Confessions of an Overachieving Dilettante

done.

2010-08-01T22:00:00.000-07:00

I think I'm done blogging. I've been trying to make myself post, because lots of crazy fun stuff has happened. At this point I have posts on my to-do list including: the camp boat race, karaoke... four times, heaps of running, a trip to LA, etc. The thing is, I'd rather keep doing fun stuff than sit around writing about it in front of my computer. There are just too many hikes to hike and songs to sing and friends to laugh with.

So goodbye, blog world, at least for now. Thanks for the good times.

This is how I feel right now

2010-07-22T22:00:00.002-07:00

In case the link continues to misfire, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR3rK0kZFkg

Geocaching Redux: Fun times and epic failures

2010-07-17T13:59:00.001-07:00

Now that camp is over, those of us who live here in town decided we should try our hand at geocaching in the real world. My buddies Casey and Fletcher and I decided to go out hunting this week, but then Casey decided to have croup or something instead. Lame, Casey! (kidding, feel better!) Fletcher and I did what any good friends would do and went without her.

We grabbed some coffee and headed for my digs, where we logged onto the website to find some new treasures to seek. The idea was to target one area and look for three separate ones. Then even as bad at this as we are, we'd have to find at least one, right?

The first one was my favorite, because it included a puzzle. To get the coordinates for the cache, you had to decipher up through row 15 of a code:

1
11
21
1211
111221
...etc.

Fletcher solving life's mysteries

Before I could even start the wheels turning, Fletcher had things all figured out. The Morris Sequence! You people and your left brains... Anyway, from there we counted how many of each number was in each row and plugged that into given equations, and the equations gave us the numbers for the GPS coordinates. Very cool! We Googled our findings and they gave us an actual spot in the right area-- whew!

We came up with two simpler caches to seek after that and then went about figuring out what treasure to take along for any exchanges we needed to make. Luckily I found a laser pointer shaped like a mouse that was meant for my cat. She just looks at my hand and makes a why-the-crap-are-you-waving-that-around face when I try to get her to play with it, though, so it was perfect.

Sideways picture of awesome mouse laser pointer!

Also, the laser pointer mouse makes a variety of exciting shapes. Who wouldn't be happy to find this!

This is only one step down from Laser Floyd

After a decent trek, we came to the spot we'd puzzled out. The final clue was "magnetic." We searched all over and came up with freakin' nothing, like most of the other times we've geocached. This would make sense when we'd return home later and check our answer on another website-- wrong coordinates, dudes! We'll have to try this again.

The place where cache #1 definitely isn't

I started to get that feeling I get when I need to eat right now or I'm going to get moody, so we stopped in at a neighborhood pub and got food. I was trying to take a picture of Fletcher's beer when the waitress asked if we wanted her to take our picture. I kind of hate being in posed pictures, but we said sure and she snapped this. Cheers to good friends and good eats! (We did eat, the food just hadn't come yet...)

Yay fun!

Next we made the trek to Two Plum Park, a little one block greenspace that I didn't know existed. This place is super cute! It even has swings, and it's always good to know lots of fun places in town that you can swing.

Armed with my GPS, we figured this would be simple to find if we just dug through the foliage. We slowly crept toward the exact coordinates and saw a bush in just the right place. And the bush was full of... poo. Oh, cruel fate! Replacing our treasure with a dog turd.

There should be a log to sign, not dung.

My GPS can be a little fickle though, and it also liked this tree. I even got in the damn tree, but we found nothing. Again.

Cool tree, where we didn't find cache #2

And location number three? We ran out of time and didn't make it there. But soon we will get a recuperated Casey and we will FIND SOME STUFF. Mark my words.

Even amid our total failure, it was a great day of walking and chatting in the sun. And as a side note, later that day I went out with my friend Jen and gave her the mouse. She loves the mouse!

Geocaching and friends FTW!

Death by caffeine

2010-07-16T16:15:00.000-07:00

I've developed a bit of a coffee addiction of late. It's just so darn delicious, and it makes life so much better!

I am, however, very sensitive to caffeine, and I've had jittery hands quite a bit the past few days, along with some nasty afternoon energy dips. I've often wondered how many cups it would take for my heart to actually explode. My guess was twelve, but this awesome website tells me differently:

73.65 cups of brewed coffee + me = death. Also interesting? My very favorite thing ever, Espresso Love flavored GU, is an even slower path to destruction. I can pound these babies until the cows come home!

More fun facts:

I enjoy that the button says "Kill Me."
It would take 79.17 doses of No-Doz for me to leave this mortal coil, meaning Jesse Spano on Saved by the Bell was really in no danger at all.
One of the most lethal drinks I found is called "Who's Your Daddy."
I just realized that I have inadvertently told the world how much I weigh in the above screenshots, and now I'm too lazy to blur it out.

This is a fun site, so pick your poison and check it out!

Attempts at geocaching

2010-07-15T13:02:00.000-07:00

I had been trying for a few weeks to figure out what would make a new fun, flexible, inexpensive hobby. Then band camp came along and the perfect pursuit fell right into my lap: geocaching!

For those unfamiliar with the practice, it's like a treasure hunt where you get GPS coordinates and a riddle. Then when you find the treasure, it's not gold but a log to sign. On larger caches you might find a trinket to take, and you leave a trinket of your own behind.

Geocaching is an ideal undertaking because it's convenient, free, and very exciting when you find something. To get started all you do is register on geocaching.com, and you can search by location for caches nearby. I was shocked by just how many there are out and about. Also shocking? How totally bad I am at finding them.

Casey, Fletcher, John, Jamecyn and I first went hunting after an outing at the local pub, when it was terribly dark outside and the only thing we had to guide us was Casey's iPhone app, which was not the fastest tool in the world. The cache was hidden in the botanical garden on campus, so we dug around in the shrubberies for a long time and found... nothing. (I did, however, begin heading down the path of total mosquito bite misery that evening.) With no first glory under our belts, we vowed to return when the sun was out.

Botanical garden by day

Upon returning, John diligently searched under every rock in and around the waterfalls, but we once again came up empty handed. It didn't help that the person who planted it and wrote the online riddle had horrible grammar and capitalization, but it did make him an easy target for our blame and disillusionment. We knew we were right there, but the little bugger wouldn't show itself.

John literally left no stone unturned.

A third search was similarly fruitless, but in-between we did manage to find our first cache jammed in a post outside the train station. Woohoo! We also failed again at finding one on a bridge near the hospital. Our average was a little sad...

Casey expresses her amusement and disbelief at our ineptitude.

Right before the final campfire of our two weeks, we saw an hour window to go find another cache, so we headed a few blocks north to our second dose of success! John, who had previously joked about being a jinx, was the happiest of the bunch, and after we signed the log we let him keep the little toy car we retrieved from a bush as our pirates' booty.

Happy John!

Now that camp's over and I'm home, my friend Fletcher and I have already been out once more. Stay tuned for another story of totally fun failure at geocaching!

Oh snap

2010-07-14T22:42:00.000-07:00

Thank you to whatever brilliant soul came up with this.

Healthy Living Update 7-13-10

2010-07-13T19:30:00.000-07:00

Band camp healthy living: Weak but totally fun, consisting of sporadic running, boat race upper body straining, excessive beer intake, very little sleep

Today, however: Ran seven hilly miles in exactly 60 minutes (in FiveFingers)

Smoothie: Banana, blueberry, pineapple, cinnamon, vanilla protein powder, orange-flavored cod liver oil, chia seeds

Weather: Perfect: 72 and sunny with a light breeze and warm sun

Sweat Rorschach of the Day: Sweating is for sissies.

Current listening: Salsa!

Other activities of the day: Caught up on all of my band camp backlog, bought delicious groceries, ate fresh blueberries, organized my life, watched Days of Our Lives

Status: Completely and utterly blissful

Band Camp 2010: AWESOME

2010-07-12T15:16:00.000-07:00

This year's two week band camp trip was even more exciting than last year's, and there are several posts about it comin' atcha. Highlights will include the 2nd Annual Staff/Faculty Karaoke Extravaganza, adventures in geocaching, and the Milk Carton Boat Race, and I have lots of fun pictures and videos to illustrate the glory of all three. I also went to Trek in the Park yesterday, so that post is coming soon as well.

In the meantime, fun facts about this year at camp:

I met an awesome Afro-Cuban drummer who's convinced me that I need to join his band and play salsa, so my old roommate Ben is going to teach me.
Geocaching is my new favorite hobby.
I am now thoroughly convinced that if we all lived in tribal societies of fewer than 150 people life would be ducky.
When I'm swimmingly happy and inspired I can sleep for four hours a night and still feel glorious.
Avoiding computers and televisions leaves me happier and more well-adjusted.
I have somehow miraculously stopped feeling at all competitive over the last few months (but it's still fun to pretend that I care about winning things to rile up the campers).
I hate mosquitoes, but they love me. One even loved my freaking face, and now I'm spending every waking moment trying not to scratch my right cheek.

So now I'm home, and aside from the facts that I wish I could live at camp year round and that my cheek-and-legs-and-feet are itchy, I'm totally blissful. Lots of fun things to come, too, so here's hoping I can continue to moderate my technology time while still keeping up on the blog!

My friend David

2010-06-27T19:00:00.000-07:00

My good friend and colleague David passed away last night, and I needed to pause from the manic fun of camp to recognize that the world has lost a wonderful man. David was the important kind of great-- he quietly showed up day after day and played the piano beautifully, said hilarious things at the perfect moments, and shared insights that always made everything mean more. He touched the lives of every student who comes through our music department, and playing with him was always moving and joyful and profound. He liked Bach, and Messiaen, and he wrote his own music. He was in music and in life for all the right reasons, and it wasn't always easy for him, but he kept his chin up. I'll miss him a great deal.

Goodbye, dear friend. See you on the other side.

David's piece, Toccata

Awesome update!

2010-06-25T16:29:00.000-07:00

My new maintenance guy friend just knocked on the door to give me some good news. Apparently the offending manager has been placed on administrative leave as of this afternoon. I didn't complain anywhere but her face and to the maintenance guy and the lunching auto shop fellas, so that means:

A. Other people know she sucks.
B. Some of the people who know she sucks have authority over her.
C. Karma is a bitch.

I high fived the maintenance guy. Today is a win indeed!

The fence

2010-06-25T13:56:00.000-07:00

The war over the fence came to a head today when I finally found the apartment manager in the office where she's supposed to be all the time. It only took four tries.

I could go into details, but they're just aggravating. Suffice it to say it's hard to reason with stupid, and harder to reason with crazy, and where stupid and crazy meet is a vast pit of pointless debate that also threatens the sanity of those not otherwise inflicted.

The fence has been trimmed. Also, regarding the manager: I hate her. I didn't quite storm out, but I civilly but firmly made the point that I wasn't happy and didn't let her off the hook as easily as I normally would have.

After said irritating confrontation, I went home and hacked at the fence with a kitchen knife in a fairly violent but productive manner and wondered why this sticking up for myself thing didn't work out. I was right that they'd screwed up by telling me I could have it, I explained everything very clearly, and I offered a reasonable alternative-- me cutting it down and them taking the $65 I'd spent unnecessarily when they told me I could get it off my July rent. Why didn't this work? I hacked some more.

Then the super nice maintenance guy walked up. He offered to help me with my chopping, or to let me try his tools (which actually worked less well than the kitchen knife), and we had a good chat about what a heinous heinous scumbag with no people skills the office lady is. Then he said he and the other maintenance guy (who were all there at the time) thought I was right, and he offered to hook us up with new lights or something for our apartment so that I get something nice and don't come out behind from the money I spent on the fence. I think I'm going to try to get us new faucets, since ours are gross. Anyway, if I'd just taken the fence down and not said anything, I wouldn't have gotten sweet apartment stuff, so yay.

After he left, the guys from the auto place nearby began their daily parade to the grass to eat their lunches and blast loud music from their cars. (Normally I hate these people, but today they are my friends.) In turn, each of them stopped and asked me why I was taking my awesome fence down, and each time that I explained they voiced their anger on my behalf. My favorite was when one of them went on a rant about our nation, including walking in circles and waving his arms wildly. "They can't do that to you! This is f***ing America! We can have fences if we want to! That's why we live in America!" Wow, auto guy, wow.

So I get new apartment stuff and received the support of a half dozen people I don't really know today, and I also had the satisfaction of not being a total pushover. The moral of the story? I'm a good person and deserve to be treated well. If I stick up for myself in a reasonable way, then even when I lose, I win.

Take that, world.

Home Improvements

2010-06-24T10:44:00.000-07:00

Every summer I realize that this is my only time in which to accomplish anything non-work related over the next year and come up with an epic to-do list. Normally I only get through about 1/3 of the stuff on the list, and then I get mad at myself. Not this year!

It helped that the weather was completely craptastic for most of May and the first 2/3 of June. Thanks to a solid month and a half of dreary days and deluges that left me housebound, I was able to convince myself that I should woodshed the unpleasant stuff so that I'd have plenty of time for outdoor fun when the weather improved.

First up was the patio. I installed the bamboo fence*, bought a new tablecloth and planted a jungle back there, including lots of herbs and a hot pepper plant. Among my list of herbs:

sage x 2
rosemary
thyme (no parsley though, Simon and Garfunkel)
cilantro
pineapple mint (whoa!)
oregano
lavender x 2

Jungle-like patio, now with bamboo and fun tablecloth!

More fun plants!

Herbs!

Then it was time to get organized indoors. A trip to IKEA with Noodle yielded two new shoe organizers and an awesome scarf hanger. The latter was much-needed, and I the simple effectiveness of the design had me once again marveling at the Swedes. Why are they so good at stuff? And so attractive and stylish? I miss Stockholm.

Clean...ish closet, now with shoe organizers!
(The scary glowing is my reflective running vest...)

Awesome scarf organizer, which is no longer
in the living room...

Finally I completed the least pleasant task of all today: the cleaning out of my file cabinet. Talk about miserable, but it's done and I can now shut its drawers without crushing old concert programs and tax documents, so cheers!

A barrage of non-cleaning to-do list items are also checked off, including updating my website, 3/5 of my course preparation and syllabi for the whole schoolyear, writing my crazy milieu of rehearsals and concerts into my new planner, and scheduling a trip to LA later this summer. June, I have defeated you. Next stop? Band camp**!

*The huge jerks in my apartment office who SPECIFICALLY OKAYED ME PUTTING THE FENCE UP are now trying to make me take it down. Stay tuned while I attempt to make them realize that they're stupid.
**Note: I'll be MIA while at camp, but get ready for some fun posts upon my return!

Oh no!

2010-06-23T11:11:00.000-07:00

Nonononono! Muse! How could you let this happen!

Karaoke: The Official List

2010-06-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago, I solicited karaoke ideas. Thanks to all of the public and secret commenters, I have amassed the following songs, which are in the process of burning to a karaoke practice CD for yours truly. Note that there are... a lot. This will cover me for the next year.

Aerosmith: Dream On & Hole in My Soul
Kelly Clarkson: Never Again, Don't Walk Away
Judas Priest: You've Got Another Thing Comin'
The Pretenders: I'll Stand By You
GNR: Welcome to the Jungle
Ozzy: Hellraiser
Ratt: Round and Round
Kim Wilde: Kids in America
Jefferson Airplane: Somebody to Love
Warrant: Cherry Pie
AC/DC: Highway to Hell, Back in Black, Hells Bells

Bring it on, Band Camp Staff/Faculty Karaoke Night!

Marathon?

2010-06-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

I'm currently training for this year's Hood to Coast Relay, where it turns out I'll be running the last leg. I'm not particularly nervous about anchoring the team, because my team includes several people of ages 60 and up, and at least one of them needs his knees replaced. We're not going to win. Also, Leg 12 is awesome because I get to run into Portland and hand off under the Hawthorne Bridge, and I also get the final leg on the beach. The only bummer is that I'm not sprinting down Mt. Hood this time around, but my knees will probably appreciate that.

Running HTC in 2007 with team captain Joel

Anyway, between HTC excitement and the influence of "Born to Run" I'm looking for more challenges, and I've decided it's finally time for a marathon (as I mentioned the other day). The Portland Marathon is on October 10th this year, which is 10-10-10, so that seems like a fine time to work some magic on the pavement. I had thought I'd want longer to train, but whatever. I think running marathons is probably like having children-- there's never a perfect time, so if you want to do it and the timing is pretty reasonable, you go for it.

I have a training schedule I've been trying to stick to, but adjusting to the FiveFingers and dealing with a really stupid injury this spring set me back about six weeks. Luckily I just found this 16 week training schedule online, which is almost identical to what I've been doing, and I have... exactly 16 weeks! I'll be adding in some interval training and other various cross training activities, but I'm going to try to stick to this religiously. Also, I'm now rotating between my FiveFingers and my old Asics just to make sure I can get my mileage up fast enough. I may have to use the Asics for the marathon, because my weak calves just aren't adjusting fast enough.

Here's hoping I A) don't hurt myself, B) don't die, and C) don't get some stupid-awesome gig handed to me that ruins everything, although in a pinch I could find another marathon...

Wish me luck, everybody!

Bad Karaoke Ideas

2010-06-21T08:29:00.000-07:00

With band camp only days away, I am currently compiling a list of new songs to prepare for staff/faculty karaoke night(s). Last year I set the bar quite high with my finest karaoke performance ever, and there's now a reputation for me to uphold. Also, I'm going to throw a way-belated 30th birthday party for myself in the next month or so and I have to be ready to dominate that night as well.

Singing/yelling NIN, circa 2008

Songs currently under consideration include:

I'll Stand By You (The Pretenders)
Hells Bells (AC/DC)
Never Again (Kelly Clarkson)
Dream On* (Aerosmith)
Welcome to the Jungle (GNR)
Somebody to Love (Jefferson Airplane)
Hole in My Soul (Aerosmith)
Don't Stop Believin'* (Journey)

*Glee, why you gotta keep stealin' my songs, yo?!

There are multiple occurrences of Aerosmith on that list, which I take as a sign of its greatness. Right now I'm leaning toward Hole in My Soul because of the solid balance of talking, singing and yelling. Welcome to the Jungle is also totally fun to sing.

When researching songs I might want to add to the list, I came across this article and was dismayed to find that these people have confused the 50 Best Karaoke Songs with the 50 Worst Karaoke Songs. There are a few okay ones on there, but mostly it's a list of the contrived. Also, in their 20 Worst Karaoke Songs article, they not only have much of the same list, but they also included my go-to song Total Eclipse of the Heart. Um no, that song is awesome, stupid Associated Content writer.

So I'm writing my own lists. Feel free to comment/email with further ideas and I'll update the lists accordingly.

Songs that are never okay:

Anything from a musical...
...especially if that musical is Grease
Baby Got Back
I Will Survive
It's Raining Men
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (unless you're a very funny man)
Jesse's Girl
Friends in Low Places
Anything by Celine Dion or Whitney Houston (unless you are very funny about it)

Songs people do lamely with buddies because they're scared to go up alone:

Again, anything from Grease
I Got You Babe
Love Shack

Songs that are spent but fun anyway:

You Oughta Know (I rock it! Holla!)
Sweet Caroline
Bohemian Rhapsody**

**Only acceptable if the entire bar sings it en masse.

More suggestions? By the way, for those who may be interested, my current songlist includes:

Cryin' (Aerosmith)
Total Eclipse of the Heart (Bonnie Tyler)
You Oughta Know (Alanis Morissette)
Wild Thing (Tone Loc)
Closer (NIN)
Stand By Your Man (Patsy Cline)
Blaze of Glory (Bon Jovi)
I can bust out virtually any Britney Spears by request, but don't normally volunteer this information.

Quote of the Day: Margot Fonteyn

2010-06-19T15:40:00.000-07:00

"The one important thing I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one's work seriously and taking one's self seriously. The first is imperative and the second is disastrous."

-Margot Fonteyn

Healthy Living Update 6/19/10

2010-06-19T14:52:00.000-07:00

I've decided that (barring anything stupid like an injury or a gig) I will run the Portland Marathon this year, on October 10, 2010. 10-10-10! It's clearly meant to be. The training has officially begun, and thus the healthy living update hath returned.

Today: Ran four miles of intervals

Smoothie: Mango, banana, cinnamon, vanilla protein powder, orange-flavored cod liver oil, chai seeds

Sweat Rorschach of the Day: I'm wearing black, so an event horizon.

Feeling: Very excited, and also what-the-crap-am-I-doing

Plans for the day: laundry (done!), running (done!), cleaning (done!), planning courses for next year, going out for beer(s) with a friend

Current listening: Dream On, as performed on Glee (by Matthew Morrison, who is my current TV boyfriend, and NPH, who was my TV boyfriend in 1991-- yeow!)

Status: Mojo is back and optimistically pacing for 26 nine minute miles. Or ten minute miles... Or just survival, that's cool too.

Why must you be so dreamy, boys?!

Ch-ch-ch-chia!

2010-06-16T11:44:00.001-07:00

Status: Energized; in pajamas at noon
Current listening: Monster Ballads compilation CD

A few months ago I read Born to Run, and not only is it my new favorite book but it also got me thinking a lot about how I live and how to live better. At this point I'm convinced that three books are musts for anyone exploring how we humans exist can live well in the modern age:

1. Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn: Quinn teaches us about the all-permeating lie our culture has adopted since the agricultural revolution, and he does it via a psychically communicating ape fully versed in the Socratic method. (Note: Any of Quinn's books can teach you pretty much the same lessons. He has mastered the art of selling the same thing over and over again in a slightly varied form.)

2. Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall: Despite what your knees tell you, we're all supposed to run. I could tell you why, but then you wouldn't have to read the book, which you should do. Like Ishmael, this book points us to what we've lost in our existence of sloth, stress, and computers, and what we've lost is brotherhood, joy, athleticism, and a sense of play. (In other words: humanity.)

3. The Art of Possibility, by Roz and Ben Zander: Ben's a former teacher of mine, and I'm currently rereading his book. My second year in graduate school started off with my dad dying and ended with me feeling like I was more myself than I'd ever been before, and it was because of Ben. I finished the book in three days, which is pretty crazy for me, given that I'm bright but read about as fast as a ten year old. Anyway, Ben's all about being positive and enrolling the world in your joy, and the book is useful to musicians and corporate types alike. My very favorite story is about a foreign cellist who gets so fed up with staying inside the box that he gets "peesed off," and says "F*** it." He then plays like a maniac and wins a big audition. In Ben's words, we all can learn to go BTFI, "beyond the f*** it."

So consider this list my gift to all of you, Sarah's Recipe for Joy. The three of them run the gamut from mental framing to physical exercise to the construct of civilization. And maybe while you read them try the recipe in Born to Run for the best concoction ever: chia seeds, water, lime juice, and honey. Yes, I mean chia like chia pets, but buy them from a supplement place and don't use the seeds from your favorite Barack Obama chia pet. I'm not kidding, when I drink this drink I take a good 30 seconds off my mile time every time, and I feel good and peppy. Let it sit for 15 minutes before you drink it, so the seeds get good and gelatinous. Yum! It's the drink of Aztec warriors, and it's delicious.

Chia Obama looks like an Oompa-Loompa

As a side note, when I was just looking for Chia Obama photos on Google, I saw a picture of a guy wearing a green wig on a costume site. I WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL WITH THIS GUY.

This is what LA does to people. And now speaking of LA, my lightening heart has a trip to LA to plan, although I promise to return senza wig. Look out, Goofy: in a couple of months, it's Disneyland or bust!

Butter Jesus Aflame

2010-06-15T10:40:00.000-07:00

Sarah M. spread the word to me of the fall of the gigantic Butter Jesus AKA Touchdown Jesus, known to Ohio residents for its traffic-causing hideousness. See the plaster (because it's not *really* butter, right?) effigy meet its maker below.*

Before:

After:

*Note that the end arrived at the hand of lightning. Ya can't make this stuff up, people!

Where have you gone, charming hobbies?

2010-06-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking a lot about my hobbies lately, in that I used to have some and they're dwindling. Recent hobbies included:

Knitting scarves (since I can only do straight rows)
Running
Biking
Acting (or trying)
The Fun Club
Singing
Writing/blogging
Playing the flute
Inventing slow cooker recipes
Hiking

Current hobbies include:

Running
Sporadic blogging
Even more sporadic hiking
*Playing the flute is now my job, so that has shifted to another category...

There are two contrary issues at work here: I let myself not have time for hobbies because I worked too much, and I stopped insisting on my hobbies and therefore work had room to take over my life. Two sides of the same completely uncool coin.

Now it's not so bad, because my job is awesome, and when your career is music, life is sort of one big hobby. When money and endless self-motivation is involved, though, it's still not quite the same animal it once was.

With Hood to Coast coming up in two months and me vowing to run a half-marathon in October 2010 and a marathon in October 2011, running is certainly a big hobby right now. I'm also trying to bump the writing and blogging back up too, because writing is good for my soul. But I need something else, and it needs to be something cost-effective. (The cheap part is what's lame-- otherwise I would have headed straight for the rock climbing gym.) Camping would have been great, but I can't keep begging my mother to watch my adorable cat.

My cat, who keeps me from camping but is adorable

So, loyal readers, I'm taking ideas. You all seem to prefer emailing or calling me to leaving blog comments, but either way. A hobby with a specific goal would be great, and I'll be thinking on it too. In the meantime, I'm coming up with Willamette Fun Club ideas for next year...

Let's get awesome, people!

Destination: Estacada

2010-06-13T23:07:00.000-07:00

Note: This should have been split into multiple posts, but that's not what I did. Whoops. I'd recommend all you readers grab a hot cup of coffee or tea and a comfortable chair...

A week ago my good buddy Grant and I decided it was time for a field trip. Spring 2010 kicked both of us in the tookus a fair amount, so some fresh air sounded like just what the doctor ordered.

First we thought we might hike Dog Mountain. That's hard on a good day, though, and on a rainy, miserable day like every day in Portland this spring, it seemed like a really bad idea. Perhaps an easier hike? Nah, still wet. Then I found this article in the Mercury. I printed every word of it and vowed to go check Estacada out for myself. Thankfully, Grant enjoys a strange adventure too and agreed to join me.

A tiny town SE of Portland and way beyond the urban growth boundary, Estacada was previously known to me as "that place Tonya Harding is from." I don't know if she's actually spent a day of her life there, but that's what I heard and I choose to believe it. I also know this town as "Incestacada."

Hello, Estacada!

Christmas trees are my favorite!

The drive began with a lovely cruise through lush foliage made even more lush by the recent deluge. We were in Christmas tree country, and since it's my dream to someday retire to the sticks outside Portland and have a Christmas tree and lavender farm, the scenery made me very happy. I could feel the field trip working its magic already.

When we arrived, the town's welcome sign greeted us, and YES, we were already checking an item off the Mercury's list: BEST REPRESENTATION OF TEDDY ROOSEVELT HOLDING A CHAINSAW. Of course, the locals claim it's not Teddy R., but I think we all know better. We took turns posing by the welcome sign, with Grant unable to contain his enthusiasm while I decided to intimidate any swarthy locals who might spy our touristy photo-taking by making my muscles evident. I'm certain they were terrified for all the right reasons.

Grant is ready to dominate!

I am ready to annihilate!

As soon as we parked I realized the first great tragedy of the day: I forgot my driver's license! Grant drove, so it was fine, but that meant no beer, which eliminated some of our to-do list. LAME. Instead we headed to a cute coffee shop halfway down the main block. I think it was called Barbara's? Whatever, it's the only coffee shop on the street.

The brewery we couldn't go to because I'm dumb

The place was cute, and we each had coffees and Grant got a doughnut. I'd already smoothied up at home, but I almost caved and bought some of the Moonstruck Chocolates they had there. I'm very proud of my restraint, as it's not something I'm known for. I'm instead known for being overly honest, rocking at karaoke, and coming up with strange plans like trips to divy towns.

We knew we weren't in Kansas anymore-- or perhaps we knew where we'd gone was now more like Kansas than where we'd been-- when Grant noticed a Mustang that loved America (below). Also interesting was the table full of older locals. The only words we caught of their conversation were an old man's exclamation of "Don't ask, don't tell!" One of the old women he sat with had a long, scraggly ponytail right on top of her head. I wanted to post a photo, but I also don't want to openly mock harmless strangers who are probably very well-intentioned people, so you'll have to use your imaginations.

Hello, America!

Now caffeinated, we headed ever onward until this sign's redundancy made Grant angry in a way only idiocy can. "ATM means Automated Teller Machine!" he exclaimed. "They have an Automated Teller Machine Machine, do they? DO THEY?"

Redundancy= uncool

We passed by another super divy bar we couldn't go to because I was an ID-less loser and still get carded despite my ever-increasing gray hairs. This was the second bar on the list that we'd had to skip. Lame! I hate an unfinished project. This one had very interesting clientele hovering about in the afternoon, as well.

Trails, another place we couldn't go because I'm dumb

Next we walked by DH Enterprises, which I'm abbreviating because I'm scared. It was voted the place to buy the BEST CD/DVD GIFT SET FOR THE BURGEONING RIGHT-WING MILITANT. Below is the front window display... a WW1 foot locker and a happy froggy in a top hat.

Umm...

Murals!

The buildings in town frequently have murals on exposed walls. Good job encouraging artwork, Estacada! Here's a smattering of them on everything from Thriftway to lots of other buildings I forgot to pay attention to!

Finally we were ready for the three most important places in Estacada: the second hand shop, the place with the dead bodies, and the Safari Club. Our excitement was palpable, and the truck sitting outside the second hand store did not disappoint. The owner, whose control issues would soon become evident, stared down at us ready to snipe at me for disrupting the merchandise. It was a sign of things to come.

Second Hand Store: Where You Must Put Things Back Where You Found Them

Truck, complete with stink-eye

A bigfoot carving also stood guard at the door, and had a face strikingly similar to that of the owner, who did-I-mention-was-scary?

We walked in to hear... Beyonce. What the heck was Beyonce doing playing in here? The vibe didn't match the music as we started our exploration.

This store had won the award for BEST ANXIETY-PRODUCING SIGNS and boy, they weren't kidding. These gems were all over the place, telling us to leave things as we found them. Other signs warned of potential bathroom atrocities that could occur in the low-flush toilets. At first I thought they were just funny, but he really meant it-- he did not want people moving stuff.

One would think that in a store so committed to tidiness the organization would be intense. As we turned onto a long aisle crammed floor to ceiling with pots and pans, I appreciated the owner's handle on such a huge quantity of stuff.

Then halfway down the aisle, Grant paused.

Something is afoot.

I walked over to see what he was looking at and found him staring into a pile of Barbies, wide-eyed and naked amongst the kitchenware.

::cue music::

I have nothing adequate to add to that.

The owner then poked his head down the aisle. "You doing alright? Don't be moving stuff around."

I should take a moment to interject that our time at the store may read as having been unpleasant just because of my own discomfort around imposing authority figures, but I think the owner is probably pretty cool and just likes things his way. I'd probably get annoyed if people made a mess of my shop too. Also, this store is awesome and really does have everything you could ever want and a million other things you would never want in a million years.

Back to the action-- we decided we couldn't leave such a place without buying *something*. Early contenders came from a huge wall of mugs and this awesome easy-bake oven. What a steal at $8!

Whoa!

Then I discovered the records. I only had one Frank Sinatra record and was obviously looking to expand my collection to things other than Frank Sinatra records, so the diverse selection intrigued me. I got down on my knees and went through every record in the row, pulling out the ultimate record, Christmas Sing-Along with Mitch. This album has the most disturbing cover that I've ever seen. I don't know who Mitch is, but unless that's another name for Beelzebub perhaps a different cover design would have been better. Oh kid on the left, I fear for you.

Christmas Sing-Along with... Satan?

I chose a couple of records and we headed downstairs to the furniture room, with the owner calling after us to remind us not to mess anything up. In the basement we were immediately greeted by... more signs! They were all like this one, scrawled in handwriting more suited to a ransom note.

The downstairs room held lots of treasures, though, including this horse-drawn carriage (senza equine friends) and a harmonium, which I believe Grant would have bought had we arrived in a large truck.

Buggy!

Harmonium!

We moseyed back upstairs so I could buy a Don Ho record and a compilation record including such hits as "My Funny Valentine" and "Stormy Weather." That was when things got uncomfortable, and by that I mean more uncomfortable than they were with the serial killer signs and the naked kitchenware dolls. The owner approached me.

"You messed up my records over there," he accused.
"Oh. Oh sorry, I tried to keep them like I found them."
"You messed them up, and I had to fix them. Don't be moving stuff around."
"Sorry, I guess I got a little excited about records..."

I'm bad at getting in trouble. I get so panicked just driving by a cop while going the correct speed limit that I've actually had to stomp my left foot on the floor to get the adrenaline out and keep from blacking out. (I know this is completely bizarre and unhealthy. I have daddy issues, it's a thing I'm working on.) Anyway, it was time to go. I paid my $2 and we headed back to the car, where I gallantly displayed my new tribute to Hawaii!

Horrible picture of me, but yay the album!

Then I looked at the receipt. He sure doesn't want people messing up his stuff...

Hillockburn Road: Vortex of Death

Next it was time to go check out Hillockburn Road, the BEST PLACE TO DUMP A DEAD BODY. There were no bodies there, but I could see why the killers have liked it in the past: it's very accessible but not anyplace most people would look at too carefully as they drove past. In fact, I'll bet you could just give the corpse a shove and not stop the car. I would have laid down for photographic effect, but... mud.

I'm glad I got to see it while alive.

The Safari Club!

Last but certainly not least, we headed to Estacada's premium hot spot, the Safari Club, whose owner was voted BEST TIGER MURDERER. Luckily half of the restaurant is a Chinese restaurant, because by then we were starving. Unluckily for wildlife, it's called the Safari Club because the owner killed lots of big game, stuffed it, and then set it up in display cases throughout the lounge. Wow!

Intensely thatched roof!

Greeting us by the front door were some bears. We couldn't eliminate the glare, but you get the idea: they're angry that we're there. And that they're dead. And they don't want us to eat the Chinese food. (We should have listened to them on that last one.)

Grrrr!

Inside the restaurant was no one. (Another warning goes unheeded!) The only sound was of the server clipping her nails at the counter.

I think if there were a Chinese place in The Shining it'd look like this...

The menu looked normal enough. I got the Kung Pao Chicken lunch special and Grant ordered Vegetable Fried Rice. I asked our server and her short nails if I could have vegetable fried rice instead of pork fried rice with my lunch special. "No substitutions," she replied. "Oh, sorry, I just thought since he was having some anyway maybe you could make extra. I don't eat pork, so just no fried rice for me then." "You want white rice instead?" she asked. "Oh... ok..." Huh. That's a substitution. I decided not to nitpick.

It's sort of sad now to look at my innocent face, not knowing what was to come. I was excited to eat; if ignorance is bliss, I guess knowledge is indigestion.

The before picture. (There is no after picture...)

When the food arrived one look at Grant's face said it all. He was smarter than me, though. He drowned his in pepper sauce, exclaiming enthusiastically that "When it's hot like this, you can't tell that it tastes like dog food!" I ate mine despite what it began doing to my body almost instantly. Later we would make jokes about what I might potentially do to the car's upholstery all the way back to Portland.

Grant knows trouble when he sees it.

The reader should also note that I usually like greasy Chinese food, but this was not alright anyway, and then it was WAY NOT OK when I realized it was full of stupid, gross canned peas. Oh God, I hate canned peas. Elementary school lunches were one huge, extended nightmare of wiener wraps (yum) being ruined by canned peas (ew).

A bright spot appeared when the fortune cookies came out. I opened mine first: "Remember three months from this date! Your lucky star is shining." Apparently September 4th will be great, which was good. As the grease ate away at me I needed something to luck forward to.

Then Grant opened his cookie to find THREE fortunes. He is thrice lucky, which was further evidenced by the fact that he didn't have to swill ginger tea for the remainder of the day in a pathetic attempt at healing his stomach lining.

His fortunes were peppy and sounded a bit like they came from a horoscope. I laughed extra long about the middle fortune-- this place telling him to treat himself to something of quality made me very happy. I enjoy irony, although thanks to Alanis Morissette I can no longer distinguish irony from an unfortunate coincidence.

After our meal we ducked into the lounge to briefly photograph the disturbingly dead things. Here are some dead things:

Dead things (and me)!

Fighting tigers!

Something maybe-cougarish hanging above the karaoke!

Cat with dead thing, and dead thing bleeds from its mouth!

And with that, we bid this fair town adieu. As if the experience hadn't already been spiritual enough, this sign pointed the way to the future for us, just in case we were wondering:

I guess at the Unitarian Church we haven't gotten to talking about the deities renting out billboards yet. How very 21st century of God! Thanks to Grant and the town of Estacada for a fun day, and thanks to the makers of ginger tea for a reasonably uneventful night!

Help Find Kyron

2010-06-09T12:13:00.000-07:00

I have three fun posts in the works, and they're coming soon, but first something less fun but more important.

Sorry for any redundancy to those who have seen the intense media coverage about this, but in case anyone who reads this blog doesn't already know, please be on the lookout for this little boy:

This picture is of him standing in front of his science project at Skyline Elementary here in Portland. His step-mom then left him walking toward his classroom, and somehow in the space of a few feet he disappeared last week. Police have yet to locate him.

The idea of this sweet, blue-eyed boy standing proudly in front of his awesome red-eyed tree frogs project and then moments later vanishing from his own school is so horrific that it's hard to process. I have a rock in the pit of my stomach for his parents and teacher.

This community has been really beautiful about showing its support and spreading the word. Watching the police captain get choked up when he spoke about wanting to bring the little guy home broke my heart.

I know probably only a dozen people still bother to read my rarely-updated blog, but I want to help. Please memorize the face in these photos and be on the lookout for Kyron Horman, and encourage others you know in the Pacific NW to do the same. If you're far away, light a candle and send some protective thoughts and love his way.

Kyron Horman is 3'8" and weighs about 50 pounds. He was wearing orange and black cargo pants, white socks, worn black Skecher tennis shoes with orange trim and a T-shirt with the "CSI" logo. Anyone with information on Kyron's whereabouts is urged to call the Multhnomah County Sheriff's Office tip line at (503)-261-2847.

Patio, part deux

2010-06-05T20:51:00.000-07:00

An adventure of Odyssean proportions took place on Friday, so I will be working off and on this weekend on completing an in-depth post about that. In the meantime...

Today was just darn great. (In case that reads as sarcastic, it shouldn't.) For the first time in three weeks, it didn't rain, and the sun made everything so much better. I kicked off my day with a delicious smoothie and a run, wherein I took another step (pardon the pun) toward improving my form. It felt so good, and I was going so fast, that I ended up running intervals for about thirty minutes. So far I'm not at all sore, but we shall see how tomorrow goes.

I ate a homemade burrito and was off to McMinnville for the first read-through rehearsal of pieces on my September recital with a pianist I teach with. He lives way out in the sticks, and the drive through wine country was gorgeous. I managed to not stop anywhere, but now I'm itching to go wine tasting sometime soon. I also drove past a sign for olive oil and herb tasting, and holy crap, that sounds even better.

After rehearsal I headed to Lowe's to get everything I need to redo my patio. I know, again. I did this last summer, but I hardly ended up using it because it faces a busy street, and I was annoyingly conspicuous out there. This time I bought some six-foot tall bamboo fencing, though, so I will be able to relax in privacy as soon as I put that up. I also bought lots of herbs to plant back there, and I'm very excited to cook with them, if they survive long enough for me to do that.

A minor issue occurred when I reached the car with my three rolls of fencing only to discover that the key I turn in the back seat so it'll go down and I can put big stuff in the trunk no longer turns. I debated for a while about returning the fencing, but I'm no quitter! After 20 minutes of grunting and glistening (ladies never sweat) I managed to get all three rolls in, balanced precariously between back window and front windshield via the top of the passenger seat. I kind of couldn't see to the right, so I drove home a slightly longer way to avoid having to ever turn or merge to the right. I'm typing to you now, so either it worked or Jennifer Love Hewitt will show up momentarily to lead me to the light.

Back at home I started in on the patio. Today's task? Remove grossness. My disgusting vinyl tablecloth is in the bathtub about to be scrubbed, and I washed a number of other things (candlesticks, lanterns, etc.). I also spent a good hour on my knees scraping moss off the concrete with a trowel. There must be an easier way to do that senza chemicals, but I didn't know it, so I went old school. Also, it's been raining for three weeks, so I was sweeping/scraping/bagging up gross mud, which it turns out is very heavy. I'll have plenty more sweeping to do when it someday dries out, but for now it's better. It felt great to be so productive.

Still to do are: planting my herbs, cleaning the furniture, and most importantly, installing the fence. Due to more rain in the forecast, this will likely happen in installments. I hope by the end of next weekend I'll have an awesome patio!

Oh, that voodoo that yoodoo

2010-06-01T19:25:00.000-07:00

Before she left, Sarah M. coerced me into going to her favorite dive bar, Hungry Tiger Too, for vegan corn dog night. After the corn dog I ate at Skate World, nothing sounded more revolting, but I decided to suck it up and go for the company.

The group at the table was a lively bunch! A couple of very... artificially blonde... girls were there. They said lots of vapid things, but they were nice. One of them had an annoying boyfriend. Instead of annoying, I should say "douchey." He had a tattoo on his neck, and another tattoo of a Cadillac. Which was not what he drove. Also, old Cadillacs are sort of cool, unlike everything that came out of his mouth.

The others were totally fun, though. Blonde #2's husband is nice, Sarah M.'s dude Mike E. is always awesome, and obviously Sarah M. herself is the best ever. They also brought their friend Fred the Barber, who is rad because he's Canadian, and all Canadians are great. (William Shatner is Canadian.) Fred's moving back to the great northern wonderland in a couple of months, but it's always nice to make a new friend in the meantime.

It was not only $1.25 corn dog night, but also $1 PBR night. Unfortunately, unlike everyone else in Portland, I will not drink that swill. I kept it as divey as I can stand, ordering a Corona with a lime, thus providing the table with adequate fodder to mock me incessantly over my "cerveza mas fina!"

After gross ingestion the annoying people plus the nice husband took off, and the remaining four of us decided to walk over to Voodoo Doughnuts in NE just to finish our gastrointestinal systems off. Also unlike your typical Portlander, I think Dunkin is far more delicious, but I give Voodoo bonus points for kitsch value and overall fun.

I decided to partake in a coconut-covered chocolate cake donut, since I don't eat bacon, and I don't like frosting, and I don't like sugary cereal (except Peanut Butter Panda Puffs), and the one shaped like a phallus and its accoutrements concerned me. It took forever to get my donut, though, because at 9pm on a weeknight that place was hopping! There were maybe 25 people in the small dining area and ordering line. The very hip girl at the counter said she liked my shirt, which earned her a gratuity of laundry quarters.

We got our donuts and went outside to enjoy them in the cool evening breeze and lavender-tinged sunset. There were some rather strange folks of varying ages, sizes, and genders exiting the premises and loading into a short bus, which we noted with a chuckle. (Note: We are not huge jerkfaces; they didn't appear to be disabled in any way.) Within a few minutes, the entire store was empty save employees, and somehow all of the inhabitants had crammed themselves onto the short bus, which was labeled "Creative Minds." Google tells me this is a place that instructs children, so I don't know if a staff member had hijacked the school's bus or if they all lived on some sort of similarly named compound and only come to civilization in their short bus on a weekly basis to get their donuts.

They must have seen us looking, and it was impossible to hide the amusement in our eyes. Also, we might have made a few sarcastic short bus comments in front of a couple of them before we realized they were members too. The result? The riders energetically flipped us off while the driver made moose antlers at us with his hands.

I hope they made it back to wherever they came from safely, and that their animosity was soothed by their donuts. Cheers to strange adventures and fried dough.

Pancakes!

2010-05-28T21:04:00.000-07:00

Everyone should check out Jim's Pancakes! I'm not even a pancake person, but I want to buy a griddle just to make all of these.

Heck on Wheels

2010-05-25T21:25:00.000-07:00

In fifth grade I went rollerskating with my best bud Elaine all the time, largely so I could couple skate with Jeremy Sluder, who I'm pretty sure asked my ten year old self to "go out" with him just because I was spectacularly good at pairs tennis in gym class. Way to use your dashing good looks to lock in a win at racket sports, Jeremy. The reason I'm pretty sure that was why he dated me is because in 1991 I looked like this (on the left):

Holy bangs and glasses!

Whatever Jeremy's motivation, he secretly met me at the rink on the weekends, and when the lights went down and the disco ball began its romantic revolutions, our sweaty hands locked and we couple skated counter-clockwise toward teenagedom.

What does this have to do with anything? The adventures with Sarah M. continued over the weekend when we decided to head to the 'burbs and get our skate on 90s style. Sarah M. does this pretty much every weekend, but I had only skated once since my Skate World romps in elementary school. It only took about ten seconds of smelling the stale foot sweat, greasy food, and pre-pubescent hormones absorbed into worn red carpet better suited to a Vegas bargain brothel, and I felt the skate power surging within me. A lap or two in my rented wheels and I was hooked.

We were treated to a number of awesome skating songs. I loudly sang Blue along with Eiffel 65, and when the next song was Who Let the Dogs Out I turned to Sarah M. "Time to open it up!" I hollered, and I went into warp drive, weaving around the falling six year olds who toppled before me. (She tried to take my picture, but I was going too fast for film.) Other fantastic hits played included: Respect; a song about putting your hands up that I was ashamed to sort of like, especially when I learned it was Miley Cyrus; MJ's Bad; and plenty of things I'd never heard before that were targeted at the 12 and under crowd.

During a particularly alarming pass when the lights were down, it dawned on me that I was now old enough that if couple skate came around I'd have to try and find a kid's dad to skate with. Oh. My. God.

Also, it is important to note that I didn't fall down.*

After all the wicked skating, singing, and dancing, we needed to get our snack on. I remembered the awesome/heinous snack bar from my youth, and was excited to see that "Pickle" is still on the menu, though back in the day it cost a mere 50 cents. Also exciting is the "Side of Cheese."

I went with a corn dog and Sarah M. opted for nachos. I should have stayed pickle like the old days, but if you put enough mustard on anything it's pretty much okay.

Dining on a corn dog under the streamers

They're vegan if the cheese ain't real

We finished off the skating with a game of air hockey, which is much harder in skates. Then it was off to the outlet mall, where I found new jeans that fit perfectly and were $10. What an awesome all-around win.

And now, a picture of how happy I am after hanging out with Sarah M. for a week. Yeah, Sarah M., I took my own picture! I'm vain! You still heart me, though.

Thanks to Sarah M. for being the best friend anyone could ever ask for. Actually, no one has a right to ask for a friend so wonderful, so I'm most certainly the luckiest person in the world. I'll miss her pretty huge when she takes off to start the next phase of her life next week, but I'm so so proud of her and know she's doing an amazing thing.

Get the Midwest ready for me, Tonya H., because Nancy K. is comin' atcha visit style in no time at all!

BFFs

* Sarah M. will claim that I almost fell down once. And that she laughed so hard she cried for like five minutes because of it. And that I spazzed out for about 20 seconds in one direction and the next while I tried to regain my balance. That couldn't possibly have happened, though.

The Puzzle of Why

2010-05-22T20:05:00.000-07:00

About a week from now my BFF Sarah M. will head off across the monotonous drive that is the Midwest to begin her exciting new life as a nursing student. In the meantime, she's staying at my apartment and we're wreaking havoc on this fair city so she can leave it with a bang. Ok, we're also eating too much and collapsing on the couch a lot, but sometimes we debauch.

So far this week has included the aforementioned eating and relaxing, and also lots of laughing and bargain shopping. Not only is the fun we're having good news, but the universe's ability to make sense out of seeming chaos is proving itself once again. Hallelujah.

On Thursday when I went to teach out in the burbs at my mother's house, Mom surprised me by leaving the most delicious black bean and chicken tortilla soup ever in the fridge for me. It was heavily spiced and had olives. Olives in soup?! It was a delicious revelation.

While I was gone, Sarah M. did some shopping, and that night she surprised me with this particular gem of a handmade card that she found at a cute shop downtown:

It reads:

Dear Sarah T,

I'm proud of you for taking your break-up anger out on your music instead of resorting to sluttery!

Sincerely,
Sarah M.

Ha! Well said.

There was also the car accident a little over a week ago, in which someone pulled out of her parallel parking spot right into my front bumper. (I assume it's no longer allegedly, since her insurance admitted fault.) At the time I questioned why the universe would see fit to abuse me again when I was already down, and I felt very listless about the whole thing.

Then this week I received the check for the damages, took another look at my car's barely dented bumper and fender, and smirked at my own impatience. All things make sense in time.

Back in April, I played a headjoint that was a bit pricey but amazing. I'm not much of a gear head, but the moment I played it I knew it fit me like a glove and could help me get me where I want to go. The car money doesn't cover the whole thing, but it does cover a big chunk of it, so I took the plunge yesterday and am now in possession of this beauty!

I can get so many different tone colors out of this that it's crazy. I could probably make it sound like Kermit the Frog or a wild boar if I wanted to, it's so good. I played it for Sarah M. without telling her which was the new amazing one and which was my old one, and she picked it out immediately every single time. She has a pretty darn good ear, but she's also a biologist by profession, so I think this speaks well to the dramatic difference. I can't wait to practice more and see just what this thing can do when I'm used to it and in shape.

And so another piece of the Puzzle of Why falls into place and I settle back into knowing not where I'm going, but that I'm headed the right way. The world has once again shaken into me my need to plan life less and trust life more, to be patient with myself and others. I'm trying to learn the lesson in a lasting way this time.

So life was getting better anyway... and then there was the rollerskating. More to come soon.

Oh Civic...

2010-05-13T20:34:00.000-07:00

I was pretty happy today when I turned onto the street where my students were about to have their recital. I was early, and I love being early. I had a car full of cookies, and I love cookies. The sun was shining, the air was clear, and traffic was good. I was driving to the entrance of the recital hall, taking my time, and then

SMACK.

A lady smashed all up ons and tried to make my cute little Civic's front passenger side kiss her decrepit Plymouth Acclaim when she was pulling out of a parallel parking spot. (Do I have to say allegedly? She did that allegedly.) Civic does not kiss Plymouths. Civic is pure and lovely and gets me through my crazy commute and I love her. To taint her so, and when I was in my freaking Buddha Zone...

I think I'm fine. We'll see if I stiffen up by morning, but I'm okay right now. I was going about 10 or 15 miles per hour, so it wasn't exactly death defying. The other driver was nice, too, and we exchanged info, so it's in the insurance companies' hands now. Yes, I need to take poor Civic to the body shop in the morning, but at least I'm off work for the summer. And given how much I drive, I was probably due for something to happen, so I'm thankful that it's something small. I just hope they don't do anything dumb like total my 15 year old car that gets 40 mpg just because it's not worth much in the first place.

On the plus side, the recital went well, Civic still drives (maybe not as straight as before, but fairly well), I'm all in one piece, and I'm proud of myself for being really calm and okay amid the stress. Updates on the car saga to come.

Dear readers,

2010-05-11T13:15:00.000-07:00

I am officially done with work for the schoolyear. Well, mostly. The college where I teach has a only a few more days of finals, none of which involve me, and save calculating and posting grades I have no more work to do there for the semester. I still have private students, lots of summer performances, a camp, and a mountain of music to learn, but that's all fun and doesn't involve so much commuting. Reaching May 10th was a relief.

There's some personal stuff I'm dealing with too, so it's nice to have lots of time, tea, and a well-rested brain. The next couple of weeks will also include plenty of walks, hikes, runs, practicing my flute (wow), time spent with my sweet friends, and some personal reassessment.

Thanks for continuing to check this site even though I haven't posted consistently in months, and stay tuned for some actual, legitimate posting, hopefully including a few adventures. I may continue to post sporadically while I sort through things, but I'm looking forward to writing more again when I can. Love to you all.

-Sarah

DOG!

2010-05-09T21:25:00.001-07:00

Yay!

Better Marriage Blanket!

2010-05-01T11:18:00.000-07:00

This is... amazing! It's for your "offending molecules."

Quote of the day

2010-04-29T23:44:00.000-07:00

"The true test of character is not how much we know how to do, but how we behave when we don't know what to do." - John W. Holt, Jr.

(Thanks, John, Jr. That was just exactly what I needed.)

Happy feet

2010-04-18T12:46:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged at all well since 2010 rolled around, but it's been a good month for turning things around so far, so I figure April might as well signal not just my Triumphant Return to Running, but also my Triumphant Return to Blogging, and particularly my Triumphant Return to Blogging About Running.

Ever since I got my Vibram FiveFingers Sprints, I've been enjoying running way more, but have been annoyed by the fact that my joints are doing much better, while my calves are so unbelievably pathetic that I have gone from seven mile runs back down to two mile runs. I couldn't let myself be a wuss forever, though, so I've been on a mission to perfect my form and increase my mileage like whoa.

First I read "Born to Run," and the effect the book has had on me will require its own post. Suffice it to say, it inspired me to not just want to run, but to want to run well, far and often. Every time I've run consistently in the past I've ended up injured and sore, and I've wondered why the heck upright creatures with long legs wouldn't be meant for running. Armed with the books evolutionary (and revolutionary) ideas and my new shoes, I went to work on researching technique.

Things quickly turned ugly when I read several running websites espousing wisdom about staying up entirely on the balls of your feet. I have trouble with moderation, so I immediately went out and ran two miles without my heels touching the ground. It was graceful and really minimized the toll taken on my knees. It also wrecked my calves to the point where I had to crawl from the couch to the bathroom on all fours for a few days. Heh. That set me back another two weeks in my training while I ate protein and waited for my muscles to heal.

So that wasn't the way to do it! At least not yet. Luckily one of my cool students is also interested in exercise science, and she told me about the book "Chi Running." I have yet to read it, because it just came in for me today at the library, but she explained that it recommends you angle your body just slightly forward so the run becomes a sort of gracefully controlled fall. "Born to Run" suggested trying to mimic the form you use to run uphill, and I realized the similarities between these two explanations. This video of a robot* further cleared things up. (The side-to-side wiggle isn't great, but the bent knees and arms and the weight shifted forward makes sense.)

It's been working like a charm, and now the trick is to not let myself increase my mileage too fast. Did I mention that I have problems with moderation? Right now I'm doing four or five days a week and my long run is only 3.5 miles, but I can't wait until I can be back out running for at least an hour without crippling myself. My goal is Hood to Coast this summer (again, not crippling myself like last time I did it...) and the Portland Marathon in 2011.

To help me along the way, I've been sticking diligently (except when I had my mother's freaking delicious oatmeal raisin cookies DARN IT MOM) to Dr. Weil's Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid as well, and I'm going to order some chia seeds, which were a staple food of Aztec warriors. I also watched a marathon on TV yesterday and got so excited that it made me teary and I cheered out loud for the runners. Inspiration is good!

Most importantly, the past two weeks of consistent running have immediately served to clear my head, and I'm remembering just what a huge change in mood my daily jogs bring about. Thirty minutes of flying around the neighborhood or the river and I'm a happier woman the rest of the day. Here's hoping I can keep it up this time, and that the angry knee beast doesn't rear its ugly head...

*Note: The robot video was found via the Barefoot Running website, which also has great tips!

Merry Christmas to all

2009-12-25T09:41:00.000-08:00

In the most exciting Christmas news ever: I HAVE THE SHOES

In other fun Christmas news, I spent much of Christmas Eve with my friend Elaine. Oh yeah, and who sweatered? Elaine did!

First we went on a secret mission to the craft store to buy the supplies necessary to finish her husband's present. Since Pat (said husband) is an awesome cook, she got him a cooking class for Christmas. A month from now, he will become a master of baking muffins, scones, and quickbreads, and I'm hoping that around that time Elaine and I will become masters of eating muffins, scones, and quickbreads. (I think I'm already a master of eating scones. Holy crap, I love scones.)

Since you can't really fit a cooking class into anything but a four-dimensional box (epic science know-how!), we instead crafted a card from all of the scrapbooking stuff they had at the store. Please note: Elaine and I are not crafty girls. We're good at writing and at being efficient and left-brained. Scrapbooks are pretty much our least favorite things to make, so this was a challenge. Elaine totally rose to the occasion, though, and we ended up with this lovely card, complete with scalloped edges.

It also had a spatula tied to it later, but we didn't take a picture of that part...

We then wrapped presents for her husband, dogs, and cat and headed back downstairs to put them under the tree (the presents, not the husband, dogs, and cat). While down there, we dressed up her dogs.

Momo the reindeer

Her other dog, Henry, looked even cuter in his little Santa outfit, but for some reason my phone won't let me upload the photos of him. Stupid phone. Anyway, normally I'm not into animal outfits, but I think pretty much anyone or anything looks cute with antlers.

After that I headed home, opened up the shoes, and watched some movies with Mom. We both enjoyed White Christmas, as always, but Mom wasn't as into my new favorite movie, Once. She couldn't figure out what the main characters were saying through their accents. Dinner included all of my favorite things: beef brisket (which I cooked very well, thank you), rice casserole, and artichoke hearts with my poor man's aioli sauce of mayo and garlic salt. Yum!

This morning I also opened up the rest of my presents, and found such exciting things as a GPS, a new blanket for my bed, a salad spinner, argyle socks, and some new measuring cups. Yay!

It's been a great Christmas, and next up? A red-eye flight to CT to visit Mike D. Hooray for that! I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday too!

Merry Sweater Thursday Christmas Eve!

2009-12-23T23:30:00.000-08:00

Ho ho ho and sweater sweater sweater! Today two of my favorite things combine and I will be sweatering and Christmasing. Fun!

I'm extra excited about Christmas this year, because Santa is bringing me some Vibram FiveFingers shoes. I'm counting on these to inspire my training for Hood to Coast, so this will be super on many levels: 1) I will get in shape. 2) I will run like the ancients, who didn't get hip replacements. 3) I will leave yeti footprints wherever I go.

Also fun is that I'm currently stuffing my face with Chex Mix, which is referred to by my family as "Nuts and Bolts," and it's been a week full of visits with great friends. Christmas for the win!

In sadder news, I'm nowhere near my own computer and my USB cable is packed God knows where, so I won't be uploading a sweater photo. I think. But! Should you sweater and wish to be posted, please still send your sweater photo along to sweaterphotos AT gma1l D0T C0M.

And to tide you over? An image of the freaking awesome shoes that I'm about to own.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Sweatersssss!

2009-12-17T20:04:00.001-08:00

Let's get ready to suh-wet-errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

It's that time again, and wow was it damp and crappy here today, so what a perfect day to wear a sweater!

Today I brought back this lovely, bland little teal number from the Gap, circa 2005. Fun story: sometimes my eyes reflect the color I'm wearing, and one time I was wearing this as I walked out of Nordstrom Rack. A middle-aged guy stopped me and said, "Are you wearing crazy colored contacts?" I wasn't. "What the heck, your eyes are teal?" That day, they were. They don't do it much anymore. Apparently I used to be a freak of nature, and now I'm just tired all the time.

Next up is Capella, who has cut off both her own head and the creepy shrunken man in her living room. I assume it was a part of some sort of ritual that produced a really freaking great sweeater.

Last but not least is Mattie, swooping in with a super cute purple, double-breasted number. Yay! Welcome to Sweater Thursday, Mattie!

Conclusion? I need to go sweater shopping. I have not been bringing my A game.

Tune in next week for more Sweater Thursday! You can email your pics to sweaterphotos AT gMa1L D0T com.

Perfect weekend, perfect movie

2009-12-14T11:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I posted about my exciting weekend, and then right after I posted I watched maybe the best movie I've ever seen in my life.

Normally if I see a film that feels magical, the feeling wears off after a little exposure to the regular pieces of life: checking email, cleaning the cat box, being woken up by the water company thumping around outside while they shut off the water for the day a half hour before they're supposed to so that I can't shower...

But even after what should have been a frustrating morning, the world still feels twinkly and warm. Everyone should go watch "Once" right away and then buy the CD by "The Swell Season" so you can feel warm and twinkly too.

If you're going to watch it, don't listen to the music or watch the trailer ahead of time or anything, because this is one of those films that I think should materialize from nowhere for people.

I wish I could write and play and sing things like this instead of Bach Sonatas and flashy trashy French showpieces...

Festive!

2009-12-13T15:35:00.000-08:00

This weekend has been *great*! I'm supposed to be writing a final. Instead I have done the following, mostly accompanied by Naomi or Noodle:

Gone to Rogue for beer tasting
Picked out my Vibram FiveFingers at REI
Baked healthy oatmeal prune cookies, which are yum
Eaten cookies for breakfast
Jogged in the cold
Had my flute repaired
Cleaned the apartment
Purchased a Christmas tree
Decorated the Christmas tree
Elfed Myself
Played with my cat
Watched the Rudolph movie

None of those things is writing a final, but look at our pretty tree! It's Naomi's first tree as an adult, and we're very excited. Also, we coincidentally purchased said tree from the brother of one of my close high school friends. If anyone in Portland needs a tree, please hit up the lot on NE 21st between Broadway and Schuyler! Every single tree there looked perfect, and they're super nice people. Also, I didn't have another incident like last time...

I should have taken a picture of the cookies before they were decimated (by me). Here's the aftermath... It was three cookie sheets' worth last night...

I have a cat who wants to cuddle and a nice roommate on her way home with a pizza now. Chalk this up to a perfect weekend! Now if only I didn't have to write that pesky final...

Jake does Sesame Street

2009-12-13T09:57:00.000-08:00

Unless they had somehow come up with a graceful way for him to film this with his shirt off (and by "him," I don't mean the octopus...), I'm fairly certain that Sesame Street could not have made anything more perfect.

Sweaters abound!

2009-12-11T10:10:00.000-08:00

Hi all! It's sweater time!

First, here I am in a turtleneck sweater from Banana Republic that used to fit well, and like most of my favorite clothes, I ended up damaging it in the wash. Yep, merino wool + hot water = bare midriff. I stretched it out before putting it on, so it was passable, but I won't ever be wearing it with low-waisted jeans again. Also, I really should paint my kitchen. Hideous.

Capella and her voodoo ways return, and she's armed with the holiday spirit. Actually, it's a sweater vest, so I supposed she's more accurately arm-less with the holiday spirit. Hay-oh! Way to rock the snowflakes, Caps!

Next up Grant stopped by my office. Yay Grant! This is way better than last week, when he sweatered and did not stop by my office. He was decked out in his sweater, vest, and very hip specs. Grant is way better at fashion than me.

Make that "everybody is way better at fashion than me."

My student Alex poked his head in just in time to model his sweater as well. And he had a vest. Was it also Vest Thursday? Did I miss a memo? Anyway, since Alex is my student I told him hell would freeze over before I gave him my blog address, but he said I could post this anyway.

Actually, hell may freeze over, because the Chicken Fountain did. Freakin' Oregon. What are you doing being so cold?

Chicken Fountain!

More Chicken Fountain!

That's it for this Sweater Thursday! Join us again for sweaters next Thursday, when you may once again email pictures to sweaterphotos@hotmail.com for posting.

Sweater Thursday returns!

2009-12-05T07:17:00.000-08:00

I'm slow posting about it, but Sweater Thursday is BACK and it's green!

First up we have Capella, who sent in "je porte un chandail vert‏." She lives in Toronto and speaks Canadian. I don't know what it means for sure, but I think it has something to do with ports of green candles. Also, is that a little tiny man walking with a purple umbrella just left of her hand? Between the glamorous sweater and the shrunken man, I'm convinced Capella is hiding a secret life as a celebrity psychic and voodoo gypsy (and she's apparently not hiding it very well).

Capella: Mild-mannered sweaterer or gypsy warlord?

Next up is a two-fer, as Noodle and I pose together in our ghetto-turned-chic office. Her name is Natalie, but I decided it's really Noodley. She stepped it up a notch and got hip with her argyle. I stepped it down and wore one of my sweaters made of dead rabbits.

Sarah and Noodle matching one another and their office

I'm not sure how we all ended up in the exact same shade of green, but I think maybe it was one of Capella's gypsy spells. She turned that guy little and then made darn sure we'd all look Irish together. Probably after that she made it rain gumdrops, because she's super fun like that and everyone knows all the cool stuff happens in Canada.

Some people sweatered and didn't send photos (GRANT!), but that's okay. I'll just make sarcastic comments about poor participation until they cave and do it next week.

If you'd like to submit your own sweater photo, email it to sweaterphotos@hotmail.com and I'll update the post. Fun!

Sweater-citement!

2009-12-02T22:29:00.000-08:00

It's been a long, exhausting, virus-contagion filled week, but now we get to sweater! Thanks again to Sweater Thursday creator Jobonga for bringing this joy into the world. Now let's sweater up, folks!

Return of the Working-Dead

2009-11-29T12:20:00.000-08:00

Howdy folks! I know, I know, this fall has marked my worst lack of blogging since the great Unblog of 2006-2007. This term kind of exploded on me from the beginning, because I scheduled two recitals at the end of October and ended up getting an extra course added to my teaching schedule two days before classes started. Then a coworker had a family emergency and had to take the second half of the term off, and yet another class that I'd never taught before was added to my schedule.

In recognition of this horrendously stressful term almost being over, and in the name of leaving the past behind me, I'm going to list here the awesome amount of stuff I've accomplished and henceforth I will not let myself moan and complain about being too busy for the next few months.

In the past three months I have:

Taught two new-to-me classes and a dozen flute students, led my ensemble, held studio classes, and coached sectionals for the school band and orchestra, all at the university
Given a masterclass at another nearby university
Taught a bunch of other great private students
Put on two recitals (where I actually learned new rep for once...)
Played lots of orchestra rehearsals and concerts
Taken a trip to the east coast
Applied to something that I won't mention here (that was a pain in the tookus)
Driven to Salem so many times that I wouldn't blame the government if they made me repair the ruts in I-5 myself
Chaired a committee in one of my orchestras
Tried (fruitlessly, again) to get health insurance
Dressed up in a Nancy Kerrigan costume for Halloween that I made myself (see below)
Started learning a concerto that I'll premiere in the spring

Nancy K!

Ok, I made the list. Thank you for validating my efforts by reading the list. I survived it all, and now I shall now let it go.

I'm looking forward to a fun Christmas vacation of chopping down my own tree with Naomi, laying down tracks for my band's next album, heading back east for more fun times with Mike D., cooking delicious food, going for lots of runs, and practicing my flute like whoa. Most importantly, I'm excited about reacquainting myself with all of the awesome friends who've waited patiently while I worked every waking moment of the day. Thanks for being super, friends!

Fun things in store for 2010? The concerto premiere, running Hood to Coast for the second time, a half-marathon, a cool weekend of working in Central Oregon, another summer at the great camp where I teach, and holy crap, at some point I must take a vacation somewhere other than Connecticut (although certain CT residents are always welcome to join me).

More important than anything: I think Sweater Thursday needs to come back. Next week? Sweaters, people, sweaters.

Sunday is being a bummer

2009-10-11T13:56:00.000-07:00

I've been busy as heck lately (thus the lack of blogging), and this weekend I've finally had some free time, so I'm trying to alternate between intense relaxation and intense productivity. Yesterday was great in that respect; I curled up on the couch and watched a whole movie without multitasking, went for a walk in the autumn sun, had a burrito, ran some errands, got lots of work done for the class that I teach, finished my (awful awful awful) health insurance application, and sent out my PR stuff about my upcoming performances. Pretty good, right?

This morning I got up and started the day in much the same way. First I watched Benny & Joon on the couch with my cat, and then I left to photocopy the aforementioned insurance application and to get groceries. Copying stuff isn't my favorite, but grocery shopping certainly is.

I'm just going to cut to the chase, because practicing cheers me up and I need to go do that instead. When I pulled into the copy place's parking lot, there was a lady sifting through the dumpster. I'm sure I could write something meant to be poetic about it, but there's really nothing poetic about having to eat garbage. On my way into the store, she came up to me, looked me in the eyes, and very humbly asked if I'd please buy her something to eat.

I said I was sorry with a shrug, and went in to make my copies.

What the heck, Sarah? What the heck.

I started to get queasy standing there by the Xerox. I'm not made of money right now either, but I had just driven 15 blocks to get there instead of walking, and I was headed to Trader Joe's to buy fun groceries afterward. I certainly had enough for a sandwich. She wasn't drunk, she didn't ask for money to buy drugs, she didn't have a cardboard sign by the highway. She was just hungry. When I think about how humiliated I'd feel in her position, having to ask for help...

I finished there and vowed that if I passed her on my way to the store I would stop and buy her something, but she was predictably absent, and I didn't get to right my wrong. Instead of going to Trader Joe's, I headed to Winco, where the groceries are good and cheap and the meth heads buy their occasional snacks with food stamps. I figured if that lady didn't get lunch, I probably didn't deserve to throw money away on jars of curry sauce when the food is fine and healthy without it. Call it grocery survivors' guilt.

I'm very wrapped up in being busy right now, and in my stupid recital and my ego. I miss Sarah the barista. She used to give the old blind woman on the corner free hot chocolate when it was chilly out, and she went mountain biking on the weekends instead of working all-day-every-day.

Pardon my dour outlook while I reassess things. I'm a little sick of myself today.

Dear swine flu

2009-10-05T10:36:00.000-07:00

Dear swine flu,

I would prefer not to contract you. I appear to have survived getting on five planes and a bus in the past week without making your acquaintance (knock on wood), and I'm washing my hands fifty times a day in hopes that I can keep you at bay.

I'm pretty sure that I'm way more likely to expire during my ridiculous commute than I am in a coughing, feverish, swine flu-induced stupor, but just in case, here are several reasons why you shouldn't infect me:

1. I don't eat pigs. That means I'm leaving more pigs for you to infect. Isn't that nice of me? Instead of infecting me, you can infect the four pigs worth of delicious bacon that I won't be ingesting this year.

2. I work constantly, but I earn practically no money. And it's hourly money. That means if you infect me, I can't earn any money and I won't be able to go anywhere to spend that money. I'll be home, not exposing anyone else.

3. My good hygiene means that if you infect me, you probably can't use me as a jumping off point to infect anyone else. Essentially, invading me is like invading a tub of bleach, as far as your future goes.

4. I'm getting a regular flu shot, and maybe a pneumonia shot, so don't go thinking you can sneak into my nose and mutate or anything.

See, swine flu? I'm a very poor candidate for your infestation. You should probably just lock eyes with me from across the room and decide to move along. Oh, and did I mention that last week I went to about a zillion-star restaurant and I passed up the chance to eat face bacon? That's right. Add another pig to the list.

Thanks in advance for not infecting me and trying to cause my premature death! (knock on wood)

Best wishes,
Sarah

Oy vey.

2009-09-21T12:16:00.000-07:00

Where in the world has Sarah been? Everywhere!

Sorry about the lack of blogging, everyone! Work has started back up and has totally defeated my free time. Today, for example, is supposed to be a day when all I do is teach a few lessons at home. Instead I've spent the entire morning typing at a frantic pace, trying to get work done and bills paid and catch up on emails while I actually have time to breathe. Things are so manic that I had to take some Nyquil last night so that I could calm down and sleep for more than four or five hours.

I think I spent about 20 hours just driving, plus all the working. Then yesterday I raced for the cure in the morning, went out to brunch, spent four hours in the car, played a concert, hosted the post-concert talk, and bought groceries. Maybe it doesn't sound like that much, but it was overkill for a Sunday. I miss the days of spending a leisurely morning at Sauvie Island buying produce, and going for a jog at Forest Park. Now I'm lucky if I see the sun and it's not through a window.

So basically I'm just writing now to whine! Geez, you'd think I'd be peppier after the entire box of delicious cookies that I just ate and the turkey bacon and eggs that I had for breakfast! And I love my job, so even if it's busy as heck and I'm poor all the time, I'm still really happy. I just need about a week's worth of naps and good nights' sleep.

Also, yay! It's autumn! My favorite!

I'll try to blog more in the coming weeks. Hope all you lovely readers are doing super!

Movie and a haircut, two bits

2009-08-29T09:12:00.000-07:00

Several fun things have happened over the summer that I still have not gotten around to posting about, so here are two of the more recent ones.

First off, I was an extra when the movie "The Music Within" filmed in Portland a few years back. I still hadn't gotten around to watching it, so last week I Netflixed the heck out of it to look for myself. When we shot it, I was in two scenes, the first of which involved me walking across the park blocks in the background while Ron Livingston's character almost gets hit by a car. I had big Charlie's Angels hair and whipped my head around to look surprised when the tires screeched.

In the second scene, I'm in an office working the phones with another main character (he played Mike, I believe) sitting diagonally behind me. At one point he is rejected by a woman on the phone, and then he turns to me and says, "Hey, that's a nice sweater. What about you? You want to grab some coffee later?"

The important thing about the latter scene is that NO ONE TOLD ME HE WAS TALKING TO ME. And he was sitting behind me, so I just went on with my business, pretending to talk on the phone and occasionally writing things down. It was only when they herded us of the set and people started mockingly complimenting me on my sweater that I figured it out.

So what about the final cut of the film? Scene 1? Cut! Scene 2? The sweater part: cut! All you do see of me is this:

Yeah, that's me on the left. The faaaar left. My Charlie's Angels hair was much flatter by then, and you can't really even see my sweater. Or one side of my face. Let's zoom in for a close-up:

Dear editor: you missed a prime opportunity here. When that other movie I was in is finished someday (which is won't be), I'll be totally famous, and then they could have shown the sweater clip when I'm a guest on Ellen, to embarrass me. That might have attracted people to your movie, which was so contrived and formulaic that only my own vanity kept me watching, but that ship has sailed and that bridge has burned!

Oh yeah, and in other exciting news, I got a haircut! The reason this is relevant is that, well, it's not really, but I had nice hair in the movie, and my hair is much nicer now than it was a week ago, when I hadn't had a haircut since late January.

Better hair!

Basically, this is a totally vain, gratuitous post. I'm going to go repent now by doing the mountain of work that I have to accomplish before I have to start teaching again on Tuesday. I'm also too busy to edit this, so please just read around any typos and poor grammar. High five!

Good freaking heavens

2009-08-29T09:04:00.000-07:00

I hate Twitter and all things Twitter like whoa, but oh my goodness, every time I look at this page (which Mike D showed me) it makes me happy:

http://twitter.com/shitmydadsays

Also? This guy only follows one person on Twitter, and it's Levar Burton. I respect that greatly.

Stranger Danger!

2009-08-22T10:27:00.000-07:00

I've always believed that the best way to learn important life lessons is through songs and puppets. Also, just so you know, bad strangers drive red convertibles and are very obvious about staring longingly at the children.

The dentist fixes everything

2009-08-17T13:06:00.000-07:00

Sunday was kind of lame, so I was really excited to turn things around at my dental cleaning on Monday. Yes, I realize that's a weird thing to say, but I love the dentist A) because I've never had a cavity and I really enjoy hearing all the employees effervesce about my perfect teeth (especially since the rest of my body doesn't always work so well), and B) because my dentist's office is the greatest dentist's office in the world.

Green Apple Dental is referred to on their own site as a "Dental Spa." Let me tell you, all dental offices should be dental spas. To illustrate my point, let me recount my visit:

I arrived fifteen minutes early and sat down in the tranquil waiting room to read a book of inspirational quotes they had on the coffee table. I also had some of the free tea the offered me. After only five minutes, the called me back TEN MINUTES EARLY. They commended me on being early and said they like to be early too. These are my kind of people.

The assistant took my x-rays, which is never the most pleasant thing because of those little buggers on which you have to bite down, but I lightened the mood by making a joke. When she put the heavy x-ray proof vest thing on me, I exclaimed, "Look out boys!" Get it? Because it was ugly! Yay! Moving on...

Then the real fun began. They give you some lavender oil and submerge your hands in a paraffin dip, then wrap them in lavender scented bags. I got the room with the massage chair, and I requested the iPod with Hawaiian music on it, so I was quite happy and tropical. The dentist did my cleaning himself while the assistant ran the water and suction. I was out of there early with nice teeth, some black cherry lip balm, and a goodie bag!

My favorite moment was when I told the dentist about my car. He recommended that while it's being worked on I have them lower it, tint the windows, and put a gross spoiler on the back, with maybe some gang writing on it somewhere. Then no one would mess with my Honda! I replied with, "I could also just put a post-it on the car that says 'I'm a d-bag.' Oh, sorry, that was totally not dentists' office appropriate!" They didn't mind, because they're awesome.

Green Apple Dental? You get two thumbs up and high fives all around!

Sauvie Island with Alicia!

2009-08-17T11:27:00.000-07:00

So first I was frantically getting stuff done in advance of Mike D's visit, and then he was visiting. In other words, I have some catching up to do on the blog.

A couple of weeks ago, Alicia and I ventured out to Sauvie Island to visit the lavender farm. We went to a lavender farm a few years ago when we were on Maui, and this seemed like a great opportunity to relive our Hawaii experience and have some delicious tea.

Ali'i Kula Lavender Farm, Maui

Sauvie's Island is a favorite place of mine because of the pumpkin patch, and the lavender farm was pretty great too. It was much smaller than the one in Hawaii, but it still smelled great, and the landscape around it was beautiful too.

There were several different varieties of lavender, and I definitely had my favorites, as did the bees, who were all over the tiny purple blossoms. Of course, I didn't write down which kind was which, so you'll just have to ask the bees.

When Alicia and I started exploring, we thought we saw an older person off having tea amid the plants. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a fake person, and it was a little creepy. Here Alicia joins the creepy fake person at the table:

Not wanting to be outdone by a scarecrow, we headed to the canopy to get some tea of our own. Alas! The woman running the place said she hadn't brewed any that day, so we were left to explore the shop.

Luckily, the shop was neat. It smelled like heaven, and I managed to pick up some lavender powder for baking and a lavender plant of my own, which is now potted and out on my patio. Fun! There were also these little moths laying eggs, which was cool.

All in all, it was an adorable place! Not quite Hawaii, but oh well. And just for the sake of my own nostalgia, more fun photos from the lavender farm on Maui!

Pretty!

Having tea

Alicia!

Dear Portland...

2009-08-16T17:14:00.000-07:00

I'll admit, I was not so happy with this town today when I realized that someone had tried to jack my beloved car. However, after riding out to the world's nicest mechanic's shop (thanks Paul!) with the world's nicest tow truck driver (thanks Tammy!), talking to the world's friendliest apartment manager about getting my old parking space back in the lot (thanks Scott!), and interacting with two awesome, helpful, sympathetic police officers (thanks Officer Dalberg and the other guy whose name I didn't get!), I love my fair city again. Not only that, but all the niceness cheered me up on a pretty lame day, and I'm really grateful for that.

Ealier, the tow truck driver said, "Man, you're pretty bubbly for someone whose car just got broken into," and I said, "Eh, whatcha gonna do? I just hope he's eating my freakin' Clif Bars somewhere having an epiphony about how to live. Although he could maybe get a nosebleed or something too, that'd be alright. I mean, he shouldn't be totally off the hook."

Also, it was really funny at the grocery store earlier when a cute little girl in line behind me asked her mom, "Mommy, why did Michael Jackson look like a girl?" I turned to her and said, "That's actually a very good question," and we all laughed: the cashier, the mom, the kid, and me.

Cheers to the nice people.

Holy crap, today stinks

2009-08-16T14:24:00.000-07:00

I got up this morning feeling great! Two days of sleeping in after a really amazing week of hanging out with Mike D., and I was anxious to head out and buy some fresh produce at the new farmers' market. I grabbed my shopping list and headed out to the car to get some grocery bags from my trunk.

While grabbing the bags, I noticed that my driver's side door wasn't quite shut. "Aw crap," I thought. "My dome light has probably run my battery down."

Then I noticed it was unlocked.

Then I noticed the stereo was gone.

Also gone? The Clif bars that Mike D. had hidden in my glove compartment for those long drives home from work when I'm about ready to eat my fist. (He's so nice!) Stupid thieves, pilfering my stuff.

I called the cops, filed a report over the phone, and headed off to the farmers' market, determined to pull my day out of the gutter. Turns out the farmers' market was pretty weak, so I shopped at Safeway instead, but it was still a nice walk, and blueberries were totally cheap, so I was feeling good again.

After unpacking my groceries, I decided to suck it up and go get a new stereo, because with all the commuting I do it's not so optional. I found the address for Car Toys and went bounding out to the car, ready to have a fun experience at the store.

Then I tried to put my key in the ignition. The mangled, useless, obliterated ignition. I also saw the wires hanging down under the dashboard.

The cops showed up to amend their report. I was bummed. "That's ok, though, because my deductible is only $200." Nope! My deductible is $200, but for my comprehensive coverage it's $500. What a scam!

Basically, I will be carless for several days and then will be spending several hundred dollars because some crackhead decided to prey upon the musician with the 15 year old car instead of the nice cars around it. This is unfortunate, since I had just finished telling Mike D on the phone that I really like to see the good in humanity.

So! I can either be mad because somebody totally screwed me over, or I can take the high road. I've decided to feel sorry for myself for a little while, but I also feel grateful that whoever it was didn't manage to actually steal my beloved car that gets 40 mpg. I also feel bad for whomever it was who tried to steal it, because to do selfish things like that you have to be a real mess. I hope he gets some help, and I really hope my stereo buys him some food and not some meth. I also feel sorry for him because if somebody came up to me on the street and legitimately talked to me about being hungry, there's a pretty good chance I'd dart into a shop and buy him a hot chocolate or a sandwich. (I've done it before.) He didn't have to steal my stuff.

Save Helvetia!

2009-08-16T10:44:00.000-07:00

Helvetia, Oregon

I suppose everybody has a happy place, and mine is Helvetia, Oregon. It's an area of rolling farmland north of Highway 26 out by Hillsboro, and I've been going there to run for years. Sometimes after a stressful day, I drive out to the Helvetia Tavern for one of their amazing burgers, and it feels like I've just stepped into the past when things were quieter and I didn't feel like I had to check my email every ten seconds. The air is clear and smells like pine, you can hear the crickets, and walking in the front door it feels like you're about to walk into a burger joint somewhere on the side of a snowy mountain.

Helvetia Tavern

It was in Helvetia that I ran my first (and so far, only) half-marathon. It was in Helvetia that we donned our boots and thick coats and kneeled in the mud to saw down a Christmas tree every year. There are berry farms, vineyards, beautiful old churches, and even a lavender farm. My dream has always been to retire up there on a big plot of land, grow Christmas trees and lavender, and open up a little cafe.

Helvetia Vineyard

Helvetia Church

Since my youth, the population of Hillsboro has quadrupled, and a lot of exciting tech companies have set up shop there. Most notable of late is Solar World, which is bringing much-needed green technology jobs into the region. The problem is, now Metro and its three surrounding counties are currently involved in a new process called Urban and Rural Reserves. They are considering designating much of the farmland north of Highway 26 as urban reserves. This means that our agricultural community will fade away as farmland is converted to housing developments. On the other hand, if this area is designated as RURAL reserves, then the farms and amenities of the Helvetia area would be protected for the next 50 years. (from the savehelvetia.org website)

One of the things that makes Oregon great is the use of urban growth boundaries to control sprawl and to keep us surrounded by the green landscape that makes this state special. We Oregonians are people with common sense who love the outdoors and respect nature, and we've spent decades trying to balance nature and business. The urban growth boundary is a fine example of establishing that balance, but if we keep moving these boundaries and building out instead of up, they might as well not be there at all. We won't destroy the economy by maintaining these beautiful rolling hills of farmland, but we will destroy one of the most lovely areas of Washington County if you open this area up to development. In simpler terms, my happy place will be kaput.

Whether out of a personal love for the place or a general understanding of how important it is to maintain areas like these, I urge you to visit http://www.savehelvetia.org/ and help in any way you can. (Note: They're not asking for money! Just testimonials.) And if we win, stop by my cafe 40 years from now for some lavender tea and a scone.

He gets it

2009-07-28T19:18:00.000-07:00

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?... Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.... And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

-Nelson Mandela

healthy living update

2009-07-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

Daily workout lately: Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred DVD

Gained: Three pounds of awesome muscles

Today: Ran for an hour, for the first time in... a long time

Weather: Too freaking hot

Status: I could not possibly be sweatier. I was afraid when I sat in this chair that I would slide off. It's like when you first crawl out of the bathtub, except I can't stop sweating, so contrary to my bathtub scenario, I think I may never dry off.

Status in fewer words: Disgusting, yet fit

Sweat Rorschach of the Day: Lake Michigan

The best wedding ever

2009-07-24T09:08:00.000-07:00

My friend Alexis had this on her Facebook earlier. Awesome:

Also, high five to Alicia for talking me into taking action on my messy patio! It's been so nice out there! I'll bet when it's swelteringly hot again this week, sitting in the shade out there with my iced tea will feel great.

I'll try to get another post up later!

The Boat Race

2009-07-21T11:36:00.000-07:00

We now return to your regularly scheduled band camp flashbacks:

Every summer at the camp where I taught this year, there is a milk carton boat race on the Mill Stream, and every year the faculty come up with an elaborate scheme to cheat. And they lose. Dramatically.

What people are supposed to do is take gallon milk cartons, decorate them, toss them into the stream with everyone else from the platform near the clock tower (far end of the photo below), and see whose floats to the bridge (just to the left of the photo below) the fastest. Simple, right? Nope!

The Mill Stream

In past years the faculty have apparently tried some kind of underwater line to tow the boat (failed), fireworks (failed), and even a remote control boat (failed big). This year, thanks to a 2am internet purchase on the part of David, we ended up with a hovercraft.

You obviously can't legally win with a hovercraft, though, and simply driving the illegal vehicle down the stream wouldn't be anywhere near elaborate or exciting enough, so the plan was to be thus:

Step 1: A decoy milk carton boat is launched with the others. We look legit.

Step 2: "Ride of the Valkyries" is suddenly heard playing in the distance. The hovercraft shoots down a ramp and into the stream. The masses are astounded.

Step 3: The hovercraft swoops in and pushes the milk carton boat to victory.

This would have been great. Unfortunately David's late-night purchase didn't quite turn out like he'd hoped. $45 for a hovercraft seemed to good to be true, and it was. We knew we were in trouble as soon as we read the box's instructions, a fair example of the attention to detail that we would also find within.

The box said the following on the first side:

Game attention: Do not play outdoors during thunderstorms
Handsome appearance; Modern techniques; Radio control
Flat-out most: Let me passing through the fine time with you

Instructions

Side two was equally disconcerting:

1. Please don't place it in following place.
a.nearby strong vibration.
b.in the dusty play.
2. Please do not touch it movement.
3. Please do not clean it case by using.
paint thinner or other chemical materials.
Neuter soap or cleanser as cleaning liquid
is recommendable.
4. Please change the battery once a year.
Exhausted battery may leak and damage your product.

More instructions

The Chinese do a good many things well, but hovercraft manufacturing is arguably not one of them.

We snuck out late one night to test the contraption and see how it would fair by land and by sea. By sea it puttered along succesfully, although definitely not above the water. By land? Nothing. We put it on the sidewalk and it made a fair bit of noise, but motion didn't happen. Then we saw the dirt on the ground. Jamecyn exclaimed, "Oh no, guys! What if this is the dusty play?" Then we made jokes about the dusty play for the rest of camp.

It was apparent that we needed to modify our scheme. New steps were created:

Step 1: Launch decoy milk carton boat.

Step 2: Hovercraft breaks through from inside a larger decoy boat that is also launched. "Ride of the Valkyries" is still played. The masses are still astounded.

Step 3: Hovercraft has magnets mounted to the front, and milk carton decoy has magnets as well. Magnets join and decoy boat is again pushed to victory.

That was the short, idyllic version. Here's what really happened:

First let me take a moment to introduce our players.

Eric and Fletcher, bad boys

Jamecyn and David, devious married couple

Mitch, who wears awesome shirts

And of course you know me since you're on my blog. We all assembled on Sunday afternoon with only five hours between us and the race, and we quickly set to work. David and Jamecyn started in on the hovercraft garage boat, and the other three of us rushed to Fred Meyer for supplies. Most important? Magnets. Most important once we got there? Captain Kirk action figure.

By the end of the afternoon we had one monstrosity of a hovercraft garage manufactured and named the U.S.S. Dusty Play. This was to be known as David's boat. It had a torn t-shirt for a sail, lots of duct tape, and a hidden door at the front which would allow us to launch the hovercraft incognito. It sat on its wire shelf, which would later hold the hovercraft in while it was lowered into the stream.

The U.S.S. Dusty Play

Next we had the decoy milk carton boat, to be know as Jamecyn's, Fletcher's, and mine. It was a Borg Cube, with Capt. Kirk riding aloft. It was awesome.

The Borg Cube

Finally, we had the hovercraft, with its magnetized battering ram.

The hovercraft, our secret weapon

Eric drew up the plan (click on the picture for an enlarged image):

It should be noted that Eric ran around campus all week acting weird and yelling, "Act natural, guys!" Whenever discussing the boat race, or even just making eye contact with one another, in the week beforehand, we put a finger on our (own) noses. A secret code. We were ready.

We look natural, right?

Two quick test runs off-campus revealed that the plan would work, and the gears were set in motion. At dinner that night, David proudly carried his boat up to the microphone, proclaiming that he was going to win, perfectly setting the stage for our mock challenge. Next I took the mic. A student yelled to David as he walked away, "What's inside your boat?" and before he could answer I said, "It's filled with failure." Then I proceeded to challenge him to a boat duel. I was the bad cop. I crossed my fingers and hoped the plan would work so people would realize that though competitive, I'm not really a huge jerk.

I left the dining hall early with a duffel bag containing the hovercraft. There was a drop (known as "The Implant") wherein I left the bag in some foliage outside another building on the way to the launch side. David left dinner carrying his boat on a rack and stopped by the foliage to pick up the hovercraft while I circled, pretending to be on my cell phone and acting as a human shield.

Mitch and Fletcher took their places on the far bank of the stream. Mitch had his valve trombone ready, and Fletcher was armed with the remote control behind his back. How he managed to steer without any visible motion or change in facial expression whatsoever is beyond me. After the Implant, I took my place at their side, Jamecyn and David went to the launch site, and Eric got ready to announce the race from the megaphone. We prepared ourselves for victory.

The boats launched! The Borg Cube stayed in the middle of the pack, but where was the hovercraft? "Ride of the Valkyries" began, and out it came!

It went about six inches, sputtering pathetically, and then it started floatin downstream.

Eric played it cool from the megaphone. "What is that? Is that a hovercraft? David, cheating again!" In the meantime, I raced back and forth along the bank yelling, "Fletcher, forget the cube, just go. GO! Win with the hovercraft! Just GO!" (I have a competition problem.)

The hovercraft floated and sputtered to the end in third or fourth place, the cube finished in the middle, and with some help and mocking, the U.S.S. Dusty Play finished dead last.

Eric made a show out of smashing the offending hovercraft garage, while I pointed and yelled, "For shame, David, for shame!"

Destruction of the U.S.S. Dusty Play

The end of the line

All in all, a fun day was had by all. And next year? We'll win for sure. It's ok, I have a plan.

Never Gonna Give Your Teen Spirit Up

2009-07-20T16:13:00.000-07:00

This fits better and worse at certain parts, but it's worth it just for the dancing. Oh Rick Astley, the dancing!

Also, the hair. And the outfits.

Weekend productivity

2009-07-19T19:41:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been pretty great! Saturday saw some playing-the-flute-for-dollars at a huge church CampFest thing in the southern suburbs. In the interests of respecting people's beliefs, I'm going to keep my opinions to myself, but suffice it to say, having that many like-minded people in any one place always seems creepy to me. (That goes for political conventions and some sporting events, too. Dangerous mob mentalities happen when in the absence of dissenters.) Also, it stunk that I had to bail on a date for fun with Elaine to play the gig, but she's an amazing friend and was very understanding. Hopefully we can do something fun soon!

That pretty much took up my Saturday, because I got the call for it the night before and had to sightread the concert in the morning. Between that stress and the heat, I barely slept, so the only other things I managed to do Saturday were go to Home Depot and buy plants for my patio and plant them in their pots when I got home.

As many of you already know, I love decorating: decorating for parties, decorating my home, decorating cakes and cards and whatever else I can find... Over the past week and a half, I've been hitting Pier One and IKEA and getting some awesome stuff, mostly on sale so cheap that I can hardly believe it. Today Mom came over so we could finish the place up.

The first task was hanging my vertical blinds back up, because the white curtains weren't cutting it, and I've been awake by 6am pretty much every day lately, which is bad for an insomniac who hasn't been falling asleep until 2am (despite going to bed by 11pm...). They're nothing special, especially in this picture, but I have high hopes for what these blinds may do for my sleep pattern. We also cut dowels to fit in the sliding door and window tracks so that no one will rape me or kill me in my sleep when I leave the windows open at night to cool the place down.

Vertical blinds, my hope for the future

Next we hung up the awesome panels I bought at IKEA to go behind my bed. At first I wanted to get a mirror to go up there, but I'm afraid there would be an earthquake and it would fall on me and either crush my head or decapitate me, both of which are bad things. Instead these curtain panels made some attractive (and sturdy) wall art!

Panels, the non-decapitation alternative

On the end of my bed, I placed a new blanket for Groves, and she seems quite pleased with our digs as well.

Happy cat may mean more sleep for Sarah?

Mom and I took a break and had lunch at Lucca, where the funghi pizza is ridiculous in a great way, and then I went home to do more work. Naomi and I also finished fixing up the patio, which was disgusting. It hadn't been cleaned up since long before either of us moved in, and there was some serious nature decomposing back there. Now? I can't wait to head out there in the mornings and read while I have my tea!

This is where I'll be if anyone needs me.

More plants, contributing Oxygen to our world.

After we were all done, I was happy and relieved that the apartment finally really feels like home. Not like a temporary, college student kind of home, but a real home in which functional adults dwell. Eat your heart out, HGTV decorators! Man did I do all this on the cheap, and I think it looks really good. Also, I am now really, really, profoundly exhausted.

BUT! Exhaustion can't keep me down! Neither can the B12 overdose that I got last week. Whoops! I got a weird rash on my face that's now mostly gone, and finally figured out it came from my B12 supplement. The supplement has 50,000% of my recommended daily allowance, and the directions say to take it four to seven days a week. I took it seven, because I'm an overachiever. WTF, supplement people?! Also, I should read the fine print better in the future.

Me, tired but largely rash-free

Since I can't be kept down, I managed to shower and went out to Sapphire Hotel to meet Michelle, with whom I used to work in a mailroom. We laughed so hard that I thought my abdominal muscles might burst, and dined on delicious salads. I've missed her!

Michelle, who is nice and pretty

Now I'm back home and ready to tear into One Hundred Years of Solitude, a book Mike D talked me into reading, although it's been on my list for years anyway. Thanks to everyone who contributed to my fun weekend, and here's to another productive week ahead!

Matty K Gets Married

2009-07-11T19:55:00.000-07:00

We now interrupt Sarah's June Recap for this special report...

Well, the little punk did it. He got married. My friend Matt from high school, who is notably the only person from high school with whom I still hang out, went and got himself married. Luckily, I really like his new wife, which is good, because I'd be pretty bummed if my cool friend ended up with somebody lame.

Matty and I have been tight since senior year, when we shared a table in 1st period Bio-Chem. I remember that it was first period because I was late every single day. Whoops! Then we'd spend the whole period either passing a note back and forth at the table or in the lab doing experiments, which really meant bluffing our way through worksheets while we wore goggles and made crude jokes.

We were jaded, wise to the ways of the world, mutually terrified of commitment. Then our mid-twenties came, and we both sort of got functional, but I guess he got functional first, because today he married one hell of a great girl.

I knew the first time the three of us hung out that he'd marry Ashley. Not only is she stunning, but despite looking glamorous, she's an incredibly sweet, bright, real, down to earth person. And she obviously loves my friend and recognizes how great he is, which make me very happy.

The wedding was held at Cornelius Pass Roadhouse, a great McMenamin's that I think maybe used to be a whorehouse? That makes it sound... interesting, but it's very nice. They rented out the building in the back, and I wish I'd taken some photos of the inside. It's beautiful old wood everywhere, very rustic, and looked really lovely with the white Christmas lights that they'd strung up and the daisies scattered on the floor. Very simple and tasteful, which is good, because I think lavish weddings are pretty gross, and clearly what I think totally matters.

Cornelius Pass Roadhouse

Ashley's a knock-out, but even more impressive than her beauty and her gorgeous wedding dress was her choice of footwear: bright pink Converse. Way to keep it real, girlfriend!

Pink wedding Converse! Holla!

Their vows were nice, and the ceremony was blissfully short. Then it was outside to the tables for some delicious food and good company! Also, there was a receiving line standing between ceremony and tables, and when I gave Matt a hug, he whispered to me, "You're next" in a very foreboding tone.

Since Mike D. was obviously in CT, I went stag to this affair, but I didn't really know anyone there, and I didn't want to be a hermit. I saw another cute brunette girl standing alone and walked up to her.

"You here alone too?" I asked.
"Yep," she replied.
"Me too, I'm Sarah," I said. "Wanna be my date?"
"Sure! I'm Kim."

At least, I think she was Kim? Anyway, whatever, I scored myself a hot date! That's not really my team, but she was fun. And NO, I did not make out with her, male readers of the blog. Actually, she looks vaguely like me. That's weird...

My impromptu date

The food was tasty, the dancing was entertaining, and I loved the cupcakes-instead-of-a-cake. Weddings aren't my thing, but this was all very friendly and real and reflected the couple very well, so high five to them for a great evening!

They're cute!

By the way, did I mention what a freaking attractive couple they make? Look at that! It's ridiculous.

Quit being so adorable!

After all of the fancy clothes and niceness, I was glad to get a more authentic photo of the bride and groom. Then Matt and I reminisced about seeing Zoo and laughed. Oh, the memories...

The real Ashley and Matt.

It was also great to see Matt's parents and his brother (who was in my Spanish class in high school). Congratulations to the newlyweds, and thank you for inviting me to join in the fun on your special day! I left before the bouquet toss, so hopefully it went to some deserving spinster. Why'd I leave early? Another wedding to go to tomorrow, and I need to pace myself. I feel like Hugh Grant circa 1994. Wish me luck!

Connecticut Domesticity

2009-07-11T12:40:00.001-07:00

After my fruitless audition in Boise, I headed to CT for an extended visit with Mike D. While there, he had to work and I had nothing to do but jog and practice, so I magically morphed into Donna Reed.

First I bought some flowers at the grocery store. I think they were Asiatic Lilies? The lily part I'm certain about, but I'm not so good at identifying flowers, despite my previous tenure as a Garden Associate at Home Depot. Anyway, they were lovely, and they would come in very handy later when I made...

Lilies! And they match the kitchen walls!

The birthday cake! I've made spice cake from scratch before, and once there was a flourless dark chocolate cake, but my from-scratch baking experience is minimal in the cake department. When I asked Mike D. what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday, he didn't hesitate for even an instant before informing me that his dad's Chocolate Ganache Cake was his favorite. Armed with the recipe, ingredients, and very little skill, I set to work.

While the cake baked, I covered the walls, ceiling, and staircase with red balloons. I like birthdays! I might have lost control of myself a little, but it was fun...

I didn't get a photo of the cake before we annihilated half of it at the party, but it was delicious. I also made it look pretty by lining the sides with slivered almonds, the top with slices strawberries, and putting one of the above lilies right in the middle of the cake. I even made the frosting from scratch. I have to say, this was the best baking I've done, and it was pretty beautiful. I'm glad it was so well-timed, too, because Vivienne's tomato pies were pretty epic, and I would have felt bad if after all that deliciousness at dinner I'd ruined the dessert.

Ganache cake!

The party was very fun, and board games were played, including the cool one I bought him for his birthday, called Dvonn. This game does not take four hours, nor does it remind me of Risk, so I give it two thumbs up!

Near the end of my trip, I filled a day with some wicked domestic multi-tasking. First I whipped up a turkey loaf, which turned out much better than the last one I made. Lots more flavor this time, and the celery added nice crunch. Also? Gluten-free and dairy-free!

Turkey loaf!

While it was baking, I ventured outside and planted a vegetable and herb garden as a surprise for Mike D. and his housemates. At first it looked a little out of place, so I lined it with rocks that I found in the yard, and I was really happy with it when I finished!

Garden!

Apparently on the way home from work, Mike informed his housemate Sean that I had planted them a garden during the day. (He knew because I called to make sure the spot I'd picked was okay before I ripped up his yard and relocated his trash cans...) Sean apparently said, "I hope it's not lame stuff. I hope it's good stuff like peppers and tomatoes." Oh, snap! That's what I planted! And some herbs to boot.

When I was almost done planting, Mike D.'s housemate Brian came home from work. He just shook his head at me and walked inside. Later he informed me that I was hired. That's right, Sarah T. = domestic goddess. Who'd have ever suspected I would turn into Martha Stewart at the end of my twenties?

I like how Mike's other housemate Kevin's adorable girlfriend Shannon put it: "First there were the feminists who were all about women getting equal rights and good jobs, and now I like to think we're moving beyond that, and the next step is that in the same day you can bake a cake and wear a dress and kick someone's ass." Well said, Shannon, well said!

Dear Portland...

2009-07-08T22:10:00.001-07:00

Dear Portland,

This Cesar Chavez Street thing is stupid. Just thought you should know.

Sincerely,
Sarah

Boise: Cute town, bad audition

2009-07-08T20:54:00.000-07:00

I'm way behind on my blogging, so we now rewind to the end of May. Yes, May. That was the last time I slept in my own bed, in my own room, at my own apartment.

The first stop on my sumemr travel extravaganze was Boise, ID. I hadn't been there since 1993, so it was nice to revisit this cute desert town. Unfortunately, it was for an audition. I hate auditions, but I love trips, so I tried to make the best of my circumstances and enjoy the city.

I flew in the day before the audition, and despite it being May, Boise was rocking temperatures in the 90s. Dry heat, schmy heat-- it was too hot. On the plus side, I had reservations at the Modern Hotel, which is a great place to stay. In a previous life, it was obviously a tacky hotel, but it's amazing what a padded headboard, blue paint, and some cool lighting can do.

Modern Hotel = nice

If they hadn't won me over with the decor, they still could have sealed the deal with the surprise on my pillow. Right there waiting for me was... an Idaho Spud.

They had me at the spud.

Also awesome? The bathroom, complete with a crazy-cool sink and one of those showers that has water coming out of the ceiling like rain. (Note: I took three showers a day while I was there. I blamed the heat, but I mostly just liked the shower...)

Modern bathroom extraordinaire

The modern rainshower inspired me to waste water!

The funniest thing in the room turned out not to be the Idaho Spud, but the information booklet. Idaho has a large Mormon population, and on the dresser? Not the Book of Mormon, the Book of Modern. Ha! Way to pun, hotel!

Book of Modern. Ha!

I really did practice. The picture below is meant to be proof. Look, I had sheet music and everything! And it was in a binder with plastic page covers and color-coded tabs!

I practiced, I swear

I only practiced for... 30 minutes, though. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? Then it was off to walk around in the ridiculous, sweltering heat.

What I didn't expect was Boise to be so green. The hills around the city were dusty and red, but a lovely river runs at the south end of downtown, and its network of trails certainly rivals Portland's waterfront.

Nature!

This brown house was something. I don't know what it was. I'm sure it was very exciting at the time, though.

Brown house!

Next, I stumbled upon a really cool Anne Frank memorial. It had a fountain, and lots of quotes, and I'm saying pretty shallow things about it since it was a month and a half ago, but trust me that it was neat.

Anne Frank Memorial Thing

Anne Frank memorial fountain

Next I walked under a bridge, which isn't that interesting except that I was getting loopy from the heat, and I was overly excited to see some ducks. I asked the ducks (aloud) if I could take their picture. They didn't answer me exactly, but their eyes said yes.

Bridge!

Ducks!

The river was pretty from the other side too. Also, pretty much the same.

More nature!

Even more nature!

On the way back north toward downtown, I got a great view of the hills. If only I'd had longer... They were beckoning, and I really wanted to hike. Stupid audition, ruining my trip...

Hills around the city

By now my flip-flops were chaffing holes into my feet, so I walked around barefoot. People could probably tell I was from Portland, because I'm sure I looked like a dirty hippie. Oh yeah, and I found an Idaho-shaped sign about how some people I've never heard of crossed in a ferry near there. I was forever changed by the knowledge.

Idaho ferry memorial thing

Downtown was cute, and I particularly enjoyed this fountain:

Fountain!

Another favorite spot? Main Street. It appears to be where the cool kids go, and I had some wicked good bento there.

Main Street

Weary from the heat and wanting to rest up for the next day, I returned to the hotel, showered a couple of times, ate my bento, and made quick work of that Idaho Spud. Also? Much HGTV was watched on the flat screen. (!)

Idaho Spud: The After Shot

I didn't win the audition, but I learned a lot about interior design.

The next day? A bad audition, some Middle Eastern food, more walking, some HGTV, and good friends (who were also in town for the audition). Special thanks to Elise and Catherine for being fun! I hope to make it back to Boise sometime to enjoy the great outdoors and NOT bring my flute.

(Note: I'm tempted to describe the audition, which was a horrific experience, but I'm choosing to keep it positive. Yay Boise! Suffice it to say, a waiting area full of nervous musicians who don't want to talk about anything but auditions is my definition of hell...)

The return...

2009-07-08T10:43:00.000-07:00

I'm back! I'm still not back at home, sleeping in my own bed, but at least I'm within 30 miles of it and have been reunited with the computer. Starting tonight? Fun blogs to catch you all up on the past nearly-six weeks of insanity. Get excited and stay tuned!

I'm still alive!

2009-06-23T21:21:00.000-07:00

I'm just at band camp. Yes, I'm at band camp. I'm convinced it's not lame, though, because I'm gainfully employed at the band camp as a faculty member. Basically I hang out with fun middle school and high school kids all day playing music and stuffing myself in the cafeteria. (All-you-can-eat will be the end of me...)

I'm having a great time, but it's quite difficult to get in any quality internet time, since I have nothing in my room but a bed and my suitcase of stuff: no internet, no radio, no TV, no anything. I just get the occasional few minutes to sneak across campus to my office (since the campus is at the college where I teach) and check email on my computer there. Other than that, my free time is spent on evil-doings, such as our secret plan to cheat at the camp boat race on the creek, and digesting the three desserts I ate at dinner.

Only a week and a half until my actual vacation will begin, and until then hang in there, kind readers! I'm sure I'll have plenty of inane stories for you soon.

Adventures in Connecticut

2009-06-10T12:49:00.000-07:00

I'm only halfway through my awesome Connecticut adventure --have those words ever been put together before?-- and I've already packed in a ton of fun stuff. There's been lots of delicious food, including the best hamburger I've ever eaten at West Hartford eatery Plan B, and return trips to It's Only Natural and Tacos Mi Nacho. We also went for a beautiful walk through a wooded area that was unfortunately filled with mosquitoes wanting to eat Mike D, and I've done some kung fu watching, some reading at a really amazing park, plenty of practicing, and a fair bit of jogging.

Last weekend I attended Mike D's graduation, where Rensselaer awarded him his MBA.* Not only is that totally awesome, but I had a really great time hanging out with his parents and his sister Theresa. His mom and I happened to be wearing identical shoes, so there was plenty of fun to be had from repeatedly commenting on our good taste. Epic high five to my favorite recent graduate for being totally wonderful and finishing something really amazing! Oh yeah, and he earned his advanced brown belt in kung fu last week too, so I'm pretty much just watching a steady stream of remarkable accomplishments from Mike D on this trip.

Another highlight thus far was our trip to the climbing gym on Monday. I almost can't type about how great it was, because every muscle in my body still aches and I want to do nothing but lie prone until the hurting stops, but holy moly, before the pain set in it was pretty much the most exciting thing in the world. I went once with Alicia several years back, when I was at the peak of my fear of heights, and I was really bad at it. Last time I visited CT I did much better and pulled one particularly sweet move, but I still wasn't great and only succeeded on a couple of 5.5s and maybe a 5.6. This week consituted my third climbing excursion, and I'm proud to say I made it up a 5.8! Woohoo! The bottom of the climb was really hard, but I got creative and climbed the first bit-- it was in a corner-- with my back to the wall, and that did the trick. It felt really good, because I used to get stubborn about accomplishing things all the time, and my twenties have seen my dedication slide quite a bit. I think I'm finally getting my mojo back.

In store for the coming days? Last week we finished watching the Firefly series on Hulu, so tonight it's Serenity at Vivienne's on her gigantic TV. Tomorrow is a picnic lunch, some more kung fu watching, and dinner out on the town, where I will test out one of my new dresses (yay!). I'm not exactly sure what we're doing this weekend, but I'm sure it'll be really fun!

*He got an MBA from the school, whereas I can hardly spell the name of it...

Awesome.

2009-06-03T07:14:00.000-07:00

Total Eclipse of the Heart is my new favorite karaoke song, but I had no idea about the video. Whoa. I'm glad someone did this, because it needed to be done, but I'd like to think I could have sung it better...

Where's Sarah?

2009-06-02T06:42:00.000-07:00

I should get a red and white striped shirt and let you all try to locate me in a giant photograph, because I'm pretty much all over the place right now. I spent this past weekend in Boise at an audition, which I didn't win. Normally not-winning is my least favorite thing, but on this occasion I'm cool with it. I don't think that was the right job for me.

Anyway, Boise's cute and there are photos to come whenever I can beg/borrow/steal a chord to link my camera up to the computer. Getting back to Portland from Boise was a bit of a pain, as my one hour flight home was canceled, followed by a five hour wait in the airport and a connection through Spokane. Stupid flying.

I was at my mom's long enough to pack a bigger suitcase and spend one night of quality sleeping time with my cat, and then it was back to the airport and off to Connecticut. Thankfully, yesterday's trip to CT was totally fine and I got in right on time. I also finished a really great book, The Time Traveler's Wife, which I highly recommend. I do not recommend reading it on a plane full of people, though, especially if you're a sappy, sappy crier like me. Oh goodness, it's a good thing I have long hair to shield my over-sensitivity from the other passengers.

I flew into Providence, because it was way cheaper, and Mike D was nice enough to come pick me up. We had a delicious dinner with his cool sister Theresa and then drove back to CT last night. I'm now adjusting to my third time zone in three days, so I'm a little disoriented, but I'm really glad to be here and am looking forward to 2 1/2 weeks of awesome times, including some Firefly watching, board game playing, graduation attending, jogging, practicing, and maybe even some sleeping, once I adjust to the time zone. Hooray for vacation!

Anatomy of an Audition, part II

2009-05-30T10:58:00.000-07:00

1. If they say we're allowed into the building to warm up starting at 8:30am, I will be there waiting when they open the door at 8:30am. I only need 15 minutes to warm up, and they aren't drawing numbers until 9:30am, but I am compulsively early for everything.

2. I will warm up for 15 minutes and then wish I weren't there for the next hour (because they will run late anyway). Make that the next several hours.

3. They'll draw numbers and we'll all stare at each other with envy. Ooooh, she got my lucky number, and that brat gets to go at the end, and ha! that loser has to go first. Sucker!

4. I'll end up stuck in the giant cattle corral of a warm-up room trying to read my book while surrounded by a cacophony of flutists playing every excerpt as loudly as they can. They will run through their full-range chromatic scales incessantly as though that's going to help them in any way. There will also be at least one meek looking girl playing everything with a metronome, probably very out of tune.

5. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ONE, THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE. There will be a group of people, with one girl as their noble leader. Most of them will have gone to school in NY, and they go to every audition in the country. They will talk incessantly about the flute as follows:

"Hi, you look familiar. Were you in the semi-finals with me in LA?"
"No, I didn't advance in LA. Billy Jean won that, right?"
"Yeah, and they only put three people in the finals."
"The didn't take anybody from the afternoon. They cut Peter and the Wolf from the list and then barely listened to us. They'd obviously decided ahead of time not to put anyone else through."
"Billy Jean sounds great-- she has a Lafin headjoint on a Brannen. I hear the waitlist for them is up to eight months now. What kind of flute do you have?"

Then a discussion on gear that will last for the entire day ensues, interrupted only by more discussion of who won what job and who studies where and with whom. This makes me madder than anything in the world. Whenever anyone introduces themselves, I really want to get right in their faces and yell, "I'm Sarah, but you don't want to talk to me, because I have OTHER HOBBIES."

5. Everything will run ridiculously slowly, and everyone around me will practice non-stop, as though if they didn't learn everything in the past six weeks, they're going to learn it now, surrounded by other flute players an hour before the audition.

6. Everyone will have really expensive instruments, and mine is not so great and the keys won't seal for more than a couple of weeks after each repair, so I'll leave feeling sorry for myself because I can't afford a nice flute.

7. I won't win. Like this time, when I didn't win. (Usually I advance, though, and this time I was cut after prelims-- lame!)

Auditions stink.

(Other than that my life is great though, so don't cry for me, Argentina. I'm going to change out of these formal clothes and get myself out in the sunshine!)

Anatomy of an audition

2009-05-27T15:17:00.000-07:00

Step 1: Panic and self-loathing
For one to two weeks prior to the audition, it is important to simultaneously think I am naturally the greatest flutist to ever live, and think I am a total failure who has frittered away my twenties and forfeited any right I had to a successful career. Basically, I could have been the best, but instead I am a slacker and didn't live up to my potential. Second place is first loser.

Step 2: Ignoring positive reinforcement
Next, play my orchestral excerpts for friends and family, who will give me some minor feedback but mostly tell me I'm great, because that's what nice people do. Then I can play devil's advocate and make everyone uncomfortable by telling them why they're wrong and I'm actually quite a miserable, ineffective human being.

Step 3: Shopping
Avoid practicing and any kind of self-analysis by buying clothes and eating cake, if I have cake. Hopefully I have cake.

Step 4: Harumph
Get really grumpy and decide I don't want to talk to anyone. No one will know that I'm even grumpy, though, because I don't like to be rude or troublesome, so externally everything will look like I'm fine and just a little tightly wound.

Step 5: Be charming
I try to be really nice and fun in the warm-up room so that everyone likes me, because I'll inevitably be rejected by the orchestra, but at least their personnel manager will think I was delightful.

Step 6: Play really well at first and then eff something up in a huge way
Pretty self-explanatory. I'll play well for a while, realize I have a chance at winning, freak out, and screw up. Usually by then the panel is on my side because I played so well at the beginning, so sometimes they'll let me try the thing I screwed up two, even three times. 1/3 of the time I'll fix it; the other 2/3 of the time I'll screw it up worse each consecutive time as I panic more. This all occurs with zero elevation of heart rate or sweating, because I take beta-blockers that give me the emotional response of a sociopath.

Step 7: Go home and swear I'm never doing this again.
Then do it again.

This makes me inexplicably happy

2009-05-26T09:02:00.000-07:00

Long weekend adventures

2009-05-26T08:19:00.000-07:00

Happy post-Memorial Day short week, everybody! I hope all you lovely readers enjoyed a fun weekend out in the sun! I couldn't have asked for a much better time than I've had these past few days.

The weekend started out far from great. In fact, I'd say it began ominously, when some creep left this on our doormat:

This guy apparently doesn't know about saying things with a Hallmark card.

That's right, it's porn. Porn and condom wrappers and his phone number. Gross. So gross and creepy, in fact, that I slept with a knife by my bed just in case the perv in question had any bigger ideas in mind, like breaking and entering.

Other than that, though, it was a great weekend. I got to hang out with my buddy Matt, I played a fun concert, and best of all, my cousin Gretchen and her family came down Saturday and we had a pretty awesome day of Saturday Market, shopping, the arcade, and Thai food.

At Wunderland (the arcade), I pretty much dominated. I won Gretchen's son Tristan almost 600 tickets, with which he was able to purchase a gumball machine, a whoopie cushion, a paratrooper guy, some candy, an airplane glider, and a few plastic army men. I also totally defeated Tristan at air hockey-- to heck with letting kids win-- and summarily lost the car racing game. (Insert Mike D's comment about my driving here).

Wunderland, where a nickel can buy you joy

There were also a few delicious chocolate shots at Cacao (thanks Alicia!) and a few lovely jogs in the beautiful weather, although they were shorter than usual because I'm stupid and injured myself with a sustained downhill sprint at Forest Park last week. All in all, Memorial Day weekend was a huge success!

Now it's on to two days of intense practicing, a concert, going to a play with Alicia, and packing, and then I'm off to start the first leg of my journey, "Two Days at Mom's House." Then it's off to "48 Hours of Boise Audition Madness," and then "Two and a Half Weeks of Connecticut Time," featuring Mike D. Summer '09 is awesome.

Self-congratulatory recipe non-rant

2009-05-19T13:56:00.000-07:00

I am now blogging to congratulate myself for making one of the top five most delicious things I've ever cooked: pumpkin curry!

Here's what I used:

olive oil

1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 1/2 cups red lentils
1 box of vegetable stock

1 can of pumpkin pie filling

1 can chickpeas, drained
2 green peppers, chopped in big chunks
1 hot green chile, minced

1 medium dump (I don't measure stuff much...) of curry powder
salt and pepper
cilantro!

I cooked up the first three ingredients, then loaded in the lentils and stock and simmered it until they softened. Then I put everything else in and simmered it some more. (This was not very hard.)

The result? Delicious! So delicious, in fact, that I tried to take a picture of it but ate it first:

Then I took a picture of the rest in the pot, but that looked gross.

Finally, I caved and filled another bowl so that you readers can see how delectable it is served over quinoa with the cilantro on top. Yum! (And now I will eat this too, because it's too good to resist.)

I highly recommend this to anyone who likes curry! By the way, being on vacation rules. I'm glad I stopped feeling guilty about taking some time to enjoy jogging and cooking and cleaning and sleeping and spending time with friends. Apparently, basic life functions and pleasures can be productive too-- who knew???

Really, Portland? Really?!

2009-05-19T11:17:00.000-07:00

Dear readers,

I try not to rant about politics and society on here too often, but sometimes I can't help myself. This is me ranting. If you don't enjoy it, please just skip reading this post and come back again tomorrow, when I'm sure I'll wax poetic about how great Star Trek is or complain about my left quadricep, which feels like I may have ripped it in half.

Thanks!
Sarah

I've been trying to understand what the heck Oregonians' deal is for the past month or so, and I just don't get it. Our unemployment rate has doubled in the past year and is now at 12%. We're the second worst state to Michigan. That means Ohio is a better place to find a job. (Let's review why that's depressing. Perhaps it should say "At least we're not Portland" at the end...)

What's puzzling about this is that our poor legislators are freaking out over the airwaves on a daily basis while they try to figure out how to balance the budget, and our governor is talking about how to bring jobs here, but in daily life people's level of concern seems to be about a 4 here, when I think at least a 7 would be justified.

I think the problem is that I'm mostly around 20-40 year olds, and once again Leslie's hit the nail on the head with her linkage. Click to read a really great summation of the problem.

Now, here's the deal: truckloads (or should I say Prius-loads?) of over-educated hipsters keep moving here without jobs lined up. Some of these people are my friends, and I love them and think they're wonderful people who contribute a lot to this town, but a lot of other Portland transplants are lazy drains on society and use food stamp money to purchase exotic cheeses and $20 bottles of organic hemp soap. (Note: I like gorgonzola and detoxification too, but I have a job.) I promise you, it's true. They make scant money, and what little they do have, they spend on cigarettes, coffee, booze, and seeing shows. (Another note: all the organic soap in the world won't detoxify you when you drink and smoke several times a week.)

I'm a live and let live girl, and I really don't care what these people do with their own lives. They're totally entitled to their lifestyle. What is not okay with me is that no one seems to be giving them their share of the blame for Portland's woes.

When people migrate here and spend lots of money they don't have on food, coffee, and booze, our economy builds up around those things. We end up with an awesome city becoming what seems to be even more awesome because there are three coffee shops per block and amazing restaurants around every corner. There's not enough industry to provide jobs for the influx of people who love to dine out, and they're not starting up manufacturing companies and the like, so the only jobs they can get are at the places where they themselves dine out.

And then the economy tanks, and people run out of the money they had and the money they never had, and guess what closes?

The lessons in this are many, but here are a few of them as I see it:

-If we as a culture spend money on the wrong things, we set ourselves up for disaster. If all of these people donated their cigarette and going-out-for-coffee-every-day money to a fund, I'll bet we'd all have health care instead. We all think of our democracy as being run by our votes, but our dollars cast a much more important ballot, and every time you reach into your wallet, you tell both business and government what you want society's priorities to be. Right now our priorities are disheartening.

- If you'd like to move to a city with a bad job market, try and get a job lined up there first. If you fail it's a good sign that it'll be hard when you get there too, so don't move there. You just take the few jobs that exist from the people who already live there.

-You can be a member of the "creative class" and still refuse to be a drain on society.

- There is not now, nor will there ever be, economic certainty, but it is a heck of a lot better to build your economy on creating something tangible than on schlepping luxury items and meals. Get this state more manufacturing jobs, darn it! (And yes, I know Detroit appears to contradict this, but their problem isn't that people don't want cars anymore, it's that people don't want *their* cars anymore. Lack of the ability to foresee consumer trends and to behave in a reponsible way should mean you're not economically viable, even if it stinks for all the poor employees who are going down with their companies.)

In the article linked to above, our mayor (whom I have previously defended) says, "I'm hopeful people will stick around," says Portland mayor Sam Adams. "Even if they come to my city without a job, it is still an economic plus." I disagree. I far prefer the philosophy of former Gov. Tom McCall, who famously said, "Come visit us again and again. This is a state of excitement. But for heaven's sake, don't come here to live."

Perhaps some will argue that I'm a hypocrite. I don't make a huge amount of money, and I'm a member of the "creative class," but I managed to sock away 20% of my income this year. I also go out a couple of times a week, but nine times out of ten it's for $4.50 gigantic, healthy burritos that feed me for two meals, and frankly if my dollars are voting for more inexpensive, quality burritos to be made available to the public, I think that's money well spent. I commute quite far to work, but I get over 40 mpg and would take the train if there was one. (This is obviously the paragraph where I rationalize.)

Our generation is getting a bad reputation, and I think we deserve it, so let's step it up a notch and be more reponsible, ok? And now, ladies and gentleman, I'm going to go make myself some pumpkin curry, from scratch, with cheap ingredients that I bought at the grocery store. Pack a lunch, pay the extra $2 a month for wind power on your electric bill, and save our state, wouldya?

Update: Two more Oregon things that annoy me: the kicker is DUMB, and we should have a sales tax instead of ridiculous income taxes. Don't be dumb, Oregon!

Vitamin D hath healed me

2009-05-16T17:22:00.000-07:00

Today was a very, very good day right from the start, when I looked out my window this morning to find gorgeous blue sky as far as the eye could see. Add in a delicious breakfast smoothie (mango juice, banana, blackberries, protein powder, and cinnamon) and a sundress, and I was destined for success before I ever left the house.

I was scheduled to meet my friend Leslie for tea at Tao of Tea (my new favorite place) at 10am, BUT! They don't open until 11am, so we headed for Dragonfly Coffee House (my standby favorite place). There, Leslie treated me to a Mate Chai with soy milk and a date bar, and she dined on an Americano and a date bar.

Dragonfly Coffee House rules. I borrowed this pic from the internets.

Two hours of excellent conversation and fun times ensued, including the following highlights:

Leslie informed me that someone from my former place of employment who used to have a crush on me still mentions me, a year and a half after I quit working there. This is not someone who ever, ever had a chance. She also reminded me that this same gentleman once offered to be my "flupie" (i.e. "flute groupie") once when he had me cornered in the elevator. I believe my response was, "Oh good Lord."

L: I read something about a study that followed people at 7 years old and then every seven years after that, where they would ask the kids what they wanted to be when they grew up and then track what they ended up doing over the years. I remember the kids being pretty right about their futures.
S: Huh. Then why aren't we drowning in firemen and ballerinas?

A gentleman tugged the women's restroom door open on a woman who was in there using the facilities. I'm not sure how the picture of a woman in a boat on the door failed to clue him in. The woman inside was not amused, but the accidental peeper laughed uproariously for several minutes.

After that I headed to Za Zen boutique on SE Belmont. I learned about this awesome shop at their Saturday Market booth a few weeks back; it's extremely inexpensive, and the clothes are very stylish. It's also obviously local, and I'm all about buying local with the economy tanking. On this trip I picked up two skirts, my new favorite shirt in the whole world, and some leggings, and it only cost me about $60.

A few more hours of walking in the sun, some practicing, and one very healthy burrito later, and I'm mildly sunburnt but happy as could be. Today actually felt like the weekend, which almost never happens for me. And tonight? A closet purge of epic proportions, in which I discard all of the old summer clothes that make me look like a 16 year old hoochie who shops at Old Navy. That is, assuming I can stay awake...

Note: I've linked to the places I went today above, and I highly encourage my Portland friends to check them out. If you're going to spend money, please make the extra effort to spend it at local businesses when you can!

healthy living update

2009-05-15T11:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday: Ran four miles, including two miles of sprints at the track

Today: Ran seven miles in under an hour

Smoothie: Mango juice, banana, orange, frozen blackberries and spinach, cinnamon, vanilla protein powder (YUM!)

Sweat Rorschach of the Day: An equals sign; my perspiration believes in the same rights for everyone

Feeling: Excellent

Plans for the day: Thank You cards in the sunshine, teaching, rehearsal, practicing; I am being productive while absorbing Vitamin D

awesome stuff

2009-05-13T13:54:00.001-07:00

Now that I am done with my main teaching gig until late August, I've begun organizing myself and my stuff. To do that, I got more stuff. Hopefully when I'm done using the new stuff to organize the old stuff, I'll sift through the old stuff and take some of it to Goodwill, so that others can buy more stuff themselves and then have to organize it. I call it Sarah's Stuff Stimulus Plan. I'll pretty much fix the economy singlehanded.

My first purchase was a rack to hold my necklaces. They've been getting hopelessly knotted and tangled in my jewelry box, so I hunted the deep recesses of etsy. com and found this gem. It's a bit hard to see in the glare, but each spiral holds a necklace, and my jewelry is now very artistically organized!

Jewelry rack or modern art? You decide.

Next came the flute bag. I tend to have motivation issues when it comes to practicing, in that it's feast or famine with me. Three hours a day of practicing for a week or two, then zero (and I mean zero) practicing for a month or two. I've settled into a good 1 1/2 a day this week, and that seems to be going better. I'm efficient enough with my time that I can get everything done that fast, and I don't burn out or have my whole day taken up. Hopefully it'll stick.

Anyway, to help get myself excited about practicing, I got a new flute bag. It's hard to believe words like "awesome" could be attributed to something as geeky and functional as a flute bag, but this one has a secret compartment. A freaking SECRET COMPARTMENT.

It looks innocent enough, but... what's that on the right?

Secret flute compartment! Oh yeah!

My first two days of vacation have been super. Not only am I enjoying my new stuff and organization, but I just had some delicious homemade burritos with Alicia, and before that I took a bubble bath and spent some quality time with my cat. Tonight? One private student, and then I'm cooking "Apricot Bulghur Pilaf" for dinner. Oh Moosewood cookbook, you are so good to me.

Grover, the best cat ever, who I get to see now that I don't work 80 hours a week.

Sunday success

2009-05-10T20:32:00.000-07:00

Today was great! Fueled by my intense Star Trek movie experience of last night, I woke up ready to rock Sunday for the win.

First stop? Trader Joe's to get Mom some flowers. While there, I also picked up groceries for the vegan baking adventure that was to come shortly. At Mom's, we grilled burgers of both the turkey and beef persuasions and watched Doubt. I've been fortunate to watch two amazing movies in less than 24 hours, and Doubt was quite exciting because I saw the play last year at Portland Center Stage. **Minor spoiler alert** After the play I was totally convinced of the priest's innocence, and after the movie I was totally convinced of his guilt, so that's given me plenty to think about. I wonder how much of that has to do with decisions the actors and director made, and how much has to do with the fact that the guy who played the priest at the theater last year was about 15 years younger than Phillip Seymour Hoffman and incredibly attractive. (Also, those two facts mean to me he looked less like a pedofile...)

After Mom's I headed off to a meeting for the summer music camp at which I'm teaching this year. It promises to be a great experience, because the faculty, administrators and counselors all seem really fun, and I even got to see a friend from youth orchestra who I hadn't see in ten years at the meeting.

My evening has concluded with lots of preparations for tomorrow, including the aforementioned vegan bake-fest. Whenever my flute students and/or aural skills class have to do something lame, outside their normal schedule, or really hard, I bake them something. There's a vegan in the AS class, so I made some delicious vegan chocolate cupcakes. Secret ingredient? Avocado! I made 36 cupcakes and loaded them into the car since I thought it would keep them cooler overnight than my kitchen counter would. This is what my back seat looks like now:

Actually, this backseat pretty much sums me up: chocolate cupcakes, emergency rainjacket and sneakers for spontaneous hikes, sheet music, and a towel to wipe off the windows in the morning because it's Oregon and everything is always wet.

And now, kids, it's off to bed, even though it's not yet 9pm. Why? Because I have to get up at 4:45am tomorrow. In better news, after giving a final and hearing three hours of juries, I will be off for the summer (save calculating and posting grades). Tuesday marks the beginning of my return to humanity, and three weeks from tomorrow I arrive in Connecticut for two and a half weeks of fun. Hooray-- I conquered the year!

Oh wow, it was so awesome

2009-05-09T22:53:00.001-07:00

I saw it. I saw it and I loved it and if I died right now, I would expire knowing that I had seen what I came for. (I'm so excited that I just let myself end that sentence with a preposition!)

I won't spoil any of the film for those who have yet to see it, but holy moly. Just go see it, okay? And take everyone you know, and try to see it on an IMAX screen. I wouldn't recommend sitting in the third row, though, because I thought I was maybe going to throw up the entire box of cookie dough bites that I ate before the previews were over. Apparently the third row is close enough for some motion sickness.

We only sat there for the first half of the film, though, because then the theater was evacuated. Seriously. All 18 movies worth of audience members shuffled out and across the street for about 20 minutes, and then someone somewhere decided that the emergency was over, and then we herded back in. I was okay with the intermission, because it gave me a chance to use the lavatory without missing any of the movie, but Elaine and I decided it was a conspiracy caused by Star Wars fans who must have called in a bomb threat or something. Our extended intermission should henceforth be referred to as the Chewbacca Conspiracy.

Upon reentry, though, our crappy seats were taken, so we sat in the middle about halfway up, which was awesome. It took about ten more minutes to get the projector fired up, and while we waited I came up with a zinger:

"They'd better fix this fast, because they're messing with the wrong folks. This room is full of Trekkies who will all go home to our parents' basements tonight and write very strongly worded letters."

It was funnier at the time. Really, all the people around us laughed.

Anyway, I got home 40 minutes later than planned, but WOW was it worth it. Star Trek became 1000 times more awesome tonight, and that's 1000 times more than infinity, so that's a lot. Go see it!

Today is the day

2009-05-09T11:58:00.000-07:00

TREK.

That's what I'll be seeing tonight. Mmmhmmm. We are T minus 7 hours. Also, I must keep this short, because I just ran seven miles and I'm fairly drenched right now. That's not because I ran that hard, but because I ran medium and it's actually sunny out! My lovely river loop was extra lovely today, and now I'm home and in need of a very thorough shower.

After that it's three hours of practicing and a journey out to Elaine's, where we'll be sharing a little dinner and getting ridiculously excited for...

TREK.

I'll report back, probably in what will be a giddy post using a lot of exclamation marks. Saturday, May 9th is a win.

Wow, I stink at this

2009-05-07T10:16:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody!

You may have noticed that I haven't blogged in quite a while. Whoops! If it's any consolation, my absence hasn't been caused by a lack of affection for you, my loyal readers. It's best described through a conversation I had with my (awesome) roommate a few weeks ago:

Me: Oh man, I really want a burrito.
Naomi: You should just go get one.
Me: Yeah, I don't have the energy to cook dinner this late. Stupid 80 hour workweek.
Naomi: Just go get the burrito.
Me: Yeah, I should. I hope it's not all crowded. Sometimes it's crazy in there at this time on a Friday night.
Naomi: *blank stare*
Me: Did I miss something?
Naomi: It's busy on Friday nights, huh?
Me: Yeah... and today's Sunday. Holy crap.
Naomi: Yep.
Me: Holy crap, I thought it was Friday because tomorrow I work six hours instead of 15. I need a burrito.

BUT! Tuesday was the last day of classes, and I am totally stoked about being less busy now. I still have three more gig weeks with three different orchestras, and a final to give, and juries to hear, and grades to calculate, and an article to write, and an audition at the end of the month. (This list was supposed to make me feel better... Fail.) I'm pretty excited about not commuting to work for over an hour each way for the next few months, though, and someday the weather will theoretically get nice and I can do my favorite things, like go buy produce at Sauvie Island and hike.

I've been running quite a bit, too. I had a 24 mile week last week (which included only four days of running, so that's pretty good), and this week is sucking because Oregon needs to stop it with the freaking precipitation, but I just had some green tea and am about to strap on the ol' Asics and hit the sidewalks.

Also, Saturday I am going to the Star Trek movie at the IMAX theater, which pretty much puts this week in the "win" column no matter what. I remain unable to locate an Uhura dress, but I will have pointed ears, if the plan works out.

So, in short: I have returned. And as an "I'm sorry for my extended absence" gesture, I now present you with my new favorite video, an awesome Cleveland tourism video care of Leslie. I used to live there (or, well, Oberlin, which is close by), and I can state for fact that everything this man sings is true:

Total injustice

2009-04-24T22:36:00.000-07:00

Oh Hollywood, you tease.

On May 8th (but really May 7th) the Star Trek movie comes out, and you'd better believe I'll be seeing it. In costume.

I've been searching high and low for the right outfit, and around every corner lies disappointment. In this case, disappointment looks like a Voyager uniform. Where's my Uhura mini-dress, hmmm? What sick meanie decided to stop selling them right before the most important event of the 21st century?

My only conclusion is that they assume no woman with legs that should be seen by the world would ever buy a Star Trek costume, but I'm here to tell you that NO, post-Gene Roddenberry losers running things, halting production of these oh-so-hot-and-trampy dresses is NOT COOL. I would also totally settle for a Counselor Troi mini-dress like the one she wore in "Encounter at Far Point." In fact, that might be my number one choice.

Counselor Troi works it.

Star Trek business people, I beg you, on behalf of all young Trekkie ladies with nice gams (so, my friend Elaine and me), bring back our unis!

This makes me miss my cat.

2009-04-19T14:29:00.001-07:00

I don't know how I'd never seen this before, but holy crap, this is pretty much the sweetest video ever, even with the Whitney Houston. (Especially with the Whitney Houston?)

Eats, east coast style

2009-04-12T21:49:00.000-07:00

And now, the much anticipated food blog, circa three weeks ago!

The last week of March, I went to Connecticut to hang out with Mike D. As you all know, I need burritos at least once a week to maintain my Buddha Zone. Burrito eating = Buddha Zone. Lack of burrito eating = fairly constant flow of complaints about life.

Connecticut doesn't quite have the same abundance of burrito places that Oregon does, but near the end of my trip we hit the motherload. I had cooked us chicken enchiladas verdes and my almost-vegan taco salad a few days prior to tide us over, but at that point I needed a burrito like whoa. I have no before photos, but usually when it's past time for a burrito, I look something like this:

Mike D's friend Shamus had driven by a Mexican place not too long before and had told him about it and its epic name... wait for it... Tacos mi Nacho. That's right, Tacos mi Nacho. And it's owned by people who speak Spanish but maybe think "tacos" is a verb, or else they're just really freakin' rad. Or else they heard the old "Leggo my Eggo" commercials and thought they could do it one better.

Right away I was excited, because the sign confirmed that an abundance of Mexican food deliciousness was in store. They even had menudo, which I thought was Ricky Martin's old boy band, but indeed it's a pretty disgusting sounding soupy concoction with tripe in it.

From the outside, this was an inauspicious looking establishment, sandwiched into a tiny strip mall next to a convenience store, which you can sort of make out over Mike D.'s left shoulder. Actually, his right shoulder, on our left. Whatever.

We entered and found divy booths and amazing smells, which as far as I'm concerned is perfection for a burrito place. We both ordered... burritos! Mike D. went with the chorizo, and I kept it calm and ordered me some pollo. While waiting for them to arrive, we were treated to free chips and not just one variety of salsa, but three salsas and a guacamole. Good work, TMN!

When our burritos arrived, they were ginormous, as any good burrito should be. They also were very authentic and SO DELICIOUS. My attitude quickly went from the above to the below:

Mike D. put his chorizo in its place and sat back to revel in the burrito contentment while I whittled away at tortilla and filling alike.

Tacos mi Nacho? You can taco our nachos anytime.

But that's not all! A few days before, I enjoyed a lunch with my old friend Stevi, the most awesome bassoonist on earth and a generally amazing gal in every way. I feel very lucky to have yet another remarkable friend whose super attitude toward life and really fun, caring personality made for a totally great lunch date even after we hadn't seen each other in... 4 years?! Too long!

Stevi and I dined at another fabulous Connecticut eatery, It's Only Natural, in the adorable hamlet of Middletown. If you ever come within 100 miles of this place, make the effort to go there and I promise you won't be dissapointed. That was perhaps the second most gratifying meal out that I've ever had (after Andina, which is heaven on earth).

Stevi had the soba and I got some rockin' BBQ tempeh, and then? Dessert. Serious dessert. In a brilliant move, Stevi snagged some carrot cake.

I probably should have gotten carrot cake too, but I've been on a chocolate binge for about a month now, and when I saw dark chocolate quinoa cake (?!) on the menu, I knew I had to have it.

It wasn't grainy at all-- just smooth like fudge and drizzled with raspberry sauce. ION? High five!

Thanks to Mike D. and Stevi for these excellent food adventures! The food was amazing, but pales in comparison to the company. Stay tuned for upcoming trips to Boise and back to CT, where I'm sure more epic fooding will occur!

Post-run update

2009-04-06T09:09:00.001-07:00

Status: Sore, but still walking

Nose: Completely dominated by pollen that is trying to break me

Feet: Three blisters, one of them completely raw and oozing, so now covered with a bandage; I almost took a photo of it to post, but that would have involved bandage removal, and I'm not that brave.

Weather today: High of 74?!?! High five, Portland weather pattern!

Running: NO. There is, however, a long walk in my future. I hope.

About to eat/drink: The best smoothie ever made, with cherries, strawberries, an apple, a banana, carrot juice, and three scoops of protein powder

Final Sweater Thursday of 2009

2009-04-05T22:08:00.001-07:00

It's the final Sweater Thursday of the year! We'll start back up again when the weather turns cool enough for sweatering, but for now it's 74 degrees here, and I'm officially warm. Also, sorry that this is going up on a Monday. I lose.

First off we have a not-so-great picture of me in a boring sweater (yet again). On the plus side, my necklace matches quite well, yes?

Next up is Stevi, who sweatered it up while I was in Connecticut. Stevi is a fabulous bassoonist, and we used to be in a quintet together in Boston. In lame news, I hadn't seen her in four years, so it was super exciting to catch up with her. Her sweater totally matches her blue eyes-- high five!

And the cake? This photo will reappear in another post soon, wherein I will explain the ridiculous amazingness of the cake.

Finally, we have a repeat appearance from Capella's cool sis Lyrica. She sent me these before, but I dropped the ball on the sweater post while I was in CT, so here are both photos.

The first is of Lyrica "in my living room in front of the mantle (soft focus element courtesy of photographer Capella) with a distinct complementary-colour theme; the burnt orange knit having been a birthday gift from my darling boyfriend.

The final photo "is one I took of myself in my powder room mirror; the slight winner over another in this series entitled, "I'm a little teapot with boobs." Lyrica for the win!

Thanks to all those fun folks who have sweatered over the last few months! We'll need something fun to fill in the gap during the summer months, so feel free to send along your suggestions!

SUNday!

2009-04-05T21:15:00.000-07:00

Today I awoke to a beautiful sunny day! And yes, it was already blazingly sunny when I opened my eyes, because I actually managed to sleep in until 7:30am. Yay me!

Normally I have a little trouble getting myself out the door to go running, but when the weather is 70 degrees and gorgeous, I'm a pretty enthusiastic exerciser. By 9am I'd loaded up on cereal (Cinnamon Puffins... yum!) and was off, racing through the streets of Portland.

Actually, I wasn't racing, which is an important point since the Race for the Roses took place this morning. I had forgotten this fact until I ran across the Broadway Bridge and straight into the course, which was right in the way of my planned route. I circumnavigated the streams of exhausted racers and went up a few blocks, trying to cross back to the river near the Morrison Bridge, but NUTS! More closed pathway, so I went back to the Steel Bridge and ran to the east side of the river.

The abridged version of the jogging route

I had a lovely run up the Eastbank Esplanade to the Hawthorne Bridge, where I thought to myself, "Darn it, it's too pretty. I have to run across to the westside." So then came bridge number three. Being on the wrong side of the river now, I ran all the way back to the Steel Bridge again and crossed that. The map above shows my route, from red to blue to purple, but ignores the ridiculous amount of really stupid side street action that also happened and probably added another mile or so.

Anyway, I ran at a good clip for 70 minutes and walked for another five minutes, which means it was likely about eight miles. The result has been sore calves and a tremendous level of hunger all day, but also enough endorphines to cheer up an entire community of sulky people.

After a shower and some leftover gnocchi, I headed downtown (in my car) to visit Saturday Market, the local craft/food/clothing/awesomeness fair in Old Town. The driving was meant to help me rest my calves, but apparently everyone in town had the same idea about how to spend the day, because there were no parking spaces for at least a dozen blocks. I finally found one by the library, which is maybe 15 blocks from where I needed to be, and the light rail wasn't in sight, so I walked. Again.

Everyone in Portland crammed into three craft-filled blocks

At Saturday Market, the locals were out in force. A really great singer/guitarist who was old enough to be my grandpa was performing some Kanye West, and I bought some neat clothes and a couple of necklaces (one of which was handmade in Ecuador-- neat!), all made possible by my amazing accountant who helped me deduct (legally) my way to a tax refund. Hooray!

I walked around the market for three hours, then walked back down to the river to take in the blossoming trees and glistening water again, then walked up to Pioneer Place (the mall) and Macy's, then finally walked back to the car. I'd say over the course of the day I easily topped 11 miles of foot travel in the sun. I am so full of Vitamin D right now.

Singer!

Blossoms!

Waterfront Park

My day has concluded with watching two episodes of America's Next Top Model online, a smoothie, and some quality time with my cat. Here's hoping there will be lots more relaxing 70 degree days in the weeks to come! And now I'm going to pass out, because double-digits exercise is way more than the 2.5 miles I've been jogging lately. Tomorrow? Maybe gonna hurt a lot.

Wow wow wow

2009-04-03T11:32:00.001-07:00

The Sweater Thursday post is coming soon, as is the Connecticut post, but the problem with traveling is that when you come back people want you to do all the stuff you didn't do when you were gone. Like work.

Speaking of work, I'm at work now, and all the photos for the above-mentioned posts are on my laptop at home. Also, when I get really excited about something, it cannot be contained, and OH MAN am I excited about something.

Yesterday I discovered the finest tea in the world: Trader Joe's Blueberry Green Tea.

This tea is so delicious that I thought I might die as I drank it on my way here this morning. It's like a million tiny wild blueberries just exploded in my mouth. And they exploded into a billion baby wild blueberries, who in turn shot forth another current of sweet, mouth-watering deliciousness.

Also, this tea does not turn your mouth funny colors.

I bought it because I've decided I need to be a frequent green tea drinker. Caffeine makes me feel lousy in large doses, so coffee and even black tea are out (which is a bummer, because I'd like to drink "Earl Grey, hot," to be more like Capt. Jean-Luc Picard), but I read an article in the Times about how caffeine is great for making runners go faster. I'm really stoked about my half-marathon this summer and desperately want to break 1:45, so caffeine here I come.

My CT adventure also found me eating things I normally avoid like the plague, including dairy and way too much wheat, so I woke up yesterday feeling like I was on my deathbed, but in the afternoon I went to the grocery store and stocked up on the stuff that makes me feel great. After a dose of probiotics and some Vitamin D, a few really quality smoothies, and OH WOW the best chili I've ever made (complete with avocado slices on top), I'm feeling grand right now. I've also gotten up at 6am to go jogging twice in the past three days, which is maybe a record for me.

Six more crazy weeks and I then get a looong vacation. In the meantime? Manic health and productivity. Yay!

I'm back!

2009-04-01T12:37:00.000-07:00

I'm officially back from CT and working diligently. There's a fun post coming soon (I swear!) about my trip, but for now... this is an official reminder that tomorrow it's time once again to sweater up!

I'm outta here!

2009-03-21T07:49:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I'm gettin' the heck outta Dodge and hopping a plane to Connecticut to visit Mike D. Thank heavens for Spring Break, because I really don't think I would have survived one more busy week like I've been having.

I'll try to blog about fun adventures in CT while I'm there! Also, if you are a robber and just got really excited about the potential of pilfering from my vacant apartment, don't even think about it, because my adorable roommate will be home and ready to kick your ass.

This morning? Jog, smoothie, trip to Postal Annex, journey to the airport. Look out Connecticut, I'm invading shortly.

More sweater fun!

2009-03-19T19:05:00.000-07:00

New sweaterer Lyrica has also graciously sent along a link to the lyrics of Meryn Cadell's classic tune from '91 entitled "The Sweater." I knew the Weezer sweater song, but this is a new one to me. Also, whoa album cover.

Sweater Thursdays rule!

2009-03-19T18:22:00.000-07:00

It's time for another installment of Sweater Thursday, and ST has made a new friend. (Note: I just realized that Sweater Thursday and I have the same initials. Whoa.) The new friend is Lyrica, sister of frequent sweaterer Capella. You can tell because they're both cute redheads, unlike me. I was a redhead for about three days and then it faded right back into mousey brown. Anyway, in case you didn't get the memo, apparently it was blue V-neck day. High five!

Here's me:

Next up is Lyrica, who sent in a "playful shot of me in my kitchen sporting my former favourite sweater; a lovely soft blue number which, alas, has since become so thin that I was forced to retire it." Nice sweater, Lyrica! Also, hi to Capella, whose reflection graces the left side of the photo.

Today was a particularly productive day for me, probably thanks to being inspired by wearing a sweater. By the time I go to bed in a few hours, I will have:

Done six loads of laundry and put on clean sheets
Gone grocery shopping
Gone to the bank
Cleaned my apartment
Taught lessons at home
Taught lessons in the 'burbs
Finished my taxes
Graded my students' midterm exams
Written my lesson plan for tomorrow
Scanned a bunch of music
Finished the program info for the all-day performance marathon I was in charge of scheduling
Sent a bunch of e-mails and returned a bunch of calls
Blogged

I'm down to four more things on that list, so I'd best go finish it. I'm officially declaring today a success!

If any more of you have sweater photos to share, just e-mail them to me at sarahtiedemann AT hotmail D0T com.

Next year...

2009-03-13T21:49:00.000-07:00

...when I say I don't want anything for my birthday, please remind me that I do want something and it's this:

Sweater Thursday, the extra awesome edition (updated!)

2009-03-12T19:23:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a super Sweater Thursday! Today was a crisp, sunny day here in Portland, and I started it off with a really pleasant jog. Then I came back, showered, and put on a favorite sweater of mine. It's a cardigan, but it is so totally a sweater, so I don't want to hear any complaints this week. (It's ok, I love you all even if you are contrarians on occasion.)

We'll start off with my sweater since it's the most boring again and WHOA are the other ones fun. I guess it's kind of fun that my sweater, necklace and eyes match?

Second, we have Sophia. Soph is definitely one of my most stylish friends, and she proves it yet again with this outfit. Way to work it, lady!

Next up we have Capella in a series of photos detailing the evolution of her sweater. Forearms too hot? Not a problem for her!

Capella flexes her sweater muscles.

She does the sleeve removal interpretive dance.

Take that, sleeves!

Also, you will note that now that Capella is 30, she has a Dyson vacuum. I think this is one of those things that happens when you're 30. Other things that happen when you're 30 include gray hairs and going to bed at 10pm, so I'm pretty much already there.

Last but totally freaking awesome is Rob. I think it's pretty clear what's going on in this photo, so obviously there's no reason to explain. Well, just in case: Rob's in Texas. And he has a sweater with a smurf. And he was in a tractor accident and has since had his hands replaced by twigs.

Thanks to all the amazing sweaterers! Join us again next week when we will rock the world with our knits yet again.

Reminder!

2009-03-12T09:12:00.000-07:00

It's Sweater Thursday today, and we already have two awesome participants! Well, and me, of course. Don't forget to send your sweater photos to sarahtiedemann AT hotmail D0T com!

2009 Birthday Week: An Odyssey, part three

2009-03-10T20:21:00.000-07:00

There was plenty more fun stuff during my birthday week, including:

1. Excellent meals at Andina and Pambiche
2. An awesome trip to Cannon Beach that just didn't result in the taking of many photos
3. A really nice dinner at Alicia's (including some ridiculously delicious chicken)
4. Rhinovirus

Oh wait, that last one wasn't fun. That's ok, though, because I'm pretty healthy now.

Anyway, what's missing from this list? The last installment of the birthday blogging: Karaoke!!!

Karaoke makes me happy!

We kicked off the birthday week with some karaoke last Saturday night at my favorite divey Chinese restaurant lounge, Hi-Hat in Tigard. I think a lot of my friends were wondering why the heck I would ever drag them out so far into the suburbs, but by the end of the evening they sure had figured it out. There is no better place to karaoke, because as I like to say, "Just going in requires you to check your shame at the door."

You can't tell, but I'm into it

I went up and sang early on in the evening, starting with my old standard, "You Oughta Know." I was a little peeved, because I'd just spent about two hours practicing some Aerosmith, but they didn't have my song in their book. What the heck?! Still, Alanis is always a good fallback plan, and it went alright. More importantly, I announced to the whole bar that it was my birthday, because I like attention, and everyone there sang me Happy Birthday. Fun!

My friend Mattie went up shortly thereafter. She pretty much wins the adorable award for the evening. Not only did she rock twice, but she also made friends with the whole bar by being the only one with the guts to ask what the heck was going on with the random plates of chicken sitting up front. "So, is this communal chicken?" she inquired. And it was. It was communal chicken.

Mattie singin' and groovin'

Communal chicken!

The locals were out in full force as well. There was one guy in a tank top (on a cold night... in the winter...) who we started out rolling our eyes at, but when he smiled innocently before a song and made a comment about his time in high school drama, he won us over. On the other end of the spectrum was this fellow, who called himself "Stan the Man":

At first it was, "Oh wow, look at the fun old guy who is really feeling his songs and sings really badly." Later it was, "Wow, look at the creepy dude. Stay away from him."

Alicia soon arrived, and she did her usual job of rocking. She sang "Heartbreaker," per my request, and the friends who hadn't heard her before looked a little awestruck. She's pretty much the best singer ever. She had a cool skirt too. High five, Alicia!

Alicia always rocks the mic.

Next up was the infamous Mike D., who never fails to put on a show. I present to you the following photos of his performance of "Hunger Strike," which display his evolution from "nice guy next door" to "total hardcore rocker."

Mike D. before

Mike D. begins to feel it.
The air guitar commences.

The air guitar increases in intensity.

Mike D. rocks too hard to stand.

Next up was Perry, who sang a completely awesome song about living in a trailer park. I actually laughed so hard at the awesomeness that I teared up. Perry sure does know how to work a room. He was so good that they even turned on the congratulatory disco lights at his feet.

Perry wows the masses.

Congratulatory disco lights!

Funny story to interject: I went up to do my second song, "Closer," and the following dialog ensued:

Mattie: Nice sweater!
Perry: I know. How do you sing this song in argyle?

Our group began to leave, and when they were about half gone, I was called up again. I'd already done the two songs I put in, so what?! I thought they had taken out "Total Eclipse of the Heart" when I asked them to replace it with "Closer," but apparently the host decided I needed to do it anyway. Some random fans at a nearby table yelled words of support as a sang, and I have to say, it was some of my finest work. I may have to practice that song and bust it out again some time.

Alicia went up for a final number and did some Kelly Clarkson. She told me she needed help because she didn't know how it went, although she's so good that she probably could have faked it just fine. I pulled a Cyrano move and stood next to her singing not into the mic while she belted it for the audience. Whatever we did worked, because she sounded super as always.

Thanks to everyone who came, including Sarah M. who made a special trip into town, and a huge thanks to Leslie for the awesome pictures!!! Birthday Karaoke '09 was the best ever!