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.

Donut Publicity

Regular readers of this blog know that I've rhapsodized about, thrown superlatives at, sung the praises of and waxed poetic on the subject of the donuts at the Lake Oswego Farmers Market. Finally, the rest of the world should begin to take notice. (And yours truly is even quoted at the end of the article - it's quite possible that the word "cakey" is made up, but you all know what I mean.)

The bad news is that the family is on vacation this week and next, meaning the droves of people who will flock to the market this Saturday will leave donut-less and disappointed. The good news is that they'll be back in two weeks, at which point at least those of us who have been regular fans - I mean customers - can get our donut fix again.

Some Italian While You Wait

I have another post about our trip to Bend (god, what was that, three weeks ago now?) in the offing, but in the meantime (until I get my shit together to finally edit it), here are a couple idiomatic expressions from my trusty old Italian phrase-a-day calendar:

Sono sano come un pesce.
"I'm fit as a fiddle." - literally, "I'm as healthy as a fish."

Ha cambiato bandiera!
"He switched sides!" - literally, "He changed flags!"

Whose dumb idea was this?

From today's American Progress Report:

"Disney's ABC television network has dropped plans to produce a Holocaust-themed miniseries" overseen by Mel Gibson, who reportedly went on an anti-Semitic tirade after he was arrested for DUI last week.

What nincompoop thought letting Mel Gibson oversee a "Holocaust-themed miniseries" was a good idea in the first place?!?