Happy New Year!

The weather in Chris' folks' neck of the woods has been unseasonably warm the past week... And now, on the one night of our trip that we actually want to be standing outside at midnight, it's supposed to rain. Boo. So, it's likely we'll be "celebrating" the old-fashioned way this time - cracking open a bottle of Asti at midnight, taking two sips and then going to bed at 12:30. Oh, well.

Don't let the potentially inauspicious start to 2007 fool you, though - this will be a year of changes for us. A big year. I'll do my best to keep you posted.

I hope you're all having a great holiday! May 2007 be good to all of you.

Letters from the Past

A gift I got back in Oregon that I forgot to mention - and wanted to call out especially - is something my uncle brought from Connecticut. I opened a package from him to find a small pile of airmail and "V-Mail" letters. Turns out it's part of a collection of letters my grandparents wrote to one another when my grandfather was stationed in London during World War II. I'm about halfway through Grandma's letters to him, and haven't started on his letters to her yet. I'm absolutely over the moon about the pile, and my uncle says there's more where those came from. Obviously, most of their lives they were together and so weren't writing to each other - but there were a couple periods where they were apart, and I'm ever so glad Grandma was a meticulous record-keeper! I'm going to have to spend some time next year figuring out the best way to store and keep them. In the meantime, I'm just thrilled to have them.

The Holiday Midpoint

We're back from Holiday Phase I, and leave for Phase II tomorrow morning... We brought my uncle back with us, as we're all flying out tomorrow morning at about the same time, and he's now out for a walk. Chris is at the office, and I'm catching up on work in my "office" as well, at the same time as I'm doing a last minute load of laundry before repacking tonight.

It was a lovely holiday down at my mom's; it was low-key, like Thanksgiving was this year, and none of us ended up with tons of loot we don't need or have space for. Well, except for my nephew, of course, who raked in the gifts like they were goin' out of style. We've eaten like kings for the last few days, too, including a homemade French onion soup Chris made, and last night's prime rib dinner. Dee-lish!

So, once again, it'll be quiet around here until after the new year... I hope everyone rings in the new year in style - safely and in the company of loved ones. Chris and I could be in for quite a ride in 2007, and it starts next week. Could be interesting.

Happy Holidays

This is my last day online for a few days, so I'll take this opportunity to wish all of you a very Happy Christmas. May you be surrounded by people who love you, this day and the rest of the year.

Holiday Chaos

Chris & I leave on Saturday to visit my mother for Christmas, and then we fly back east next week to spend New Years with Chris' family... I'm finally done with shopping, but does the to-do list ever get smaller this time of year? I don't think so. One thing gets accomplished (after which, if you're anything like me, you do a little victory dance) and then four more things get added to the list. What is up with that? Anyway, the pre-Christmas craziness is winding down, as there are fewer and fewer days left in which to get anything done. And, as frenetic as that makes me feel, I'm glad it's almost over.

In other holiday news, the splitting-a-water-buffalo idea is spreading - I know of two more Heifer International gifts which have been given as a result of hearing about what Chris & I decided to give each other this year. That makes me feel great, and is the perfect antidote to the long lines and congested roads.

We're Bad Jews

Last Friday night I went to my dad's to kind of celebrate Hanukkah. I say "kind of" because there was ham on offer, and that's not really (ahem) kosher, and because - as I pointed out to the gentiles that evening - we're bad Jews. (And I mean that in the best possible way.)

At any rate, we did light the Hanukkah candles (all of them at once, like we did when I was a kid), which was nice. The rest of the pictures from the evening are here.

So, I'm a little late, but Happy Hanukkah, everyone.

Stormy Weather

After the nasty wind storm last week during which much of the area lost power (my mother, who lives out in the boondocks, is still without power nearly a week later), there came a torrential hailstorm. It lasted only a few minutes, but came down with such ferocity that it actually had time to accumulate and look like snow.

Vatican Soccer

Yet another example of how passion for sport can transcend, well, The Passion. Read more here.

Transition Problems

So, I switched from the old Blogger to the new "Blogger in Beta" recently, and only this weekend finally ran into problems with it. I can't seem to post pictures the same way I used to - through Hello - even though I uninstalled the program and reinstalled it. It still has my old login information, which is no longer valid. Yeesh.

It's a shame, as I've got pictures of the brief but exciting hailstorm we got on Friday last week, as well as pictures of the Hanukkah celebration at my father's house Friday night. I'm hoping I'll figure out the whole shebang eventually, and if anyone's got any insights I'd appreciate them.

When candles aren't just for romantic dinners

I left the BootsnAll office at 5:40 last night after talking to Chris and finding out we had no power. I heard I-5 South was a parking lot from 405 to 205 (in other words, the entire length of what I'd need it for, and then some), so I opted for what is normally a reliably quicker back road. Silly, silly me. I forgot that "back roads" have stoplights. And stoplights need electricity. So, almost the entire drive home was completely jammed.

Oh, and to top it all off, I started the journey with only a quarter tank of gas, and the "empty" light came on when I was stuck in the middle of nowhere with no gas station in sight. Lovely.

I made it to a gas station by detouring slightly from what I thought was going to be the least tree-ridden way, and it turned out to be the quicker way home, I think. As it was, I didn't pull into my garage until nearly 7:30 - and this is a drive that normally takes me 25 minutes. Egads.

I came home to a well-lit house, so the power had come back on. Hurray! I got to heat up some leftovers in the microwave for dinner. Hurray! We settled in to watch some television programs we'd recorded when - just like that - the power went back out again, and stayed out for the duration. We lit candles all over the living room, and read magazines by flashlight until bedtime. Thankfully the power came back on sometime in the night.

Why We Travel

One of my duties at BootsnAll is to populate our travel inspiration site, Why Go. I love Why Go - partly because it gives me a chance to feed my love of photography and quotations, and mostly because it's not a question (why go?) but a statement. That changes the entire meaning of the site for me.

At any rate, someone on the message boards posted a link to this slideshow treat on the New York Times Travel site, and it's of a similar ilk as Why Go. It's not about where we go or what we do once we get there - it's just about the going.

How Not to Spend an Unexpected Night Alone

Chris got called out of town on business today, and my friend Toni came over to utilize the laundry facilities. She's a big sci-fi fan, so the Sci-Fi Channel was on quite a bit. This is a channel I think is only on when Toni comes over. At any rate, for most of the day I was working in my office, so I wasn't watching TV. When we sat down to eat dinner, however, something was just starting that actually looked kind of interesting... And thus began the worst way for me to spend an unexpected evening alone - watching something mildly creepy.

It was the first three of a four-part series called "The Lost Room," and it's actually really good - very clever and interesting. Of course, it has its creep-o-riffic elements, so now that Toni's gone and I'm facing a night alone in the house, I'm wigging out. Lovely. The finale of the show is on tomorrow night, so Toni's coming back over to watch it with me. Because I have to know how it ends, and I can't watch it alone.

And yes, I'm a complete wimp.

Gift-Giving for People Who Don't Need More Stuff

Chris & I were chatting yesterday and found that we'd both come to the same conclusion... We didn't want to give each other more "stuff" for Christmas this year. Instead, we decided to share the cost of purchasing a water buffalo for a family in need. I'm extraordinarily happy with this outcome, as it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling in my heart and allows me to say that my husband gave me half a water buffalo for Christmas. And if that's not a conversation starter, I dunno what is.

What the coming year may bring...

As we're nearing the end of 2006, Chris & I know that at this point next year we'll be in a very different place - perhaps physically, and definitely metaphorically. Chris' job is ending in July of next year, so he's beginning a job hunt now (thank goodness he's got quite a bit of notice). We don't yet know where we'll end up, and it's exciting to know that there are so many doors open to us.

Sure, there was a moment - okay, a couple days - of mild panic on both our parts, and we've gotten past that. We're kind of enjoying contemplating all the possibilities...

Temporary Blindness? Or an Ocular Migraine?

A few years ago, I had a series of bizarre episodes where I'd have a blind spot that would get bigger and bigger until half of my field of vision would be eliminated... And then eventually things would return to normal. It was all very strange, it didn't hurt, and I wasn't sure what to do about it. I finally asked a doctor, who said I was having an "ocular migraine." And yes, I had the same quizzical look on my face that you do on yours right now.

From the Mayo Clinic website:

Ocular migraines are characterized by abnormal visual sensations. They occur most often in people with a history of classic migraines. Ocular migraines are sometimes followed by head pain.

When an ocular migraine starts, you may notice a small, shimmering spot near the center of your field of vision. Initially, you may only be aware that something isn't quite right with your vision.

However, within a few minutes, the shimmering spot expands. You may become aware of a distinct visual abnormality accompanied by patchy vision loss - usually affecting both eyes. The shimmering area may also be bordered by silvery or colored zigzag light patterns. This zigzag pattern eventually expands into the outer part of the visual field. Within 15 to 30 minutes, the visual abnormality travels far out into the side vision and then disappears.

The cause of ocular migraines isn't clearly understood. But they're thought to be due to abnormal stimulation of nerve cells (neurons) at the back of the brain. Like classic migraines, ocular migraines tend to occur irregularly but repeatedly. You may experience several ocular migraines within a week and then not have any for months or years. Some people have heightened sensitivity to light or sound before the start of an ocular migraine.

Ocular migraines typically need no treatment. However, if they're often followed by headaches, you doctor may recommend medication to relieve headache pain.

My ocular migraines were never associated with pain, and I could never figure out what triggered them. I got several in a relatively short period of time, and then after that I didn't have another one until last night. The one last night went away really quickly, though - much more so than the ones from a few years ago - though I have no idea why. I took two aspirin as soon as I realized what was going on, so perhaps that did it. In any case, it's all quite odd. Thank goodness it clears up pretty quickly - it's an uneasy feeling (to say the least) to watch your field of vision slowly shrink.

Make Your Own Passport Photos

It's not that running down to the corner store to get your photo taken for your passport and visas is a real hassle anymore, since everyone and their brother has a digital camera set up almost specifically for this purpose nowadays... And yet the idea that you could produce your own passport photo in the comfort of your own home has obvious advantages. Principle among them? When you hate the first shot, it doesn't cost you anything extra to try again.

Scotland's Schoolchildren Get "An Inconvenient Truth"

From today's Progress Report:

Every schoolchild in Scotland will be offered the chance to see An Inconvenient Truth under a plan presented by energy company ScottishPower. "ScottishPower, which has also given copies of Mr. Gore's book...to hundreds of its staff, plans to pay for cinema screenings for older children in primary schools and all secondary pupils."

I wonder if that means the next great climate scientists will come from Scotland?

Why I Don't Like Concrete Floors

The BootsnAll Holiday Party last night was great... And I'm absolutely exhausted today. My fabulously fierce shoes turned out to be even more pain-inducing than they normally are due to the concrete floors at the party venue. Waking up this morning, I realized my entire body was hurting... And I still couldn't be happier.

I was reminded plenty of times last night why I love the BootsnAll community so much, and it only made me love my job more. I've had enough jobs I didn't love in my lifetime to know that this is something to treasure. And though I'm still in "recovery" from last night, I'm already looking forward to next year's shindig. That's got to be a good sign, right?

Thanksgiving Rainbow

The Sunday after Thanksgiving it was absolutely pouring on our drive home from my mom's. Later that afternoon, as I was watching TV, I noticed something glowing outside the window... It was a vibrant double-rainbow that appeared and disappeared just as quickly. Thank goodness for nearby cameras.

Mile High Club "Kit"

I have two plastic bins in my closet full of travel items - tiny toiletries, inflatable pillows, collapsible backpacks and the like. Every time I'm preparing for a trip, I haul the bins out and rifle through them to find the perfect things I'll need for that adventure. I've got damn near everything I could ask for in those bins, I tell you.

What I don't have in my closet, however, is a Mile High Club Kit.

No, I don't think I'll be getting one. But it nearly gave me a stomachache from laughing, so I thought I'd share the wealth with all y'all.

Over-Stuffed

My, what a Thanksgiving weekend... We spent four days down at my mother's house, and I ate far too much. I paid for it yesterday, when my gastro-intestinal system finally cried, "UNCLE!" All better now, thank goodness.

Anyway, I hope everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving had a good holiday!

This is going to be a busy week for me - the BootsnAll Holiday Party is this Saturday, and we've got folks coming in from all over the place for the festivities. There are also other activities going on starting Thursday afternoon and going through Sunday... I'm sure to have some great stories (and pictures) next week, when I'm recovering, but this week I might not be posting much. Just so y'know.

Geography Awareness Week

I think I'm kind of clueless about geography (don't tell my boss)... In fact, I'm so out of it that I didn't even realize Geography Awareness Week was last week. Oops. Well, we can all play catch-up now, including testing our own knowledge of our world. How well will you do?

A computer backup is a wonderful thing...

Well, I lugged the laptop into BnA HQ today, thinking I'd be handing it over to coworker and computer guru Mika to salvage what he could from the hard drive before I shipped the whole thing off to Texas to be repaired... And then when he turned on the computer, it powered right up. Sluggishly, but it worked.

"Yeah," he said, "I sometimes have this effect on computers."

So I still have no idea what was wrong with it yesterday, but Mika scared it into submission today, and, while it was still working, he and I went to the office store, bought an external hard drive and did a full backup. Just in case. The machine is home now (with its new external hard drive happily camped out next to it), and seems to be fine. I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, I'm just going to continue being really happy it's working and my data is now safe.

And again, let this be a lesson to you - back up your computers regularly. You don't want to give yourself an ulcer.

Don't know what you've got until it's gone...

My laptop is having a nervous breakdown - and I'm frantically (and somewhat unsuccessfully) trying not to do the same thing. Perhaps this will teach me to do more regular backups on my machine.

Let this be a lesson to you! Do weekly backups of anything you would be sorry about losing forever and ever and ever!

So, uh, posting may be sporadic for awhile... Cross your fingers for me, will you? Many thanks.

Tiny Toiletries

With the TSA's ban on liquids over 3 oz. in carry-on bags, I figured sooner or later someone would try cashing in on that. And finally someone has. I'm with Carrie, however - there's no way I'm putting a shampoo/conditioner combo anywhere near my tresses, so I hope these folks expand their selection soon.

Lindsey Buckingham Concert Review

Lindsey Buckingham
Newmark Theatre, Portland Oregon
16 November 2006

The Newmark Theatre is small; the fact that it has two balconies might confuse you into thinking you're going into a grand hall. You're not. From our 2nd row seats in the first balcony, we could still see Lindsey's hands moving on his guitar. Rather, to be more correct, guitars. The man changed instruments after every single song, I think. But I digress...

Lindsey Buckingham is a legend, and while I think on some level he must be aware of his own genius, he also seems humbled by a cheering crowd, genuinely thankful people still want to hear what he has to say. He routinely bowed with what appeared to be deep gratitude at the applause he was receiving, and even made mention of the fact that when one is locked away in a studio or dealing with the business end of music that it's easy to forget about the delivery of said music... And that he was thankful we were all there to hear his songs.

This band, like the group he last toured with, is fabulous - they shared the stage with him a little more than half the time. Lindsey is known for his penchant for gadgets and technology, and the band and stage show reflect that - the drummer, for instance, plays probably the most hi-tech drum kit I've ever seen. There wasn't a single actual drum - they were all electronic, including the bass drum (the pedal just hit a tiny pad on the floor - if you're familiar with drum kits, it looked like the pedal was set up without anything to hit at all), but that wasn't even the coolest thing. The coolest thing, hands down, was the drummer's seat. Yes, his seat. Why? Well, because it doubled as a set of conga drums. No joke. The man would just pound his hands on his friggin' chair, and depending on where he hit it, it would sound like a different drum. Absolutely cool.

But back to the man himself... Like I said, he changed guitars practically every song. I imagine his house is rather full of instruments at this point in his career. Anyone who's watched him play knows the most interesting thing about his style is that he never uses a guitar pick - no matter what technique he's using, he uses only his fingers. His lightning-fast picking style is legendary, and he didn't disappoint last night, running through lots of his solo music as well as some beloved Fleetwood Mac songs. Standouts for me were his haunting rendition of "Go Insane" (it truly sounded creepily crazy), "Big Love," "Bleed to Love Her" (the grand finale), and "Tusk."

Perhaps the thing that struck me most, however, was how in between many of the songs, as the crowd was clapping and yelling, he would fold himself in half, doubled over at the waist, guitar still hanging from his neck, and just scream. This is a man who is, at nearly 60 years old, still having a blast doing what he's doing, and still getting a huge kick out of the fact that other people are enjoying it, too.



Now, the only beef I have is that at the end of the show (after the 2nd encore), he walked offstage saying, "Thank you so much, I'll see you next year!" which made me think, "Wait, did he say that last time he was here? Y'know, 14 years ago??" Yeah, he probably didn't make any promises back then. I hope he meant what he said last night, though, because he's the kind of performer this girl just doesn't get tired of watching.

14 Years Between Dates

Ordinarily, if a date I liked didn't come around again for 14 years, I wouldn't be interested in a second date. But Lindsey Buckingham is different.

I saw him on his "Out of the Cradle" tour in 1992, and he was brilliant. It was, if I remember right, the 2nd show of the tour, and already his band sounded amazingly tight. Over the past 14 years, I've occasionally pulled "Out of the Cradle" off the shelf and thought, "I must have missed the follow up to this album..." And then I'd check online and find that, no, nothing had come out since then.

Until this year.

"Under the Skin" came out recently, and that means Lindsey's on tour again. And I'm going to see him tonight, 14 years after our first rendez-vous. I can't wait. And I intend to forgive him completely for the long delay in his return. You can't hold a grudge against musical genius.

Happy Hubby Birthday

Happiest of happy days to my one and only, the best husband a girl could ever ask for, my perfect travel companion (on vacation and everyday), and the man I love. All rolled into one. And yes, I am the luckiest person I know.

Happy Birthday, Hubby.

I wanna be on this committee...

I don't usually pay attention to the random spam crap that ends up in my email inbox... But for some reason, I noticed one the other day. And I've decided I want to be on this committee:

I belong to Independent Committee of Eminent Persons (CEP).

Day-um, how do I join??

Blustery to Bright Overnight

When we drove out to Lincoln City on Friday afternoon, the rain was blowing sideways and Highway 101 had plenty of standing water - in many places it was difficult to see the road at all. We ate a late lunch at Mo's and then hung out in a coffeeshop with wi-fi for a couple hours, watching the horizontal downpour. By Friday evening, it had calmed remarkably to a constant - but at least vertical - rain.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I woke up Saturday morning to a bright, beautiful, sunny day! The sky was blue, and it wasn't even very windy on the beach in front of the cabin - I felt quite overdressed in my rainjacket and scarf. There wasn't a single drop of rain all day. We still were supremely lazy, despite the glorious weather, and I got caught up on a ton of reading I'd pretty much given up on ever doing. I even took a nap. Heaven, I tell you - heaven.

And now we're back to the real world - and the rain. Some weather-people are predicting 60MPH winds in the Portland area (80MPH at the coast, so I'm glad I'm not there tonight), so I'm just hoping we don't lose power or have anything crash into the house.

Off to the beach

Chris & I are going to the beach house for the weekend, since I'm finally over the worst of that cold. I'll be congested for a week or so (stupid sinuses), but at least the fever's gone.

Anyway, what we had originally thought would be a lovely and relaxing weekend at the beach will now probably be a blustery few days - I'm hoping the house hasn't been affected by the excessive rain and flooding, but who knows? We'll find out tomorrow. As long as we can sit around reading with a fire in the fireplace, it'll still be the perfect beach weekend.

It's about damned time.

Democrats have taken back the House in DC, and it looks like we're poised to take back the Senate, too. As if that wasn't good enough news, Rummy resigned today. Let's see how far this administration's arrogance gets them now.

Next item on the agenda? ITMFA.

Fevah! In the morning, fevah all through the night...

I think I'm finally over the worst of the whole being sick thing - I hope so, anyway, because I'm not prepared to go backwards at this point. I didn't sleep at all on Sunday night - and I'm not exaggerating there, either, I didn't sleep at all - because I literally couldn't breathe through my nose. That truly sucks. Then yesterday I ended up getting a fever midway through the day. We don't have a thermometer, but I knew when I was sitting at the computer yesterday in my nightgown and sweating bullets that probably wasn't a good sign...

Amazingly, I slept through the night last night and while the fever has been coming and going all day, I'm feeling tons better tonight. I'm hoping for another good night's sleep tonight. Man, but these things manage to kick my ass but good. I told Chris on the phone yesterday that he's not allowed to leave anymore, since the last time I had a fever he was also on a business trip. He didn't think that would go over well at work, though, so I think as a backup plan we should at least think about investing in a thermometer.

Cold = Cold

The work retreat was great - lots of energy, great ideas... I'm excited about the next year. The temperatures at theFarm, however, were abso-frickin-lutely freezing. I woke up yesterday (final day of the retreat) with a sore throat, and I knew when I went to bed last night that it wasn't going away. Today, it's a cold. Dammit. I'm laying low this weekend (didn't even go outside today, which, by the sound of the rain pounding on the windows is probably just as well), and hoping the sore throat - at the very least - is better by the time I have to teach on Monday. Well, if it's not, I guess there are always drugs...

At any rate, I posted a little blurb on BootsnAll's behind-the-scenes blog about the retreat, complete with photos.

Life on the Farm

I'm currently ensconced in a three-day year-end meeting/retreat in the hills above the Columbia Gorge. There's a mountain view off the front porch, and another off the back porch. The house sits on 20 acres. There are two fireplaces, and it's got WiFi. Yeah, it's not too shabby.

We had a really productive day today, and tomorrow is when we start talking about the part of the company that's my job... So I'm really eager to get my ideas on the table, and hear everyone else's. It should be a good day.

Oh, I'm also hoping that the rains stay away long enough for me to get out tomorrow and get some photos.

Happy Halloween!

Here are our contributions to the pumpkin carving experience for 2006:


(L) My spider and (R) Chris' unhappy face.


(L) Glen's Maleficent and (R) Garrett's elaborate eyes.

Here's to all treats and no tricks this year.

Wedding Pictures

I've finally gotten the weekend wedding pictures into Flickr - here's the set. They won't be entertaining to most of you, those who don't know any of the people involved, but they're fun for anyone who's familiar with the players... They're especially fun for anyone who knows Stephanie, who isn't one to do glam - we now know she does glam really well!

Some favorites - I got a great shot of Kim as Toni was lacing up her gown, Toni did a little self-snap with Steph's camera, the hysterical flower girls, and the happy couple in front of lovely scenery. It was a great weekend. Thanks, Kim, for gettin' hitched.

Photos from Europe

There has been much futzing going on at Flickr with the photos from our September trip... And while the photoset will no doubt be further futzed with eventually, here's a link to the whole thing for your perusing pleasure. I've whittled it down dramatically, and it's still 420+ pictures, so proceed with caution. If you want to go straight to a self-running slide show (without captions or notes) you can also go here. Enjoy!

Autumn Trees

I've been noticing the lovely fall colors for the past few weeks, thinking, "I should really get outside with my camera before the rain knocks all those purdy leaves off the trees..." And have I gotten outside? No. Well, yes, but not with my camera. The good news is that Will has, and he posted a lovely shot on his photo blog.

2007 Tour de France Route Announced

Let the healing begin.

What a Wedding

Had a blast at my friend Kim's wedding over the weekend, mostly hanging out with two other college girlfriends (Kim was, understandably, busy). I was reminded how nice it is to spend time with people who know you and love you for who you are... People who've known you for long enough to accept your oddities (sometimes even find them endearing) and around whom you can absolutely be yourself. Whoever that is.

The four of us have known each other since our freshman year of college, and even though it's unlikely we would have ever met - let alone become friends - if we hadn't all been living on the same hall that first term, we've maintained a close friendship over the years. I love my friends with all my heart, and am so glad I got to spend a little time with them this past weekend. Now we just have to plot the next girls' weekend - one where someone's not getting married, so all four of us can participate.

Guns, Smugglers & Bombs

I've mentioned my coworker Court before, who's on a two-month sojourn through Eastern Europe. She posted a four-part entry about her overnight train trip from Sofia to Belgrade, and I just got done reading it. I'm just glad she made it through okay... You can start the journey here.

Weekend Getaway

I haven't had a good excuse for the irregular posting pattern on the blog lately, but I finally have one - at least for why I won't be posting anything for the next few days. I'm leaving tomorrow to fly to California for the wedding of a dear friend from college. She's the second of our group of four college friends to get married, but since I eloped she's the first to have a "real" wedding - and since all four of us will be there, it's going to be a fun girls' weekend, too. (Chris is, understandably, staying home.)

The three non-brides are already plotting to kidnap the bride after her wedding for an all-night gab session. The groom will get her for the rest of their lives - I think we have every reason to assume we get dibs for one night. Besides, it'll be three against one. I don't think he stands a chance.

Bloglines Roundup

It's been awhile since my last roundup of what's in my Bloglines queue, so let's have at it... In no particular order...

• My old favorite world-traveler-turned-world-saver Conor had a few interesting escapades before he headed back to Nepal last month. This was my favorite, and had me in tears as I read it, doubled over with laughter, unable to focus on the screen. At work.
  
• I've always wanted to visit the Winchester Mystery House.
• While the title of this post amused me, the text alternately horrified me and made me think, "This is a joke, right?" I kept checking the date to be sure it wasn't April 1st. I just can't believe this is actually true...
• I'm not sure at all what this means, but it had me howling when I first read it.
• I know everyone's seen this by now, but it still makes me smile each time.
• This little video is pretty amusing - it goes by too fast for me to count, but it was fun spotting the albums I have in my collection.
• I'm glad I don't have to be the one in the classroom, as I'm not sure I'd find the humor in the things Miss Bright experiences... But I sure do giggle when I read about them.
• Dirty Car Art, courtesy of Frytopia. Maybe it's because I wasn't expecting much, but I was nearly bowled-over impressed at some of the art.
• Also via Frytopia, this cat absolutely cracks me up. So does the owner's voice that pops in the video.
• Finally from Frytopia (the girl is prolific, what can I say?) comes the Icelandic Phallological Museum. Yes, it's a penis museum. In Iceland. You want to go to Iceland now, don't you? I thought so.
  

1000 Wines on the Road

BootsnAll members & bloggers Bri & C.J. just took off today on their round-the-world trip. The most recent posts on the blog are great - I'm particularly fond of this one from yesterday. This excerpt is fabulous:

I wonder if this is something like what astronauts feel before a launch, an internal battle of excitement, fear, and the reality that you’ll soon leave everything and everyone you know behind. The astronaut’s dilemma is this: do you sacrifice your dreams for safety, or leave the life you knew for a glimpse of the fantastic? Looking up at the moon or down at a map, I think the realization that you must at least try to go eventually becomes inescapable. To paraphrase Roosevelt, to fail while daring greatly ensures that one’s place will never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. And while we certainly don’t anticipate failure, the risk we are now prepared to take is tied directly to the regret we would feel for not daring at all.

Amen.

Buon viaggio, you two. I'm excited to follow your travels!

What a Difference a Year Makes

So, it's actually not even a year between these photos - and that makes it even more interesting to me.


This is me and BootsnAll Travel Writer Court at the BootsnAll party last December. I'd been a BnA member for almost a year by that point, and finally met a few folks at the party - but still didn't have a clue that I'd be working for them less then four months later.


Here we are last month in Salzburg, hanging out on my final night of vacation.

Last year we were making small talk and trying to figure out what to say to each other... This year, we hugged when we saw each other and gabbed like longtime girlfriends. Court returns from her two-month sojourn around Eastern Europe at the end of this month, and I'm looking forward to seeing her again.

Too Busy to Read?

I'm a lifelong reader. I began reading while still in preschool (my father puffs with pride when he tells people I read to my own preschool class), and as far back as I can remember I've always been in the middle of a book. As soon as I finish one, I choose my next victim. I've always got a book on my nightstand. Always.

It's not that anything has changed, at least not on the surface. I'm definitely in the middle of a book (I'm actually in the middle of two, as I brought a different book on vacation last month than was on my nightstand - the nightstand book's a hardcover, and I don't like to travel with those). I've absolutely got a book on my nightstand, and I've had one there for every night in my memory.

So what's different? The book on my nightstand has been there since at least January, I think, and it's not a long book. What's different is that I haven't been reading.

I used to read a few pages every night before turning off the light - and I can't even remember the last time I did that. I used to read during down-time on trips - now I mess with photographs or write trip notes on the laptop. I cannot remember the last book I even finished.

My rationalizing includes that I'm busy with three jobs and personal and professional obligations, and I'm just freaking exhausted when I crawl into bed at night - so that even reading a few pages is a futile effort, since I'll forget it all anyway and have to re-read it later. And while there's some very real truth to all of that, I'm kind of wondering if something more is going on. Am I just not enthusiastic about the book I've had on the nightstand? That's possible. Have I lost interest in reading? Also possible, though somehow I think that's less likely. (I still like reading blogs and news online, for instance, so I can't be totally fed up with reading, can I?)

Anyway, I'm not that far from the end of the nightstand book, though I've been at this point in the book for months. If I can get through this book and pick up a real page-turner, maybe I'll get past this. We'll see.

Sometimes it's good to not follow directions

I saw a story online today that reminded me of my 2004 trip to France & Italy with Chris & my mom. We had a GPS navigational system in the car, and for the most part - like, probably 95% of the time - it was an absolute dream. We'd just get ourselves lost on purpose in Tuscany, taking turns we thought looked interesting and often ending up on dirt or gravel roads, and then just plug in the address of our hotel and we'd be guided safely home.

There were a couple of glitches, however, which we just laughed about once we realized what was going on. In one instance, at a roundabout just outside San Gimignano, our guide (who Chris nicknamed "Hunny") had us going around in circles - never taking any of the turns. After the first couple go-rounds we just laughed and took the turn we thought was right (it was) and she guided us from there. Another issue, also outside San Gimignano, was that every time we'd pass by a certain highway on-ramp Hunny would try to get us to use it as if it were an exit. We didn't listen to her.

This article makes me think GPS systems should only be given to people after some kind of basic intelligence test is applied, however, for the safety of everyone involved.

Court's in Albania

My coworker, Court, has been traveling Eastern Europe for the last month and a half - I met up with her briefly in Salzburg on the last night of my trip last month, and I've been enjoying keeping up with her travels on her blog. She's in Albania right now, and after a tough first day in the country she had a wonderful time in Kruje. I love the story of the interaction with the shopkeeper, and am looking forward to seeing the baubles she picked up.

If only we'd gone last week...

...the lotus flowers might still have been in bloom. Damn.

Anyway, here are a few pictures from our visit to the Classical Chinese Garden in Portland on Saturday. It was a gorgeous day, and the garden was lovely as always - even when the place seems full of people, I can still manage to get a few pictures that make it seem like we had it all to ourselves. (Cue wild, self-satisfied, cackling laughter.)

There are more of my photos from the garden, both from this past weekend and previous trips, over at Flickr, but here's one from this last trip that makes me smile.

Daisy?

When I went out today to get the mail, I noticed a few of the flowers in my garden... So, in lieu of trip photos (soon!), here's one I took not two hours ago.

Whew... Some Highlights Reel

So, I finally moved all the "highlight" photos of our Euro trip onto Flickr. They're not annotated yet, so the tour isn't exactly user-friendly, but just getting them onto the site was a damned chore. Why, you ask? Well, I'll tell you. It's because there are 522 pictures in the set.

Yes, this "highlights" reel ain't for the faint of heart. Frankly, it's probably not really for anyone other than Chris and me. I mean, I can imagine plenty of people who'd enjoy bits and pieces of it, but the whole thing? For some, I figure it'd be like looking at 522 pictures of someone's new pet gerbil. And we all know how many kinds of fun that would be.

When I've got the annotations done, I'll put a link here to the set, for anyone who's intensely bored or whatever.

The Hazards of Working at Home

Let this serve as a public announcement to anyone who might want to ring my doorbell during working hours:

No, I do not want to receive a "comforting message" from the Bible.

I'm so glad I looked at the calendar...

I was operating under the (as I know now) false impression that my class started on Tuesday. I casually checked this morning, and am glad I did - it begins tomorrow. Well. So, I've now been in a semi-panic about getting the program ready, and remembering to bring the appropriate things with me tomorrow so I can photocopy them. The good news - and it's quite good, actually - is that I've done most of the prep work already, so all I need to do is make the requisite photocopies and get to the room on time. But I'm extremely glad I looked at the calendar...

All this to say that I'm rather behind on my to-do list, although I'm making headway on a couple of the items, and I'm off this afternoon to my alma mater to try and help the current crop of seniors understand what life after college is really like. Yes, all that writing your professors are making you do is going to come in very handy - much more so than that theory class they make you take, but don't tell them I said so.

TGIF

I swear, this has been one of the most challenging re-entry weeks I've had returning from a trip... The jetlag was bad, and the whole job thing on top of that hasn't made it any easier. I'm hoping to get a little more back to normal this weekend. On my agenda:

• Finish unpacking (yes, there is still some to be done)
• Put away laundry (I washed all the trip clothes, just haven't gotten them put away yet)
• Finish trip "notes" (I think I left off on the 22nd, so only 2.5 more days to cover)
• Finish trip photo highlights set on Flickr
  
• Prep for my class (the term starts on Tuesday for me)
• Alumni event (at my alma mater on Sunday)
• Clean out office (we now have furniture to set me up with a home office, just need to get the disaster area of a room cleaned out)

Uh-huh. Umm, looking at that list, I'll be really happy if I can get half of it done. Yeesh. When do I get to go on vacation again??

Job Changes While Jetlagged

I walked into the office yesterday morning mostly awake, but with that jetlaggy haze not too far off the horizon, and was immediately called into a meeting. I never even turned on my computer.

The long and short of it is that my job description has changed somewhat dramatically, as have my working conditions. It's all for the good, especially in the long run, and it's still gonna take some adjustment.

First off, the job is more targetted now. Before, I was doing a little bit of everything - kind of like a virtual juggling act - and not really delving into any one of them too deeply. Now I'm doing one thing (the thing that's actually in my title, so that finally matches), and since it's the thing I liked best, I'm really happy with that.

Second, I'll be working from home, only going into the office a couple times a month for meetings and/or as needed. This is the more major immediate change, as it's the physical one, and as this is only day 1.5 of me being a telecommuter, I'm still not sure how it's all going to play out. The good news is that I'm doing my laundry while I'm working! This first month is a test, to see how it all goes, so I'm reserving judgment for now.

In the long run, as I said, I think it's all positive. In the short run, it's such a different situation than what I left - not to mention what I expected to return to - that I'm still sorting it all out in my head. I'll tell you, though, that the cats are really enjoying having me here during the day, which counts for something in my book.

Almost Home...

There are times when I look up at the clock after being on this here computer-thingie and am shocked and amazed at how many hours I've managed to fritter away without realizing it. Of course, I'm often a little mortified at how much time I spend online. But at this very moment, I'm so very thankful for the time-waster I could hug it. (But I'm in public, so I'll refrain.)

I'm sitting in the Atlanta airport awaiting my connecting flight home, in the midst of a four-plus hour layover which feels even longer because I'm exhuasted. I'm looking forward to being in my own bed tonight after a week's worth of not sleeping through the night, but otherwise I'd much prefer to be hanging around in Europe another month or two!

It was a fabulous trip, and I've got most of the diary in a kind of "shorthand" form and will be transferring them into blog posts eventually - I'm not sure yet if I'll be back-dating them to their appropriate date of occurence or what, we'll see. At any rate, I'm back - mostly - and will be blogging again regularly soon.

Oh, and here's a little tidbit - yesterday alone produced over 600 pictures, so some serious editing is required before the Flickr feed is really share-able, but I'll get to it at some point...

Ciao, tutti!

Alrighty then, I'm off to Europe tomorrow (too freaking early, of course), so posts here might be sporadic as I can find unsecured wireless connections along the way. I'll be keeping track of our adventures, so eventually I'll get them all up here for your reading pleasure. In the meantime, have a great couple of weeks!

It serves me right...

So, back when I first saw this product advertised on television, I mocked it mercilessly. The ads were stupid, but beyond that, I couldn't imagine how on earth the doggone thing would be useful.

Well, cut to the present day, when toothpaste can be a lethal weapon on an airplane, and the thought of going for nearly two days without brushing my teeth is less than appealing. I've been to three stores in the last two days looking for them now, however (tail between legs and all), and they're nowhere to be found. Apparently I wasn't the only one who thought they seemed idiotic in the first place. The gal at the last store said that they'd had a ton of people in lately asking for them - all travelers - and would be getting some in next week.

For my next trip, then, I'll be well-prepared.

Now, I have a request - would someone please invent hand lotion in a wet-wipe form? That would make my in-flight travel kit complete once again, and potential-weapon free. And isn't that what we all want?

Girl Travels World

My BootsnAll colleague, Court, is off traveling for the months of September and October. She just left this past Saturday, and will be blogging about her trip on her own little corner of the web, Girl Travels World. I'm already enjoying reading about her escapades.

Even though she won't be back in the States until October, I'll be seeing Court before the end of September - she and her boyfriend will be in Salzburg at the same time we'll be there, all for the Road Cycling World Championships!

It's a Music Meme

...that works like this:

You reply to this post and I give you a letter of the alphabet. Then you find 10 songs from your music collection that start with said letter and put them on your blog (with these or similar instructions). And, to be fair, I've modified the meme everso slightly - to include the words "from your music collection" - because I think that makes it more interesting.

VJ at Tales of Slow Brave Athena gave me the letter L, so I ended up imposing a few other rules on myself. Specifically, I didn't include any songs that began with the word "love," because that's too durned easy. I also didn't want more than one song by any one artist. Finally, although I've got a ton of Italian songs beginning with "l" (it's an article, after all), I chose to eliminate those. So, with all my rules imposed, it was still hard to get it down to ten. Nevertheless, here's my list:

1. L.A. Woman - The Doors
2. Labor Day - Goodness
3. Landed - Ben Folds
4. Laser Show - Fountains of Wayne
5. Lay Your Hands on Me - Bon Jovi
6. Leaving So Soon? - Keane
7. Left Hand Suzuki Method - Gorillaz
8. Lemon Meringue - Poe
9. Like a Tattoo - Sade
10. Loaded Sister - My Regrets

Steamy Visitor

In the midst of trip prep on Friday night, I heard the far-off whistle of the steam train that occasionally makes its way near our house. I grabbed the camera and ran out to join the growing flock of steam train fans, and managed to get a few decent pictures. Most of them turned out too dark (it was dusk), but I lightened them and - voila! - there's a train in there!

Shopping is Hard Work

Toni and I had a shopping day planned for today, and I knew it was going to be a long day... I'm amazed I didn't crash midway through, running on very little sleep and with higher heat being predicted than I prefer, but we were having so much fun that I guess I was distracted from my fatigue until we were done.

We started the day at the farmer's market, where I didn't buy a thing (except donuts, of course), because I'm leaving so soon. Our main errand at the market today was to bring peach ice cream samples to the folks at the stand where we buy the peaches! They enjoyed the samples, and one of the gals was even caught feeding one of the customers. Very cute. I think I convinced another one of them to get an ice cream maker, too.

After that, it was shopping, shopping and more shopping - with a break for lunch with Toni's cousins. It was mostly for Toni, and I think she got pretty much everything she was in the market for. I got the things I was in the market for, and a bunch of stuff I wasn't... But which are fabulous, of course, and which I had to have. And yes, most of those things were shoes. What did you expect?

And now I'm exhausted, and am going to bed. Tomorrow I'll fawn over my spoils some more, finding space for them in my overstuffed closet and vowing to purge unused items when we return from Europe with, as you might guess, even more clothing and shoe goodies. Well, that's the plan, anyway. And boy, do I hope things go according to plan.

Hands-Free on the Autobahn

Chris called me Friday morning (well, morning my time) en route from Friedrichshafen back to Munich after his afternoon at EuroBike... While going 140km/hr on the Autobahn. Thank goodness for the speakerphone on his mobile.

Perceptive Travel Magazine: Sept/Oct Issue

I've gotten the email updates about Perceptive Travel since they started, but have never gotten 'round to letting anyone else know about it... Until now. The Sept/Oct issue is online now, and according to the email I got:

We travel to New Zealand just to see some bras hanging on a fence, get lost in Italy trying to investigate the legend of a flying saint, see dinosaur tracks in Turkmenistan, look for elusive monkeys on a Vietnamese Island, and do some winery touring and late-night eating in Argentina.

Darfur: Sudanese Government Rejects U.N. Peacekeeping Force Amid Growing Violence

From today's American Progress Report:

Darfur: Sudanese Government Rejects U.N. Peacekeeping Force Amid Growing Violence -- Yesterday, the U.N. Security Council voted 12-0 -- with Russian, China, and Qatar abstaining -- to approve "a long-sought resolution that would place an expanded peacekeeping force in Sudan's troubled Darfur region under U.N. authority, even as the government appeared to have begun a new offensive against rebel forces. The new U.N. mandate would take effect only with Sudan's consent, and its president, Lt. Gen. Omar Hassan al-Bashir, immediately rejected it." "The Sudanese people will not consent to any resolution that will violate its sovereignty," the Sudanese government responded. The push for peacekeeping forces comes after a signed peace agreement in May has turned out not to be "worth the paper it's printed on." "There have been more raids, more rapes, and more people displaced from their homes -- and violence has only gotten worse since the deal was signed a few months ago." In fact, the peace deal "appears to have rekindled" the fighting. "The Darfur Peace Agreement is allowing the government to resume the war," John Prendergast of the nonprofit International Crisis Group said. "This is a grotesque abuse of the intentions of those who crafted the peace deal back in May." (To learn what your member of Congress has done to end genocide in Darfur, go to DarfurScores.org.)

And Chris is off...

I got Chris to the airport this morning at o-dark-hundred, and am almost through with my day now (which is wonderful, because then I can go home to sleep). I'll begin my trip prep in earnest tomorrow. I did get two big things checked off my list, though - I scheduled my transportation to the airport next week, and the housesitter came over last night for the final run-through. Oh, I just can't wait to get on that plane...

I also can't wait to hear from Chris once he's gotten to Berlin - he's spending a day at EuroBike before heading up to the trade show.

Vicky & Lucy Play Catch-Up

Casey and I were friends in high school, going to all the rock concerts together, being groupies together... We hadn't seen each other in probably ten years - too long. She was in town this past weekend for a family reunion, and Chris & I met her and her boyfriend Adrian for brunch downtown.



It was nice to catch up, however, briefly, and I love the picture of the two of us - amazing how nicely we turned out, given our high school era pictures... Talk about big hair... Ha...


Back in the day, oh, how addicted we were to the hair dye and the perms... *sigh* Thank goodness the '80s are behind us. (L) Ready for a jazz choir concert, and (R) ready for a rock concert - both circa 1989-1990. This was also during the time we referred to one another as "Tricky Little Vicky" and "Juicy Miss Lucy." If you can tell me from what band's song we stole those names, you'll get... Umm... My highest esteeem? No Google-cheating.

One Year Later

Today is the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina hitting the gulf coast. I'm not sure I could say anything that hasn't been said in the days and weeks leading up to today, so I won't try. I haven't even seen the destruction first-hand, let alone suffered the kind of losses the people of the gulf coast have suffered. And one year later, I still well up at the stories about perseverance and love of community that continue to bring people back to a devastated region, even when our government can't seem to get its act together to truly help those in need.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead

Yesterday's Progress Report was dedicated to the anniversary, and is worth a read.

Ahh... Pedicure...

I finally got another pedicure last week with my friend Toni - my toes needed it badly, as the last one I'd had was in Bend, and Toni was happy to be my pedi buddy. Every girl should have one.

I thought I was smarter than that...

Okay, I know I'm not a geography genius. I also know I'm not the smartest person on the planet. But when I saw a link to a travel quiz, I really thought I'd do better than 30%. Thirty percent?!?!? Man, I really suck... Let me know how you do.

Peace, Man.

Here's something odd... As I was driving from job #1 to job #2 today, I was first in line as I pulled up to a stoplight when the driver of one of the cars turning left into the lane next to me flashed me the peace sign. What's odd about that, you ask? Well, he looked directly into my eyes as he drove his van around the corner, holding his fingers in that upwards "V" the whole time, as I grinned stupidly back. If he'd come from behind me, it would have made more sense (says the girl with all the lefty bumper stickers on her car), but from the front? I'm still baffled. The cool thing about it is that it kept me smiling for an hour afterwards, and kind of made my afternoon.

So, to Mr. White Van Guy, whoever you are - peace.

Mini-Summer Break

I've got my last class of the summer term tonight, and I couldn't be happier about that. I took on too much this term, and have already taken steps to cut back for the fall, but even knowing that I wouldn't be as burdened next term didn't make this term much easier... So, I'm pleased as punch (geez, does anyone say that anymore??) that tonight's class is the last one I'll have until early October. Hallelujah.

Tomorrow, the teacher is finally on her summer break.

Movin' On Up

I helped a dear friend move house yesterday, so she can begin school up on pill hill in a month. There were lots of stairs on both ends and my legs are still achy, but she's a minimalist, so we were done by noon. The sad part is that she's moving to a spot that's farther away from me (she used to live three minutes from my house), and that she's giving up her car and so will be less able to get together... The incredibly wonderful news is that she's going back to school to do something she loves, and she's worked her tail off for the last few years to get to this place. I almost can't believe it's here, the time when she's done with her dead-end job and will get back to using that amazing brain of hers... I'm really proud of her, and excited to see what the next couple of years bring for her. And I think I'll be happy to hop in my car and go get her, so if she thought that by moving up to the hill and abandoning her car she'd get rid of me, she needs to think again.

Hearty congrats, T, you deserve all the fabulous things that will soon come your way.

Sending Mom Off to Africa

My mother leaves for Rwanda tomorrow morning, so she drove up to Portland tonight and I met her downtown to have dinner with her, her coworker, my brother and his fiancee. We ate in the fabulous Italian restaurant in my brother's building, Cafe Allora, and I even got to whip out a "piacere" to Paolo, the owner/chef. Nice when that kind of thing comes in handy.

Anyway, Mom packed and re-packed her purse a couple times at the table while we waited for our meals. She's not a relaxed traveler - well, she's fine once she's on the trip, quite independent and able to roll with whatever happens, but beforehand she's going over her plans and all the things she needs to do repeatedly. My brother and I took to mocking her (good-naturedly), which amused us at least.

Mom and her coworker will go on to Tanzania after a week in Rwanda (the Rwanda portion of the trip is for a work project, Tanzania is for fun), and then will be home. They return two days before I leave for Europe, so at least I'll get to talk to her before I go. The picture sharing will have to wait until October.

Jessica

I got a postcard in the mail last week from my Aunt. Emblazoned across the front of the card was my name (in a glittery ink, no less), and on the back was the meaning of my name... In Italian. My Aunt recently visited Tuscany, and found the card there. It reads:

Dall’ebraico “Yehayagem,” Dio è la mia forza. Donna ribelle e decisa, ama il confronto e molto difficilmente si arrende di fronte alle avversità.

The translation that I'm getting (for those of you out there who don't read Italian) is that Jessica is from Hebrew and means "God is my strength." Jessicas are rebellious and determined women who love a challenge and hardly surrender in the face of adversity.

Ahem.

Maybe those are Italian Jessicas. This one might be a smidge rebellious at times, but usually she's pretty well-behaved. And the whole "love a challenge," "hardly surrender in the face of adversity" stuff - yeah, that's not so much me. I'll say it, because all y'all out there who know me are thinking it, so I might as well get it on the table...

At any rate, it was a fun translation exercise.

(Thanks also to Alessandro for his assistance with the word I couldn't figure out! Nice to have friends in Italian places.)

Chris and His Boo-Boo

I was doing a bit of blog-reading the other day - catching up - and saw that my coworker Court had also posted a bit about the Portland Twilight Crit the other day. She and her boyfriend, Charlie, were at the race (Charlie raced in the twilight race), and she was also celebrating her birthday that night. At any rate, she got a picture of me scowling at Chris' wounds while he was getting treated in the medic area. When I browsed across the picture to open it, I noticed the title. I said to Chris, "Oh, I guess I'm your Boo-Boo." I told him he could not, however, call me that - under any circumstances.

The One Book Meme

The One Book meme, courtesy of James Tata.

One book that changed your life. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M. Pirsig

One book that you’ve read more than once. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M. Pirsig - I've read this at least four times (once was even for a theory class in college), and my copy is now thoroughly dog-eared and marked up with odd little philosophical notes in the margins. I think I need a new copy to re-read, so I can preserve the one I already have.

One book you’d want on a desert island. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M. Pirsig - Each time I read it I learn something new, and I don't imagine that changing anytime soon. Of course, I also don't imagine being on a desert island anytime soon, either, but...

One book that made you laugh. Any in the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde - A college friend of mine has a habit of laughing out loud while she's reading. I don't usually have that experience - I find lots of things funny, but rarely laugh aloud when reading. Fforde makes me laugh - often.

One book that made you cry. Crossing to Safety, by Wallace Stegner

One book that you wish had been written. I want there to be biographies of all the people in my family that I find fascinating, without me having to be the one to write them. Obviously, the market for these books is rather small, but a girl can dream.

One book that you wish had never been written. I can't think of anything that I wish had never been written... Never is such a very long time...

One book you’re currently reading. The Rector and the Rogue, by W.A. Swanberg

One book you’ve been meaning to read. The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand

Portland Twilight Crit

Last Friday night was the 5th Portland Twilight Criterium, and the second that Chris would ride (he rode the 1st as well). It was also a chance for me to play a little more with my new toy. I got a bajillion photos, most of which are crap, but there were a few I was really happy with.


On the start line, Chris' group lines up to receive their instructions. Chris is the one wearing the Finnegan's jersey and the massive grin.


Chris' group rides away from the start.





I don't know who most of the people were that I got in the pictures I took. I'm hoping Chris does. The only one I know here is Chris himself, 2nd from the bottom.

The night didn't end as well as it began, unfortunately, as Chris crashed about a third of the way from the finish line on the last lap. He's very, very lucky he didn't break his collarbone, so we have that as a consolation. What he did end up with is a nice case of road rash down his left side and a "second degree AC separation," whatever that means. He is, of course, not going in to get it x-rayed. In fact, he even raced last night...

Present for Me

I bought myself a new toy last week, giving myself (I hope) enough time to get acquainted with it before we go to Europe... It's a digital SLR - a Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D - and so far, I love it. I'm also incredibly intimidated by the sheer number of buttons, knobs and dials. It's kind of overwhelming... But really, really fun.

Here are just a few things I snapped from the sofa within an hour of getting the package, just looking at the coffee table and my immediate environs.

KATRINA: One Year Later, New Orleans Infrastructure Remains in Shambles

From yesterday's American Progress Report:

As the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches, the Brookings Institution has released a report examining the state of recovery and rebuilding in New Orleans. The findings paint a grim picture. While the demolition of old houses has progressed, new housing is lagging because "rent prices in the region have increased by 39 percent over the year and home sale prices have spiked in suburban parishes." Exacerbating the problem is the fact that those in search of housing are receiving little assistance from the federal government. Roughly 100,000 people have applied for the "Road Home" housing-aid program, but they still have not received government grants and may have to wait "more than two years before the last of the money is handed out." A laundry list of other problems remain. There is "a lack of public transportation, child-care services and hospitals." Gas and electricity are available only to "41 and 60 percent of the pre-Katrina customer base, respectively." Even with the loss of 190,000 workers, the unemployment level in New Orleans has reached 7.2 percent, "higher than last August." For the region's 278,000 workers who have been displaced by the storm, finding a job is proving even more difficult, with nearly one in four unemployed.

Flashpackers: A New Generation of Travelers

A few representatives of BootsnAll are featured in this article about flashpackers from today's Oregonian. Of the folks interviewed, Sean and Donovan are co-workers of mine, and Brianne and C.J. are BootsnAll community members.

Too Much Pizza

My mom's 19.5-year-old cat Bear, who'd been eating grass and had a blade stuck in her mouth like a hilliblly chewing on hay.

We spent this past Saturday night at my mom's house outside Corvallis; Chris was working at a nearby bike race on Sunday, so we just headed down there midday on Saturday. We got to her place in time to fire up the outdoor earth oven so Chris could make earth oven pizzas.


A view of the inside of the oven, pizza cooking; and Chris rotating a pie to get even heat distribution. Such an attentive chef.

There was only one hitch with the pizza-making... Last time Chris made pizza at my mom's, he made a ton of dough because he wasn't sure how they'd all turn out. He ended up "killing" a couple of them (let's call them sacrifices to the pizza gods) in the process of learning how long to cook them, etc. This time, he also made a ton of dough (he's not made pizzas down there enough to have it down to a science yet), but this time he didn't kill any of them. Between the three of us, by the time he was done, we had seven pizzas.


This isn't even all of them - we'd eaten two by this point, and there were some on another countertop, too. I never thought I'd say there was such a thing as too much pizza, but...

By the end of the cooking process, every time Chris would walk in the back door with another pizza tray, my mom and I would groan and say, "Oh, god, no more, please!" I've heard of death by chocolate cake before, but never death by pizza. We even tried driving one of them over to one of my mom's neighbors, but they weren't home. It would have been especially funny as she lives on a dead-end dirt road miles from the nearest pizza joint... "Pizza delivery!"

We did visit those neighbors the next day to tell them they'd missed out (we ended up bagging and freezing all the uneaten pizza), but it wasn't as funny.


My mom's neighbor's dog, outstanding in his field, waiting for someone to play.


This is an old water collection tank at the back of my mom's property, from the days when some of the previous owners got their water from the springs on the property. It's been unused for years, so my brother cut some holes in it (no, they weren't already there - would've been a very ineffective water container) and he and my mom installed some old, dead electronics out there for my nephew. It's now his rocketship. And it's fabulous.

Race Day in Bend

Saturday, for Chris, was a two-fer - he had a race early on Saturday morning and then another late Saturday afternoon. The 2nd was the downtown criterium, which would be followed a few hours later by the main weekend event (at least as far as spectators are concerned), the pro crit.

Chris got back from his morning race right about the time I was getting up, so we went to a late breakfast together on the front patio of the hotel, and then did some shopping. I bought two pairs of shoes at King of Sole, which is a great little shoe store right around the corner from the hotel, and Chris bought a couple shirts at a shop called Urban Minx. I swear, I love that name so much, it's just priceless.


The sign hanging outside Urban Minx.

Chris' race was largely during the hottest part of the day (and don't talk to me about a dry heat, hot is hot in my book, and none of it is pleasant). I took a bunch of pictures of all the races that afternoon with my SLR, but hadn't had time to buy faster film before we left home, so I got a whole bunch of blurry pictures one can assume are cyclists, but not because they actually look like cyclists. Thankfully, the little digie managed to capture a few riders, so you can see that Chris actually did do some riding, and we did actually see some racing.


(L) This was Chris' group, and he's in the picture - which I think was more luck than anything on my part - 2.5 riders from the right, on the bright green bike. (R) Race organizers had placed hay bales at certain points along the course, mostly up against immovable objects like light posts, just in case anyone crashed into one. Others, like this one, were just bases for the "Caution" tape keeping people from crowding riders.

After Chris' race were a couple others, and then the pros did the "Twilight Crit" - the streets around the course were packed with people, which was really fun. We walked to the top of a completely empty parking garage so as to see the pack coming around an S-curve a bit better, and it was fun - watching them snake around those turns, like a liquid thing.


The big boys going through the curves on the backside of the course.

One highlight, for me anyway, was seeing local boy Aaron Olson, who rides for European pro team Saunier Duval-Prodir and was in town for the race. He was there on his own, with no teammates to help him out, just for the training and to support a great Oregon race. He was, understandably, the focus of much attention.


Olson being interviewed after the race - you can see the wide berth he's being given, and also the attention he's getting.

The winner of the crit turned out to be a familiar name - JJ Haedo. Haedo won a couple stages at the inaugural Tour of California this year, and I won't be surprised if he gets scooped up by a European team in the very near future.


Haedo getting interviewed post-win.


(L) 1st, 2nd & 3rd place on the stage, the Twilight Crit, with Toyota-United's JJ Haedo standing on top. (R) The jersey leaders at that point in the competition... I can't remember who they were at that point, and I think they changed by the time the race ended for good on Sunday, but if I find out who they were I'll update this.

Tater Tots & Hidden Ducks in Bend

The principal reason for our trip to Bend in mid-July was a three-day bike race Chris had entered. Well, it was a three-day event for him - by the time we arrived on Thursday evening, the pro men and women had already completed two stages. But they get paid for that kind of thing...


This sun logo is everywhere at the Old St. Francis Hotel, and reminded me of my tattoo. Which meant, of course, that I had to get a picture of it.

At any rate, most of the racing Chris was doing took place far enough away from downtown Bend that I only got to see him in one event. That was fine, as we were staying at the fabulous Old St. Francis Hotel (part of the McMenimans chain that isn't) smack dab in the middle of downtown and mere steps away from many fine shopping opportunities. I took advantage of several of them.


For no reason I can determine, they've turned the old stage area into a Turkish soaking pool. Why Turkish? In the middle of Oregon? Who knows. In all honesty, I wish they'd been able to (or inclined to) alter the temperature of the water depending on the temperature outside - it was nearly 90 the whole weekend, not making me feel really excited about hopping into a giant hot tub.

Staying at the Old St. Francis was great for many reasons - it's downtown, it's charming, it's got an attached restaurant (and movie theatre and Turkish soaking pool) and it's got free wifi. The first night we were there we ate at the hotel bar, and for kicks we ordered the tater tots as appetizers. It wasn't until midway through the giant basket of them (which we were, sadly, unable to finish) that I realized they served tater tots because it used to be an elementary school. Veddy clever.


The tots were something special; I'm not sure I can convey how far above average these were, except to say that I want some right now.

Each bedroom is named after someone who worked with or at the school. We were staying in the Ed Danahy room - Ed was (according to the handout you can pick up at checkin) a "well-liked school custodian back in the 1960s-70s. He was an Irishman and lived with his family in one of the back houses." Those back houses are now cottages which are also part of the hotel.


(L) Each room features a portrait of its namesake, done in a style that's folksy and sort of a signature of the McMenimans properties. This here is our friend, Ed Danahy. (R) The room was really lovely, all wood panelled (the nice kind), and hand-painted headboards.

On Friday, when Chris took off early for his race, I slept in and then lingered over a leisurely breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Well, not in the restaurant, precisely - on its patio out front. It was a happily slow way to spend an hour or more.


I dined on oatmeal with caramelized apples, and played online the whole time. I had the patio to myself, as it was, for most, a workday.

After breakfast, I treated myself to a pedicure at a local spa, and ended up with orange toes. The only drawback was that I couldn't try on any of the cute shoes I found at King of Sole until the following day.


See? Orange toes.

Friday afternoon I found a small side courtyard at the hotel and camped out under the shade of a tree, an iced chai and a wireless connection keeping me company.


It was a delightful way to spend an afternoon...

That afternoon, once Chris got back from his race, we ambled down to the park and walked along the water. The river is so shallow in places that even the geese were walking across rather than swimming.





Can you spot the duck hiding in the last picture?

We ended the day with a film in the hotel's theatre (with more tater tots for dinner). Nice first day...


(L) Crazy - and wonderful - fence surrounding the courtyard at the hotel. (R) Artist representation of the school's namesake, complete with animal so you know which saint it is. Handy, that.