to wal-mart for work

I loathe Wal-Mart. Our new house is within a 5 minute bike ride to Wal-Mart and today was the second time I have been there. I don't have a good excuse for the first time other than JoAnn's Fabrics on 82nd sucks and told me (incorrectly) that I could find the crafty thing I was looking for at Wal-Mart, instead of at the craft store where it should have been. However, today I had a good excuse. My office-mate is out on maternity leave and I had to meet a client of hers and that client chose to meet at the Subway in Wal-Mart. I didn't even know that Wal-Marts had Subways. Fortunately, the meeting was quick and I didn't have to be there that long.

What else?
I had two drinks coming to me; one was due to getting a 10,9,8 run in Battle Line right off the bat, and the other was due to skunking Andrew in cribbage. I collected them at the Richmond Bar which was good and strong so I was a bit tipsy. I like it better as the Richmond Bar than I did as the Matchbox but it kind of gets lost in the total face-lift of Division which happened recently. If I lived closer to the Division renovation hotspot, I would easily have a new thing every day but I would also have less money...and probably a drinking problem.

some don't like it hot

On what was the probably the warmest day so far this year in Portland (or at least so far this month), we introduced Ava to snow.

I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again, I love having a hiking dog. I will love her when she gets too old to take long walks but I'm going to enjoy this time when she runs trails and expresses pure pleasure at her freedom in the woods. We took Ava to Umbrella Falls and Sahale Falls, both of which were gorgeous! They're on the other side of Mt Hood, up high enough for there still to be snow. We know next to nothing about Ava's life before she came to us, other than she was kennel trained so we don't know for sure that this was her first time in snow but, as Ava and not whatever she was named before, we know this was her first time and she loved it. The picture above has got to be one of my favorite pictures ever.

I will definitely be back on this hike. I love the Gorge but it's a different and pleasant feel on Mt Hood. It's more arid, more open, and more chill. Plus there's less people which makes for a better time for Ava, being able to be off leash the whole time. We ran into only five other people (and saw two on a bridge) and there was a dog for every one of them. One couple had two little deformed dogs that had white curly hair and looked like lambs so it's not a surprise that their owner was nervous when a wolf-looking dog charges at them full speed. However, Ava just wanted to say hi.

It'd be a crime of the heart to leave her on leash during a walk like this after seeing how much she gets out of the independence and how well she listens to us. It was probably a 4 mile hike but Andrew hiked ahead of me (since I'm slower and wanted to stop and take pictures all of the time) and Ava spent a lot of time running back and forth between us. She had to have walked around 15 miles and ran around 5 miles. She was delightfully tired when we got home. And so were we. We went to the movie Some Like It Hot which I haven't seen in around 25 years. It was a wonderful way to end a wonderful day.

day of ava

Yesterday I worked a 12 hr day and the day before that, it was over 9 hrs so today's 6 hrs day was a relief, especially since most of it was spent with Ava. I had to visit to different families in two different towns so I brought Ava along with me for the ride. We went to two parks that were new to Ava and one that was new to me, Dairy Creek Park, the other one being Creston Park. One of the families we saw asked if Ava could come inside which was a first.

 Despite the damage that she has done to my car in the past, I still trust her as a copilot. And I was very impressed today how she interacted with my customer's family. Some might consider bringing a dog with you on work trips to be unprofessional, but in my line of work, it helps to build trust and bond with my customers. Or at least that's what I thought about it today when she was so good. It's also good for my sanity. After having to rough days at work , a day spent with the dog was just what the social worker ordered.

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."

night falls i fall

I used to be a night owl. I would blame the shift to an early bird on the 7 yr job at GW where I had to be there by 7:35am or I was considered late but I think that I've just gotten older and I'm less willing to put in the effort. I've also done a pretty bang-up job of isolating myself from the world outside of my house. I go to work but I don't really socialize with my co-workers. Within the last two weeks, two of my co-workers have left my job (one to move to SF and one went to a higher paying job) but I didn't go to either of their going-away happy hours. So I guess it's not just that I'm an early bird, it's that I've also been nesting as well. I really would just rather be around the house and around Ava and Andrew (and Maria).

It's Saturday night and I went to a movie at 4:45pm, did dinner around 6:30pm, and then we biked home to retire for the evening. I'm hardly raging against the dying of the light here. It's more like I'm putting a sleep mask on and pretending it's already dark. It feels good to put this out there tho. I feel like I often just post vacuous events or meals I've experienced without any real insight. While I really enjoyed my Peanut Butter Veggie Burger at Killer Burger, it's nothing I could write a lot about.

lost love in translation

Today, I had two meetings in which the primary people I was meeting with from whom I needed information did not speak English. In one of the meetings, I needed professional translation services to help them understand the complexities of divorce, custody, and the legal mumbo-jumbo. I barely understood what was in English so I can't imagine what it's like for them. Still, I feel like I got something accomplished and we're on a good path now. Go me.

However, the talk of the complications of divorce have really got me second-guessing marriage as a viable option. When marriage became legal in Oregon, I was thrilled that it was suddenly an option but I wasn't holding my breath for a marriage proposal. As I worked on the campaign and got signatures, Andrew stated that he agreed that everyone should have an equal right to debase their deepest affections by registering them with the government. We joked that he should write Hallmark cards.

Earlier this year, when I found out that I was going to have to pay over $1000 in state and federal taxes, Andrew asked if there's anything he could go. I jokingly stated that he could propose. Yes, I've dreamed of getting married but that was when I was a kid, watching Days of our Lives. Since then, I've become a lot more cynical and now look at marriage as a tool. It's not necessary for me to declare my love by registering it with the state but it would have it's benefits. One could access a lot of those benefits through individual legal means but marriage quickly gives you the right to all of it and also a tax break. But now I see how messy it can become if it doesn't go well so I'm not so sure.

What else?
I finished 100 Miles Sideways while flying back from Mexico on 4/22/15. However, now I am without a book to read and it's throwing me off. I read Unnatural Creatures by Neil Gaiman but only read some of the short stories. I highly recommend it as a vacation read though. I'm going to try Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle from the Mountain Goats. I got to say that having books on my Kindle has made them seem less substantial and therefore easier to dismiss.

un resumen de mis vacaciones mexicano

I realize that I'm not going to get caught up anytime soon and I would just as soon be back up to speed so instead of writing a post for each day of vacation, I'm going to put it all in one. Here we go:

On our third full day of vacation, we went to Valladolid via bus. It took about three hours but it's nice to see another city in Mexico. Our hotel pictured above was nice and comfortable, even if there was something glitchy in the pool which allowed the light under water to give off a little current. We also went to a proper cantina with swinging doors and all. There was a very drunk guy there and it was full of machismo but it was fun.

On our fourth day, we went to Chichen Itza. In 1993 (I believe), Bo Brady unofficially married Carly Manning on the steps of the Castillo pictured above on Days of our Lives' Chichen Itza adventure. Since then, I've wanted to go here. It was touristy but I'm glad we did it, even if it did mean a four hour bus ride back to Puerto Morelos.

On our fifth day, I was sick. We went out for breakfast but I could barely leave the house afterwards. I went to my first Mexican pharmacy to get pills but I'm not sure they did any good. You just have to ride this out sometimes.

On our sixth day, I was determined to try to be better. I think I really just dehydrated myself in a temporary solution to stop fluids from needing to exit my body. It wasn't an ideal solution but it worked. I managed to spend all day under an umbrella on the beach with sun screen on and both of us still got burnt. It was the sun's reflection. I burnt my ankles. :( Still, I did enjoy some time bobbing around in the Caribbean!

On our seventh day, we hid from the sun in a cave underground. The cave was actually a cenote (Cenote de Siete Bocas). We only found five of the mouths but it was amazing. Bats were flying overhead when we first got there but they stopped after other people showed up. The water was naturally illuminated by all of the cave mouths. It was just awesome.

On the eighth day, we flew back. We took a cab to the airport. It was nicer than riding the bus and it was the same cabbie that took us to the cenote the day before so there was some comfort in the familiar. I have to say that I enjoyed the vacation a lot but it was also very taxing on my body and I don't know if I'll be heading back anytime soon. Being completely immersed in a different culture (our house was not in a touristy area) has given me a different perspective on things and I'm sure it will come up in future posts and ponderings.

bienvenido a la jungla, tenemos diversión y juegos.

After getting charred yesterday, this was needed. Since we only burnt our shoulders and backs, we were able to ride our bikes on a 30 km round trip to a cenote. Before leaving the US, my friend Jen said to swim in as many cenotes as possible. Fortunately, there are a handful just a short distance outside Puerto Morelos.

We biked to the first one which was Cenote Las Mojarras. Mojarras are black fish. While we swam, we could see some little ones below us. I expected the cenote to be more in a cave but this was your average watering hole but it was cold and shady enough which is what we wanted. I played on the zipline and there was a tight rope that we took turns walking across while the other person shook it which made it really difficult and fun as hell. Andrew had stated that he didn't want to go to a "water park" but wanted something more natural but I believe that we both had fun here.

And it was in the jungle. If we had forgotten that, we were reminded as we were biking out towards the main road and a baby jaguar, about the size of a whippet dog, darted in front of Andrew's bike. It was awesome.

my dia primera en puerto morelos

We arrived in Mexico last night without any issue really. We walked around the neighborhood which isn´t touristy but that´s just perfecto. We stopped at a small bar and drank cervezas and inquired about vegetarian food. Everyone directed us to La Luna Llena which was mostly pasta and pizza and was delicious. The best part about it was the art. The painting pictured above was just one of many works that this amazing local artist had displayed. Her husband worked at the restaurant and invited us to her studio where we got to see her work which was so powerful, including a triptych of the 43 students killed in Ayotzinapa.

The house only has one air-conditioned room but it works so I slept okay. Today, we walked around, found some coffee and went to the beach which is beautiful. We hung out at a bar on the beach called Dia Y Noche and drank beer and tequila shots at what turned out to be 10am. Oh well, it´s our vacation! We played with cat named Bachi and then went snorkeling! Honestly, snorkeling was not my favorite thing to do. It was hard, the mandatory lifevest made my armpits ache, I inhaled too much saltwater, and I ended up burning my shoulders because the reef is a preserve and you can´t wear sunscreen. However, it was worth it. It was beautiful and now I can say I´ve done it.

Overall, I love this. I don't know what time it is and I don´t care. I eat when I'm hungry, I drink when I'm thirsty and I sleep when I'm tired. And I´m okay with not having internet access at the house. Actually, I prefer it this way.

¡estoy volando mas al sur que he estado en mi vida!

I'm at the Phoenix Airport for the first time. I'm almost out of the country! This will be the furthest south I have ever been on this earth. That's crazy!

I would wait until I got to Mexico to post pics but I'm not sure what the internet situation will be. We won't have internet at the house & I didn't get an international plan for the phone so my posting may be a lot more irregular than it typically is (which is admittedly pretty bad). Anyway, I'm so damn excited! I want to share this excitement on my blog & social media but I also want a relaxing escape so I'm not going to be stressing myself over posting possibilities cuz I'm on vacation!

bossy mcbosserson

Today, I took Ava to the Dove Lewis Blood Donor reception. She did good for the most part but started to throw a fit when I kept taking pictures. Sigh, I feel like we're raising a teenager sometimes. The reception was nice tho. We got free drink tickets and lots of swag. All it cost was a pint of Ava's blood. :)

What else?
We went to Montage for brunch. It was my 1st time there but I'll definitely go back. I love the New Orleans decor. That's where I want to go on our next vacation.

In preparation for our upcoming Mexican vacation, we went to Next Adventures' Paddle store to look for snorkel gear. They had some used items but we found good masks at Andy & Bax. I'm so excited to go but nervous about leaving Ava. She can be demanding but she's a sweetie most of the time.

225

I don't know where long the way I became excited about how much weight I lift but today got me pretty pumped up. Normally we rep 185 pounds which is still really good considering neither of us weigh that much. He approached the idea of trying a max press a couple months ago and we've been waiting until we were consistently going to the gym and not skipping a day and also feeling injury free.

Jessie and I decided we would try a max press today and started out with 205 lbs. it was surprisingly easy so we decided to up it up a little bit. We went with 225 pounds because that's two plates on each side. It was considerably harder and a lot different than doing the regular reps. We didn't have to worry about endurance, we just had to push through this one press. And we did it! I thought I would be tired afterwards and wouldn't do any arm exercises but I was so stoked about it that I ended up having a really good upper body workout. I like that I'm pushing myself (and not injuring myself). And I'm enjoying it!

local agricola

A couple of days ago when I was walking Ava , I saw that the car had hit the local gaming store, red castle . Fortunately nobody was hurt but they did have to close for two days . For small business two days out of business and damages is gonna hurt.

 I was thinking of buying Agricola online since it would be cheaper than buying in the store but I decided to support the local business instead and pay a little more money. So my new thing today was playing Agricola with Andrew in a two player game . 

What else?

We also went to the Alameda Cafe for my 1st time to get a drink before going to see the movie Kumiko the Treasure Hunter which was just delightful.

 Also on Thursday, I finished the book the Jinni and the Golem. I liked it even though it's not my usual brand of lighthearted fantasy. It was closer to historical fiction. Now I'm reading the book 100 Miles Sideways by Andrew Smith on my Kindle fire . I have to confess something: since I've gotten my Kindle , all I've use it for is to check the Internet and since I stopped being able to watch TV on my computer, I've taken up playing video games on my Kindle. It feels good to actually be using it for a book which was my original intention for wanting it.

pac man: ladd's addition edition

Oi, I had the best of intentions to work today and then Google Maps had to present the option to play city streets as a Pac-Man game! I didn't spend that long on it but damn it was fun. I looked up the most interesting set-up in a Portland neighborhood which is Ladd's Addition and turned that into a game. It was difficult because when Pac goes off screen, I didn't know what street he was coming back on. The loop in the middle was fun tho.

I'm including the pic below just to show that I did complete it. I wanted to see it through. Once I did it once tho, I decided to return to my normal workday. Thanks, Google, for making April Fools a decent holiday!