Killing time means no real content.

No matter how hard I try, no matter how much longer I sleep in, I still cannot seem to leave for work late enough to not stand in the hallway in Beaverton. It drives me nuts. It's hard to be such an early person in that branch, because they just aren't. Some are, but it's hit or miss. And there isn't a ton going on there. No matter how hard I try to stay here at home until 7:30, I just can't seem to pull it off. So I'm blogging with nothing to say until it's REALLY time to leave just so I can stress out on my stupid drive there thinking I'm going to be late when I am just not.

And it's the stupidest drive I have, of all the branches. Even downtown is easier than this. I have to drive through the heart of Beaverton and it takes for flipping ever. I will never understand why I stick around this dang city. It drives me nuts.

So I'll throw something out there that's been on my mind, even though it seems like I haven't heard anything about it on the local news lately (of course, you have to actually WATCH the news to hear something on it, I guess). This moving the Portland Beavers to Beaverton thing. Seriously? Do we really think they will succeed out here? They don't succeed in Portland. In that nice re-do of Civic Stadium they did a few years back. Nobody goes. People go for a little while at first and then they stop going and then they try to think about ways to get people to go and people still don't go. There was talk (again, I am not up on this lately, so somebody correct me if they have abandoned the idea already) of it going in where the Westgate Theater is/was (and stealing land from a long standing Beaverton family in the process), and if that is still the idea, it's got to be the worst idea ever. Cedar Hills Blvd (part of my stupid drive to the Beaverton branch - see how this all fits together?) is bad enough even with NO baseball park there. I sit on that damn road for seriously no less than 35 minutes on my way home. The traffic lights make no sense and you could seriously just turn off your engine and park where it intersects with TV Hwy during the afternoon rush hour. So imagine having an event (forget about that for right now, imagine the construction phase) there and all those other saps like me trying to get the fuck home while the 14 people that actually go to Beaver games are trying to get in there. Stupid. How about the city planners sit in that traffic some night and then decide.

Anyway, like I said, I don't even know if it's an issue anymore, but I never got it off my chest before, and now it's off, and would you look at that! It's 7:30 and time to go to work. I know you suffered through this, but remember that I did too, so we're even.

Back and forth

So it was a good trip, quick. I was back and unpacked before 4pm and I even took a quick nap. It's freezing in here and the kitties are back to being insane and that's that.

The trip over was fine, Cabbage Hill was icky but really not, and despite being lost in Hermiston for about 25 minutes and making three stops we actually made it in just over six hours. Ontario is Mountain Time, so I'm glad I left early from work. We stayed up chatting until around 1am, and slept a little bit on Saturday morning.

Saturday we met up with my cousin Dan and toured the (closed for the season) museum in Nyssa. I can't remember what it's called. But it had some pictures of my grandfather and great-uncle on my mom's side, Martin and Thomas, as well as some other photos of life on the sheep ranches from back then. It was actually a pretty cool museum, and in the event you ever get out that way, you should check it out. The mayor of Nyssa let us in and showed us around, and there were also some other guides that showed up along the way, though these ones didn't have faces and only enough strenght to pat me on the back and shove me on the hip a few times. I'll let you think about that.

After that we watched the game while Helen napped. I'm okay with it, by the way. The Ducks just weren't on their game and Stanford definitely was, and such is the game of football. Dan came by after the Veteren's Day parade in Ontario and watched the end of it, then the three of us went over to the assisted living facility to see our Aunt Jean and another old timer from days gone by. Drex, we found out, has lived quite a life, and will be 99 years old on January 29. Before Aunt Jean showed Barbie and I the door (quite quickly - she's lost her memory mostly and didn't really remember us - me especially, she never remembers me..), Dan told Drex that Barbie and I were there, and Drex pretty much pinpointed who are father and grandfather were without any kind of help from Dan. Sharp old man, that Drex. That was a very cool conversation.

We all had dinner at Helen's and turned in early. This morning we sat with AJ Feeley's dad at mass, and hit the road around 10:30 (which is 9:30 Portland time) after fueling up at the Jolts-n-Juice. It was sunny in Ontario; it was not in Portland. Sigh.

I wonder why I like going over there so much and kind of entertain the idea of making a living there. Kind of. I mean, it's out there. But it's nice. And there is so much history. And I spend a lot of time wondering these days what my purpose is. I'm just going to keep wondering for now, though, and see if anymore of those folks pushing me around in the Nyssa museum come in the middle of the night and give me some answers.

On the road again

The worst thing about leaving is leaving the kits. Though they probably don't even think about it, I hate leaving them because they know something's up and look at me with their little kitty eyes and it makes me sad.

But I'm off. I'll work most of the day and Barbie and I will be on the road by around 2pm, off east, through the gorge and over that flipping Cabbage Hill. No avoiding it in full dark. I hate that. But it's supposed to rain here all weekend and not in Ontario, so that's a plus.

I injured my right wrist last night trying to rectify a situation that has been irritating me for about two months. I have three smoke detectors in the apartment, all within two feet of each other. One of them (the one on the ceiling, highest of all three) has been beeping for about two months - about four beeps, with about ten seconds between each beep, once a day, then several times a day, so what does that mean? Low battery? I guess. Even though it is hooked up to the electrical source. Whatever. So last night, thinking this would be the weekend that the thing just finally broke down and endlessly wailed for the three solid days I'll be gone, I decided to disconnect it. I dragged one of my cast iron chairs down the hall and climbed up. I have balance issues, but I was fine during the twist-it-off-and-unplug-it-from-the-wires part, but when I went to get down I started to sort of pitch backward, and in the process, grabbed out for the back of the chair, wrenching my wrist in the process. It didn't hurt right away but the pain steadily increassed and now I have limited use of it (typing hurts, but I'm a giver, and so you can thank me later). I considered going to the doctor this morning on my way in to work, but if I recall, my cousin Helen used to be a nurse (I could be so wrong) so I'll just have her look at it. And suffer.

Anyway, no posts this weekend, but hopefully I'll have some adventures to tell when I'm back. It's a long drive back and forth, but that's what makes me such a big fan of the thunder run.

Tilt

So I'm supposed to take these antibiotics for 10 days for my left ear. Apparently after seeing the horror in there, the doctor took no chances and prescribed an antibotic ear drop along with the stronger oral antibiotic. I'm supposed to put 10 drops in the ear twice a day, which is fine, my aim is good and so far I have not dribbled any of it down the side of my neck, which seems like something I would do, especially when you consider there is no getting over the shock of that first drop hitting home, all cold and wet and in your ear.

Apparently along with having a small mouth, I also have a small ear canal, because 10 drops seems to be just a little too much. In theory (or as prescribed) I'm supposed to keep my head tilted to the side for five minutes for the drops to really get in there, but a) it kind of freaks me out to wonder where exactly all that medicine is going when it funnels down the canal and b) five minutes is WAY too long for me to sit with my head tilted. One night I just laid on the couch like that, but that meant I had to hear out of my bad ear and cover my hearing ear so watching TV and not hearing it was tiring after about a minute. For the most part I just stand in the kitchen and wait, or try to do things that I can do while tilting my head. Filling the cat bowl with water is not one of those things. Neither is trying to swallow the oral antibiotic but I certainly wasn't going to let common sense and logic keep me from a lesson to be learned. I can pet the cats, who are always on the counter these days, and I can read the stuff that's on my counter, but again, I'm good for about two minutes tops and then I shove some cotton in my ear and go about my morning or evening, as the case may be.

But then I'm deaf for about four hours again, until it finally sort of clears itself up when I'm not paying attention. I've never had any real pain with this infection, so it's not like I can tell if it's working by feeling better. I just have to trust the prescription. Ten days is a long time to have to keep doing this, especially if you have patience issues like me.

On another note, I spoke with my cousin Dan in Vale today about our upcoming trip. He didn't know we were coming, so I gave him a bit of shit for not keeping in touch with his cousin, which confused him, because my cousin Helen is actually his aunt, which led him to give me some shit for not keeping track of the family, which really shouldn't be a huge surprise to him. He'll be around this weekend, so that's good, and we had a nice chat. We still claim we are going to the homestead, which will be neato and might even warrant an actual camera as opposed to just my iPhone, but we'll see how I remember in the packing process tomorrow night. Apparently it's rugged terrain, and it will be cold. Colder than shit, actually. Remember how I don't really have coats? Just that one wool one I wear to work (but not yet because I can't until December 1). Anyway the conversation kind of fired me up, and so far the weather doesn't really call for horrific conditions over Cabbage Hill (so far. Remember, it's me and Barbie on this trip), so I guess I am getting excited for it.

That's petty much all I've got for today. Work is fine, home is fine, life right now is fine, just plugging (unplugging?) along, living the dream, tilting my head.

One million-word sentence

I don't have much to contribute today besides happy birthday to Sheree who does not read this blog, but if you do, and you know her, wish her a happy birthday, and also I've been wondering recently how someone you thought you were SO IN LOVE WITH (in an I'm-16-and-have-no-idea-what-love-is kind of way) a million years ago can become so annoying and different a million years later, and it's obviously just what life does to a person but seriously if you would have told me a million years ago that this person, who left, never to be seen or heard from again, would come back, a million years later, I would have (at that time) been ecstatic, no matter what, wouldn't have cared what he was like now, just happy, just grateful that he was back, but really, what do you know when you're only 16, and after a million years of living my OWN life, I'd really just rather he stayed in my memory exactly the way he was a million years ago and not the pompous, irritating, self-righteous (did I mention annoying?) person he has presented himself to be now, a million years later.

Prep month

So now that I'm booked and in theory really only need to pack a bag and find a way to the airport, you might think I can just while away this month of November. Well, you're wrong. It's Power Tan time.

I should have tanned yesterday, it being November 1st, but I didn't. Instead I napped a little, cleaned a lot, and tried to take a drive (there was a big wreck on River Road and I was turned away). I simply must start tonight. The problem is I'm not that fired up for it yet. I really only took a month off from tanning (sufficient time for me to go back to complete paste) so the thought of it kind of tires me. Plus the first couple of times I go I don't really get anything, and I have patience issues.

Power Tanning means I go daily for the first week and then every other day for the rest of the month. Not only does it prep my skin for the rigorous tan schedule I have while in Mexico, but it allows me to actually wear shorts when I first get there. And it also opens the door for me to tell everyone I run into that I'm going on vacation. Because I do that.

Today Rudy the maintenance man is coming in to (scare the shit out of the cats and) install a new heater in the casita. I'm sure you all know about my heating issues, two baseboard heaters in the back bedrooms that are rarely if ever used, and the one little box heater by the front door that is intended to heat the entire living area (I almost typed "living space", but thanks to HGTV I refuse to call it that). It doesn't work. It heats a straight path from the entry way to the hall, where nobody sits or stands. I cover myself up with blankets and last year I even bought a little space heater for the super cold days (but I had to keep reminding myself to turn it off if I used the microwave, because if I didn't it blew fuses all over hell and gone and it's a pain in the ass to reset the cable box). This new one will be in the dining room and might actually heat more of the room. I hope so. I hate being cold and it's been cold already.

But sunny. Today and the rest of the week it will allegedly be sunny. I'm glad for that. I'm working downtown and when I need to go out for a little fresh air it sucks if it's raining because you have to take an umbrella. It's the little things. Plus sunshine just makes me a happier girl.

Not much else new except for the ass-handing the Ducks gave to USC on Saturday night. You know, nothing big. I'll be honest - the first half had me nervous (putting it mildly) because their offensive line was doing what their o-line does - looking marvelous. I don't know what happened at the half, though. Usually you figure the locker room chit chat is inspiring enough for them to come out with guns blazing, but apparently it didn't. Not as much as it did the Ducks. I'm happy for that, the Ducks are my boys no matter what, but I love to see this kind of success. Let's just keep it going, one week at a time.

I'm not even going to think about what I'll be doing the night of the Civil War game. Because I can't believe I booked without thinking about it. For now I'm not thinking about it. For now the focus is the Power Tan.

Can I get a Go Ducks?

Dear Ducks,

Good morning. I don't have to tell you how important today is. ESPN is in Eugene for College Game Day, the fans are frenzied, and you have some major focussing to do. This is a huge game for me, but I wanted to remind you about perspective as it relates to your performance on the field today.

This is USC. And USC has a long tradition of just being intimidating for what they are. Not necessarily who they are, but what they are. Just because they are USC doesn't mean you should be intimidated. We've all been watching their strengths and weaknesses this year. They should never have beat Ohio State, and they lost to Washington. They're good, but they're not great. And today, they are just another opponent.

I'll admit that when this season began I didn't think it would be a great season for you, Ducks. I didn't think it would be a bad one, I just didn't think it would be great. After Boise State (and I take full responsibility for that loss, by the way, so I apologize), I felt like this might be one of those seasons where we just sort of hung in the middle. I was okay with that, emotionally, and certainly was ready to stand by you as I have for 44 years with total support no matter what the turnout.

But look what you've done! One game at a time, you have managed to climb out of mediocrity and be outstanding. Weekly I become more impressed, more enamoured, more proud of all of your talents. As a team you're like poetry. Your confidence shows on the field and you are a joy to watch. So although my own stomach is in knots this morning, yours shouldn't be.

Because today's game is just another game, and USC is just another team - not bad, but not great, either. They are expecting to put you down a notch, but I am asking you today not to let that happen. Let your confidence shine through. Go in there today knowing who you are, who you have been all season, and play like you've been playing every week up to now.

Be who you have been all season. Be the 2009 Oregon Ducks - impressive, confident, strong.

Yours,

TtheD