8.27.12

Last week was a long, hellish week. Especially Wednesday. On Wednesday, there was something wrong with the pull of the universe or a full moon or something because everyone was just off. A co-worker informed the office that she is moving to Montana at the end of the month. Since the turnover rate at my company is somewhere around 0%, the office is jaw dropped and moving with alarming alacrity to start the replacement process. They interviewed a Chinese woman on Wednesday and I was in charge of the meet & greet. I got her set up in the conference room and brought her some water. When I dropped off the water the woman looked at me and said, "Awww, you pregnant?" I shot laser beams out of my eyes and pretty much screamed, "NO. NO I AM NOT," and then ran out of the conference room. Now, I realize that I own a skinny mirror. The purchase was intentional and I actually spent quite a bit of time picking out the perfect mirror that best shrunk my butt size and boosted my confidence. But, pregnant?! I WORK OUT. 

Ben's friend, Chris, was in town visiting from Dallas. He's a chef at Sissy's Southern Kitchen off Henderson and his goal for Portland was to eat as much swanky food as possible. See: Le Pigeon. Chris stauged at Le Pigeon Thursday. He was told to bring an apron, knife and a sharpie. I tried to loan him my Cutco knife, but apparently Cutco's are just too fancy/nice of a blade and he'd make the kitchen green with envy. So, I provided the sharpie. The menu at Le Pigeon boasts Foie Gras, Pigeon, Slow Roasted Duck & Duck Hearts, Beef Cheeks, etc all of which we ordered. All of which, minus the Pigeon which tasted remarkably like pigeon crap, was surprisingly scrumptious. The only food that didn't seem to impress Chris from his culinary tour of Portland was the french fries covered in gravy and cheese curds aka Poutine. Aka dream fries. 

Mom and I bought plane tickets to Florida! We leave late September for the sun & sand. I plan on laying on a beach and eating bagels the entire time. It's going to be heaven. 

Since I found out my boss' pretty much lied to my face about giving me a promotion, I've been casually submitting my application to various companies. Most specifically NW Natural where I have now been calling for the past week and leaving bumbling messages about my interest in the Staff Assistant 2 position. Plan: to leave so many messages that the recruiting department gets annoyed and offers me an interview. I also applied to ScanOne where I passed the phone interview last week and have a face-to-face tomorrow afternoon. It's a good thing Lauren and I went preemptive interview shopping!

8.7.12

I woke up Saturday morning to a singing voicemail from my parents: "99 degrees in Portland it is. 99 degrees it is. Katie come down.... & 99 degrees it is." It's barely morning and Portland is already breaking the 90s. Dear Lord, my bones are going to melt. So, Lauren, Tyrone, myself & 1/4 of Portland headed for the Sandy River for a day of tubing, PBR & 50 proof sunscreen. We borrowed a 3-seater raft, packed a cooler with beer and trailmix and set off for the river. The plan was to park a car at the beginning and the other car at the end, but unfortunately we mixed the two up and ended up parking both cars at the beginning. No problem! When we float the 12 miles to the bottom of the river we'll figure something out then. Hitchhike? Cab? Sounds like a plan. In my head, I was going to be floating the Comal River with a Stephanie Plum novel and a buzz. The reality was me paddling in the front, Lauren holding my book over her head while cursing at me for bringing a book and Tyrone guarding the cooler in the back. Apparently, for relaxing river floats you go to the Clackamas, to enjoy class 3 rapids you go to the Sandy. Since I brought my book, we were obviously not prepared to go white water rafting. For a while, we gave it a good go. I was paddling like a mad man and screaming at Lauren every time her arm started to droop, "Lauren. BOOK" while Tyrone was in the back paddling like a mad man, probably going in the opposite direction of me. In the end, we got a little stuck and had to abandon ship. Lauren and I played leap frog from rock to rock and dragged the raft along until we made it past the rapids. The whole time I was very cautious not to cut my leg or arm on a rock and babbled on about flesh eating bacteria that prey on open wounds. After 1/2 a mile and surviving the rapids we made it to calm water and literally just plopped for the rest of the afternoon. Next time, we'll conquer the Sandy...or maybe just go to the lazy Clackamas. And for the record, Stephanie Plum drowned. 

I take a body sculpt class at LA Fitness a couple times a week. I've sampled the different instructors and decided that innocent looking Lindsay is pure evil. She teaches Wednesday afternoons and Sunday mornings. Since I have that memorized, I avoid going to that class Wednesday afternoons and Sunday mornings. Yesterday I went to the gym, put on my workout clothes, took off my glasses and headed for Jessie's non-life-destroying body sculpt class. I got about 5 minutes into the class when I realized that Jessie was not instructing the class, but the princess of darkness herself was standing in.  I really need to get contacts. Had I been able to see my instructor I would have opted for cardio instead of spending an hour squatting, crunching & arm lifting in unison. For an hour I muttered under my breath obscenities and made a list of all the things I would rather be doing. For example: burning my favorite pair of shoes, being a contestant in the Hunger Games, or lopping my head off and using it as a punch bowl. Somehow I survived and since I waited until the locker room before I started sobbing I got to keep some dignity. I also now waddle when I walk.

7.30.12

Would you believe our internet has been out?


Ben and I cut out of work early Friday to eat giant pretzels & sample beer at the Oregon Brewers Fest, aka my new favorite festival. See: 6am Bourbon Stout. Seriously, I want to take a bath in that beer. People who are gluten free were lining up to sample. No joke, it was that delicious. 

I was very excited to get out of bed last Tuesday. Who knows why, and now I regret it. But, at 6:42 am when my alarm went off, I woke up feeling energized and ready to start my day. So ready that I literally jumped out of bed. & this caused an unfortunate reaction. My phone also decided to trampoline out of bed with me…ending in a suicide mission. My phone has withstood free falling onto concrete, kitchen tiles and my butt and has always come out the victor. However, it seems when combating other technology – like senor laptop, it loses & gets a broken face.

Tuesday night, Ben came home with a Visa giftcard from work. He decided to spend it on a pocket knife and a ping-pong paddle. & maybe a poodle? 

Which brings us to Saturday: the afternoon of errands. Ben purchased a custom designed paddle where he can maybe attempt to beat the likes of this guy (click on link):

http://www.bbcmotiongallery.com/gallery/clip/48050264_5200.do?keywords=table+tennis

& I replaced my phone at the Apple store. While my cell phone was backing up in the icloud Ben and I saw The Dark Knight Rises in Imax. Ben thought it was fun and I was mostly like this: "Ben, what did he say." "Wait, I didn't catch that." "Huh? I can't understand what he's saying." Regardless, I'll agree with Ben and say it was fun. 

Sunday was Bonbon's birthday! Happy 29!! Wish I was there to eat fried chicken and pie. And when I turn 29, I can only hope I'm so lucky as to get to wear a chicken hat while doing the chicken dance. 

2/13/10

Four day weekends are the best. Thursday being the new Friday and Tuesday the new Monday is really working for me. It gives me time to Zumba and run errands. Well, more like make lists of all the errands I need to run and then really just sit around and listen to country music and play logic puzzles. I can't get enough Patsy and Loretta. Bryan and Lizzy are hosting a mix-tape party at the end of February and I'm kind of worried I'm going to show up with nothing but classic country tunes about Mississippi men and Ain't bein' woman enough.

The bookkeeping gig is still good. It's not quite as shiny and rosy as my first week on the job, but I'm getting used to it. I keep having 10-key dreams where everyone around me is entering data into Accpac with alarming alacrity and I'm just picking at the keyboard like a chicken. After a while I look around at the computer screens and all the people are growing extra hands and going that much faster and I start sweating and worrying how I'm going to keep up. According to my coworkers, the extra hand comes at three months on the job. Something to look forward to! I keep trying to think of all the perks of having three hands. So far, the only thing I can really come up with is not having to switch hands when cutting a piece of meat with my fork & knife. In any case, I'm catching on pretty fast. Last week, a coworker announced to the office that I was doing a stand-up performance and honored me with the 'Cara Philps' Award and a mini Mr. Goodbar.

The weather has been grey and dreary. I'm ready for some leafy greens and daffodils. Maybe some bare legs and sunglasses. I want to go the Columbia Gorge and eat piazza outside. I think because the weather has been so crummy, I've been fairly hermetic lately. I'm also having a hard time being motivated to do any projects. Maybe I need to start taking vitamins and get a happy lamp. We have a room in my office that has natural lighting and a chair that I curl up in and read during my lunch hour, but I guess that isn't charging me with energy. Or maybe I'm just making excuses. I did get inspired by Feb 14 and crafted some homemade Valentines.

01/25/11

I have a mouse. And it's not cute like Jerry, but is rabid and has beady red eyes and scampers. Actually, I have no idea what it looks like, but when I'm trying to fall asleep I can hear it darting and clawing and chewing in my ceiling. I just imagine this furry critter eating a whole in my ceiling and dropping on my chest in the middle of my slumber. It's horrible. And it's driving Tinga berserk. She's been on sentinel duty and won't leave her post until I relieve her. She's a loyal soldier. Except when she decides to go AWOL. Last week she got a bit of fresh air when she sneaked out like a rebellious teenager. I got home from work and was literally sobbing and panicked because I couldn't find the little devil. I finally found her sitting calmly by the side sliding door...outside. And you know, she was actually mad at me. The nerve! All that night she kept slapping my arm with her paw and giving me these 'you're a bad mom' look. Seriously, I think I have been demoted from hero in my kitty cat's eyes. My cape has been stripped.

This past weekend was unusually social and busy. Friday night we watched Sunset Boulevard with Brad & Ashlie in the basement of their house on a projector. It's pretty much going to the movies, but maybe better since price of admission is free and I can sip on beer while enjoying a flick. His basement is lovely and decked with blankets and a couch. It's rather perfect except for this creepy doll that is hanging from the wall and blankly stares. It's kind of unnerving, and I think it was coveting my drink. Next up on the queue is Dogville.

Saturday night, we played board games with Tyrone and Lauren. I've known this entire time that Tyrone is not a beefy, black man, but it was still shocking (maybe even a let down?) to finally be introduced to the famous Tyrone, a red-headed Anglo-Saxon. Cool thing about Tyrone: he used to play bball with Jason Terry in Seattle when he was a teen. Unfortunately, their relationship never budded outside of that one summer on the courts, so no freebie court side tickets or autographs. Ben and I kicked butt at Taboo, and realized that partner games, competitive games, games in general might not be the best social activity when playing against two must-win-at-all-costs people. Welcome to the high tension zone!

I started taking Salsa classes on Monday nights with Elisa and Allyn. The class is an hour of me shaking my hips and switching partners every minute. Everyone would awkwardly introduce themselves and it felt a bit like speed dating. The class is hilariously predictable. There are the three couples made up of ebullient, hip-swaying females and sad, obedient husbands. Then there is the older man who is looking for a hobby to fill his time and the two younger guys who are obviously there to pick up ladies. The class is held on the top floor of a building and it makes me feel like I'm in the movie Center Stage.

Happy Birthday Pops! I love you & miss your goofy-butt like crazy!!

01/17/11

According to the Chinese calendar, 2011 is my year. It’s the year for the furry, cotton-tail, carrot-eating rabbits! So far: 2011 is A-Okay. The good: Got a job. The bad: Bowser sounded like a teapot until K&S Auto performed $300 worth of repairs.

The good: I successfully completed my first work week! I was so anxious that I didn’t sleep a wink the night before I started. I really just tossed and turned all night long like it was Christmas Eve instead of the First-Day-of-Work-for-the-Rest-of-My-Life (which is slightly more ominous and depressing than presents). Despite having a vat of caffeine that day, I think I’m going to like it there. My boss/owner of the company is crazy. She called me back to her office to help her figure out why she couldn’t get volume out of her speakers. She was watching youtube trailers for Portlandia and then started talking about Bridalplasty. Also, during the tell-a-bit-about-yourself in the team meeting, she put a squash to the NE vs SE debate by informing everyone that she was a NW, hills kinda-girl because she was rich. Her daughter, my guardian angel that offered me the position, is a raw foods enthusiast and is known to make a pretty awesome non-bake apple pie. The girl training me looks a lot like Vanessa from Gossip Girl and says the word ‘totally’ like she’s back in the 90s. I’m fairly certain that is going to rub off on me. It’s going to be the 2003 ‘honey’ fiasco all over again. And everyone else is really great and quirky too.

The bad: My poor truck had a bad spell and made a whistling noise whenever I had my foot on the accelerator. I took my truck to 80^th and Sandy, and this hilarious Asian man got him back to snuff. Apparently, the front brake pads were worn out. It was a three hour operation in which I spent in this renovated coffee shop down the street. The coffee shop played bluegrass music and gave me free coffee. This man walked in and spent a chunk of time telling me about his days in Jacksonville being a carpenter and then changed the subject to his bike. He kept telling me that I was nice.

Lately, I’ve been playing Cribbage with my roommates. It reminds me of Dane and also makes me feel like a 60 year old lady. I haven’t won yet, but I can feel that the next game is mine! I've also been playing some Mah Jongg lately. Ben bought me my very own set for Christmas!

Today is Ben’s birthday!! I took the birthday boy out for the best mac&cheese in Portland(except he didn’t actually order mac) and tonight we’re celebrating with Bryan and Lizzy at Russel Street BBQ. He had a small shindig last Friday:

01/09/2011

Announcement the First:

I GOT A JOB! Is everyone out there enjoying a sigh of relief and whispering the word finally over and over? I'm not going to lie, I really thought this day would never happen. Gosh, that sounds like something you say on the day of your wedding. Regardless, I'm ecstatic. ELATED. OVERJOYED! The job specs: I am the newly hired accounting assistant for a small bookkeeping firm, Susan Matlack Jones and Associates. It's a part-time position with

potential to grow into full-time. Perks: My office building is located in Old Town and overlooks the Chinese Gardens (Zen lunches!), this is my current, realistic dream-job and IT'S NOT THE MACARONI GRILL (I had an interview last week for a waitressing position at the Mac Grill. Not carrying trays of Italian food: score! Not working nights&weekends: score again! Not having to write my name with crayon on a paper tablecloth 20 times a night: winning score!)

Announcement the Second:

I got a gym membership with 24 Hour Fitness! A few times a week I now lift weights and exercise on the elliptical while listening to mash-ups. My goal is to whip my butt into shape. I've spent too many hours reading blogs and watching Bones on Netflix (Pops, this Bones business is all your fault). Perks: Gym clothes are cute and I get to check out hunky, buff boys (Sorry Ben! But you know my eyes will never stray past you :) Cons: It hurts

Announcement the Third:

This blog is being updated on my brand spakin' new laptop! Thank you Santa Clause (aka mommy & daddy)!! My new beaut is one hunkin' machine that causes my forearms to horripilate every time I use it. No joke. This thing is amazing.

Announcement the Fourth & Final:

I finally watched Gone With the Wind. My reaction: How can a movie that is 226 minutes long end on a cliff-hanger? I realize that the viewer could soundly assume that Scarlett O'Hara does eventually get the man given her tenacity and determinatio

n throughout the movie. But still! Frankly my dear, I don't

give a damn! Also, why did the Victorian/Southern Gentleman fashion have to go out of style?

2011 Resolutions:

I hope to start writing in my blog a couple of times a week (fingers crossed).

I hope to be a gym rat this year.

I hope to start crafting (first on the list is knitting a scarf).

I hope to cook at home more frequently than I eat out.

I hope to stay in touch with family and friends better.

I hope to travel more in 2011.

I hope to make lists and take more photos.

New Year's kiss

Tynan, Ben and Me wearing

matching snuggies