A weekend of fun

Pictures from this last weekend which share a little of the fun to be had in good ol' Portland Oregon. It all started with my companion in the PCC bathrooms which I got to admit brought me a chuckle. Then as paraded downtown looking for a bus home I got held up by a Trimet transit emergency initiated by the kind fellow seated in the wheelchair. As the story goes while the number 12 was making it's way over westbound over the Burnside Bridge he was acting funny and when the driver asked him if he was ok only to have him a few minutes later pee on the bus and pass out. From the spot where I took the picture I could smell the alcohol that may have contributed to the situation. After that an extra bus was dispatched in order to whisk away the mob that lined the street only to turn us into the bus from Speed, because if we went anywhere under 50 miles per hour we could probably see clearly the obscene gestures and foul language directed our way as the bus sped along without stopping (we were filled to the gills and I am thankful I got out from that sardine can alive). One of the highlights of the weekend was testing my mettle in the game of futsal. More like the outdoor version of the "Beautiful Game" where there are out of bounds lines it is however played on a tiny field (even compared to an indoor arena). Fast paced and you're always running trying to exploit the other's team weakness in order to press the advantage the team I played for (which is Brynn's cousin's husband's Brian team) were able to lay to rest the team that had the previous week defeated them. Well we were able to get off to a fast start and pretty much control the game throughout and I think it ended up 9-4 with two assists and goal from yours truly. What's more that served as a precursor to the following day's indoor game where I notched my first goal of the season (albeit in the motif of Henry) which helped soften the blow of another loss by the Cougars (at least we didn't get goos egg'd) and kept me searching for my first indoor soccer victory (28 games and counting).

Finally a blast from the recent past, I dug up this picture from my phone on the day of my aunt's baptism. Just me and Mr. Mikey hanging out before the service and Frances looking very coyly at the camera.

Just about finished

One more final to go and what an awesome feeling. Life is peachy and all I have to do is work and sit back and relax until next term. Each of the finals went pretty well all that is left is my ASL final which should be good. Too bad it is conflicting with my sister's graduation from her CNA program. I wish her the best and I am very proud of her. It showed great resolve to do what it takes to get an education and do right by herself and for Michael. Now if only she would get an interpreter...
Been itching somewhat as I have started teaching on a weekly basis and had special circumstance to go down to Salem and get a few classes in. I want to move up. I have been teaching for about eight years now and I think I have what it would take to manage a program. What's exciting about SoccerPlex is that there isn't one but rather a smattering of classes. With what I learned down in Salem (thank you James, Jimmy, and Vern) I think I have the chops to do well. I won't lie in saying the motivation also dwells on money which has been on my mind a lot recently, mainly how we plan on paying for school for Brynn. Next fall it won't be much of problem because goodness knows we will be filling out the FASFA come the turn of the year but that still leaves two terms that we will have to take a loan out. Thankfully Brynn is a much more committed student that I and a loan for her is a good hands and will go over much better than my previous experience.
I love OPB music. One of the discoveries I have made aside from their fantastic Saturday evening programming is their in studio sessions that they post on the web. What is wonderful is that they include lots of local Portland bands that often bring the noise appearing in the Willamette Weekly and Portland Mercury but that I never get the chance to vet for because either I am too busy, too poor, or a combination of both.
Tree day is almost here. We had a little setback as the Boy Scout troop that was supposed to be selling trees at SoccerPlex never materialized on Saturday so we continue to be treeless to Brynn's chagrin. We have just about everything else ready to go including our first stand and I think Brynn has set her heart on a spot right by the couches just as you come in (displacing my stalwart drum set and guitars). I think tomorrow we will end up venturing to Swan Island but I was able to pick up a farm guide so we will see.
Cheap deal going on next Saturday the 19th, we are having a X-Treme Hot Chocolate Party at our house. We have some Stephen's and because of the recommendation of Britt and Brett we will pick up some more delicious drinks in addition to our wonderful flavor enhancers of hazelnut syrup, candy canes, and marshmallows. Feel free to come and to bring your favorites, we are going to have games and of course what would it be without a Christmas movie.

Odds and Ends

My life is pretty simple. Consisting of school, riding the bus, work, riding the bus, and home. Oh yeah and riding the bus. One of my favorite things about bus culture is the fact that you can almost always find a newspaper free on the bus. It's an unspoken code amongst readers that when you're done with it, get rid of it. Just the other day as I was waiting for the bus at Fred Meyer I decided to kill time by eating and reading, after I had plunked down Mr. Washington for a paper I approached the deli only to find some kind reader had left their paper for the next traveler. Dang it. But with the advent and implementation of new technologies such as e-readers and smart phones, where will the beloved tradition end up?
Our nephew Michael is so cute. Audrey has habit of sending me pictures and videos (I think because I am the only one who can receive them that actually cares about the whipper snapper, though my dad would be all over that i'm sure). I am very excited for Thanksgiving so we can go and hang out with the family. Oh yeah, and so I can eat my heart out. Mmmmm.... food.
Read an article in the paper yesterday (which I got for free) about the HOPE scholarship, a program in Georgia which guarantees that any graduating senior with at least a 3.0 would have a full ride to any one of the state schools. Meaning F-R-E-E. The author of the article was suggesting the Oregon do what it takes to implement a similar program like the twenty other states who modeled their program after Georgia's. In comparing spending (the money comes from state lottery dollars) they showed that Georgia spent nearly FIVE times as much on higher education than Oregon (nearly half a billion dollars). Now that's impressive but what was more impressive was the feeling I got when finishing the article the author mentioned that if we wanted to get involved that all we had to do was call his friend, who's number he listed. I had never felt as I did when I read this article, the newspaper is much for stirring feelings for me, but without I doubt this is the kind of vision I want for Oregon (and really the world). I believe everyone who works hard in High School (and really... a 3.0 isn't that hard) should have that opportunity. I knew at one time Philomath did this for it's graduating seniors thanks to a generous grant from some wealthy townspeople but I would love to see the barriers to education be lowered, that money shouldn't be the deciding factor if they are willing to put in the work. Anyway I think i'll be calling this guy up and trying to help any way I can.