Brief News for the Past Week

Ugly Sticks played last Thursday and lost both games. I am baffled at the method for placing teams in different leagues. I don't think that the guys suck, they've been playing a lot of teams that can really hit and play. I think there was even a double play against them in one of the games. Oh well, as long as they are still having fun. Naggers & Braggers played Sunday for the first time in a month or more. We won our game 23-14. I am really sore today after not playing for so long. Went to the Slo Poks Ash Bash Cruise-In on Saturday morning. (Here is a link to scheduled Northwest Cruise-Ins/ Car Shows for those who are interested) Spent way to much time in the sun and am paying for it now with a bit of a burn. Got to use our new camera (a Nikon D70 digital SLR). It's a pretty cool camera. After the Ash Bash, we went to a housewarming party/ barbecue for an old co-worker of Dad's. Stayed there for a bit then went home and were bums the rest of the evening. Did some geocaching before the game on Sunday with Mom and Dad. They left for San Francisco right after the game to get Dad's resident visa worked out for Italy. Nothing to do the rest of the day, so Daniel & I hit a few more geocaches. We stopped after logging our 100th find. Finally did some grocery shopping (had to find stuff you could make on the counter or in a microwave, but are limited on fridge space and EXTREMELY limited on freezer space). Today was work, work, work. I started my job as a graduate assistant for PSU Athletics Marketing. Spent most of the day doing a mass purge. Still have some organizing, sorting, and filing to do, but the clutter is all gone so I can actually work. The day starts out with early meetings tomorrow. I am anxious to get started in the job and get settled in before my grad program starts (mid-August).

My Weekend, Again...Thanks to the BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH

So I had this post all typed out yesterday and ready to publish when I got the BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH and lost it all. Anyway, I'll try to reproduce what was there. Dallas was HOT! Not just hot, STICKY HOT! The humidity is yuck. It's been hot here since I got home, but nothing like Texas. Aside from the weather, I had a good trip and it was nice to see all of my old friends. I am glad to be back home again. Thursday, Daniel, Brianna and I went for a 4-mile bike ride on the dike in Washougal. Afterwards, we went home to change and then on to buy much needed water bottle holders and water bottles for our bikes. The Ugly Sticks had make up games in the evening. They won the first game and lost the second one. The mosquitoes were out in force that night--ick! Friday began with a morning meeting in Portland to recap the NACMA convention with my boss and the Athletic Director. Not sure what happened to the middle of the day. All I remember doing is eating lunch and driving home. But I'm sure that part of the day disappeared. In the evening, Daniel and I went 1 for 2 on geocaching before going up to the Ford's house for dinner. Aunt Cathi's friend Dave and his girlfriend Sue were in town from Minnesota. They brought over Juliano's pizza (some of the best pizza ever). A lot of Daniel's family were there and my parents were there too for food and socializing. Saturday morning was a big brunch at the Ingram's house. Daniel's parents, his aunt and her friends were there too. Brianna was ill in the morning, so she couldn't come over. Ralph and Kathy were supposed to babysit our godchildren (their nephew's kids), but Ralph was having bad muscle cramps in his shoulder/ back. Daniel and I decided to go pick up the kids instead and we took them geocaching with my parents. They had a lot of fun and even found 1 on their own. In all, we walked nearly 4 miles. The kids walked most of the way on their own, but the occasional piggybacks did leave me a little sore. Took the kids back home, then went out dinner with them and their mom, Jessi, at Olive Garden. Sunday was Father's Day. Daniel and his friend Joe went fishing with Ralph (who was feeling much better). They left before I even got out of bed. I went with my mom and dad to see Hate's Passion, a film by a high school student at Erik's church. The film is a pirate story that features Playskool people. It was well done. I even bought the DVD so that Daniel can see it too. We did nothing for the rest of the day (well, Daniel slept on the couch for a while I typed the blog that vanished with the blue screen of death). I hate Reality TV. Does anyone REALLY still watch it? OK, I'll admit that I still watch MTVs "Real World" (probably one of the oldest reality TV shows still on). The networks just keep regurgitating the same ideas over and over again. One of our local channels is doing an "American Idol" knock off called "Gimme the Mike". If only I had TiVo to record every episode...Oh, has anyone seen the American Idol video game? I was watching the g4techtv.com channel with Mike and Jenny in Texas when they reviewed it (it got horrible reviews by the way). RIDICULOUS! I don't even understand the object of the game. So that pretty much recaps it all. Pretty boring, I know, but such is the life of me...

New Softball Schedules

Ugly Sticks (Men's Team) Thu. 06/24 6:30pm & 7:45pm @ Bloomington Wed. 06/30 6:00pm & 7:15pm @ University Tue. 07/06 8:30pm & 9:45pm @ Delta #1 Thu. 07/15 6:30pm & 7:45pm @ Bloomington Tue. 07/20 8:30pm & 9:45pm @ WVO/Pepsi Naggers & Braggers (Coed Team) Sun. 06/27 3:00pm @ Lents #1 Sun. 07/11 8:00pm @ WVO/Pepsi Sun. 07/18 5:30pm @ Bloomington Sun. 07/25 6:45pm @ Westmoreland #1 Sun. 08/01 8:00pm @ WVO/Pepsi

Hit A Few Bumps Along the Way

Heading Home

Day One of NACMA & a Late Night Out

Struggling to Find Newsworthy Topics, But Watch For Something New Here

Not much has been going on. We haven't played softball in several weeks (holiday and rainouts), so there are no new injuries to report on. I am leaving in the morning for Texas. (Jenny--I will give you a call this weekend.) Just got done packing. Why is it so hard to pack for a short trip? For a long trip, I know that I'll wash clothes every few days or so and take clothes for every type of weather. On a short trip, will you be able to wash your clothes? Are you going to get really dirty? How many days can you wear that shirt before it is just rank and wrong? So I think I'm packing almost as much for a one week trip as I do for a 2-3 week trip. I guess my bag isn't that full, but fuller than I think it should be for a one week trip. Oh well--won't hurt anything. I've been working a lot over the last few weeks at the camera store and will transition into the Graduate Assistantship position at Portland State just shortly after I get back. The current G.A., Dave, is headed back to California with his wife. It's been fun working with him for the last year or so and I hope we'll stay in touch. Yesterday was Brianna's (my sister-in-law) 17th birthday. We all went out to dinner--including my dad who just flew in from Italy. Didn't know he was coming and I'm not sure how long he is home for, but that's a story for another time. One of Bri's friends that she has known since Kindergarten surprised her as well by coming into town from Kentucky, so she was at dinner with us all too. Today at work, the coolest/ weirdest thing happened. I sold an SLR camera (no that's not the thing) and had shown a flash with it. I left the flash out and went back to put it up after the customers left. When I reached for the flash, a spark of static electricity went from my finger to the side of the flash--then the flash went off. It caught me off guard and blinded me a bit. Who knew that a bit of static electricity could trigger a camera flash. I mean, it makes since logistically, but what are the chances? Congratulations to my good friend Amanda who is graduating from Portland State on Saturday. Unfortunately I won't be able to attend, but Daniel will be there and probably my mom and dad too. I'll make it up to her somehow. Finally, I'm trying something new since I won't be able to blog while I am in Texas. Keep your eyes (and ears) posted.

Going to Texas!

Next week I get to go to Texas. Through the student marketing group I am part of at Portland State, I will be attending the NACMA (National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators) Convention in Dallas. My tickets are finally booked and hotel arrangements are made. Unfortunately, I will be 3 months shy of 25, therefore the rental car agencies think that I am a risk as a driver. I was going to rent a car, but decided to save my student group money as well as myself as I would have to pay for the 2-3 days following the convention when I go to visit my friends. My friend/ co-worker Molly is also attending the conference. I am excited that we are going together and I think it will be a blast. I talked to my friend Jenny today and will be staying at her house for the 2 nights following the convention. I haven't seen her since her wedding, when her eldest was maybe a year old. Her 2 kids are now 6 and 4 (I think). Many of my other friends from growing up also have kids. Jenny is going to see about everyone getting together while I am there. When I talked to her today, I had to listen REALLY hard--I can't believe how thick her accent is! She probably thinks I have thick accent too (northwesterners talk fast). Anyway, I am really looking forward to seeing everyone and am glad that we have kept in touch despite me moving away nearly 13 years ago. I may try to put together a few photos to show everyone just how GREAT the "GREAT Northwest" is.