up working then. I drove it to the only scooter shop that I was aware of that worked on TNG's, Sargent's Motorsports on 102nd and Foster. They were able to figure out one of the problems but they put in a new starter engine (without calling me) and then realized that it needed even more work. They called and said I was looking at a minimum of a $600 price tag with the way it was now and that didn't necessarily cover future labor/parts. I told them to yank out what they had put in so they did that and left my bike in shambles.
Fortunately, I have awesome friends, co-workers and neighbors who helped me get it back home. So now, I'm stuck with a broken down scooter in my driveway. I know that it's already paid for itself through mileage expenses at work but I think I should be able to get more than two years out of a new vehicle.
So, I'm not a scooterer anymore. I'm a cyclist. I think it'll be better for me. Maybe someday down the road, I could see myself getting another scooter or motorcycle, especially since I have the helmet and the riding gear. But I won't be getting a TNG.* Side note: I got a call from Sargents on Saturday morning and they said that they just had a guy come in with the exact same model of bike and he's looking for a parts scooter. I called him back and he said that what I was asking for was a bit much but he also doesn't want me to give up on the scooter. He sounds like he really loves this model (he has 22,200 miles on his!!!) and he also knows a cool guy out the way that really knows this brand and won't screw me over. Now I got to process what I'm going to do with that info...
Today was rough at work so I really needed Nutri-Taco. I love this place. Plus, today they had a bunch of new options. I had the Green Burrito today which had cactus in it. I don't ever think that I've had cactus before. Really, the burrito was so full of flavor that I can't even say what the cactus itself tasted like. However, I'm counting this burrito as my new thing because it filled me with joy like the first time I had a Nutri-Burrito. Plus, there are several other new burritos there that I would love an excuse to go back for!!!
Alright, I admit that I can be a bit critical of movies based upon beloved books but Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was unforgivable. The omissions they left out were startling. They completely cut out the Gaunts. I was sooooo looking forward to seeing that scene on-screen. I realize that they can't include everything but c'mon! They also set up false things (Dumbledore's wand) for the next film(s). I was just plain pissed. Well, I guess that much is obvious.
The only real bright spot was that I saw this movie in a cool theater that's not too far from me that I haven't been to before, the Moreland. It's an independent theater (yay!!) and it cost me less than $10 for a ticket to a new release along with popcorn and a drink. You can't really beat that. Now I'll just have to go see decent movies there and I'll be set.
In continuation of my problems with plans, I'd like to quote Tolkien, "It will not do to leave a live dragon out of your plans if you live near one." Dean is my dragon.
Normally, I can make plans without taking him into consideration. Tonight should have been one of those times. Instead, Dean decided to pull a soaking bag of an old fertilizer mixture from the back yard next to the compost bin to the back porch and, in the process spilling the rest of the mixture around the back yard.
The odor was foul and I had JUST gotten ready to head out to Ground Kontrol's new queer night, Joy Stick. Instead, I had to dig up the ground around where this toxic mess spilled and throw it in a bucket to drop in a nearby dumpster. Then I had to give the dog a shower.
He's lucky he's so damn cute.
I never thought I'd quote Jennifer Aniston but here we go: "I always say don't make plans, make options." In writing this entry, I looked up quotes regarding 'plans' and that was the best one I came up with to describe how my day (or week) has gone.
I had a list of options today. I thought, "I could ride the springwater corridor far out or I could go see the new Harry Potter movie or I could go hang out downtown or I could go protest a Holocaust denier." In the end, I planned to go protest the Holocaust denier and then book it quick to the new Harry Potter. However, on the way, plans changed into no-longer options as I got a call from Ashes saying he broke his foot. Without hesitation, I headed back to take him to the hospital.
I don't want this to come off as sounding self-sacrificing. It was no big deal for me to change my plans, especially considering the weight of the problem. I just think that it's odd that this wasn't on my list of options today and suddenly became my highest priority. There'll be another opportunity to do any of the rest of my options (even protesting the Holocaust denier I'm sure) but I'm not going to bet on doing any of them. I'll just leave them open as options.
I love babies. I used to fear them but then my niece Hayleigh came along and now I gravitate towards them. So it's surprising that it wasn't until today that I attended my first baby shower. Actually, given Western society and it's basic idea that babies belong solely to women (even if they're not the mothers), maybe it's not so surprising. ALso, it was my first time to Babies R Us where the staff is way less than helpful, maybe it's because I'm a guy though...
I've really never felt assisted by the Oregon Technical Assistance Corporation, yet they're supposed to dictate how a large part of my job is done. In Febuary of 2007, they rolled out a new way to do our Individual Service Plans. The problem was, I started this job in January of 07 and was not familiar with the old way to the ISPs. So, without giving me a solid foundation on which to build this new knowledge that these people were supposed to be bestowing upon me in Feb 07, I was kind of at a loss and have been ever since.
However, my job is good at training and we've had a lot of new blood come into the staff lately so my boss thought it was time for a training specifically geared towards our job. She had a trainer from OTAC come and talk to us allllll day long. The trainer was awesome though (it didn't hurt that she was down at the OCF selling collapsale hula hoops either) and really made sense of it all. I feel like someone just snapped a whole lot of puzzle pieces together for me finally and now I can see what the picture is supposed to look like.
One of the reasons I had to get back today was I had to register for my MSW classes today at 8am and all my paperwork was at work. It's weird how it's all done online now. It's been 10 years since I last registered for any college courses so this was a new experience for me.
I had researched when the classes were offered, decided I would get them all done in one day and then researched professors. I have an in at PSU, the spouse of a co-worker went thru the same program and was able to warn me away from some of the instructors. So, in order to ensure that I could get the required classes at the times I wanted with the staff I wanted, I had to login right at 8am. At 7:58am, I remembered that I forgot my password.
Ack, luckily, I only flipped out for two minutes before I narrowed it down to what I must have used as a password based upon their password requirements and my own predictability. I ended up with exactly what I wanted. So it's all set. Whoo-hoo! I don't have to worry about it the rest of the summer!
Fortunately, the rain didn't decimate the roads enough for the city/state/wildlife agency to shut down the roads out of our campground, which was the rumor. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't all of the our problems.
It didn't rain today which made clean-up easier. A lot of vendors still had food too so I got to have Biscuits and Tantric Gravy for a dollar. Also, they still had barter fair, which is where many vendors that couldn't make it into fair due to regulations (like no imported stuff) and fair vendors who had other items sell their wares in the parking lot. It's called Barter Fair but apparently, they are more than willing to barter with money. Good thing too because I got some cute pants.
Packing up was bitter and sweet. I was sad to be leaving the comfort of the OCF but excited for the comfort of my bed. I would have to wait though as we lost a tire onthe interstate outside Albany. Well, I guess we didn't lose the whole tire. We kept the intertube. I've never seen a tire strip so strictly just around the tread. I've never changed a tire before but I managed to change one tonight three times. I'd say it was fun but I'd be lying. However, it didn't really suck either. It's just one of those things that happens...every year. Last year, my housemates broke down in the exact same spot.
When I came down for the fair last year, it was overwhelming. There was so much to look out and the path seemed so windy that I was certain I was missing things. Today, I got to accept that I absolutely was going to miss things and I had to be cool with that. Yesterday, even though the fair wasn't open, I know I was missing things because I was in line for a picture badge for 2 hours. Fortunately, my friend Michael (The Lord Humongous) was in line with me and we got in line behind Heather (H-bomb Deluxe) and Marco (General Mayhem), two performers from Vegas, mainly stilt walkers. Their group name is Great Heights.
As big as fair is, it was great that I ran into them today while I worked my first shift at the Community Village (Commie Village). They had on wonderful costumes and stayed in character (they were eight foot goats). They were the first people I really met at fair so I was glad to see them again. Plus, I realized that I saw them last year as well as I was looking at that post.
It was my first day of pre-fair today. A lot of people were setting up but there were a good amount of vendors already open. The fashion bug stung me and I had to buy something cute. I ended up with a cute belt with pouches. I'm really going to try to resist the need to buy shit though.
I also walked the fair at night. It's neat because you're in the woods and there are various booths lit up and performers out and about but it's not all lit up perfect and safe. It's dark with a bit of mystery and allure to it.
And we're off!
I'm so excited for this fair. I'm not sure what to expect and I'm trying not to expect anything so I won't be disappointed. It's not that I don't think the Oregon Country Fair will be fabulous but I don't want to go in with schedules and agendas. It's my vacation. I want to relax.
However, one expectation that I did have was that we would break down. Last year, Ashes and Victory's ride broke down and so did Balam's. We also had our trip to the coast with Bertha the RV so I was sure that a breakdown was imminent. Fortunately, it wasn't too bad. The Robo-Bee (the other bus in our caravan) wouldn't start after filling up with gas somewhere between here and fair. Luckily, a battery jump solved the problem.
Here's to hoping that all problems which may arise over the next several days can be solved so easily.
I went to college orientation this morning. It figures that it would fall on the day when I am on vacation from work and supposed to leave town shortly. I met a good number of people that are going into the same program. Suddenly, I feel just as prepared as anyone else. It's good because I was figuring they were all light-years ahead of me. Turns out, there were a good number of people with BA's in English there who later found social work as a calling. I guess it's good to know I'm in good standing but I guess I'm not so original after all.
Baking Raven's birthday cake has proudly become a tradition for me. I went with my vegan chocolate soy-less cake recipe and added a spectacular frosting and strawberries this year. I have to say that I think it is my finest.
Fortunately, it didn't come back up the rest of the day as I rode the rides at Oaks Park. I rode the damn roller coaster five times and now I can't sit down properly. I think it actually fractured my tail bone. I also rode the bumper cars twice, the Disk-o (which is the ride that hates your crotch), the topsy turvy ferris wheel and the Screaming Eagle which I should have known better than to do again. Overall, it was a good day. Plus Raven got Guitar Hero for the Wii so I got to play that for the first time. I learned that I can't actually sing "No Sleep Til Brooklyn". 
Wow, it's been a while since I've blogged. Life's been busy but the kind of busy it'd be if I didn't have a job; the good kind of busy. It was the fourth of July today and, since it's a Saturday, work gave me off Friday the third as well. Three day weekend!
I started off my mini-vacation with going to my first inter-continental futbol game last night. We did great and I saw the best goal ever, a header right in front to me. It was beautiful.
Today, I didn't do a lot at all and really accepted that I'm not going to feel bad about that. I need to get stuff ready for fair but it's a holiday so most of the stores are closed. It means I don't have to take care of anything today except watch fireworks.
We went down to the waterfront and came back and put on a good show for the neighborhood with some fireworks I've been holding onto for a while. Thanks mom and dad!
What's nice is I only have eight hours more of work within the next week before I start on my actual vacation. Then I'm packing up my bags and not looking back for a while.
I bought my bike six years ago in a pawn shop in Vancouver, WA. Since then, it's been in the shop (Seven Corners) several times but always in a reactive capacity. I had not done any preventative or general maintenance work on it. Since I was getting ready to go without it for a week at the Fair, I figured I could drop it off now and get it done. Also, people during Pedalpalooza were constantly saying that my bike sounded troubled.
I brought it in on Wednesday and Rick there told me several things that he could immediately spot as being a problem. I told him he could keep it a week to fix it up but I got a call today, saying it was done. Overall, I needed a few parts replaced and a lot of labor on it. It cost me $120 but when you figured that was for 6+ years of maintenance, I'd say I came out pretty good.
Anyway, the bike has never ever run this good. It's basically a brand new bike to me. I am once again in bike love.
I heard once that as you go along in life, gravity plays havoc with your internal organs, stretching them downwards and therefore compromising their integrity. I guess that's aging but until I heard that, I never really thought about the internal side to aging. One would surmise then that acrobats and tumblers have slightly more youthful insides.
