Part 3. Monday at Little Strawberry Lake

AM, lets make coffee. The sun is shining, the air is crisp and we have coffee to make. I find a lovely flat spot on the lake and we do our thing. We look at the lake trout and the landscape and thank whomever (I did refer a lot to God on this trip, as Sunday could have been much, much worse) for being in the most beautiful spot I've ever camped. I don't think I have one photo that captures the true magnificence of the place, it was just too much for one photo. Here is the view at our breakfast spot:


That first night we were camped pretty close to this spot. To the right, were a bunch of huge boulders, that we climbed on and played around after coffee.

On a dare, trying to break a bit of the glacier off, and thinking I would only break off a piece about a foot at most, I ended up causing an 8 x 3 piece to crash into the lake. It was pretty cool.

Then I knew that this was going to be the best day of the trip when I saw, and exclaimed: "There are beers in the snow." Sure enough, a bottle of Jubuale and Black Butte Porter were sitting there for us to drink. I have recently learned the trick of how to open a beer bottle with another one and gave it a try. Worked like a charm. Breakfast was now beer on top of the coffee. We drank them rather quickly and with gusto.

When we were done, we decided to play it safe and move our camp over to a dryer location, and one that I prefered for the view. It was set above the lake a bit, but afforded an amazing scene with the mountains surrounding us and the lake below.

We made camp and then realized there wasn't much to do. We weren't hiking anywhere that day. We were just too sore. We kept looking at the clouds and I became an amateur meteorologist, having scrutinized the sky yesterday, I was ready to detect any similar patterns.

Needing something to do, and still a bit buzzed from the beer, we decided to climb the hill behind our camp. Not a small feat. If you look closely, in the middle of this photo, you'll see a waterfall, which came from another lake on the mountain. It was draining down the side into our lake. The photo was taken about half-way up from camp:


It was really bloody steep, though not covered in snow, and dangerous. We almost stopped several times and turned back, but as you get closer to a goal, it becomes harder to resist. So here's the view:



If you click on the photo above, you'll see where everything happened explained in notes.

So, it was hot and we wanted to get a swim in before the weather turned bad. We started back down the mountain and that's when I was inattentive at the wrong time and took a tumble. I have huge, baseball sized bruises on my left leg from that fall. Nasty. Then, we were walking on the snow again and Steve was showing me some shoe skiing moves. I decided it was too steep for that and sat down and proceeded to slide the length of that glacier. We ended up doing it again and again, causing our asses to be sore and wet, but it was the most fun thing we did on that entire trip. Check above for video.



Then, we were back at camp and the decision was made to swim in this lake. If you'll notice, the glaciers are touching the lake. There isn't much colder water anywhere in the world, I'd imagine. To make it better, we went to the edge of the glacier and jumped off of it to swim. Invigorating. Most of you that know me well, know that I am not a swimmer. But I'm improving, see?



Not much else happened that day. We explored the section that remained, an area full of huge, 8 foot boulders. I dared Steve to jump from one to another and he made it. I hesitated a moment too long and missed. My other leg took the brunt. I won't be wearing a skirt for a long time.

We started a fire around 7:00, made dinner and went to bed soon after the stars came out. We were brave and put the tent in the clearing to have a nice view, but became a bit more apprehensive in the night as clouds moved in. We were up early enough and hiked back out 3 miles to the car, where all sorts of good and decadent food awaited us in our still cold cooler.

A lovely trip. Oh, and on the trip out, I jumped into Strawberry Lake without any clothes on. I ended my virgin backpacking and virgin skinny-dipping in one trip.

Tuesday was another story.

Part 2. Last Sunday, or Hell with a backpack strapped on

Though there was an abundance of snow, this was a very hot and sweaty day.

We started out from Strawberry Lake, quickly coming to Strawberry Falls. Beautiful, and not too far into the hike to have us remotely exhausted yet. We decided to stop there for some breakfast.



From there, we continued our endless ascent into the hills. Here's Strawberry Lake in the background:



We were still pretty happy at this point, talking about how we'd set up camp at the top of the ridge, and climb the mountain and then either go on to the next lake or set up camp along the way. Heck, there were springs everywhere up here. No.

Instead, after several hours of walking, we hit some serious snow. The stuff on the level areas wasn't too bad, but I was exhausted. The packs were heavy, I'm not in the best of shape, nor have I done this before. Our elevation gain was pretty intense, as well as mileage. The snow made the trail impossible to find except for the footprints of someone that had come down off the mountain earlier. So onward, and upward. To this:



You can't really see the ledge from which I am ascending, because I am climbing a near vertical wall of snow. It was do-able on the way UP.

So, we made it to the ridge line, only to see nothing but a barren wasteland. A fire had ravaged this area and nothing had yet grown back. UGLY. It was now 12:30 (we got up hella early), and we were exhausted. We found a little spot and dropped our bags, planning to come back and camp there. And those springs, well, we looked for them, and couldn't find them. There was snow, but that was all. The view was expansive, if nothing else:




Well, we had found out that the way into High Lake, where we wanted to go to continue the loop was quite a hike on the ridgeline to an area that was likely impossible to traverse. And puppa was likely not going to have any of it. So, in an effort to regroup, and to avoid the swarms of black flies, we set up the tent to take a nap, read or something. Then smarty-pants spilled a beer in the tent (we had brought 4 with us). Now all bear precautions were to the wind, and we were on a ridgeline that offered little shelter. We couldn't go on, nor did we have the inclination, nor energy to climb Strawberry Mountain (which looked like a big dirtpile). It was at least 100 degrees and we were done. What to do. Then we saw some dark clouds. This was not where we wanted to spend the night. So, tired and weary though we were, we were going to climb down, and once back at Strawberrry Falls, were going to make a shortcut to Little Strawberry Lake. That was the best decision we could have made. But the day (and ensuing hell) wasn't over.

So, we started to climb down. Problem was, the sun had turned the snow to mush. Not a problem on the flat parts, but that verticle incline seemed to be impossible to descend. So, Steve tried to find a way down the scree. We walked a bit, but when I realized that we would have to climb a hell of a long way and then a long way down perilous scree, I made the decision that we had to come down the snow.

And we did, but it took forever. I took off my pack and headed down, using my hands as claws and stopping every five feet to warm them. The entire perilous part may only have been 40 feet high, but it seemed like much more. Then Steve tried to lower the packs to me, as I was on a ledge that ended the most dangerous part. The first was lowered with some string, but when the string was let go, the pack stayed put. Which meant I had to climb up and get it. I almost lost it and myself in the process, because it had slid away from the protection of the ledge. Next, to keep my pack from sticking this time, S decided to give the pack a push. Which then came at me at a speed which caused an impact that I thought was the end of me. In addition, my hiking stick was still in the side and I am lucky that I am alive.

Getting Fife down was hard too, as he was having nothing of it. Basically, he had to be pushed over the edge. Then Steve came down, and I took this:



The rest was not so difficult, we were happy to be alive. But those dark clouds? They were starting to let go some seriously large drops. At one point we took shelter in the trees, trying to remain dry. The rain abated somewhat and we hiked on. Hard hiking, sore and tired, hungry and too many bugs.

But YEAY, we made it to camp, and just in time. We walked around, and tried to find a dry spot. I was distracted as I found a spot where the thunder was reverbrating throught the valley and making an amazing noise. One of the best thunderstorms of all time. The lake is most amazing, with a sheer rock face on one side and glaciers down to the very surface of the lake.

Then the rain started in earnest. We got everything in the tent, made ourselves reasonably comfortable (as could be with two people, a large dog, and all our gear).

But we had no water. None.

So we waited until the first opportunity for the rain to let up and Steve went out to purify some water from the lake. Most of our clothes were wet from either the rain or sweat. I felt gross. So, I took the campsuds, our dry comfy remaining clothes, towels and headed out to the lake to wash up a bit. I took off my clothes and had applied soap to my parts just as it started raining in earnest. Steve was in the same situation. First we had to rinse, then grab all of our stuff and head back into the tent. Now everything was wet. I was naked, and Fife was drenched. Not a nice moment in the trip.



A bit later, we were able to make a fire, and since most of our clothes were tech, they dried either on our bodies, or in front of the fire. The worst part was trying to get the shoes dry. Which we did, just in time, because the rain started up again and we were able to grab everything and hop into the tent, reasonably dry this time. Did I mention that earlier in the day, Steve was telling me the number one rule for backpacking? Yep, staying dry.

This time was the last. We decided, though quarters were hella cramped, that the day was done. It was only about 10:00, but having hiked over 12 miles with backpacks on, having scaled a dangerous "ice mountain" and suffered through several downpours, we were fast asleep.

Monday was a most lovely day in comparison

Part 1. Strawberry mountains - my first backpacking trip

And oddly, not much different from camping. The food was just a bit less fresh, the hike a bit more strenuous and slow, and the freedom much more delicious. I've always been one for minimalism. I know it gets old after a while, and one wants more comfortable trappings, but I like to go light and free. I was made for this backpacking stuff.

I also finally fully skinny-dipped. I've jumped in the water before, but seem to always leave on at least one article of clothing. Not this time.

So the trip was good.

Friday night we decided to stay in PDX, to not stress about getting out of town too soon, so that we would be properly prepared and wouldn't have to fight traffic. Besides, we hadn't even figured out where we were going.

Saturday morning, off to the Strawberrry Mountains. They are located in the eastern portion of Oregon, in the high desert, near Canyon City and Prairie City (also near the John Day fossil beds and river). Strawberry Mountain was the one peak in the chain that we were gonna bag.

Shopping had to be done first, some groceries and more importantly, some maps and gear from REI. We were on our way. Seven hours later (we had no idea it was that far away, nor did I know I was to get my period on the drive), we were at the campsite and trailhead. We had no intention however of camping at this place, where there were dozens of people. Instead, we loaded our packs onto our backs, and started climbing into the hills just as it was getting dark. Out came the headlamps. We hiked a mile plus a bit into the woods and found Strawberry Lake. We saw a potential nice campsite, near a creek, but would have to make a perilous crossing, we looked around, found nothing that satisified us and made the crossing, with nothing getting wet. We set up camp, broke out the scotch and beer (btw, watch that Guiness at high elevation), and made dinner. And it was good.

The next morning, we discovered that we were camping in an idyllic setting. Here is the view from the inside of the tent:




There was a beautiful lake in front of us, and the creek that the lake was using to empty out, was cold, crisp and wonderfully refreshing to wash up in.



We had a lovely breakfast, and decided to walk around the lake counter-clockwise, opposite from the night before. We discovered two other campers on the way out, but the last we were to see until coming out of the woods three days later.

The big plan was to make a loop, by hiking up to the ridgeline at 7,000 ft, dropping our bags off, climbing Strawberry Mountain at 9,000 ft, going back for our bags and then following the ridgeline to High Lake, staying there for a night and then to Slide lake for a night and back down.

It didn't happen that way, because it was not physically possible.

Next post: the hell I call last Sunday.

Photo update

I'm working on them today.

First installment: three weeks ago, Trapper Creek again (I think). Lovely hike, with more waterfalls than you could count. Pretty and lovely.

Later, a canoe/camping/bat sighting overnight, and LOTS of photos from the first backpacking trip of my life: three nights in the Strawberry Mountains.

Check back later.

Update: the canoe trip at Forlorn Lakes, where deet became our best friend. This was the trip that saved our marriage. And they say canoes and camping are divorce aids.

some throwing star skillz

MAKE: Blog: HOW TO - Make your own throwing stars

HBO: Deadwood: Games: Dead Man's Hand

Take a look at it, it is creepy.

HBO: Deadwood: Games: Dead Man's Hand

oops

I forgot the best part:

I'm outta here for the weekend. Four days of camping, canoeing, and hiking. Perhaps backpacking. I'll be smelly as hell and happy to be alive when I come back.

Happy Fourth of July.

Ever spent a 4th in another country? Eerie. One time in Germany, there was a doughnut cart (they don't normally do doughnuts) that had an American flag with a big semi-truck in the middle of it. That was a funny day.

WOOOO HOOOO, PSP Kernel access.

I'm officially a nerd. This and anticipation of margaritas are the best things that have happened today.

QJ.NET - PSP Updates - 24/7 Coverage of the Latest PSP News - Breaking News: 2.60 Firmware Exploit Found - Kernel Access!

Yesterday and Sunday, however were spent in the woods, where there is still snow, while all you Portlanders were sweatin to the oldies. Pure bliss.

Check out this nutty guy.

job hunt

So I guess an admonition I received about there being no jobs in Portland was about right. I'm still being patient as I can for several jobs to get back to me. But I still am looking for that perfect position (or any position that will pay something of a living wage, which is higher than most people because I have student loans that are HUGE).

Today's offerings: Salem (x2), Eugene, Newport (x2), Albany. And those are the ones in OR. Others I'll soon have to consider are: NYC, DC, VA, Maine.

Arrrrgh. Why, oh why did I go to law school? And why can I not locate a single acceptable position. I know, I could have studied a lot harder in law school and gotten great grades and stressed myself out even more than I did. But then I wouldn't have been remotely happy.

In other news, I've one section of the house painted, a lovely, creamy yellow. Tough going though, because I have to do it all myself. I do have that lovely sprayer which I was able to use yesterday to crank out a section. Yeay. But the scraping and the sanding. Blah.

We also stained all the millions of boards for the new fence that we will attempt to install on Sunday. Should be fun on a hangover, as we have poker on Sat. night, and I'm determined to get better than 3rd place this time. I needs the cash. We're also looking at the cabin up near Trapper Creek on Saturday. Hopefully we can find enough folks to purchase a share so we can afford it. Though I'm not too optimistic, as we already have a bit of strife involving one person's dislike of dogs (though they have a kid that still wets the bed). I swear, dog owners and parents are the most self-absorbed and inconsiderate sorts. Drive me crazy.

I'm gonna suggest that I get to bring my cats up just to piss them all off.

Good news: resolution with the white trash neighbors behind us. The ones that plague us with their light. They came over last weekend playing all nice and replaced the two bare bulbs with a shade they had purchased. In return we cut down the branches of the hazelnut that were over their yard. Then night came and we realized the light was 5 times worse than it had been before. So, we bought them a proper set of lights and I went over to the lion's den one afternoon. They haven't replaced the existing one yet, but they have had the light off for 3 consecutive nights. YEAY! The best part is now I know how to deal with them. I thought they were mean and vindictive. Ends up that they are just dimwitted (evidenced by the fact that they hung the light fixture upside down, on purpose). That makes communication much easier.

Straw dogs is a great movie. WOW. Dustin Hoffman again, acting all wimpy and then POW!

Going back in time - swimwear

remember that weekend at the coast, and that book from the 20's? Well, those funny skirts those ladies swam in are back!

WholesomeWear Styles

Guess my new bikini just won't fit in anymore, not that my boobs fit in it anyway.

Howdy

New hike, but I might not get to it until later this week. It was wonderful, pictures and all. More level this time and less strenuous except for the fact that we both carried our own water, which meant that I couldn't foist the pack off onto S when the going got rough. Too bad, but good as I need to get in shape for our backpacking adventure over the 4th weekend. Anyway, we followed a river that had one beautiful waterfall after the other. In Gifford Pinchot again. Have I mentioned that I think GP the best place on the planet? Better than Bend, the Gorge, what have you. Maybe not the Galapagos (of which btw, I'd like to see some photos , hint hint V.)

But I've been busy, ain't nothing like a new sprayer to make that prep work go oh, so much faster. Even though I don't have my trusty Nightsoil to help this time. Excuses abound, but I'm sure this isn't the last house I'll paint, so don't think you are out of the loop.

And in response to my fav. anon commenter, I wouldn't buy a sprayer that couldn't handle amber shellac. Ahhhhh, I miss Riley's Bay like I can't tell you. So much so in fact that we are looking into our own oasis in the woods. I think it needs half-logs on the exterior. I'll fill you all in after we look at it this weekend.

Pardon the insides, but I'm lax on proper channels of communication these days.

this is a pretty cool watch for $40

ThinkGeek :: Stonehenge Watch

one stop shopping

This is a service that will search all local classifieds for you. Now you don't have to go to Craigslist and OregonLive. Nice.

Portland Classifieds - Oodle

I got an airless paint sprayer today. Yeay. I love that man.

blah

Two rejections in 20 minutes, via email. Yuck. Though I am glad to hear something. Frustrating process this.

Torn between having this fuel my further search and just taking the rest of the day off. I applied to 3 places yesterday and there is nothing new today.

Update: make that 3 in 40 minutes. I guess that makes me even.

Group projects

Per a discussion with Jaynokor!, we determined that group projects made mandatory in higher education suck ass. And what skills do they teach you for the real world? Nothing worthwhile...at least that's what the Wall Street Journal says.

Boing Boing: WSJ on bad brainstorming

I guess that might not be true however, if you are a robot. Robots learn teamwork; uprising imminent

The best actor

I've mentioned actors in the past, but mostly because I'm in love with their look. Today I would like to give some props to a man that I believe is one of the best actors of all time...Dustin Hoffman.

I just watched Lenny, and saw Midnight Cowboy a week or so ago. He plays every part so well, that I forget he is acting. Truly amazing.

It was a good movie too, Lenny Bruce saying the seven dirty words well before George Carlin.

Dig the Wiki: "Carlin was arrested as an audience member for refusing to show an ID at Bruce's 1964 show at the Gate of Horn in Chicago, after the police stopped the show and arrested Bruce for obscenity."

It's hard being a pimp out here

Thanks again to Lifehacker. Now Puppa has a sweatshirt.

Creepy Hara Kiri Covers

PCL LinkDump: Hara Kiri Covers

Hike #2

We purchased two books for a friend's birthday present, and ended up keeping one that seemed like it would provide us with unexplored hikes in the Gorge.

And because of that book, I have seen the most beautiful waterfall that I have yet to see in the Pacific Northwest. While Multnomah Falls might be higher, it is a mere pencil thin leak in a rock compared to this one that has three tiers, two visible from the main trail. Besides, we only saw one other group of 3 people the entire time, whereas Multnomah Falls is like being at the mall.

The hike was so wonderful that I was banned from posting photos on this blog, for fear that others might take the hike. However, you know where to find my photos, don't you?

The name of the book is Curious Gorge. I am unable to give exact directions or details because the book has been hidden from me so I won't expose its treasures.

But I'll tell you about the first hike (#14 in the book). A beautiful walk in, some of the last remaining old growth trees in the Gorge. Huge Douglas Firs that remind you why you live here. Millions of ferns and a wonderful hike. We didn't take the more strenuous 2,700 elevation gain hike to a lake, because frankly after 10 minutes on that detour, I was winded and we wanted to stay near the river. We hiked the 3.5 mile loop, though the second half was a bit lame. We did get a good look at a cabin for sale, however, and oh how wonderful it would be to have a vacation home there. The hike followed the river for the first half, while the last half was on the road, another good reason to turn around at the halfway point.

Oh, and this book is small enough and detailed enough that you want to take it with you on the hike. It became VERY important on the second hike.

The second hike was #15 in the book. This was the hike to the waterfall that I keep gushing over. Seriously, look at the pictures. A great hike, that you need to pay attention to in order to not get lost. You follow the river and increase elevation quite a bit, which made my calves ache something fierce. Well worth it when you finally hear the falls, look up and see it peeking through the trees. The hike continues to the base of the Falls, where the roar is deafening and the power of the falling water scary. Look at the pics.

We stopped there for a snack and a beer. The trail continued up to the level of the middle tier of the Falls. That part of the trail was rather difficult and sheer will power kept us going. We almost turned around. But it paid off after a bit more scrambling, allowing alook over the edge of the Falls into chaos.

Then the decision had to be made: take the trail back to the car, or climb what the guide book declared as the extremely dangerous path up to the top of the Falls, to see the top tier (the bottom two would be out of sight from there). The scramble up would also allow us to join another trail and loop back to the car. However, the route that we were supposed to take entailed climbing straight up, using roots for steps. There were too many loose rocks and no way Fife could make it up there. I tried and was too scared to continue. If there was a false step, the fall would have been several hundered feet.

So, we decided to scrap it. Unti we came to another, more wooded area that looked like it might be a viable alternative to get to the top and pray that we could reconnect with the trail. At least here a tree could break our fall. Straight up. With the first few steps, there was no option of going back. I believe we made it up with sheer willpower. And found the trail. And felt like we had climbed Mt. Everest without the snow. The view was lovely and my legs are scratched all to hell. The trail down from there was mostly flat, pleasant and made us clip back to the car at 4 mph. We moved faster than we likely should have at the end of an exhausting 8 mile hike because it was getting dark, and fast (9:00). Further, we didn't know exactly where we were supposed to turn left as the book told us to do at an unmarked path. We never would have found it in the dark. Nor would we have made it without referencing the book many times.

The book is a good one, allowing us to expore areas that even the roommate hasn't seen. Highly recommended. We got it at New Seasons. I'll not say any more.

Sucks to the Czech Republic!

Soccer is lame anyway!

Argh

I'm so eager to find a job that this morning I checked all the job sites, even before I read Boing Boing, if you can believe that.

Sadly, there is nothing else for me to do. I've applied everywhere that I have a remote chance of obtaining employment. I've even applied blindly to places I would like to work at (KPMG, please!). I've applied to places doing work that I'm not terribly interested in, and to places in godforsaken suburban areas.

Now begins the waiting game. I'm doing call backs and check-ins, but I really just need to get some bloody interviews. I've been encouraged to take the position I was offered, but I'm just not ready to cave yet. I still have hope that I can find something in downtown Portland, for a decent amount of money, doing something that is interesting. Is that too much to ask?

In the meantime, I guess I'll clean the house. Too bad I don't have some of that motivation that my saviors, BirdCrap, had when they cleaned my house before I came back from NYC. Which, by the way was one of the most wonderful things anyone has ever done for me. Thanks kids.

In a celebration of things good...

My favorite movie of all time (tied with Brazil) is finally out on DVD and in my home.

WOW, and I just found out that the very talented director is making The Life of Pi. Read it quick.

Why I am giving up irony

Boing Boing: Coupland's JPod: the Anti-Microserfs: "JPod is a novel about how the novelty-seeking, irony-soaked, instant-nostalgia, gross-out culture of the Internet can corrode your soul, so that when you crack wise, there's nothing underneath it but more wisecracks. The book made me uncomfortable and sometimes even angry, but I never wanted to put it down, and it made me think hard about my own life and values."

I didn't write this, nor read the book, but I will be reading it soon, and I've already thought about my own life and values. I'm tired of liking ugly or bad or stupid stuff because it is ironic.

I'm gonna try to like things because they are good, pure, nice, and beautiful.

DOWN WITH IRONY.

ear worm

At our home, we tend to get a little obsessed about certain TV shows that come on the DVD format. We watch as many episodes as we can get our hands on and then take a long break before the next one. There is an article in the latest WW that discusses some of the local 'brownshirts' (not a Nazi reference) and their attempt to show the movie "Serenity" for charity. An interesting idea.

I watched the failed series "Firefly" and the movie "Serentity" and loved them. However, the theme song from "Firefly" is once again stuck in my head. And for some reason, though I think it is silly to continue to be obsessed with a TV show after I've exhausted its offerings, that song still makes my tummy go a little fluttery. I did change my email signature to Kaylee for a while.

Listen to it, and watch the show. Good stuff. But don't join a club over it, that's a bit too much.

FireflyWiki.org - Firefly.FireflyThemeSong

A brilliant way to get rid of old CDs and get some new music

This makes lots of sense. Create a list of the CDs you don't want, find people that have music you do want and trade up. They take care of the logistics for $1 per CD. Legal music sharing. Sounds brilliant.

How 'la la' Works

I know, you're all thinking, why mess with that hassle, when I can just download the music? I know you've all been doing it for eons. Well, I'm paranoid.

Fife

We have a dog that can destroy the most indestructible dog toy.

Therefore, we have never bought him a squeaky toy for fear of him destroying it faster than it took to earn the money to buy it.

Then he went to the neighbor's house and stole one of their dog toys. He loves it so much, playing with it like a cat plays with a dead mouse, never chewing on it more than to make it squeak.

And it is in the unlikely form of a pacifier. Too damn cute.

Also, check out photos of Bugsy Baxter, Fife's good friend and child of PLM.

the cloud to my silver lining

Well, the interview went well on Tuesday, so well in fact, that at its conclusion I was offered a job, starting immediately (well, I would have started this AM).

Sadly, they are not offering nearly what I need to pay my bills, unless I can get a significant increase within a year.

We reached a compromise, and seems like the job is open for me if I cannot find something else. I could swing the amount of money by living even more frugally than now, but the roommate doesn't really like that idea. I am still entertaining the thought of working there because a job, any job would really help my psyche right now, and my pocketbook.

The best is that they do the type of work that I dreamed of doing when I decided to go to law school (i.e. helping the little man). I'm just not sure helping the little man increase his position to my financial detriment is the way to go.

So...back to the drawing board. I'm optimistic, have just sent off the application to the firm that I would like to work at more than any other (at least from what I currently know of them). I'm also applying at other places, that aren't doing exactly what I want but sound like good gigs. I'm still a bit apprehensive about applying for the jobs that want my law school transcript, but I think I'll send one of those out tomorrow just because I have nothing to lose.

I'm positive that I can get a job, that I am worthy of one, and am somewhat patient as to finding the "one." In the meantime, I need to come up with some serious cash to pay some impending and unavoidable bills.

Anyone wanna buy a car?

Even better...

Divorce PREP : Get CheckMate !: "Find out if she is cheating in minutes."

"Take a “quick check” if your gut instinct tells you she is fooling around...then you can plan.
Semen stains can be detected on unwashed articles for many years when stored at normal room temperature, so absolutely any garment of any color that you suspect has been stained with semen as the result of recent sexual activity can quickly, easily and accurately be tested with CheckMate.

The 5 Minute Test Kit is scientifically formulated to actually monitor your spouse’s sexual activity outside the relationship by detecting traces of semen that are left in the undergarments after sex."

Makes a girl wanna go lesbo.

Good men saddled with crazy women

How paranoid does this sound?Divorce PREP : Secret Divorce Planning for Men | Your Plan: "For good husbands who just want it all to work out, divorce is excruciating. It doesn’t start as a war, but quickly turns into one. After the wife recovers from the emotional impact of separation and sees her desperate financial situation, her lawyer will advise her of the unfair demands she can make. Together, they ‘attack’ your assets and your income. For the man who has not prepared, there is almost no defense. For you, there is Divorce PREP."

Check some of the topics:
"WHY MARRIAGE IS REALLY AN INSURANCE CONTRACT FOR THE WOMAN

WHY YOUR WIFE CANNOT KNOW WHY YOU ARE UNHAPPY

WHY THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT IS SO UNFAIR TO MEN"

And my personal favorite: "HOW PRE-DIVORCE PLANNING CAN BE THE BEST TIME OF YOUR LIFE."

Hey, hey motivation has success!

And as perfect as timing can be, I waited about an hour to make the call back to schedule a job interview, and just as I reached the person I needed to talk to, Fife started barking like crazy at the mailman. Great. Hopefully she is a dog person too.

Plan is working

See how I have used a lot of today figuring out how to manipulate metadata? But all in the name of getting those resumes out the door.

Procrastination is working for me now.

Last help with Word

If you want to make sure all new documents reflect your security measures, you have to make the changes to the normal.dot file, which is the template that opens every time you open word or a new document.

Here's how to change the normal template:

"The Normal template (Normal template: A global template that you can use for any type of document. You can modify this template to change the default document formatting or content.) opens whenever you start Word, and it includes default styles, AutoText, macros, toolbars, and other customizations that determine the basic look of your document.

On the File menu, click Open, and then navigate to C:\Documents and Settings\user name\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates.
If no templates are listed in the Open dialog box, click the arrow next to the Files of type box, and then click Document Templates.

Double-click the Normal.dot file to open it. To be certain that you're working in the default template, check to see that Normal.dot appears in the Word title bar.
Make any changes you want, using the menus and dialog boxes just as you would to change default settings for a document, but remember that any changes you make to Normal.dot will be applied to documents that you create in the future.
When you have finished, on the Standard toolbar (toolbar: A bar with buttons and options that you use to carry out commands. To display a toolbar, click Customize on the Tools menu, and then click the Toolbars tab.), click Save."

If you want to change old files, just cut and paste them into a new document, and viola! That will also change the date created, so that it looks all fresh and new. Yeay.

How to change computer and company name

From the help section of the computer (you can pay me later for all this great computer advice):

"When you install Windows, Setup requests that you enter your name, and optionally, the organization name. This registration information is displayed under Registered to in the General tab of System when you click Start, click Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance, and then click System.

To change your name and company information after Windows is installed on your computer, follow these steps:

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.
1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
3. Locate the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion
4. To change the company name, do the following:
In the right pane, double-click RegisteredOrganization. Under Value data, type the name that you want, and then click OK.
5. To change the name of the registered owner, do the following:
In the right pane, double-click RegisteredOwner. Under Value data, type the name that you want, and then click OK.
6. Click Exit on the File menu to quit Registry Editor."

Mexico and NYC

I have all the photos up. I've labeled some of them. Most I have not. I don't care anymore.

The trip rundown:
week one in Mexico, hotter than hell. Beautiful beaches and water blue and clear. Playa del Carmen on the Yucatan peninsula. Side trips to Tulum and Coba, to see Mayan ruins. Go to Coba, where you can still climb a ruin that is larger than Chichen Itza (take that, you assholes who got to go to Mexico in highschool).

Found an amazing unmarked beach that serves as a turtle sanctuary. Waves were huge and we body surfed ourselves sore. No one else on the beach.

We met the in-laws there, had a large apartment (with our own room), which made it more tolerable. I had my breakdown on day 3, which meant everyone was nice to me after that. Lots of good food, though mostly too touristy and expensive for my tastes. But I didn't have to pay for it.

Made a hellish mistake two nights before we left and ate a Caesar salad. Raw egg and lettuce. Never eat vegetables or fruits unless you can peel them, because they wash them in regular water. I also found out at the clinic when I got back, that guacamole and pico de gallo are the leading culprits of traveler's diarrhea. So, it could have been anything, but that salad sure made me feel like crap. Horrible heartburn in Mexico too.

So, sick as a dog and on my second week in:
NYC, Brooklyn to be precise.

We stayed with the brother and sister-in-law. They have a penthouse on the 11th floor, which meant that I had an amazing panaramic view of brooklyn, and to the right, I could see a pretty clear statute of liberty. On the roof, one could see more of Manhattan.

We did all the touristy things: MOMA, the Natural History Museum, walked the Brooklyn Bridge, walked everywhere, dim sum in Chinatown, insanity in Times Square, used the Subway endlessly, Central Park. We also went to NJ one day to a Six Flags, where they currently have the world's tallest rollercoaster, which was not operating. They had enough other rides however, to keep me scared for the entire day.

I thought NYC would be dirty and scary and I would hate it. It is however a wonderful city. The best food I've ever had. Amazingly efficient driving and walking and living. I forgot how much I missed truly big cities (mostly European for me). NYC felt like I could live there (if I could afford it, and they had more grass).

How to minimize metadata in Word 2003

Sending out electronic documents is a bit risky. For example,I regret that I named my company "wankr" when I set up this computer, because it shows up when you look at the "properties" of a Word file.

Another issue is not wanting anyone to see all of my errors and changes. Nor that I started out with a canned template. So, how to minimize this?
How to minimize metadata in Word 2003

Oh, and no, I'm not gonna change them all to PDF, unless someone wants to buy me a computer that can handle the space and memory hog that is Adobe.

Structured Procrastination

Here's a hint to conquering those tasks that loom too large to complete or even approach. I read about this yesterday on Lifehacker, and it rang so true that I have been thinking about how to implement it ever since. See, I always like to have one big task of doom looming over my head. I'm just not happy otherwise. Sick, I know, but that's how it works. Thing is, I'm always working. I don't laze away the days. I paint, I landscape, I clean the house. All instead of doing what I need to do: find a job.

In light of this, I'm trying to work on making other things of more priority. Like this: I should sell my car. I don't have insurance on it, and thus do not drive it. I haven't driven it in months, and could use the $1,000 I can get on it. So, needing to wash it...I put it off until today. I love that car though and know I cannot get another of the same quality for $1,000. So, in order to motivate myself to get crackin on gettin a job, I'm not allowed to sell the car until I have at least 10 resumes out there in the world. I could have wasted the rest of today researching how to sell my car most efficiently, instead...

I've revamped what I need to and now just have to tailor for each position. I could send out the first one tomorrow.

Here's the article:

Structured Procrastination: "All procrastinators put off things they have to do. Structured procrastination is the art of making this bad trait work for you. The key idea is that procrastinating does not mean doing absolutely nothing. Procrastinators seldom do absolutely nothing; they do marginally useful things, like gardening or sharpening pencils or making a diagram of how they will reorganize their files when they get around to it. Why does the procrastinator do these things? Because they are a way of not doing something more important. If all the procrastinator had left to do was to sharpen some pencils, no force on earth could get him do it. However, the procrastinator can be motivated to do difficult, timely and important tasks, as long as these tasks are a way of not doing something more important."

Cat web zen

V, this one is especially for you...and anyone else that laughs at cats.

web zen

odds and ends

As you see, I'm making hiking number one priority of the summer. I want to see it all and get out there every chance that I can. And get in shape.

So, I'm gonna keep a record of my hikes. Sadly, we didn't bring the camera, or the water purification stuff, or puppa's harness or other things we needed. It was the trial hike to iron out the kinks. Next time will again have mistakes, then we'll have it all ironed out. My motivation is to climb Mt. Adams this year. I know that it isn't that tough a climb (likely only two days of backpacking), but I'm not climbing anything that requires an oxygen mask or has frostbite as a potential side effect.

If you have time, watch "Match Point", Woody Allen's latest. It was one of the best movies I've seen in hella long time. Also, watch or rewatch "King Kong." Fabulous flicks. "Brokeback Mountain" was quite good, makes me feel hopeful for the world and optimistic for the kids out there that may feel less strange by having watched it.

Read "Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini, and "Bizarro" comics (at least the one with the Matt Groening cover). Also read "The Riddle of the Traveling Skull" by Harry Stephen Keller, out in a lovely McSweeney's binding. Pretty book and a great mystery/detective novel. You'll never guess whodunnit.

Health update: I feel much better (I did go for a hike yesterday). I'm coursing through some antibiotics (Cipro) and I think that really is doing the trick. I still have a rather efficient digestive system, but the fever and chills and aches and pains and lethargy are all gone. Yeay. Still here are likely a ton of medical bills. Crapola.

New goal: trying to eliminate high fructose corn syrup. You could say that, and hiking is my new diet fad.

Lots of other bills too, so on to my second priority of the moment, findin' a job.

Angel's Rest Trail

Hike number one of the season was a resounding success.

Distance to Angel's rest: 2.8 miles, one-way, total is 4.5 miles to Angel's rest and back, book says schedule 5 hours. It is a moderately tough hike.

Total distance hiked: 6.5 miles in 3.5 hours

Elevation gain: at least 1,600 ft.

Less than a minute off of 1-84, exit 28, about 30 minutes outside Portland (in the Gorge). Parking lot, clearly labeled trailhead. Nice map at the trailhead. Take your digital camera and photograph it for later reference, though the trail is clearly marked, some of the signs blend in with the trees.

Deep forests, and open vistas of the Columbia Gorge. Many dogs off leash. Too many people (and dogs) until after Angel's rest. Amazing view at Angel's rest, but for better air, no traffic noise and no people (there were still cobwebs on the trail) you must continue on the Devil's rest trail. The trail seemed to be endless, hike all day if you wish. Strenuous hike, sweaty and smelly (too many people poopin' in the bushes, me thinks). Not as tough as jogging, but a great workout for the calves and ass muscles. My hips are sore today. Bring tons of water, or at least some water purification ability. Falls and spring water accessible and clear.

Angel's rest is a large area on a rock jutty overlooking the Gorge in three directions. Scramble around to find a quiet spot to wonder about how this valley was formed.

Recommended to be started in the AM, to reach the no-man's land by the time everyone is arriving at the trailhead, hike all day and return when the crowds have thinned out. Otherwise, if you are like me, go around 3:00, skip the vistas, hike until you are tuckered and rest on the way down at the pretty spots as you'll have them mostly to yourself.

looks like New York

looks like New York
Originally uploaded by jkf.

Looks like Vegas

Looks like Vegas
Originally uploaded by jkf.

DVD/PC Game Lot

This is not a video game phase. It's a wanna be gamer phase, even more loserly. Then he/she has the audacity to ask $7.

DVD/PC Game Lot: "I passed through the video game stage of life about 4 years ago. The first one is 'Who wants to be Millionaire' and the other game is NFL Fever 2000"

Funny Craig's listings

Beach Towel/Drinking Glasses: "The mug is from the Carnival Cruise Ship-The Paradise-the first cruise ship that was all non-smoking at that time. "

ohhhh, that is an AMAZING collectors item.

Mexico - a photoset on Flickr

Mexico

Also, check out my new way around not having the ability to make subsets: North America. Just roll your mouse over the map...all the places we've been. I'm working on the labels for the Mexico set, so be patient and I won't have to blog properly about the trip.

I hate Kaiser

Horrible experience at Kaiser yesterday. It entailed this: three symptoms described to the triage nurse. Two hours later, a "Dr." visit, who told me my pee was normal and that they wanted to run other tests. She also felt my belly, but didn't allow me to describe my symptoms fully. Then three hours of extreme pain and sweating and extreme cold later, I was abruptly told I was discharged. I didn't have to wait for the lab results. Huh? So I started balling because I was by then in such a state of pain and suffering that I couldn't even yell, "then why the hell have I been rotting here for three hours with no one even checking on me?"

Really lame. I'm still in a LOT of pain, told to take in fluids and tylenol. Well, when my liver fails because of the massive amounts of tylenol I've been taking, that'll show them. I'm not even convinced they'll call back with the results. So, I guess I'll call them later today and tell them the rest of the story that they wouldn't listen to yesterday. I am not going back there, however, ever. I suggest you do not either, unless you cannot help it.

Worse yet, I do not know what is wrong with me. And today means I've had a low-grade fever and aches, chills and pain for an entire week.

Further insult, they tested for mono. But I found out today that no one has ever had mono twice. I definitely had mono back in 1998. Had they been thorough, I would have been saved the expense of that test.

Even better, I have a migraine that has not left my head for two days. So now I'm taking overdoses of ibuprofen AND tylenol. WHAM-BAM! Sorry liver.

And all I really want to do is get my job apps out the door. ARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!

Another handy search engine

A while ago I posted about a search engine that you could use to search local sales. I've never used it because it kinda sucked. I've not tried it recently, but this morning I did find something very helpful. Better than DexOnline, which didn't help me find where I could buy a refrigerator. Here it is...nice interface too.

Yokel results for refrigerator near Portland, OR

Thanks to Lifehacker.

still a bit ill

seems that is often the title of posts....Still Sick. Lame.

So, last night I decide to go to the emergency room to get some tests done to determine whether I do have a kidney infection. 4 hours later, I was none the wiser....

Seemed a large group of traumas had been flown into Emmanuel Hospital. My biggest gripe is that the receptionist didn't just say from the get-go, "It's gonna be a LONG time, before you get in dearie." I would have left then, because if they know it is gonna be a long time, over and above the eternity that it usually takes in the ER, then I would have known. Instead, they encouraged me to sit tight and I'd be seen shortly.

Well, I was able to read the entire new Backpacker magazine twice, and I now know that for tent repairs, one should not use Duct tape, rather use masking tape, paper and some substance that binds it all together, then when dry, remove the masking tape. I think I'll still use Duct Tape.

In the meantime, there were all kinds of characters in the ER. One man, a Jehovah's Witness, thought it his duty to witness very loudly, and give legal advice to one girl, who was also unbalanced. I tried all I could not to make eye contact with anyone. Especially the Boston-accented idiot who locked his keys in his running car outside the entrance of the hospital, so lovely fumes kept wafting in. His wife was giving birth to his third and her fourth child. He was very loud on his cell phone.

There was dried blood on my chair.

My first trip to the bathroom was cut short when I had to notify housekeeping that someone had completely missed the toilet and pissed all over the one bathroom's floor.

The one nice person I met was desperately needing someone to talk to because her 31 year old son had been admitted having had a heart attack. His father had almost died of one at age 19. Well, ends up that she works at the "World Famous" Kenton Club, about a mile from my house, that come to find out it was the bar in which the gang hung during the movie "Kansas City Rollers." I was duly impressed, having recently seen the flick. Now I'm invited to visit her when she works, for a meal. I might just do that, one of the few times I may actually do what I say I will to a complete stranger.

She was nice, but I had to leave her to her own devices because a soccer clad man had just arrived in the ER. He was holding a bloody towel to his head. There was another fellow there that had been waiting since 5:00 (it was now 10:00), and a Russian woman that had been slumped in her chair since I arrived. So, feeling like I was in a movie where there is a planetary emergency and there are some annoying people in the ER with an ingrown toenail, I left.

I'm not sure if I'll go back today. I feel shitty still, but no real fever. So, unless the infection has spread to other areas, I think I might be ok. I'll let you know.

Other news: $300+ to joing the Bar association (mandatory) and another $1,000 to get malpractice insurance. BUMMER. I need a job.

And on that note, I'll sign off for today. I'm revamping my resume and have some job leads for which I have to draft cover letters.

hmmm, temp's at 100 again, perhaps it is time to work on the resume at the hospital. Wish me well.

body fat percentages for a JAG

I am looking for a job. I veered off target and ended up on the JAG website, which interestingly enough, has an elaborate procedure to determine body fat percentages. I can't wait until the roommate gets home to determine mine.

BCA.pdf (application/pdf Object)


First measurement rule for measuring "hips":
"Measurement shall be taken overlightweight loose-fitting gym shorts or pants. Tight-fitting
rubberized foundation garments or exercise belts shall not beworn at least 30 minutes before measuring. Control-top pantyhose, spandex tights, and other "shaping" garments shall not be
worn during measuring."

Fun @ Porkrind.com

Fun @ Porkrind.com

You can find the real and weird fun of this website by scrolling down the page. Don't look if easily offended. Do look if you like ladies and porkrinds. At first, creepy, then not so much.

My trip to Mexico and NYC

Was wonderful. I'm working on the write up, because I want it to be somewhat interesting. I also have 300+ photos to upload.

Give me some time, because I'm also pretty ill from the trip. First at the very end of the Mexico leg of the trip, I got that Mexican revenge. Then at the end of the NYC trip, I believe I developed a kidney infection, mostly because I hung out with brutes that wouldn't acknowledge my need to pee frequently, compounded by the lack of restrooms in NYC. I got back on Saturday night, rather late, and was hung over all day Sunday, besides battling a fever. I slept from 6:00 last night to 1:00 today. I'm getting better, but am exhausted. I also have a billion things to do.

But the trip was delightful.

Ear plugs to deafen your flight

On a recent flight, I was continuously annoyed by two women sitting behind me that did not take a breath for over 2.5 hours. They not only talked continuously, but they talked so loudly that I could not drown them out with my iPod on its loudest setting. They also coughed without covering their mouths. I hated them and did every thing I could to make their flight less enjoyable.

Another flight found us sitting next to the engine (with no view at all). It was so loud that in order to not scream in pain, we had to insert earplugs.

We cannot afford noise cancelling headphones....so perhaps here is the solution:

In-ear headphones modded with swimming earplugs. Seems easy and clever as hell.

Update on eye infections

"When Bausch & Lomb recalled a contact lens cleaner from markets worldwide May 15, the company explained that it had finally, after months of sleuthing, found a link between the product and a potentially blinding eye infection.

But to the health authorities in Singapore, that seemed tardy at best. Three months earlier, they had established a strong statistical connection between the cleaner, ReNu With MoistureLoc, and Fusarium eye fungus infections."

Thanks to IHT

F you B&L.

Creepy robots

call me 06057

Because that is my new bar number.

They threw me a bone, though whether or not I'll get to keep it will depend on some creative financial rearranging.

I just wrote a huge entry, when Jack decided to destroy it by pushing some key on my keyboard. Arrrrgh. Tonight really is sucking hard. I'm trying to get a new resume together, one that I think will work better, along with a new cover letter approach. I leave in two days, which is a good thing, but I have a shitload of things to do and no one seems to be helping me.

I've not been eating because I'd like to lose some weight. I know, I'm not doing it right, but I've been blessed in my life and have never had to diet. So, give me some time to figure it out. Anyway, not eating makes everything suck so much harder.

Did I mention that I met a million new people this past weekend? Seemed that all the new people were measuring each other by how well-traveled they were. I kept quiet, letting all feel superior. I'll let it leak some other time that I've been around the block and then they can eat their smugness.

I am amazingly crabby. I think I'll have some tequilla and go to bed. I need to build up my tolerance for the stuff anyway.

Kentucky woman

I was listening to Neil Diamond today, and became rather sad when I heard him sing "Kentucky Woman." The reason is because a good friend and fellow esquire moved there today. Because of her I enjoyed my first lap dance on Saturday. I miss her very much already.

Aubrey Baldwin is a wonderful asset to the world, a beautiful woman and a cherished friend that I will always remember. I cannot wait until the day I can enjoy a tall iced tea on her porch, swatting flies and listening to her drawl soothe my soul.

Here's an irish toast to ya'll.

Ahhhh, Playa del Carmen, here I come ...

Fri May 5 Sunny 91°/76° 10%			91°F
Sat May 6 Sunny 91°/75° 10%			91°F
Sun May 7 Sunny 91°/77° 10%			91°F
Mon May 8 Sunny 92°/77° 20%			92°F
Tue May 9 Sunny 91°/77° 20%			91°F
Wed May 10 Partly Cloudy 91°/77° 20%			91°F

Your new attorney

It seems that in this past year, there have been a series of small events that have culuminated in me becoming an attorney. First, graduation from law school. That was nice, but not the end. Then the bar exam and resulting failure. Then another bar exam and resulting passing. Yesterday I traveled to Salem and was sworn in as a member of the Oregon State Bar. So, finally, it is official.

I may practice law.

Except I haven't paid my dues, nor gotten my bar number, etc. Seems that they don't want me ever to be very comfortable, rather to be apprehensive about the next step and whether I can continue to pass muster.

Well, the ceremony was lovely yesterday. I cried, again, with the feeling that FINALLY, the process is mostly over. I'm happy, and now no excuses lie between me and getting a job. Soon. Shannon and Nicole and Shannon's mom went with S and I. We had to each walk across the stage and say our name and school into the mic and then shake the hand of the Oregon Supreme Court Justice for a photo op, then another photo op at the end and later we took the oath to be honest attorneys. You can follow the journey on my flickr account.

Other news:
Off to Mexico on Cinco de Mayo for a week, and then a week in NYC. I'm excited to be getting out of town and travelling. I know I was on Vancouver Island for three weeks last September, but that travel bug is so deeply ingrained that I feel as though I've not been out of the house in years. I need to regenerate, and badly. And then come back and start my life of slavin away for the man. As long as they pay me.

We bought a kite. A friend had received one as a reward for passing the bar. It was so much fun that we bought a bigger one, the MIRAGE. Look it up. We've taken it out a couple of times, and found the best place to fly it. Unfortunately, the Couv kite club also knows the place. And they are kite-nazi's. They had taken over the whole field, with one woman threatening the breaking of our kites in the strong winds, while she took half the field for some lame kites that don't even do tricks. We found a corner of the field and slowly muscled into some of the better wind territory. We suck at flying. So, our kites take a nosedive and crash into the ground at regular intervals, to the great dismay of the "pros" that were there, and to our great amusement. Anyway, if you wanna fly a kite, don't do it near the racetrack until after 5:00 on Sundays. Unless you want free lessons from smug kite elitists.

We also finally broke out the bug gun/vacuum to capture a large bee that was trapped in our house. Works wonderfully, highly recommended. Too small however for the bird that was trapped in the house yesterday (all is well).

Contacts are lovely. I have a kind that I can leave in for 6 nights and then take out, clean and reuse for a month. I forget they are in and I love the fact that I just bought my first good pair of polarized sunglasses, Smiths, that look nice, protect my eyes and keep me from getting sun headaches. YEAY!

I also worked more on getting my fingernails dirty by more front yard landscaping. I transplanted a bunch of roses (like they will die), and other made other improvements, including mulching, and creating an area to grow corn and squash/pumpkins.

I'm working on the editing and saving of the photos. I'll place them into the flickr account and this posting, but later, cuz I'm tired of this, and I need to go trim some roses.

Then and now

Candroid vs. The Acrobots

Candroid vs. The Acrobots

I really need to get on making that Candroid movie.

Amongst many other things.

the resurrection of the lord isn't the only good news this week

I passed the bar!

Take a look, I didn't believe it either.

I stole the title of this entry...it was the funniest email subject on the matter that I received.

My good friend and fellow second-time taker, siw, also passed

officially

I've dropped off my application for law clerk to the Supreme Court of Palau. When I applied for law school (a lovely process in itself), I scoffed at attending Hawaii law school. I figured no one would take me seriously if my degree was from there. In my old age, I am learning that that sort of thing is not at all important. Instead, I would like to take every opportunity to enjoy my existance here on this planet. So, Palau:

"Palau offers you the world's most beautiful tropical paradise. Famous for its diving, Palau is rated as one of the world's best diving destinations by scuba aficionados. And why not...Palau has unspoiled reefs, caves, and walls with the most amazing array of marine life you can ever imagine.

Palau beckons to you with some of the world's most awesome natural wonders. Imagine the whitest beaches you will ever see, gardens of coral just beneath the clearest waters, lakes filled to the brim with "sting less" jellyfish. Forests, waterfalls and caves that have never been ravaged by man, and hundreds of islands of the purest beauty abound all along our pristine archipelago.

Experience the wonders of Palau... the Rainbow's End."

Long shot, but I emphasized my ability to adapt to new surroundings and love of travel. We'll see how that goes.

On a related note, I woke this morning, for the first time in over a year, wishing that I had a job to go to. I worked on my cover letter, resume and writing sample, gathered some references and sent out the first application. Good for me. That is something that I can feel good about no matter the results of the bar exam (which come out tomorrow at 2:00). I was mistaken about them coming out on tax day. Alas, my outlook is less optimistic without the tax gods on my side. Like last time, when I saw my first whale the day I found out I didn't pass, my prospects for a happy life are still rather good. Palau, here I come. I will, however have to learn how to scuba dive, and therefore love the water. But that will be my mission. To overcome another fear in my life.

In the meantime, I'll be cranking out cover letters all over town, and hopefully the world.

In news of other fears, no contacts today. I've received news that the solution my doctor gave me is the very kind that they are pulling off the shelves for potentially causing eye infections. That would be Bausch and Lomb MoistureLoc. Now, I've had a cold for a week, and the contacts are new and I'm not used to them, but I seem to have all the symptoms of this ailment. So, glasses until I can get new solution. Arrgh. Hope for no infection.

All else is well. I try to be nice by not beating up annoying scientists, and they in turn cower under my wrath. Lesson: get out of your bubble so that you can communicate with the world. I'm a nice girl, until you target me or my friends. Not a good idea when I have some men with powerful guns on my side. Yes, a new incident. I'm so tired of being fucked with by the world, I swear, the next person who messes with me will end up breaking my hand on their face.

What's goin on

Back from Fife's orthopedic surgeon. He will be able to hold out until June, when we are back from vacation and the Vet has moved into his new digs. He's good, expensive and named Richard Howard, if you need someone to operate on your dog's knees.

I've been very ill in the past week and a half. Steve was sick first, and then me. A bit different, but still ugly. I thought I was well this weekend, and overdid it a bit, now I'm aching and paining much to my chagrin.

Though lying in bed until bar exam results are announced this week may be just what the fates have in mind. After they come out, either the 13th or 15th, not sure, I'll not have the time to lie in bed anymore, as the great job search of 2006 will commence.

Anyway, because of my bedridden state, I've not checked emails or phone calls. So, sorry if you've been trying to reach me. Try again because I cannot guarantee that I'll check my past phone messages.

Also, I've gotten contact lenses. Yep, finally I can touch my eye and am getting better at it. I've always wondered what it would be like to see without glasses frames in the way, and now I know. I like it.

Back to bed.

update

So, Fife is ok for now, we have appointments soon, and hopefully all will be well.

I went to a play called "Celebrity Row" last night. Which was good, I would recommend it.

Here's what it is about:
"Four of America's most violent criminals are on death row. For one hour each day they have access to each other. Imagine what they might say. It's funnier than you think.

Fact: The most secure prison in America is ADX-Florence, a.k.a. Colorado Supermax, a.k.a. the Alcatraz of the Rockies. It once held The Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, Latin Kings gang leader Luis Felipe and World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yusef, all on the same floor, at the same time.

Fiction: In this brilliant, hilarious and free ranging epic, Itamar Moses {Outrage} imagines what might have transpired in the one hour a day that these prisoners were allowed access to each other. As seen through the eyes of the prison educator, Maze Carroll, these conversations morph into a humorous and excoriating examination of the freedoms we trade away for "security."

Thanks to PCPA

It was often a bit tiresome, but overall some interesting insights and provocative messages.

More interestingly, we stopped at Dixie, a pub downtown for a drink on our way home. As we were leaving, some jock/cap/tweaker decided he wanted a fight and pushed Steve into a wall. He had two other athletic friends with him. We talked our way out of being killed there, then walked to an area that was more populated. They followed us. So, we stopped at a club where there were some gigantic bouncers. At this point only the one, very aggressive fellow was following us and when we stopped, he walked past us. He didn't walk very far, and in an effort to make him go away, I threatened to call the cops, then called him some names and he went to get his friends. They all came back and followed us back and forth across the street as we tried to get into a bar that felt safe. Sadly, our options were McFaddens and whatever bar is across the street from there. Not such a good location. Finally we lost them, and were able to hop on the MAX before they knew where we had got off to.

Lesson: need to get me some pepper spray, and stay in my own neighborhood where it looks scary, but the people have the sense not to beat up people for no reason. Seems the real scary people are drugged-out frat boys.

bedridden

Fife's knees

You may recall that Fife had surgery at the end of 2004 for his right medial patellar luxation. His kneecap kept moving out of place. Ended up that his femur was crooked. So we had a guy saw it purt'near in half, straighten it and put a metal plate and screws on it.

Well, after a trip to the vet today, we've discovered that he now has a left medial patellar luxation. His in great amounts of pain. So, no visits from any dogs please. And any contributions to the "Keep Fife from getting shot" fund would be most welcome (the right leg cost over $4,000). I guess this is a good reason to sell my car.

Additionally, I was supposed to start painting V's house today, but I'm watching Fife to see how he takes to his anti-inflammatories and doggie pain meds.

Further making this suck is that we are supposed to go to Mexico and NYC in May, one week in each place and my first visit to either location. That will likely be during the six weeks that Fife is not allowed to move. Hopefully we can find a sitter that is qualified (I've called Nikki). Stephen was to watch the house, but he won't be able to have Abba live here at the same time. Otherwise, say goodbye to the tickets we purchased just this past weekend.

Otherwise, things are pretty good. Cable has been cancelled entirely (except for the internet). That hopefully means more outings and more book reading. Though with Fife being bedridden, likely more of the latter will occur.

Boffins breed omega-3-packed porkers | The Register

Boffins breed omega-3-packed porkers | The Register

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103_0544
Originally uploaded by jkf.

Interestingly, this is how a movie shows up when uploaded to Flickr. I like it.

Why?

I have pretty fast computers. They can run just about any sort of program without a glitch. My internet is hella fast and efficient (with the new router, that is). I run WindowsXP home.

Then why, whenever I attempt to adjust the properties of the desktop (screensaver, background, etc.) does it take forever, and do things that I do not tell it to do?

Evidently there has been a great deal of neglect in developing this aspect of the computer platform. Someone tell me how to fix this glich, or better: if this doesn't happen with Linux get me a copy.

Steve's birthday photos

Mind you, most of them were not taken by me. I was barely even able to take the pictures I did take. I have a Sony. Erin Brokovich has a Kodak. You'll see what I mean.

Did I mention...

that I am extremely sore from skiing? I am, and bruised too.

I'm planting more trees today and finishing (varnishing) the porch swing.

I'm on an uploading frenzy

A couple of my fav's:

1. Studying for the bar


2. We had just bought a shredder and were shredding months of bills, when the shredder got stuck. Ended up being the manual.

My birthday photos - click on the photo for more

Mt Hood

I went downhill skiing! And it was definitely an adventure. No practice. Up the chair lift immediately. Cat run first, thank goodness, though it started with a mighty steep hill. I had no fear, though I was cautious and safe. I ran that with only a couple of falls. Then we hit the green diamond portion. I know, easy peasy, right? No. It got ugly here. But I did it.

Back to the top. And an additional section. That was what killed me. I almost missed a big turn and got scared. I was not really ever able to regain my initial (likely foolhardy) confidence. At one point, I took off and threw my skis and vowed to stay on the hill, never to return to civilization. Steve, ever patient, took my verbal abuse and coaxed me down, mostly by taunting me by skiing backwards in front of me. So, I was doing better and then we went down it again. This time it took me a fraction of the time.

Then the good stuff. I was taken to a blue diamond. Just to say that I did it. Once I realized how steep it really was, it was too late. I did manage to learn how to slide down sideways, which helped me learn balance and how to dig in and slide on my edges. I did cry at one point out of extreme frustration at the difficulty of the run. Again, Mr. Patience helped me down, and almost lost his grits in the effort. I skiied the bottom, but the initial say 50 yards of extreme slope was horrible.

Found out later that it was a black diamond run. So, I've done about the worst skiing I'll ever do.

Did I mention that Steve is the most amazing skiier that I've ever seen. Like jumps and stuff and fast and backwards and amazing. I'm impressed to no end. Granted, he's been skiing for 30 years, and I for only 5 hours. But he's really good.

I did the cat trail again, without falling and without making Stephen have to stop for me, not even once. SWEET!

And then the lovely warming hut, a couple of beers and I skipped a few runs, mostly because I felt bad for the boys having to babysit me.

Then they were cold, came back to get me, and then I had to ski one more green hill down. This one was the first thing I saw when I got to the park. I thought it was a triple black diamond or something, it looked impossible and at the beginning I would never have dreamed that I was going to end my day going down it. I fell a couple of times, but once I was kindly reminded to make big turns, I did just fine. I still think there was something wrong with my right ski, but I'll figure it out next time.

Which, will hopefully be next weekend.

More photos here.

Rileys learn how to celebrate St. Patrick's day early.

Three fingers of your best Irish for me...

What I've been up to

Making sure the fucking neighbors stop looking at my man's purple tat. Yeah, I built that. More to come in the following days. I just stopped for now, cuz those mofos are HEAVY. And it rained while I was moving them around, so I'm wet through and through.

I would like to note

that I am posting from my psp. And I'm playing Quake on it too.

Stasis

Unfortunately, this cold will not go away. I'm finally taking meds, which will hopefully allow me to enjoy my birthday this weekend. We're going to the coast with some friends, to celebrate, though I'm not re-turning 30 until Sunday. I'm very excited to get away from this house and Portland. I need to see something other than these four walls.

Otherwise, I'm just peachy. I sleep most of the day, and hack and snot my way through the remainder. I've read a bit, which is nice, and played a little Xbox, but not much else to report.

Soon as I'm in the mood I'll update with a bunch of pictures from Mexico and from Steve's birthday celebrations.

Bis dann

There is an indigo girls song that has a line "on a ferryboat bound for victoria" which brings back memories of a failed attempt of mine to take a trip to Vancouver Island about 8 years ago (my fault, as always, because of a lack of funds). This is the first time I've heard it since I actually made it to the island. Now fortunately the song is more sweet than bitter.