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Work Travels and Selling the Mustang

September 30, 2006 in Politics, Random, Travel | No comments

Hmm… where to start. Once again, I have taken an extended absence from updating this site… I seem to recognize a pattern forming. Yes, it is the same pattern that has been repeated consistently since the genesis of this website in the summer of 1997. Indeed, I am extremely reliable in the area of my unreliability. Sort of like a Yugo – a used one. I offer no apologies this time, nor any promises to do better in the future – I know better by now, and you should too. What I will offer, however, is a brief synopsis of the last several months, and a nice place to leave off, and hopefully continue in the not too distant future.

When we last left off, I had just been given a new position at work, and was in training – but a sort of on the job training. Nearly seven months later, I am still in that position, very much no longer training, and I am enjoying it. While not necessarily globetrotting in nature, it has taken me to some locales I had not previously seen – such as Wenatchee, Washington and a rural area east of Olympia. Ok, so basically I’ve seen Washington. But the travel has allowed me to check out minor league ballparks in Wenatchee, Tacoma, Spokane, Yakima, Pasco, and Everett. Not bad for one summer… but nowhere near as good as This Guy, whom I met at a Yakima Bears game. “Why so many minor league parks, Chris?” you may ask. Well, painfully, the answer is because I don’t have a girlfriend, and really, what else are you supposed to do when you’re stranded for a few days in eastern Washington?

Aside from tour the countryside, I sold the Mustang while I was away. This was actually a fairly recent development – I had decided that I did not have the time, space, or resources to keep working on or keep storing the car. At the same time, I came to the realization that I didn’t feel comfortable using it as a daily driver, while simultaneously coming the to the realization that I had some bills that I’d really like to eliminate. So, on craigslist she went, then off into the sunset she rode. Actually, it was around 6:00 pm, with the sun directly above, but you get the point.  I took a picture of it as it was driving away, but it turned out blurry, so it’s kind of like a 1966 Mustang Zapruder film still… very creepy. Also, it wasn’t driving itself, despite how this may read. I did however have one last afternoon of extreme frustration spent with it, as I spent about six hours the day before it sold finally repairing the fender damage it received while driving north for the last time from Eugene. Personally, I think I did a bang-up job.

Finally, I used the early portion of September to once again move, seeing as I apparently have issues with getting comfortable somewhere. Oh yeah – I also have issues with paying $850 to live somewhere that’s far from anything I want to be doing outside of work hours. So, in the spirit of saving money, and being able to do stuff every now and then, I have moved to Northwest Portland, to mix among the hipsters. So far, I still stand out like a sore thumb… First, I need to drop about 80 pounds and get some really tight, skinny-guy pants. A lofty goal, but there’s always hope. Actually, the move is going to work out great, especially since I just found out I’ll be able to start working from home soon, so now I won’t even have to worry about a commute. Not to mention the fact that I am nearly done with the plan I laid out on this very site last November… looks like Mr. Pratt may have his shit together after all!

Well, that just about gets us caught up. If you peruse the rest of the site, you’ll find a few updates here and there, and more to come – but again, with no specific timetable. You’ll also find a commentary I wrote on the state of the American Manufacturing Worker, inspired by a barge launch I witnessed in Portland last week. It may or may not be worthwhile reading – that’s your call. I just put it up, and point you to it.

A quick trip to the bay area to see the Ducks play at Cal this Saturday is on the docket, so hopefully I’ll have an adventure to detail, and pictures to show off upon my return. It’ll be great - like an electronic vacation slide reel! ‘Til then, thanks for sticking with me.

Christmas Shopping

December 23, 2000 in Life, Work | No comments

I am back in McMinnville for the next week or so and I once again find myself a participant in the “Holiday Rush.” Why exactly I do this, I’m not sure, but it is a yearly event. Oh well, I’ll try not to dwell on it. I arrived home Tuesday night, shortly after passing the Hamilton Complex pager to Curtis in what seemed to me a rather unceremonious fashion. I guess that that was ok, as I was soon on my way home. Upon arrival, I unpacked and proceeded to play with my Mustang. The battery was dead though, so I charged it for the second time in three months of sitting (might be time for a new battery). After watching the engine compartment for about a half hour, Josh and I took it for a nice little uninsured drive around the neighborhood. It drove very well after the engine was warm, though it still smoked =(. Even with the nice blue smoke, I miss driving it and plan on looking into getting some sort of limited-mileage insurance sometime next week so I can drive it when I want, or when I am feeling particularly pathetic and single.

Wednesday was spent more or less lounging. I watched some TV, but overall this was a day of triumph spent watching the History Channel and reading from “The Great Shark Hunt”. Thursday was spent paying more attention to my car, only this time it was the BMW. I changed some fluids, fixed a few connections and replaced light bulbs. Basically, all the petty repairs that had to be made in order to get all of the annoying red warning lights to turn off. Later in the evening I went out with Bambi and Erin, where we caught up on our respective lives and listened to the idiot high schoolers in the booth next to ours at Shari’s yell about various minority groups. Oh, how I love McMinnville.

Friday was my first full day as a holiday shopper. After getting my hair cut at 9:00am, I drove to Lake Oswego where I picked up Mary and proceeded to spent the day Christmas shopping. That was… well, an adventure. We actually had quite a bit of fun, and I got to bug her about her choice of stocking stuffers (which I cannot disclose at this time, as it is not yet Christmas). We spent time wandering around both Fred Meyer and Washington Square, where we dined among many bitter, tired looking people at McDonald’s. Actually, there was only one guy who looked especially tired with life, but he looked VERY tired, so that constitutes my generalization of the entire McDonald’s crowd. During the course of the day, she made fun of me allot, and I fought back, prompting several apologies from the two of us. In addition to those times, there was also an alarming number of very domestic moments such as appliance shopping in Sears, and a comforting hand rub that she deemed a bit too “wifey.” After driving and wandering for about five and a half hours, I took her home and proceeded to return to McMinnville, where I had dinner and met up with Payne, as Brandon now wishes to be called.

Payne and I proceeded to do more Christmas shopping, as we did today as well. Unfortunately, he was the only one to actually buy anything. I kept finding stuff to buy myself (The Godfather Trilogy, a DVD player, U2’s new album, etc.) but was halted by the fear of buying something that was on my wish list. My parents told me to skip them, but that probably won’t happen, and I was only able to get half of what I was looking to get for my brother. Payne bragged allot about the Playstation 2 that he was able to get without being on a waiting list at Toys R Us, and I got to look at a few of his games, which made me very jealous. I want a Playstation 2.