I had big plans all day to post alot of information in here. But it is late now. It is 11:21pm as I am currently typing. It is far past my bed time. Pandora's quickmix feature is the only thing that is keeping me awake.
I am starting to settle into things at work nicely. I like my job. I like the atmosphere there. I like the pay. I wish that I did not have to be worried about the economy and layoffs. I wish that I could just accept things that I have no control over.
Perhaps I fret needlessly. For now, I have it good enough.
It is supposed to rain tomorrow. It is always supposed to 'rain tomorrow' in Portland after the first of October. Sometimes it does. Sometimes it does not. Rain is a whole different thing out here. I know that I have written about this before.
We have big plans for tomorrow. If everything goes as planned we will do the following:
We will wake up sometime between 9-930. Lauren will make a favorite breakfast of mine dubbed 'fritatas'. I have no idea what a fritata is but I do know that she makes a seasoned scrambled eggs with deep fried strips of corn tortillas served with sour cream and salsa that is to die for. After breakfast we head out to the market. This late in the year only the big downtown market is opened. It is always the best market but sometimes I miss the little neighborhood markets. We are going to get some apples and squash. I no that I have written it many times before, but I can not emphasize enough how delicious and cheap food is at the farmer's markets here. After the market we will go home for a little relaxation. Then we head out for some sushi. After sushi we go hiking in Forest Park. We get back sometime between 4-5. We are tired and do our own things for a while. I might have energy and go for a bike ride or walk. Or maybe I am tired and just need to relax a bit. The Red Sox game comes on at 5pm. We will work some dinner in there. Most likely Lauren will cook something. Being that it is the weekend I will attempt to help. Instead, I will probably get in the way and get kicked out of the kitchen. I will feel bad about this so I will clean up afterwards. Hopefully the Sox win. After the game maybe we watch a little Boondocks or perhaps I have gone out to rent a movie. I have a glass of scotch and we call it a night.
Who knows what tomorrow may hold. Those are my plans.
I attend church regularly now. I wrote about this last week if I remember correctly. As a side note, I rarely remember what I write in here. I write down all of the random thoughts that are in my head at the time or that I have been storing for a certain amount of time and move in. I am often surprised by some of my entries. At any rate, we ride our bikes to work every sunday. I even missed part of the televised Bear's game last week. That game hurt.
When we decided that we were going to attend regularly Lauren told me that we had to start giving when they passed the buckets around. I must admit that I was skeptical. I am always skeptical about giving my money away. I have never had much. I do not like to part with the little that I do attain. I do not like to make purchases. I do not like to pay taxes. I do not like to give to charity.
However, a really telling moment happened the first time that we attended services. As the money pouches were going around I noticed a young man in front of me 'pretend' to put money in the velvet pouch and pass it along. Here was a man that knew what he should be doing. He knew that he should be giving to his community. He knew all of the good work that the church did. He knew that to not give would sadden god. But he was to selfish to give. He tried to hide his selfishness from other church members. He tried to hide from god.
I decided that day that I should always give. Lauren does not think that we give enough. I resisted at first. But perhaps she is right. We having been working on increasing our donation.
It is getting late...
The rain season is coming. It is a time for contemplation. It is never so brutally cold here that you shut down entire parts of yourself. The winters are mild. There are only a handful of days where you truly need a heavy sweater or coat. Instead, it is gray and wet. It is always gray and it is always wet. It is a testament to your spirit if you are able to own the wet gray days. The soggy overcast days are easily conquerable. In fact, if you only visit the Northwest, you would think them no big deal. You would think them no big spiritual journey. But the way of the winters here is not to knock you out in the first round. The Northwest winter is slow and prodding. It is gentle but persistent. The winters here are truly beautiful and majestic. To the casual observer this is, most likely, the only thing that you will notice. But to the resident it is easy to get lost in the gray. It is easy to forget that your entire life will not be spent damp and slightly chilly. It is easy to forget that there is a sun and that it will reign again.
I am looking forward to the winter. I love seasons. They are a way for one to order or structure their life. I can not imagine living in a place that does not have seasons. I can not imagine that human beings are meant for such a climate. I am still learning about the weather cycle out here. What I had read before I moved set the ground work but it was by no means representative of what it is truly like to live here. You have to spend some time here to truly capture the essence of the Pacific Northwest.
It is even later...
I recommend that all of my readers check out
Yahoo's personalized page I was a fan of igoogle for some time. However, I mus admit that the My Yahoo page is far superior. You can have tabs to your gmail if you have one. Gmail is, after all, a superior email service. It offers all of the things that that google custom page does and possibly more. The site does all of this and provides a much cleaner and smoother platform for you to navigate through. Lauren and I checked it out for only a few minutes and were sold.
It is late.
Good night.
