You're Doing It Wrong

This is co-worker’s yellow pad collection. I think that represents his career since I’ve known him because I found pads in there from 2000 and I started working with him in 1999. I thought there were three boxes but two is still pretty impressive.

I got the crud. I guess all the standing out in the rain with cold feet screaming at Timbers finally caught up with me. It’s lucky we don’t have a home game this weekend but I still wish we did.

I now must make amends to all the people I have mocked for being babies about having a cold. It’s been awhile since I had a bad cold. I’ve just had the modest, fun kind.

This thing has laid me out. I spent yesterday traveling between the couch and the bed, whining and using a ridiculous number of tissues. I’m apparently assigned a certain number of coughs per hour, let’s say 10,000. If I do anything to suppress that then at the very end of the hour I have to do all 10,000 at once. Then I have to use a pair of tongs to stuff my lungs back where they belong. Last night I woke up to do that every hour. My sweetheart is sleeping downstairs.

I’ve bathed and eaten a bowl of canned peaches and feel ready for either more TV or more reading. Sitting in front of the computer is not feeling good.

I’m rating kind-of high on the anxiety scale at the moment. Just can’t seem to reel myself back in.

I’m not even going to get started on the details.

The photo above shows the cheap, crappy attachments that came with the last hair dryer I bought.

My old one had been falling apart for awhile. Finally the two halves of plastic separated. I thought about duct taping it back together but then I thought, this is a device that shoots hot air and I aim it at my head.

So I ran out and got a new one.

It was a choice of about 6 models all about the same price.

The first time I used it I tried that diffuser attachment and it kept falling off and hurt when it hit me in the head. (Which I guess technically isn’t the dryer’s fault.)

I don’t know why I don’t just throw them away. But I have them in the drawer, all handy just in case I want to try them again.

One time I had some lotion on my hands when I used it and wiped off the writing that says high-low-off. I already can’t remember what the top one said.

Maybe they should save the 16 cents they used to make the crappy attachments and use some sort of label that lasts.

Isn’t this pencil mislabeled?

Doesn’t self-sharpening mean that it sharpens itself? It doesn’t. I left it sitting there on the counter and when I came back it hadn’t moved. That’s a lame crop because you can hardly tell there’s a pencil sharpener on top.

But it’s hard to think of a better name. “Sharpener-in-One Pencil.” That’s pretty unwieldy.

Yesterday co-worker and I went to the supply store to look for pens. We don’t like any of our pens. Well, we sort-of like one kind but it seems like it goes bad 3 days after you start using it and they’re like $15 a box so we expect a little more.

Remember when you used to be able to try out the pens? They would be in little bins and there would be a pad of paper sitting there. I remember spending a lot of time in college testing all the pens in the campus bookstore and I’m really not sure why. What was I doing that was so important that I needed the perfect pen?

This store didn’t have a substantial pen testing area but it’s also downtown so they probably have problems with shop-lifting.

We picked four different kinds to try for a total of thirty bucks worth of pens. Co-worker only liked one. I thought they were all okay. I haven’t picked a favorite yet.

I also bought a new pencil sharpener (for my non self-sharpening pencils) for home. I’ll take a photo when I have it installed. I have to put it up in the shop. It’s the kind like you had in the back of your second grade classroom where you crank the little handle. Our old one was damaged when that giant shelf covered with junk fell and clipped it on the way down. I never did finish fixing that shelf.

Bob and I used to walk on the nature trail all the time. (If you click on the link, that’s not a great photo. It’s more nature-y than that.)

We went over the weekend to see if we could find trillium and hit the jackpot. Lots of pretty flowers.

Still too cold and muddy to make yard work enjoyable. Weeds love the rain. Every time I go out there I want to pass out from anxiety about how weedy it is.

Last week when we were walking around downtown, some kids gave us a handful of snack bars as a promotion.

I opened the banana one and said, “Ew, this is nasty. Try it.”

Co-worker said, “Uh, no?” but I convinced him to try a bite. He agreed it was nasty.

I hate to throw away food with all the panhandlers downtown. When I suggested we give the rest away co-worker said, “That would be mean.”

A photo from the Ave. which I include for my CW family.

We did a quick trip to Seattle last weekend.

Well, we were invited to a Sounders game and, of course, I wouldn’t want to miss that. I love the Sounders except when they play the Timbers.

The game was really fun. We had an awesome dinner. Andy and I took turn cleaning the bottom of the New Orleans Famous Barbecued Shrimp bowl. I think the ingredients are butter and magic. Then we headed for the stadium where all the craziness was going on.

It rained during the half but no fear, I had my plastic pants (complete post on the plastic pants, coming soon). Our seats were rain free but still, plastic pants. Seattle had about a million shots on goal but no score in the first half which was very exciting but I was glad it wasn’t my team because I would have had a heart attack. They managed to get one in in the second half.

Really fun time. Thanks Hannah and Andy.

We spent a day running around visiting people we don’t often get to see. We also saw fantastic photography exhibit at the Henry at University of Washington. It was photos pre-WWII by the Seattle Camera Club which was mostly Japanese immigrants. It was a mix of portraits, nature and miscellaneous.

A great day.

On Sunday Bob put me on the train to come home and he stayed to attend a conference.

I had a relaxing trip home and got to finish a book and saw two bald eagles. I always see bald eagles when I’m on the train.

Today was a day of problem solving. Ants in the house again. Another set of window blinds broke. I bought them all at the same time so I guess they’re all going to poop out on me. More stuff I’m too lazy to type out.

Bob and I went on a long walk and I have trillium photos for later.

Remember this? The I’ve seen few photos of myself I’ve hated more post?

Well, it gets better.

I’m one of those people who can run a stop sign in the middle of nowhere at 3 o’clock in the morning and get busted for it. I can’t get away with anything, ever, which is a good incentive to always follow the rules.

I did this stupid photo and then I hated it. And then, even though it’s on Flickr the photo wasn’t associated with my name so I figured it would be easy to forget.

But they’re having a contest and four fans get to be on a billboard. And they (whoever “they” are) narrowed it down to 100 finalists. And guess who made the final 100?

I know, amazing. I am the last person who wants any attention on herself and look what happens.

So you know what? Fark it. I own it. I am a Timbers fan and here is my badass photo:

There is no chance I will win and I don’t want to but since this photo refuses to die I’m afraid it’s going to be backwards day and the person with the least amount of votes, which I’m pretty sure is me at this point, is going to get on a billboard or painted on the side of the stadium or something else so I’m trying to cover myself.

If you’re on Facebook get your ass over there and like me: Timbers Contest.

Or maybe if that doesn’t work go to my page and there should be some links there. It’s called We Are Fans Portland Timbers Billboard Contest. I think you have to like the Timbers first and if you do that you’re probably going to want to hide them because they post a lot of stuff.

I don’t know what the moral of the story is but it’s in there somewhere.

UPDATE:To vote you need to “like” the Timbers first. Don’t you love how this social network stuff has us jumping through hoops like trained poodles?