council butte...j cubed

early one friday morning

we tried to make it to sunrise...

i was late...

but it was cloudy

anyways so no real sunrise to see...

right?

this was my first "urban" hike

in the sense that we started at ohsu

and walked through staircases

upon cement staircases

through campus but it was all part of the "trail"

weird.

what's that saying?

keep portland weird.

at the top...

jeff and jonas were perplexed

at the echoing ability of the magical circle

then their true characters came out...

they needed a good picture of themselves...

and i thought women were bad...
let's just say
16 pictures later
we gave up getting the perfect shot
this is just a taste of the pictures...
i like our smiles here best

but jeff is only 3/4 there..

also i don't look so pasty here

and it's my blog so if this picture makes me feel tan

it gets posted.

deal with it people.

after escaping the more urban part

of the hike

it was back to true oregonian style

moss and all

i tried hiking back barefoot but got too cold

jeff on the other hand

was being more grounded

and having a more "in touch" session

with mother earth.

jonas and i were...

well warmer.

pretty great for a few hour break
before starting work at 10:30 a.m.
comp time is worth it
for time off like this.

strategic

in my efforts of doing strategic planning
around community issues and juvenile crime prevention
for my job
i've realized these tactics have spilled over
to all areas of my life

case in point: last night
while running last night
i began to feel ill
around my mid-way point

a lil' walking
i hoped would help
but it didn't do the trick
i knew i was going to get sick

so in the residential neighborhood
where i was running
all i could think about was being strategic

a. strategic in where i was going to be sick
b. strategic in where i would not gross out people driving by
(right timing)
c. strategic in where i wouldn't gross out cute school kids
as they walked to school the next day

i feel the timing and execution went well
(i know probably too much info)
but i was able to run again afterwards
and i made it home
strategic-ness= success
think about it.

rain, sun, no tsunami

after proving myself again
that i CAN be an oregonian
i camped in the rain on the coast
friday night

strangely everyone wimped out
but two of us

after a great lil hike to cape falcon area
after a nutritious nutella banana
eaten on the beach behind
our wet campsite

my tent was a champion
and kept us dry
graduate school was so worth it
since i got a tent and amazingly warm sleeping bag
for a present of celebration
thanks again mom and dad
it's amazing to think i didn't use a tent for years
now i'm understanding why you actually need one
sometimes

after my friend departed me
to go to work
i decided for some good contemplative
meditative
chillaxation time on the beach
after properly situating myself
with an enjoyable book
and my journal
the sun came out of the clouds
and...
five minutes later i see mr. state park man
drive up in his 4 wheeler and loudly tell the peeps next to me
and so he wouldn't have to repeat himself
a tsunami at 2:30?
get off the beach?
as i looked at my clock it was 2:17
so i obeyed and walked up to my car
got the scoop from the other peeps
that if it got bad they'd sound the alarm

so placing myself next to my car
which was conveniently next to the sign
for the tsunami escape route
i awaited for the surge of the ocean with others...
i admit there were times i thought a big wave was coming,
but it never came
and although others stayed on the beach
i couldn't bring myself to sit
peacefully again on the shore.

as the arizonian i am
i got cold.
got a warm drink.
sat in my car to block the wind
and wrote in my journal there.
i heard the ocean o.k.
not quite what i wanted but it worked for a bit.
thus my quest in earning that moss covered heart continues.

Fat kid like cake

embarrassing...

so i go in to get my blood work done this morning
i ask the check-in guy and this convo starts:
me: how long are you supposed to fast for?
c-i g: about 12 hours
me: uhh i'm at about 8-9 hours is that o.k. or should i come back later?
c-i g: it's shouldn't be a problem. what did you eat?
me: (hesitating) cake
c-i g: oh you should be fine. i'll just write that on a note to your doctor
me(thinking great now my doctor will know): i did eat a lot of vegetables and fruit right before that too
c-i g (probably thinking yeah right, and looking at his computer): oh actually with this test that doesn't matter you didn't even have to fast.
me: oh o.k. (but wanting to say...oh great thanks now i had to fast and i feel like a fattie)

let's just say i normally don't even like cake either! i love sugar, candy, tarts, brownies you name it but now i feel i'm going to be labeled as a 11 p.m. cake eater.

the blood drawn encounter was also funny:
blood drawer: which arm would you like to use?
me: this one has been working good
small talk ensues
bd: you smell nice
me: thank you it's lotion
i can't tell if he's trying to hit on me or just be nice
after more small talk
bd: is that by chance sensual amber by bath and body works?
me: yes it is, good nose

conclusion: he either a. has a girlfriend b. loves woman's lotion

interesting morning all before 8:30 a.m.

vancouver 2010

we owned the olympics...

promoted peacegot in and out of the border

in record timeknow the downtown vancouver

like the back of our hand

the sneak preview of the weekend

starts at this post

until further pictures are shared...

i had a great time with my good friend spencer and my new friend david

let's just say the highlights of the weekend were:

a. sneaking into the "olympic sponsored" department store section

without waiting in a long line by finding the stairway and

following our rich friends in as they smooth talked

their way into the secret entrance

then sticking it to the department store and

not buying any of their over priced items or

finding any adult sized mittens

b. showing up at our room to stay for the night at 11:30 p.m.

to meet another two people that thought they were getting the same place...

the overbooked evening ended up with a hostel type situation

5 people one bedroom apartment housed in a four-plex-ish placed

$20 a head for each of us

all willing just to sleep on a bed/sofa-bed/or mattress on the floor

since we luckily called first

we got the better end of the situation.

c. we got into the curling event

and this with our own two eyes

(and saw the usa lose big time

and see canadia win big time

more details and pictures to come!
enjoy my phone pics!

lent

so in case you forgot

today is ash wednesday

i wonder if it might be

one of the tortuous days of the year

for thousands...

maybe millions

although i'm not catholic

there a lot of people that are

and many who participate in lent

i was going to pass on

the "joy" of sacrificing something

i thought i could give up

my occasional swearing

but have come to terms

that i still think it's funny to curse

then after some peer pressure at work

i finally listened to our it worker

who told me my pancreas

is in pain every time i drink a soda

which has been daily lately

yesterday he went into diabetes

which does run in the family

but so does drinking coke!

it's a family culture thing see link below

http://mover-n-shaker.blogspot.com/2007/11/addictions-uncovered.html

so i folded

and went cold turkey today...

let's just say

i wanted a coke at 9 a.m. this morning

cravings are real

and no i'm not prego

it was not fun

sacrificing is not fun

coke=happiness

but i made it through day one

when is easter?

things that make me happy

during a stressful time of life

there are many things that add to the stress
that won't be discussed here

but...

i will report on what eases those stressors

a. clearly...family

b. my friends who rank really close to

and whom often consider my second family
c. my recent as holly named it "jess stress less" weekend

upon hearing i was coming elias
let me know via pic text he was excited to meet me

my "stress less"happened as follows:

a holly-fied weekend of ease

including helping me get to utah

flying in and preping the weekend with a delicious breakfast

then a massage

(i always thought it was a great idea

for her become an amazing massage therapist)

then the weekend was full of good food

boarding in blue onesie

seeing the sun and enjoying the snow

catching up with great friends

that i haven't seen for awhile

and meeting new additions to many of their families

elikarlya special interpretive dance number from wesmeeting esmae june
(photo stolen from her parents' blog)
continuation of other things that make me happy
d. weekends away with friends to the coast here in oregon (including kayaking in tillamook bay)e. getting texts and pictures hearing about "Utah"

levi's new golden retriever
yes i'm super jealous!

and f. for music

although i'm not into country and more into folk these days

the dixie chick resonate with me these words in these two songs:

*the long way around

and

*easy silence

so that is some of the things along the continuum

of things that make me happy