off to the woods

in case anyone wonders, i'm backpacking from tomorrow til sunday. so if you cannot contact me, that's
why. although all of my readers are probably at the rnc or something anyway, not waiting for updates
from me...oh well. have fun kids!

i have a gmail invite too

do you want gmail? i have an invite. comment if you want the account.

goodbye, dc

a picture to memorialize my stay in the district:



aww, i will miss it here.

I SAW A GUY RIDING A SEGWAY TODAY

for real. riding down the sidewalk.

this would be a longer entry, and i even have an unrelated picture to post, but i need to go to sleep. maybe tomorrow, readers...

build a better bush!

build a better bush! build a better bush!

i don't think a lot of these are true, but anyway...

You Know You're From Oregon When...

Your children learned to walk in Birkenstocks. You throw an aluminum can in the trash and feel guilty. You complain about Californians as you sell your house to one for twice as much as you originally paid. You only honk your horn if collision is imminent and never for anything else. You consider something a "hill" (not a mountain) if it doesn't have snow on it or has not recently erupted, regardless of its altitude. You consider "etiquette" a foreign word. Most of your friends are from California. You find a wallet with $500 and give it back to the owner. You used to live somewhere else but won't admit it publicly. You've ever ordered a half caff/decaf, nonfat mocha grande with sugar-free cranberry whip (or you know what it is). You know a bride & groom that registered at REI. If someone ran your car off the highway, you might drown. You'd be miffed if the store was out of your favorite brand of water. Every day is casual Friday. Hear the word "ferry" and think of boats and long waits. Know at least eight people who work for Intel or Nike, or used to work for Tektronix. You think skiing always means being covered from head to toe, in snow or water. Know that Boring is a town and not just a state of mind. Have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat. You return from a California vacation depressed because “all the grass was dead.” Remember the date, severity, time of day, where you were, and how long you were out of power and phone service for every winter weather event in the last five years. Have ever called your insurance agent to ask if your homeowner’s policy covers falling trees, flooding, or mud slides You never go camping without waterproof matches, ponchos, and mattress pads that double as flotation devices. You believe swimming is not a sport but a survival skill to prevent boating deaths. You own more than 10 articles of clothing that have the names of microbreweries/brewpubs printed on them. You think downtown is "scary" because you were panhandled there, once. You replace your hiking boots with Birkenstock or Teva sandals when the weather gets above 60 degrees. You believe people who use umbrellas are wimps or Californians, or both. You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Oregon.

Get Your Own "You Know You're From" Meme Here



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today was so not the day to forget my umbrella

that big green patch over dc means...that i am really wet. i had planned to go visit something after work today, since rc is gone and i didn't want to be home alone, but i couldn't stand the thought of being outside. dc was so flooded as i was leaving the office. people were standing huddled in doorways, or running barefoot to avoid wrecking their shoes, or bracing their umbrellas against the rain pelting down from a 45 degree angle. so i came home, wrapped myself in a towel, closed all the windows, made dinner, contemplated the thought of going to the giant to get some more groceries, decided to post in my blog instead....

today i was in meetings all day at work (doesn't that make me seem important?) they're interviewing two candidates for a vacant position at my office, and so they had these final interviews with the entire staff. getting a job is scary. i got a copy of each of their resumes and i kept thinking that they were like the sample ones from the crc, and had to remind myself that these were real people. the applicants had to sit at one end of the conference room table and answer a question from everyone (well, except the interns.) they asked hard questions too. then after they left we had a little meeting about each one. from which i learned: if they ask you about where you heard of the job, don't say "Idealist." i'm scared of finding a job now! (i already said that...) to all my readers presently in a job finding situation... i wish you lots of luck!

ok...

this is pretty awesome

bored

yesterday i finished reading a really great book and i wish i hadn't, just so i could read it some more now.

went to the zoo today. the panda is not named zu-zu. there are two and their names are Mei Xiang and Tian Tian. you can actually watch them on pandacam. i watched them eat bamboo for a while.

people should join the facebook...yeah, i don't care what you think of it, i just want you to join so i have more friends!

remember when the phrase "orange alert" meant that someone was about to throw a fruit at you?

yesterday while going to get groceries, i passed a building all roped off because of a suspicious package. meanwhile, a stretch Hummer was parked across the street. now i know that they're checking all trucks and vans that drive by the IMF/WB/whatever other targets...but are they checking stretch Hummers? hello terrorists! what a perfect opportunity to drive in a shitload of explosives!

meanwhile, i have been *busy* at work for the first time in forever. it's kind of fun.

our new blog

do you ever read the paper, and wonder, "am i reading a real article...or an onion article?" if so, you should copy and paste the article on our new blog. leave a comment over there if you want posting privileges...the more, the merrier.