Weekend in Portland

Some scenes from last weekend's trip through Oregon. We spent two days in the Portland area visiting Lan Su Gardens, Powell's Books, Voodoo Donuts, Multnomah Falls, and a few wonderful restaurants(I heartily recommend Santeria and Mama Mia's). Also while we were there, Josh proposed to Catie, who promptly said 'Yes'. :)  In Powell's I picked up a book of Wilfred Owen's poetry, "The Social Contract", a small collection of Oscar Wilde's poetry and Ursula LeGuin's "Four Ways to Forgiveness".

Sadly I don't have any video of our adventure on the dunes in Coo's Bay, dinner with Josh's grandma in Lakeside or our trip down the river and subsequent beach activities in Grant's Pass.

Coo's was interesting. It had been a damp day and the sand wasn't in the best condition for quads. We spent a lot of our time stuck on hillsides, but it was still a good experience. Directly after that we had dinner in a local pub with grandma, which was delicious.

On the last day we headed down the river on a 10 foot raft. I learned that I can spend a large amount of mostly-idle time with these three and still be at ease; something that does not come easily to me. On the beach we skipped rocks (or tried) and played with the creatures we found around the rocks. There may have also been some stick fighting involved, which is probably the thing I from which I most wish I had video.

We spent a good 24 hours in a small car, singing and laughing and sleeping and talking. Time well spent.

Thanks to Josh, Catie and Adam for being great friends, company and adventurers. Hopefully we will have many more trips in this vein. :D
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humans

This semester is truly wonderful. Although I've run into a handful of irksome individuals, the majority of the people I've met and worked with are intellectual, interesting characters. Basically, I'm very glad to welcome them into my little story. Let's get a little personal. I kicked off this year feeling lonely and friendless--not that I didn't have any friends, but they had all moved away. Unfortunately, being a very internal person it is difficult reaching out to others or venting. I lacked belonging.

The good part: almost every class for which I registered introduced me to some awesome people. :D To all of you who are now friends, thank you for being amazing and encouraging and intellectually stimulating. Hah! You are all so kind and funny. Rarely have I felt so in tune with a group. I hope we can go on to create some great things.

And of course, to the friends that have stuck by me all these years: thank you. You bring me a lot of joy, and no matter the distance or time between us, you will always be very near my heart and thoughts. :)

Anyway, this is a weird little note/blog. I got home tonight from a new job and was feeling especially blessed. 

Goodnight world. Continue reading →