cinema done right

Last weekend, we were looking for a movie to go to and saw that Tarantino's new film 'The Hateful Eight' was playing at the Hollywood. When we got there, we saw there was already a line and apparently it was a line for people with tickets already. The show was sold out for a number of showings throughout the week already so I bought tickets online for tonight.

We got there an hour early and stood in line for a while before we were let in from the cold. It ended up setting the tone nicely for the film which takes place during a Wyoming blizzard. The film had a 4-5 minute long overture before it and a 12 minute intermission built into the film. The intermission worked well with the action and the pacing and it helped with the movie-going experience. I took the picture above as the guy was introducing the film. Apparently, Tarantino had stopped in a few days before to introduce the film and praised the Hollywood Theater, which has the biggest screen capable of showing 70 mm films. If I'm going to go out to the theater, this is how it should be done.

What else?

We maxxed, walked, and then bussed to Victory's NYE party but didn't stay until midnight because we didn't want to leave Ava in the kennel that long. We had a nice brisk walk back to the house afterwards as well. It was a nice and chill way to spend the holiday.

coming out of the dark

 

It's been a rough time for me these past couple of weeks which is why I haven't been posting (also, the holidays are crazy-busy). It's been rough due to a number of things, primarily the weather, the dark days, and my busted ribs. 

My bike accident three weeks ago ended up hurting longer and more than I had anticipated and caused me to work shorter work days. I'm very lucky to be in a workplace where that's possible. Mostly, I would have to bail after 6-7 hrs and go home and medicate with pot. What's also been hard for me is not going to the gym. I was on such a good streak before this but any lifting was discouraged by Dr Google plus it hurt when I did minor lifting at home so I skipped the gym for three weeks. But I returned today!

Over the weekend, I felt better and at the last minute today, I decided to go in and see what I could do. I didn't bench and I couldn't do my inclined sit-ups but I managed to do all of my free-weights, albeit at a lower weight. Still, I feel good for going in and this way I'll be able to get in almost two weeks before I go back to Nebraska! My new thing was bussing (and then walking) to the gym.

What else?

Most of the days, my new thing was a new work contact but I'll touch on the highlights:

On Tuesday, 12/15, my office mate brought in her baby who is about 6 months old so I couldn't help but pick him up a few times (and parade him down the hallway).

On Wednesday, 12/16, I finally finished "A Tale for the Time Being." I really need to read more books and less comic books this next year.

On Friday 12/18, I DJ'ed the work party for Ashes. This is the first year in seven years that I haven't DJ'ed the client party for GW so it felt good to have one gig. It was nice and chill and I got to get better acquainted with people that I had only met briefly before. Plus there was a pug.

On Saturday, 12/19, I went to Tim and Sophia's and we played a bunch of games. I tried Exploding Kittens and we also played 'werewolf' which I had played years ago as 'mafia.' I was originally only planning on being there for a few hours but I stayed all day because I liked the new people that I met.

On Sunday, 12/20, I spent most of the afternoon working on Hayleigh's x-mas present. I can't go into more detail because I haven't given it to her yet.

On Monday, 12/21, I tried two new-to-me dark beers at NWIPA's dark beer fest, one of which had coffee in it. I don't think I slept that night except for maybe two hours.

On Thursday, 12/24, I walked all of the way home from work which was only possible because A) we got out early for Xmas Eve, B) it wasn't raining, and C) Andrew worked from home that day so he was with Ava. It took me just over an hour which isn't too bad. Also, for dinner, we went out for Bejing Hot Pot. Neither of us had done Hot Pot before so it was quite an experience.

On Christmas Day, I got up early-ish and made coffee in the house! Since we've been living together, we have never had the capability to make coffee in the house but Andrew bought a French press the day before so I made coffee (and pot chocolate chip cookies) first thing. He got me a bathrobe, underwear, and a new vape pipe. I got him a shirt, a sweater, and rain pants. It was nice just to have an easy Christmas morning. Afterwards, when we were both high on cookie dough, we walked around Tabor with Ava. We took her into the dog park quick and she did not attack another dog! It's a Christmas Miracle!

On Saturday, 12/26, we tried to go to the new Tarantino film The Hateful Eight but it was sold out. I had to buy tickets on-line for almost a week later (New Years Eve) instead. However, we did go to the upper part of Sam's Billiards to have a drink.

On Sunday, 12/27, it snowed! Plus I went to Tim and Sophia's where we played Power Grid. It was fun but I don't have a strong inkling to play it again.

the ornament

 

Every year at Christmas, there's a small box under the tree for each of us kids. They're our ornament gifts. My sister gets ornaments featuring cats, my brother gets angels, and I used to get drummer boys but then had to switch to snow men. For the last 14 years, I've been getting the Snow Buddies pictured above which had snow men and a cute animal together.

When I was home for the summer, my mom asked me about the ornaments and I said that I had them all but I don't put up a tree so they just sit in a box. I told her that I would get them out this year tho. I should have 39 ornaments but only counted around 36. I guess a few got lost over the years or they're still with my parents (my mom shipped the ornaments out a few years ago to me). Today, we bought our first holiday tree. It's the first time I've had a live tree since I've been an adult. It's a small 3-4 foot tree so I only used the snow buddies to decorate it and put the rest of the ornaments on a shelf. I also hung the stockings on a book case.

I haven't been too big on Christmas and definitely not decorating. It typically seems so wasteful to me but the tree's not plastic and we bought it at a school fundraising site on Hawthorne. Plus I had the decorations and it looks good. It glows and puts me in the mood for holiday cheer. Now I just need presents under it!

What else?

We saw the movie Brooklyn tonight at Cinemagic, walking most of the way there and all of the way back. It was a wonderful movie and great exercise! 

i coulda been an engineer

 

When I started my job almost two years ago, I went for a home visit with one of my supervisors and he had a phone holder attached to his windshield as pictured above. It's a simple fix and I'm sure it's been around for a while but I went over a year without having a car so I never had one. When I got my last car, I got one of these things and it's been great. However, if you stop or accelerate suddenly, the phone flies out of the holder.

While I was heading to a customer's house in Washington County a few weeks ago, I set my work phone to give me audio directions in addition to the visual map. I was listening to music over the radio through my personal cell but I had the work phone up loud enough to hear the directions. I hit the brake early on in the trip and my phone went flying out to the holder and in between my seat and the console. My seats in this car are big and the spaces are small so I couldn't get to the phone. However, I would still hear "In 200 feet, turn left" shouted out from under my seat.

A few days later, my personal phone flew out of it, hit my cup holder, and scratched the screen. At that point, I had had enough. I came up with the solution above a few months ago and just never acted on it. I even have had thumbtacks at work but keep forgetting to take them out to my car. Well, today for some reason, I thought of it and it worked! Occasionally, I come up with some simple and satisfying solutions, even if it does take me months to act upon them.

sweet 17

 

Overall, I'd say that Portland has great mass transit. However, the North-South lines tend to be few and far-between. Because of this, I haven't commuted to work via mass-transit only since I started nearly two years ago. Today though I was willing to give it a shot.

Andrew's home sick so that lets me off Ava duty. Since I'm still injured from my bike accident, I decided biking wouldn't be the best way to get in and I'm still leery about my car so I took the bus. There is no close route. If there was a good North-South route anywhere between 60th and 82nd that circumnavigated Tabor, I would be able to get to the MAX line where I could bus in from there but, since there's not, I was forced to go downtown.

The 17 stops a few blocks from my house and less than 1/2 mile from my work. I just have to take it thru SE, SW, NW, and into NE Portland to get there. It took about an hour which makes for a long ride but I was just glad to not have to drive. I'll probably do this more often. There are routes that are less than 10 minutes shorter but I would have to transfer and I'm not on a time-crunch so I think the 17 will be my ride.

What else?

Yesterday, my new thing was using Virtual DJ to extract the audio from a movie. I've got a secret project I'm working on!

this year's wreck

Today was the wettest day in recorded history for Portland. It seemed like a hard rain but it didn't seem that bad so I decided to bike in it.

On the way to work, I was driving and dropped Andrew off near the MAX stop so he could head into work that way. It works out well cuz it's technically on my way to work & the traffic would be ridiculous around his office. Anyway, my car made a couple of new noises which made me real nervous. This weekend, it didn't want to start while we were out running errands. We opened up the hood and determined it wasn't a glaringly obvious problem that could be fixed by two mechanically disinclined gay guys so we closed it. I tried starting it and it miraculously worked. I'm not a complete idiot tho so I know there are problems just waiting to surface. So, when I went home at noon to let Ava out, I switched car for bike.

At first, it was a great ride. There was a definite solidarity with the few other cyclists I saw and the warm rain felt great on my face. I was making good time and headed down the incline on Lincoln towards 50th. The light was still green but I saw it was going to turn soon so I sped up to make it but so did an SUV that I could see out of the corner of my eye. I think he made me nervous or my foot slipped off the pedal. I knew I lost control before I hit the ground. I yelled "Oh shit!" and bounced off the pavement with my ribs and thighs taking most of the blow. I wasn't wearing gloves so it was fortunate that I didn't slide & tear up my palms. My right leg got trapped between my frame & my handlebars tho so I took my bike with me.

Somehow, my left shoe flew off and I got up quickly and hobbled down the road to pick it up. There were a few cars around but nobody stopped. I sat down on the step on the side of Yoga Union and caught my breath. I put my shoe back on and did a quick visual inspection of my bike. The seat was crooked and the bell (pictured above) was busted but it otherwise escaped unscathed. I continued on slowly to work and put in a couple more hours. My supervisor offered to drive me home but I knew I could make it, even if I did have to go very very slow.

I think I may have fractured or bruised my ribs. I don't think they're broken. My right thigh also hurts as my keys were in my pocket when I landed flat on the pavement. I also managed to scrape the skin off the side of my big toe on my left shoeless foot. I've had worse falls and worse injuries but I'm really too old to keep banging myself up like this.

just too much

The pic above is of John Paul. He was one of my favorite guys at GW. Last summer, he was hit by the MAX train and was killed. I have many John-Paul-isms in my head and think of him quite frequently. Whenever someone says my name with a W instead of an R or whenever I hear the phrase, "baby boy", he's the first guy that come to mind. I was looking for a photo to illustrate my emotions right now and this one comes close because I'm feeling heartbreak.

Yesterday, I toured a facility, very much like the one that JP used to attend at GW but it was very nice and organized and I didn't have the baggage with it like I have at GW. I also found out that GW is no longer serving clients in their stores starting in January. This will have an impact on many people I know and care about and it makes me furious.

Then, today, there was another mass shooting. This one was at a facility like the one I toured and like the one that I used to work with JP at. Last I heard, 14 people were dead. It's awful when there are shootings anywhere but this was just so random. And it's killing me. I don't want to keep reading about these things. I don't want us as a society to see about these on our Facebook feeds, have a moment of silence, and then scroll past. I don't want prayers and I don't want people to move on. I want to not feel like this is a threat. I want to feel like this isn't commonplace. Fuck, I mean, our last major mass shooting in the US was just this last weekend at a Planned Parenthood. Goddamn it!

I'm just sickened and I don't know what else to say.

rendezvous

We left the beach today with Ava feeling much better. And I feel better too. I feel recharged and ready to face the world again.

On our way back, we stopped at Rendezvous in Tillamook for brunch. It was good and I'd go back. One of the many reasons I like going to the beach with Andrew because he's motivated to leave early so we get back to the house with some daytime remaining. I used this time to eat a pot cookie, put up the Christmas lights, do laundry, and make our Thanksgiving dinner. It didn't turn out that great since the tofurkey was thawed and refrozen and then somewhere in between when I cooked it. Also the gravy was a bit thin but for the first time, I roasted garlic and then made Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes which turned out to be heavenly. 

cape lookout

 

Ava's tail is doing better today so we went for a 5 mile hike to Cape Lookout. It was definitely more about the journey than the destination. There were many beautiful views (such as the one above) that were available along the path and when we got to the end, it was so crowded with people that we didn't really stay long at all.

The long walk was good to tire Ava out too so we went to a pub in Tillamook and played darts for a bit and then grabbed a slice of pizza and a salad. It was pretty much perfect.

LTS

I wasn't prepared to deal with dog medical issues yet. After having an older dog who couldn't walk very far for his last few years, Ava seemed like she was invincible. She had boundless energy and pain never really seemed to register with her. She would get tired after long hikes but she was always up for another walk if the possibility came up. Well, yesterday, she apparently pushed herself too hard and her tail paid the price.

The term for the affliction facing Ava right now is Limber Tail Syndrome. It's kind of like a sprain. She can't raise her tail and it just sort of droops there, looking comically pathetic. I only say that because it's supposed to bounce back in a few days. Otherwise, I'd be mourning the loss of her wagging tail. It's also affected her lower back. She wanted to run on the beach still but when she was hauling a log out of the ocean, she came back to the beach, dropped, and sat down like her back legs weren't functioning appropriately.

Apparently, LTS is caused by either over-exertion, cold weather, or being too used to a kennel and not being as active. Ava experienced all three of those things. We went into Tillamook to get her some baby aspirin as an anti-inflammatory. It's good to know that it's a limited time thing because I don't want to deal with chronic dog issues already. I need another few good years of a healthy dog.

What else?

Yesterday, I beat Andrew by more than 2x his score in 10,000, earning myself the first drink off the game.  I collected at The Schooner which has a great porch with glass walls and blankets available to cover yourself while you dine which I did.

thanks anyway

For the holiday weekend, we rented a beach cabin at Oceanside. It's been years since we've stayed here (and it was the only affordable place that still had vacancies) so we booked a place here quick. I had a plan to start thawing out the tofurky roast yesterday before I hit the gym and it would be ready to pop in the oven when we were able to check in at 4pm. I even made the marinade ahead of time.

We got to Oceanside around 1pm and spent the next few hours walking on the beach. Ava was greeted by a larger cocker spaniel who was off-leash and Andrew quickly took Ava off leash to help deter a confrontation and it worked! Ava did not attack the dog. She's just done so bad lately that a lack of violence was a cause to celebrate!

Then we headed to the cabin. It's a bit further up the cliffside than I had thought but it's got an amazing few. The biggest problem is that it doesn't have an oven; it only has a microwave and a toaster. I would have settled for a toaster oven but nope. Just as an FYI, it's highly recommended that you don't cook a tofurky roast in the microwave. I thought that surely some punks somewhere had tried it and managed to get it to turn out to be a success but every page I found online said "don't" so I didn't.

We don't have a microwave so we didn't bring microwave food. Fortunately, the previous renters left two cans of vegan soup and we had bread and cheese for sandwiches so my Harvest dinner was microwaved soup and toasted cheese sandwiches. Still, I'm thankful. I'm thankful to be at the beach. I'm thankful for this break from work. I'm thankful for Andrew and Ava and Amaretto. It's a change of plans but I can roll with it. And hey, I get a vacation from cooking.

we need this laziness

At any point in my job, things could go to shit so I really have to appreciate days like today where it's easy going. After helping my customer go through crisis last week, I am perfectly happy just to go through with the same-old same-old. 

While we were walking around Tabor Saturday, high on pot cookies, Andrew was telling me about how my work stress is on a different, more personal level which he appreciates (but I think is glad he doesn't have in his job). It's nice to hear because (while maintaining confidentialities) I vent a lot about my stresses at work. Today tho, I didn't have a thing to talk about work-wise and that's a good thing. My new thing today was talking to a new VR counselor which isn't exciting but I'll take it. I'll take and enjoy it.

What else?

Yesterday, my new thing was sitting in a booth in a different part of O'Malley's bar. Again, that's just fine by me.

techno-boost

Every time I've updated my computer, I've gotten rid of the previous one, typically because it stopped working. This time tho, I just decided to treat myself. During our work party last weekend, we got our holiday bonus. I've been good about saving money and I haven't been a person who's had money burn a hole in his pocket for quite some time but I've been due to update my laptop. It's over four years old and some time ago, I dropped my external drive from the book shelf, it landed on my keyboard, and popped out my "o" button so now when I type 'o", I get 'i", "p", "l", "9", or nothing. In addition, it's just gotten really slow. I like my kindle and I've just been using that instead but there's a lot a kindle can't do so now I got another Acer.

It's a good machine. I was looking for something with a solid state hard drive because that's all the rage and I really like it on the kindle. I also wanted something with a large enough hard drive to hold all my iTunes music and something with a proper HDMI port for the projector. The Acer was the only computer that fit all my requirements and still came within range of my bonus. I wasn't looking to spend this much money but I really like it and why not? What good is the money doing in the bank? I don't have outstanding debt so I may as well put my funds to use.

The really nice part about having the other laptop still is that I don't have to make the transition all at once. I still use my other laptop for certain functions and, as time goes on, I'll use it less and less but it's nice to have time to get used to my new precious. Today, I started really getting into it. I ordered it on Monday, picked it up on Thursday, and haven't had a lot of time with it until today. It's got a touch screen which I'm still getting used to. Anyway, I look forward to writing more because it's so much quicker and I don't have to constantly retype my "o"s.

crisis season

When I was applying for this job as a PA, I stated that one of the reasons that I wanted to leave my job at GW and have this job is that I wanted to be help clients/customers out with all aspects of their life, not just their work skills. Well, I've got what I wished for.

I've spent the last month helping one of my more quiet customers with a crisis situation. Until yesterday afternoon, I thought it was all handled. There was a bureaucratic speed-bump or two but I thought we were in the clear. On Thursday, my new thing was supposed to be working a short day and spending the rest of the day with my new laptop. However, after I picked up the laptop and brought it home over my lunch break, my supervisor called me back into the office. Without going into details, my customer was facing homelessness because of an interpretation of wording in state guidelines. I worked quick and reserved a motel room with the company card for the customer and made a plan for a home transition the next morning. I didn't get out of the office until 6:15 which never ever happens.

Today, before I finished parking my car at work, I got a text from my supervisor to call the regional crisis person ASAP. It turns out that the med orders for my customer weren't up to code for the home we were looking into so I ended up getting on a first name basis with two different receptionists at the hospital as I sent and resent the doctor's note, trying to get everything fixed. My final problem ended up being our fax machine. I cannot believe that we still have to use these damn things. Finally, two hours after our home transfer meeting was supposed to start, I got everything lined up and we were good to go.

I won't lie. It's taken a hard toll on me. I knew that I could do it but I question the fucked-up system that makes it so hard. I know there are rules in place but I was seriously considering bringing my client back to stay in my spare bedroom because I was not going to allow my client to stay in a shelter just due to some unclear guidelines and murky med orders. Yesterday, I finished work at 6:15 and stayed in the office for an extra five minutes looking through Craigslist job ads. This is a pretty manageable job most of the time but then there are times where you realize that you have real lives that are significantly impacted by your work but it's not all hard times. After I got my customer's paperwork squared away at the house, my customer was so happy with the new place. It was a safe and friendly home which is something that my customer hasn't known for a bit. It sounds cheesy but the joy I saw on my customer's face made it all worth it.

Last year, I had my first customer transfer off my caseload and into an emergency home due to health issues right around Thanksgiving. It was the first time that the customer was ever taken care of. The hoe had a TV, a warm bed, a full fridge, and people with a sincere interest in the customer's well-being. That customer passed away after a few months but at least I know that when I was allowed to take full advantage of the state's resources, I was able to make their last few months comfortable. 

I hope that these issues don't come up more than once a year because I can't take the stress of it all but I think that I did better this time around and next year, if it happens again, I'll know a bit more and it won't be quite as stressful. At GW, I did feel that I was making a difference in the client's but at this job, I feel that I'm able to help give them a different and better life all together.

What else?

I can't tell you what the new things this last week have been. I do know I've done a new thing every day tho. On Saturday, one thing of note is that Andrew and I saw 'Room,' I have never cried so much in a movie and I can't recommend it enough. The acting, the story, the cinematography, everything was just perfect with it.

the mullet

We had our annual work party tonight which was at a new location for me, Hotel Monaco, and I had to be a panelist for the Match game that we did. I've watched enough Snatch Game on RuPaul's Drag Race so I felt that I could easily do it. There was also an awards ceremony before where every employee was given some award for something. I won the Mullet Award.

The Mullet Award wasn't actually for having a pitiful hairstyle. The mullet is symbolic of a person who is professional at work but cuts loose at home (business in the front, party in the back). It was a silly name but an accurate portrayal of how I conduct myself. I use a pseudonym which was originally intended to separate my legal name from my activist work but now I use it more to separate the personal from the professional. I'm not friends with any of my co-workers on Facebook. I have them as friends on my Instagram (which has come back to bite me in the ass) but I use the name Tophurious (my third pseudonym) because it's a public account.

Aside from just names, I also keep a distinguished line between the personal and the professional in my actions. I have only gone to one party with co-workers that wasn't work related and I have only met with my co-workers (my bosses actually) once outside of any work or party function. I like this job and I've found that when you talk to people outside of the office, you find out things that change your view and make you take off the rose-colored glasses. People might be frank in the office but they can be bitterly honest out at the bar. And I want to keep liking my job and my co-workers. That's why I maintain a metaphorical mullet.

What else?
I'm sick. Yesterday, my new thing was having the jasmine/chamomile tea at Fat Straw. 

random wednesday holiday

 

I'm never one to complain about taking a day off work but this holiday caught me by surprise. I had forgotten that we get Veteran's Day off before this month approached. I was pleasantly surprised but that also meant I had to work on Sunday to ensure everything could get done and I also didn't make plans for the day. At the last minute, I switched Ava's blood donation appointment to today so I wouldn't have to take time off work to get her there. She's been kind of a pill lately. She's been growling at Andrew randomly and on Monday she ran out of the ballpark to attack a dog who was running alongside a cyclist on Center Ave. So I was really really pleased with her today. She did a great job giving blood and ended up getting a sock monkey who I've named Lana. When I headed to the gym, I told her it was time for the kennel so she went to grab her monkey to put into her kennel with her. It was adorable.

What else?

On Monday, aside from being pissed at Ava for attacking a dog (which unfortunately isn't a new thing), I also took half the day off work to wait for the new internet provider to install our new service. Comcast jacked up the rates and CenturyLink had a good sales pitch so I went with them. I am susceptible to salesmen and shouldn't be allowed to answer the door.

On Tuesday, I met a lady through work that works at a crisis line. The day before, I had a crisis meeting with a customer and can't imagine that being my entire job. I'm glad there are people out there who can handle it.

Today, I also made new pot cookies. The dosage was a lot lower this time and I plan on giving most of them away to people. I had one this morning and it lightened my spirits a bit but I was completely functional.

workin' on the weekend

I never ever work on the weekends. I don't think that I've actually worked one in 8 or 9 years so I was due. It's always been an option at my work but never been s necessity until now. This is a short month since we have Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, & the day after Thanksgiving off. I also have a number of things coming up, both at work & at home so scheduling desk-time has been difficult so I'm here at work on a Sunday.

Working 4 hours alone on a Sunday is the equivalent to getting in a regular week of work for me. I was able just to do turn up my stereo and focus. I don't love that I had to come in but I love that I had the option & that it worked so well. I may do it again soon.

What else?

Right after my short shift, I was able to head down the street to Dig-A-Pony where a friend was playing music & met Andrew & other friends there. I definitely dig the bar & the ambiance. I'll be back!

Yesterday my new thing was drinking mimosas at the Bare Bones Cafe while killing time before meeting friends for brunch. Life is good.

my first hump

I'll admit it: I was a bit nervous for this new thing. A few weeks ago, Andrew & I were out eating after drinks & there was a Portland Mercury on the table with a list of movies for Hump 2015. In case you don't know, HUMP is a film fest of the adult nature put on by Dan Savage. It began in just Seattle & Portland but has now gone national. I've never been. I've had friends that go though & I listen to Dan's podcast every week & read (or listened to [thanks, Audible]) his last book so I thought it was about time we go so I ordered us tickets.

I've never been to the venue Revolution Hall either in its current incarnation so I was looking forward to it all. The movies were fun & mostly funny & well-done for the most part. I had some hesitation about watching movies that featured lady bits on the big screen but one of my fav films was one that was primarily just that. It wasn't sexy for me but interesting & I will say challenging at times but I had a great time overall and I will definitely come back.

asleep from day

It's been a pretty mellow couple of days with very little going on. The time change has really messed with me and made me even less ambitious than normal. I don't typically have this extreme of a reaction to the time change but now I want to eat at 5 and crawl into bed at 7. So, obviously this had led to me doing less than exciting new things.

On Sunday, we went to see Assassin, a pretty Chinese film which was either subtitled badly or was so rich in history that it wasn't going to be understood by anybody other than Chinese history buffs. Still, it was very pretty with scenery, cinematography, and costuming that I didn't mind that I really couldn't follow the story. Afterwards, we ate early so our options were limited. We went to 24th and Meatballs where I tried a porter with coffee in it that I couldn't finish.

On Monday, I met a new county person who is helping with one of my customers. I ended up not getting home until 6pm which felt like 7pm and I had no desire to do anything else.

Yesterday was the worst as far as new things go. Andrew took Ava-duty so I got a lot of stuff done at work but nothing really new. While at home, Andrew helped me with downloading a file. I wasn't sure about it so he advised me to scan it first with my virus protection software. I wasn't aware that I could select individual files to scan so I'm counting it.

Today, I'm going to be more enterprising. I won a drink off Andrew yesterday because he made a mistake in our game BattleLine so we're going to try LIKEWISE, the most recent reincarnation of the bar next to Cup and Saucer on Hawthorne. We also have plans every day this weekend which will involve new things so my posts will be more purposeful, I promise.

halloween 15

 

Typically for Halloween night, I either have turned the lights off or just put a bowl of candy on the front porch with a sign telling kids to help themselves to one. This year tho, we stuck around and handed out candy to the little ones. I actually enjoyed it. We had maybe 30 or so trick-or-treaters, despite the hard rain. My favorite was a lil 4 or 5 yr old Batgirl. I was afraid we'd have too much candy left over so I said she could take two. She replied, "I'm gonna take three" and then took four. It was cute tho so she got away with it.

We had some friends over and watched It Follows. The movie wasn't great but it was nice just hanging out all casual-like. I'll admit that the holiday bug did start to bite earlier in the week and I thought about getting a costume together but I'm not a fan of the last-minute costume so I held my cool and just played the responsible adult. Next year tho...

What else?

Yesterday, we hit up Hawthorne for drinks, trying the Portland Cider bar for the first time. I had a great honey cider. I enjoyed the atmosphere there and they had a lot of ciders on tap and taster options so I'm sure we'll be back.

This morning, we also tried the Spritely Bean, a comic book store/coffee shop not too far from us on Powell. Again, I love the atmosphere and the drinks were good so we will most likely go back there too. I have to admit that we are blessed with coffee shops within walking distance.

the cookie experiment

Years ago, when I still lived at Long House, a guest from a party brought over pot cookies. Ashes put them in the freezer and later told me that I could have them. There were three of them and, on two separate occasions, I ate the first two. They were nice and mellow so I didn't think a thing about eating the third on another night. It turns out that the third was so much stronger. I came out of my bedroom and informed everyone that I was going to need comfort. Ashes told me it would be okay, assured me that I couldn't die from a THC overdose, and told me to sit on the couch while we watched TV. Every time I tried to get up from the couch, Dean would stand up from the floor in front of the couch and push me back down. He was such a good stoner helper.

Yesterday, my new thing was making totally legal, home grown pot cookies. Today, after work, my new thing was eating one. I knew I should have started with 1/2 but I wanted to honestly say what a full cookie would do. To make the THC oil, I took 10 grams of pot and cooked it and then cooked it in oil, and then cooked it again, froze it, thawed it out, strained it through a cheese cloth, and it was ready. I only used 8 teaspoons of oil as the recipe recommended using 1/2 teaspoon for every serving. I still have at least half of the oil left. However, one cookie was enough to fuck me up proper.

I use pot frequently but I'm a very low user. I like to ride a long but shallow high during the weekend or a quick puff after work so riding an intense cookie train was a bit too much but I survived. I tried watching the Walking Dead but it was too intense so I cooked. I managed to make some really good enchiladas and do some laundry but I couldn't leave the house. After a bit, I couldn't do anything but lay on the bed and wait for it to pass. I did look up how much pot you'd have to take to OD. A 175 lb adult would have to ingest 33 grams of pure THC. I definitely didn't have pure THC, and I only used 10 grams of pot for the oil, only used 1/2 of that for the cookies, and only ate 1/25th of that in the one cookie I had so I knew I'd be fine. I had bought the ticket so I was going to ride the ride.

Fortunately, Andrew came home and we watched Party Girl which is the perfect movie for my situation. Next time I try baking, I will eat 1/4 or 1/8 of a cookie first and work my way up. But, it does mean that I have way more pot and edibles that I'm going to be able to use.

funerals for friends

Last week, I found out through Facebook that someone I knew passed away. I knew Robin but I can't say that we were more than just acquaintances. I've talked to him at parties but I think I probably saw his old dog Kansas more in the last 8 or so years than I had Robin. Still, I never had a negative experience with him & he was one of my few friends that had a strong bond with a dog so I wanted Togo pay my respects.

He was a fun-loving, all-around good guy that inspired everyone around him to be better and that's pretty much the best thing I could hope for anyone to say when I'm gone. There were a lot of people at the service; I only knew a handful of them but it was great to hear them speak of Robin and his adventures. Plus I've never heard someone in a chicken costume drop so many F-bombs during a eulogy before.

A lot of people posted online about how Robin showed them how to not take yourself too seriously. That's really stuck with me all week. That and that life is to be valued. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with those ideals looming around the forefront in my mind but I feel altered.

What else?

On Friday, I got to tour a new group home with a customer & his family. He fit in great & loved it. It was the first thing that I did that day and I really just wanted to drop the mic & walk away because it felt great and I knew the day couldn't get better.

stand up work

After a month of family leave, I returned to work today. I've a actually been missing it. I thought that I would love the life of being a homemaker but I've been missing a sense of purpose. In the book The Outlander that I listened to on the way back to Nebraska, the narrator talked about how laziness was frowned upon in this highland castle because everyone has a stake in making their community work together. I've been feeling lazy so I'm glad could go back to doing my part.

As I was walking up to my office, I began to get nervous that things may have changed while I was gone but I was also nervous that they may not have changed. I didn't want to come back to a completely different job with different people in a different system but I'd like to think that, in a month, things would move along. My job isn't that stale.

I ended up getting just the right amount of change. I didn't lose any customers or gain any new ones and progress had been made but things didn't seem like they were out of my control. Basically, it was my old job again. However, I did get the nice new addition of a standing desk, pictured above. I marveled at it for a second and then lowered it back to a sitting position. I'm definitely going to be standing more though. I need to make some changes to my life, my job, and my routine but I don't want to completely disrupt everything.

What else?

For my last day of freedom yesterday, I took it easy. I read comics, walked Ava, and got the mixings for vegan cannabutter which will be my new thing down the road. My new thing yesterday was seeing the office of my gym buddy (or swol mate as Sophia likes to say).

biking tilikum

 

I was ready to go back in to work today...yesterday. However, when today actually came around, I thought I may as well enjoy this one final day of my leave. I met Ashes and Dom downtown for lunch while Andrew worked from home. To get there, I used the Tilikum Crossing. I had biked it before but never functionally, always as a tourist. Also, I have never taken the upper path that goes north on the westside from the bridge. It's really quite nice as it pulls you away from the pedestrians and the restaurants on the southern waterfront.

Also, Andrew and I ended up trying out Nakhon Thai on Hawthorne. While I was in Nebraska, Nakhon opened up where the Hawthorne Cafe used to be. It's surprising that yet another Thai restaurant would open up on Hawthorne but this place has a Southern Thai menu, a good cook, and a nice space inside so I think it will survive.

make it a good day

Yesterday, my new thing was going to be Mediterranean Stew. To make the stew, I went and bought a slicer like my mom had in Nebraska. It's a little inclined plastic shelf with a blade in the middle for slicing veggies. However, I got a little careless with it so my new thing was going to the ER at Portland Adventist.

Since I've been in Portland, I've only had Kaiser Insurance until I started this job. Since I've been at this job, I've just been to the doctor once when I had an ear-ache and they did nothing about it. At Kaiser, ER visits were only a $20 copay so I thought that it would be worth it since I couldn't get my thumb to stop bleeding. I didn't cut too much off of it; it was only about 1/8 inch round circle. I bandaged it up 3x and put some blood clotting powder (which stung like holy hell) and it persisted on bleeding through. I got worried enough to go in and they cleaned it up a bit and put a little band-aid on it and billed with 10x what my copay would have been at Kaiser. So I was extremely pissed off at myself. I was upset that I did something as stupid as slice my thumb when the slicer even gives you a tool to hold the veggies (but in my defense, it doesn't work so well for eggplant. I was upset that I went to the ER in the first place and then that I didn't just walk out when they said it would be a $200 copay. So, I was determined to have a better day today.

I had coffee with Andrew, walked Ava to Tabor, took a THC lozenge, deep-cleaned the house, trimmed the bedroom curtains (my new thing), started watching the last season of Continuum, got a bubble tea, read comics in the hammock, met Andrew at Dove Vivi where he bought me dinner, and then met up with friends to watch the new Black Panthers documentary. Mission accomplished.

What else?
Earlier this week, I finally finished the complete Civil War in the Marvel series. I remember a friend telling me about it years ago as it was coming out. Since I've been getting comics on my Kindle, I've been interested a lot more in DC than I have in Marvel but I did enjoy this, mostly because it introduced me to a batch of new characters with whom I was previously unfamiliar. My favorite of these was Jessica Jones (pictured above) so I also got the Jessica Jones:Alias and Pulse series which I finished tonight. I'd highly recommend the series, even to someone who is less than familiar with comics and Marvel in particular. She stands alone enough to make it understandable and it's just fun.

wahclella falls

This is one of the easiest hikes I've done in the gorge but I just stumbled upon it this morning and there's nothing wrong with easy and the last minute if this is the result. It's so easy in fact that it's a shame I haven't been here before. It's probably best that I came on a weekday in the fall tho because the parking lot was still full. When Ava and I started out, we ran into a dozen people taking photographs. I thought that it must be a migration or something that they were capturing on film but a guy told me it was a class.

I kept Ava on leash for a while just because of the number of cars but I was afraid she was going to yank me down a slippery stone path so I let her run free. It's what we came here for after all. I'll definitely go back when I need a quick forest and falls fix.

What else?
Yesterday, I just had the Prickly Pear Cider at NWIPA for my new thing. It was unnaturally pink but surprisingly not that sweet.

all the trimmings

 

Years ago, this would have been inconceivable. I once paid $200 for 2 oz of shittier pot. I didn't buy it myself but a friend knew some people and he did it for me. He came back a bit frazzled from the purchase. The dealer was there with some of his friends and they had a gun on the table. Fortunately, in all my misadventures with pot, I've never personally experienced that and now I won't have to.

Legalization is the way to go. Not only do you eliminate the criminal aspect but you also get rid (or significantly reduce) the possibility of dealers trying to push something else onto the kids that find them. Plus, I heard that Oregon brought in 11 million (!!) dollars it's first week of legal pot sales. That's a significant amount of taxed revenue!

However, I didn't need to contribute to that at all and I might not be for the foreseeable future. That 2 oz of pot lasted me over 2 years. Since legalization, my intake amount may have increased but I'm still a lightweight and now we can have 8 oz in our house which we have thanks to our three legal plants. Andrew harvested it today and I helped him with the trimming. It's really sticky which is really good except for the scissors. It's still got a month to dry out in a jar but after that, I have no idea what we'll do with it all. I'm going to try making tinctures and edibles. I love this future.

What else?

I really missed my bike while I was gone so we took a bike ride out to Gresham via the Springwater. It is so gorgeous out there right now with the leaves turning colors! 

past time for a massage

A week ago, my aunt was over visiting me and my parents and they all started talking about their vacation in Thailand. They agreed that the massages were awesome. I started to reflect back over how long it has been since I've had a massage and my aunt highly recommended I get one after my trip. I did feel really stiff all morning after driving so much. I didn't want to have any commitments for the day but I also felt that a massage was necessary.

I went to a new clinic, Laurelhurst Massage Therapy. The guy there was great and the facilities were wonderful. Really, they almost make me realize that I've messed up in this life. If I would have been thinking, I would have gone into massage therapy and been able to set something up like they had in their back shed. It was a two floor building with a dry sauna and the best shower ever (three shower heads!) on the main floor and the massage room upstairs.

I feel sooooo much better after having gone. I will definitely not wait so long until my next massage, long car ride or no.

back where we belong

We made it.

Today's ride was only 5 hrs and 50 minutes which is close to half of what Wednesday's ride was. It was no issue whatsoever. I was so excited about getting back and being off the road and at home with Andrew that I got up before dawn to get there.

Although Oregon is flush with scenic views and potential stops, we only stopped once every two hours for some exercise and to get gas. The picture above was our stop at the John Day River. It was the only park on the trip that we paid to get into and it was only a dollar.

Andrew didn't expect me back until later and I wasn't sure that we would stop more or have car trouble so I didn't let him know that we were getting back so early. I sent him a text when we were two blocks away so he came running out of the house. Ava was crying when she realized where we were and ran around like mad. Our journey is over.

 

dubois to ontario

Today was a lot better. I started off the day with a latte in Dubois. It was the first latte that I've had in weeks and I was so grateful. After I got some breakfast, we left town and went to drive through the Tetons. I could see it was raining in the distance but that also made for a beautiful rainbow pictured below.

While going by the Tetons, I stopped a lot and let Ava run. I also pulled up next to some Bison and got some pictures. After the Tetons, we cruised through Idaho, backtracking somewhat to return the battery charger I bought on the way out at Idaho Falls. We hit the Craters of the Moon and ended up going through Boise during rush hour. Poor planning but I got to our hotel at Ontario just after 6.

Three years ago, Dean and I stopped at Craters of the Moon and ended up here at the Ontario Inn. I didn't realize it when I booked it but as soon as I saw the dog area in the back, I knew we were here before. The Inn's nice enough but I was hungry and unable to find any good veggie options as I walked around town. I walked the other way from the Inn and ended up at a place called Bargitas. I waited while they made my burrito while Ava was tied up outside barking. They're kind of a fast food place but serve margaritas. I wanted one so bad but couldn't drink while Ava barked. I cannot wait to get her home so I can get a little space.

the road back

After two weeks, I started headed back to Oregon today. I haven't been around my parents for more than a week since 1995. It was great to get to spend so much time just chilling with them without holidays being the reason I come back. I got to help them around their house but more importantly, we got to spend quality time together.

But now I'm on my way back. Two weeks is Also the most amount of time I've spent away from Andrew since we became boyfriends. I miss him and our house and my friends and Portland and being able to leave Ava alone. It's time to for me to go back.

We did our biggest stretch of the drive back today, heading 10 hrs to Dubois, WY. I should have planned a shorter trip because we didn't get a lot of time to stop anywhere although we hit a couple spots quickly. We walked around Hell's Half-Acre which was gorgeous and then we were able to stop at Wind River outside of Dubois. I also just finished The Outlander audio book. It was good and entertaining but I think I'll listen to a few podcasts and Dan Savage's book American Savage tomorrow to change things up.

familial familiarity

 

Facebook had provided me with an odd sense of familiarity with family. Even tho I'm so far away from everyone else in my family (especially my extended family), I feel like I know what's going on with most of them. For example, whenever I post anything, I can almost always count on one of my aunts liking it and possibly (positively) commenting on it. This gives the illusion that we're interacting but when I stop to think about it, I realize that she doesn't post anything really personal about her life and I don't get deep in mine. Hell, I don't get as deep as I could here but on Facebook, I keep it all friendly, mostly funny, sometimes opinionated, and rarely heartfelt. 

Therefore, it's nice to see the people that I see on FB in person instead of just their avatar reposting a cartoon or a meme or that they like X, Y, and/or Z. Today, I got to see three of my aunts on my mom's side, one of my cousins, and my second-cousin. I also got to go to my cousin's farm. This cousin isn't on Facebook and she's a cousin I feel kicks ass because she's a vet so I was really glad I got to see her, in person.

Also, I was glad that Ava got to meet everybody and she got to see the horses that were on my cousin's land. Big farm animals are very intriguing to her (you can hear her whining for them in the video and they came to the fence as a result).

and then i just chilled

Like I predicted, the days began to blend together. It's been nice just relaxing and not having any big tasks or journeys ahead in the immediate future. Still, I've been trying to get new things done and spend time with my family. 

On Friday, my mom and I went to "town" (that's what we call Kearney) and I used the HyVee gas station pump. I also tried the Chile Relleno for the first time at the mexican restaurant/store here in Gibbon. I thought I had had it before but after seeing it, I realized that it was new (and pretty damn good). My aunt and uncle came up from Kearney to join us for dinner and to see me and meet Ava.

On Saturday, I got my car worked on and ready to come back to Oregon and then went to the Goodrich ice cream here in town and had a cone with Ava in the park while the rest of the town watched the Huskers game.

On Sunday, I got up early for sunrise pics below. My dad and I also went to see The Martian which I really enjoyed. However, the movie cut out 80 minutes into it and we had to wait for a bit for the management to fix it. I also downloaded Words with Friends onto my Kindle and my mom and I have been playing a lot.

Like I said, it's been chill and easy. It's what I came here for.

time keeps on slipping

When I decided to come back to Nebraska, I had the momentary idea that I would put blogging on hold during my stay here because I was going back to little town Nebraska where new things would be harder to come by but then, I thought, that's kind of the point. I'll admit that my new things are often new eateries/bars/menu items/drinks so staying in a town where the dining and drinking options are much more limited (especially for a vegetarian), I knew I would have to be more creative with my new things. We've kind of had an agenda for the past week: getting adjusted, visiting Grandma, my sister and her kids visiting, going to the bridges, and visiting the new baby. Yesterday was our first lull in activity with no real plans on the near horizon. Today was even moreso with my parents both working all day out of town so I was here with Ava.

I thought about heading to town to get some routine maintenance on my car or driving to a spot where Ava and I could go on a long hike but we've been driving every day. So instead, I ate half a THC caramel and chilled at the house, watching Orange is the New Black, sorting through my 1000+ iPhone pics, making lunch, doing dishes, laundry, etc. My new thing was walking down some different streets with Ava. I've pretty much explored a different route every day but that will only get me so far. After a while, one runs out of streets and the new things become something that you have to actively work towards.

In cleaning up my iPhone pics, I came across this excerpt that I took out of the Shell Collector by Hugh Howey. When I read it months ago, it resonated with me and this blog. This is why I'm determined to keep on doing new things. Not only do I want to sample so much of what life has to offer but I also just want to slow it all down. When I reflect back on my vacation here in Nebraska, yesterday and today (and probably tomorrow) will all blend together and be categorized as "and then I just chilled," but I like telling stories to friends and family and I want to be able to tell them something fresh all the time which is why I've got to keep doing new things. Keep it fresh...yo.

one new person

I don't think I've ever held such a young human before.

Today, I got to meet my new nephew little Caleb James on his first day home from the hospital. He was born on Sunday and he's just adorable. He doesn't do a lot but he is just two days old so I shouldn't expect much. He can just lie there and look cute.

back to the bridges

A while back, I took Dean to the bridges only to find out that one had burned down. I read recently that they were in the process of replacing it. I felt like taking a stroll down memory lane and introducing Ava to the bridges so I headed back there today. I saw that they have pretty much completed the new bridge. Ava (and I) clearly enjoyed the old bridge more tho and just the hike was nice. I used to do this hike so much with Dean. It felt good to come back here with another energetic dog who could just use the space to run.

born under a super harvest moon eclipse

Despite having dropped my camera in the water two months ago and not having it work, I brought it to Nebraska with the hopes of reviving it. Thankfully, the old rice trick worked again and cleared the water out of the lens so I was able to take pics of the lunar eclipse. I sat outside on my parents' back porch and watched it happen, photographing it every now and then just to see how much progression had actually taken place (and to get a good photograph).

It was the harvest moon, a super moon, and a lunar eclipse. It's pretty cool that all of that came together, especially because I became an uncle again today. My brother and sister-in-law welcomed little Caleb James into the world today. I'm glad I'll be able to see him so soon after arriving into the world!

What else?
Two new things today: walking over the viaduct in Gibbon today to go to their big park which Ava loved and cooking sweet potato chips with my mom and sister. I loved it all.

the most charming little pumpkin patch

 

My sister, niece, and nephew arrived last night. They had a long drive so my nephew Merrick was crying for a bit when they arrived. After he stopped, he went to hug each of us good night. My sister jokingly told him to hug Ava but when he approached her, she growled. I was initially upset at her but I read that a growling dog is a good thing because it's properly communicating.

However, this morning, my niece Marley who loves dogs was gently petting Ava and she snapped at Marley without any warning. Fortunately, she didn't bite her but it devastated me for a bit. Dean was so good with kids and I don't know really how to deal with a dog who would do that. I took her downstairs to my room and isolated us for a bit.

When we came out, my niece was okay and my sister very kindly brushed it off, casually warning her kids to avoid the dog. I spent the rest of the morning separating Ava and them. In the afternoon, we decided to go to the pumpkin patch outside of town and leave Ava with my dad to watch during his football game.

The break was nice. For a solid five days, Ava hasn't left my side. She's even been sleeping in the same room as me. She was in good hands with my dad and the pumpkin patch was a lot of fun. The kids loved it and I got to pet goats, rams, horses, baby bunnies, and a sweet dog who Marley really enjoyed seeing. I love how much she loves dogs and it pains me that my dog doesn't reciprocate that love but maybe she will with time. As Andrew said when I texted him about it, she has no idea what's been going on for the past five days and if her life and routine has permanently changed. Having a dog with negative behaviors with kids is just a new experience for me.

grandma stories

Every time I come back to Nebraska, my mom arranges for me to come up to see my grandma. Typically, we play cribbage and make small talk about the family. But recently, one of my cousins posted on Facebook that my grandma was the last living WWII nurse in the US. That served as a good opening to ask about get her to talk about her life. So here's what I learned:

My grandma was a teacher right after school. She worked at a number of different local schools, staying in boarding houses around. One day, my grandpa came over to return or borrow a horse and that's how they met. My grandma had one too many unruly children and decided that she could try nursing. She had $100 and that was enough to cover tuition, room, and board for a year. The school she went to was hands on training where she worked during the day and went to classes at night.

During WWII, she enlisted and was sent to Missouri and some other state-side hospitals before going over to the Philippines. She and a lot of other nurse arrived there but the fort/hospital wasn't expecting them so they put them up in an empty hall where all of the bathrooms were set up for guys. They were over there for some time. She stated that she spent some time in Manila. I believe that she was there when she heard about Hiroshima and the end of the war.

Afterwards, they went to Hawaii, shortly after Pearl Harbor I believe. They were going to get shipped back to the US but a group of the nurses including my grandma wanted to go to the beaches of Waikiki first so they went AWOL. They prepaid a taxi driver to come back and pick them up in time to get back but he didn't come back so they had to talk some sailors into getting them back. I don't think she faced any charges.

My mom stated that her hearing and her eyes are going but it's clear that her memory is still solid, making her an awesome source of information and stories. I'm glad that I could take the time to sit and take advantage of her experience.

What else?

My new thing for the day was meeting lots of new people at the retirement home since I brought Ava. She did a good job there and on the road. It was about two hours in the car again each way but she was just happy to be included.