surprise snow

I love my job for many reasons but one additional perk is that we follow Portland Public School's closures so when they're closed for weather, we are too. Yesterday, I was completely taken by surprise to wake up to see that it had snowed and not just a light dusting either. It wasn't awful but it was enough to make some people worried. By the end of the night, we had freezing rain too which led to the schools being closed and my 4.5 day weekend!

It was really quite different from yesterday to today. People were out with their kids and sled and dogs yesterday. We met a new chocolate lab at the park yesterday named Freddy. Today tho, with the ice, it took Ava and me fifteen minutes to walk to the end of our street (4 lots) and back. Hardly anybody was out. Andrew worked from home and we managed to get out of the house only for meals. We did dinner at the Lodge which good for bar food. I'll definitely go back.

They've already announced that school openings will be postponed 2 hours which means I'm going in two hours late. I already have Thursday and Friday off for my vacation to Nebraska so, at this point, I'm actually worried that I need to get my work done. However, if they force me to take another paid day off at home, I guess I'll do it.

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.

needs more dog

 

After all of our driving yesterday and over the last three days, I can't believe that either Ava or I were willing to get back in the car for even a short drive but we did. My mom had an errand to run and I wanted Ava to get off-leash for a bit so we went to Meadowlark Dog Park. It wasn't here when I lived here years ago and hopefully it gets used because it's one of the only dog parks I've seen with playground equipment on it for the dogs...all two of them (counting Ava) that were here.

derby day 2015

We went to the Portland Adult Soap Box Derby today. This is my second year attending it. Last year, we brought Ava which turned out to be too much for us and her. This year, we brought a flask which was a much better idea.

This year, we didn't move around either which made it much more relaxed. We just sat back and watched the cars go by. I filmed a lot of them in slo-mo on my iPhone which made it easier afterwards to really appreciate the cars. Most of them went by more than once so I was able to enjoy it outside of my iPhone as well. My favorites were the Spaceballs RV, Ecto 1, Steampunk R2D2, the Duff Balloon, and the Racing Snail, shown in the movie above. My new thing was getting Duffed by the Duff Balloon. In the video below, you'll notice that the balloon was spraying. With six of us sitting there on the sidelines watching, I was the one that got all of the spray. It was shocking but very enjoyable.

What else?

Since we weren't taking Ava to the derby, we took her to coffee, brunch, two parks, and a pet store first. At one of the parks (actually a school yard), we met Moby who is a St Berdoodle. I have never met a St Bernard/poodle mix but he was huge, adorable, and full of energy. He and Ava got along splendidly!

I also finished Armada, Ernest Cline's follow-up novel to Ready Player One. It wasn't a sequel but it was similar in theme and pop culture references. I would recommend it.

On Friday, my new thing was trying the Kale Salad at Fressen. It was okay.

fostering community

I don't know any of the people pictured in the photo above, nor do I know the band that's playing and this is very close to my backyard. Today was the Foster-Powell (FoPo) day at Kern park. Ava and I hit Kern Park probably once per day as it is the closest place to our house. However, I don't really feel that these people are my community.

I think there are communities within the larger community that I can identify with. There are the regular patrons of my local coffee shop with whom I feel a kinship. There are of course the local dog owners and especially those who go to Kern regularly with whom I am very familiar (but it should be noted that I do not know the humans' names, only the dogs'). And then there are my direct neighbors. I know two sets of them now (since two others have recently left).

I wanted to go to this event today with Andrew and Ava because I want to be more familiar with my nearby community but I just don't feel that I'm there yet. I have only been here for less than a year tho so maybe I just need to give it more time.

What else?
On Sunday, I was too tired from the exercise the day before and the lack of sleep from the night before so I just bummed around the house. My new thing was buying and trying a cinnamon bun from New Deal.

On Monday, a customer and I interviewed some new people and I got to meet her at her boyfriend's apartment. It made me realize what a community my customers have because it was the same apartment complex that another of my customers lives in. I don't think they know each other but maybe they should. However this physician needs to heal thyself first before I go and start The Neighborly Connection.

my favorite misadventures

 

I do not like owning a car and I like it even less when my car breaks down. However, my car troubles have often resulted in some of my more unique adventures, leaving me stranded in a place I would most likely not be talking to people I wouldn't have a reason to talk to otherwise.

Today, Andrew came up with a plan to go find a new water hole in which to swim. I'm not big on swimming but I am always up for new things so we did a little bit of research and headed out to Rowland Lake. We had to stop by Target in Fairview on the way out to get some things and while we were leaving there, the power steering went out. Apparently the water pump seized up and shredded the serpentine belt. There was an auto repair shop near by so we coasted into there and found a mechanic to work on it.

We had all of our lazy swimming day supplies with us so we went to the Salish City Ponds so Ava could swim and we could relax. It wasn't a lake but it worked. I think that if we were parents to a human child, they wouldn't have had any idea that our plans had been derailed since we recovered so fast. And, yes, car repairs suck, but we set out for an adventure and we were having one. Andrew pointed out that I was very optimistic about this and I felt that too. Normally, I would be bemoaning it all but what could I do but make the best of it.

A few hours and $353 later, my car was fixed. It was a little late to keep going out to the lake but the Thousand Acre Dog Park was close by and we could swim in the Sandy River so that was our new plan. It worked out great. The water was chill and deep in some parts. If I gotta swim, I'm glad I got to do it with Ava. She's gotten so good at it. Just within the past few weeks, I've really seen that she's developed a liking for swimming.

We also got to see several other dogs. There was an adorable bull terrier who wanted Ava's frisbee and a pug named Biggie Smalls who walked up and sat in my lap. When we were leaving, we took the main path for a bit and then headed off to a smaller path that was more akin to bush-whacking. When we were close to the middle of it, we ran into Biggie and his canine brother, Bruiser the pit pull, and his human. She thought she was heading out but then turned around and walked with us. Biggie was lagging behind with me and, rather than try to stomp down the underbrush for him to step over, I just carried him.

So, it wasn't what we had planned and I was totally fine with that. We can try for Rowland another day but I wouldn't have traded this day for anything.

new approaches to old stomping grounds

When I lived at Long Haus, I would occasionally walk Dean to Woodstock Park via Reed College. This was before his legs started to bother him and he could go the distance. It was a completely different experience with him because we would approach the park through a different street and Dean would only express a slight interest in the other dogs. It was really just another place for him to walk off leash. It's not fenced in but Dean was so mindful that I never really worried about that.

On the other hand, there's Ava. This was the first time we've walked to Woodstock Park since moving into FoPo and I'll admit that I almost passed it by. It's been so long since I've been there but it was also a different approach to it so it looked all shiny and new. Plus I had to consider Ava's needs. She doesn't mind so well so I couldn't let her just wander about with the street being just beyond the bushes. Also, there weren't a lot of dogs there so she didn't want to stay very long.

Yesterday, the movie we saw was called Ex-Machina. Without giving away too much, it's about an android who is supposed to be the first true artificial intelligence (AI that can pass for human) and it's in the form of a woman. There are control issues with the AI though and the creator has to tell her to stand down and ends up yelling her name. Her name is Ava so Andrew and I got a good laugh out of that. Our Ava is deceptively intelligent too and is the strong female presence in a house with two guys so the similarities weren't all that far-fetched. One day, she will probably reveal her true intentions and she will be in control without any pretenses of being "a pet."

1000 acre park

 

A big perk of my job is having extra holidays off (as well as following the school schedule for cancellations due to weather). Today, I had Presidents' Day off so I took Ava to 1000 Acre Park. I have been there a number of times before but this was the first time with Ava and the first time that I realized it's all an off-leash park. There should be more off-leash areas like this around. It was so wonderful to let her run and not have to worry.

What else?

Yesterday, when I was biking back from playing Lagoon at Muffin HQ, my left pedal fell off, arm and all. It was wobbling slightly before it fell completely off so it didn't take me by complete surprise. However, I've never encountered that issue before so it gave me the opportunity to try something new: riding a one-pedal bike. It can be done. You just have to do it Flintstone style with the missing pedal side, propelling yourself forward with small kicks while your other foot pushes the pedal down and then catches it to bring it back and push it down again. I actually had it going so well that I passed the turn-off to my house by a block.

I tried to put it back on myself today but I didn't have the right wrench size so I went to Lucky 13 bike shop and the guy there tightened it up for me and gave me a lot of free advice on it. He seems like a cool guy who knows what he's talking about and it's not too far from my house so I may use it as my new bike shop.

happy fall!

What a beautiful fall day! I got up this morning for the Diabetes walk. My new thing was helping to recruit strangers to walk with us so we would have enough people to satisfy my work and the money they donate. We had a lot of people signed up but people aren't so great about showing up.

Later, Andrew and I took Dean to Mt Tabor and let him roam free-range while we played cards and drank wine. Afterwards, we went to Dove Vivi for awesome pizza but a LONG wait. Still, just an awesome day!

muddling aroung

 Three day weekends are the best because they allow for days like this. Looking at my blog, it's easy to discern my weekend schedule wherein my time is divided somewhat evenly between Dean, Andrew and my housework. I did housework today but then I set aside the second half of the day to doing nothing but hanging out with friends I don't hang out with often enough.

Justin, Jen (Miss Ample Snacks), and I got mojito fixing and snacks and made mojitos in the park. It was a nice chill time. Bastard, Jesse, Gail and Beth joined us later. It makes me wish that all weekends were three days long (or that I was unemployed).

What else?
I tackled the bathroom hard today. As I said on my twitter, It's me vs the bathroom today. May the odds be ever in my favor. #TheCleaningGames

the orchard ride

Laying in an apple orchard on a late summer evening after biking sounds as delightful as it was. I love this time of year.

We biked to Powell Butte today and walked our bikes up to the top from the Springwater Corridor. There, we played our card game and sat and talked. It was just beautiful.

Afterwards, we biked down (which was a bit steep at parts but very thrilling). It could have been the French countryside by the looks of it in parts. We ended up craving margaritas so we went to the closest place (thank you, Siri) which was La Costita where we had gigantic margaritas which were much more sugar than booze. Surprisingly, the food was pretty good.

We concluded the fun day with an awesome ride through the Springwater Corridor at night. I've never ridden it at night before and it was the perfect night for it. The air was just crisp enough to be invigorating and the crickets were singing and all of the other people who I'd normally have to navigate around on the trail were non-existent. It was fabulous!

What else?
On Wednesday, August 22nd, I made up for my jerkishness the day before and met Andrew for a nice dinner at Circa 33. I had the drink A Drop of Poison for the 1st time.


On Thursday, August 23rd, I homemade a new veggie pizza with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, and goat cheese in an olive base. It was okay but I should have let the dough sit out longer. I also fixed the screen door latch again by switching the handle with the old screen door and getting creative. It works now!

On Friday, August 24th, I invited Andrew over to the house so we could watch a movie on Xbox's TV while X and Sophia are in Boston. We've been dating for 16 months now and this is the first time we've watched a movie at home together. It was nice but I kept falling asleep because that's what I do.

captain's log: stardate 8.10.12

Today, we all went to the fourth season of Trek in the Park: Journey to Babel. It's my third year here. Previously, it's been at Woodlawn Park but they moved to a much better venue at Cathedral Park this year. There was a stage there as well as amplified sound and more of an ampitheater setting that sat close to 1000 people. Insane.

This episode wasn't my favorite but the acting was great, the sets were more elaborate and I got to sit in the captain's chair and hold a phaser for my new things!

It was fun just chillin at the park but I've been on a social kick for the past several days and my introvert meter is running low. I need a day to myself to recharge.

50 mile road

Happy easter. Andrew and I celebrated the holiday by biking to Oxbow Park. I've never really appreciated this park before but biking to it makes you realize how close in and far out it truly is. It's amazing that this beautiful expanse which contains some of the last old growth resides shortly outside of Gresham.

All and all, it was about 50 miles ride + hike. In heading down into the park, we were rewarded by a tremendous downhill. While I loved the ease of it, I knew right away that I wasn't going to bike back up it. Instead, I suggested to Andrew that we hike up a quick path with our bikes to cut through back to the start.

Well, what goes down must go up. The path may have not been that long but it hiked up a steep hill/mountain. In retrospect, it probably would have been a lot more efficient just to walk our bikes back up the road. However we did get to immerse ourselves in some beautiful woods.

The ride back was nice too. We cut back through a shorter way, hitting Division and then later Stark. To top the night off, we went to Flying Pie Pizza. It made for a wonderfully, well-deserved meal. Best easter in a long while.

What else?
I was able to do the ride today because I spent yesterday in a ridiculous cleaning mode in preparation for Sophia to get home. I think I did an awesome job, being more thorough than I have since moving in last year.

tabor trip

 

I finished my last school assignment early and turned it in yesterday so today, I took a long walk.

I love walking. I think that is part of the reason that I'm somewhat depressed about Dean being injured is that I lost my walking buddy and my motivation to get out to a park. Hiking up to Tabor was something that I really valued this summer, mainly because I got to do it with him. However, today, I really just needed to get out and walk. He wasn't up to it and Sophia was going to hang around the house with him so I went tripping around Tabor on my own.

Honestly, I still loved it. I had twinges of regret and second-thoughts as I got started, feeling like I was betraying him. I thought about the class I just took on Old and Frail adults and thought it was hypocritical of me to learn about how we should value older adults and here I am, enjoying an afternoon without my dog. But then I thought about how maybe I should reframe our time together. As he gets older, I need to just value little walks around the block with him and chilling out with him in the house while I read a book or watch some Breaking Bad.

Comforted by the idea that I wasn't abandoning him, I proceeded to enjoy the serenity of walking just to walk. It was a beautiful day and, when I got above the #6 reservoir, I heard a guy practicing his trumpet through an otherwise tranquil early afternoon. I walked up to the top of Tabor and then back down through the dog park (which I realized I had never been to before) and then over to Rain or Shine for a mimosa.

When I got back home, I got Dean in the car and headed back to the dog park. He found a Doberman Pincher named Duke to play with. However, Duke then started to rough play with a shaggy black dog. He lightly bit the dog on the ear, like puppies do when they play. Then he brought the shaggy dog to the ground and put his mouth over the dog's throat. I was a bit concerned but then I lost focus when I saw Dean run behind Duke and start air-humping. Inappropriate, although funny. That's my dog. It was a fun ending to a fabulously chill day.

What else?

I saw the above sticker on a fence post leading up to a stairway...

mirror mirror

My whole weekend has been ruled by Star Trek and that's been a pretty awesome way to spend a weekend. Today was wonderful. I hurried up and got to Woodlawn Park early enough so I could get better seats than I had yesterday. While I was there, I opened a bottle of cider, ate some strawberries, read a book and waited for Trek in the Park to do this year's production, Mirror, Mirror. This is how all Sundays should be.

What else?
Afterwards, I came back home and Sophia and I took Dean to Cha Cha Cha's for the first time. He's gotten better about sitting around restaurants while we eat. We also went and explored some other new shops on Hawthorne. It was the perfect evening for it. I can stand the nine to ten months of rain if days like today are the pay-off.

outdoorspace

Sophia has been more than generous with her house. Aside from my room, she has also given me the office/man-cave/Dean's room and the back porch. Tim started with the back porch but it still needs some work. I plan to make his vision a reality and get a hammock back there.

I was going to do it earlier this week or last weekend but the rain stopped me. Today, I decided to dig into it and cleared a pathway in the back and pulled a lot of the dead plants from the back. There's also a small plot of dirt back there among the cement and the rocks which Dean has claimed. I'm sure he'll burrow a bed there when I get it to be usable. I didn't succeed yet but I made good progress.

What else?
I walked Dean to Clinton Park for the first time today. I didn't plan on it taking us as long as it did so we didn't get to spend a lot of time there. Really, Mt Tabor is just as nearby and a lot more pretty so I'll probably just go there from now on.

climbing volcanoes

I love this new routine of hiking in the morning. I get to work feeling like I just climbed a mountain but in this case, it was a volcano.

Dean and I walked in to Tabor further than we have any other morning today and stumbled upon the reservoir near the "off-leash" area. It was a beautiful hike with an awesome view and afterwards, I was the most awesome person to work with because I was happy as could be.

What else?
In the evening, I biked to Jen's to watch Paranormal Activity 2. I've heard that it's not a bad ride. I assume that it would be a lot easier if I circumnavigate the volcano next time instead of trying to ride over it.

declaration of in-dog-pendence

I've been reading Temple Grandin's book Animals Make Us Human (I read maybe three or four books at a time) because I like the way Grandin organizes her thoughts and I admire her work, even if it does lead to more animals dying.  She's at least making it humane.  Anyway, she has a chapter on dogs (which obviously matters more to me than the others) and talks about what would be an ideal healthy situation for dogs.  She recommends company for dogs if owners aren't going to be home all of the time.  I thought about sweet talking Sophia into letting me get a rescue pup but I just don't think Dean would handle another dog always around. He's pretty jealous and needy.  I do think that the cats provided him with company at the other house.  He kind of just stared at Loki (the older boy cat) when we were back over there last, as if to tell him that he misses him.  Loki just stared back.  It was pretty sweet.

Anyway, I am thinking about how this latest move affected him.  I hope that he's not going to think that I'll be home all of the time since I've been with him pretty much all day and night over the past few days.  We need to develop some stable routine that he can get used to and that includes a park of choice.  I took him to Laurelhurst today.  We've been there before but the off-leash area was closed down today.  That's never a big deal if we can walk away from heavily trafficked roads because Dean's always been great off-leash up until today.  We were walking around the park and passed by a guy and his dog playing fetch.  Dean at first walked up, greeted the dog and then kept walking.  We were a ways past them and Dean was by my side when he all of the sudden turned around and ran to the other dog and the guy.  I called him back and he turned to look at me but kept running away.  He never does this so I was thrown for a little bit.

My previous dog Skip was awful about coming when you called him.  I seriously had to pretend to fall down hurt and play dead for a while with him until he came close enough to me for me to snatch his collar and put his leash on.  I've always been grateful that I can just call Dean's name or hold up his leash and he'll come running back to me.

He did end up coming back eventually after I followed him back a bit and I didn't have to play dead.  It's not a big deal if he begins wandering if he's off-leash.  After that walk and all that time off-leash, he was noticeably limping so it's better if he stays on leash anyway. I just wish I knew what he was thinking again.

on the sunnyside of the walk

Taking Dean out of Long House meant taking a yard away from him.  He is such a spoiled guy that he wouldn't even stay in the yard without a human escort.  However, it did provide him with a quick place to do his thing and less effort on my part as I didn't have to walk him for a potty trip.  With Muffin HQ, there's not such much of a lawn to speak of...yet...so I've had to take him on maybe four walks per day.

Leaving the old neighborhood behind also meant abandoning the parks that we've grown used to although it was time to move on.  Before I moved, a Reed security guard (on a Segway no less) asked me to put Dean on a leash at the Reed college dog area and I saw a rat on the way to Kenilworth Park.  That's the universe telling me to move along.  Today, we set out to explore the new neighborhood's parks.  One of them is Sunnyside school.  This won't always work, especially when school is in session, but I always see dogs off their leash in the park behind the school so Dean had his turn there today.

He enjoyed it.  There weren't any trees or squirrels so it may not have been all that thrilling for him but it will do.

good date idea

Since Andrew and I have been going on dates, we have a routine of going for a drink, some food and then a walk in the park.  Yes, it may get repetitive but I enjoy drinks, food and walks in parks so I'm not going to complain.  He talks about Mt Tabor a lot and it is my neighborhood park now so we went there this evening after dining on the patio at the Caldera Public House (my first time).  We walked around Tabor while watching the sunset, biked down to Circa 33 for dessert drinks and then walked over to the sunflower intersection painting at SE 33rd and Yamhill.  It was all nice and all in my neighborhood.  It was all pretty much my suggestion too (after recommendations from Sophia).