house party pooper

Tonight, I went to a friend's new house for the first time, met some of his friends, played with a lil black lhasa apso named Pepper (my favorite part of the party), and talked to the handful of people with whom I was previously acquainted.

It's a beautiful house & the friend is a great guy but I had no clue what to do with myself at the party. The dog was the only animal there & the other party-goers wanted to pet him too so I couldn't hog the dog. Normally, I would sink into a couch or cushions on the floor & wait for people to come to me but the house didn't have a couch yet. I ended up eating too much cake (3 different kinds of chocolate cake) and feeling disgusted with myself for it.

I love a good get-together and I can enjoy s fun dinner party but this just wasn't for me. In fact, I told Andrew afterwards that I don't think I want to host a house-warming party anymore. At least I know my limits.

What else?

I wanted to write more about my dream yesterday morning. I'm a lucid dreamer so, if things are going wrong in my dreams or I just can't deal, I wake myself up. In this dream, the world kept falling apart with meteors & volcanos & the whole shebang. And I just gave up. I thought, fuck it, I'm gonna see where this goes. I ended up being led into heaven by this guide along with a handful of other people. This heaven more closely resembled a cave in an island and inside, it was like Pleasure Island from Pinnochio. I thought that it would do but I was a little disappointed. I mean, it was better than living in a world falling apart but I'm surprised my subconscious couldn't do better.

muscle mimicry

 

A month or two after graduating from PSU, I lost my gym benefits. It sucked because I really enjoyed what the PSU gym had to offer (including their hot-tub with a great window view. I believe that I put off going to the gym for a bit and then I decided to check out my friend Jesse's gym. Jesse hadn't been going regularly either so I thought it would be mutually beneficial.

We go to Loprinzi's which is rather renowned. Jesse Ventura and Jack Lalane have lifted there. I've seen people bench 495 lbs there before, and the current deadlift champion works out there. It's a bit intense but not intimidating. I was nervous about going there initially even though I've been working out for years now. However, I was put at ease almost instantly. Bob, who runs the place, is very cool and friendly and so are most of the people that go there. It doesn't have as much equipment as the PSU gym but then there's less tourists there too. People just come to work out. Plus they have a cat. He's (mostly) an outside cat who comes into the gym every now and then and sleeps on the equipment or at the front desk. How can I not love a gym that has a cat?

Since going to this gym, I've been watching people's workouts and imitating what I think I can do and benefit from. Occasionally, it has resulted in injury but I've gotten pretty good at knowing my limits. Today, I decided to up my situp game by holding a 25lb weight while I do my inclined situps. It's funny how a little more weight can make a simple exercise challenging. And that's what I was looking for. I try to lift at least a little more or try a slightly new exercise every time I'm in the gym so that way I can say that I'm improving.

the catalyst

On Memorial Day Weekend 2010, I took Dean for what was really his last significant hike. During the 4.3 mile hike to Dry Creek Falls and back, he fell down and had trouble getting back up. At 9 yrs old, his legs were no longer able to go for such distances, especially off-leash. He could hike more when he was on leash but we pretty much stopped doing big hikes after that.

Today, I went back to Dry Creek Falls with Andrew and Ava. This was Ava's first hike primarily off leash and she did really well. We figured that she hikes at least 3x what we do. Andrew and I have each been feeling the need for more exercise and I think Ava's ability to hike in the woods will be a great catalyst for the change we are looking for. She's so young and energetic. I couldn't help but reminisce about how much I loved hiking with Dean while he could do it. I did end up getting to the point where I loved our couch time as much as our hiking time but I'm excited for all of the potential hikes that we can go on with Ava. And it's still so early in the year! It was gorgeous today and it's supposed to be nice for at least a week before the rain starts in again.

Since the hike itself was a repeat, I will count going to Cascade Locks as my new thing for the day.

What else?
Yesterday I finished the book Grasshopper Jungle. It was a deceptively clever book and really well done. I found myself laughing out loud more than once and would definitely recommend it.

i'm no sugar cube

 

When I was in fourth grade, I was diagnosed with ADHD. I think it's over-diagnosed in children and I think that Ritalin might not be the best solution but I do think that I actually had/have it. Andrew notes that I'm one of the worst people for sitting still that he's encountered. We'll occasionally have an afternoon where we each just read our books but I'm usually looking for a project (which is why it's easy for me to explore new things), or I'm listening to music when I read, or I'm interrupting my reading to check on my Instagram feed, or just doing anything to keep busy. When we go to the beach, I usually take the dog for several walks because it seems like such a waste to just sit around. So, we were both very eager to see how I would do with today's new thing: a deprivation tank.

I have a few friends who swear by these things and I recently listened to a podcast where the host was talking it up so I made it a New Years resolution to do this. Since I had the day off for MLK Jr Day and Andrew had to work, it was the perfect time to go sit in a tank of salty water for 90 minutes.

I don't know for sure what I expected. I was thinking that I would be completely deprived of all my senses like I wouldn't hear anything or feel anything and that would all lead to a metaphysical experience. However, it just felt tedious and not too relaxing. One of the comments I read about floating is that the person felt like they were a sugar cube dissolving in water but that's not how I felt. I would occasionally drift into the side of the tank and, with my ears under water, I couldn't focus on anything but my heartbeat and my breathing. I guess that's relaxing but it wasn't as trippy as I was hoping. It was a unique experience and the time seemed to go by 3x quicker than I thought but I don't know if I'll be repeating this one. I'm glad I at least tried it though.

derailing the doggy daycare dream

For a while now, I've had a dream of opening up a doggy daycare. I've attached it to my MSW program by making the daycare a vocational training site for people with developmental disabilities. I love dogs and I love directly working with clients so it would be the best of both worlds. However, I've always thought that the one problem with it would be that I would have to run my own business which I'm not excited about. I'm a great worker but I don't think I could be the dude in charge. And it turns out that that's not the only problem. I don't think I could work with dogs all day.

Today, it was raining hard and I felt bad for Ava being inside all day and out only quickly (which she wasn't even excited about) so Andrew and I took her to Fido's Indoor Dog Park. It's a wonderful facility that has a pool and a good play area for the dogs. Ava wasn't big on the pool but the spaniel pictured above named Cedwick LOVED it and joined us on his own when he saw we were headed for the pool. Andrew was a dear and dried the poor soaked thing off after Ava decided she wouldn't swim. I think the chlorine bothered her. Plus she just hasn't had much experience swimming. The only other time was last summer when Victory, Ashes, Andrew, Ava and I all went to Oneanta and I think that was her first time swimming because it took her a while to get into it.

While Ava had fun and I had a blast, I don't know if I could do it all day every day. Dogs are awesome but they can be big goofs and I think I would grow weary of their barking, howling, humping, and power struggles. So I'm moving on.

It's good. It's a really good thing. Now I know, this isn't for me. As I take her back to Fido from time to time, I may grow to appreciate the work more. I may see some things that I would do differently and I may want to explore it as a business possibility down the road but for right now, I can appreciate the peace of my job.

What else?
We tried Foster Burger near us for the first time. I was collecting on a Yahtzee drink (yes, we've even made Yahtzee a drinking game) and had a Salted Caramel milkshake with rum mixed it. It was pretty much amazing! The food, particularly the fries, was really good too.

We also decided to stay in for the night because the rain was coming down so hard. We ended up watching the movie "Whiplash" which is up for best picture and it deserves it. Such an intense, beautifully edited, simple movie. 

lessons in bureaucracy

I love my work. Well, I love my workplace anyway and I enjoy a good percentage of my clients. However, the job itself is full of a lot of paperwork and subject to the whims of state transmittals on Friday afternoons, dictating how procedures have changed in an almost random and senseless fashion. It's a lot different from Goodwill; not the random and senselessness, but the fact that I enjoy the place but not always the job. I just feel so removed from direct work. In a way, it's very easy but in another way, it's very bureaucratic.

Today, we had a training on a new computer system the state has been rolling out. Normally, my eyes would just gloss over during these trainings and I would wait for the summation to be emailed out by my awesome supervisor. But this time, I got it. I understood what was being done and exactly what was wrong with it. I called it out during the training and was immediately backed up by my directors cuz they're awesome too. And it turns out that the trainer is someone that was in my MSW program with me.  While I don't do the work I was envisioning when I graduated, at least I am not in her position. It seemed like she was comfortable doing it but it's so far removed from direct work that I couldn't imagine being happy with it. By comparison, my job is on-the-ground, in-the-field work and I'm happy with that.

The training was new but I also got to meet a provider for one of my customers (which is the term we use instead of clients). It's nice knowing that she's working with one of my guys and I make that possible by facilitating that relationship so I guess that's close enough to direct work for me.

skunk drink

 

Three years and three days ago, Andrew and I play our first game of cribbage. Since then, we've played countless games and come up with new ways to make it interesting. As of right now, we have 6 different ways to earn drinks in the game, one way to earn a meal, and two ways to earn a paid trip to the coast (which nobody has done yet). Additionally, we have recently stipulated that earned drinks should be collected at local venues as a way to force ourselves to try each and every local place. Today, it was my turn to collect a drink and I chose NWIPA as the venue.

It has a few beers on tap and a great selection of bottled beers, mostly (if not all) local. I tried a good cider with quince and some other things in it. Andrew had a riot cider which is made by a friend of a friend. We'll definitely be headed back there when we just need some good quality beers (and possibly even when it's not owed thanks to skunking our opponent at cribbage).

What else?

I just finished the last book in the Magicians series by Lev Grossman. I loved it. It was about a guy who never really outgrows his obsessions with fantasy novels, relying mostly on using the Narnia series for inspiration (followed closely by the Harry Potter series). I could definitely relate to it and the author had a great voice for each individual narrator. I'm going to miss it though but I'm ready to move on. I have a long list of books I want to read in 2015 and I can't wait to get started.

house husband auditions

 

 When I was a kid, I used to get upset at the idea of cleaning for company coming to visit. I would insist that it was unnecessary because they knew that our house typically wasn't spotlessly clean. However, my mom insisted. Around 7th grade, I remember visiting a friend's house & being appalled by his carpet. They had at least one white cat &, when I dropped a piece of popcorn on the ground, it came back covered on hair. I think I complained less about cleaning after that.

Fast-forward 24 years and I love cleaning day on the weekends. Admittedly, I was not the cleanest housemate in Long Haus or Muffin HQ but I stepped up to the challenge when Andrew & I moved in together. We split some of the responsibilities but I chose vacuuming.

When we moved from the Burnside house to our current one (which I call Ebeo), we gave up a lot of storage space so we also gave up a lot of unnecessary items. We deemed the vacuum cleaner (which I fought with constantly anyway) to be one of those items. I thought it made sense since we didn't have any carpet and I could shake out the rugs. It turns out that an off-white dog, a gray cat, and striped rug don't mix well and I couldn't keep up so today, I bought a Shark.

The Shark Pet Perfect is a lil purple off-brand dirt devil, specifically designed for pet hair. I got it almost 50% off with sales & coupons and it was purple so I had to get it. I'm one step closer to becoming Marie from Breaking Bad.

Anyway, like the good house husband I am aspiring to be, I clipped my coupons to buy a cute purple vacuum cleaner. And now, I don't have to fear when my popcorn lands on the carpet...not that I'd get a chance to grab it before Ava did anyway.

let the year begin

I look at today as the first day of my new year since I was still caught up in celebration of the holidays with family until today. Now, I can start those resolutions.

One resolution was to get at least 30 minutes (preferably more though) of exercise a day. I started out the day by walking Ava to Stark Street Station and back via Mt Tabor and its wonderful dog park. She was exhausted by the time we got home and so were my legs. After nearly a week of physical inactivity (I don't think I even left my parents' house even just to step outside on Sunday) and two hours of sitting on the plane BEFORE the 4+ hour flight even began, I was not prepared for a significant walk but I feel great for doing it. And Ava will get used to it.

My new thing today though was taking Ava to Dove Lewis to get her type to see if she would be a good blood donor  It turns out that Huskies are typically universal (there are 13 dog blood types!). There are good benefits for Ava for doing it (free blood work, etc. and a free toy every time) but we were really just doing it to help out since she's young and in excellent health. Plus, as gay men, we can't donate. It's a crap policy and I did a paper on it's ineffectiveness and prejudice my first year of grad school but maybe it will change soon.

Anyway, I'll find out soon if she can donate. In the meantime, we had a great day together and I missed her so much. We went shopping for a new harness since her pretty purple one broke just minutes after this photo and then I had to by a new collar since her old collar clashed with the new harness. It's a new year so she should have a new look anyway.

2015: the Future is here

In Back to the Future 2, Marty goes to the year 2015. We haven't got hover boards yet (there's still time) but I feel like we're a lot further along than I realized. I'm on my way back to Nebraska and have a short layover in MPS so I decided to eat & charge my laptop. I saw Volante which has outlets at each of their tables (which is a lot better than anything Denver's airport has) and I sat down for a taste of the future. A waitress directed me to a table which has an iPad like every seat does. On this iPad, I ordered my drink, food, & paid. Now I'm using it to update my blog. 

This is all so weird. I don't think of myself as a Luddite but I feel like a caveman with a lighter. While I think I may miss the personal touch of a waitress, I do like the iPad. This caveman may be looking to upgrade to a torch this next year. Welcome to 2015.