NoPo memers

Aright, Lelo didn't tag me, but I accept anyway.

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
Getting ready to graduate from college, pack my life up, spend 6 miserable weeks in Houston getting a crash course in how to be a teacher, then move to rural North Carolina where I would start teaching 6th grade special education math, english, science and social studies, get incredibly depressed, lose 20 pounds, and move back in with my parents 4 months later.

At exactly this point 10 years ago, I was finishing my college thesis on how preschoolers learn language. I wish I remembered some of it - it was pretty interesting.

2. What are 5 things on your to-do list?
1. Make a Goodwill trip
2. Put fresh sheets on the bed
3. Update my resume
4. Weed and mulch the front gardenbed
5. Take the pup for a long hike

3. What are 5 snacks you enjoy?
1. Trader Joe's flaxseed & honey flatbread
2. part-skim mozzarella string cheese
3. baby carrots
4. greek yogurt with honey or berries
5. nutrigrain frozen waffles

4. Name some things you would do if you were a millionaire.
I actually would never ever want to be a millionaire. It's too much responsibility, and has too much potential to wreak havoc on your relationships and life. However, if I have no choice in the matter...I would give an awful lot of money to the humanitarian arm of PLAN (Plan Loving Adoptions Now) which is sending little girls in Liberia to school and building wells for impoverished communities. My other pet charities...Our House of Portland, Dove Lewis, Cat Adoption Team, Girls Inc. and Portland Actors Conservatory...would also receive a lot of it. I'd pay off all our family student loans & debt, and R & I would take a big long trip to Europe and (in my dream), Central America.

5. Name some places where you've lived.
- Rochester, NY
- Evanston, IL
- St. Louis
- Louisburg, NC
- Every quadrant of Portland + Beaverton

6. Name some bad habits you have
Leaving kleenex in the couch cushions, interrupting people when I think I know what they're going to say (VERY bad habit...must stop)

7. Name some jobs you've had
Student campus escort, counselor for kids with disabilities, special education teacher, child development researcher, women's clothing retail clerk, market researcher, policy analyst, babysitter, lifeguard, daycare worker

8. Name those whom you are tagging
Spread the love - not tagging

Dear Craigslist:

dear craigslist:

this weekend marks my 6th anniversary of living in portland, and once again i availed myself of your services to great success. so...just a note to let you know how much you've helped me over the past 6 years. over time, i have you to thank for:

• a lightly-used dresser
• a washer & dryer for our then-new house when we had practically NO cash to spare but really really needed to do our laundry
• a short stint living in a fabulous house in NW portland with a bedroom-balcony great view of the sunrise over the Fremont bridge, my own gorgeous bathroom with beautiful restored clawfoot tub, and forest park at my back for a mere $350/month. although i eventually got booted out of the house for reasons that remain unclear, it was an awesome 6 months of living experience
• our puppy, lucy
• getting rid of a dining room table & chairs, boxspring, old dishes, and countless other items we didn't want to keep when we moved
• most recently, the most fabulous practically-new red Dirt Devil vacuum that kicks ass on our dirty hardwood floors (see puppy, above) for a mere $60
• guitar lessons
• and many, many more things

So thank you CL, for your many blessings. Life just wouldn't be the same without you.

What I've Been Doing

Oy. It's been so long since my last post. It's paddling season! That means practicing thrice-weekly with my team, the Wicked Wahinis. We had our first race of the season on Saturday up in Tacoma in Puget Sound. It was chaotic and hot and crazy, but so so much fun. We won the Women's "B" division (which is generally the recreational teams).


That's me, waiting to line up for our last race. Although I do not love the Thursday 6 am practice, I do LOVE paddling. It is so wonderful to be out there on the water, observing the city from a new vantage point. Even when it's hailing, sleeting, our just pouring down rain, there's something really connective about paddling your way through the conditions (although I am quite happy to have a car with heated seats after practice). Now that the weather is getting nicer, it's a treat to enjoy the beautiful scenery and sunshine.

Onto Rose Festival, Kent, Salem, Victoria, Waterfront and San Francisco races between now and October. Go Wicked!