as clock approaches 11

I sang 'Mr Blue Sky' by ELO last night and then froze and danced my ass off.  It was a chilly new years and we celebrated by pushing 2010 out of the door with style.  Smaller parties at people's houses are typically what I look for on New Years Eve but celebrating it at a karaoke bar and then a queer dance night were the right choice for tonight.

It was all part of Victory's birthday celebration.  We started out the night at Red and Black for dinner, headed to Galaxy to sing love songs (I sang Can't Help Falling in Love with You by UB40) and then we went up to Saratoga (for the first time) for Airick's queer dance party.  I was just getting on the MAX train at the stroke of midnight with my best girl Sophia to head up to Saratoga.  That represented my year perfectly.  The entire evening, like the entire year, was a positive experience, not relying on one particular event to steal the moment. Does that make sense?  Anyway, Sophia and I biked back south after closing up the party.  My trip home was 9.5 miles back to my house.  It was a chilly and refreshing way to begin a new year.

reflecting on '10

I was having dinner tonight with Sophia and Jesse (eating the Mac N Cheese for the 1st time and trying a new beer) when Jesse asked me if I think that 2010 has been a bad year with good points or a good year with bad points.  Most of the rest of my friends answered bad year/good points so I felt a little guilty for saying good year/bad points.  However, I'm also really grateful.

Upon reflecting on 2010, I would say that Oregon Country Fair, my time in Omaha, pedalpalooza and my internship have probably been the high points but none of those were single events.  OCF was short (as was my time in Omaha) but different points in each of those several days made them memorable.  There have been bad points but nothing too bad and anything that lasted too long.  Meeting awesome new people, having several awesome bike rides (naked or in many different costumes, trying new things (Laser tag!!!), some wonderful parties, great music shows, and much-needed vacation trips made for one awesome year!

What else?
After the Hedge House, we went to watch Big Lebowski at the Clinton Street Theater.  I heard that Portland has a Big Lebowski event where everyone dresses in their robes and goes to the park to drink white russians.  I am definitely doing that this next year!

red dawn

While I did have to get up at 3am my time, I love flying in the morning.  I love seeing the sky a warm color that Portland lets you forget about from October and you won't remember until June. 

My new thing today was waiting in the lobby of Kearney Municipal Airport.  When I checked in, the guy at the desk told me that the plane would be 30 minutes late so I could head to Casey's Convenience Store if I wanted to quick.  The lady who was the TSA security person for the airport had to open my bag because I had a slap-chop that Jackie gave me.  The ride only had fifteen people including the pilot and co-pilot this time.  I didn't get moved to the front but I sat in the exit "row" and it was the first time I actually felt some responsibility for sitting in this seat.

What else?
I didn't go into work today.  Ashes picked me up at the airport and promptly drove me to a house that a friend sent us info on.  It's less than $200,000 and is a five bedroom, two bath.  It looks kind of beat up but it may be worth looking into.

dog walk fix

Growing up, my parents subjected me, my sister and my brother to numerous walks.  There was a long stretch of dirt roads outside our house in Dickens and they would insist that we spend some time outside so we would walk.  A lot of times it got to where my side started to hurt and I wouldn't stop complaining.  However, it instilled in me a need to stride which was further supported through various dogs.  I got so used to walking with my dog Skip that, when I moved to Kearney to go to college, I would go over to my aunt and uncle's house just walk their dog.

When I go back home now, I miss Dean not only cause he's an awesome dog but as a walking companion.  I took Oliver out as a substitute today for Dean.  While it's nice to not have a dog trying to pull my arm out of it's socket, Oliver lacked Dean's size and therefore presence.  But it was nice to get out to stretch my legs and get some fresh air.

grandma k's farm

Grandma K has lived on the same farm for as long as I can remember.  A few years ago, she moved into a retirement home and my uncle Tony bought the farm (literally not figuratively) and is now renting it to my aunt Vicki and her husband.  Since it's still in the family, we had a family gathering there today.

I haven't seen this side of the family in years.  Today, I talked to my cousin Scott more than I ever have before.  He's a dog person so we got on well.  My niece also got to ride her favorite horse, Snowflake and I got to give Oliver his new scarf.  We made it a quick trip since my dad wasn't feeling well but it was nice to see everyone for a bit.

What else?

My brother, sister-in-law, niece and I all played Bananagrams for the first time.  It was intense but I finally ended up winning a few rounds after taking several games to get used to it.

home cooking

Since I went vegetarian, there are some home-cooked meals that I really miss.  Surprisingly, one of them is tater tot casserole.  Today, my mom and sister made a taste of home today as they made me a little casserole dish of vegetarian tater tot casserole with veggie crumbles.  Having that and spending a day in my pajamas was great comfort.

What else?
I was a handyman today.  My brother doesn't arrive tomorrow and my dad is on the injured list (arm surgery) so I had to set up the electronics that my parents received yesterday.  I set up my dad's DVD player, my mom's laptop, my parents' clock/thermometer and my niece's Dora watch.  Still, I managed to do it all in my pjs.

right into the EAR

I've never been to Kearney Municipal Airport (EAR), despite the fact that I lived in Kearney for six years.  When looking at airfare this year, I figured I could save money if I flew out on Christmas Eve.  However, transportation from Omaha to Kearney takes at least three hours.  If I was going to fly in on Christmas Eve, I decided that I better make the trip as quick as possible and flew into Kearney which less than 15 miles away from Gibbon where my parents live.

It was the smallest commercial plane I've ever been on.  There was enough seating for 21 people.  There were four open seats so the co-pilot came back and rearranged the passengers to balance out the weight from the luggage in the back of the plane.  The guy next to me and I had to move forward to the very front of the plane.  It should have freaked me out that the plane was so small but it was pretty cool to sit right behind the cockpit.  Also, the extra leg room and the hum/vibration of the engines made for a very relaxing ride and an easy trip.  Plus, at the airport, I didn't get groped (but they did steal my toothpaste).

What else?

 And then there was the reason for the trip; my family.  My parents bought a new house earlier this year and this was my first time seeing it.  We did presents even though all of us weren't there (my brother doesn't get here until the 26th).  Marley, my youngest niece, got a robot dog which only has a few robotic movements but she loves him.  She instantly made up three or four theme songs for Buster the Dog.  It was adorable.

i give and i give

I gave away my cookies today to the two supervisors I have that watch my two stores' clients.  If it wasn't for them being so awesome and on top of it, I don't think that I could do this work/school/internship thing.  They're super and deserve a lot more than a plate of cookies but they did each seem to really appreciate them.  I'm one of the lucky case managers in that I've had the same people in the job for a year or so before I even took the job four years ago.  We have a great relationship in that I do a lot of their computer work and give them more time to work directly with the clients.  It works out great because I appreciate having everything done my way (because I'm doing it) and I completely trust them to do all of the day to day supervision tasks.  They are my salvation.  I feel bad that I've never given them any gift during any previous Christmas.  One of them usually gives me tamales (except for this year...odd) so I was glad to start a tradition of giving them cookies.

What else?

My boss's gift to all of us was to be able to go home at 2:30 and get paid til 4.  However, the last ATE client didn't get picked up until 2:40.  He took one step on the bus and stopped, put his hand down the back of his pants and I was like 'shit' (literally).  I could see it all happen from the window of my desk and I knew he had an accident.  I have been in the bathroom with this guy for hours before with bathroom accidents.  We did it quick though today, motivated by me wanting to get out of there and not have his ride leave him.

We tried a different pizza place today.  Rudy's on Powells started using Daiya on their vegan pizza for Victory and I split a vegan veggie-lovers pizza.  It was damn good.  I wanted to go to DC today to be a proper send off to 'Braska but finding a pizza delivery place that serves Daiya was an adequate substitute.

the ninjabread men

A few weeks ago, Felicia Day from the Whedonverse retweeted pictures of these cookie cutters.  Not only do I consider myself to be ninja (as opposed to pirate) but I also adore the name 'Ninjabread Men.'  Also a few weeks ago, I saw the ninjabread men cookie cutters at Powells.  I didn't buy them then and they sold out shortly afterwards.  They had been out for a while and I had people checking in for me periodically.  They finally came in this week so today I got baking.

I was compromised on some of the ingredients, mainly the type of flour.  I used flour that I helped harvest a while ago.  It's cool because it had more of a personal touch but smoother flour would have been better.  However, I didn't compromise on using our rolling pin which had designs carved into it.  I bought a new one and also some parchment paper.  It was my first time using parchment paper or cookie cutters.

They turned out okay.  Next time, I'll use two 1/4 inch books to put on either side of the dough so it stays level.  I'll also use smoother flour and freeze the rolled out dough before I start cutting the cookies.  Once I get those things down, I think I'll have this recipe down.

solstice scrooge

I think I turn into more of a scrooge every year.  Maybe I'm just getting more bitter in my old age.  Maybe I'm just growing up.  Anti-consumerism, anti-religiousness and anti-traditionalism make for a anti-celebratory me.

The rest of my house celebrated solstice today.  I pretty much avoided it.  When I got home though, we had Wii Fit in the house.  It should prove to be good exercise during winter's rainy days.  I played numerous games for the first time and I even set up Dean as a character.  It wanted to get his weight in the machine so he could work on getting fit.  The problem was I had to pick him up and step on the balance board.  It made me do it about seven times and still couldn't get an accurate reading.  Dean is a 90 lb beast so it wasn't easy and never worked.  It doesn't mind.  I don't think Dean planned on getting fit anyway.

daiya on woodchips

Daiya is a crazy fake cheese substitute that has to be owned by the mob because it's been taking over with most of the vegetarian restaurants and carts.  The first place I had it was Hungry Tiger Too.  Now DC Vegetarian, HomeGrown Smoker and El Nutri Taco have all switched over to Daiya as well.  Today, we went to Red and Black because they finally became friendly enough to bring back a grilled cheese sandwich and it was in Daiya form.  I had their special Steak and Cheese sandwich (for the 1st time) which was awesome but a large part of that was the Daiya.  As Ashes said, you could throw Daiya on woodchips and it would be good.

untitled dog post

Today was a good Sunday.  Drama's been heavy lately so it felt good to get away today with a walk in the park on a sunny morning with Dean, go to Gladstone Coffee for brunch for the 1st time, read A Lion Among Men, head back home, let the dog and cat lay on me and read the book some more.

I went to help work on Autonomy in the afternoon but it ended up being drama-free (yay!).  We finished the day with dining at Dicks.  I want more days like today.

drinking at the dragon

I had my 2nd staff appreciation get-together for the week today.  This was just a housing staff outing and, while the food and drinks weren't as good as Vindalho, I enjoyed the company more because it was people that I have been working directly with for the past three months.  Maybe I just don't know that all that well but there was nobody at this get-together that I don't enjoy talking to.  They're all great.  I can't say that about any other work environment that I've been in.

We went to the Green Dragon for a happy hour.  My supervisor bought the 1st round, the organization bought appetizers and a co-worker bought a round too.  It was a nice bar.  I don't think I'd make it a destination unless I lived near there.  It would be a good neighborhood bar.

Afterwards, we hugged it out.  That was nice.  These people are nice.  I don't go back in to the internship until the first week in January.  It's not that long but I'll miss it.

What else?

I was shown this video last night.  It's AWESOME (because it's true).  My favorite message in the video is that Portland is where young people go to retire.

I also had a great conversation with one of my clients at my work.  I've known this guy for six years and he's a favorite.  However, he's very highly suggestible and doesn't assert himself at all.  Today was one of the first times we've had a conversation about how he's actually feeling and not just how he thinks I want to hear he feels.  I thought of it as a breakthrough.

an insomniac's calling

2AM and I'm wide awake.  The drama of last night made for a restless sleep.  After waking at 2AM, turning around until 3AM and reading until 4AM, I gave up.  I took out the trash, did the recycyling, took Dean for a walk to 7-11, made breakfast and then filled out my holiday cards, all before 7AM.  I'm normally a morning person but this was a bit ridiculous.

destruction

This is devastating.

Yesterday, we took down the stage at Autonomy.  It was something that needed to be done for reasons that I can't write down.  Today, we came to the space to rebuild studios over where the stage was and found that the space had been vandalized.  There was no sign of forced entry and some of the people that are on their way out were pretty upset about the stage so I'm pretty sure it was an inside job.

Windows were smashed, messages of hate like the one pictured above were written all over the place, dry wall was punched in, a fire extinguisher was sprayed into one of the studios through a hole busted in the wall, paint was thrown around, one of the artists who rents a space there had his art destroyed and there was blood on the walls.  It was surreal.  Vandalism wasn't covered in the insurance policy and the cops wouldn't care enough to DNA test the blood or pull fingerprints so we didn't call the cops.  Instead we just cleaned it up.  Fortunately, a handful of our friends showed up to assist in the cleanup.

It's disgusting and I truly despise the people that did this.  Nothing can be proven but one of the people that pretended to be horrified later admitted to writing the crap on the boards which, just coincidentally, went along with the destruction that was done.  I can't really write anymore about this because it's too disheartening.  The space may be done for though.

vindalho

Now this is what I call appreciation.  My internship bought dinner for 40 plus staff members, invited me and had an open bar.  Hells yeah!  I've walked by Vindalho a number a times but today was my first time in there.  It's a bit rich for my blood so I was glad to go there when I wasn't worried about prices.

It was also a great time to be social with my co-workers.  I've only seen one of them in a social setting before and not the person that I work with the most.  This was good for me in more ways than I care to go into right now but I'm just appreciative that it went down like this and I can have a level head about things.  Sorry for the vagueness.

t date

I had a quick date today with a guy named Tom.  I met him on OKCupid and we met for tea to discuss work since he's new to town and looking to get back into work with adults with disabilities.  He was nice and I'd like to see him again.

I've been pondering OKCupid more lately.  I think that I'm looking for a particular guy: vegetarian, dog-loving, bicycling, easy going.  Yes, I'm looking to basically date me.  I need to be more open with who I'm looking for.  I have no idea about Tom's interests other than the fact that he likes working with people with DD.  That's a start.  He's older than me, like 16 years older but that doesn't phase me at all.  I don't know.  Maybe I'll see him again...

where the day takes you

While I think I've been better about getting out and about lately, I recognize that I typically fall back on my housemates for social plans.  However, they went to the beach for the night so I was on my own.  Knowing I would be by myself, I decided to make just enough plans to get me out of the house and I left the day open after that.

I started out at New Deal Distillery which is scary close to my work.  They were giving out samples of whiskey, gin, chocolate, coffee and cheese.  Um, yes please!

We spent the afternoon at the Night Light and headed up to the Belmont Food carts for dinner.  I tried Kitchen Dances for the first time.  We actually split two dishes from there and a margarita pizza from the nearby pizza cart.  All of it was awesome.  The night ended with a bunch of us playing Scategories and Apples to Apples.  I was glad that I just let go and let the day progress as it did.

dilation

Since I've been on my own insurance, I've been greatly disappointed with the medical community's ability to do anything.  I think this is partially due to the expectations put out there by medical shows that have a team of medical experts willing to research and explore various sources of ailments to figure out what the patient of the week's diagnosis will be.  Kaiser, on the other hand, has a had a history of saying, "We're not sure and there's no point of testing" but they at used least to give out Vicodin for everything that ails you.

However, today I met a new doctor in a routine eye exam.  I only get this eye exam done every year because it's a requirement if I ever want to get my lasik updated.  This is the one medical appointment that I have every year that I just want to be an in-and-out thing with no fuss and no muss.  Therefore, it stands to reason that it would be the one appointment that I've had at Kaiser in the past several years that took three hours due to complications that the doctor wanted to research.

I'm still not sure what exactly was wrong.  This new doctor was really thorough though and she seemed to enjoy her job.  I was her last patient of the day and she could have easily dismissed what she had found as a non-problem but she seemed to think that I could possibly be a candidate for the early onset of glaucoma so she dilated my eyes.  It made it so I had to squint a lot when I tried to take mass transit back home.  I took the 35 for the first time too.  I felt like the friend in Adventures in Babysitting that got lost in the bus terminal because her glasses were misplaced.

It ended up that the doctor is not sure that there is something wrong and she would like to optic imaging to be sure.  However, my insurance may not cover it so she's going to do some research to figure out how to get it past my insurance.  I don't think that Kaiser has changed.  I think that I just ended up with a good doctor.  While I don't want anything to be wrong with my vision, I am glad that she's taking the time to care.

just like a circus

After yesterday's melee of trying to setup and pull of the annual client party, we (clients and staff) wanted a typical easy day.  However, since you can't always get what you want, we got a literal circus today. 

A school's theater troupe performed today for our participants.  While we were all exhausted, we all enjoyed it very much.  The kids did a great job of performing and didn't hesitate because they were performing for an audience full of people who are differently abled.  The two adults of the group also did a great job incorporating our participants.  I had to sit by one guy, "T" (I'm going to run out of letters in my quest to protect their privacy) who was also the breakdancer from yesterday.  T kept interjecting his own jokes and comments into everything the kids did but not only did they not get thrown off by him, they brought him up front as a volunteer.  They also brought up a guy that we have who only has use of one side of his body after he said he could spin some balls like the guy in the first picture.  Some of us staff tried to subtly discourage them from picking him but they didn't flinch when they realized that he could only raise one hand.  They gave him a stick to hold to balance one ball on and then put a helmet on him with another stick on it and had him balance both balls that way.  I've never seen him smile so big!

While I think a party and a circus serve as great distractions from underlying problems at work, it also does appear that things are on the upswing.  I have confidence that we're going to make it through this rut and come out better for it.

my annual favorite workday

I love this day.  I needed this day.  After feeling like there was something amiss at work, today was a much appreciated.  Our work team pulled together to pull off another spectacular party.  It was more noticeable this year how many new clients we have working at the company now, probably because they were such awesome dancers.  One guy kept breakdancing while another one just moved around a lot.  He's one of the shyest guys I can remember having in the program but he was in his element on the dancefloor.

It was very similar to the years before with some slight alterations.  I screwed up on the macarena but fortunately another staff member (who experienced her first client party) got up on stage and helped me out.   I also got in there and did the train with most of the group for the first time.  My favorite guy, 'W' grabbed onto my shoulders and just kept hollering.

I think our team will be stronger after this.  I hope so.  I don't see how this couldn't be a bonding moment.

my sub for luv

DC Vegetarian wooed me with a twitter today.  I was downtown already, delivering reports for work when I got a twitter that DC's special was a bacon cheeseburger sub.  Oh heavens, I didn't even hesitate about calling there to order mine (and Ashes').  I love their bacon cheeseburger and a sub would just be larger and even more loved by myself.  Not suprisingly, I was more than satisfied.  If this became a regular menu item, I'd be there more often.

It was the second best part of my day.  The first happened when "G", my client that declared war, refused to go to last break because he was working on coloring.  Another staff member pestered him about it until he became unresponsive.  I was asked to come and sit with him while everyone else went to break.  "G" didn't want to talk, he just wanted quiet while he colored.  I dig him so I wasn't going to push him to go to break.  He wanted to be productive so I thought he should go for it.  It worked out well because I got to sit in absolute and comfortable silence for 15 minutes.  I need to take more breaks like that.

doing it myself

At BikeCraft yesterday, I went looking to make myself a more effective and weather-ready cyclist.  Even though I know they carry them at most stores, I was looking for a locally-made head-band-that-covers-the-ears thingy.  However, Sophia pointed me in the direction of ear cozies.  You slide them over the straps of your helmet and they cover your ears.  It was a very neat idea but I thought that the sizes looked too small and, for fifteen bucks, I could afford to take the time to make my own so I came up with the cozies pictured above.  I think I went a bit overboard with the back fur but it's too late now.  I might make some straight up black ones as well.  It was pretty easy.  I sat by the fire while we watched Six Feet Under episodes and hand sewed them.  It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

What else?
Raven got this marble game thing that was fun to play.  We played several games before it got old.  Again, a nice way to spend the day.

Also at BikeCraft, we got a list of power foods from a vendor.  Greens like kale and spinach were at the top of the list so I made myself a spinach, mushroom, onion and pepperjack cheese egg scramble today.  It was awesome.

my kind of craft

Growing up, I was subject to more than my share of craft fairs.  My mom operated a home-based business where she and my best friend's mom appliqued sweatshirts.  They not only sold these out of their home but also at numerous craft fairs.  While I didn't love going, it still beat having to go to rodeos or sporting events so I went without too much complaining.  As I've grown, I've come to appreciate craft fairs so much more since I hate supporting big businesses.

Today, I went to Bike Craft.  The vendors here are pretty awesome and I could easily drop a whole lot of money.  (I'm doing a horrible job this season Christmas shopping as I keep returning home with presents to myself.)  I limited myself to an wristband from the Sprockettes and a red and gray biking cap.  I may come back for a black corduroy cap tomorrow.  I went to H&M a week or so ago, looking for a cap.  However, I couldn't bring myself to buy one because they had a whole rack full of two different colors and I saw numerous people wearing them in the store.  I need something a little more unique (although I'm pretty sure that each of my friends Martin and Tim own the same hat).  I guess it's just one more value that I can thank my mom for.

What else?
I'm tired of going to bars so I hosted a group of people over at the house tonight to watch Howl.  We watched the movie while the fire blazed, the wind roared and we sipped Pear Cinnamon Cider.  This is my winter pace. 

the travel bug

A few weeks ago, I was looking for new desktop wallpaper for my internship computer.  I came across the picture at the bottom of this post and decided that was what I wanted.  Maybe it's the lack of sun here right now but I want to go to somewhere where it's warm, where I can relax and where I can walk out onto a pier and just lose myself in the beauty.

Arturo just got back from visiting his fam in Cali for a few months.  He's here for just a week and then he's going camping in the jungles of Mexico.  Yes, I'm jealous.  I am a homebody but I've got this strong desire to go somewhere far away that I have never seen before and just relax.

We went out to eat and drink tonight along with BHT who spent most of last year traveling throughout the US in his pickup.  His journey was more soul-searching but he still got out there and travelled somewhat aimlessly and got to see the world.  I'm heading to Nebraska later on this month and then my only other travel plans involve going to Alaska in August for my cousin's wedding.  I think I'm going to need to fit something tropical in there.

What else?
We went to Dick's where I tried a BBQ tempeh burger there for the 1st time.  We also went to Hall of Records and chilled out on the couch.  Before heading to the Backstage Bar to finish out the night, we crashed an art opening at Gallery Zero (for the 1st time).  We figured it would be neat to see the art but we were also counting on free wine.  I had some pear wine which was awesome.  It was a fun night but it doesn't satisfy my need to get out of the region for warmer weather.

the advantages of fake work

As much as my real job is bugging me, my internship is delighting me.  At the beginning of the term, my instructor said that we have an advantage in our interships in that we are supposed to be curious and supposed to question why they do things the way they do.  At most jobs, bosses just want you to maintain the status quo.  Suggestion boxes are made available so you can stash your idea in a box (that may never get opened) which is so much easier to disregard than a voiced concern by a human.

Besides the fact that I'm an intern and can question without repercussion, I think that my internship agency is a lot more open to feedback from the employees.  The hierarchical structure is not so structured.  Plus, once a week, we have something called supervision.  This is an hour-long meeting with your direct supervisor where you get a chance to discuss the agency, your work, your clients and/or your ideas.  When I get promoted at my job, it's going to be one of the first things that I institute.  I think that my classes have taught me a lot but I can see that I am also learning a tremendous amount at the internship.

For my new thing, I used my supervision to question some policies regarding some of the youth that are also new parents.  My supervisor said she appreciated my feedback and thought it was a great idea.  I also got the chance to lay out more diverse tasks for myself next term which my supervisor also liked.

I have to appreciate my current job in that they are giving me all of these opportunities.  Without them, I would not be in school or in my internship.  I know that I'm in the succession plan so my promotion is imminent.  I'm currently enjoying my internship more but everything I'm learning is going to go in my toolbox so I can bring it back to my work.