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New Job

December 11, 2003 in Life, Website, Work | No comments

Well, for only the third time in its seven-year existence, my web page has moved. That’s right, Saturatedpratt.com has launched and left the University of Oregon and its Gladstone server behind with the other cast off servers of the past.

So, what prompted this move you may ask? Well, aside from the burning desire to spend money on something I can get for free (namely, web hosting), I am finally leaving the University of Oregon. That’s right, Mr. Pratt got a job.

This weekend I’ll be moving up north to begin working as an insurance claims representative. I know, it’s a corporate job and seems to be contrary to my previous post’s celebrity guest appearance, but they’re willing to pay me money to work, and do so during the daytime. So, for once and for all, goodbye Officer Pratt, hello Corporate Whore Pratt! (For brevity, you can call me C.W. Pratt, but not C.W- that’s taken.)

Over the next couple months I’ll probably be splitting my time between McMinnville, where I will live with my parents during the workweek, and Eugene, where I will attempt to preserve independent Chris on the weekends. We’ll see how it goes, but if I start asking for permission to drink a beer, I’ll know that it’s really time to get a place of my own. Really, it shouldn’t be too bad… for the short term anyway. It’s definitely going to be weird though.

For now, it looks like I’ll eventually be moving to the Portland area sometime after I get back from my training in Seattle in January or February. Hopefully Derek and I will be able to find some sort of nice, inexpensive shelter. I feel pretty bad for leaving Greg and Wells earlier than I thought I would, but I’m going to continue sending down rent and using the place as much as possible until either my lease runs out or they find a replacement. Then again, who could replace me?

As far as the what happened the rest of the time between now and my last update, the following events occurred in order: A drunk guy on his bike crashed in to my parked car and damaged the left front fender, Simon and Garfunkel were awesome live in Seattle, I met “Jesus” while patrolling the EMU one night, I had my first Krispy Kreme, the Ducks turned their season around, won the Civil War, and will play in the Sun Bowl, Thanksgiving came and brought with it cheesecake and stuffing, the Twins didn’t hire me, and Linfield lost to a team named the Johnnies. That’s about it.

Stay tuned for more frequent updates, as I now have most of the other pages on this site fully functioning, and of course, I now have more incentive in actually updating the page.

Mike and Me

October 23, 2003 in Life, Politics, Website, Work | No comments

Yeah, I said that there wouldn’t be an update until I move to the new domain name, but here I am, updating. I expect to move to a new server in about a week, at which time I will hopefully adopt the name listed above. In the meantime, a short update will suffice, a little farewell of sorts to the University of Oregon’s Gladstone server… Really, I’m just looking for a way to be able to post the Meatwheels photo again.

Let’s see- what’s new? I’m still working at DPS, where I was moved to graveyard shift in September. Not surprisingly, I wasn’t too happy about joining my fifth new watch in a year and the job search has intensified a bit. I guess there’s nothing quite like genuine unhappiness to light a fire under my ass. Anyway, as I said, the job search has intensified, and as a consequence I’ve been looking at careers in nearly every field- from insurance to finance, from finance to public service, and on to baseball, I have literally sent out resumes and applications to nearly everyone I can imagine- hopefully I’ll hear back from some people in the next few days.

As for other things, I spent most of October watching postseason baseball, and witnessed perhaps the greatest playoffs in baseball history. I was a bit disappointed that the Cubs or Sox didn’t make it (of course, I was more disappointed that the A’s again choked, but that’s besides the point) but I was somewhat satisfied that the Yankees again collapsed. Speaking of collapse, I’ve gone to each Duck home game this year and have witnessed another round of historically bad defense, coupled at times with horrific offense. However, last week’s shutout of Stanford brings back memories of the Michigan game, and will hopefully be a harbinger of successes to come.

My biggest news of October would probably have to be meeting Michael Moore last Thursday. As you can see, while passing through the book signing line, Mike grabbed and pulled me across a table where one of his handlers took our picture. Before another person asks, no, he was not wasted, he was just very excited at the prospect of seeing me. Actually, I was among the last people to go through an hour and a half long line to have stuff signed by Mike after his speech in Portland, and he looked absolutely beat by the time I got to him. All things considered, he was in very high spirits, thanked me for coming, and stuck out his hand for me to shake before he would pass back my copy of “Dude, Where’s My Country?” In all, it was a successful brush with one of my heroes.

All of this will be covered in greater depth in the upcoming weeks as I get this site fully up and running, hopefully at its new web home. I plan on having the photo album and writings sections fully operable by then, and I will hopefully have more news on the employment front. Oh yeah, and I’ll be able to fill ya’ll in on how Simon & Garfunkel was…

New Year Summary of 2002

January 1, 2003 in Life, Random, School, Sports, Travel, Work | No comments

It has been brought to my attention that I have not kept my oft-repeated, oft-broken promise of updating my website. For this, I am utterly indifferent. Strangely though, I feel that I should provide an update, if for no other reason than continuing to reinforce my personal belief that throngs of people base their lives on what my website does or does not say. To assist those people on moving forward in their lives, I will provide a concise rundown of the last several months of my life, which will then (maybe) be followed by an update pertaining to the present. So, without further delay, the spring, summer, and subsequent fall of Chris. March 5, 2002- woke up, read for Ken’s class. This pattern continued until the end of the term, which I finished in respectable, if unspectacular fashion. Spring break. Worked as an on-duty RA for a few days, then went to McMinnville. I traveled to the redwoods with my family and looked at several very large trees, as well as the Oregon caves. I angered my mom by wearing shorts in the caves, which were 40 degrees. After the vacation, I returned to Eugene for a day or two, then departed with Lauren on a pilgrimage to the Bay Area. Saw Paul McCartney kick off his US tour in Oakland, wandered around San Francisco, then saw Carlos Pena beat the Rangers in the bottom of the ninth as the A’s squeaked out their second victory of the season. Returned to Eugene following the game, and promptly went to bed. Fell behind in class, then caught up. I Dropped Ken’s other class, but not much else happened in April.

In May I worked, a lot and tried to make it through some tough times with friends, with mixed results. I’m still not sure when I became a villain, seeing as I never really chose a side, but I think that I just tried to please too many people. In the end, I settled on just being Chris, and let the cards lay where they fell. Through silence, I probably made the wrong choice, but that’s what regrets are for. Forgiveness though, is a trait certainly in short supply today- at least in some of my former friends. Worked on my uncle’s campaign for Lt. Governor of Idaho. Found myself writing campaign literature for a Republican, which was an interesting proposition. Made statements about issues often ignored by Republicans and somehow made it through the experience without feeling like a whore. Uncle lost primary, but got over 5 per cent of the vote in a field crowded with people spending hundreds of thousands of dollars. Turned 22 on the 29th of May.

In June I finished spring term, as well as my career as an RA. It was time for a welcome change, and independence gained from being able to live and work at separate locations. The deer to the left are being viewed from my new bedroom window. Hired as a temporary public safety officer at the University of Oregon Department of Public Safety. Issued a badge, uniform, and bulletproof vest. Feel awkward, but hey, everyday is Halloween. Good thing since I would later work on Halloween. Assumed life of 40 hour a week worker for the first time since my detailing days, though now worked at 6:00am. Money good, hours bad.

Not much happened in July- Independence day came and went with little fanfare as I had to work, and my brother turned 14 on the 2nd. Startled by the revelation that my brother was going to be a freshman in high school in September, and suddenly felt old. Classes began for me near the end of the month, and I visited a hot spring with Mary. Fun experience, though some people really should keep their clothes on…

In August classes continued, as did work. It was an uneventful month until about halfway through, when there was suddenly a flurry of activity. First came a hellish five-hour wait for Lauren at PDX to welcome her back from France. I got there at 10:00pm; she got there at around 3:00am. I had to be at work at 6:00am. Obviously, I was more dedicated then than I am now, as I would now call off tired as hell. This didn’t occur to me though, as I somehow made it through the next day at work. A bout a week later, and a week or so shy of our anniversary, Mary and I broke up. This came as an unexpected cap to what had been a pretty good evening- I guess she wanted to get me full of dinner so I couldn’t really defend what was to come. Shortly after the end of one, I witnessed the beginning of another relationship, as my pal Melinda was married.

In September work yet again continued, and the “temporary” position was beginning to feel a bit less so. The first couple of weeks were spent simply working overtime and basking in the warm sun of a deserted pre-term campus. Of course, this “basking” was spent wearing about five layers of colors alternating from black to LAPD blue colored fabric, so broiling can probably be substituted for basking. Football season started and the Ducks won their first several games. Baseball season continued, and a strike was averted, thank God. With about a week to spare before school started, I took off with Lauren to Seattle and spent my “Anniversary with Mary” money on a delightful trip to see sights and baseball. We stayed in an inexpensive but nice hotel downtown and wandered the city for three days. We saw the Experience Music Project and the Pike Street Market (for the second time with Lauren) as well as the zoo, where we were able to look at several young gorillas, including a baby that had been born just two weeks before. The A’s lost to the Mariners that night, thanks to a A’s inconsistent bullpen, but it was fun. The rest of our time was spent eating and drinking in various establishments and visiting with assorted friends (Shannon, Shelby, Josh) of Lauren’s.

Upon my return to Eugene, I learned that I would be needed at work through the next term, though I would now be working graveyard. Money good, hours worse. This began ominously, as there was a large riot one block west of campus on my first night on the shift.

October continued in the same manner as September ended, as my shift made several arrests and was involved in as many physical takedowns in the span of two weeks as are usually expected in about a full year. I was suddenly feeling even more fortunate that I was no longer an RA, as this class of freshman seems especially angry. The A’s were knocked out of the playoffs, something that came as no surprise given the bullpen woes that I had witnessed in Seattle, and the Ducks followed their 6-0 start with several losses. Class continued, sort of, as I only had one class that actually had a regular attendance. I again saw Paul McCartney with Lauren, only this time in Portland. By the end of the month events at work slowed, though I was now completely prepared for the bad stuff. I went through defensive tactics training over the course of a day, allowing me to carry an asp baton and OC spray. Of course, as part of the OC training, I was sprayed in eyes with the stuff and commanded to complete a course using each of the defensive tactics that I had learned throughout the day. By about the second of five stations I was pretty much blind, as well as screaming expletives at a rapid-fire pace. I made it through, though I’m surprised that my lieutenant did, as I hear it was quite dangerous for him to be holding one of the pads that I was forced to attack. The day was successful, though the illusion of mid-mannered Chris Pratt was gone for all who witnessed my rampage.

Work, sleep, school, and repeat. November was a drag. Nothing happened in November. My work schedule caught up with me, and much of my free time was spent sleeping. The Ducks’ collapse culminated in losing six of their last seven, and I had to work on Thanksgiving. School went well though.

December came with the promise of less school, more work, and more money. I could now return to working the 40-hour week that I had enjoyed during the summer, as student employee restrictions are lifted during break. The department took full advantage of this, as I worked the first 14 of 16 days of break. I also found out that I would be working both Christmas and Christmas Eve, as well as New Year’s Eve. In between though, I enjoyed a Blazer game with Wells and my brother, as well as a nice post-Christmas visit to McMinnville. I was quite disappointed with working the holidays, though not as much as I’m sure my mom was. Through it all though, she was pretty cool and didn’t let what I’m sure was a fair amount of anger come to the surface. I did well on Christmas, getting a lot of good clothes, CDs, books, a new watch, and the promise of new brakes for the Mustang, so long as I help my pa with putting brakes on my mom’s bimmer. I did however anger my mom by wearing shorts for the duration of my stay. December ended with my equivalent of the ball dropping in Times Square- the Department of Public Safety’s FCC-required call of “zero hundred hours, Wednesday, January 1, 2003. KVD770.”

Well, that was the last nine or so months, I’ll return shortly with a real update, but this week will be busy as I will be starting classes again and studying for the Praxis test on Saturday for the education program. Stay tuned… there’s more to come.

Birthdays, Concerts, and Catch

August 20, 2001 in Life, School, Travel, Work | No comments

Just so you know Vanessa, this update is not being written in response to your request- I genuinely do feel like updating my page. So there.

Now that that is out of the way, I can get started. The last few weeks have been very busy, with nearly every day consisting of either research for my Ted Kennedy/Chappaquiddick paper (now finished, thank you), or working at DPS. In other words, it has been a thrilling month. On the bright side, I did get to browse through about two years worth of New York Times microfilms in search of editorials on Chappaquiddick. Oh wait, that’s not exciting…

I’ll skip over the mundane details of the past few weeks (you know- the ones that have kept me from updating this page) in order for me to talk about things such as Eric Clapton and going home for a few fractions of days. Oh yeah- I spent lots of time working. Damn… did it again. Anyway, the month began very poorly, by getting shut out of the Tool concert at the Hult Center. You see, the EMU ticket office is inept, and managed to get through about twenty people in the course of 45 minutes- the forty five minutes that it took for the show to sell out. I was fairly irate, but so were most of the other 100 or so people left ticketless after waiting in line for more than three hours. However, I opted to go home before a riot broke out, if only to avoid having a run-in with a few of my evening co-workers. Secretly though, I wished that the dude behind me in line would follow through on his threats of looting the place.

A few days after the scheduled concert, Lauren, Brian, Chris Wells and I made our way to the concert that we already had tickets to- Eric Clapton in Portland on the 7th. The show was very good, though the sound could have been better. He played all the songs I wanted to hear, including Layla, Bellbottom Blues, Cocaine, Badge, and Sunshine of Your Love. What was really awesome was the fact that Billy Preston was on keyboards and, as everyone knows, he is amazing. Clapton surrendered the first song of his encore to Preston for his hit “Will It Go Round in Circles.” The crowd was really in to it, and you could tell that the band was having a great time- especially Billy. After the concert, we walked past an array of people selling bootleg concert t-shirts at a much lower price, shouting “T-Shirts, $10! Chris and me, along with occasional help from Brian, began brainstorming what Eric Clapton related items we could sell following the show. I think my favorite was the Official Eric Clapton Tour 2001 Backrub.

As previously stated, the rest of the week was spent working, with the exception of Sunday, which was spent in Portland celebrating the anniversary of Peter Marie Boss’ birth. It was a nice lil’ party, during which Peter and I (with help from Brandi Church) got pizza. It was very good pizza, thus the mention. The rest of the evening was spent lounging with Peter, Mary, Brandi, J. Christ, Jessico, Robin, and a friend of Peter’s whose name I do not recall. We talked a lot, then watched Futurama and the Simpsons. Although Peter maintains that it was a bad party, I had a very enjoyable time. Before arriving in Portland that day, Mary, Brandi and I visited my home, where I said hi to my family and allowed Mary an opportunity to converse with them in an attempt to no longer feel intimidated. I think it worked, but in the process she managed to leave her shoes at my house. This of course went unrealized until we were thirty miles away purchasing Peter’s gift, The Beatles Anthology. We were forced to stop at Mary’s place in Lake Oswego to get a different pair of shoes, as well as wrapping paper. In a way I felt bad for the fact that she worried about ruining whatever impression she had left on my parents by her forgetfulness, and I told her that such a mistake would not make them think poorly of her. Especially since she had already done and said enough earlier in the day to accomplish that feat. =)

The next week went by with little taking place other than work- though I did spend quite a bit of time studying and writing. I spent most of my little free time hanging out with Mary or worrying about my paper (which was due on Friday). This past weekend was spent both recovering from my paper and the sleepless nights involved in it’s making, and driving home again, this time with Vanessa. You see, it’s always good to confuse your parents, so I try to bring a different girl home with me each time I return- the last four have been Lauren, Mary, Vanessa and Wells. I guess that with this lineup, the more confused the parents are, the better. Anyway, the point of this weekend’s trip was to get new shoes, as well as say hi to everyone. Both of these items were accomplished, with me picking up my shoes with my mom, saying hi and talking to dad, and playing catch with Brandon. It was pretty cool- I was wild at first, but I think that I hurt his hand with a couple fastballs. I didn’t really get to spend much time in McMinnville though, as both Vanessa and I needed to work at 8:00. We left at around 5:30, ate dinner at Arby’s, then proceeded to drive until about 7:45, when we arrived in Eugene. It was very fun because I got to spend significant time with Vanessa for the first time in a couple weeks. We talked about people and work, and I got to fling wild accusations in her direction, which is always fun. The only disappointing thing about the trip was the short amount of time that I got to spend at home, but on the bright side, I’ll be back there with Mary this weekend.

That brings me to my next topic- this coming weekend. It starts off with the exciting event of my second and final class of the summer- PS 399, Mafia in Russia. That, while exciting, is not the high point of the weekend. That will come on Saturday, when I drive home to prepare for my date that evening with Mary. We’ll be going to the Newberg Drive In, where we will enjoy an evening of cinema from the comfort of a 1966 Mustang Coupe. I’m looking forward to it, but perhaps what I like most is how excited she seems to be. It should be a great evening, no matter how the movies are, and when it comes down to it, I really don’t care what’s playing- It won’t really matter if I’m with her.