Goooooooooals.

OK, I'll be out of town for a bit so I hereby bring you the ceremonial summary of 4Q09 goals.

• three Fugitives & Refugees things/month... well, turns out that when you write a book that becomes famous, tourists overrun the weird stuff and the owners close up shop or deny the public access to their weird stuff. But Portland is weird with or without famous author assistance, which basically means that I saw a lot of weird stuff over the past three months but there wasn't a lot from the book involved. So... 3x3=9, right?

look at how PC our graffiti artists are! I mean, it really warms the heart!

there seems to be a trend of turning free newspaper
stands into bizarre, colorful works of art

this was the extent of the "dear will" letter

they let us eat here

I think this has to do with kidical mass
~ Critical Mass for kids

the kitschiest shop - well, the only kitschy shop -
in the Pearl... I have spent hours in this store

someone decided that Die Hard needed to become an art project
and actually rented space for this tribute to John McClane

erm... nothing at all weird about Captain Bogg and Salty!
best kiddie pirate band in the western hemisphere!

Santa Douche at Anticon

• run 13 miles by 12/31... well, turns out that when you get the flu the weekend before your grand finale, you don't run 13 miles by 12/31. But I got to 12, which means I can get to 13, which I will do as soon as the flu and sinus infection symptoms decide to make their merry way elsewhere and I can get back to training. New 1Q10 goal is "by 2/17" and if it doesn't happen by then, it ain't happening... and it's all good.
  
• figure out "the plan"... well, turns out when you reduce your schedule to 3 days a week you can get a lot more done. Why did no one mention this before? I have everything from actual plans to thoughtful ideas to vague notions, all of which will culminate into a really great 3.5 months overseas. And I have a lot of shit to do by 2/17. New 1Q10 goal is "by 2/17... get all this shit done."
  

Next up, the year we don't know how to refer to ("oh-ten?" "ten?" "one-zero?"). Also known as, the most amazing year I have yet to witness. No goals till June at the earliest! I'm off to do some L-I-V-I-N.

Happy new year!

A look inside my flu-recovering multi-everything-ing brain.

Must look up storage... Cool, hockey is on!... I want pizza... Really need to figure out how to get from Buenos Aires to Quito... Wow, Red Wings haven't scored... $800 for a flight - are you kidding me?!?!... Hmm, $1 for the first month and a discount on 3 months or more? Sold... Oh, that looks like a good pizza dough recipe... Best season to visit = Jan-May, man how could I NOT go to the Galapagos?... Dammit, forgot to return those library books I never read... "Hi, other travel clinic, can you send my itemized list from February so that I can submit a claim? Ktxsbai!"... Ooooh jump drive chock full o'music from Mark - must download and absorb immediately! Well, download now, absorb soon... Wow, still no score, really?... {Sidestep to write thank you's for Christmas presents.}... Maybe Antarctica travel lady can help with flights to Quito... Still don't know Spanish, hope that surfing/Spanish immersion program is all it's cracked up to be... Caps v Flyers on 1/17 - I am SO there... I can fit all this crap into a 10'x10' box, right?... You're the RED WINGS, just score already! Jeez... Hmm, where the hell is my passport?... Add to "to do ASAP in 2010" list - pay taxes, cancel cable, send intent to vacate letter to landlord... Overtime, wow... Next apartment will be on floor 2 or higher, have decent heat and full bath... COLUMBUS WINS IN OT!... When did Ohio get a hockey team?

The end.

Early Wednesday three.

I'm a mile away from 4Q goal #2 as of this evening, so I thought I would take this opportunity to explain why I brought this upon myself again this year. Last year it seemed like a good idea until Her Majesty got sick, and the country and candidates leading up to the election got all hateful, and I realized that I would never like my job at the time (which is my job still, but which is soon to be not my job anymore). I got to 8 miles and pretty much threw in the towel.

This year I gave it another try because I'm in a much better state of mind. And I think it might actually work, because:

• I haven't done much long-distance hiking since August, so I should probably make sure my legs and knees can handle lots of strain since I'm not sure where or for how long I will be walking as of March 14.
  
• I'm back in "jeez my clothes are huge I really need to gain some weight" mode (for reasons unbeknown to me but for which I've confirmed there is no medical rationale), and keeping up the running for a bit longer will ensure that when I gain 15 pounds on the 3-week cruise, my slightly-larger-than-needed travel clothes will fit perfectly rather than hanging off me like they do now.
• Spaghetti, sushi, peanut butter and bagels. And? As if that weren't enough, OMG there is nothing better than finishing 12 miles at 9:30pm and replenishing your sodium levels with a TJ's cornmeal crust Greek pizza at 11:22pm, totally guilt-free. I mean, really. NOTHING.