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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.

Finally Working; Visiting Eugene

February 23, 2004 in Life, Travel, Work | No comments

After four weeks, the reality of living as a regular working stiff is beginning to set in. Sure, I was going to work daily before I left for Seattle, but I wasn’t really working. Now, I am actually doing something- talking to people on the phone, listening to the various excuses people give in an attempt to let me know that it’s not really their fault for hitting that car that was parked and minding its own business on the side of the street… it’s gone quite well so far- I’ve only been cussed at a few times, been hung up on twice, and heard one lecture on Benny Hinn. Then again, I’m only getting a paltry three claims a day, so I still may crack when I’m upped to unlimited.

Normally I would have started a post with something non-work related, but really my life has been consumed with work of late. I leave the house in McMinnville at 6:40am, arrive in Lake Oswego at about 7:45, work until 4:30pm, hit the road immediately and arrive back at home in McMinnville anywhere between 5:30 and 6:30pm, depending on traffic. In other words, I don’t do a whole lot more than work during the week. As a testament to this, I have gone out precisely six times on weeknights since starting my job on December 15 (not counting the Seattle excursions). This must change- and to facilitate change, I must move out of McMinnville. This would free up the roughly three hours I spend in my car each day for fun stuff, like Blazer games, riding bikes, looking at stuff, and most importantly, NOT cursing at the jackass trying to merge into the right quarter panel of my car on highway 99w east of Dundee every night at 5:15pm. What a life it would be… hopefully it will be a reality by March 1.

Despite my commute, I have managed to have a pretty good time the last couple of weekends. Two weekends ago I traveled to Eugene with Derek and went out with Miller, Wells, Autumn, and last but certainly not least, Gio. We didn’t do too much- hit a few bars, talked a lot, and I lost my requisite three games of pool, but it was great to see Gio again. That Saturday was Valentine’s day, and the evening was spent by first going to ice cream with Vanessa, then picking up my honorary Valentine Leah and going to Sam Bond’s Garage to see one of her co-workers’ bands. It was pretty fun, but I didn’t know anyone so I was a little on the quiet side… but it was live music, and Leah, so I had fun nonetheless.

There have been a few adventures, I guess… traveling to Portland one Sunday with Miller to partake in “Sunday Sportsday,” for instance. We first saw the Blazers beat the Seattle Supersonics at the Rose Garden in what was to be Rasheed Wallace’s last game as a Blazer, then we walked over to Memorial Coliseum where we purchased tickets to the Portland Winterhawks game against Moose Jaw. In other words, we saw two sporting events in the span of six hours, interrupted only by the hour or so we had to kill by walking around the Oregon Convention Center and MLK Boulevard. It was a busy, full day that in turn led to a couple hundred miles of driving over the weekend, but it was really fun, and I got to buy my discounted Bonzi Wells #6 jersey at the Blazer team store.

Aside from that, I’ve really accomplished very little in the last month. I went out with Bambi on Saturday (nothing beats the McMinnville club scene… sigh.) and I saw Neil Young with Wells and Ma and Pa Wells on Friday, but aside from those outings, it’s really been a so-so couple of weeks in the northern Willamette Valley. I guess that’s the reason I’ve chosen the picture that I have for this update. I snapped it out the passenger side window of the Bimmer one morning on my way to work. Really, it’s not all the good of a picture- it’s all blurry, and the colors aren’t quite as brilliant as they were in person. However, it’s a good reminder of what it is to live here. However little a photo of Mt. Hood against a sunrise may mean in the scheme of things, it’s something that you just can’t see in Eugene, and it’s just one little reason why I’m glad to be back in the Portland area.

Sorry- no introspective diatribe on this round of Saturatedpratt… I guess I’ll save that for the next time, although I have appreciated the feedback from the last update. As for the things I am working on for this site- I’ve been gradually adding to three major projects, and I think I’m beginning another… the only question is whether or not I will actually progress far enough in any of them to put anything online. I suspect I will, at least with two of them. So in case you‘re at all interested, feel free to check the writings page for one short story, and possibly a longer story, or series of stories in the near future… I don’t know what it is really, it’s still taking shape. That’s it for now.

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.

21st Birthday

July 5, 2001 in Life | No comments

Now that the months of summer are upon us, I’m deeming this evening’s update to be the one that finally deals with the world-shaking events otherwise known as Chris’ birthday. After all, as Ham Staff knows, birthdays last but three months of the year. So, in keeping with recent tradition, let us wish Chris a happy birthday, July 5th style!

Hey- it’s not that I’m really intending for people to continue the celebration, it’s really just that I now have time to reflect. Besides, I’ve pretty much been called out by Vanessa. Between pistols at dawn and a website update a month late, I pick the update (primarily because I do not own a pistol.)

The day started as other- with a midnight trip to Albertsons to buy some Weinhards. With this, I was able to exercise my new found responsibility to both buy alcohol, then later consume it. I couldn’t believe the actual transformation that my body went through at precisely 12:01 am, May 29th. It was as though I was suddenly a grownup. I cast aside my childish dreams and immediately grew a mean beard. Most of all though, from 11:59 to 12:01, I officially became responsible enough to be trusted with fire water. I couldn’t even imagine what would have happened had I possessed alcohol before I reached the age of 21. I promptly returned to my room and basked in the moment with Chris Wells. About 30 minutes later I retired to bed. I guess it was my age catching up with me.

In the morning I went to class, like most other days- though I left early. I proceeded to walk to 13th street, where I met Vanessa, as well as DPS Eddy and Joey for lunch at Sy’s. It was very nice and low-key, though Vanessa was pissed since I had received a 35 (out of 35) on my geography midterm (half of which I was not in class for), while she received, well, I can’t remember what she received. Anyway, she was not happy. She did get to laugh at me though, as I proceeded to drop sausage all over the place as it fell off my pizza. Lunch only lasted about a half hour, and following its completion I returned to my room, where I basked in the first day of what I now simply refer to as “birthday.”

The rest of that day was spent more or less relaxing, later traveling to McMenamin’s where Brian and Lauren treated me to a burger and a beer. This was good, and Brian and I were able to talk for about an hour about cars and other miscellaneous things while Lauren looked on. I’m not sure how entertaining it was for her, but hey, this is MY birthday, so there. After dinner, I returned to my room where I waited for an impromptu staff meeting. While waiting for the meeting to commence, I was graced by the appearance of Jessie Kirk and the lovely Josh Christiansen. Wait… I think I reversed those. Anyway, they brought me a Corona and happy birthday wishes, while helping me watch Traffic. After the meeting, I retired to my room, where I eventually went to bed. Nothing much happened on my birthday, but more was to come, with a promise from Vanessa for a full day of birthday celebration.

On Saturday I arrived at Vanessa’s place at roughly noon only to find her laying in bed. This was ok though, as it was my day and she in turn had no right to feel as though her privacy had been invaded by my presence at the foot of her bed. After about a half hour of conversation, she finally rose from her slumber and we were ready to start the day. She proceeded to make breakfast for me, consisting of toast and sausage, which was very good by the way. After doing the dishes, she began working on what was soon to become my birthday cake. While the cake was baking, we worked on cleaning the kitchen and continued talking. When the cake was done, we commenced our day out. The first stop was VRC where Vanessa searched through racks of discount clothes, somehow finding outfit after outfit that looked great on her. I’m not sure that I can count all of the articles of clothing that she pulled off of racks, but the whole trying-on process probably lasted upwards of 20 minutes. It was ok though, as I knew that this was at least in preparation for what was to be our evening out. In all I think she bought something like $100 in clothing, which I think is more than I have spent in all my years in Eugene.

We walked around the mall for a while, but didn’t really buy anything else. From there, we drove to Dairy Queen where we sat in the parking lot and ate hotdogs, which, if it were not with a beautiful woman, would sound very pathetic. We then drove to some cool neighborhood in the area of Coburg Road and looked at big, cool houses and just talked. The day soon took a turn for the serious though, when while shopping at Wal Mart, we found what seemed to be an excellent engagement ring- and for only about $7.00! It seemed perfect, not to mention the fact that I wasn’t all that sure that I had asked for her hand in marriage. However the joy soon turned to sadness when we realized that there were no rings in her size. Disappointed but not defeated, we ventured to Target where our luck was better. Secure with our newly discovered engagement, we separated for a while when she had to make an appearance at work. I used the opportunity to change my clothes and shave, as she had made a vow to “be the most beautiful date” I’d ever had. I decided that I should probably look decent as well. (At least I tried.)

She returned to my room at about 9:30, and we decided to go out shortly after 10:00. Where she had attempted to become the most beautiful date I had ever had, she largely succeeded. In truth, I was pretty surprised that I was going out with this woman for a night (as were my residents, who, as I was told, actually watched us leave the building and continued talking about us quite a while after we had left.) Vanessa wanted to go to a place where we could dance, but I’m not really much a dancer, so we seemed to settle on a sort of middle ground. We went to Diablos, where we sat at the bar for a while and ate, (as well as drank). After eating and watching the bartender spit fire, we went downstairs to the dance floor where I proceeded to watch her and many other people dance. It was actually quite fun, even though I was mainly in an observatory mode. She would come over to me every now and then and talk, but for the most part I was just glad that she was having fun for my birthday. Perhaps the best part was watching all of these guys making passes at her, then looking slightly dejected when they realize that she was in fact with me. In a few cases, guys even came up to me to comment on my “fine” girlfriend. I, of course, nodded and smiled.

We were there until about 2:00am, when we returned to her place and just sort of relaxed for a while. Nothing much was said at this point, but I think that we both were in agreement that it had been a very good day. I guess that perhaps the best part was that she did so much for my birthday, especially when she really didn’t have to. I mean, she baked a cake and took me out to lunch, which is where most people would stop. However, she went head and shoulders above what she needed to, and I really appreciated it. Even now, a month later, I look back to that day and it really means a lot to me. I’m really glad that I’ve grown so close to her, and it is times like that one Saturday that remind me of exactly how good she has been towards me in the year that I have known her. I’m just glad that she’s my fiancé.

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.

Isolation in Dunn Hall

December 12, 2000 in Life, School, Work | No comments

Now that winter vacation is upon us, it seems as though fall term 2000 went by in a matter of weeks… say, ten. OK, so maybe that’s an exaggeration, but this fall has certainly had its share of ups and downs. Right now, however, I must say that it’s on an upswing- for me anyway. To begin with, the residents of Dunn Hall have gone home, or at least somewhere other than here. Don’t get me wrong- I love my residents, well, most of them,

but it’s nice to rest in quiet solitude from time to time. Second, I have emerged from finals week relatively successful- or at least not as horribly as I could have. **—Chris’ stream of thought is suddenly interrupted by a flood of emergency vehicles speeding down Franklin—** I wonder where they are all going? Oh well. On to other news…

So I suppose that the lights and sirens really weren’t THAT distracting, or maybe they were… you’ll never know, and that’s what makes this fun. You see, I could have that short of an attention span, or I could simply be bored with calm reflection on the term. Either way, I’m moving on.

As alluded to earlier, I am now currently one of four residents of Dunn Hall- which, in a way, is very nice. It’s great- I can play my music loud without feeling like a hypocrite, I can be gone constantly without one iota of regret, and I get to eat out of cans! Well, I suppose that the meal situation isn’t necessarily stellar, but I do get to test the nutritional limits of Chef Boyardee Ravioli, Chili Dogs, and toast. In my spare time, I’ve been watching movies and procrastinating the update of this website. This weekend was, as a whole, quite uneventful. Friday night was spent with my staff, wishing everyone a good vacation and eating a cheeseburger and tomato soup at the Glenwood. Later that night Mary, Josh, Curtis, Jessie, Pete, Cassie and I asserted our dominance of the Hamilton Complex by watching “Clerks” on the big screen in the basement. As these things usually go, Pete (boss Peter, not Peter Boss) eventually shot Josh and Curtis as Mary and I attempted to dodge the fire. We were both eventually hit, but I believe Jessie escaped without injury. Cassie had already left, which leads me to believe that she was in on the whole thing. And to think- I had just given her a ring and professed my undying love to her. Oh well- I guess that all women are the same.

Saturday was spent shopping in preparation for Vanessa’s birthday, and yes, watching movies. After wrestling with the crowds at VRC and Albertson’s, I retired to my room to watch my two latest purchases, “American Movie,” and “Three Kings.” Both were very good, as was my celebratory first microwaved chili dog of winter break. Later I wrapped Vanessa’s gift and went to the birthday dinner at Red Robin. My second cheeseburger of the weekend was quite good, as was the decidedly birthday atmosphere at the restaurant. I say birthday atmosphere because there was no way in hell you could escape the birthday chanting from the Red Robin employees. I think that everyone was equally mortified when the birthday merriment made its way to our table, and the blame was to be placed squarely on Vanessa- first for being born on December 9th, and second, for ordering the drink that informed the waitress that it was in fact her birthday.

After dinner, we went back to her apartment where we proceeded to watch the Kids In The Hall tape that I bought for her. She seemed to like my gift, which was good, but the evening ended fairly early for me, as Vanessa left with her roommate to go out to a bar. Realizing that I was not yet 21, I retired to my room where I proceeded to go to bed. Sunday is a blur… I more or less sat in my room all day, then I went to work. Monday was more of the same, except I cleaned my room and talked on the phone for a while. Later today I should be receiving a visit from Mary- she says it’s to get stuff that she forgot- I say that she loves me. Later, I’ll go to work. I anticipate the rest of the week having more of the same- I’ll work at night when I can, and I go on duty Thursday. This weekend should be cool- I’ll be on duty and confined to my room, but Vanessa has pretty much committed to keeping me company.

As for this site, look for wholesale updates this week, with new material on the writings page (nothing that exciting, mainly assignments for class), an updated bio, good & bad list, and much, much more. That’s about it for now- I’m aiming to for at least one for addition to this page before I go home on the 19th. For now, it’s bedtime.

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.

Trip to Eugene

July 30, 2000 in Life, Politics, Travel | No comments

I got back from Eugene today, driving in 95 degree heat with no a/c. I had both windows and my sunroof open, but it was still well beyond uncomfortable. But I guess it was bearable as this weekend was very fun & complete.

On Friday Lauren, Karen, Emily, Arlie and I watched MST3K & some weird Indian movie until about 1:00am, when I proceeded to keep Lauren up until 2:30 complaining about various things (sorry, and I’ll get to work on that story soon =) Saturday was spent in Florence seeking salvation from the heat of the Willamette Valley. The coast was very fun- the sand was warm and we found a clean beach to play on, so it made the trip even more relaxing. Later Lauren and I went to a College Dems meeting at Coutney’s where we ate pizza and watched “Election”. On the way home from there, we frolicked through the sprinklers at 11:00 in front of Hendricks Hall. My adventure to Eugene came to an end today following lunch at the Glenwood with Vanessa. It was good, and we had fun listening to a guy behind us who was pretending to be a theology expert. His date didn’t seem very impressed though.