Wednesday three.

Three things that did not suck today, in no particular order:

• being extremely hungry around 10am, lamenting the fact that people only seem to bring in food when I've eaten a proper breakfast, then happening upon a non-advertised batch of yummy fig/blueberry muffins by the printer
  
• a random high five from a coworker as I passed him in the hallway
• using the secret phrase* with another coworker to get off of a post-5pm, long-winded, non-work-related phone call

Bonus TTDS to round this out to an even five:

• shoe shopping at lunch (but OMG, can someone please explain these to me?)
  
• the last of the leftover pepperoni pizza from Sparky's

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* I'd tell ya, but then I'd have to kill ya.

Oh, and also? No &%^$ glittery vamps.

Subtle, understated, engaging, enthralling, mostly unknown actors (except that Richard Jenkins... must watch everything else he has ever touched immediately)... which is all to say that I liked Let Me In a lot.

Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the positive.

I'm in need of perspective these days, so I'm hereby reinstating the daily FTTDS. Five things that didn't suck yesterday, in no particular order:

• running across this after a coworker sent an email saying "for all intensive purposes..."
• finally finishing draft posts I started weeks ago
• finally getting my Hollywood Fringe Festival t-shirt (a gift for donating -the shirt is awesome)
• Family of the Year (they never suck but I particularly appreciated them yesterday)
  
• leftover pepperoni pizza from Sparky's
  

Five things that didn't suck today, in no particular order:

• waking up late and still catching the early bus
• coworkers with warped senses of humor
• 67 degrees and cloudy
• leftover pepperoni pizza from Sparky's
• two more days and then four-day weekend

This hasn't happened yet but in about an hour, I'm pretty sure that hearing Colin Meloy & Carson Ellis discuss their new book is really not going to suck either...

Living in Portland? Definitely does not suck.

Survive Hood to Coast: check.

In case you don't know, Hood to Coast is the world's largest relay race. Twelve hundred teams run from Mt. Hood to Seaside, a total of 197 miles. Entry is a competitive sport in and of itself and I was lucky enough to have a friend who made this year's cut. I'd originally only offered to volunteer, but since I was training for the July 4th half marathon and it was probably a once in a lifetime opportunity, I mentioned that I'd be an alternate if needed. Lucky for me, I was needed.*

Even luckier for me, I got the easiest legs of the race. And the shortest. And some of the prettiest, too. I got to run down the road that leads to Timberline Lodge (of The Shining fame) with views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams in the distance and lovely wildflowers lining the road. I got to run along the Willamette River in scenic downtown Portland. And I got to run through Mist, OR as the sun was rising and the mist was clearing. Despite running and then sitting for eight hours until my next run, and despite getting a total of about four hours of sleep over a 40-hour period, and despite my lack of training post-half marathon run, I kept my predicted pace and was able to drive us all back to Portland afterward. And I was able to walk (fairly) pain-free the next day.

However. The last third of the race was a total shit show. Somehow they messed up logistics on traffic, and we found ourselves dropping off runners at one spot, heading to the next drop-off point 5-6 miles up the road, and watching our runner blow past our van as we sat in miles and miles of traffic. My last leg was supposed to be in the dark through Mist, but because of the delays I didn't end up running in the dark (which I was a little disappointed about - I mean, when else am I going to run on a back country road at 4:30am?). On our van's last leg we ended up handing our runner "the clipboard" (the one set of papers we used to track time that would need to be turned in at the end of the race) as he passed us, and he ran for a mile holding the clipboard so that the runner in the other van wouldn't have to wait an hour for us to arrive. We also had to wait for about an hour and a half at the end for the rest of the other van to arrive so that we could all cross the finish line together.

But we all finished (fairly) injury free, I spent 40 hours in a van with four total strangers and a distant coworker and we all got along (fairly) well, and I can say I participated in the world's largest relay race.

I never need to do it AGAIN, but I participated. And survived. Check.

not our shirts

________________
* Lest you think I'm callous for being happy about someone being injured and having to drop out, the guy I replaced ended up recovering just fine and replacing someone else who got injured. Win win! Er... win win lose.

Blowing your mind all over your face.

I recently remembered this web comic and have been enjoying it immensely. But the following blurb under this day's strip caused me to do a double, and then triple, take:

In summary, a fictional character I made got turned into a computer program, and now another computer program exists solely to psychoanalyze it.

He thinks this is awesome. I, on the other hand, am selling all of my shit and moving to a cabin in the woods IMMEDIATELY. But first I have a sudden urge to watch season 4 of Buffy...

Friday five.

Five movies that actually did justice to their book predecessors, where I've actually read the book and seen the movie in a short enough time span to make such a judgment*, in no particular order:

• Fight Club
• The Princess Bride
• The Virgin Suicides
• The Godfather
  
• Bridget Jones' Diary (hey, I didn't say the book and/or movie had to be high quality)
  

Movies based on short stories don't count but if they did, The Body/Stand By Me and Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption/Shawshank Redemption would definitely be on the list.

Inspired by this news. I'm not sure how I feel about a movie version of one of my favorite books ever. The movie version of one of my other favorite books actually made me angry (and I do mean angry), and I didn't even see it.

But The River Why is playing at the theater in my 'hood so I'm sure I will go... even if it's just for the free air conditioning.

________________
* meaning the LOTR trilogy and the Narnia series don't count, although I suspect the LOTR trilogy might trump Bridget Jones' Diary on the list above when I read it again

Weekend at the coast - check.

The kayak trip was canceled (OMG I KNOW RIGHT, AGAIN?! or maybe that was just MY reaction) but since I'd booked a room and got the email message 12 hours before the trip and couldn't cancel the motel without financial penalty, I decided to make the most of the weekend at the coast.

Saturday morning I loaded up on carbs and caffeine at Kettleman's and headed out early to try to find some waterfalls around Wilson River.

it's a trap!

For the record, this is apparently the Bermuda Triangle of hiking trails. After wandering unsuccessfully for about three miles, I got really frustrated and headed back toward the parking lot. On my way I came upon someone squatting on the trail. (And by "on the trail" I mean ON THE TRAIL. Really? You're surrounded by trees and THIS is where you choose to squat?) That made me dislike this hike and area even more. So I headed to Kings Mountain.

Kings Mountain, if you don't know, is a training hike for the summit to Mt. Hood. I did not know this when embarking on the hike. I just knew it was "difficult" and there was a 2700 foot elevation gain in just 2.5 miles... which, in hindsight, probably really should've been a big clue. It ended up being one of the most challenging day hikes I've done in Oregon - possibly harder than South Sister (but definitely not harder than Misery Ridge).

It's been four days and my legs are still a little sore. That's how hard the hike was. It was worth it, though... the views were stunning despite the slightly overcast skies.

imagine the views on a clear day!

After the hike I checked into the cheap motel, settled in and cleaned up. Research showed that Munson Falls was nearby and only a .25 mile hike, which sounded right up my alley.

worth the short drive and even shorter walk

Next, I drove the Three Capes loop near Tillamook and made a few stops.

the aptly named Octopus Tree

After a well-earned fish 'n chips dinner and beer at a local dive, I headed back to the motel but got sidetracked by the moon.

I've got your full moon kayak trip right heah

Free cable entailed a Hoarders marathon on TLC, which I absolutely do not recommend under any circumstances. But eventually I found a Scrubs marathon and got to bed in more pleasant spirits, and Sunday morning I got to the Oregon Coast Aquarium right as it opened in an attempt to avoid the kiddies. I spent two hours enjoying the bizarre crabs, sea horses, fish and oh-so-AHDORAHBLE sea otters. The aquarium was surprisingly well done and I'd recommend it to anyone heading out to the Newport area.

{heart}

And then north toward home... but not quite ready to head home. Between the World's Smallest Harbor and the World's Shortest River, I found Drift Creek Falls. A short hike leads you to a really great visitor center and a really long suspension bridge, which ends at a really great waterfall.

"world's smallest" entry #1


Drift Creek Falls suspension bridge and falls

"world's smallest" entry #2

And finally, on the way to a 5-mile hike I happened upon Roads End beach and decided that was a much better use of my time than more leg torture.

Note to self: do not end the weekend lounging on the beach. It will wreak havoc on your mental perspective and make you especially cranky at work the following week.

I'm so lame, I bet I think this post is about me.

I don't remember the last time I heard a song for the first time and it not only blew me away, it also accurately summed up my mood at that very moment in time. (There's a fairly good chance that the last time this happened it was 2008 and it was Built to Spill's Strange - yeah, I was a little late to the BtS party. There's another pretty good chance that it was 2009 and it was Dr. Horrible's My Eyes - his part, not hers.)

Today it was Andrew Bird's Lull.

I first heard Bird when he opened for the Decemberists in 2009. I liked him and was quite impressed with his array of musical instruments as well as his whistling skills. But then I kind of forgot about him, until recently when he came up on Pandora and I queued a bunch of albums at the library and loaded them onto my iPod. But then I kind of forgot about him again, until today when I had the iPod set to "shuffle."

And I had to listen to this song again, and then again.

The link has the song and the lyrics if you want one or the other...

Really late Wednesday three.

Three things that did not suck today, in no particular order:

• Muppets: the Green Album on NPR's First Listen... I love about half the songs and this sentence makes up for the other half: "The kids who grew up with them are now adults and want to give back. We live in cynical times, but listening to The Green Album is a nice reminder of the joy and beauty that remains."
• deciding that actually? my living room arrangement is just fine the way it is, thank you very much, and scrapping plans to move furniture tonight
• still hurting from the Kings Mountain hike two days ago
  

All that said, I do not recommend Sunday early evening beach lounging. It was so hard to leave last night, and I was cranky the whole way home, and I realllllllllly did not want to get up this morning. I've got to do something about this.

The suspension bridge is actually pretty darned cool.

not worth five dollars
but with an annual pass
check it out for sure

Drift Creek Falls near Lincoln City

The owner wanted to know if I wanted a refund *and* a gift certificate.

kayak trip canceled
for the third time in a row
just the refund please

I'm looking at you, INXS. And you, Van Halen.

similar question...
replacing only the lead:
false advertising?

In which the haiku gods punish me for excessive use of punctuation.

when all that is left
is the original lead,
are you still "the shins"?

still, me + 349 people + them = awesome

Early Wednesday three.

Three songs I do not want to hear at 6:45am on a Monday, in no particular order:

• Rat in a Cage - Smashing Pumpkins
• any version of Smoke Two Joints
• Animal - Nine Inch Nails
  

94.7, please take note.

Into the wild.

Alaska blah blah blahg is up.