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The year 2008 in review

January 24, 2009 in Life, Politics, Travel, Work | 3 comments

The people (specifically, two people) have spoken, and as a result I bring you this non-sports related update.  After all, this isn’t a sports blog, it’s supposed to be about my life, and a clearinghouse for my thoughts, adventures, misstatements and awkward encounters.  It just so happens that the last several posts have been about sports… well, this one will bring us current on my life and times.

With a new year comes reflection on the past year - so with that, I will bring you a look back at my 2008, and a brief look to the future…

The Texas Schoolbook Depository

The Texas Schoolbook Depository

The year began like many others - in January.  At the beginning of the month I was asked to travel to Dallas, Texas by work to attend a series of meetings aimed at improving the way large loss property claims were handled.  The meetings were successful, and resulted in the creation of a position I would assume in March, however the real story is that I got to explore the city of Dallas, including the former Texas Schoolbook Depository - the site of the assassination of John F. Kennedy.  As a history and politics geek, and as a kid who grew up idolizing Kennedy, this was a very special trip for me.  What’s strange is that through all the television shows and movies documenting the assassination, it seemed as though I’d already been there.  They’ve done a masterful job of creating a museum documenting the President’s trip to Dallas, the events leading up to it, and of course, the events of November 22, 1963.  I was surprised at the impact that the visit had on me, and I’m very thankful for having gone.

Nothing happened in February.  Literally.  March saw my second trip to Arizona for Spring Training.  This has already been documented, and it’s sports-related, so never mind.

April saw the first full month in my new position at work.  This was significant because it meant I was no longer traveling for work - everything (in theory) was now being handled from my desk, and specifically, from my dining room.  I still have mixed feelings on this transition, as I really enjoyed seeing the western US on the company’s dime, but I felt a responsibility to take the position that was offered to me, as I was instrumental in its creation.  I took the position after I was assured that I would still get to travel on occasion and would still have the ability to go into the field on my old claims, which I was keeping.

President Bill Clinton in McMinnville, OR

President Bill Clinton in McMinnville, OR

April also saw the visit of former President Bill Clinton to my former high school to campaign for his wife, then-Senator Hillary Clinton.  Although I was already an avowed supporter of Barack Obama, the prospect of seeing a President in the McMinnville High School gymnasium was too much to pass up.  I attended with my mom and seemingly the rest of the town.  As a liberal who grew up in a rather conservative area of Oregon, it was very encouraging to see a line wrapping around the entire school waiting patiently to be led into the gym.  It was during this campaign rally that it really began to sink in that the Democrats may actually win the election in November (foreshadowing!!!).  It was also encouraging to see that although the rally was a Hillary Clinton event, it became clear through talking to most of those in attendance, they planned to support the Democratic candidate - whether it was Clinton or Obama.  It was also encouraging to hear the little girl in front of me chant “O-Bam-A” when the crowd was instructed to chant the name of Hillary Clinton.

Sen. Barack Obama in Portland, 5/18/08

Sen. Barack Obama in Portland, 5/18/08

May saw another campaign visit - this one almost epic in scope, as Barack Obama packed an estimated 72,000 supporters into and around Tom McCall Waterfront Park in downtown Portland.  I attended with Wells and his family, and braved the sun and 90 degree temperatures (as well as the horrible sunburn I picked up the previous day during a cleanup of the Willamette River with my dad) to be among the throngs welcoming Senator Obama to Portland.  The crowd was like nothing I’ve ever experienced in person - literally people filling every possible area, including the boats on the Willamette.  The official estimates were that 60,000 people were actually in the bowl area watching Obama, and another 12,000 filled the streets around the park.  It was here where I became certain Obama would easily carry the Oregon primary election two days later, which he did.  The future President did not disappoint, delivering the standard campaign speech, punctuated by exclamations of “wow” when face to face with the crowd.  The biggest takeaway from the event wasn’t in anything Obama said, but rather the enthusiasm for the candidate, and for the democratic process as a whole.  Never in my life had I experienced anything like this in a political campaign, and it is doubtful that this type of enthusiasm will be matched in the near future (now that the inauguration has passed).  More than anything, it was extremely refreshing to see the type of hope and promise for the future that was encapsulated by crowd - especially after the last eight years.

Brittany and I near Sedona, AZ

Brittany and I near Sedona, AZ

June passed by like an old man in his slumber as I waited for my July vacation, a second trip to Arizona for 2008 - this one to spend time with Brittany, who I reconnected with during my Spring Training visit.  Most of the trip was spent just going around town.  We visited with Vanessa, Eddy, and North, and went to her brother’s place for the 4th of July.  While attempting to jump into a swimming pool that evening I managed to knock my leg against a submerged rung of a pool ladder, causing a massive gash in my right leg, just below the knee.  As a result, I spent about 6 hours in the ER, received eight stitches, and now sport a wicked scar.  Following the debacle with my leg, Brittany and I took off for the cooler climate of beautiful northern Arizona, specifically Sedona.  I was able to find a timeshare that provided us with a deeply discounted room and dinner (we only had to pretend that we were a young about to be married couple interested in a timeshare…  the ruse worked perfectly - we are apparently good actors), and the rest of the time was spent hiking a few trails around Sedona and visiting shops - all the while trying to keep my bandage clean.  Despite the leg debacle, it was a great trip and one that made me realize I could in fact live in Arizona, if I wanted to.  I later decided that was probably a vacation high, but then again, housing prices are great near Phoenix…

Me and the Bean, Millennium Park, Chicago

Me and the Bean, Millennium Park, Chicago

In early August I visited Kayla in Chicago, however much of this visit was centered around various baseball road-tripping, so I will briefly cover where that aspect of the visit took us - Wrigley Field and US Cellular (New Comiskey) Park in Chicago to see the Cubs play the Astros and the White Sox host the Tigers respectively, Elfstrom Stadium in Geneva, Il where we saw the Kane County Cougars play the Beloit Snappers, Alexian Field in Schaumburg, Il to see the Schaumburg Flyers play the Kansas City T-Bones, and Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI to see the Brewers play the Nationals.

We also spent time enjoying some of the other things the city had to offer.  For instance, we took in our first day at the races at Arlington Downs, where we won about $20 combined on the ponies.  A day was also spent wandering the city, specifically the loop, Millennium Park and the generally everything that downtown had to offer.  This included, of course, pizza followed by drinks at Harry Carey’s.  If it weren’t for the extreme humidity in the summer, and the extreme cold in the winter, I would love to live in Chicago.

Just prior to my trip to Chicago, Miller arrived in Portland.  As such, he was allowed to “house sit” my apartment - basically, move in for a month.  It was great - we went to games, hung out like we did in college, and I got to witness a budding romance between he and Meredith (otherwise known as “Team Wilt”).  Unfortunately, he had to return to New York for the start of the school year, but if everything goes according to plan, he’ll be coming back permanently sometime later this year.

Las Vegas (file photo)

Las Vegas Strip (file photo)

With September came MusicFest NW, and four days of live music at various venues throughout Portland.  During the event, I was able to see Norfolk & Western, the Old 97s, Britt Daniel, Built to Spill, Nick Jaina, the Builders and the Butchers, Blitzen Trapper, Fleet Foxes, and many other less impressive bands.  I was also able to spend some quality time with my pal Sarah, and reconnect with Julie as well as meet a few new people.  September also saw a trip to Las Vegas with Derek, Esther, and Patrick during which I won $200 playing War (who knew that was a casino game?), $250 on a slot machine, and about $50 on college football games.  In short, I became a gambling degenerate.

The end of October saw the return of Peter from his six months spent wandering Europe and Africa, so a lot of time was spent hanging out with him and hearing stories of the adventures he experienced.  It also brought the beginning of the Blazers season and the heart of the Ducks football season, but again, this is not a post about sports.  The fall was actually quite relaxing - most of my vacation was spent with my earlier travels, so the daily routine really took hold during this time…  in other words, I spent a lot of time working.  When I wasn’t working, I was either at a Blazers or Ducks game, a concert, or hanging out with Peter, for the most part.  There were a few hikes, a few short road trips to see Wells or go to the coast, but aside from those, and the election of Barack Obama, it really was the dog days of fall.  One definite plus what that I was once again promoted at work, attaining the level of Large Loss Property Claims Specialist, which is pretty much as high as I can get for the foreseeable future (or unless I go for a management position) - this is assuming we all still have jobs in the foreseeable future, since the company was recently purchased by Liberty Mutual.  I’m not too concerned though.

My car, buried.

My car, buried.

December brought the holidays and a MASSIVE (6-8 inches) of snow and ice in the Portland area.  I spent the time wandering around the town, taking photos, and thinking of how to dislodge my car from its wintry, plowed-in grave.  For a while it looked as though I wouldn’t be able to make it home for Christmas due tot he fact that my car was still buried under a foot of snow and ice, however my dad came to the rescue and helped me big out the car.  Maddie the dog even came along for moral support.  Although the car eventually got stuck several more times in my parents’ neighborhood, at the end of the day, I was able to spend Christmas with the family, eat too much ham, and make it back home safely.

So that was 2008 - hopefully 2009 will be as eventful, but I have the distinct feeling it will involve much less travel.  Check back soon - this should be the last massive update, as I’ll be making more frequent contributions now that the site is re-designed and more user friendly.

Blazers Quarter-Season Review

December 7, 2008 in Sports, Uncategorized | 4 comments

Greg Oden

When we left off, I had just relayed a June forecast message to a fellow Blazers fan (Peter) who had been traveling the world.

Seeing as we are now a quarter of the way through the Blazers’ season (26.8% to be precise) I felt it was time to go back and look at a few of the things I said at that time while reviewing what has happened to date with Portland’s only major league sports franchise.

1. The record to date

Through 22 games, the Blazers record rests at 15-7, good for a winning percentage of .682 and first place by a half game in front of the Denver Nuggets in the Northwest Division.  For those mathemagicians among us, that is on pace for 55 wins - the exact number I predicted in June.  Score one for Pratt.  Actually, rounding up, it would be good for 56, but I like being right.  What is particularly impressive about the team’s early season success is that it has come while the Blazers have played 15 games on the road, including two 5-game road trips.  With a home stand coming in late December, I would not expect the pace to slow.

2. The rookies

With nearly all eyes squarely set upon him, Greg Oden has shown solid, if not spectacular play.  Despite suffering a sprained foot in his first minute of game time in the season opener versus the Lakers, and while averaging 22 minutes a game, he has racked up seven double-doubles and led the team in rebounding nine times.  This said, there is clearly a lot of room for improvement, particularly on the offensive end.  He has shown a tendency to bring the ball low upon receiving a pass, allowing defenders an opportunity to make a swipe at it, or prepare for a block.  He has not finished especially well, and his footwork leaves a lot to be desired.  That said, he has already shown improvement in these areas, and I would expect improvement to continue throughout the season as he gets more game experience.  His defensive game is already very good, approaching elite status.  He is almost a lock for two blocks a game in his limited minutes, and his very presence forces teams to alter their play on both sides of the ball.  I did not comment on my expectations for final numbers from Greg for the season, but I would expect his numbers to climb with his minutes, likely finishing the season averaging 10-11 PPG, 8-9 RPG, and 2 BPG.  Not rookie of the year numbers, but good for All-Rookie First Team.  Basically, he’s raw - which everyone knew coming out of the 2007 Draft - then he lost an entire season before really being able to work on his game.  Bottom line, this kid is special, and it’s clear that he will be much better in the coming years than he is now - and he’s pretty damn good now.

Rudy Fernandez

Rudy Fernandez has been everything that his Spanish League play indicated he could be.  He has shown a deadly outside shot, a level of flash and hard-nosed play that had been missing from the Blazers lineup, and the ability to explode for 15 off the bench any night, as has happened seven times to date.  Like Oden, his 48 minute numbers are fantastic - 20 PPG, to be exact, but barring injury, I do not see him starting this season due to the fact that the team has continued to show an inability to play consistently without a true point guard in the lineup, even with Brandon Roy running the show.

Nicolas Batum has been the biggest surprise - I originally thought he would stay in Europe, or at best would spend significant portions of the season in the NBDL - and this was before his horrid showing in the Las Vegas Summer League.  His development and emergence in the pre-season was a revelation, and is going to make the rotation tricky once Martell Webster fully returns from injury.  Batum has been the starting small forward for all but three games this season, showing an uncanny ability to find the ball - steals, broken passes, blocks, rebounds - you name it, he has been involved.  On the offensive side, he has shown a surprisingly consistent mid and long-range shot and the ability to drive to the hoop or finish on a breakaway.  I would put the overall level of his play on par with where Travis Outlaw was in his third year, with his defense being superior to Outlaw right now.  Comparisons are drawn between Batum and Tayshaun Prince of the Detroit Pistons, both for physical resemblance and style of play - I think those are premature (obviously) but with more minutes (which won’t be happening - at least not this season) it is easy to see his numbers approaching Prince’s.

Jerryd Bayliss has been a non-factor, which is a far cry from my prediction that he could overtake Steve Blake as a starter during the season.  Blake’s strong play (career highs across the board) combined with the reemergence and consistent performance of Sergio Rodriguez has sat Bayliss on the bench for all but eight of Portland’s games.  When he has played his minutes have come mostly during garbage time, and apart from a productive seven minute stretch at Boston this week, his play has been ordinary - what you’d expect from garbage minutes.  He has the ability to score quickly, especially on drives to the basket - minutes will be hard to come by, so I would like to see coach Nate McMillan use Bayliss as a spark plug in situations such as the game at Boston where quick points may be needed to snap the team out of a funk, or possibly when nothing else is working.  But who am I to argue with the way minutes are doled out on a 15-7 team?

3. Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge

Thanks must be given to Kevin McHale and John Paxson for trading Roy and Aldridge, respectively, to Portland during the 2006 NBA Draft.  Roy has picked up where his All-Star performance last year left off, leaving little doubt that Blazers fans are witnessing the emergence of a super star.  Aldridge, meanwhile, has had an inconsistent, but overall strong start to the season.  He seems to have rebounded from a shooting slump that struck in late November, and since then has played steadily well -including a 27 point performance at Detroit.  In addition, he has been crashing the offensive boards of late, which of course leads to more scoring opportunities.  Aldridge has also been showing off more consistent range on his jumper, which will prove valuable if that deadly inside/out game of which I wrote is utilized more often.

Sergio Rodriguez

4. Surprises

Point Guard play - see above under Jerryd Bayliss for more.  Blake has shown that his 40% from threes last season was not an aberration.  He has been one of the best long-range shooters on the best 3 point shooting team in the league.  Handling the ball, he has been a steadying force while at times becoming more of a two guard when playing with Roy.  Rodriguez came back to Portland this year completely rejuvenated.  Whether it was personal pride, the thought of playing with Fernandez, or being left off the Spanish national team, he had one of the strongest pre-seasons of any Blazer, and the strong play has continued to the regular season.  He has had seven games with five or more assists, and has an assist to turnover ration of 4:1.  His shooting, although not reflected in percentages, has looked more fluid and frankly, like more of an NBA shot.  Easilly one of the most improved players on the roster.

Joel Przybilla - Przybilla started the season by losing his starting job to Oden, then quickly found himself back in the starting lineup after Oden’s early season injury.  He has since returned to the bench, but the strong play has not stopped.  Despite playing over thirty minutes just twice this season, Przybilla is having a career year - scoring 6.2 PPG, grabbing 8.0 RPG, and getting 1.6 BPG while shooting an incredible 80% from the field.  When combined with Oden, he makes up half of what is without question the strongest center tandem in the league.

Petteri Koponen

5. What Else I Got Wrong

The Blazers opted not to sign Petteri Koponen, the Finish point guard, allowing him instead to sign a multi-year contract with Virtus Bologna.  This will allow him to get some more seasoning while playing against strong competition, and essentially waiting for the point guard situation to thin in Portland.  I saw Koponen play in Las Vegas during the summer of 2007, and while he was a raw, wiry kid then, he appeared to have matured greatly in the year between that appearance and this year’s Vegas Summer League.  He was easily the second best player on the court in most games (behind Bayliss) and did not look far from NBA-ready.  A few years in Italy should only help his game.  I would look for him to come to the States in 2010 or 2011, if his rights are not dealt by then.

6. Outlook

So far, so good.  It would be hard for anyone to argue that this team was not over-achieving, given the horrendous schedule they have played to date (seven home games out of their first 22), and the quality of the opposition (only 9 games against opponents not likely to make the playoffs).  I hold to my prediction of 55 wins, and a 6th seed in the playoffs.  While the numbers would tend to demonstrate that this team is capable of going on a run once the schedule thins a bit, I would expect there will be some bumps in the road and (inevitably) some injuries along the way.  The clear development this season is that this is a playoff team now, and likely a contender in the next two years.

It’s a great year to be a Blazer.

Blazers forecast from June

December 4, 2008 in Sports | No comments

On June 30, 2008 I wrote an email to Peter, who was busy traveling through Europe at the time, summarizing the 2008 NBA Draft and the Blazers’ outlook for the coming season - it read:

Greg Oden

We start with five picks, but end up with two draftees, one of whom will likely stay in Europe (Nicolas Batum - SF, France) - however, there is a chance he could be signed, as he does not have a guaranteed deal in Europe - I think this is a long shot. More likely, he stays in Europe for 1-2 years. We trade one second round selection (Omer Asik, C, Turkey) to Chicago for three future 2nd rounders, and another (Mike Taylor, G, NBDL - the first player drafted out of the D league, by the way) to the Clips for a 2nd rounder next year. We traded a 1st rounder (#27 - Darrell Arthur, F, Kansas) that was purchased from N.O. along with the earliest selection of this year’s 2nd Rounders (#33 - Joey Dorsey, F, MEMPHIS!) to Houston for Batum. Of course, this leaves the biggest deal - Jack and McRoberts with #13 pick Brandon Rush (there really is only room for one Brandon, after all) to Indiana for Jerryd Bayliss and Ike Diogu. Bayliss fits in immediately as Blake’s backup, but he’s got the talent to overtake Blake by mid season if everything clicks. His college play (in one season) did not display him as a true point guard, but this likely had more to do with the fact that he was Arizona’s first scoring option (19.7ppg as a Frosh). He’s got a ton of talent, and really, was a steal where the Pacers took him (#11). I think the bigger picture here is that by not trading for a veteran PG, they are committing to playing Brandon more at the point, with Rudy at SG and SF. I think we’re going to see a lot of small lineups, with any combo of Blake-Roy-Rudy/TO/Marty, or Bayless-Roy-Rudy/TO/Marty with ALdridge/Frye/Oden/Joel alternating in the frontcourt.

Names missing from the rotation: James Jones, Sergio Rodriguez, LaFrentz (duh), Diogu. First, Jones - he has opted out of his contract, and he reportedly has an offer from at least one team for 4 years/$20mil. He can’t come close to this with Portland, so he’ll be gone - probably a good thing in the long run, since Marty and Rudy will eat up those minutes anyway.

Sergio: He’s as good as gone. If there is a taker over the course of the summer, look for him to be traded. He regressed in every category from his rookie season, and now, he will not be taking part in summer league - a big, big mistake, especially since he’s no longer on the Spanish national team. My prediction has him going away for a pick or an expiring contract (possibly to Phoenix, the team that originally drafted him). I believe there is a good chance of the Blazers signing Petteri Koponen to fill the “developing point guard” roster spot. He has added a lot of bulk, is coming off a good season in Finland, and will be participating in Summer League. He is a big point guard (6′4″) and, from what I saw last year in Vegas, the kid can play.

LaFrentz: Last year of his deal - he will make sure the bench doesn’t tip up in the air when Greg and Joel get up to fill the center role. More importantly, his $12.8mil will come off the cap before the 2009 free agent class. (more importantly still, Stevie Franchise’s deal will also then be off the cap - another $19mil)

Diogu: I can’t see where he fits with this team - if he sticks, it is likely because Frye gets moved - I hope this doesn’t happen, because I love Channing’s game - especially along side Greg. More likely, he fills McRobert’s role next to LaFrentz, but - but he actually has quite a bit of talent as a low post scorer.

Here is my rotation/roster:

Starters:
PG Blake
SG Roy
SF Outlaw
PF Aldridge
C Oden

6. Webster
7. Fernandez
8. Pryzbilla
9. Bayless
10. Frye
11. Rodriguez (not in rotation)
12. Diogu (not in rotation)

13. LaFrentz
14. Koponen
15. (real long shot) Nicolas Batum or Joel Freeland.

If Fernandez has a strong showing in camp, don’t be shocked if the starting lineup has him at SG and Roy at PG, with Blake first off the bench, likely to sub for TO around the 6:00 mark. I envision a lot of small back court lineups, with Oden and Aldridge creating a deadly inside/outside combo at PF/C (and Pryzbilla/Frye doing the same thing for the 2nd unit). Bottom line - I see 55 wins. Much, much better than last year - and no less than a 6 seed. This team has a chance to be scary good - this year.

Next year, a top of the class free agent is a distinct possibility, especially if Allen gives the green light and doesn’t mind paying a luxury tax once Roy and Aldridge come up for max contracts in 2011/12, and Oden the next year.

—- Flash forward to the present —-

Tomorrow, I will write my assessment on how the season has progressed to date - so far, so good.  My predictions, not so much.

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.

Summer Update

June 24, 2001 in Life, School, Work | No comments

Summer is again upon us and with it this page once again finds itself the focus of a major update. If you’re a frequent visitor (and I know there’s more than Peter and myself), you have probably noticed what has become a long period of inactivity on this site. I won’t go into the drawn-out “I really meant to update” excuse that I would normally use, rather I will simply skip over it. You know, like the details in a Reader’s Digest condensed book, or the period in George W’s life between ages 16 and 45. It’s really not that important anyway.

The important thing is that yet another year of college has passed by, with it another year of my life, as I have turned 21 since my last update. (Insert your own excuse for my online absence here.) I made it through last term relatively unscathed, earning an A and two Bs while also surviving my final week as an RA on Ham Staff 2000-2001. Even though I once again had to force myself to stay up in excess of 40 hours as the end of the term neared.

After all- what would college be without the end of the term procrastinator’s test of manhood? Oh well. With all the idiocy that comes in saving a final paper (which I had a week to write) for the last ten hours of the term, I managed to earn an A on the paper itself (my third such A paper in two terms, I might add). In all, I must say that I’m rather proud of my grades this term. After all, it is only the second time in my life that I’ve earned a 3 point. I am so smrt.

In other news, my life on summer staff has officially started. So far I’ve taped meal cards and handed out blankets to people. In other words, they may as well be paying me to live at the mission. But hey- they’re paying me, so there’s no complaints here. Aside from that, there really hasn’t been much going on with me in the past couple of weeks. I’ve moved across campus, but with that nothing has really changed aside from my phone number and where I put my TV. I did buy some new furnishings, but I’ll be damned if I spend more than a sentence talking about my splendid new entertainment center and poster frames.

As for this coming week, I’ll be going home Wednesday to travel to Seattle with my family and watch the Oakland A’s kill the Mariners. In the process, I’m hoping to get the Mustang insured so I can bring it down to Eugene for a month or so and actually get some use out of the roughly $500 that was spent getting it to run. While I’m in McMinnville, I hope to see some people who I’ve inadvertently been ignoring for the past month. In addition, I will be wishing my brother a happy 13th birthday, as I don’t think I’ll be around for his actual birthday, July 2nd.

That will have to be it for this update. In the coming week I hope to have several new pictures online, including the infamous “swollen lip” shots, which I have now had developed. Watch this page and all attached, as this should be a week of updates. In the meantime, farewell.

Papers and Recording

March 11, 2001 in Life, School | No comments

I’m tired. Actually, I’ve been tired for upwards of a week now, stemming from my all-night political science writing and reading adventure. Yeah, that was about as fun as it sounds. I spent from about 6:00pm Monday night until 11:30am Tuesday morning reading for a midterm and writing a paper on the fight for suffrage and abolition, and how statements made from lead figures in the respective movements were looking for broad social change or simply the enforcement of the rights granted in the Declaration of Independence. Don’t ask me for the answer- All I wrote was “yes.” Actually, it was a pretty good paper. I even learned a lesson from the experience- don’t stay up for more than 30 hours.

Yes, I know, all sorts of drug addicts stay up for days on end, but I’m simply not man enough for it. As of 11:30am I had been up for 27 hours, and had an afternoon of various classes and meetings ahead of me.

When I finally got back to my room at 3:30, I played guitar instead of going to bed. I was certain that if I fell asleep, I would wake up at about midnight and then I’d be screwed. Well, after I realized that at one point I had been staring out my window playing an A minor for about ten minutes, I decided that I could spare a nap. I woke up a few hours later at the insistence of my alarm, and ever since I have been a little less than energetic. It’s pretty sad when I have to look forward to the “comfort” of finals week to catch up on sleep. Oh well, at least I got a B+ on the midterm.

In other news, the Bin Lauden gig actually yielded an award of sorts for Sexshun 14. “51 Feet Away” actually made it to the second round of the new song contest, where it will win sometime next term. In other words, we’re an award-winnin’, singin’ sensation! It was great; all of the judges and audience members were laughing like mad. The only disappointment was that we only had three representatives of our immense fan pool present- Lauren, Melita, and Taka’s girlfriend, whose name I don’t know how to spell. I guess that was ok, seeing as Mary was in Lake Oswego and Vanessa in Redmond. Hopefully we’ll be recording the song in a few days, but based on mine and Peter’s attempt at recording the song on a four track last night, we need some more practice. It’s kinda hard to squeeze out talent from where there is none. However, when it is recorded I will post a MP3 somewhere on this site.

That’s about it for now- tonight I’ll probably make updates on a few pages, including the friends page, sports and music, so go ahead and take a look. For now, it’s laundry time.

Valentine’s Day

February 22, 2001 in Life | No comments

HAHA!!! Take that, God. Valentine’s day did not entirely suck this year, unlike the three previous Valentine’s Days. What was the difference? It could have been the fact that for once I actually bought dryer sheets, so my shirt didn’t cling quite so closely to my body, but then again my new-found comfort doesn’t explain the 63% I received on my Spanish exam. I know, a little less than stellar, but I feel ok since my GTF said that a lot of typically good test-takers saw drops of 20-25% in their grades on this test. For me, it was 30. Oh well- there’s two more exams. Maybe I shouldn’t have written my answers in German.

After the test debacle, I spent about a half hour outside of Condon Hall looking for the elusive perfect two roses to go with the already discovered perfect red rose. After much internal debating, I settled on two very nice white roses. Actually, they ended up being two different shades of white. Oh well- she seemed to like them.

As for the aforementioned “she”… Mary ditched me until about midnight on Valentine’s, which left me to sit in my room and panic about classes (once again, due to the exam). My fears were temporarily extinguished though when she walked in with a weird grin on her face. After talking for a few minutes, and hearing her apologize for not calling to say she would be late, she pretty much asked me if I wanted her to be my girlfriend. This was great for two reasons- first, of course I wanted her to be my girlfriend. Second, for a brief period of about 15 minutes, I was once again in control.

But that illusion has once again faded. Oh well, there’s other news. We (Sexshun 14) finished “51 Feet Away” last week and will be performing it at Thursday’s staff meeting- this should be a giant leap in my bid for stardom, though I never really thought that I’d be a pop star. However, I really need to learn how to play a B and an F so I can finally get some music credits. We’ve also got a gig at the EMU’s Bin Lauden Room, for some kind of new song contest. I think that it’s for the folk festival, but oh well- we’ll tear the roof down with ‘51 Feet’ and perhaps another Sexshun gem, yet to be finished.

Aside from Sexshun stuff and Mary, not too much is really new with me. I have once again been battling illness, and I’m beginning to think that I am in fact cursed. I mean, in almost three months I have had tonsillitis twice, strep throat once and my current nasty cough/sore throat. I think that this is just some intricate plot by someone to murder me. Hmm… perhaps it is God, responding to my boasting at the beginning of this post. I’m on to you, man.

As for the page updates, in the next week or so I will once again be updating my friends page, along with adding two new adventures, a new good & bad list, music reviews, my first article on the politics page, updates on the Mustang page… in short, EVERY page will receive attention over the coming weekend. Stay tuned and keep coming back.

School, Songwriting

February 12, 2001 in Life, School | No comments

Hmm… I know that about two months ago I promised to update more often. After two months and four updates, we can all see exactly how well that promise has turned out. Perhaps I shouldn’t say too many things during my presidential campaign. Apologies for my lack of timeliness aside, it has been a good month.

School should go relatively well this term, which is good since last term didn’t go as well as I would have hoped, and the non-school aspects of life are also going quite well at the moment. Mary actually got me out on a dance floor a few weeks ago, though exactly whose date I was could be left for debate. Anyhow, I attended the first dance lesson of my life one Friday night at Gerlinger “dancing” swing. I felt kinda bad because she actually had some shred of talent, so after about two and a half hours of both lessons and open dance, I stepped off to the side with the other mutants and watched the real people dance.

After about a half hour of doing that I walked back to Hamilton with Josh, where we met up with Peter Boss, Curtis, and Taka to commence song writing for our new project, “Sexshun 14.” We didn’t complete any songs that night, ut it was nice to gauge the group chemistry and observe the creative genius that is Sexshun 14. Not to mention that we made great strides in completing our first song- “51 Feet Away,” which is now in its final stages.

In the time since, I have spent a lot of time both working and trying to regulate my second floor, which seems to think that I give up easily… mwah-hahaha!!!! However, in the extra time that I have spent in my hall I’ve gotten to know some of my residents better, which is cool. Oh yeah, and I’ve learned what an annoyance to some my very presence can be. Oh yes, my life as an RA is so far good.

I could go on about sorts of other things that have happened in the past month, but I would be writing forever, creating yet another VERY large update. I won’t do this. Rather, I will spend that time updating and creating other pages to complete this site and detail the various adventures that I have had in the past month. Stay tuned for updates on the Music, Adventures & Friends, Sports, Biography, and Writings pages. But for now, good day.

November; Sickness

November 27, 2000 in Life, School, Work | No comments

Aw yes… The holidays are upon us, which invariably means that Chris is once again battling some form of bronchitis. It seems that whenever I am ready to jam myself full of turkey and stuffing, whether it be Thanksgiving or Christmas, I find myself confined to the sofa sipping from a glass of water and taking in whatever holiday marathon is taking place on The Learning Channel. This Thanksgiving it was “Junkyard Wars.” It was pretty cool because this team of fat, British bikers turned a Land Rover into an amphibious vehicle, kicking the crap out of a Royal Navy Team. When I saw them, I couldn’t help but think back to an old Monty Python skit advertising the hip new “Royal Nayvee” (Which, by no cannibalism, I mean that there’s a certain amount). It made me laugh, which unfortunately hurt a lot.

Aside from TLC, I also watched my fair share of Comedy Central- which was nice since we don’t have it here in Eugene. I loaded up on SNL repeats and The Daily Show when whatever was on TLC or the History Channel didn’t interest me.

Unfortunately, this meant that I spent almost every waking moment of the two days that I was in McMinnville sitting in front of the television- save for the hour or so that I spent at the doctor’s office getting prescriptions for stuff that would make me not want to get out of bed for days.

But it wasn’t all bad, I did get to clean my Bimmer and see my family, so that was cool. I just would have liked to be able to leave the house, or at least eat. I arrived back in Eugene Friday night, at which time I cleaned my room a little, watched “The Perfect Storm” in Curtis’ room and retired to bed where I stayed until roughly noon. Saturday was spent driving around Eugene visiting many, many thrift stores and a guitar shop with Vanessa. Our goal was to find a petticoat for her to wear under her gorgeous new dress for her mother’s wedding. Though we stopped at more stores than I can count, our mission ultimately proved unsuccessful. She still tried on the dress for me, and yes, she still looked beautiful- even without the extra poofiness that a petticoat would have provided. We were out until about 6:30, when I had to come back to my room for duty. It was good timing too as I made it back just as our steak had hit the Red Devil Grill (The Ultimate Outdoor Kitchen) over on the Watson porch. I proceeded to have a delicious steak dinner with Pete, Josh, Curtis, Roland, and Taka. Vanessa was there too, but she didn’t really eat, so she doesn’t count. The food was good, we made a lot of jokes, and it was the first real meal that I had had in a few days, so I was happy.

The next day was spent laying in bed until about noon, when my election coverage intake was interrupted by Mary and Jen, who were coming to make sure that I had been taking my medication and drinking plenty of water. They proceeded to make me drink water out of an empty Weinhard’s root beer and choke down my huge pills. While that wasn’t very pleasant, it was reassuring to know that they would prefer that I not die. The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging around my room with an assortment of people, including Mary, Jen, Peter, and Patrick until I decided that showertime is traditionally before 3:00. Eventually, I emerged from my room to pick up Cassie from the train station. It was the first time all day that I had actually left my room, so that felt good. Besides- Cassie is a sweetheart, so I had to.

Cassie and I returned to my room where we watched The Simpsons with Mary, Peter, and Kayla. This was eventually interrupted by over five cop cars outside Hamilton, but that’s another story. Once we were done standing in the cold, inhaling pepper spray, I followed through on my threat to make Cassie watch “American Beauty.” She seemed to like it, and I of course still regard it as genius. With the exception of my comforting Mary through “Apocalypse Now” later that night, this essentially ended my Thanksgiving weekend. I’m going to aim at ceasing my illness sometime this week, but no promises. We’ll see how the week goes- all things considered, this weekend was pretty cool.