getting tanked

Tanking has to be a uniquely Nebraskan event. Basically, you sit in plastic cattle tank with benches and a table inside and float down the river. We floated down the Cedar River which is pretty shallow. I walked through several parts of it and it never got above my waist except for one part. That's why tanking is preferable to tubing or rafting. You're still floating but your butt isn't skimming the bottom of the river bed.

It was a lot of fun and a great family activity. We gathered at Lake Ericson in Ericson, NE and were bussed to our starting location. You can fit 4-6 people in a tank comfortably and there was eight of us so we took two tanks and tied them together. The dogs didn't go because we didn't think there would be room for Dean so Oliver stayed behind to keep him company. Along the way, we hit the river banks, stopped at a beaver dam, looked at and held the tadpoles, splashed each other with cold springs water and watched the wildlife, all while drinking cheap beer. I'm so glad my mom suggested it!

trying to play the cool uncle

In 1994, a group of us from high school went to Lincoln for a state convention. In the evening, our sponsors would usually let us go to a movie independently which also gave them a break. For one Lincoln trip, we all decided to go see Threesome. From the advertisements, it looked like it was going to be along the lines of Reality Bites. However, it was a lot more risque. Mary, a junior who was by far the most religious out of us, was shocked. Still, I think that it was an eye-opening experience for her. Whether it ended up being good or bad though, I don't know.

Yesterday, while we were taking my niece out to dinner for her 16th birthday, she said that she wanted to go see Magic Mike. Her friends had already seen it with their mothers and they all loved it. So, being the good uncle that I am, I figured it was my job to offer to take her to see it. It's about male strippers so it couldn't be all that bad. From the advertisements I've seen, I was expecting something more like Coyote Ugly but with guys. Instead, it was more like Boogie Nights but stripping instead of porn.

I think the first minute or two really shocked Hayleigh and it just kept coming. The stripping/dance sequences were fun but overall the movie was just lackluster and relied too much on vices without a lot of redeeming moments for the characters. Anyway, it really reminded me of watching Mary watch Threesome except I was supposed to be the adult in this situation. Knowing that her friends' mothers sat thru the movie was one of the only things that kept me from telling her we should leave after the second scene.

What else?

Before the movie, Hayleigh and I watched this children's performance group from Africa. It was a cute group of kids raising money for assistance in Africa. Very sweet and pretty talented.

Also, Dean met his cousin Oliver for the first time. There's a considerable age difference between them. Fortunately, Dean's tolerant enough to put up with Oliver jumping at his face to lick him. They're pretty cute together.

small town holidays

We got up this morning and headed down the block to watch the Gibbon 4th of July parade. It was Dean's first time meeting his little cousin Marley. She absolutely loves animals, especially dogs and horses. I've said before how I don't like this holiday but I did enjoy the small town atmosphere of it all. The parade was cute although the first half of it was emergency vehicles from here and the nearby towns that felt they needed to blare their horns. In the afternoon, we went on the Road Rally which involved us driving the country roads, looking for a series of clues that would lead us on a specific route. If we finished the route in the exact miles the clues were supposed to lead us on, we could win a prize. We missed a few clues so I'm sure we didn't come close but it was still fun to play.

What else?

We had an early birthday celebration for my oldest niece Hayleigh today at El Portero in Kearney this evening since she's going to start detassling tomorrow. I thought it was bad having my eight hour class on my birthday this year but I'd just as soon have a 16 hour class rather than go detassling in the corn, wading through the mud in the 100 degree weather.

16 hours and 1159 miles later

I am so frazzled.

I took off from the Ontario Inn at around 10am. The Inn was very dog-friendly, complete with a large fenced-in area in the back for dogs to run and poop. Then I started on my trek.

Thank the gods for audio books because I would have been bored to tears otherwise. I thought about the adage that it's about the journey and not the destination so I decided to do one touristy thing on my drive and stop at the Craters of the Moon. I've only been there once before when I drove out to Portland to move there in August of 2002. It's just as large and desolate as I remembered but I didn't have a lot of time to stop. I started to figure the mileage and how long it would take me and realized I could make it to my parents house but it would be at 2am. I forgot about the time zone change too so it was actually going to be closer to 3am. I think I could have shaved off an hour or two if I had just drove the interstate the whole time but that's so dull.

 The Craters of the moon was my only leisurely stop. Other than that, I only stopped for gas, at which time I would grab a snack and let Dean out to go to the bathroom, stretch his legs and drink some water. He seems to like traveling but I wish he'd eat more on the road. Part of the motivation for making it home and not stopping again for a motel was just to get him settled in a spot again.

When we arrived home, he jumped out of the car into the humid 73 degree weather in the wee hours of the morning. He ran through the sprinklers and then ran into my parents' house and into their bedroom. I was so relieved to be done that all I could do was laugh at his ridiculous nature. It's good to be back.

homeward bound

We're on the road again!

Dean and I haven't driven this road together since I brought him up to Portland for the first time in November of 2002. He was the whole motivation for me to drive back to Nebraska this week for a visit. I'll leave for Country Fair shortly after we get back so I wanted to make sure I got some quality time with him before then. A long road trip will give us ample time together and really, I like this drive generally.

Since I sold my car last month (it was a gas guzzler anyway), I rented a Ford Focus to take back. I figured the cost of the gas and rental is close to equivalent to the cost of airfare. It's more time but it's more of an adventure. Picking up the rental was a bit of an ordeal as I had to bus/MAX out to the airport, shuttle to the rental agency, deal with the rental person and then drive back into town for Dean and my luggage. I managed to hit the road quickly enough to make it to Ontario, OR before midnight. I stayed at the Ontario Inn which advertises and delivers as "dog-friendly."

The drive wasn't exciting but it was very comfortable. The car is new and I would be interested in getting one myself if I could afford a new car and if I wanted to be a car-owner again. Sophia's boyfriend had most of the Sookie Stackhouse novels on audio-book so I borrowed those for my journey which made the drive not seem so endless. Dean did an excellent job riding with me. He loves a good drive though and doesn't really care where I'm headed as long as he gets to go along.

What else?
While driving around town today for work, I stopped by the Eastside Deli because Bastard has been talking it up and it's pretty close to home. They have a wonderful vegetarian sandwich selection. It's a bit pricey but it's good quality and a fun deli style. I ended up getting a veggie french dip. I'm looking forward to making my way through the sandwich list there.

must like adventures

If I was to list the traits desirable in a partner, a sense of adventure would definitely rank high. Yesterday, when we walked around the Octopus Tree, I suggested we keep going. On our adventurous hike, I found an even less taken path and it led us to overlook an amazing cliff. Andrew mentioned that he liked my desire to explore. Today, it was his turn.

It rained most of this weekend. Today was our first day of clearish skies. We took Dean on the beach and there was a door in the side of the cliff on the beach. I didn't think much about it but Andrew headed to it and Dean followed. I expected them to have just found a service tunnel (?) or something but then they didn't come back for a while. When I went to find them, I saw that the doorway was manmade tunnel that connected to a more natural tunnel a little less than halfway through the cliff. The tunnel lead to another beach. The other beach wasn't that amazing but the journey was fun. It reminded me of the going through the bookcase at Circa 33. Just fun for the sake of adventure.

What else?
We also decided to try a cafe, Brewin in the Wind for brunch. It was great to find a vegetarian friendly, funky brunch place in little Oceanside!

Also, we had to clean the sheets and linen there and fold them afterwards so we had a lot of time to lay around in the sun on the porch after our beach walk. Sigh, this weekend went too quickly...

the octopus tree

Today, I went to see the Octopus Tree near the lighthouse at Cape Meares which I visited three years ago. The tree was amazing (I can't believe I missed it last time) and afterwards we went around to explore the park, looking over cliffs. It was slightly rainy which made for an enchanting atmosphere.

What else?
We also went to Tillamook where we got cocoa at Muddy Waters, perused the Tillamook Farmer's Market, listened to a blue grass band while playing cards and having a beer at the 2nd St Public Market, went back to the house quick, had an awesome mushroom enchilada at La Mexicana in Tillamook, had a mediocre drink in a dive bar in Netarts called the Upstairs Bar and then walked on the beach in an everlasting twilight at Oceanside. Busier than yesterday but still as enjoyable. 

oceanside getaway

I like to be in control, especially when it involves my dog. However, I let Andrew do the driving literally and figuratively today. He took Dean and I to a rental he made in Oceanside today for the weekend. I enjoyed letting go and it's nice to know that I can trust him.

We were out of phone service and internet service as well which was nice. Not only were we out of contact but we stayed in for the evening as soon as we got to the in, unlike last time we went to the beach together. It was nice to just relax, do tequila shots and know that we didn't have any more responsibilities. It's a great way to start a vacation marathon for me. After today, I only have one more day of work for me before I start a two week vacation.

questioning authority

I don't understand how more people aren't upset with the system or why more people don't do something about it. During my winter quarter of school this year, my teacher challenged me to write about why my non-profit job should or shouldn't pay people with disabilities less than minimum wage. My initial reaction was that my company can afford it and it's a discriminatory anyway, applied to only people with disabilities and prison populations. However, upon researching it, I found all sorts of reasons why it's wrong.

I'm not surprised that my company doesn't want to pay the people with disabilities minimum wage. The feds say they don't have to and they've been paying less than minimum since 1938 so why would they change? However, the feds position is surprisingly outdated and unjustified. They'll look back on this in shame before too long. I can't see how they can't see that.

As part of my job, I had to go to a class put on by the department of labor today about how to go about "fairly" paying people less than minimum wage. Someone asked if they could get people with disabilities a job at a big box store and then have the big box store pay them less than minimum wage. The trainers said no, the big box store cannot use a non-profit's 501c3 status. However, they offered that the non-profit could get the person a job at the big box store, pay them less than minimum, and then bill the big box store and that way everyone can benefit on exploiting this individual...except for the individual.

This training was supposed to last all day. However, due to the lousy set-up and the fact that we knew all of it, (not mention the fact that it was greatly upsetting me), our boss let us bail after 5 hours which was still 5 hours too long.

It's just shocking. I expect this attitude from an older generation (like my superiors at work) because it's the way they've always done things. Like old slave owners, it doesn't make it right but they are just repeating the behavior they were taught. However, my trainers were all younger and not willing to talk about the fact that initiatives are being proposed to eliminate sub-minimum wage. I hope more reasonable people start making better decisions. I'm going to keep working on people to hope they see their errors.

dink's like eating out

A co-worker commented to me that I eat out really well as in, "How the hell do you afford it?" Yes, I eat out a lot and I know I don't make a lot of money, not even as much as my co-worker. However, I buy all my clothes second-hand, I don't drink to the point of having large bar tabs, I don't pay car insurance, my hobby is riding my bike (or walking my dog) and I don't have loans so yes, I treat myself well and eat out at good places. I also don't have kids so, when Andrew and I go out, we each become what marketing strategists refer at as "DINK"s. DINK stands for Double Income, No Kids. When I first joined Queer Revolution years and years ago, I researched the idea of dinks to see why companies were targeting queers for advertising and the term dink kept coming up. I don't like being a marketing target but I guess they want me. Well, the Armani Exchange can bug off because my dollars go to my appetite.

As a sink (single instead of double), I had lunch at Sushi Mazi on Division. I never dine out for sushi by myself but I needed a new thing and this was on my way back to work. It was really good, especially with the Thai iced tea. But it was a little pricey.

Later in the evening, Andrew and I went out as dinks to eat at the Caldera Public House. We've been here before but I think today is the first time I've had their eggplant sandwich and I know it's the first time I've had their chocolate martini which is now my favorite chocolate martini in town!

Afterwards, we rode to the top of Tabor to watch the sun go down. See, we'll spend a little bit to eat out but in the end, we're cheap dates.

What else?
I don't remember what my new thing was on Tuesday but on Monday, I ate a new slice of "pizza" at Pizzacato. I use the term pizza loosely because it had garbanzo beans, artichoke hearts and a spicey green sauce on it instead of actual pizza items but it was delicious!

fair obligations

Since 2009, I've given this weekend up to the country fair. I shouldn't complain about it but it's beginning to wear on me. There's always a lot to do on fourth weekend in Portland. Ashes and Victory were given tickets to the Portland vs Seattle soccer game and there was a Browncoats showing of Serenity and a few select episodes of Firefly that I would have like to have gone to but nope, I'm Eugene-bound. Next year, I might just camp there instead of spending 8 hours in a car.

Yesterday, Ashes, Raven, Victory and I all went down. Victory found some construction projects while the rest of us hauled bamboo. It also rained for the first time in fair setup for me. That didn't really help me in wanting to be there. However, just walking onto the land restores a sense of calm in me. Also, I just need to keep my eyes on the prize. Fair week is coming up in two short weeks. I can't wait. Today, I drove down there with Victory. It was my first time driving to fair and the first time driving Ashes' car out of town. I also went to the newly required Humane Intervention Training which actually was pretty entertaining.

I like the fair and I like most of the people there so I'm not going to complain. I just wish there was more purpose or less effort in getting down there.

lit and loud in 2012

 Sigh, it's the end of another Pedalpalooza for me. The celebration goes on for another week but due to other obligations, tonight was my last ride. Unfortunately, it's not a ride I really love. The Lit and Loud ride has gotten a lot bigger since it first began in 2010. I was a little more excited about it this year because I had made plans in advance. Last year, I bought my stereo with the intention of taking it on Pedalpalooza rides. Plus, I bought solar powered Christmas lights with two purposes in mind: Country Fair and the Lit and Loud ride. So Andrew and I encompassed our bikes in the lights and I strapped my stereo to the front of my bike again. However, I couldn't really hear it most of the time because the other bike stereos (and there were a lot of them) were REALLY loud.

We ended up biking downtown. People still clapped but after going down there for the WNBR, everything else kind of pales in comparison. Still, it was enjoyable and the party continued long after I was done.

What else?

In other biking news, I biked to work with my quickest time ever: 9 minutes and 50 seconds!

biomimicry

 I went to a speech tonight at Science Pub, a bi-monthly event that OMSI puts on, usually at McMenamins' pub theaters. Today, Richard Louv was speaking about biomimicry. I don't have any particular interest in this and, really, I didn't even know what it was before going to the speech but I was looking for a new thing to do and Sophia's talked up the Science Pubs quite a bit so I decided to give it a shot.

It was very educational and right on with my line of thinking. To sum up what I learn, we as people have pretty much assigned ourselves to either sticking our head in the ground and not thinking about the future or we've accepted that the future will be some post-apocalyptic wasteland where true nature (a vast diversity of flora and fauna) will be a distant memory. I guess I subscribe to the latter category. However, assigning ourselves to a shitty fate is making us lethargic about being able to do anything to change it. It's become a self-fulfilling prophecy now.

Sustainability really isn't the key either as it implies just maintaining an equilibrium with nature which is a difficult balance to keep up. Instead, we need to be more creative and look to nature to model our dwellings, our habits and our lives after. Ignore the hippie connotations of this concept but we need to become one with nature. We also need to get our kids back into nature. Kids are lost in a world of technology and ADHD diagnoses. By making nature a more relevant part of our kids lives, nature will become more valued and incorporated. I think that's about it.

Anyway, I think that I could spend days at this guy's seminar. I should probably just buy his book. However, I've got too many other books to read right now and it's summer. Biomimicry isn't exactly light reading.

What else?

Speaking of summer and school, I got my grades back yesterday. Another A. That's another whole year of solid A's!

my future car

One of the greatest conversations I can remember having was between a handful of other sophomores at McCook Community College one fall evening in 1995. I was in Bryan and Nate's dorm room with a few others while we reminisced about the 1980s, specifically about cartoons from our childhood. The power of our brains to reconnect with a time over 10 years old and reproduce the emotions that went along with that time is truly spectacular. That night was one of the first times I had realized that I just found my new two best friends in college and that's what happened. We were pretty much bonded after that.

If you didn't experience childhood in the eighties, it probably seemed like a pretty shitty decade with Ronald Reagan and the onset of AIDS and more. However, all of that was background noise for me at the time, drown out by Intellivision, He-Man, Rubix Cubes, Sixteen Candles, Care Bears, Space Invaders, Girls Just Want to Have Fun (the movie which I can still recite line for line), Cyndi Lauper, Pac Man (both the game and the TV show), the Never-Ending Story, Burgertime, the Karate Kid, Nerds candies, and Revenge of the Nerds. My friend Teddy and I spent what seems like a lot of time in Ed's Drive, especially when we discovered Mario Bros (the original) and Q-Bert. I was a lot better at Mario Bros. It was Shangri-La but that's because it was an innocent time for us as people. Talk whatever smack you want about the politics, health care, fashion mistakes, or overly synthesized music but I loved the 1980s and I always will.

Dominic recommended a book to me over a month ago and I checked it out from the library last week. It's Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Once I started reading it, I realized that I didn't want to do anything else. It's set in the future but in a future preoccupied with the 1980s so it packed with wonderful references, both blatant and obscure. It's like reliving my childhood or at least that conversation I had back in September of 1995. My only problem with the book is that I'm going to finish it way too soon and then I'll be stuck looking for an adequate summer book to follow it. I'll probably just do what Dominic did and I'll read it again.

I went home for lunch around 3pm today and walked Dean so I didn't need to head home right after work. Since Ready Player One, I've been itching to spend some time dorking out on arcade games while eating mediocre pizza so I planned to go down to Ground Kontrol and kill some time there. Fortunately, I checked my twitter feed first and saw that Powells in Beaverton was hosting Ernest Cline tonight for the tour of the paperback version of Ready Player One. I biked downtown, bought a copy of the book to replace the library's copy I had been reading, grabbed some pizza at Sizzle Pie and jumped on the MAX.

I hadn't biked in Beaverton before and I was quite unprepared for the suburbs but it was going to be worth it. The Beaverton Powells is even in a mall which made even more 80s sense, although I loathe the mall. Ernest's presentation was great. Fortunately, he didn't give away the ending because I haven't finished it yet but he did talk about the work he had to do to get his screenplay Fanboys made and how he came to write Ready Player One. He also introduced me to his contest that he is doing in which he has mirrored his book by placing a hidden easter egg in the book that leads to a video game. The first person to solve all three riddles and games will win the DeLorean pictured above. I don't know if I'm going to compete but I might give it a shot. Really, it was just enough for me to sit in the DeLorean and then bike back the the MAX with a big grin on my face while listening to Huey Lewis sing about the Power of Love.