Not much incentive to fight fair, now is there?

Letting Go.

2010-05-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

I think that the time has come for me to accept that the blog isn't coming back in any meaningful way. I've thought about ways to revive it, and things to do with it, but the fact of the matter is that it's really just a historical record of a certain point in my life now, and I'm ready to close that book.

So with that, I am signing off. There will be no more updates to this blog, with the singular exception of letting people know that there's a new one on a certain topic, since writing about my life has given way to Facebook and other social media, leaving this as a half-forgotten project.

Quote of the Day: Jack: "Where are we?
Christian: This is a place you all made together so you could find one another...Nobody does it all alone. You needed them and they needed you.
Jack: For what?
Christian: To remember and to let go."
Christian and Jack Shephard (John Terry and Matthew Fox), Lost.

"Let's just call it my need to know."

2010-05-13T15:31:00.001-07:00

So I've jumped back into the dating game.

Maybe I should rephrase that--I've jumped back into the dating game in a purely secondary sort of way. I'm not dating anyone except Indie Rocker. That said, I have become involved in some of my friends' love lives in some interesting ways. I'm attempting to set up friends, be their sounding boards, and encourage them to date online/in real life--sometimes all at the same time.

It's interesting now that I've been married for over a year and happily to boot, that I seem to have become something of a magnet for advice-seeking friends. It's almost like I appear to have answers, which is kind of amusing and amazing to me at the same time. Clearly, I have no innate knowledge that I didn't have when I was single, but apparently from an outside perspective, relationship success = good relationship advice. Or something like that.

Obviously the most fraught experiment has been setting friends up with each other. This little project has both the biggest potential for failure and the most disaster potential. It also has the biggest potential to make people totally happy, and take the scary unknowingness out of dating, especially for friends who are tired of online dating and the weirdos they've been subjected to. One of my friends told me perhaps the funniest story I've ever heard about being slapped during intimacy and realizing that he just wanted to go home and possibly never date again. Awesome.

I have realized pretty quickly that the only way two people are meant to meet is if they have something more in common than being single. I haven't been married so long that I've forgotten that. One of my friends asked me this week why I had introduced her to another friend of mine--coming up with valid reasons wasn't easy and they sounded better in my head, but I appreciated the exercise. I liked that she was challenging me to make sure that I had my priorities straight--that is, that the best interests of my friends were my best interests, and forcing them to make small talk with total strangers with spurious connections wasn't a winning strategy.

It's too early to say if I'm any good at this or not, but at least everyone appears to still be having fun. If I find myself down a few friends in the next few months, I'll know that I blew it somewhere.

Quote of the Day: "Women might be able to fake orgasms. But men can fake whole relationships." Sharon Stone.

Less of me.

2010-04-23T10:05:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to announce that there is five pounds less of me around than there was in 2009. I've been eating better, running several times a week, and generally taking better care of myself.

This weight-loss thing has actually been a goal of mine for a long time, but rather than doing something about it, I've generally just felt bad and wanted to do something about it. I'm training for a half-marathon and generally eating less than I had been. I'm still drinking beer and eating pizza, just less of both.

I think I'm finally starting to succeed for two reasons--I'm doing it in such a way that I'm still eating things I like to eat, but I'm regularly working out and I'm also paying more attention to what I eat. Mindlessly eating and drinking too much have always been issues for me, so solving both of these problems and losing weight to boot is pretty freaking awesome.

I realize that moderation isn't exactly rocket science, but apparently it took me a while to catch on. But now that I have caught on, it feels pretty freaking good.

Quote of the Day: "Liberty Bell, if you put one more Baco on that potato, I'm gonna kick your little monkey butt." Mac MacGuff (J. K. Simmons), Juno.

Month in review

2010-02-18T10:31:00.000-08:00

So I started making some monthly resolutions in January when I made my 2010 resolutions. One of them was to stick some money in my savings account and leave it there. For once, this has actually happened. I am kind of pleasantly shocked.

I've read a number of articles, like this one and this one, about renewing savings and having a certain amount (in this case, $500) in the bank as a safety cushion. Now that I have that, I'm grappling with the next steps. Obviously, paying down the credit card debt amassed from Christmas and France are the next big steps, and then starting to tackle my student loans, since my grace period ends in April.

It's really interesting to find myself in this position, of truly dealing with money in a "grown-up" manner. I like it for a number of reasons, namely that I finally feel like I'm in charge of the money that comes through my household. Indie Rocker and I are saving up to hire an architect to create blueprints for the house renovations we want to start working on; ideally, we'll be able to afford him by May.

Obviously, the thought of renovating the house excites me to no end, because it means that someday I might actually be able to live in the house I want, rather than the one I'm currently stuck with. I will admit that I've done a lot with what's currently there, but until we can really dig in and get rid of the crap that the last remodel did to the house, I'm not going to be truly satisfied. We've made a start, and are working towards making real changes, so I'm happy for the time being.

I'm still looking for a new job, preferably one that makes more money, so we'll see where that search goes. I definitely need to start devoting more time to it, since I've been side-burnering it forever. I just need to suck it up and do the work, even if I hate it. I mean, really, who likes job hunting?

Quote of the Day: "Money is like a sixth sense without which you cannot make a complete use of the other five." W. Somerset Maugham

Easier than I thought...

2010-02-16T10:44:00.000-08:00

So in a follow-up to the last post, apparently all I needed to do was tell Indie Rocker that I hate sitting on the couch to eat dinner.

I told him all three of the reasons I listed, and we haven't eaten on the couch since.

Had I realized that, I would have said something years ago. Go figure.

Francophilia in full effect

2010-02-11T11:31:00.000-08:00

Now, this isn't a new thing, as I've been a Francophile since the age of 7, which I first starting taking French language classes. However, it got revved back up again after spending the entirety of last week in France, with some layovers in Geneva, Switzerland.

I love France. I always have, and I probably always will. I love the language, I like the people, I love the country, and I truly adore the food and culture. French people have gotten a bad rap for a variety of reasons, very few of which I think have any merit. I have spent time in Paris and found Parisiens to be accomodating, polite, and downright nice to me. I found Meribel and Les Trois Vallees to be absolutely no different.

My personal biases aside, I have had a series of interesting conversations regarding food and eating both on the trip and afterwards that have me thinking quite a bit about food issues in the US and abroad. We ate so well on the trip, and came back feeling so good that it made me wonder why it's so easy to eat well abroad and so difficult to eat as well here.

I think the crux of the issue is really the availability of locally produced, inexpensive, minimally processed food. I don't mean to sound like Michael Pollan, but we spent a bunch of money on food in France, and it was totally worth it. Americans seem to insist that cheap is the norm and that they as a whole are generally totally unwilling or unable to pay more for food.

I'll be the first to admit that I don't know what to do with Swiss chard either, but I can usually figure out how to whip something up from a few ingredients. And I live in a place where inexpensive (to me) fresh produce and other locally produced goods are readily available. If I'm really lazy, I can get in the car and be at a supermarket in under 5 minutes. Three, in fact. That's about as far from a food desert as you can get.

Now that I've managed to excuse myself into a corner, it's time to back out. I think that the major American excuse for eating poorly is convenience. I do this myself--it's a hell of a lot easier to pour a bowl of cereal in the morning and inhale it than it is to prepare a morning meal like I did this morning: yogurt, slices of Comte cheese, slices of prosciutto, slices of baguette spread with Nutella with fruit and nuts packed for snacks during the day.

Disclaimer: I still ate the whole thing standing over the kitchen counter, which no self-respecting Frenchwoman would ever do. She'd have sat down at a table and enjoyed her meal with a cup of coffee, rather than making it to-go like I did.

What's also funny to me is how all six of us pretty much ate every single meal abroad sitting around a table talking, laughing, sharing plates, and focusing on the meal, rather than anything else. This scenario is in direct contrast to my house, because getting Indie Rocker to eat a meal at the table instead of on the couch in front of the TV feels like punishment to him.

Which is patently ridiculous, and finding a solution to that is driving me berserk. I don't really care how he did things when he lived by himself, but that ship has sailed and I'm tired of eating on the couch. I want to enjoy my damned meal instead of trying to balance it on my knees, eat without spilling all over myself, and yell at the dog to stop begging every 19 seconds.

Which leads me to my last point, that stream-of-consciousness rant makes me realize that American food consumption isn't going to change until we change our relationships to meals. Food needs to be more of an experience, and less of a commodity. Meals should be prepared and enjoyed rather than inhaled in between frantic activities. And that doesn't need to be an arduous process--I think there's clearly a place for Mac & Cheese when it's been a ridiculous day and there's nothing else to eat.

But for me, I do think that I need to spend a little bit more time and money making sure that my house has a little bit less crap in it, a little bit more real food, and a little bit more time to truly enjoy it. Wish me luck!

Quote of the Day: "There is no French paradox, really, only an American paradox: a notable unhealthy people obsessed with the idea of eating healthily. So, relax. Eat Food. And savor it." Michael Pollan.

2010 resolutions - sort of.

2010-01-04T10:38:00.000-08:00

I gave some serious thought to these new resolutions over the weekend, and I decided that I need to have some yearlong goals, but also some smaller, monthly goals as well. I tend to think big, and then the details fall through. Much like my savings goals, which totally have never happened.

That said, I have two main goals for the New Year:

1. Take care of my back problem, and stop being in constant pain. I was diagnosed with degenerative disc disorder in 2008, and have had lower back pain since then pretty much consistently. I'm always concerned about my back, but since I don't really know what to do about it, I've done nothing. I plan to see another doctor about this, eat better, lose some weight and focus on strengthening my core muscles in order to try and eliminate some of the back pain.

2. Get a new job. I applied for a new job at the end of last year, and intend to network, apply for new jobs, and just keep chipping away at this one until I am somewhere I want to be, which is ideally working as a program/project manager working on renewable energy or conservation.

My monthly goals for January are a little simpler:
1. Put money into my savings account and leave it there
2. Work up to a manageable workout program by running a few times a week, going to yoga once a week, riding my bike to work at least once a week, and skiing.
3. Put together a budget for the month of January, taking into account that I will be going on a major vacation on the 29th and will need to buy clothes, a ski pass, and some other bigger ticket items. Start putting together a February budget to pay off the credit card bills these items will inevitably incur.

I like the idea of breaking down the bigger goals into littler ones. I think working up to a manageable workout schedule is good, because I tend to have these grand goals and throw myself straight into them without regard for the fact that I fail for a reason and it's usually that I can't keep up with the crazy schedule/expectations that I set for myself.

So perhaps the model for 2010 should be moderation, since 2009 was clearly the year to go big. Hmmm...

Quote of the Day: "Why don't we remember a Goddamn thing from last night?"
"Obviously because we had a great fucking time." Stu Price & Phil Wenneck (Ed Helms and Bradley Cooper), The Hangover.

2009 Resolutions Recap

2009-12-31T11:55:00.001-08:00

So, here's the annual recap of how I did on the year's resolutions. All disclaimers aside, I had a Really Big Year in 2009, so I think that accomplishing anything on my list is pretty good.

Anyway, here's the resolutions themselves, and how I think I did:
1. Establish a workout plan that is interesting and consistently maintainable. Currently, my workouts are a little haphazard. That's kind of always been the case. Training for the half-marathon helped, and I'd like to diversify my workouts a little bit. I'm interested in starting Spinning classes again, and taking more Pilates. I'm not crazy about my body right now, and I definitely think I would be happier if I were stronger and worked out more consistently.
Yeah, I didn't do this. Again. I started to get on track, and then I'd get sick, or school would get crazy, and I'd be back to square one. I'm currently sitting at square one, having gotten two illnesses this fall that totally screwed up my workout schedule. Oh well. I'm not actually going to beat myself up about this too much, since I can't do anything about it now, except try again next year.

2. Get massages more often.
Success! I actually did this, in no small part to the fact that our good friend Deboner is a massage therapist in her spare time and gives cheap massages to her hasher friends. Awesome!

3. Put money in my savings account and leave it there. I have a tendency to have great financial goals and absolutely no follow-through. Argh.
Argh indeed--this year was absolutely no different from a follow-through perspective. In my defense, I did have a host of unexpected things I needed to shell out money for, like wedding expenses, etc. That said, I sold my car and wiped out a bunch of debt this year, so I'm thinking next year might actually be the year for this. We'll see.

4. Overhaul the wardrobe with new pieces that work both with the old ones and with new, more professional looks. This one's pretty self-explanatory, but I feel like I haven't been making very strong purchases except for a few in the last few months, and a good chunk of my clothes are starting to wear out. Argh.
Actually, I really think that this happened. I don't have a ton of new clothes, but I have been pretty careful about choosing pieces to add to my wardrobe this year, and the ones I've added have been awesome. I got a terrific new dress in Amsterdam, Indie Rocker bought me excellent Frye boots as a grad present, and the sweaters I got for Christmas fit right in. All in all, I'm giving myself a gold star for this one.

So I got about half done. I think I can feel pretty good about that, considering the rest of the year. Now I guess I need to come up with something for next year--Ulp!

Quote of the Day: "Why a fox? Why not a horse, or a beetle, or a bald eagle? I'm saying this more as, like, existentialism, you know? Who am I? And how can a fox ever be happy without, you'll forgive the expression, a chicken in its teeth?" Mr. Fox (George Clooney), The Fantastic Mr. Fox.

So, definitely not a heart attack

2009-12-20T12:25:00.000-08:00

I did finally go to the doctor about the lightheadedness, which turned out to be a vigorous bout of labyrinthitis, which does not come with either Muppets or David Bowie. Rather, it's the byproduct of a virus that affects the inner ear and makes you dizzy. I got some anti-vertigo drugs, which were worse that the lightheadedness, so those got taken about three times before I just gave up and waited out the 7-10 days the thing was supposed to last.

So on the bright side, that's gone, but I have now caught Indie Rocker's cold. I really, really, really hope (and have been knocking on wood all day) that I caught the mild form, because he has been a six foot tall phlegm factory for almost a week, and I definitely don't want that version. I'm ok with the mildly congested version.

Yikes, that was a little more visceral than I intended it to be. Yuk.

Quote of the Day: "Ah, don't pay any attention to them, they're just false alarms. You get a lot of them in the Labyrinth, especially when you're on the right track." Hoggle (Shari Weiser/Brian Henson), Labyrinth.

Tne what now?

2009-12-06T19:12:00.000-08:00

So I've been lightheaded all weekend, which gets worse when I lean down or turn my head while lying down.

WedMD (which Indie Rocker actually encouraged me to check for once) tells me that it's a sympton of everything from anemia to a heart attack. Awesome.

So I'll be going to the doctor this week. I would have gone to the ER, but after slicing my finger open a few months ago, I have no interest in dealing with OHSU again anytime soon!

No quote--can't think straight.

Lost in Translation, again

2009-12-01T15:17:00.000-08:00

So it seems that I can never seem to keep up the blog, even when I say I'm going to. Oh well. I'm going to need a venting space these days, though.

I am very seriously ramping up the job search now, because things have fallen into place at work that make it abundantly obvious that this is a short-term gig at best.

I'm not concerned about my job security, but I am concerned about my sanity at my job. I asked for a promotion in my last last review that, based on merit, I should have already gotten. However, I recently discovered that any promotion will be based on arbitrary criteria and most likely won't come with a raise.

Armed with that information, I am quite motivated to get a move on, especially in light of my recent scholastic achievement. I intend to pick up my diploma next week, enjoy a celebratory happy hour with friends, and starting doggedly pursuing the next chapter in my professional life. Cheers!

Quote of the Day: "The thing about Jim is... when he's excited about something- like the Office Olympics- he gets really into it and he does a really great job. But the problem with Jim is that he works here so... that hardly ever happens." Pam Beesley (Jenna Fischer), The Office.

Whelmed?

2009-10-27T11:49:00.000-07:00

It's funny, maybe even ironic, that I feel like I'm more disorganized and flaky now that I'm done with school than I was when I had class twice a week.

It's almost like I had such a set schedule that I knew exactly when I had time to do things, and when I didn't, and could plan accordingly. Suddenly, I now have to manage my own time all of the time, and it's harder than I originally thought. I think I just expected it to be exactly the same as before I started school, but the more I think about it, nothing's the same.

I mean, I had already moved in with Indie Rocker and we'd already gotten The Munchkin, but for some reason, this still feels different. I don't think the marriage part is the reason; I just think the situation feels different, and I can't put my finger on it.

Either way, I think having a week to myself after my fab vacation will help me get my act together and feel a little less overwhelmed. Maybe I'll just get to whelmed, which would be OK with me.

Quote of the Day: Chastity: "I know you can be overwhelmed, and you can be underwhelmed, but can you ever just be whelmed?"
Bianca: "I think you can in Europe." Gabrielle Union and Larisa Oleynik, 10 Things I Hate About You.

And a rovin' a rovin' a rovin' I'll go

2009-10-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

...for a pair of brown eyes. Indie Rocker and I checked out The Pogues last night in Portland, which was both totally awesome, and a little depressing at the same time. The Pogues are famous for two things: 1) being the original, and seminal Irish punk band, and 2) Shane MacGowan. Shane MacGowan is notorious for being so drunk that he often either wouldn't or couldn't make it on stage for the band's shows. It's said that he drank to kill the pain of having bad teeth, which for whatever reason sounded better when I read it than when I just typed it.

Long story short, the concert was great because the band was truly brilliant, but their collective brilliance made Shane's drunken messiness that much more apparent. Aside from his total lack of enunciation and severely slurred non sequiturs to the crowd between songs, the crowd could tell that the band had pretty much had it with Shane, and was just sucking it up for one last hurrah.

Which is kind of too bad, considering that the rest of the band is a group of seriously talented musicians who could clearly pull off amazing shows if they weren't saddled with an iconic, albeit hopelessly alcoholic lead singer. Spider Stacy, the tin whistle player and occasional lead singer, seemed both bemused and just plain over it with Shane all night, and was the only member of the band with the spotlight on him, a fact that Indie Rocker and I both noticed.

They played a wide variety of their hits, from "A Pair of Brown Eyes" and "Dirty Old Town" to "Tuesday Morning," sung by Stacy, and "Sunny Side of the Street." They skipped "Fairytale of New York," which was kind of a relief, actually. I wasn't sure how they could or would pull that off, and I'm glad that they didn't. Mostly because I wasn't forced to listen to Shane slur through one of my all-time favorite songs.

Either way, I'm glad that I saw the show, I knew I wouldn't be able to hear today(sorry, Marshall! I forgot the earplugs), and I definitely had a memorable experience.

Quote of the Day: "Some cursed, some prayed, some prayed then cursed/Then prayed and bled some more/And the only thing that I could see/Was a pair of brown eyes that was looking at me." A Pair of Brown Eyes, The Pogues.

Trying to be better

2009-10-09T12:37:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to be better about updating this thing, but being sick all week pretty much made that impossible, and made me cranky to boot. Seriously, head colds and being stuck in bed? Lame.

I am very excited for a mellow weekend, though. I'm looking forward to going to the cross race on Sunday, although unless I can breathe through my nose by then, I'm just going to be a spectator. I'm excited for maybe seeing a movie, the football game on Saturday, and general weekend-y type stuff.

It's weird to be so excited to just chill. I think now that I'm done with school, I'm frantically trying to jam things into my schedule to keep myself busy, but what I really need to be doing is enjoying the downtime before I get truly busy again. So I'm going to start this weekend.

Getting sick does occasionally help force things into perspective for me, whether I like it or not.

No quote--congestion kills the brain cells, apparently.

Dashboard Confessional.

2009-10-01T16:30:00.000-07:00

While I absolutely detest the band for whom this post is named, it seemed apropos. I am feeling a bit whiny and emo this week. It's been a long, weird, and dramatic week.

First, I've been dealing with the deep embarrassment of getting drunk at the wedding I went to last weekend. I had told myself several times over that I wasn't going to overdo it, drank plenty of water and ate tons of food, and still managed to get completely obliterated.

I am far, far too old for this shit. I don't think I'm an alcoholic or anything, but I do think I run into control issues in certain scenarios, and I need to deal with that ASAP. I'm going to be around a bunch of drinking this weekend, and it's the perfect opportunity to start taking a huge step back and thinking very carefully about how much I imbibe. I tend to get carried away having fun, lose track of how many drinks I've already had, and shortly thereafter lose the ability to monitor myself. It sucks on a number of levels, and it's totally preventable. So I'm going to start preventing it. I mean, this isn't rocket science here.

Second, the Munchkin has been sick all week, which has been a serious strain on both my and Indie Rocker's sleep schedules and collective patience. We had to get up every three hours to let her out the other night, give her a bath, and clean half of the house. I think we've both finally come to terms with the fact that our dog has a seriously sensitive stomach and that we just need to only feed her a severely limited diet. All the time, or we will suffer the consequences.

Lastly, Indie Rocker and I have had some tough conversations this week that have been painful, but have ultimately helped our relationship. I talked to my dad this week and he reminded me that even the most idyllic-looking relationships can have their own turmoil and that turmoil isn't necessarily a bad thing if both people understand why it exists and can communicate how to solve the problem.

I really do realize that the bulk of my and Indie Rocker's issues stem from miscommunication on both sides. As much as I would like to think I am the world's best communicator, I am not, actually, and could use work just like the next person. That's not always an easy thing to realize, but it's a really healthy thing to realize.

Quote of the Day: "God has a special providence for fools, drunks and the United States of America." Otto Von Bismarck.

Change of Seasons

2009-09-21T15:15:00.000-07:00

I love that fall in the Pacific Northwest frequently means the beginning of a seriously Indian summer. I mean, it's supposed to be the end of summer tomorrow and the weatherpeople are predicting a week of sunny, summery weather.

Go figure.

School starts next week, for students at public universities in Oregon. It's going to be weird to not have any homework, or stops by the bookstore, or really anything that I need to be doing. I might even be getting my degree in the mail any day now, but I'm not exactly holding my breath for that one.

I'm definitely staying busy--there are some opportunities arising that I am attempting to get organized. I have my yearly review tomorrow with my boss, so keep your fingers crossed that it goes well. I think it will, but it will be extremely interesting to hear what she says about my promotion request.

I'm starting ski conditioning classes tonight, which are also going to be cyclocross preparedness classes. I competed at the Hood River Double Cross over the weekend, and while I didn't finish last, I wasn't far off. I just think that between cycling, cross-training, some Pilates classes and running, I should be in pretty awesome shape this winter for skiing, and especially for skiing in France. That's truly my biggest focus--I want to be able to do everything on that trip, so I need to be putting in the hours starting now.

I'm super-excited for San Fran this weekend. It's going to be sorority-riffic, what with tons of UO girls going to the wedding, and getting to stay with my sorority lil sis and her husband while we're down there. We might even get to go wine tasting! It's going to be a great weekend.

So yeah, not so much with the extra free time, but I'm already less tired than I was. I hate to admit that the doctor was right--I wasn't going to get any less tired until I was completely done with school.

Quote of the Day: "School's out for summer/school's out for ever/school's out com-plete-ly/No more pencils/no more books/no more teacher's dirty looks." School's Out, Alice Cooper.

I have an MBA.

2009-09-18T11:47:00.000-07:00

Wow, looks pretty good up there, doesn't it? I finished my degree this week, which now means that when I fill out surveys and they ask what level of education I've completed, I can legitimately say "Master's or advanced degree." Or whatever language they prefer to use!

We presented to the company on Wednesday, and it went really well. I used two of my dad's "cheats" to help me with my notes--putting them into a 3-ring binder and using my finger to prevent me from totally losing my place when I looked up--and got raves for my performance. I feel like I've truly learned a lot from the whole experience. Aside from that, I got an A on the project, which also feels good.

I turned in my self-evaluation to my boss today, which was nerve-racking for a few reasons. She asked me today what my plans were now that I'm done with school. I told her, quite honestly, that I don't really see myself retiring from the company, but that I also plan to rest on my laurels for a bit. That said, I asked for a promotion in my evaluation.

In a down economy, and in a nonprofit that's seen a precipitous fall in donations.

Which is either incredibly ballsy, or really stupid. I'm going with ballsy, but with good reason. I am doing two people's jobs, which has happened to me before, in my previous job. However, I learned from that, and I want to get credit for it this time. I feel like I've earned the right to a promotion, because they certainly feel fine giving me more responsibilities. We'll see how it goes--obviously, this isn't a make-or-break issue in a crappy economy. I do still like eating.

Other than that, it's off to Hood River tonight for some well-deserved chilling with the friends and next weekend it's off to San Fran for some wedding shenanigans with college friends, which is going to be so, so much fun.

Quote of the Day: "This is our decision to live fast and die young/We've got the vision, now let's have some fun/Yeah it's overwhelming, but what else can we do/
Get jobs in offices and wake up for the morning commute?" Time to Pretend, MGMT.

The end of the affair...

2009-08-20T13:27:00.001-07:00

I do suspect that my love affair with Kate Spade shoes is coming to an end. I'm wearing my wedding shoes today, which I love, but they are not so comfortable in the second part of the day.

They were fine this morning, which is starting to make me doubt that Ms. Spade designs shoes that can actually be worn for a full workday by a moderately active woman.

Hence, I think I will be taking my designer shoe dollars elsewhere for the time being. Perhaps to Fluevog next? Or maybe Frye.

Decisions, decisions! Not that I can afford anything for the next few months anyway, but it's fun to dream.

Starting to relax

2009-08-20T11:19:00.000-07:00

While I fully intend to devote a good chunk of my weekend to my presentation and accompanying paper, I am pleased to be this close to being totally done with school. It's a nice, calming feeling, and I'm glad to be telling people that I am close, and that I do intend to job search and everything else.

Indie Rocker and I have been discussing our car situation, which means that we may even get around to selling one in the near future. That one may end up being mine, which isn't really the worst case scenario. I do wish that I could pin him down on that, though.

We've also started to talk about what we need to do with the house. We both know, and have known, that we want to do some major overhauling on the house as the current setup isn't ideal, in the slightest. So we're thinking that will probably be our biggest project in the coming few years. It should be interesting!

More than anything, I think we've both gotten to the point where we know that things are going to be changing, and we're getting used to the idea. All of the changes are good, of course, but change is always a little strange to contemplate at first.

I think being on the verge of being finished with school, coupled with it being nearly fall, and the constant weather change, has gotten me thinking about a bunch of things--getting back into shape, getting my act together professionally, getting my financial sh*t together, and generally improving my outlook. I think I've been so stressed out for so long that I'm having a hard time believing that I can actually relax in the very near future.

I like to joke that I don't know how to relax, but that's starting to not be so funny. I think that I need to figure it out sooner rather than later! Probably starting Saturday morning, as I fully intend to sleep in!

Quote of the Day: "You get the car/I'll get the night off/you'll get the chance to take the world apart and figure out how it works/don't let me know what you find out." Car, Built to Spill. They're opening for The Flaming Lips tonight and I'm stoked to see them. Yay!

OMG! I'm almost done!

2009-08-12T09:42:00.000-07:00

I have my last night of class tonight, which is seriously so, so exciting. I only have to sit in a classroom one more time. I am still digesting the excitingness of this.

I am not done with the program quite yet, as I still have to finish the Capstone project that we started a couple of months ago. We are almost to the first presentation on that one, which is exciting, and we're looking at a late August/early September end date for the whole thing. Which means that I'll be an MBA graduate in just about a month.

WOOHOO--I can't believe it's gone so fast, but at the same time, I'm really glad that it's almost over. Craziness.

Quote of the Day: "Lights that flash in the evening/Through a hole in the drapes/I'll be home when I'm sleeping/I can't hardly wait." Can't Hardly Wait, The Replacements.

Better, actually.

2009-07-15T11:20:00.000-07:00

So I had a lovely evening of actual relaxation last night. I finished the laundry, took the Munchkin for a walk, baked some banana bread, and played at least an hour of solitaire on my computer. I also booked a flight to Geneva for Chick Ski 2010, which absolutely elated me, so that definitely didn't suck.

It sounds like a lot, but if you break it down, it was actually really nice. Indie Rocker was off mountain biking with friends, so it was really relaxing to have the house to myself and not have to do anything. I cooked a really simple dinner just for me, and didn't even turn on the TV.

I might be getting it.

Indie Rocker did the Creampuff on Sunday for the third time. He didn't finish, which was frustrating for him, but it was a brutal course and he wasn't really ready anyway. We talked about it, and established some goals for the next time he attempts this. I told him that I am tired of the seesaw of "Is he going to finish or not?" I want to know going into it that he is going to finish and that he's going to finish in a reasonable time frame. Initially, I set 12 hours as the max, but he told me that was unrealistic and that he wasn't going to be that fast. I relented, and now 13.5 hours is the goal. He agreed that was doable, and promised to work on his speed over the next year.

He finally understands that I want to support him, and that I'm proud of him for doing this, but that I also need him to respect the time and energy that I'm putting into this race. He offered to take next year off and set a goal of 5 hours for completing the Test of Endurance 50 miler next year. I told him we could still go volunteer for the Creampuff, and I'd be right there with him.

Either way, we are starting to hit a middle ground that I think we're both pretty comfortable and happy with. He mentioned that Bono was going to start racing cyclocross in the fall, which means that we're going to have a ton of friends out there. It's going to be a blast, which makes me want to start doing more riding so that I can keep up.

The next seven months plus are going to rule. I'm so happy.

Quote of the Day: "I wanted to be a hero. I wanted to be the center of attention. I wanted the glory, I wanted the fame.I wanted the pretty girls to come up and say, 'Hi, I see that you're good at Centipede.'" Walter Day, The King of Kong.

Not shocking, but annoying just the same.

2009-07-08T16:11:00.000-07:00

I went to the doctor yesterday to deal with the tiredness issue I mentioned a few weeks back, and she said a few things that, while totally appropriate, were kind of hard to hear.

First, she said that I was doing too much and that I pretty much wasn't going to get any less tired until I am done with school. Fortunately, that's sooner rather than later, but I guess I was hoping that I could just handle it. Apparently not.

Second, she said that while there is nothing physically wrong with me, I do need to find some hobby, like Pilates or yoga or whatever, that allows my mind to turn itself off from time to time.

While the doctor didn't say this herself, I came to the conclusion on my own today that I don't really know how to relax. I mean, some people go for runs, some people do yoga, others can just take a hot bath. I just don't know how. The only time in the past two years that I have been really, truly relaxed was in Mexico for our honeymoon. And even then, Indie Rocker had to practically twist my arm, frogmarch me out to the beach, put me into a chaise longue and hand me a trashy novel. I got the hang of it by the end of the trip, but you can see my point--relaxation is not something that comes naturally to me.

And that's straight-up unhealthy. I have got to work on that. Suggestions?

Quote of the Day: "It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: what are we busy about?" Henry David Thoreau.

What a weird-ass week.

2009-06-25T20:46:00.001-07:00

I will be the first person to admit that my friend Chitown totally badgered me into caring about Michael Jackson's death. That, and the incessant Facebook updates from everyone I know. Craziness.

I'm not the first person to think of this, but MJ is functionally my generation's Elvis. We grew up listening to him, he's the King of Pop, he was cool and interesting when he was young, and became batshit crazy and weird as he got older.

All of the unsavory child-related grossness aside, he was an insanely talented artist with the bad luck to have spent the bulk of his life in the spotlight. I'd probably be weird as hell too if I'd been in front of the press since I was 7.

Either way, I hope that MJ, Farrah and Ed all rest in peace. And that no one else dies for a little while--this is getting way too weird.

Quote of the Day: "'Cause this is thriller, thriller night/Girl, I can thrill you more than any ghost would ever dare try/Thriller, thriller night/So let me hold you tight and share a killer, thriller, ow!" Thriller, Michael Jackson.

Tired!

2009-06-24T20:45:00.000-07:00

I'm so sleepy lately, and it's starting to concern me. I'm getting more exercise, and eating better, and drinking less. I am trying to get more sleep, and that's sort of working, but I just feel like I am still tired all of the time.

Is that normal? Is it because work isn't terribly exciting right now?

Am I spending too much time staring at a computer screen?

Could be. I'll try to be more exciting soon!

Quote of the Day: "Andy, this is my business, it's nothing to do with you. Go downstairs and do what you do best, patrol the couch in your underwear." Nancy Botwin (Mary Louise Parker), Weeds.

Samsquantch 2009, Part Two

2009-06-10T14:31:00.000-07:00

Getting up wasn't the easiest thing to do on Sunday morning after dancing until 2am, but the sun beating down on my tent and heating it to approximately 97 degrees by 8:30am made it a moot point. I don't like saunas to begin with, so sleeping in one became really, really unattractive.

After changing into decent clothes, freshening up at the bathroom and drinking approximately 2 liters of water and Gatorade, I decided that staying awake wasn't the worst move I'd make all day. Marshall and I decided to hang out and make fun of Duke until he decided to get up and start making us breakfast. This actually took a lot longer than we thought it would, since Duke was apparently determined to work up quite a sweat staying asleep. He finally did get up and made us some rather delicious breakfast burritos complete with coffee and other necessities.

Our neighbors woke up after we were done with cleanup, so we razzed them for having serious bedhead as well as staying up late dancing. Around 11am, we all decided we were feeling much better and could start cracking PBRs again. The neighbors' friends came over to join us, and we all sat around chatting before the show.

At one point, one of the Canadians came over to chat, but he was apparently actually Alaskan, and from Wasilla, to boot. He then proceeded to tell us a long-winded story about how he, a dentist, hired this hygienist, and how it turned into the weirdest, biggest deal ever because her sister happened to be Sarah Palin. Talk about a serious turn for the weird, eh? Once he wandered back off, we all just looked at each other like, "did you hear that too? OK, just checking." We believed him...I mean, there wasn't any reason not to!

Finally we decided to go find the shuttle to take us into the show just in time to catch The Walkmen on the mainstage. After them, Duke and I wandered off, while Marshall set up camp on the grass. So, here's what I thought of everyone:

The Walkmen: I love the Walkmen, and yes, I totally did see them on "The OC." I love their song "The Rat," and that's exactly what they were playing as we picked our way down the gigantic grassy field at the top of the amphitheater. It's a large space for a band like that, but I thought they did pretty well.

John Vanderslice: Duke went over to the Wookiee stage with me to check out John Vanderslice, who is a staple on KEXP, my favorite Seattle radio station. He's kind of indie-pop, and wore a fan's incredibly silly sunglasses during his set. It was a very nice little diversion.

Calexico: I have the album that Calexico did with Iron & Wine, which is pretty good. Calexico just has a nice, laid-back vibe, and they were fun to watch. It also happened to be sunny and warm, and the people-watching was perfect.

St. Vincent: I dragged Duke back up to the Wookiee stage to check out St. Vincent, and I was less than impressed. She must have started one song at least four different times, and didn't seem to be happy with the crowd's response. It was really strange, and didn't make us want to stay. So we didn't.

The Avett Brothers: These guys were fine, but very folksy and kind of got lost in such a big venue. In their defense, it was starting to get really, really warm, and we were starting to decide that maybe we should look for some shade.

Murder City Devils: I saw these guys at Bumbershoot, like, 10 years ago and didn't like them. They haven't gotten any better with age. The lead singer alternately swaggered around the stage screaming lyrics into the mike and screaming obscenities at the crowd. While I couldn't totally blame him for cursing, listening to 45 minutes of it was giving me a headache that even Fat Tire couldn't cure. Fail.

TV on the Radio: After seeking shade and food for much of MCD's set, it was nice to get back to the grass for TV on the Radio. I realized that this is one of those bands I keep hearing about, but I have absolutely no idea what any of their songs sound like. Their live show was fine, if a little high-concept for a large venue, and I think I'd like to check out some of their music before seeing them again.

Nine Inch Nails: As a '90s teen, I loved NIN for both the music and the rebel factor. Years later, the music is totally holding up, and so is Trent Reznor. I have said a number of times that I have always wanted to see NIN if it weren't for the largely insane and scary fans. This was my perfect opportunity, and I was right--NIN is amazing live. Trent just came out and killed it on every song. I learned that the song "Terrible Lie" is not actually "Down The Line," and I discovered that I didn't really care what NIN played, as long as they kept playing. They wrapped up their set with a truly brilliant version of "Hurt," which I am eternally grateful for.

Jane's Addiction: I saw JA in Portland about 8 years ago, just out of college, and I recall being so close to their second stage that I could read Dave Navarro's tattoos during "Jane Says." Fortunately for me, seeing them again was not a letdown. Perry Farrell blew out on stage in a boozy, woozy cloud of smoke, and regaled the crowd with the most random collection of non sequiturs I have ever heard at a show. I am not entirely certain that Farrell knows what is going to come out of his mouth until he says it. Once again, the standards "Been Caught Stealing," "Mountain Song," and "Had A Dad," were included, as well as the killer encore of "Jane Says."

I've heard some opinions that NIN should have been the headliner, and I don't totally disagree with that, actually.

Once Jane's was done, we slowly staggered back to the shuttle to make our way back to camp. Once we got there, we hung out with the neighbors, watched the Canadians crank the party machine back up, and decided to sit around and wait for security to break the party up, since quiet hours started at 2am, and it was already 12:45am. The neighbors and I did a little dancing, but were considerably less energetic than we had been the night before. Once security did their thing, we all headed for bed, and shipped out very early in the morning for home.

Quote of the Day: "I hurt myself today/to see if I still feel/focus on the pain/the only thing that's real." Hurt, Nine Inch Nails.

Samsquantch 2009 - With Even Less Organization! Part One.

2009-05-26T11:13:00.000-07:00

Sasquatch! 2009 has come and gone already and what a seriously whirlwind weekend it was. Marshall, Duke, and I braved the crowds, the sun, and the insanely disorganized staff at the Gorge for another weekend of epic music and general partying.

The music did not disappoint. The venue and staff on the other hand...just, wow. For a venue that hosts as many large-scale concerts and festivals as the Gorge does, the level of disorganization regarding camping is totally unacceptable. Almost as soon as we got off of the highway, we were directed towards the Gorge and into a pair of lines that were not moving. We sat patiently, inching our way down the road and killing about 45 minutes. Once we got to the front and could see the campground down the road, we were diverted into the event parking lot and not allowed to proceed to the campground. This was problematic for two reasons: 1) We had paid for Premier camping and 2) we were being told to sit in some other line for no apparent reason and with no end in sight.

For a variety of obvious reasons, this really, really pissed us off. Instead of sitting in our third useless line of the day, we zipped across the field and headed back out towards the entrance. We attempted to explain our situation to one of the people directing traffic, who just started yelling louder and gesturing for us to head back towards the freeway. Which solved nothing, because we still had no idea why we weren't allowed to go to the campground. This managed to escalate to the point where a very nice sheriff from Grant County came over the car and, once he calmed the three of us down, gave us and the three cars next to us directions to get into the campground. We drove off mollified, but still titanically irritated at the total lack of communication and idiocy among the parking staff. Once we got to the campground entrance, we saw someone being loaded into an ambulance, which may have explained why they were diverting us, but we'll never know.

On the bright side, getting to the campground was a cinch in comparison. We got excellent directions right off the bat and picked out a spot quickly. Which in retrospect may have not been a good idea, but we were really, really sick of being in the car by then.

Once the tents were set up and the cooler was opened, we started meeting our neighbors. There was a huge group from Canada right in front of us, which became meaningful later on. We got a bit of a late start into the venue, but still managed to have an awfully good time. Saturday's lineup consisted of:

M. Ward: We set up camp about halfway up the hill and watched part of M. Ward's set. Unfortunately, not enough for it to be memorable, and partly because we were still largely getting settled in an organized. Which is really too bad, because he seems really interesting.

Devotchka: These guys were really interesting, and I think would have been a great lead-in to Gogol Bordello, whom I'm very sad I missed because we had to go home instead of staying for Monday. Again, I didn't listen terribly closely to their set, but they looked like they were having fun, and I'd catch them again.

Animal Collective: I just caught the very beginning of their set, and now I realize I should have stuck around longer.

Sun Kil Moon: I'm starting to realize that I didn't actually get to see all that much music on Saturday, which is really too bad. Indie Rocker and I really like Sun Kil Moon and Mark Kozelek. I caught a few songs, but none of his Modest Mouse covers, which are awesome. And I realized that I missed Ra Ra Riot, which is really too bad.

Mos Def: Mos Def was by far the biggest disappointment of the weekend. He came out on stage in this rather awesome mask, and then proceeded to do a decent song, but he pretty much ignored the crowd and let wayyyy too much time pass in between songs. It killed the energy, and killed our interest in seeing too much more. And irritated us because we missed The Decemberists, who were probably awesome. Argh.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs: This band restored my faith in Sasquatch. They were totally full of energy, played all of my favorite songs by them, and Karen O. wore something so totally out there that Marshall and I decided that we are dressing up as her and Nick Zimmer, the guitarist, for Halloween this year. They had a giant, glowing eyeball hanging behind them for the whole set, and they ended with their love song, "Maps." It was fantastic.

Bon Iver: This man was the find of the weekend. We decided to skip Kings of Leon because Marshall and I had already seen them and weren't impressed that time. And I hate their song "Sex on Fire." We wandered up to the Wookiee Stage and were literally stopped dead in our tracks by Bon Iver's voice. He was singing "Skinny Love," and there was something totally otherworldly and amazing about the whole experience. We stayed for the rest of his set, which did not disappoint, and I ran home and bought his album "For Emma, Forever Ago," as soon as I walked in the door. Amazing.

After Bon Iver, we headed back to the campsite. At this point, it was dark and we could hear Kings of Leon wrapping it up at the Gorge, but the party was just getting started back at the campsite. Our neighbors were back, so we hung out with them, and then the Canadians came back to crank up the fun machine. They turned on the generator, which we discovered was powering a portable party machine. They had DJs, surround sound, even a smoke machine. It was insane. I ended up dancing with our new Seattle friends until 2am because I figured that I wasn't going to get any sleep anyway. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right?

Quote of the Day: "And now all your love is wasted/And who the hell was I?/I'm breaking at the bridgesAnd at the end of all your lines." Skinny Love, Bon Iver.

Birthday week rules.

2009-05-16T23:24:00.001-07:00

I'm turning 30 on Monday, which isn't actually as alarming as I thought it would be. I really did think that I would be a lot more agitated by the whole thing, but turning 30 is a little anticlimactic at this point.

I assigned Indie Rocker to plan me a birthday party. He came up with a night at one of my favorite bars, playing Skee-Ball, and drinking beer with my friends. It was perfect. A bunch of my friends couldn't make it, and some were worried that I'd be upset. The party was a last-minute affair, and frankly, I planned an enormous party a few months ago, so I don't really need a big-ass party.

Here's some of the evidence:

Needless to say, I had a great time. And as Strong Draught's lovely girlfriend and I discussed, 30 is totally the new 25.

Quote of the Day: "I'm gonna walk into this office and not let anyone know I'm hung over." Jenna Rink (Jennifer Garner), 13 Going on 30.

Well, nevermind then.

2009-05-15T15:50:00.000-07:00

After some more consideration, I have decided that putting together another 101 list isn't a good idea. It's not that I don't think that I can do it, but I started to jot things down and realized that I am not all that interested in it.

I thought about why this felt like drudgery, and it's because it is. Putting together a fairly arbitrary list of things I want to do between now and February 2012 seems like an unnecessary chore. Instead, I want to have the freedom to do a bunch of cool stuff and not have to adhere to some list I came up with and quickly outgrew. Which is essentially what happened with the last one, and is why I couldn't finish it to any satisfactory degree.

So there is clearly nothing wrong with me; instead, the system itself is flawed. I love it. What a perfect solution!

That said, there are a handful of things I am positively elated to be planning for: Chick Ski 2010 in Europe, my first wedding anniversary, my graduation and potential new career, redoing the kitchen, and supporting Indie Rocker if he really does decide that he wants to do Paris-Brest-Paris in the next five years.

Yeah, not exactly sitting around eating bon-bons, am I?

Quote of the Day: "Letting everyone down would be my greatest unhappiness." Marie Antoinette (Kirsten Dunst), Marie Antoinette.

To Boldly Go...

2009-05-14T10:47:00.000-07:00

...where we've totally gone before. That said, I really liked the new "Star Trek." I am not a Trek fan, per se, but I've watched most of the movies, watched some of the series(eses?), and have a general pop culture awareness of the franchise.

It needs to be said that I am a *huge* J.J. Abrams fan. After 6 seasons of Alias, and four of Lost, I love the man's work. I think he is a great director and despite screaming obscenities at him a few times (the entire fifth season of Alias, anyone?), I will almost inevitably watch something he has created.

That said, Star Trek is good. Great, even. It's funny, action-packed, doesn't feel too long, and is just faithful enough to the original to make everyone happy without being textbook. I loved Uhura, and the fact that her skirts haven't gotten any longer. I loved Chekhov and his teenage enthusiasm. Indie Rocker and I both giggled "Harold!" as soon as we saw John Cho onscreen as Sulu, and we both laughed heartily at the Red Shirt shout-out.

And to be honest, the two best things about the movie are Karl Urban as Dr. "Bones" McCoy and Simon Pegg as Scotty. Brilliant, pitch-perfect casting on both of them. I adore them individually as actors, but they were truly excellent here.

More than anything, I love that Abrams has a knack for managing large casts. He knows how to organize the group so that you can follow each thread, but not get bogged down in the details. It would have been really easy to focus solely on Kirk and Spock and forget entirely about Chekhov, Sulu, and the rest. But Abrams didn't, and the movie is much better for it. I'm totally in for the sequel.

Quote of the Day: "Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Her ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life-forms and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before." Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Star Trek.

One more time, for good measure

2009-05-12T11:44:00.000-07:00

So I am actually starting to put some serious thought into doing another 101 list. Not because I did so spectacularly well on that last one; rather, because I did so poorly.

Essentially, this all comes down to my undying love for to-do lists. I love to-do lists. I always have one sitting on my desk at home. You would think that this would translate into having one at work, but not so much. I'm not entirely sure why that hasn't occurred, but for some reason, I cannot seem to make that happen. That might be something to consider at the entirely-hypothetical-at-this-point new job.

I'm still thinking about it. I might just start jotting down ideas for list items, and if it gets too onerous, chuck the whole thing. On the other hand, I might get all inspired and totally go for it. I may also decide to be more realistic this time, and actually include list items I already have plans to do. Which may be cheating, but again--look at how I did on the last one.

Quote of the Day: "You know the kind of guy who does nothing but bad things, and then wonders why his life sucks? Well... that was me. Every time something good happened to me, something bad was always waiting around the corner. Karma. That's when I realised I had to change. So, I made a list of everything bad I've ever done and, one by one I'm going to make up for all my mistakes. I'm just trying to be a better person. My name is Earl." Earl Hickey (Jason Lee), My Name is Earl.

I am such a nerd.

2009-05-11T21:52:00.000-07:00

I've apparently become a 60-year-old woman since getting back from the honeymoon since I now wear a pedometer every day. And actually attempt to put 10,000 steps on the stupid thing as often as I can.

I succeeded today after making one last lap around the coffee table, much to Indie Rocker's amusement. So that, combined with an actual workout at the hands of Benny, makes me pretty happy. And very deserving of the glass of sparkling wine I'm enjoying right now.

I was not one of those brides who felt the need to hit the gym every spare second before the wedding. Perhaps it was the total lack of spare seconds, or the two weeks of seeing myself in summer clothing, but I've definitely become very interested in whipping myself back into shape. Don't get me wrong--I certainly hope that I never look back at the wedding photos and think, "Wow, what a whale!" Because I wasn't, and the photos make both of us look great. If I do say so myself!

More than anything, I wasn't enjoying the fact that I couldn't just go out and do whatever I wanted to. I am really happy that when Marshall called and asked if I could run 6-7 miles with her last weekend, I could say yes and mean it. And that gives me more incentive to go out and kick some more ass, just so that hiking this summer doesn't kill me. Or surfing. Or cycling. Whew--see what I mean?

Quote of the Day: "Golf is a good walk spoiled." Mark Twain.

Things no one tells you...

2009-05-06T21:28:00.000-07:00

I had read, and had heard from a number of people, that things in your relationship change once you go and get married. Now that I am a Mrs., which in and of itself is a weird concept to get used to, I've encountered this question from a bunch of people.

Indie Rocker and I laughed this off before we got married because we were already living together, raising the Munchkin, and figured we had it all figured out. Duh--how hard could it possibly be?

So glad we asked. It's not impossible, but there was a perceptible change. We both noticed it. I can't really put my finger on it, but I think part of it is the disappearance of an easy out. The escape hatch is still there, but now it involves attorneys, paperwork, and total acrimony.

That said, we have a lot more incentive to work on our relationship, and to work on ourselves. Indie Rocker is training for the Creampuff again, and I've decided to get in shape for short-track mountain biking, and running more often again. So much for the newlywed weight gain--if anything, we're both going to weigh less on our first anniversary.

I'm definitely getting more motivated to get back into cycling and running. Since I'm getting really, really close to graduation, it's about time to start thinking of what I'm going to get to do with all that free time! Well, when I'm not looking for a new job come September!

Quote of the Day: "When it starts, whatever the reason is that you're doing this, focus on that." Surgeon, X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

I'm Alive!!!

2009-03-20T22:06:00.000-07:00

Not only that, I'm in Merida, Mexico, which is pretty much the Portland of Mexico. It's gorgeous, not too big and not too small. We have band practice next door to our hotel and the bars are cool. Definitely not a scene! We checked out Chichen Itza today, which was a little overrated, but hopefully we'll make it to Dzibilchaltun tomorrow for sunrise. No promises, though. Speaking of which, I should probably go to bed. Cheers!

I love my family, I love my family, I love...

2009-01-30T10:09:00.000-08:00

...except when they drive me completely and totally batshit crazy.

Since I know for a fact that no one in my immediate family reads this, I can vent. I had a really frustrating conversation with my mother this morning that was basically about the fact that I had no right to be annoyed with my sister for sending me an RSVP card that said she wasn't coming to the wedding because I shouldn't have sent her an invite to begin with.

While I am not an etiquette expert, I think it's weird not to send invitations to the wedding party. I just do. I realize that they know they're invited because you asked them to be in the wedding, but I think it's cool to send them an invite anyway.

Am I totally out of line? Maybe I'm just tired of being told to have a sense of humor when I feel like I've been killing myself for months trying to avoid being even a hint of a Bridezilla. That's kind of my biggest fear--that I'm going to get so caught up in the wedding stuff that my friends and family don't recognize me anymore. I guess the best solution would probably just be to ask my family to cut me some slack and not razz me as much these days. I'm definitely under a lot of pressure right now, and I can see that that's making it harder for me to maintain my usual sense of humor.

Because really, I can usually give as good as I get. Under normal circumstances, anyway.

Quote of the Day: "What's with you? Yesterday you were normal and today you're like the Chinese guy from the Karate Kid. What's with you today?" A.J. (Johnny Whitworth), Empire Records.

2009 Resolutions

2008-12-27T16:32:00.000-08:00

After reflecting on 2008's resolutions and discovering that I clearly had some success with those, I'm a little more inspired to come up with realistic goals for 2009.

From Day 1, 2009 is going to be a Really Big Year for me. I'm getting married, turning 30, and graduating from grad school in a period of 12 months. That's a lot of Big Stuff to pack into one little year. So in a lot of ways, I really need to temper my expectations of what else I can be reasonably expected to accomplish.

That said, I think that now is definitely the time to set the bar just a little higher for myself. I've gotten myself to a place where I'm much more comfortable in my own skin, I'm a happier person, I'm a stronger person, and I'm ready to take on some greater challenges in the years ahead. I know that I want a new job in my field, and I'm willing to take on the work and initiative that will require. It's not going to be easy, and I know that too. I also want to help Indie Rocker with starting work on the house. It's a project that's been really easy to back-burner while we had tons of other things going on, but it would be really nice to come home to a better home. These are all goals that are going to span several months, and are very likely to bleed into 2010. That's OK. I've got to start aiming big at some point.

That said, here are my realistic resolutions for 2009:

1. Establish a workout plan that is interesting and consistently maintainable. Currently, my workouts are a little haphazard. That's kind of always been the case. Training for the half-marathon helped, and I'd like to diversify my workouts a little bit. I'm interested in starting Spinning classes again, and taking more Pilates. I'm not crazy about my body right now, and I definitely think I would be happier if I were stronger and worked out more consistently.

2. Get massages more often.

3. Put money in my savings account and leave it there. I have a tendency to have great financial goals and absolutely no follow-through. Argh.

4. Overhaul the wardrobe with new pieces that work both with the old ones and with new, more professional looks. This one's pretty self-explanatory, but I feel like I haven't been making very strong purchases except for a few in the last few months, and a good chunk of my clothes are starting to wear out. Argh.

I considered putting in another financial resolution, but at this point, I think I should keep it simple. If I can accomplish all four of these goals while hitting the high points of the year, I should be good. And at the very least, I'll be better than I was, which is never a bad thing.

Quote of the Day: "Well, congratu-fuckin'-lations, your dream has come true!" Kumar (Kal Penn), Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle.

2008 Resolutions. How'd I Do?

2008-12-16T22:35:00.001-08:00

Well, to refresh everyone's memory, including mine, here were 2008's Resolutions:

1. Strike a better balance between work, school, exercise, and friends. The reasoning behind this is pretty simple, but I also found that doing it is much harder than it looks. It's very easy to get totally caught up in homework and neglect my friends, family, boyfriend and puppy. I honestly feel like I didn't see my friends for about six weeks in the fall and that, frankly, sucked. I'm pretty thrilled to report that this definitely happened. I managed to run once a week with K-fab most of the fall and we're talking about other races to run in 2009. Munchkin started going to daycare once a week, and we started weaning ourselves and her off coming home at lunch, which freed up some time and money. I also felt like I managed to see my friends a whole bunch. I didn't spend the Astoria 'cross race doing homework this year, and also managed to race a few races myself. I even took three classes and still pulled straight As this term. Plus, I've managed to figure out how to graduate in August 2009, so that completely rules.

2. Create some exercise goals and accomplish them. Bumbershoot and I were talking over IM a few days ago and were discussing running a 10K or half-marathon together. I really liked this idea for a variety of reasons. I got the Nike iPod+ thingie for Christmas and would love to start playing with it, and I really like the idea of having something to train for, rather than the ever-nebulous "get back into shape." Plus, I am so much more motivated to do things when my friends are right there with me. Again, I am thrilled to report that I did this. I ran a half-marathon back in May, ran both Rainier to Pacific and Hood to Coast, and have run at least once per week since then. I'm just stoked that this worked out, and like I said, K-fab and I are already discussing race plans for 2009. Kickass.

3. Explore different opportunities at work. I'm intentionally being vague about this, but hopefully that will end up being a good thing in 2008. You know, when I wrote this, I was hoping to maybe switch departments or get a promotion. Truth be told, I didn't really get either. However, I did get a bunch of new responsibilities, a raise, and some job security in a seriously weak economy. So there's that.

4. Get my face under control. I changed my birth control method in the past year and it is wreaking havoc with my face. I've already gone to the dermatologist once and have another appointment next month. I am pretty motivated to get this done, and I like the idea of a resolution I can definitely accomplish. This one turned out to be the hardest one to see through to the end. I spent five months on Accutane this year, and frankly, it was awful. I spent five straight months attempting not to get any sun at all while completely covering myself in Aquaphor, lotion, and drinking roughly a gallon of water a day. It completely and totally sucked. The last month was the absolute worst--I could barely wear my contacts most days and my glasses gave me constant headaches, to go along with the headaches from being slightly dehydrated all of the time. By the end of it, I honestly didn't think it was worth it. Five months later, my face is really nice and clear, and I'm starting to think that it was worth it. I do like not having crazy complicated breakouts, and my skin looks really nice. I just never want to go back on that shit ever again.

5. Set up a charitable giving plan for 2008. Pretty self-explanatory, really. Well, I set it up, but accomplishing it was something else entirely. I need to stop setting such optimistic financial goals and start with a functional savings account. Then I can take baby steps. Although I did donate enough to get an Oregon tax credit. Gobama, indeed!

6. Make the relationship call. I'm pretty sure I already covered this one. In great detail. And I must say, I am very confident that it was 100% the right call. I'm crazy in love and hoping to stay that way for a very long, long time.

Quote of the Day: "Sometimes, truth isn't good enough, sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded." Batman (Christian Bale), The Dark Knight.

So I got published...

2008-12-16T22:31:00.000-08:00

...kind of. Check out the article I wrote here.

That's the direct link, but it's actually being featured on the "Relationships" front page right now, so that's pretty cool.

It's amazing what I can do when I don't have any homework, apparently.

Wow.

2008-11-26T23:28:00.000-08:00

I just saw "Pan's Labyrinth" for the first time and cried most of the way through it. Speedy has been bugging me to see it forever and I'm sad that it took so long for me to see it. Either way, run don't walk to the video store or Netflix and rent this movie ASAP. I can't believe I put off seeing this film.

Quote of the Day: "Arise, my daughter. Come. You have spilled your own blood rather than the blood of an innocent. That was the final task and the most important." Rey (Federico Luppi), Pan's Labyrinth.

I knew this would happen eventually...

2008-11-24T13:29:00.000-08:00

I knew that I was going to run into a snag with wedding planning. It was bound to happen, and things were simply going too well and too smoothly for it to last.

My caterers are driving me nuts. I read a really well-written blog post a few months back about when to look at other options, and I'm about there.

One of the most astute observations is that "You’re paying these people to be more organized than you are. They’re adding stress where you need it removed." Ergo, if my caterer cannot remember that I already told him about the tables and chairs that the venue can already provide and that he doesn't need to rent and that I don't need to pay for, I need to take a deep breath and see if I can eliminate this aggro.

When we first started this little adventure, I was under the impression that these guys were the exclusive caterers for our venue, and now that I know that isn't the case, I think it's time to explore my options, and then play hardball. I have no intention of signing a contract that isn't 100% correct, and I also have no intention of writing a four-figure check for something I don't feel 100% good about.

Whew! Just had to get that off my chest. I'm a little surprised it's taken me this long to complain about wedding planning. Clearly, I lead a charmed existence sometimes.

Quote of the Day: "Yeah, you're right. We should just deal with nice people." Gregg Beam (David Harbour), Quantum of Solace.

Just rollin' along.

2008-10-31T12:44:00.000-07:00

I was so motivated to write more at the beginning of the month. Go figure. I realize now that it had everything to do with being at the beginning of the term and feeling oh-so-optimistic about the possibilities and potential for new learning and everything that goes along with a shiny new school year.

Around Week 5, when you are literally dragging yourself to class to face the same lecture for the third time, listening to the same self-important idiot banter with the professor, and trying to do everything you can to prop up your eyelids until 9pm, the shine has clearly worn off.

I've said it before--my classmates are darn near the only reason I am still surviving this term. When all we need to do is cock an eyebrow at each other to have a conversation, that makes it all just a little more bearable. Especially when that conversation is about our mutual irritation with the one classmate who insists on commenting on every. damned. thing. the professor says. Dude, get a life and please stop sharing every inane detail of your current one with the entire class. We are not a blog and we are also not your therapist. Full stop.

Other than that, I get to meet the guy who invented wikis today and interview him for our presentation next week. So that's pretty cool.

Hope everyone's having a lovely Halloween and will spend tomorrow in a sugar- and beer-fuelled stupor just like me.

Quote of the Day: "There are certain RULES that one must abide by in order to successfully survive a horror movie. For instance, number one: you can never have sex. BIG NO NO! BIG NO NO! Sex equals death, okay? Number two: you can never drink or do drugs. The sin factor! It's a sin. It's an extension of number one. And number three: never, ever, ever under any circumstances say, "I'll be right back." Because you won't be back." Randy (Jamie Kennedy), Scream.

Motivation, such an aggravation...

2008-10-08T10:32:00.000-07:00

I already mentioned that I'm taking three classes this term, which means that I have exactly two free weeknights these days. While that's not the most desirable schedule, it's forcing me to become really creative with my workouts.

For example, I thought about riding my bike today, but realized that with Redhead's going-away party tonight and all of the other craziness, I'm just going to be saddled with a car. Which is fine, if a little expensive.

That said, I've decided to hit the treadmill at the gym during lunch, since I can't really figure out when I'm going to be able to do anything else. Earlier this week, I discovered an online food journal that lets me log both workouts and meals so that I can kind of track what's going on with my body. More than anything, I'm trying to go into the holidays with a healthier, saner attitude than I usually do, and I'm trying to make it through the fall without becoming a fat bitch, which is no fun for anyone.

The fact that Indie Rocker just bought a kegerator and a pony keg of Jubelale is especially motivating! I can just picture myself on the couch with pints aplenty. Yikes. On the other hand, it will make watching the Ducks easier, if they keep playng like they did last weekend. Ugh.

I'm really not sure where I'm going with all of this, but it's certainly keeping me from talking about politics. Is it November 5th, yet?

Quote of the Day: "Let's face it, this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing." Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), Iron Man.

Rainy Day Ruminating

2008-10-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

It's funny, that for someone who rarely runs out of things to say, that I have a hard time posting to the blog these days. I don't really know what it is. I know that I have a lot more on my plate than I did back when I started this little project. I mean, I guess I'm just starting to realize that I don't need to share every little inane detail of my life. Or maybe I do, but this requires more effort than a text message, so it's too hard.

Maybe Facebook and Myspace have something to do with it too. I feel like I have plenty of interaction with my friends via Facebook, and I don't really get feedback here, so I'm less likely to throw stuff up here versus constant updating of the FB page. Which is also a little weird, to be sure.

What's funny is that there are so many social outlets that I have to take a step back sometimes and consider which ones really deserve the time and energy I devote to them. More than anything, I'm so happy that I've managed to strike a bit of a balance between school, work, friends, and home than I have in quite some time. I'm still more of a homebody than I ever was before, but that's not a bad thing.

Going back to school this week was definitely a shock to my system, and what's not helping is the fact that I'm taking three classes this term, so I have only two free weeknights now. Argh. But at the same time, I just realized that I am now looking at a 2009 graduation date instead of 2010, and that makes me really, really happy.

Besides, if I graduate in 2009, that means that I don't have to plan around class for a trip to Europe for the CX worlds in 2010! Hello, Belgian beer and getting to visit Redhead in The Netherlands!!

Quote of the Day: "Windows echo your reflection/When I look in their direction now/When will this haunting stop?/Your face it just wont leave me alone." Pictures of Matchstick Men, Camper Van Beethoven.

Diving Headfirst into wedding planning

2008-09-24T16:05:00.000-07:00

I really underestimated the value of being able to rely on someone else to take care of certain details of my wedding. When we met with the caterers last week and they told me that they would take care of all of the rentals we would need for everything, I practically hugged them.

I like to plan things as much as the next girl, but I'm finally realizing that the more I can delegate during this process, the happier I'm going to be. I finally told Indie Rocker that I am pretty much expecting him and his auntie to plan the rehearsal dinner. I just want to give him a few names for the invites and be told where to show up. That would make me happy.

Other than that, things are really going much more smoothly than I expected. I like that I have a checklist, because God knows how much I adore to-do lists and checking things off of them. I don't particularly like theknot.com, and I certainly haven't been taking advantage of much outside of the checklist and the budgeter, but it is making me think of stuff I'd otherwise have blown off or just never known about.

I don't think I'm a bridezilla, but I could stand to talk about something else for a change. I'll get on that as soon as I can!

Quote of the Day: "Do we really have to listen to this vagina music all the way there?" Frank (Todd Fields), Walking and Talking.

Scare the F*** Out of Them.

2008-09-02T22:06:00.000-07:00

As much as I hate to be the latest blogger to jump on the Bristol Palin bandwagon, I am driving Indie Rocker nuts and still need to get something off my chest.

I will never understand abstinence-only sex education. Ever.

More than anything, I will never understand why withholding information is considered an appropriate method of teaching. There are exactly zero scientific studies that suggest that abstinence-only education reduces teen pregnancies. If anything, abstinence-only education both increases the rate of teen pregnancies and the rise of STDs among teens.

I went to a fairly liberal high school, all told, and underwent a rather thorough sex-ed curriculum. We studied each STD in detail, endured the condom-on-a-banana demo, and learned about anatomy and everything else. Truth be told, it was probably one of the best classes I had to take in high school. For the STD portion, we had to learn every single STD known to man at the time and all of their symptoms and signs.

Do you have any idea how disgusting most STDs are? Or how many involve pus? Seriously? That was something that sticks with me to this day--I never wanted to get something that was that gross.

And I've managed to make it to 29 with nary an unplanned pregnancy, so clearly the birth control aspect of the curriculum took as well. As did the regular stops at Planned Parenthood, which certainly earns its name.

What this has to do with the Palins is that I think Bristol would have been better off with more education. I'm not calling Sarah a bad mother. I'm saying that Bristol could have been armed with actual facts, rather than maxims like "Wait until marriage." Because we can see how that turned out.

And having been a 17-year-old girl, I can offer a first hand account of how they interact with their mothers. There are still things my mother is finding out about what I did when I was 17, and we're 12 years out. However, I knew that there were certain things that I never wanted to bring home to my mother. The temptation was there, for sure--I had a boyfriend and we were no strangers to the idea of sex. I've heard before that you shouldn't be having sex until you aren't embarrassed to buy condoms. It's a fair statement, as far as I'm concerned.

I realize that I am a liberal, with liberal views on things like birth control, conception, and abortion. I know that I am considered left-wing. I'm OK with that. I just firmly believe that a woman's reproductive health is no one's business but her own, and that she should neither be legislated into a corner, or be forced into a back alley for health care. A girlfriend of mine had a bumper sticker in college that said "Get Your Laws Off My Body." I agree.

On a slightly unrelated note, I will also never understand why a group of people so devoted to the right to live for unborn fetuses can also support the death penalty and murdering pro-choice doctors. So we should be saving unborn babies, but we can kill adults whose beliefs and actions we don't agree with? Awesome.

Quote of the Day: "Well, I should just... I was thinking I'd just nip it in the bud before it gets worse. Because they were talking about in health class how pregnancy... It can often lead to an infant." Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page), Juno.

Crabby and Owie. Not Necessarily in that Order.

2008-08-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

I finally decided to go to the doctor yesterday and see if we couldn't get down to the actual reason behind my ongoing lower back pain. I was actually looking forward to the visit, because I wanted to know what was going on.

And now I do. Which is both good and bad. Good, because it's not all in my head. Bad, because he diagnosed me with degenerative disk disease, which is kind of like being diagnosed with allergies. There isn't a ton that you can do to reverse it, and it's a pretty nebulous, catch-all diagnosis.

Apparently, the discs between two of my lumbar vertebrae are smaller than they should be, at least according to the X-ray. Which doesn't actually show the discs, just the spaces in between. Mostly because I am apparently slightly scoliotic in my lower back and that puts excess pressure on the discs and wears them down faster.

First the doctor (who I feel obliged to point out missed the course on bedside manner) asked me if I smoked, and when I said no, he told me not to start. Thanks, champ--I'll get right on that. Then, I was told "don't get fat--that will make this worse." Check--on that too. I was then told to run out to Costco and buy glucosamine and fish oil supplements to take 3X a day (which are HORSE PILLS, by the way. If I was someone who had trouble taking pills, I wuld seriously choke and die on these things. Gah!), and given a bunch of plank-type exercises to do. And told to come back in next week.

So I went home and cried.

And when I was done with that, I remembered that I used to work for orthopaedic surgeons and decided to do a little internet research. I went to the AAOS website, which is the organization that administers board exams for orthopods. I figured that it was probably more reliable than say, Wikipedia. Basically, it told me that x-rays are helpful, but not definitive at all, and that low back pain can have a bunch of different causes.

So after several conversations, including one with Indie Rocker where he sweetly pointed out, "At least he's asking you to do stuff that's good for you anyway!!", I decided that going to an orthopaedic surgeon for a second opinion was a good idea. My ever-helpful mother asked if I wanted to go see one of the guys on the Hill.

No. Because I cannot take a man seriously regarding my health when he once handed me a still-smoking laptop because he spilled coffee on it.

Quote of the Day: "'The body does crazy things.' Well, that explains everything." Dr. Eric Foreman (Omar Epps), House, M.D..

Like a cartoon, really.

2008-08-11T21:06:00.000-07:00

We have new neighbors across the street, and so far they are pretty cool. We did rib them a little bit for driving an H3 and confessed that we had our doubts that they would be cool.

Obviously they are, and I realize that having a diesel Suburban means that we don't really have a judgmental leg to stand on. Point taken.

That said, the new neighbors are the parents of a very large, very sweet Bernese mountain dog. He's 2 and 1/2, and he and the Munchkin get along just fine. In fact, they were wrestling around in the front yard the other night, and I guess the BMD got a little tired or something.

He sat on the Munchkin.

I'm not kidding--it was hilarious. All I could see was the Munchkin's legs and tail thrashing around while the BMD looked around like "where'd she go?" His owner and I were nearly crying, we were laughing so hard. His owner finally told him to move, and the Munchkin kicked his butt for sitting on her. It's really too bad they don't like each other.

Quote of the Day: "Hey, did somebody sit on me just now?" Lane (Keiko Agena), Gilmore Girls.

I don't get it.

2008-08-09T21:05:00.001-07:00

So, I don't have anything against Dara Torres. I think she's awesome, and I always have. However, I don't understand why everyone is so obsessed with her story.

Clearly, she had an uphill battle to get back into shape. However, the key part of that last sentence is the word "back." The woman is a five time Olympian with four gold medals. It isn't exactly a miracle that she's an Olympic-level swimmer. It's not her first rodeo, and swimming is a low-impact sport, even at her level.

I understand that the US has some insane obsession with age, and the concept of a 41 year old mother swimming at the Olympic level is "awe-inspiring."

I don't know--I just don't get it. She's not some random housewife from the Midwest who suddenly turned 40 and decided to become an Olympic swimmer. She already was and is an Olympian.

It feels a little bit like I'm splitting hairs, but I'm still a little unclear on why a former Olympian getting back into shape and back in the pool is the biggest story of the Games.

Quote of the Day: "The difference is... I'm in the mood to kick a little ass." Kate (Moira Kelly), The Cutting Edge.

Recovering from the weekend...

2008-08-07T18:15:00.000-07:00

Not really as much, but it sounds good. I'm still a little tired, but that's as much from the bike riding I've been doing this week as it is from last weekend.

That said, we had a blast. I picked Bumbershoot up right after I finished work and we had a totally uneventful drive up to Seattle, which was terrific. I love when that happens. We pulled in maybe 10 minutes before NP, which was perfect. We played with Marshall's adorable chocolate lab puppy before heading out for food and beers. We went to this great neighborhood place that had a back deck, where we ordered pitcher after pitcher while eating burgers and fries. I decided it would be funny to order kamikaze shots as well, and everyone loved them.

After that, we decided to press on and keep partying. We passed this Irish pub that had a band playing. We couldn't quite tell what it was, until the bouncer offered to halve the cover charge for us. That sounded good, so we headed in and realized we were listening to a Cure cover band. Lead singer was in full makeup and hair. In a random Irish pub in Seattle. Awesome.

After several more rounds and a rather unfortunate pair of tequila shots for me and Marshall, we decided to stumble home. Which was probably a good idea as it was kind of late.

The next morning, we rallied early enough (OK, 10 am-ish) to go for a group run around Green Lake. Marshall and I ran with the puppy, while NP and Bumbershoot took off and did two laps. I was really excited to see the Green Lake Regatta, which took me back to the summer after my senior year of high school, when I rowed that regatta with the Lake Oswego Rowing Club. Ahhh, good times. What a terrible experience that I now look back on fondly!

After the run, Marshall and I took the puppy to the dog park until NP and Bumbershoot were done with their run. We headed back to the house for make breakfast and shower before we figured out what else to do with our day. As it happened, the lovely Mini-Surf came over and motivated our lazy butts to leave the house. We ended up just wandering around the neighborhood and shopping, which was fantastic. I bought two pairs of shorts, which was one of my goals for the summer, and it cost me a whopping $40. Awesome! I think almost everyone ended up buying something, and we came back to the house to see Roadie waiting for us in the courtyard. We ate a little bit to help us rally and got ready to head down for the Mariners game. The bus ride quite nearly put us all to sleep, but we managed to rally once we got to Pyramid.

I love Pyramid for several reasons--their food is totally decent, it's right next to the stadium and the beer is cheap, relatively speaking. Love it. Once we had inhaled our hot dogs and drank a beer, we all felt better and felt like heading into the game. Our seats were in the bleachers, and the guy next to Mini-Surf had apparently learned everything he knew about baseball cheers from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." It was ridiculous, and only totally annoying for the first 45 minutes we were there.

Seriously? "Kennedy Kennedy Kennedy...Sawing Battah Battah..." Shut. Up!

After we got another beer and the guy finally stopped yelling, the game was pretty fun to watch. The M's lost, of course, but since it was NP's first game, we still had an awfully good time.

After the game, we walked off some of the beer wandering downtown and to our favorite after-game pub. After striking another deal on the cover charge, we started buying pitchers again and listening to the Afro-Cuban band playing. They were great. NP also made friends with the table next to us, which consisted of a bunch of early twentysomething soldiers up from Fort Lewis. Good times! We did our country proud drinking, dancing, and flirting with the boys. I even bought one a shot of Maker's Mark when he said he'd never had one. That was cut a little short when the bass player of the band accosted NP and insisted she call him. That obviously freaked her out, so all of the sudden we were pouring out of the pub and looking for a cab. A very nice Sikh cabbie who wanted nothing to do with five drunk girls let us pile in and head home.

Waking up was downright painful, but we recovered nicely to stagger down the street for breakfast. After that, we rallied and went shopping at the outlets north of Everett. Oh my God, they have everything: kate spade, Burberry, Michael Kors...I was so happy. Good thing I'm not a bag girl or I would have totally maxed out the credit cards at kate spade and Michael Kors. Deadly.

Fortunately, heading home was uneventful and I got to veg on the couch when I got home. Yay!

No quote--too much going on!

Too many situps

2008-08-01T09:54:00.000-07:00

Owie--the stomach is a little sore today after doing too many situps last night. That is actually a good thing. Go me.

The Munchkin and I went for a run last night after I found out my Hood to Coast legs and since one of them in insanely hilly, I decided that running hills might be in my best interests for the next few weeks. Unfortunately, I also appear to have developed a shin splint in my left leg, so I need to fix that before I can really do anything.

Indie Rocker was amused by my dog toy announcement, and pointed out that I could probably find a few toys by mowing the lawn. I replied that while he may be right, he had missed the point entirely. It was actually a far funnier conversation in person, so you'll have to take my word for it.

I'm also very excited to head for Seattle tonight with Bumbershoot so that we can meet up with Marshall and NP for a girls' weekend. Should be awesome, and I'm really excited. It's not like I need to get out of town--I'm trying to remember the last weekend I was actually in town, frankly. Oh well.

Quote of the Day: "Sometimes I feel like sitting on trains/Every stop I get to, I'm clocking that game/Everyone's a winner, we're making that fame/Bona fide hustler making my name." M.I.A., Paper Planes.

Come to Jesus talk

2008-07-31T13:44:00.001-07:00

Well, it's time for a Come to Jesus talk with Indie Rocker. I've had it.

I cannot keep coming home to play with the dog only to discover that her toys have all vanished. Again. She likes sticks alright, but that's not really the point.

I fully realize that if this is my biggest problem right now, I should pretty much be jumping for joy. And I am. Once I get this settled!

I really have only one wish: that he would either get his butt down into the creek behind our house and retrieve the toys that he knows the dog won't if he throws them down there, or he would go to the pet store and replace them.

I'm going to give him until Sunday, at which point I am taking his credit card to the pet store myself and buying enough toys that I won't have to deal with this again for a good, long time. I'll let you know how it goes.

Quote of the Day: "My Labrador retriever had a nervous breakdown. I kept throwing him a boomerang." Nick Arnette. Clearly, we need one of those.

I'd like to claim I was busy...

2008-07-14T20:26:00.000-07:00

...but busyness is a fallacy, and I don't want to be an asshole.

Either way, I am currently finishing up my first summer term, and am pretty darn thrilled to have 10 straight weeks of no class and no homework. I don't think Indie Rocker and the Munchkin are going to know what to do with me.

The last two classes I've taken have been part of my concentration for my program and have frankly been the best classes I've taken since I started here. I'm really happy about that, since if it wasn't the case, I'd have a really hard time showing up for class three nights a week once the weather got gorgeous. I haven't been overwhelmed with work, which has been nice as well. One class has been really interactive, while the other has largely been a lecture. I really don't mind either. The interactive one is more interesting from an action standpoint, but I'm still getting quite a bit out of the other one as well.

Other stuff's been going on as well. We booked the venue for the wedding, so the date's set in stone now, as much as it can be. Crazy. Also, Indie Rocker finished the Creampuff this year, which is amazing and I cannot be prouder of him. I also like that next year is now optional rather than mandatory. Awesome.

Things are going well at work--my boss scheduled check-ins with the whole department and basically told me that I was awesome aside from needing to be a tad more detail-oriented. I'm totally OK with that.

OK, now I'm just killing time in class. I'd really rather be home watching the Tour. But at least I had dinner at Chipotle, so go Christian Vande Velde!

Quote of the Day: "My uncle used to say that we like people for their qualities but we love them for their defects." John Myers (Rupert Evans), Hellboy.

I'm tired...

2008-06-16T12:09:00.000-07:00

We had an awfully busy weekend, so I'm a little sleepy today. On the brightest side, so is the Munchkin.

The funniest thing is that I am more excited about having completely worn the dog out yesterday than I am about buying my wedding dress on Saturday. I am so weird.

Indie Rocker had a 50-mile mountain bike race yesterday, so I got to wrangle the furball for about 8 straight hours. While this doesn't sound like much, she didn't sleep the whole time, and spent the vast majority of it on leash, with me on the other end of the leash. Whew. We walked 8 miles, hiked up to the first aid station, saw tons of bicycles, she played with two other dogs for several hours, and then laid in the sun.

She slept the entire ride home, and then passed out again at my parents' house. Awesome!

For the record, Indie Rocker finished the race, and everyone survived. I'm a little bit red from the sun, but not too bad.

Quote of the Day: "If dogs could talk it would take a lot of the fun out of owning one." Andy Rooney.

How time flies...

2008-06-12T22:14:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the last night of my first year in grad school. I'm taking a couple of summer classes, but for all intents and purposes, I'm done with my first year proper. I'm in a little bit of shock, because it's all gone by so fast. I mean, I feel like I was just sitting down for my GMAT not all that long ago, and all of the sudden, here I am, a year in.

Frankly, I'm happy about the whole thing. I think I'm in the right place, and I'm definitely on the right track. I feel like I picked the right program because I can see a light at the end of the tunnel, and it's a beautiful light indeed. I've already started some of my elective classes and I love them. They're the reason I picked PSU, and I'm ecstatic that they are everything I'd hoped they'd be. I love that there are seven people in my class, and that I can email my professor to ask questions and she knows exactly who I am.

I know that I could probably transfer onto the main campus cohort, but I really like my classmates, and we're really starting to bond as a group as well. In fact, we went out for beers last week and had a great time; we're already starting to plan an outing to a local soccer game this summer.

Long story short, I'm very pleased with my decision to go back to grad school, and I can only hope that it's going to work out for the best.

Quote of the Day: "Christ. Seven years of college down the drain. Might as well join the fucking Peace Corps." Bluto (John Belushi), Animal House.

Shoes!

2008-06-04T12:05:00.000-07:00

I know that this so doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but I am so excited that I get to walk down the aisle in Kate Spades, that I got for 60% off. Whee!

Marshall, I can hear the "Shoes!" song in my head right now...

Failed Experiment

2008-06-03T11:26:00.000-07:00

After deciding to start giving the Munchkin a little more freedom during the day, we started yesterday by letting her have the whole bedroom instead of just her crate to wander around in. This sounds like a lot of space, but it really isn't. The bed takes up easily half of the room, the closet sticks out about two feet by five feet, and the rest of the room is mostly occupied by dressers. So it sounds good, but she really wasn't getting a ton more space.

Didn't matter. It didn't work.

Indie Rocker went home at lunch to check on her. She had moved the entire mattress a foot to the right, pulled the flat sheet off the bed, chewed through the fitted sheet and the mattress pad, and chewed a hole in the underside of the mattress.

Apparently, the Munchkin has a wicked case of separation anxiety. Awesome.

Needless to say, she spent the afternoon back in her crate. I took her for about an hour and a half long walk last night and put her Kong with some treats in her crate with her when we went to dinner.

So we now get to figure out how to deal with this. I read somewhere yesterday that separation anxiety is the second most popular reason that people either euthanize or give back their dogs. Really? I mean, yeah it's annoying and it's going to be a lot of work, but she's our dog. I don't understand people who get pets and then don't understand that pets take actual work. Obviously, getting rid of the Munchkin will never happen.

Keep your fingers crossed that we can fix this. Hopefully the fact that she's still a puppy will work in our favor.

Quote of the Day: I was trying to find one from Marley and Me, but I haven't read it and the movie hasn't come out yet, so I give up.

More Music than you can Shake a Stick at...

2008-05-28T14:00:00.001-07:00

Marshall, Duke and I headed to Eastern Washington to see Sasquatch! this past weekend. I realized that this is the third time I've gone, and that's pretty cool. We had a great weekend--the weather largely cooperated, I managed to not get drunk and steal Duke's phone for the better part of the day, and the main stage wasn't shut down due to wind. Bonus!

My only real complaint was that the campground workers really did not have their shit together at all. It took us over an hour to get into the Premier campsite, which had no signage whatsoever and we were given atrocious directions. Fortunately, we managed to hold onto some semblance of a sense of humor until we could crack open the cooler. Good grief!

And the Premier camping? Totally the way to go.

The show was pretty damn good too. We managed to catch a few things we never expected, and I had a good time with the ones I intended to catch. So here's the rundown:

SATURDAY:
VINCE MIRA: Kid is apparently 16 years old and sounds exactly like Johnny Cash. It's eerie. And really cool at the same time.

THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS: Always a good show, and I always forget just how pretty Neko Case is. And I covet her hair. A little underwhelming in such a big space, but that's probably because we were sitting so far back.

CRUDO/DESTROYER: Both a little weird. And I can't really remember which one we actually saw.

M.I.A.: I really liked her energy--she's this teeny tiny little thing who just jumps around all over the place. Marshall didn't like that they never did any close-ups of her, which I agree with. There were three girls up there and I couldn't totally tell which one was M.I.A. Good music though.

MODEST MOUSE: As usual, this band is amazing live. I saw them last summer at Edgefield and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. Isaac Brock appears to be walking that thin line between musical genius and just plain bonkers. He's still on the music genius side, but the madness is a nice touch.

THE BREEDERS: The last time I saw Kim Deal, she was playing with the reconstituted Pixies and they looked like they would rather have been swallowing knives than playing together onstage. They didn't say a word to each other, or the crowd, the entire set. The Breeders, on the other hand, talked as much as they played and sounded terrific. I remembered why I wanted to be a Deal sister back in the mid-90s.

REM: Saw them as a 16th birthday present and they are easy to like. Indie Rocker is convinced that Michael Stipe is a robot, but I think he's actually an alien. A cool alien who knows how to play, but an alien nonetheless. "I wish Canadians could vote." Rad. I'll admit that I have a hard time with bands like REM because I want them to play all of my favorite songs, but their catalog is so huge that it's impossible unless they play for approximately 9 straight hours. A girl can dream...

SUNDAY
After recovering from Saturday, eating breakfast, tidying camp, and then starting to drink again, we managed to head to the show. It was awesome.

BLUE SCHOLARS: These are two dudes from Seattle, and they are awesome. Great stage presence, smart rhymes, and great DJ. Marshall and I were rocking out and having a great time. Go see them at your first opportunity--I promise you will not be disappointed.

CANCER RISING: We love these guys anyway, because we met our boy Gatsby a few years ago when we went drinking in Fremont after Bumbershoot. Needless to say, we had a blast and these guys are awesome. There are two full-time MCs, one part-time MC/b-boy and a DJ. They also brought on some b-boys and a b-girl in training and I only wish my body could do what theirs could. Amazing.

TEGAN AND SARA: I like their music, but I had not heard good things about their live show. I agree with the reviews--their music is still interesting, but their live show leaves a little to be desired. Their banter borders on insulting, since I'm not sure either of them thinks before she opens her mouth. Some of it was asinine, some of it was insulting, and some was just downright weird. They need to talk less and play more.

ROGUE WAVE: Duke and I went to check these guys out, and we were underwhelmed. I seem to remember seeing them at Bumbershoot and getting a huge kick out of them, so that was disappointing.

PRESIDENTS OF THE USA: I saw these guys when they were touring for their self-titled album in 1996, and I crowd-surfed for the first time to the song "Peaches." I absolutely love them, always have, and had a horrifying realization in the middle of their set: The kiddos in front of me were 3 or 4 years old when I first saw PUSA. Auggghhh! Other than that, the music was fun, and they played my second fave song from them, "Kick Out the Jams" and I was much happier.

SPEARHEAD: Marshall is a huge Spearhead and Michael Franti fan. I have seen them a few times and I like them, but I largely made my way down to the bowl to humor her. Imagine my surprise when I really, really enjoyed their entire set. Michael Franti is an energetic man with the ability to completely suck you into his energy. After the first song or two, I was in--totally sucked in, in the best possible way.

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE: Duke told a story about what assholes these guys were when he was on the same plane as them a few years back. I like their music, and one of their songs has my all-time favorite lyric: "You're so cute when you're slurring your speech/but they're closing the bar and they want us to leave." Ben Gibbard announced at the beginning of the show that he was wearing all black for two reasons: he wanted his outside to match how dark he felt on the inside and that it was an homage to the Cure, who was playing after them. It was the first part that got me--a grown, voting adult said that he wanted to look as dark as he felt on the inside. Really? I've come to the conclusion that Ben Gibbard imagines himself to be the musical genius that Isaac Brock from Modest Mouse actually is. The music was good, but underwhelming.

THE CURE: I would love to be able to say more about this, because they were quite cool. Unfortunately, I had managed to have one beer too many by this point and remember exactly three of their songs. Argh.

All in all it was a fantastic weekend spent with two very good friends. I loved that Marshall said that I was a great fifth wheel for a couple. Hey, I had a great time!

No quote--too many songs to even think about quoting from...

The Blackboard Jungle

2008-05-21T13:51:00.000-07:00

More than anything, I'm starting to realize a marked difference between my undergraduate and graduate studies. I knew that I was going to figure that out eventually, but the farther I get even into this term, the more obvious it is.

For example, there's my stats professor. The man is clearly bugfuck crazy, and in turn is making the entire class a little crazy as well. The way he teaches is maddening: he lectures from Flash slides that are available on the website, when he veers from those, it's to scribble on the board in completely illegible handwriting, and he frequently takes breaks from the material to mumble about some utterly unrelated topic like, oh, his ex-wife.

I wish I was kidding. The last straw? He discovered some shareware last week that turns Word documents into MP3s. He then proceeded to name the voice that lives inside his computer. Full name--first and last. And refers to it as if it were a real person. Frankly, I wish the faintly-sounds-like-Stephen-Hawking-on-Family-Guy voice were teaching the class because I'd probably be getting more out of it.

I think there is a definite advantage to paying for your own education; namely, that you are vastly more invested in the outcome. I think if I'd been paying for my undergrad, I would have slept through vastly fewer classes, really paid attention in a number of others, and taken more advantage of the opportunities I was presented with and just either didn't know about or knew about and didn't care. I'm not saying that I wasted my undergrad; I didn't. But I definitely didn't take full advantage of it either.

That said, I clearly need to take full advantage of this try at school, if for no other reason than not having to feel this way about my grad experience as well.

And you better believe that I will have plenty to write about my stats professor on my evaluation. Argh.

Quote of the Day: "Dear Mr. Potter, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Soon, you and your schoolmates will join us here, and your education in the magical arts will begin." Dumbledore (Richard Harris), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Now that's an acceptance letter I'd have loved to have gotten!!

How Things Have Changed...

2008-05-14T14:18:00.000-07:00

It's an interesting time around the house these days, as poor Indie Rocker is going through some serious stress about starting a major job search. He is clearly unhappy at his current gig, and has been for long enough that he's starting to act like I did when I wanted to leave the Hill. It's a little bit funny that our roles have reversed almost exactly, but it's never easy when someone you care about is truly miserable at work.

At the same time, it's a little frustrating because there really isn't much I can do about it either, aside from just trying to get his mind off things. It's not like I can suggest jobs--I know next to nothing about his field and opportunities therein.

More than anything, I just wish that the job market weren't so depressed right now, but I suppose that it really doesn't matter all that much. There's never a "good" time to look for a new job and he has tremendously useful and translatable skills, so there's that. Either way, keep all of your fingers crossed that this job search goes quickly and well so that we can both see the light at the end of the tunnel.

More than anything, he needs to work someplace where the people in charge of systems don't design their protocols to resemble a spirited game of Calvinball, and where his coworkers actually bother to show up and do their jobs more often than not. Strangely, I don't think that's really too much to ask.

Quote of the Day: "The thing is, Bob, it's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care." Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston), Office Space.

Stupid but funny...

2008-05-12T21:39:00.000-07:00

I appear to have recovered just fine from the half-marathon, and decided to ride my bike to work today. All went well until I was about 2.5 miles in, and realized that I'd forgotten to pack a bra. Argh. So once again, I was off to Nordstrom to bond with the little old lingerie ladies. Unfortunately, the gal was neither old nor little, but did help me reconnect with my old friend Calvin Klein and I could wear the outfit I packed, rather than a sweaty shirt and sports bra all day. Ew.

I wish that I could say that this is the first time I've done this. It isn't.

On the bright side, I do have a nice new bra and I really, really needed one. Or three. Perhaps I just need to start strategically "forgetting" them. Yeah, right. Either way, I'm glad that the bike ride went well and I clearly need to start doing that more often than not. It's fun, I stay in shape, and it's cheap!

Quote of the Day: "For Bretodeau, that little box brought back a lot of memories - Federico Bahamontes winning the '59 Tour de France, and of course, the tragic day when he won all the marbles at playtime." The Narrarator (Andre Dussollier), Amelie.

Half-Marathon Day

2008-05-04T17:54:00.000-07:00

I did it! I finished the Eugene Half-Marathon today, in an extremely respectable 2:06:48. I'm really proud of myself, for several reasons. One, I really wasn't sure that I could do this. I don't particularly like running on its own merits, and wasn't looking forward to racking up mileage. Two, I ran a lot faster than I thought I would and didn't realize it until we finished. Awesome.

Lastly, I'm stoked that I finally saw this project through to completion. It was one of my resolutions this year to get back into shape via a program and project, and that's exactly what I did. I followed a plan, executed it, got into great shape, and lost 15 pounds.

You could say that I'm pretty stoked. I definitely give a lot of credit to Indie Rocker for supporting my training, my running buddy K-fab for training with me until we both got sick and couldn't run the original half-marathon that we signed up, and also Doppel for stepping up and doing the long runs with me whenever she was in town, as well as running with me today.

And with that--thank God it's over!!

Quote of the Day: "Well... yeah... you put one leg in front of the other over and over again really really fast." Gordon (Dylan Moran), Run Fatboy Run.

Planning...damn near everything

2008-04-30T13:51:00.000-07:00

While I have always been someone who likes to plan everything, I am starting to realize that there are parts of the process that I don't necessarily love. Case in point: Indie Rocker and I are looking at venues for the wedding/reception, and I kind of hate the whole process. I don't like the fact that attaching the word "wedding" to an event jacks the price up by anywhere from 20-50%. I don't like that I need to make 70 phone calls and leave 70 messages in order to see these places. I don't like the whole generic wedding template.

I do like that Indie Rocker is willing to suffer through this with me. I also like that my friends accept that I will be venting about this. I also like that once I get this part squared away, we get to do the fun stuff like taste food, pick out cakes, and pick out music. I just keep telling myself that I need to just get through this, and it will get a ton easier.

Is it over yet?

Quote of the Day: "I used to think a wedding was a simple affair. Boy and girl meet, they fall in love, he buys a ring, she buys a dress, they say I do. I was wrong. That's getting married. A wedding is an entirely different proposition." George Banks (Steve Martin), Father of the Bride.

Snowstorms in April

2008-04-21T09:17:00.000-07:00

We went up to the mountain this weekend because Biker was throwing a parking-lot BBQ and we decided it would be really fun to go. Additionally, we could sleep in, ski a little bit, and then hang out with a bunch of our friends. And we could bring the furball.

It ended up being a great time--we skied for an hour, had some beers in the lodge, I turned in my uniform for the last time, and then we headed out to meet the rest of the crew out in the parking lot. The weather started out OK, and we let our furball chase around the other furballs in attendance. The weather pretty quickly shifted to snow, and we were all freezing, but we still stuck around and partied for another hour. It was great!

We ended up heading down to HR to go enjoy State's hot tub, which was a terrific idea. I do miss the mountain a little bit, but I really just think that I'm making the right decision to be done. I feel pretty good about it.

Quote of the Day: don't have one...the coffee hasn't kicked in yet.

Shedding the weight...

2008-04-15T08:59:00.000-07:00

I've never been one of these people who spends a lot of time thinking about my weight. Recently I've been reading a blog called "Back in Skinny Jeans" and it talks about healthy ways to live rather than being obsessed with fad diets and that sort of thing. Interestingly enough, I got on the scale yesterday and realized that I've lost 15 pounds since I stopped working at the hospital, which means that I have 5lbs to go to lose the 20 pounds I packed on while up there.

It's such a good feeling to finally finish shedding both the mental and physical aspects of that job. I'm in a better place in every single meaning of the phrase, and that makes me really, really happy.

Quote of the Day: "Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity." John F. Kennedy, Jr. I borrowed the quote from BISJ.

Interesting...

2008-03-27T12:22:00.000-07:00

In all this excitement about finishing the 101, I realized that I've actually already done a few of my New Year's resolutions. Just goes to show that I'm learning a little bit more about myself as I get older.

1. Strike a better balance between work, school, exercise, and friends. The reasoning behind this is pretty simple, but I also found that doing it is much harder than it looks. It's very easy to get totally caught up in homework and neglect my friends, family, boyfriend and puppy. I honestly feel like I didn't see my friends for about six weeks in the fall and that, frankly, sucked.
I feel like I've really done this for a number of reasons. I feel like I see my friends a lot more than I did before, I am getting way more exercise than I did before, and I realize that I'm a lot less stressed out than I was. I'm still not super-busy at work right now, which is OK, but I'll get that figured out. It's all cyclical, really.

2. Create some exercise goals and accomplish them. Bumbershoot and I were talking over IM a few days ago and were discussing running a 10K or half-marathon together. I really liked this idea for a variety of reasons. I got the Nike iPod+ thingie for Christmas and would love to start playing with it, and I really like the idea of having something to train for, rather than the ever-nebulous "get back into shape." Plus, I am so much more motivated to do things when my friends are right there with me.
Well, I ran a 15K already, and I'm signed up for the half-marathon in a week and a half. I'm excited because I definitely followed through on this and I feel better about myself as a result. Indie Rocker's been super-supportive as far as not giving me any grief for training and taking care of the munchkin while I run. I have started taking her for some runs too, which is good for both of us. I just feel good about the fact that I, literally, took this goal and ran with it. Oof, I am turning into my father. Yikes. :)

4. Get my face under control. I changed my birth control method in the past year and it is wreaking havoc with my face. I've already gone to the dermatologist once and have another appointment next month. I am pretty motivated to get this done, and I like the idea of a resolution I can definitely accomplish.
Well, I finally sucked it up and decided to go on Accutane, which is not the most fun thing in the world, but it certainly is doing something for my face. I just got really tired of trying everything and seeing no results. We really did try everything and my feeling is that I just want to get this over with. I've already gone one month and I've got four left, so hopefully it isn't that bad and I'll end up with lovely skin. That's the ultimate goal, anyway.

6. Make the relationship call.
Well, that happened, obviously. Planning the wedding is a little stressful, but what can you do? We have already started the Vegas jokes in earnest, trust me.

Overall, not too bad. I suspect that the work thing just isn't going to happen for a variety of reasons, but I don't know. I'll definitely be looking at opportunities as they present themselves, which should be a really interesting road. Grad school has been great so far in presenting me with things to think about and consider. More than anything, I'm becoming much more deliberate in my thinking about a job and much less "jump to the nearest ship." Seeing as that was my strategy for my entire post-college career thus far, that's a really nice change.

I'm still working on the charitable giving thing. Hopefully that will start materializing once I get my ducks in a row financially. At least my savings account isn't quite as much of a joke as it used to be.

Quote of the Day: "Don't turn your back on me, don't turn your back on me, don't ever let me down/We are within a mile, we are within a mile, within a mile of home" Flogging Molly, Within A Mile of Home.

Running milestones!

2008-03-10T22:09:00.000-07:00

Check this out:

Nike+

I must say, I'm pretty stoked about this little toy and how much fun that it's been to run. I actually kind of like running now.

Weird!

Shout-out!!

2008-03-06T11:24:00.001-08:00

Thanks to knowledge gleaned from years spent going to Champ Car races, I got an awesome Internet shout-out today. I check Manolo's Shoe Blog religiously, and while I didn't guess the celeb right, I still got mentioned.

I feel so cool.

The stuff I didn't finish...47 in 1001.

2008-02-29T12:16:00.000-08:00

You know, I realized a few weeks ago that there are some things that I kind of regret not accomplishing and most that were kind of pipe dreams to begin with. I also realized that for the most part, my priorities changed quite a bit over the past 1001 days and it's been really interesting on this ride.

6. Visit several friends in LA/Santa Monica. I’ve been promising to do this for years, and I really ought to get around to doing it. Well, I still have friends in LA, but one of them moved to Napa, so I'm not sure what's going to happen with this one. I will definitely expedite it if Speedy ends up in LA.

7. Go to Vegas. I actually did try to do this, but a friend's bachelorette ended up being the same weekend as Sasquatch and then got canceled, so maybe my bachelorette?

9. Have enough in savings to last more than a month if I find myself unemployed. Like I said about last year's resolutions: great intentions, piss-poor follow through.

10. Spend an entire ski season somewhere besides Mt. Hood Meadows. This was supposed to be about going to Australia or New Zealand for the summer and that totally didn't happen. However, I'm quitting MHM after this season, so I'm pretty happy about that!!

12. Attend an opera performance. This may still happen. Portland Opera is doing "Aida" right around my birthday, and I might see if Mom wants to come with.

14. Go surfing in Bali. Yeah, didn't this sound good? I think it might make my honeymoon options list, though.

17. Spend a girls weekend with the HS crew, either at a spa or wherever we decide to go. We kept trying to schedule that, but someone usually got sent out of the country, or got married, or we didn't have enough money. It was fun to hang out at Miss C's wedding, though.

18. Participate in a triathlon. Again, this may still happen. I'm getting in pretty good shape, and I'm no longer afraid of the running part. I've been looking a t a few sprint triathlons coming up in a few months and they are looking really good. Also, the training for the half-marathon has really gotten me all pumped up about training for specific events. I haven't felt this good in years.

22. Take the motorcycle riding class at PCC that I’ve been talking about taking for about four years. I honestly don't know why this didn't happen. Laziness?

23. Learn enough HTML to make the blog somewhat cool-looking. Or enlist a friend to do it in exchange for something. You know, I did actually try to learn some HTML before I left the old job and did a little experimenting, but it never really went anywhere. Oh well!

26. Eat dinner at El Gaucho. Again, this may still happen. You never know!

31. Attend Black Tie & Tennies once. It wasn't held when the list was up, so I may still do this. I am back on the Outward Bound Alumni list, so there you go.

39. Visit New York City. Again, this also might still happen. One of our good hasher buddies moved to NYC not too long ago, and I could definitely see myself feeling the need to go visit.

41. Take a sailing lesson. This could still happen. One of my Chick Surf friends is a sailor, so who knows?

42. Take a horseback riding lesson. This is not looking so good. I'm sure this was part of a "try new things" idea, but I just don't spend much time around horses. And frankly, I'm not sure I want to!

45. Purchase a case of wine from a winery (Ultimate goal? Drouhin. Reality? Something a little less expensive) This actually will happen in the near future, since Indie Rocker said that the next case from the wine shop is on me. Go figure!

46. Send a girlfriend or two to the wine class at Square Deal and tell Indie Rocker’s aunt about it beforehand. It’s a joke, really. Yep, never got around to it. Oh well.

49. Go to New Orleans. You know, I wrote that before Katrina and I still want to go. I'm just not sure when it's going to happen.

50. Visit the Aussie fam in Shanghai. Preferably with Bumbershoot. Well, this one isn't going to happen because they moved back to the States. However, I haven't seen their place in Seattle yet, so maybe I'll consider this one done when I do that.

53. Frame the last few posters I own that I would like to not ruin. Yeah, this is a good goal. Maybe I should! I think I'd need to find some of them--I'm pretty sure one of them is still in a tube at my parents' house.

58. Climb Mt. Hood. All the way, this time. Again, I still want to do this. Maybe this spring! I am in much better shape than I typically am come spring time.

60. Buy a matching set of really great underwear and actually wear it. I am actually embarrassed that this hasn't happened. I keep using the wedding as an opportunity and I will be really upset if this doesn't happen before then!!!

61. Come up with a menu, grocery shop and cook for myself for an entire week. Not so good with menus. Not sure I'm going to get better. Not too worried about it.

64. Learn to telemark ski. I have all the gear, I just haven't bothered to put the effort in yet. I foresee this happening when I'm not teaching anymore. Actually, I really just need to get boots and Indie Rocker and I have actually attempted that. Once it happens, I really have no excuse.

65. Write to my congressperson. I just don't think I ever thought of something worth getting really good and indignant about. I'll work on that!!

69. Take a climbing trip to Smith Rock. Yeah, don't know why I didn't do that. I probably need to organize it myself, knowing my climbing friends.

70. Live by myself. I'm actually glad that this didn't happen.

72. Watch the entire first season of “The OC”. I tried, I did. I own it, so this may still happen. I suspect that it will involve large quantities of alcohol, Strong Draught or both.

74. Maintain certification in both. Well, maybe Indie Rocker and I will get all motivated again and got get certified in both CPR and First Aid. Or we'll just wait until we have kids.

75. Give blood. I signed up twice to do this and bailed both times. I don't fear giving blood, but for some reason came up with stupid excuses not to do it. Now I can't for six months, but I'll revisit this one for sure.

76. Get a tattoo. Working on it. I have a design picked out and have for years. Speedy is pushing it, so that's always a good sign.

77. Repierce my ears. Same with the tattoo. They'll probably happen around the same time. I keep thinking I could probably just go to town with some old earrings, but then I remember that's a really painful idea.

78. Revise and finish the novel I’ve already started. This was a noble attempt to see some follow-through on this idea I'd started. The reality is, life totally got in the way of this and I don't know if I'm going to pick it back up. I'm not crazy about the subject anymore, and I might just have to scrap the whole thing. Or turn it into a short story. I don't know.

79. Let somebody read it. Not gonna happen anytime soon, that's for dang sure.

83. Help my mother clean out my old room and the basement in their house. Well, I started doing this, and she hasn't stopped bugging me. In fact, the other day she reminded me that this is something I need to get done before I get married. Well, alrighty then.

84. Let my father teach me everything he wants to about my car. This may be moot, as I've pretty much learned how to do everything from change my own oil to changing my lightbulbs.

85. Go sledding for the sake of sledding. I can't believe that I didn't do this.

86. Watch the movies that Mom and Dad keep bugging me to watch. This isn't going to happen. I can't even remember what they are anymore.

88. Go to Oregon’s Homecoming. I'm not sure this is going to happen either. Frankly, paying upwards of $100 for a ticket and then spending the weekend in line for beers is not looking like a high priority right now.

90. Own a kitchen appliance that isn’t a hand-me-down. Hello, wedding registry!

91. Buy a tent, preferably three season convertible. This must happen before the end of June because I am not sleeping on top of Indie Rocker and the Munchkin in his tiny-ass midget tent before the Creampuff again this year. I'm just not.

92. Brush up on enough French and Italian to watch “La Cite Des Enfants Perdu” and “La Vita E Bella” without subtitles. Once again, best intentions, no follow-through. I think this is awesome in theory, and maybe I'll do it someday. Putting it that way, I think we all know this isn't going to happen unless I end up moving to either country for some reason.

93. Surf Santa Cruz without getting yelled at or threatened. Taking a local would be a good idea. Bonus points, really. Good plan, but I never made it down to SC for any reason. However, I think Indie Rocker's aunt and uncle own a condo down there. Hmmm...

94. Buy my sister the magazine subscription that I owe her. Yeah, I'll get right on that once she actually has an address for more than 9 minutes.

95. Launch and land a slopestyle jump. Not so into the jumping the past few years. I know why this is on here--this and the alley-oop were things Marshall and I were working on at Symposium and then promptly forgot all about for the next two years. I think I'm more interested in learning to tele than learning to freestyle, so I'm not going to worry about these.
96. Master an alley-oop in the pipe. See above.

98. Let Marshall teach me how to do something with my hair. Well, she moved to Seattle. What the heck am I supposed to do now? Kidding--we just never seem to see a reason to worry about it really. Oh well!

The Stuff I sort of finished...8 in 1001

2008-02-26T22:07:00.000-08:00

8. Purchase a matching set of furniture, even if it’s from IKEA. The reason that this gets an italic note is that my dresser and nightstand match. I think that we intended to get another nightstand for Indie Rocker, but when we got the Munchkin, her crate pretty much took over his side of the room and now there's no room for a nightstand. In essence, I got this done to the extent that I could, but it's still a little half-assed.

43. Get back in touch with Tintin and go visit her in Chicago. This gets an italic note because I got back in touch with Tintin on 8/11/05. Now I need to go see her, which would kick ass. Well, she is getting married next year...

63. After that, if I still like them, own all of Wes Anderson’s movies. At this point, I do own all of the ones that I liked. I need to order "The Darjeeling Limited" and I don't own "Rushmore," which was really my least favorite anyway.

66. Use all the rest of the gift certificates I have squirreled away and probably forgot about. I just found an old Blockbuster gift card the other day, and I still have a Kiehl's one. I don't know--it mostly counts.

73. Get recertified in First Aid and CPR. I got recertified in CPR on 12/6/05. However, I didn't renew the First Aid. So I think I'll go do both when the CPR regulations change this summer.

89. Learn to make a foofy cocktail. I can make a pretty wicked gin & tonic, as well as a great mimosa. I guess I was thinking that I'd learn to make cosmos or something, but we really never drink those. It would be a little superfluous, but maybe I'll learn to make margaritas over the summer or something.

97. Participate in the Hood to Coast. I never did Hood to Coast, but I did Rainier to Pacific and I'm signed up to do it again this year. I think that's pretty much close enough.

100. Visit a house I used to live in. I think this was ultimately intended to get me back east or down to SF or something, but I did party at my old apartment and went down to Tahoe to stay in the cabin, so I feel pretty good about this one, actually.

The Stuff I finished...46 in 1001.

2008-02-26T22:00:00.000-08:00

I honestly thought I'd done more than that, but I guess it is what it is.

1. Start a savings account Completed 1/17/06. I finally did it! I opened a savings account! I am so freaking proud of myself!!
2. Get a new job Completed 7/25/06. I accepted a position with a local nonprofit fund development organization. I think it's going to be a great situation and a much better work environment for me. Plus, it's off the Hill and that's mostly what I wanted. Even better, I did it on my own, and that thrills me more than anything.
3. Fix my bike and make it a commuter. completed 7/14/05. I did it! I rode my fixed bike (fixed by Indie Rocker on 7/09/05) to work today! I got my first commuter punch, took my first shower on campus, and made it to work with tons of time to spare.
4. Buy a surfboard. Completed 12/25/06. Indie Rocker paid for part of it as a birthday gift, but I paid off the rest and I cannot wait to use it. My friend Bryan at Seven Surfboards is awesome, and I can't wait to ride my new board. Woo!
5. Replace my windshield. Completed 12/04/07. This is a little embarrassing that it took me this long to do it. However, I'm sure it will be really nice to actually be able to see through my windshield. I might even get new wipers.
11. Play an entire season of lacrosse for Portland Winded, including practices. Completed 5/1/06. I'm considering this one done, since I did go to a bunch of practices and even traveled with the team. Ergo, I did it. Certainly moreso than I ever did in the past.
13. Go to Coachella/Bonnaroo/Austin City Limits (one, not all) or some such multi-day, mega-band festival once. Bumbershoot doesn’t count, as I’ve gone, like, five times. Completed 5/27-28, 2007. I went to the Sasquatch Music Festival this year, so I'm calling this one done. I mean, it was written up in Spin and Rolling Stone as a major summer festival to check out, so as far as it required travel, I had to stay there overnight and it had to be a significant show, I'm thinking I'm good.
15. Go surfing in Hawaii Completed 11/12/07. Indie Rocker and I surfed Waikiki. I'm counting this because I did actually stand up on the board. Mushy waves are a bitch. Additionally, Indie Rocker, Furry Thing and I surfed Ho'okipa on Maui just four days later. Woo!
16. Ski with my sister wherever she is working/living in the winter Completed 3/1/07-3/4/07. I flew down to Tahoe and spent four days skiing with Speedy, Marshall, State, and Redhead. So yeah, it pretty much rocked.
19. Join a gym that has a swimming pool and use it. Completed 6/2/06. I joined this gym something like 6 months ago. I finally used the pool for a 35 minute swim!!
20. Clean out my closet and take the things I haven’t worn in over a year to Goodwill/Buffalo Exchange completed 7/10/05. I actually started this over two weeks ago when I had Chitown come help me go through my Goodwill pile. He went through my entire closet, I made $30 at Red Light and took the rest to Goodwill.
21. Take a cooking class at Sur la Table. Completed 9/27/05. Mom and I took the class from Pixie, who taught us cool recipes from her restaurant, which rocked. Plus, Mom bought me a bunch of fun stuff for the kitchen that we needed. yay!
24. Buy ski pants that aren’t made by Spyder Completed 1/21/08. I bought a pair of Cloudveil pants. Which now means that I actually don't have to steal my pants from MHM to go on my ski vacations this year. Good times!
25. Take the GRE and GMAT Completed 5/15/07. I took the GMAT today and kept my scores. I don't need to take the GRE, so I'm calling this one done since I have no interest in wasting $200+ on a test I don't need to take. That's just idiotic!
27. Either suck it up and learn to knit or stop talking about it. Completed sometime between May and November 2007. I haven't talked about this in months, and I know it's never going to happen, so good riddance.
28. Nurture Presents... for the Bus Project into a self-sustaining program that I can hand off to someone else Completed 1/18/06. I've largely figured out that since the ball is now rolling, somebody else can take this over. Both because I don't want to anymore and also because it appears that they don't need me. So, good times either way.
29. Figure out if there is a grad program that I want to enroll in. Completed 9/15/06. Mom found out that there's a Willamette U. MBA program here in Portland. It's spendy, but I think it's a good idea. Dad actually talked me into doing a "night" program, since it'll end up better long-term.
30. Apply to said grad programs Completed 6/27/07 when I emailed my essay to PSU's MBA+ grad program. I'm hoping that my letters of recommendation came through, and I assume PSU will tell me soon if they didn't. However, my end of the application bargain is done. Woo!
32. Subscribe to Surfer completed 6/7/05. This was actually partially so that I would remember to reinstate my Surfrider membership, since I am a big, fat slacker.
33. Plan and take an actual vacation, complete with airline reservations and hotels Completed 11/10-18/07. While we didn't actually stay at hotels, I did make plane reservations, rental car reservations and actually negotiated crash space with friends which can be an even touchier subject than hotels. So, awesome trip to Hawaii, thanks for knocking this one off the list!
34. Buy a bathing suit from somewhere besides Old Navy completed 4/7/06. I bought two Aaron Chang suits at the Longboard Grotto in Encinitas. They are so awesome. One of the bottoms doesn't fit right, but the top matches both of my boardshorts and the suits were so cheap that I bought both anyway.
35. Grow out my nails long enough to get a manicure that doesn’t look ridiculous Done 6/10/2006. My nails are definitely long enough that the manicure that Mom gave me for my birthday doesn't look ridiculous. It looks pretty cool, actually.
36. See Coldplay live Done 8/17/2005. Got the good seats and everything and got to see "Clocks" live. Awesome.
37. Pay off my credit card Done 1/7/2008. I meant to actually do this at the end of the month, but I screwed up and did it early. Oh well! Good on me anyway--I was really tired of looking at that bill!!!
38. Purchase a laptop Done 10/7/07. Technically, Dad purchased it, but I wrote the reimbursement check, transferred everything from the old laptop to the new one, and returned the old one to Mom and Dad. Ergo, I'm considering this one done.
40. Buy groceries at a farmers market. Completed 6/29/06. I went to the farmer's market at Ecotrust last week with Scienziata and decided that I'd come back and pick up dinner stuff this week. And I did. Plus, last Sunday in Seattle, I bought groceries at Pike Place Market. So I doubly did this one!!
44. Take a class on radio or find out how to submit something to NPR. Basically the goal of this task is to do something with this interesting voice I’ve been given aside from accepting very nice compliments from strangers and enduring endless mockery from my friends. Completed 2/19/08. I think this one may have been about getting on the radio somehow, but I did figure out how to submit something to NPR. They have a segment called "This I Believe" and once I finish my purpose statement for one of my current classes, I plan on sending it in. So this one is essentially completed, since I did figure something out.
47. Get a hash name. Completed 9/21/05. Be careful what you wish for...I've been dubbed "Red Wings" for taking a digger and bleeding all the way through the hash. For the record, it was my knee that was bleeding.
48. See a Timbers game Completed 9/8/05. The Timbers kicked some ass, too. The score was 6-1.
51. Find, obtain and live in an apartment that isn’t one step up from a college hovel. Dishwasher optional, but hardwood floors and screens on the windows are not. Basically, I want it to look like the apartment I moved into shortly after moving back to Portland from Eugene, but without the emotionally unstable roommate. completed 9/4-6/05. Obtained, paid first and last, moved all my stuff in, purchased a new couch set, and spent my first night sleeping there. It has hardwood floors, screens on every window, a dishwasher and disposal, a fireplace, a covered front porch and beautiful built-ins, plus enough closet space for a small army. Awesome.
52. Find a yoga or Pilates studio that I like and take classes for at least two months Completed 1/20/08. I'm calling this one good, mainly because one of my friends teaches yoga on Sunday nights at my gym, and I've been going off and on for six months+. In the sense that I've been doing more yoga, which was the idea behind this one anyway, this one's done.
54. Buy a blanket that actually fits my bed Completed 12/25/05. Mom actually bought the blanket, but it's Egyptian cotton and queen-sized. Sweet.
55. Find a Laundromat and do my laundry there at least twice completed 10/11/05. The whole point of this one was to stop doing my laundry at my parents' house. I've used the washer and dryer in the basement of my apartment building for two separate laundry days now, so I'm calling it good.
56. Invite my parents over and cook for them, including dessert and wine Completed 6/29/06. I invited Mom and Dad over, made a salad, made a main dish (pork chops with blueberry sauce), made dessert (Tillamook ice cream covered in fresh raspberries) and even though Dad brought the wine, they said it counted. Woohoo! Mom actually even said that mine was a little better because I had bought fresh herbs at the farmer's market and it really does make a difference. So yeah, I kick ass.
57. Purchase and use a larger memory card for my digital camera Completed 10/27/05. Although I didn't technically buy it, I did put it to good use in Costa Rica. Thanks, Indie Rocker!! Scratch that, I paid Indie Rocker back. So I did it for real!!
59. Once I move into a new apartment, hang the posters/pictures that I do have framed. Completed 9/15/05. I had to get everything hung up before the party, but I did it!!
62. Watch all of Wes Anderson’s movies. Completed 12/11/07. Indie Rocker took me to see "The Darjeeling Limited" tonight and I liked it. At this point, I've only not seen the 10 minute short of Bottle Rocket, and I kind of don't want to bother. So I'm going to call this one good.
67. Ski at a resort I’ve never been to. Completed 3/1/07 when I skied Sugarbowl and then really, really completed 3/2/07 when we skied Squaw Valley.
68. Backcountry ski at least once. Completed 3/1/07 with the Lake Run, wherein we strapped on the transceivers, packed shovels and probes, hiked for almost half an hour and were then rewarded with nearly two hours of waist-deep, untracked powder. Yeah, baby.
71. Sustain a healthy relationship with a boy for over six months without wigging out completed 8/12/2005. This is actually quite the milestone for me, and Indie Rocker as well. It's a cool feeling, that's for sure.
80. Clean out the 18 pounds of magazines I have and get rid of the ones I’m never going to read again Completed 7/9/05. I must have trucked a two-foot stack of magazines down to the recycle bin. I had Outside Magazines from 2001! And they've had Lance on the cover ever damned year. Swear to God.
81. Subscribe to Spin. Completed 5/5/06. I finally paid for this. I suspect this sounded like a better idea than it actually is. I daresay I will probably not renew this particular subscription. We'll see.
82. Subscribe to Vanity Fair Completed 5/5/06. I finally mailed out the payment for this and have discovered that I am incapable of sitting down and reading one of these in one sitting. Seriously.
87. Learn how to apply makeup Completed 9/9/06. I inexplicably developed the ability to do my makeup while in Cali for my cousin's wedding. Perhaps I just needed to get over my fear of it and just do it. Either way, I was even giving Mom tips on her eye makeup and getting compliments. Sweet.
99. Attend a concert where I know every word to every song Done 8/17/2005, as I knew every word to every Coldplay song, even when they covered Johnny Cash. We also saw one song of the opening band, who was covering the Stones and I knew the words to that too. Ha-ha!
101. Get a facial Done 6/10/2006. Mom gave me a while bunch of cool things for my birthday, including a manicure, a facial, a cut and color, several meals and a shopping spree. Needless to say, it rocked, and I'm stoked that the 101 list benefitted as well.

Kind of a big deal.

2008-02-20T12:20:00.001-08:00

I love that when I updated this page, I had no idea that the biggest thing ever was totally about to happen to me.

Behold:

I am not kidding--I really had no idea he was going to propose. We're getting married in 2009, and that's really all I know so far.

Quote of the Day: "But you know the thing about romance is people only get together right at the very end." Sam (Thomas Sangster), Love, Actually.

I know, I KNOW!

2008-02-15T10:15:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been roughly forever since I posted--like my dad says: "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."

My excuses are as follows: scholarship applications, sorting out retirement stuff (seriously? When did I become a freaking adult?), training for a half-marathon, and school. Not necessarily in that order.

But now I seem to be coming out the other side of that, and I'm stoked about that. I leave for Tahoe in two weeks for Chick Ski II: Electric Boogaloo, and that's going to be awesome. I should probably check the snow report, but whatever. It will still be there.

On other awesome news, I am a total Grinch when it comes to Valentine's Day, and came home from class last night to the most pleasant surprise: Indie Rocker had made an awesome dinner, opened a bottle of wine, and there were red tulips in a vase in the middle of the table. Not bad at all! Definitely top five in the VD history.

I'm definitely looking forward to a nice weekend. Tonight, Indie Rocker and I are going to attempt #2 to celebrate our 3rd anniversary (I swear it's been that long, but I don't believe it either) since the restaurant we wanted to go to was inexplicably closed on Wednesday. We may go skiing on Saturday, and then it's off to Foley's birthday party. I have to run 6 miles on Sunday, so wish me luck, and Sunday is also Indie Rocker's birthday. Whew!

Should be fun, though. Anyway, it's good to be back, and since the 1001 list is up in less than two weeks, I should have several updates in the next few days.

Quote of the Day: "Make it work." Tim Gunn.

101 update!

2008-01-21T21:46:00.001-08:00

24. Buy ski pants that aren’t made by Spyder Completed 1/21/08. I bought a pair of Cloudveil pants. Which now means that I actually don't have to steal my pants from MHM to go on my ski vacations this year. Good times!

Fave ads...

2008-01-18T21:12:00.001-08:00

I know that I'm not really supposed to like advertising, but I inexplicably love these two ads:

I can't explain it. I actually pout when I miss the monkey ad.

Actually, a short December...

2008-01-10T23:10:00.000-08:00

"Long December" by Counting Crows came on the radio today as I was driving to work. As you may know, I have a tendency to listen to that song, and analyze my year accordingly.

It was nice to realize that for once, it didn't apply. I mean, obviously I hope that this year will be better than the last, but I'm not wishing it in a wistful way. I had a fucking great year, and I can only imagine that if it gets better, that's going to be awesome.

I just re-read my old posts regarding the topic of this song, and I'm glad that my need to torture myself with that song has lessened considerably over the years.

I really do think that the only applicable lyric is: "It's been so long since I've seen the ocean/think I should."

I even had good news from one of my classmates--apparently, last term was the most time-intensive term we'll encounter. And as far as I can tell, it's already weeded a few people out, so it served its purpose.

Quote of the Day: "It's been a long December/and there's reason to believe/maybe this year will be better than the last." Counting Crows, Long December.

101 update!

2008-01-07T09:36:00.000-08:00

37. Pay off my credit card Done 1/7/2008. I meant to actually do this at the end of the month, but I screwed up and did it early. Oh well! Good on me anyway--I was really tired of looking at that bill!!!

Mood lifting.

2008-01-04T12:39:00.000-08:00

I've been in a cranky mood all day, and I finally figured out why. I am actually dreading my weekend. Um, yeah. I know exactly how messed up that is, so I've been doing some thinking about it. I am dreading my weekend because I don't want to have to spend both days at the mountain and deal with the increasing amount of b.s. that the higher-ups at ski school have been dishing out lately.

I'm still annoyed at having to waste 30 minutes of my day off waiting around trying not to get a lesson on Monday, and then not even getting a thank you for stopping by. It's really the little things that are starting to matter a lot.

In a lot of ways, I feel like I put a lot of work into getting my Cert II, and I feel like nothing's changed. I've been working up there for seven years, and while I now have more certification than 3/4 of the other instructors, I'm still having to ask to be assigned to adult lessons.

I think I'm clearly getting burnt out, and it's a really good thing that I'm only working 10 days this year. I just need to grit my teeth, smile really big, and get through the next six days at MHM.

On the bright side, I just bought my plane tickets for a really fun ski trip that I'm excited to take with my girlfriends. It's going to be a really welcome break from school and an even more welcome break from MHM.

Quote of the Day: "Because right now, this is a job. If I advance any higher, this would be my career. And if this were my career, I'd have to throw myself in front of a train." Jim Halpert (John Krasinski), The Office.

2008 Resolutions

2007-12-30T11:30:00.000-08:00

Since I managed to either not do or half-ass most of my 2007 resolutions, I am going to attempt to make more realistic resolutions for 2008. Additionally, since the 101 in 1001 list expires in February, this is going to be a bit of an introspective start of the year anyway. So here goes:

1. Strike a better balance between work, school, exercise, and friends. The reasoning behind this is pretty simple, but I also found that doing it is much harder than it looks. It's very easy to get totally caught up in homework and neglect my friends, family, boyfriend and puppy. I honestly feel like I didn't see my friends for about six weeks in the fall and that, frankly, sucked.

2. Create some exercise goals and accomplish them. Bumbershoot and I were talking over IM a few days ago and were discussing running a 10K or half-marathon together. I really liked this idea for a variety of reasons. I got the Nike iPod+ thingie for Christmas and would love to start playing with it, and I really like the idea of having something to train for, rather than the ever-nebulous "get back into shape." Plus, I am so much more motivated to do things when my friends are right there with me.

3. Explore different opportunities at work. I'm intentionally being vague about this, but hopefully that will end up being a good thing in 2008.

4. Get my face under control. I changed my birth control method in the past year and it is wreaking havoc with my face. I've already gone to the dermatologist once and have another appointment next month. I am pretty motivated to get this done, and I like the idea of a resolution I can definitely accomplish.

5. Set up a charitable giving plan for 2008. Pretty self-explanatory, really.

6. Make the relationship call.

Quote of the Day: "Chas, let me finish here. I've got six weeks to set things right with you and I aim to do it. Will you give me a chance?" Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman), The Royal Tenenbaums.

2007 Resolutions Recap

2007-12-30T11:11:00.000-08:00

Since I finally have a few days to myself, I decided that I wanted to review last year's goals and see how they actually panned out for me. As I look at the list, I want to cut myself some slack, but the reality of the situation is that I need to look critically. Let's see how I did:

1. Take more time for myself. Huh. Well, I didn't really do this. I'd like to think that I did, but the truth is that I managed to have less free time and get even less time to myself than I have had in recent memory, aka the last four years of my life. In a sense, however, I am OK with that. Grad school ate up great stretches of time, but I keep telling myself that it's going to be possibly the best decision I have ever made.

2. Make more decisions by myself and fewer by committee. Actually, I definitely did this. This resolution was made due to the sheer amount of consultations I initiated with my friends and family regarding my relationship. I feel like, at the end of 2007, that I'm doing less consulting and more reporting. Additionally, I asked advice of a number of people regarding grad school, but ultimately made the decision where to go and how to do it on my own.

3. Seek out and do activities that I enjoy, rather than what I think I should be doing. Clearly, I can see where I was going with this, and I'm trying to decide if I've really stayed true to the spirit of the resolution. On the one hand, I feel like I said "no" more often this year and felt less guilty about it, but I don't think that I did more of what I wanted at the expense of what I thought I should have been doing. This one might require a little more analysis, but on the surface, I'm not convinced that I did this.

4. Sock away a bunch of money in my savings account. Yeah, this is a great example of the best intentions and total lack of followthrough. Oh well.

5. Cultivate a more professional wardrobe. I took some steps in the right direction for this. I have some really terrific shoes to wear, mostly thanks to Indie Rocker, and I've vowed to spend more money on clothes, since I tend to neglect to buy stuff for myself until I have literally worn the ones I have out. I also need to accept when articles of clothing I do own are past their prime. Perhaps another project would be to haul Chitown over here for another closet-weeding, since he is brutally honest and I kind of need that.

In summary, I think I had really good intentions for 2007, but perhaps tried to apply them in the wrong direction. I think I am going to cut myself some slack for embarking on totally different, but no less important goals, like moving in with Indie Rocker, applying for, getting into, and starting grad school, and adopting Molly.

Quote of the Day: "A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent in doing nothing." George Bernard Shaw.

Good times...

2007-12-21T17:06:00.000-08:00

Indie Rocker sent me this, and I loved it. Happy Holidays, and remember--don't overdo it too much!

My grades!

2007-12-11T22:35:00.002-08:00

This is so dorky, but I got a 3.33 GPA for this term and I'm thrilled.

What a relief!!

101 update!

2007-12-11T22:35:00.001-08:00

62. Watch all of Wes Anderson’s movies. Completed 12/11/07. Indie Rocker took me to see "The Darjeeling Limited" tonight and I liked it. At this point, I've only not seen the 10 minute short of Bottle Rocket, and I kind of don't want to bother. So I'm going to call this one good.

End of the Beginning

2007-12-07T12:35:00.000-08:00

Well, last night was the end of my first term of grad school. I'm elated that I'm done, and very much looking forward to three solid homework-less weeks and weekends with no group meetings.

It's definitely been a very interested few months with getting used to having such a crowded schedule. Poor Indie Rocker definitely had his patience stretched to the limit a few times, and mine was too. I think we still have a ways to go with getting everything sorted out for the rest of my studies, but I'm less worried about it than I was. So that's a good thing. More than anything, I've had a really hard time striking a balance between homework and home life. I definitely don't get enough exercise, and I spend way too much time stressing about things that I can neither control nor change. That's something I'm going to really have to work on for the next few terms, so that I can sleep better, for one thing.

I'm glad that Molly's getting bigger, because I'm really looking forward to taking her on runs and things like that when the days start getting longer again.

I'm also glad that I can start doing my Christmas shopping and actually enjoying what is largely my favorite time of the year.

I'll also be interested in reviewing my resolutions from last year and seeing how they panned out. Or not!

And more than anything, I'm looking forward to reading a book or three that has nothing to do with classes.

Quote of the Day: "I've had a hell of a day and even worse week. And all I want to do is get some fucking sleep." Mitch (Luke Wilson), Old School. Did I mention that we saw Luke Wilson on Maui? We did! He's hot!!

Dorky 101 update...

2007-12-04T12:52:00.000-08:00

5. Replace my windshield. Completed 12/04/07. This is a little embarrassing that it took me this long to do it. However, I'm sure it will be really nice to actually be able to see through my windshield. I might even get new wipers.

God, how ridiculous am I?

101 update! Vacation and randomness...

2007-11-20T07:44:00.000-08:00

15. Go surfing in Hawaii Completed 11/12/07. Indie Rocker and I surfed Waikiki. I'm counting this because I did actually stand up on the board. Mushy waves are a bitch. Additionally, Indie Rocker, Furry Thing and I surfed Ho'okipa on Maui just four days later. Woo!

33. Plan and take an actual vacation, complete with airline reservations and hotels Completed 11/10-18/07. While we didn't actually stay at hotels, I did make plane reservations, rental car reservations and actually negotiated crash space with friends which can be an even touchier subject than hotels. So, awesome trip to Hawaii, thanks for knocking this one off the list!

Randomly enough, I'm including this one too. Grad school really helped knock it off the list.
27. Either suck it up and learn to knit or stop talking about it. Completed sometime between May and November 2007. I haven't talked about this in months, and I know it's never going to happen, so good riddance.

The vacation was awesome, and now I'm turning around and heading down to the Central Coast of Cali for Thanksgiving to hang with Indie Rocker's family. Should be a good time, and then I'm going to be really, really tired of airplanes for a while.

Silence is stunning.

2007-10-28T18:24:00.000-07:00

Indie Rocker and I spent the weekend in Astoria for the Cross Crusade's annual Halloween weekend party and race. He had a great time, and when I wasn't working on my midterm, I did too. His race went really well, which he's very pleased with. I got to pick up my six-pack of beer that I won a couple of weeks ago and the weather was perfect.

The most interesting and moving part of the day, however, was silent. No cowbells, no shouting, no cheering, and no music. Last week, the Cross Crusade lost a racer to a terrible incident. In honor of Brett, the organizers of the race decided to hold a silent lap, where anyone was welcome to participate. Before it started, we all gathered at the start to listen to a gentleman speak about Brett, about the Crusade, and about the community that has formed there. We could barely hear him, but it didn't really matter. The energy alone was palpable. After he was done speaking, the bikers silently started to ride. Brett's Bike Gallery teammates went first, with "800" bib numbers--Brett's race number--pinned to their jerseys. After they rode past, the rest of the field fell in behind them. It was awe-inspiring to watch somewhere near 500 people, in all manner of outfits, costumes, and gear, silently and solemnly ride through the entire course. Indie Rocker and I watched them ride by with tears in our eyes.

We slowly followed the bulk of the riders around the course, watching them go by and holding onto each other. The sheer enormity of it was overwhelming, and the emotions were flowing freely. I almost think it was more powerful for those of us watching, since we got a clearer picture of the scope.

Lots of thoughts came and went, but the one that kept coming back was the realization that we are here for a finite time, and we have to make as much as we possibly can of that time. If in that time, we manage to create lasting friendships, become members of amazing communities, and love and be loved, then we have clearly done something right.

We are part of something amazing.

Quote of the Day: "So you take a picture of something you see/In the future where will I be?/You can climb a ladder up to the sun/Or a write a song nobody has sung/Or do something that's never been done/Do something that's never been done." Talk, Coldplay.

Still truckin...

2007-10-19T12:47:00.000-07:00

God, it's finally Friday. It's been a hell of a week too--I had my review at work today and my first midterm last night. Suffice it to say, the review went way better than the midterm, for sure. It's just the class that I'm less confident about, and having an ADD professor who likes to jump around subjects like a frog isn't helping. I don't think it's on purpose--I just think that he gets distracted really easily.

Other than that, we have a busy weekend coming up. Tonight is Molly's last shots at the vet until she's old enough for her rabies shot. After that is dinner with the fam and perhaps drinks with friends if we still have energy. Tomorrow is Chief LHV's birthday in Hood River, which should actually be really fun, as he's flying in from Hawaii and we're driving over the mountain to get there, so that we can take Molly into the snow and see how she likes it. As if she has a choice!

After that, it's 'cross on Sunday and more group meetings for me. I heart grad school! I'm just glad that my second midterm is take home. Seriously.

And I finally got my plane flight squared away for Thanksgiving, which is nice. I was starting to be afraid that I was not going to get that figured out and the price was going to skyrocket so much that I wouldn't be able to go. I love Indie Rocker's family, but they are not planners AT ALL. Which pretty much goes against every grain of my existence, but whatever.

Quote of the Day: "I enjoy having breakfast in bed. I like waking up to the smell of bacon, sue me. And since I don't have a butler, I have to do it myself. So, most nights before I go to bed, I will lay six strips of bacon out on my George Foreman grill. Then I go to sleep. When I wake up, I plug in the grill. I go back to sleep again. Then I wake up to the smell of crackling bacon. It is delicious, it's good for me, it's the perfect way to start the day." Michael Scott (Steve Carell), The Office.

CCX!

2007-10-15T12:26:00.000-07:00

So I managed to check off one of my fall goals yesterday, which was a lot earlier than I thought I would. I raced in my very first cyclocross race, in the beginner women's class. I did terribly--I think I'm, like, third from last for the women who finished, but the point is that I did finish even after running out of steam and wanting to die for much of it. On the bright side, since my finish rank involved an 8, which was the magic number yesterday, I did win a six-pack of beer. Go me!

Cyclocross in Portland is huge--around 900 people trekked out to North Plains yesterday and raced. Indie Rocker did great--he finished 34th out of 109 finishers in his class. I think it's partly because he has an amazing new bike, but probably because the training kicked in and he did great.

A bunch of our hasher friends race 'cross as well, partly because the cultures are very similar and partly because the schedules don't overlap. So it's lots of fun to have a big ol' crowd out there cheering.

So, long story short, I need to start working out more and running stairs so that I can start finishing closer to the top and farther from running out of gas. I don't mind being lapped, but I'd like to be the last person lapped instead of one of the first. Got to keep setting those goals, eh?

Quote of the Day: "Bicycle races are coming your way/So forget all your duties oh yeah!/Fat bottomed girls they'll be riding today/So look out for those beauties oh yeah/On your marks get set go." Bicycle Races, Queen.

101 update!

2007-10-08T17:28:00.000-07:00

38. Purchase a laptop Done 10/7/07. Technically, Dad purchased it, but I wrote the reimbursement check, transferred everything from the old laptop to the new one, and returned the old one to Mom and Dad. Ergo, I'm considering this one done.

Oooh, that's embarrassing.

2007-10-08T12:10:00.000-07:00

I really do apologize for completely and totally neglecting the blog these days. On the bright side, it's because some really cool things have been happening, and I'm excited about those. I've started classes for grad school, and while the commute doesn't make me happy, my classmates are cool, the classes are interesting and the profs are amazing. Even my Accounting class is interesting, which I definitely consider a feat.

Molly is doing well--her potty-training is coming right along, although we're still going through lots of paper towels and cleaning supplies. Her new hobby is pulling things out of the laundry basket. I need to post this, but she pulled a PBR can out of the recycling last night and Indie Rocker and I nearly died laughing trying to take pictures of her with the can in her mouth. So, so funny.

Other than that, we're starting puppy kindergarten this week, and we also just bought our plane tickets to go to Hawaii next month. I'm really excited--we're splitting our time between Oahu and Maui, and this may even qualify for a 101 list checkoff. We'll see!

Back to work, but hopefully more to come soon.

Quote of the Day: "Baby went to Amsterdam/put a little money into traveling/now it's so slow/so slow." Amsterdam, Peter Bjorn and John. This is actually my new ringtone now that I have a new phone that plays polyphonic ringtones. Yeah, I know--welcome to this millennium.

She's here!!!

2007-08-26T21:58:00.000-07:00

Let me introduce...Molly!

Checking out the yard.

Playing with her new toys.

Waking up from her nap.

Checking out the garden.

Awww, aren't they so cute?

So far so good. We've had a few accidents, but nothing too excruciating. She's going to be a handful, for sure.

And the awesomeness continues...

2007-08-23T09:48:00.000-07:00

I got into grad school! I'm going to be starting Portland State's MBA+ program at the end of September. Two nights a week, and it should take me 2 1/2 years to finish. Woo! I'm really excited and it's such a relief to cross that off the list.

One of my coworkers was so funny--she reminded me to remember just how excited I am right now when I'm slogging through finals and papers and everything else. Good advice! I also ran into a friend on the bus last night who told me to do something active, lest I go totally nuts from sitting all the time. Again, good advice!

Either way, I'm really excited and looking forward to starting school again. Who knew?

Quote of the Day: "Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son." Dean Vernon Wormer (John Vernon), Animal House.

I like bikes.

2007-08-19T22:00:00.001-07:00

Behold, my brand-new cross bike. I'm planning on using it as a commuter as well. Indie Rocker and I went to the bike shop today to check it out and see if I'd like it. Buying a bike for me is a little bit tough, since my price point is so low. The bike's heavy, but it's smooth and a lot of fun to ride. I've never bought a brand new bike from a shop before, so this is really exciting for me. I can't wait to start riding to work--I bought a new chain to use with my old steel lock. I may have a low price point, but I still don't want a brand new bike to go anywhere without me!!!!

Seriously? What an awesome weekend.

Quote of the Day: "Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you the Democrats, promoting 19th century solutions to 21st century problems. If you don’t like it, ride a bike. If you don’t like the price at the pumps, ride a bike." Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC). As if we needed proof that some people are totally out of touch with reality. Can I get a "hell, yeah" for Rep. Earl Blumenauer?

Whew!

2007-08-18T15:45:00.000-07:00

What a weekend so far! Last night sounded pretty mellow. We went to yoga, which we never do on a Friday and which I enjoyed.

After that, we went and looked at puppies. We've been talking about getting a dog for about six months now, and decided to ramp up the search a few weeks back. Well, we don't need to search anymore. The puppies we looked at last night were part of a litter born to an abandoned mom, who was probably kept for breeding purposes and wasn't treated very well. She was a yellow lab, and had six black lab puppies--two girls and four boys. We picked one of the girls and are going to name her Molly. Don't worry--we will post pictures ASAP. We get to pick her up a week from tomorrow, since then she'll be spayed and be 7 1/2 weeks old.

Seriously? So cute!

After that, we had dinner at a really nice place, where we nearly ate half of their inventory because we were starving and ran into Nancy from the cheese shop. It was good fun and a delicious dinner. We came home and enjoyed the newly installed cable. We may have to keep HBO, since we were watching "Entourage" and "Flight of the Conchords," both of which were really, really funny.

Today, we slept in and then went to the farmer's market. It happened to coincide with PSU's summer graduation, so there were about a million people there, but we still had a nice breakfast and talked to Indie Rocker's aunties. Once we came home, I went for a 5 mile run. It was really hilly and it sucked, but I ran the whole thing, which kicked ass. Then, I decided to go for a ride with Indie Rocker, so I followed him all over the neighborhood and we went to the local middle school so that I could practice riding on grass for cyclocross season.

Can you say brick workout? I can! It was awesome.

Now we're off to BBQs and going away parties all afternoon, so that should be really fun. Sometimes, weekends in town kick ass.

Quote of the Day: "You're so pretty, like a tree or a high-class prostitute." Jemaine Clement, Flight of the Conchords.

Weekend plans

2007-08-10T17:59:00.000-07:00

After last weekend's incredibly exciting road trip to Seattle, this weekend seems like it's going to be quieter. I know that it isn't, but since I'm no driving anywhere, I seem to be able to convince myself that it is.

We went to the Brady Bunch's wedding last night. That is, Shooter and Dervish's wedding. Both of them have two kids, so you can imagine what a family that's going to become. The ceremony was sweet, and involved the kids, so that was cool. After that, we did the whole dinner cruise on the Portland Spirit, which was interesting. I'll leave it at that.

Tonight is the R2P awards party, which I'm going to even though I was in Boston for the race. There's always next year, I guess!

Tomorrow is Greenie's 4th annual housewarming party--I really love that he's still doing that. So random.

We're also going to continue looking for a puppy, since that's sort of our goal for the summer. Hopefully it will work out pretty soon. I also got a call from the grad program I applied to for an interview, so if I don't hear back today, I'll call them on Monday. Woo!

And we're doing the Bridge Pedal on Sunday morning. Wish me luck--it's 36 miles off the couch. I might die.

Quote of the Day: "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." Dad-ism.

Fun stuff from friends!

2007-08-10T12:54:00.000-07:00

State decided that she'd send out a bunch of pictures from the ski trip we took back in March, and they're great!

The Chicas at Squaw, I think. Maybe Alpine?

Me. Clearly, I am ripping it up.

Speedy and me, with the gnarly train tunnel up in the upper left hand corner. We walked about 1/4 mile through that in the pitch-black dark with skis on our shoulders and tapping our poles on the ice sheet at our feet. Seriously, so crazy. But so worth it!

Grrr!

2007-08-07T17:11:00.000-07:00

The puppy that we wanted to look at was adopted. Oh well.

I'm still really torn between the whole adopting a shelter dog versus going with a breeder. I don't know. I mean, as long as the breeder is really doing it the way that they should, I don't really see a problem. But we really want a puppy, and sometimes that's really hard when you're trying to get a shelter dog. Puppies are awfully popular.

I just went and whined to one of my coworkers and sounded for all the word like a petulant child. "But I want a puppy!"

Awesome.

Quote of the Day: "There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face." Ben Williams

Kind of a waste

2007-08-06T20:36:00.000-07:00

God, I am kind of useless on this thing lately. Sorry about that. I haven't had a chance to download Firefox at work, and Blogger doesn't work on Explorer at work, so I've been unable to do that, and have been so busy that I've frankly lacked some motivation after I get home. I don't think it's a symptom of anything, but I do think I could stand to be a little more productive after I leave work. I need to exercise more, and I need to sit in front of the TV less. On the other hand, I should also probably enjoy it before I start grad school, as it will sound pretty good in retrospect.

Whatever. What am I even talking about?

I think that I'm a little frustrated that most of my to-do list can't be crossed off until I get my next paycheck, so I'm putzing around trying not to spend money, but also trying to feel productive. I know I'm not really feeling as productive as I could be at work, but I think I'm doing that because I'm enjoying the calm before the storm. One of my coworkers is going to have her baby any day now, and that means that I'll be doing essentially two jobs for three months, and that's going to keep me extremely busy. So maybe I should enjoy the calm.

Did I mention that we're in the market for a puppy? We decided that it was time, after going through a little song-and-dance this weekend when Indie Rocker decided to go look at puppies, but I wouldn't give him the go-ahead to get one since I was in Seattle. By the time I was done hemming and hawing, it was too late.

Maybe that was kind of passive-aggressive. It's possible. He's kind of clamming up tonight, and I'm feeling chatty, so maybe I'm just frustrated by that. Whatever. We'll get over, since we always do. I'm really tired, so I tend to nag and bitch at him way more often when that happens.

Quote of the Day: "Let's get moving/Into Action/Let's get moving/Into Action/If your life's too slow/no satisfaction/there's something out there/there's an attraction/if you hesitate now/that's a subtraction/let's get moving, oh/Into Action." Into Action, Tim Armstrong.

I guess training works...

2007-07-03T21:35:00.000-07:00

So I've been running more lately--I started running every Tuesday with a coworker, and kept it up. I've also been riding my bike more, and I started doing track workouts last week with two other friends.

Long story short, I'm getting into better shape and discovered something awesome today. I ran 10 minute miles. I can't really remember when I've done that when not running at 2am, terrified. That was Rainier to Pacific last year, for the record. I don't frequently run at 2am normally.

I started this as a "diet" a few months ago when I half-assed the Self challenge again and then decided that I could probably do better on my own doing things I actually liked doing. I decided to eat better and start the running.

I wouldn't say that I was trying to lose weight, per se, but a lot of my old clothes didn't fit very well, and I wasn't super happy looking in the mirror. I still look in the mirror a little bit and think "ew!", but even that's an improvement over a few months ago when it was "EW!"

Either way, I've already taken off 7 pounds, which got me pretty stoked. My target weight is another 8 pounds lighter, which I think is totally attainable. I'm talking about doing a sprint triathlon, which Indie Rocker pointed out that I could probably do right now. But it's certainly not off the table, and maybe that will set me up to train for longer distances in the future. Speedy did Olympic length tris in college--I'll bet I could do that too!

More than anything, I just want to be able to kick some ass no matter what I try. I think I've become really inspired by Indie Rocker's training for his 100 mile mountain bike race this weekend, and also Marshall's training for her half-marathon. I think they set realistic and cool goals and I want to emulate that. And if my bod looks better, hell yeah!

Quote of the Day: "I bleed it out/digging deeper just to throw it away/I bleed it out/digging deeper just to throw it away." Bleed It Out, Linkin Park

101 update!

2007-06-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

30. Apply to said grad programs Completed 6/27/07 when I emailed my essay to PSU's MBA+ grad program. I'm hoping that my letters of recommendation came through, and I assume PSU will tell me soon if they didn't. However, my end of the application bargain is done. Woo!

Hey, now.

2007-06-16T22:36:00.000-07:00

I had quite the day of surfing today, so that was a nice change. I feel like I overschedule my life so badly sometimes that I forget how much fun it is to just get in a car, get to the coast, and throw myself into the ocean. The new board is utterly fantastic--I love that I can catch just about anything I try to and when I stop catching things, it's because I'm exhausted. All four of us were having fun today--Indie Rocker especially. That's a damn good feeling.

Other than that, work's been kicking my ass--I'm so busy and sometimes things are a little frustrating, but overall, I think that things are definitely on course to be better and that's a good feeling too.

Speedy's having a good time in Europe and still relies on her big sister when she needs to talk to someone familiar. I totally love that and hope it doesn't change anytime soon.

Isn't it strange that on a blog where I've pretty much been transparent about the way I feel and pretty open about confessions, that I still feel a little funny talking about the people closest to me. For whatever reason, I'm perfectly fine recapping a weekend, talking about a concert, whatever, but as soon as the layers start getting peeled back and I really have to examine relationships of any kind, I flinch. I think that's pretty normal, especially since I have an idea of who reads this pretty regularly, but I honestly don't have a clue if it's all people who know me personally or if someone just stumbled on this and finds me interesting for whatever reason.

So there's that.

I don't really know why I've been in a navel-gazing mood lately. Maybe it's that the exterior drama that used to swirl around me has largely settled into a dull roar. I mean, my friends are moving in together, buying houses, getting engaged, getting married, having babies...we're getting older and making more decisions about long-term life. And that's scary, but at the same time, we're more confident. I don't feel like I'm ruled by the past anymore--my decisions are definitely more influenced now by what I think is coming over the horizon, rather than by trying to define myself by the narrow parameters I'd already established. I'm thinking months down the line rather than just to next weekend. Which is both cool and really bizarre at the same time.

Quote of the Day: "Don't want to be/part of the problem." So Jealous, Tegan and Sara.