I am very excited to announce that I have finished reading the Twilight Series, I finished reading Breaking Dawn late last night. Although I did not love the books, or care too much for the way Stephanie Meyers writes, I really enjoyed some of the characters she created. After all, she gave a vampire the same name as me! Siobhan!
As you may notice, it is not spelled the same, but Siobhan is the Gaelic version of my name (or Irish version if you prefer). The vampire named Siobhan was pretty cool, the leader of the Irish coven and had the suspected power of things turning out the way she thinks they should. Very unique.
Reading this name made me think of the last time someone brought this Gaelic spelling to my attention. Of all places to hear about alternate spellings, I last heard about it at my last belt test in October. Yeah, that's right, my brown belt test! The big test I had been practicing months for, the test where sparring is included, and the test where I would have to work with students going for higher level belts than mine. This was one of the big tests that happen twice a year at Aurora Martial Arts. Once you become an advanced student (promoting to brown belt and above), you can only move on to the next belt rank at one of these tests. The other important aspect of this kind of test, is that my instructor, Mr. Donadio, not only has his black belt instructors at the test, but invites other high ranking black belts to oversee the test. Most always this includes Mr. John Sepulveda, a highly revered 9th degree black belt in American Kenpo.
So it was this last October, and I got through the much anticipated belt test still in one piece. The class was lined up to bow out and end the test, but Mr. Sepulveda gave us some closing words about how the test went. After he got through the aspects he wished to discuss about our test, he started to turn us over to Mr. Donadio to bow us out, but right before he did, he remembered he had one more thing to say. He looked at me in the back line and asked, "Shavonne, do know where your name originates from? If you are interested in the Gaelic spelling of your name, you should email me and I'll let you know." After that we were dismissed. Talk about a weird place to learn about your name!
So if you see the spelling of Siobhan, you now know how to pronounce it:)
Friday, December 26, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Twilight Movie Review
One of my least creative titles. As predicted, this is a review for the movie Twilight. This review will talk about any surprises it holds for those who have not seen it, and will also discuss some differences found in the book.
So, my overall opinion of this movie is: pretty good. I read the book first, like the weekend before seeing the movie, and when I first saw it, all I could do was compare it to the book (even though I tried so hard not to) and feel a little disappointed in the depiction of Edward. I have since seen the movie a second time, and that viewing was a whole lot more enjoyable. I noticed things I hadn't noticed before, small details that make a good movie great.
First, I should tell you, that I did not love the book Twilight. I loved the idea of it (a love story that includes a vampire, what's not to love?) and I also really loved the first half of the book. The second half wasn't as exciting, I didn't like the way Edward and Bella had "playful" squabbles. It was annoying. Bella got really annoying.
But this review is about the movie, not the book. I will start with the things I did not like about the movie. First, I have to talk about Edward. I knew that the Edward that Hollywood would create could never equal the one created in my head. After all, he's supposed to be my dream guy, and who knows what he looks like? Aside from that, I didn't really like the make-up for Edward during most of the first half of the movie. It made him look really scary and not really beautiful and colorless. It made me think that the actor wasn't that good-looking, but as the movie progressed and there was less make-up, he really is good-looking, and makes a very good Edward.
My other gripe about Edward is that he seemed more shy in the movie than elegant. In the book he was described as being from another time, he was overly polite and spoke in a more old-fashioned way. He didn't really seem that way in the movie, just sort of shy and afraid of what was happening.
Since I am on the topic of looks, the evil vampires were not quite as evil as I imagined. Then again, my mind has more power to make something scary than Hollywood does. James looked like a good-looking punk, not really the ruffian killer I had imagined. The evil vampires were alright, just not as menacing as I was hoping for.
Another downer on this movie was some very cheesy lines, and not all the fault of the movie, some were taken straight from the book. I especially hated when Edward was describing what Bella's blood was like to him. In the book he used a few analogies before he got to the ridiculous "You're like my own personal brand of Heroine." If they were going to take just one analogy, my pick would have been the alcoholic with the scotch, not the heroine. The description of the alcoholic was much more elegant, which probably helped me think that the movie version of Edward was not so elegant.
Along with some cheesy lines, I have to poke some fun at his running scenes. It looked funny. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but I definitely think it could have been better. Also the scene where the Cullens were killing James, that part was pretty ridiculous too. Just strange. Not elegant. Not my version of a vampire.
Now on to the things I liked about the movie. I really, really liked Bella. I can't describe how much I don't like her in the book. In the movie, she was a klutz but not so much that it made you get annoyed with her. She has a much stronger character in the movie, which is very conflicting in the book. She was prettier in the movie too, and that's got to be a plus.
Because of this good Bella, I like her relationship with Edward better. It seemed more real, like they could actually have a relationship, like he might actually be attracted to someone like her. Bella has a strong character, and that made her a little bit closer to having an equal relationship with Edward. So the silly squabbles, weren't squabbles, they were legitimate. I think you get the point.
I also really liked how some of the characters changed. Take Eric, for example. He was just some nerd in the book that I didn't really care about. In the movie, he was funny and some of the needed comic relief for such a serious romantic story. The same goes with Bella's dad, Charlie. I liked him better too. He seemed to act more like a dad and also add to the humor.
Another interesting thing I liked, was that there was a ethnic diversity to the cast. I imagined everyone white, as would be easy to do, this story takes place in a small town in Washington which is not far from here, where most people probably are white European decedents. It was nice to see a good variety in the cast.
Did anyone else notice Edward catch the apple in his hands, just like the cover of the book? That picture has absolutely no significance in the book, I thought it was really awesome that it was incorporated into the movie. Very artistic.
The last couple of things I'll mention don't really have much to do with regular movie topics, but I still enjoyed them! First, the music. I was very excited to hear a song from Muse for the baseball game scene. (That also reminds me, I loved how Alice pitched, so pretty!) The other thing, an OSU graduate helped work on the set design, and part of the movie was filmed in Oregon. I bet you saw Multnomah Falls.
All in all, I enjoyed this movie, and wouldn't be opposed to seeing it again. Please feel free to give comments on your thoughts about this movie, or my opinions of it!
So, my overall opinion of this movie is: pretty good. I read the book first, like the weekend before seeing the movie, and when I first saw it, all I could do was compare it to the book (even though I tried so hard not to) and feel a little disappointed in the depiction of Edward. I have since seen the movie a second time, and that viewing was a whole lot more enjoyable. I noticed things I hadn't noticed before, small details that make a good movie great.
First, I should tell you, that I did not love the book Twilight. I loved the idea of it (a love story that includes a vampire, what's not to love?) and I also really loved the first half of the book. The second half wasn't as exciting, I didn't like the way Edward and Bella had "playful" squabbles. It was annoying. Bella got really annoying.
But this review is about the movie, not the book. I will start with the things I did not like about the movie. First, I have to talk about Edward. I knew that the Edward that Hollywood would create could never equal the one created in my head. After all, he's supposed to be my dream guy, and who knows what he looks like? Aside from that, I didn't really like the make-up for Edward during most of the first half of the movie. It made him look really scary and not really beautiful and colorless. It made me think that the actor wasn't that good-looking, but as the movie progressed and there was less make-up, he really is good-looking, and makes a very good Edward.
My other gripe about Edward is that he seemed more shy in the movie than elegant. In the book he was described as being from another time, he was overly polite and spoke in a more old-fashioned way. He didn't really seem that way in the movie, just sort of shy and afraid of what was happening.
Since I am on the topic of looks, the evil vampires were not quite as evil as I imagined. Then again, my mind has more power to make something scary than Hollywood does. James looked like a good-looking punk, not really the ruffian killer I had imagined. The evil vampires were alright, just not as menacing as I was hoping for.
Another downer on this movie was some very cheesy lines, and not all the fault of the movie, some were taken straight from the book. I especially hated when Edward was describing what Bella's blood was like to him. In the book he used a few analogies before he got to the ridiculous "You're like my own personal brand of Heroine." If they were going to take just one analogy, my pick would have been the alcoholic with the scotch, not the heroine. The description of the alcoholic was much more elegant, which probably helped me think that the movie version of Edward was not so elegant.
Along with some cheesy lines, I have to poke some fun at his running scenes. It looked funny. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but I definitely think it could have been better. Also the scene where the Cullens were killing James, that part was pretty ridiculous too. Just strange. Not elegant. Not my version of a vampire.
Now on to the things I liked about the movie. I really, really liked Bella. I can't describe how much I don't like her in the book. In the movie, she was a klutz but not so much that it made you get annoyed with her. She has a much stronger character in the movie, which is very conflicting in the book. She was prettier in the movie too, and that's got to be a plus.
Because of this good Bella, I like her relationship with Edward better. It seemed more real, like they could actually have a relationship, like he might actually be attracted to someone like her. Bella has a strong character, and that made her a little bit closer to having an equal relationship with Edward. So the silly squabbles, weren't squabbles, they were legitimate. I think you get the point.
I also really liked how some of the characters changed. Take Eric, for example. He was just some nerd in the book that I didn't really care about. In the movie, he was funny and some of the needed comic relief for such a serious romantic story. The same goes with Bella's dad, Charlie. I liked him better too. He seemed to act more like a dad and also add to the humor.
Another interesting thing I liked, was that there was a ethnic diversity to the cast. I imagined everyone white, as would be easy to do, this story takes place in a small town in Washington which is not far from here, where most people probably are white European decedents. It was nice to see a good variety in the cast.
Did anyone else notice Edward catch the apple in his hands, just like the cover of the book? That picture has absolutely no significance in the book, I thought it was really awesome that it was incorporated into the movie. Very artistic.
The last couple of things I'll mention don't really have much to do with regular movie topics, but I still enjoyed them! First, the music. I was very excited to hear a song from Muse for the baseball game scene. (That also reminds me, I loved how Alice pitched, so pretty!) The other thing, an OSU graduate helped work on the set design, and part of the movie was filmed in Oregon. I bet you saw Multnomah Falls.
All in all, I enjoyed this movie, and wouldn't be opposed to seeing it again. Please feel free to give comments on your thoughts about this movie, or my opinions of it!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
One Disc Therapy
Last week, Wednesday I believe it was, I knew I would have a lot of free time and decided to make plans to play a round of disc golf (you know, wear the appropriate clothing, bring discs, etc.). I'm not sure what set my mood off that day, but I was in a really irritating mood. One of those where you're mad at everything and don't want to do anything else but sit there and be miserable.
I drove around a bit, made a stop at the Co-op and browsed through their discs and finally found myself at Willamette Park. I sat in my car for a while just staring at the expanse in front of me, contemplating whether I really felt like playing or not.
I got out of my car, and grabbed one disc from my trunk: my cool-colored star Eagle that hasn't been thrown much. I threw the disc a couple of times in the grassy area that is not the the disc golf course, kind of "practicing" my mid-range throw. I decided I did want to play some of the course, maybe not a whole round, and so I proceeded to tee pad 1 (still with just my Eagle).
The first few holes were awful as far as scoring goes, and I remember thinking "I probably should stop throwing right now, I'm only going to create bad habits," but I kept playing. It felt really good to release some of that bad energy I was storing up inside me.
Somewhere around hole 4 or 5 I started feeling happier and thus playing a little better. It is also at about this point in the course where some of the switch-backing begins and the fairways mesh between holes. I threw a drive on 5 with my lovely Eagle, not a great drive, but not a terrible drive either. The guy playing in front of me with his bag full of discs (he didn't have quad straps, so I guess not that hard core) complimented my good form. I'm pretty sure he thought he was just complimenting a newbie-one-discer, but it could have had to do with me being female. I suppose he could have just been complimenting my good form because it was good form.
A couple of holes after that a group of 3 were waiting at the tee to let me play through. They were all pretty inexperienced, (or just didn't throw far) and were just out for an enjoyable time with each other.
I teed off in front of them, secretly wanting to be impressive, and I threw a good drive. They joked around about trying to make me nervous and how it seemed to have no effect. I guess I did impress them.
The rest of the round went ok, I had some really great holes, and some not-so-great. By the end of the round I was happy and thinking about my disc golf game, not what was annoying me before.
I finished my one disc round and grabbed my putters so I could keep goofing around. A group of about 4 college-aged boys (probably freshman, I mistook them for high schoolers) were getting ready to tee off on 1. They asked me I was going to play alone and invited me to join them and offer any tips because they are all new. I wasn't about to attempt a round with my 2 putters, so I went and got my bag - that really impressed them!
I played an enjoyable few holes with them, they were really easy to impress. They thought it was cool that I even knew someone who has over 200 discs or that I knew someone who has thrown an ace.
So what started out as an outlet for me to get into a better mood, turned out to be a sneaky way to fish for compliments and feel really good about something. If you ever see me in a bad mood, tell me to try one disc therapy.
I drove around a bit, made a stop at the Co-op and browsed through their discs and finally found myself at Willamette Park. I sat in my car for a while just staring at the expanse in front of me, contemplating whether I really felt like playing or not.
I got out of my car, and grabbed one disc from my trunk: my cool-colored star Eagle that hasn't been thrown much. I threw the disc a couple of times in the grassy area that is not the the disc golf course, kind of "practicing" my mid-range throw. I decided I did want to play some of the course, maybe not a whole round, and so I proceeded to tee pad 1 (still with just my Eagle).
The first few holes were awful as far as scoring goes, and I remember thinking "I probably should stop throwing right now, I'm only going to create bad habits," but I kept playing. It felt really good to release some of that bad energy I was storing up inside me.
Somewhere around hole 4 or 5 I started feeling happier and thus playing a little better. It is also at about this point in the course where some of the switch-backing begins and the fairways mesh between holes. I threw a drive on 5 with my lovely Eagle, not a great drive, but not a terrible drive either. The guy playing in front of me with his bag full of discs (he didn't have quad straps, so I guess not that hard core) complimented my good form. I'm pretty sure he thought he was just complimenting a newbie-one-discer, but it could have had to do with me being female. I suppose he could have just been complimenting my good form because it was good form.
A couple of holes after that a group of 3 were waiting at the tee to let me play through. They were all pretty inexperienced, (or just didn't throw far) and were just out for an enjoyable time with each other.
I teed off in front of them, secretly wanting to be impressive, and I threw a good drive. They joked around about trying to make me nervous and how it seemed to have no effect. I guess I did impress them.
The rest of the round went ok, I had some really great holes, and some not-so-great. By the end of the round I was happy and thinking about my disc golf game, not what was annoying me before.
I finished my one disc round and grabbed my putters so I could keep goofing around. A group of about 4 college-aged boys (probably freshman, I mistook them for high schoolers) were getting ready to tee off on 1. They asked me I was going to play alone and invited me to join them and offer any tips because they are all new. I wasn't about to attempt a round with my 2 putters, so I went and got my bag - that really impressed them!
I played an enjoyable few holes with them, they were really easy to impress. They thought it was cool that I even knew someone who has over 200 discs or that I knew someone who has thrown an ace.
So what started out as an outlet for me to get into a better mood, turned out to be a sneaky way to fish for compliments and feel really good about something. If you ever see me in a bad mood, tell me to try one disc therapy.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
The Successful Sneak!
Yesterday was a very sad day, because the Beavers did not win the Civil War. Although we did not win, there were some exciting events that did take place.
Because of my preconceived thoughts about getting tickets to the Civil War game, I ended up finding out I actually could get them a little too late. So I had no tickets:( My two youngest sisters, Kambria and Cassandra, being the student-athletes they are, were totally planning on attending the game and getting their tickets then. Without me. Not to mention all of my other school friends attending the game. Even some of my non-school friends were going, man, did I feel like a loser.
Then I had an amazing idea. A couple home games back, when we were playing Arizona, I got a ticket but did not go to the game (an idiot was blocking my ENTIRE driveway, but that's another story). So I thought, if I have this ticket, whose stub has not been torn off, maybe I could get into the game if the person tearing tickets did not pay attention.
I wasn't really sure if I'd get in or not, I figured the odds were 50/50. My back up plan was to walk over to the Kaltenbergs and watch the game at their house.
So the day of the game came, I came into town early with my sisters so they could meet with their teammates and we could make sure no rude people would park in our driveway. My plan was to wait until right before the game when the lines were really busy and everyone was trying to get in. Then I got invited to play disc golf, and I couldn't pass that up.
After a fun little round at Mary's River, I got to the game right at 4 (the start of the game). As I was walking around the stadium to the student entrance, I was really considering not even trying this at all and just walk to my friend's house. All of the people at the gates looked really irritated, like maybe each and every one of them had a bad run-in with a drunk college student. I summoned up my courage and went to my entrance, where there was no one in line. I had my ticket and ID ready, and the guy who was tearing my ticket was kind of confused, he asked if I had already been in. I said no, and he tore my ticket and another guy stamped my wrist. I made it in!!
That's not even the whole story. One of my friends was in a very good part of the student section, a section where there are more people in blue coats wanting you to show your ticket stub to make sure you belong in that section. After much wandering around, looking for my friend, I found where I was to be and when the guy was just about to ask me to show my stub, I asked him if row 5 was down that way and I was trying to find my friend. He acted like he was still going to ask me, and said something like "well, you must have a ticket then," and let me down to the section without showing my stub. So not only did I get into the big game without waiting in line for the ticket, but I also got to sit (by sit I mean stand) in the 5th row at the 47 yard line. A very successful sneak!
Because of my preconceived thoughts about getting tickets to the Civil War game, I ended up finding out I actually could get them a little too late. So I had no tickets:( My two youngest sisters, Kambria and Cassandra, being the student-athletes they are, were totally planning on attending the game and getting their tickets then. Without me. Not to mention all of my other school friends attending the game. Even some of my non-school friends were going, man, did I feel like a loser.
Then I had an amazing idea. A couple home games back, when we were playing Arizona, I got a ticket but did not go to the game (an idiot was blocking my ENTIRE driveway, but that's another story). So I thought, if I have this ticket, whose stub has not been torn off, maybe I could get into the game if the person tearing tickets did not pay attention.
I wasn't really sure if I'd get in or not, I figured the odds were 50/50. My back up plan was to walk over to the Kaltenbergs and watch the game at their house.
So the day of the game came, I came into town early with my sisters so they could meet with their teammates and we could make sure no rude people would park in our driveway. My plan was to wait until right before the game when the lines were really busy and everyone was trying to get in. Then I got invited to play disc golf, and I couldn't pass that up.
After a fun little round at Mary's River, I got to the game right at 4 (the start of the game). As I was walking around the stadium to the student entrance, I was really considering not even trying this at all and just walk to my friend's house. All of the people at the gates looked really irritated, like maybe each and every one of them had a bad run-in with a drunk college student. I summoned up my courage and went to my entrance, where there was no one in line. I had my ticket and ID ready, and the guy who was tearing my ticket was kind of confused, he asked if I had already been in. I said no, and he tore my ticket and another guy stamped my wrist. I made it in!!
That's not even the whole story. One of my friends was in a very good part of the student section, a section where there are more people in blue coats wanting you to show your ticket stub to make sure you belong in that section. After much wandering around, looking for my friend, I found where I was to be and when the guy was just about to ask me to show my stub, I asked him if row 5 was down that way and I was trying to find my friend. He acted like he was still going to ask me, and said something like "well, you must have a ticket then," and let me down to the section without showing my stub. So not only did I get into the big game without waiting in line for the ticket, but I also got to sit (by sit I mean stand) in the 5th row at the 47 yard line. A very successful sneak!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Thoughts & Thanksgiving
It is coming to the end of November and I've only one post for this month. That is not to say that I have done nothing worth writing about this month, it's actually the opposite. I've been busy with so many things that I either haven't had time to write about it, or I have too many cool things to write about that I don't know where to start.
Right now I am in an interesting sort of mood. I only had one class today, which is great, because now I'm done, but because I want to get another project done before Thanksgiving break, I have to stick around in Corvallis until 4. Usually that's not such a problem either, but most of my friends work... which means however I'm going to spend my time today, it will probably be alone.
Being alone is an interesting thing. I really don't like being alone. I can handle it, but I prefer to be interacting with people instead. Not just any people of course, but friends, people that I care to spend my time with.
Anyway (let me stop sounding so depressing), I have definitely had some exciting things come my way. One thing is, I am very excited about the future. I'm finally make some real plans to do a little traveling, as well what my options are for finishing up school (or not finishing, as the case may be). I also recently got a new backpack for attending a Columbia Sportswear Focus Group session. It was a great thing to experience, and they gave all the participants an OSU Columbia Backpack! I'm pretty happy about that, because I was in desperate need for a quality backpack. I am also very excited about the things that I am learning in karate. We get to play with knives and guns, and do some pretty sweet, but complicated moves. It's also great being known as a brown belt, it makes me feel like I really am one of the Advanced students and I actually know something about the martial arts.
It appears that this blog has turned into a little update of the happenings of my life, as well as a way for me to prep for what Thanksgiving is all about. I hope that all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and don't forget to cheer on the Beavers this Saturday!
Right now I am in an interesting sort of mood. I only had one class today, which is great, because now I'm done, but because I want to get another project done before Thanksgiving break, I have to stick around in Corvallis until 4. Usually that's not such a problem either, but most of my friends work... which means however I'm going to spend my time today, it will probably be alone.
Being alone is an interesting thing. I really don't like being alone. I can handle it, but I prefer to be interacting with people instead. Not just any people of course, but friends, people that I care to spend my time with.
Anyway (let me stop sounding so depressing), I have definitely had some exciting things come my way. One thing is, I am very excited about the future. I'm finally make some real plans to do a little traveling, as well what my options are for finishing up school (or not finishing, as the case may be). I also recently got a new backpack for attending a Columbia Sportswear Focus Group session. It was a great thing to experience, and they gave all the participants an OSU Columbia Backpack! I'm pretty happy about that, because I was in desperate need for a quality backpack. I am also very excited about the things that I am learning in karate. We get to play with knives and guns, and do some pretty sweet, but complicated moves. It's also great being known as a brown belt, it makes me feel like I really am one of the Advanced students and I actually know something about the martial arts.
It appears that this blog has turned into a little update of the happenings of my life, as well as a way for me to prep for what Thanksgiving is all about. I hope that all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and don't forget to cheer on the Beavers this Saturday!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Signature Water Bottle
It seems that the use of a Nalgene bottle can do more than just hold water. It seems to be able to attract disc golfers to me, that may have just passed me by had I not been holding said waterbottle.
First, you should know that I have 3 disc golf waterbottles (well, three waterbottles in general, all of them relate to disc golf). Two of them are orange and have disc golf stickers plastered on in an artistic format. The other one I have is purple and is from an actual disc golf tournament.
So this morning, I was walking from where I parked my car to school, thinking about all the things I might accomplish this morning, carrying my trusty orange friend and from behind me someone says, "Disc golf is for losers!" I figured this person could not be serious, who could ever say that about disc golf? I turned to see one of my disc golf friends, Kelly Christensen, who also plays a lot of tournaments. He said he wouldn't have recognized me in my normal clothes, I guess the waterbottle tipped him off.
The funny thing is, that this is the second time my waterbottle has done this. The first time was last year when I was walking to class and Nate Sexton came up to see who I was because of the stickers on my waterbottle. It's always nice to see a friendly face, especially to start out your day. I recommend you go buy a Nalgene and put stickers that represent you on it. Seriously, go do it. :)
First, you should know that I have 3 disc golf waterbottles (well, three waterbottles in general, all of them relate to disc golf). Two of them are orange and have disc golf stickers plastered on in an artistic format. The other one I have is purple and is from an actual disc golf tournament.
So this morning, I was walking from where I parked my car to school, thinking about all the things I might accomplish this morning, carrying my trusty orange friend and from behind me someone says, "Disc golf is for losers!" I figured this person could not be serious, who could ever say that about disc golf? I turned to see one of my disc golf friends, Kelly Christensen, who also plays a lot of tournaments. He said he wouldn't have recognized me in my normal clothes, I guess the waterbottle tipped him off.
The funny thing is, that this is the second time my waterbottle has done this. The first time was last year when I was walking to class and Nate Sexton came up to see who I was because of the stickers on my waterbottle. It's always nice to see a friendly face, especially to start out your day. I recommend you go buy a Nalgene and put stickers that represent you on it. Seriously, go do it. :)
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Excitment for Halloween
So yesterday I made my way over to the dingy little JoAnn's Fabric store to pick up a couple things that I forgot to get for my costume pattern. I was surprised to see that JoAnn's was very much a hustle. The crowd that was gathered at the tiny fabric store this day was mostly women (like always), but unusually there were a lot of college-aged women who probably don't sew. There were two of these girls in front of me waiting to get fabric cut. One girl was buying some material to make a "tube-top" to go under her costume. The other girl had a neat purple material that looks like it would be difficult to make anything out of, which she was using for her greek goddeess costume.
Now that I am taking this sewing class, and have had to go into JoAnn's to search the store extensively, I feel like I am at a different level of fabric shopper. I now can say I know what I'm doing. Besides that, I should point out that, although I know what I'm doing now, I was in the store for the same reason as everyone else, to get things for my costume.
Now that I am taking this sewing class, and have had to go into JoAnn's to search the store extensively, I feel like I am at a different level of fabric shopper. I now can say I know what I'm doing. Besides that, I should point out that, although I know what I'm doing now, I was in the store for the same reason as everyone else, to get things for my costume.
Monday, October 27, 2008
New News
The best news is that I am now a brown belt. Woohoo! The next thing I would like to point out is the lovely new design on my page and the added "links" section. Just a few websites that either have cool people or great websites of things I'm interested in. Check it out and let me know what you think!
Monday Morning
Today is Monday. As with most mornings, I start out lying in my bed for as long as possible, thinking about what I'm going to wear and what I might eat for breakfast, with the idea that it will save me time when I actually do get up.
This morning it took me even longer to get up, because I'm so beat up and sore from the weekend's events (Belt testing, etc.). I miraculously got out of bed and ready for my Monday so we could leave the house 10 minutes after 7, to be just in time for my first class.
But who should know that when we left the house we would have cause to not be on time to an 8 o'clock class in Corvallis? Nearly into Brownsville, my sister Kambria notices a strange sound and turns off the music. All of us thinking this sound is indeed strange, I decide to pull over in the parking lot of Dairy Mart. Out of the car we discover that I have a flat tire. Maybe that autoshop class from high school will actually be worth something.
Out of the three of us there, I was the only one who had some vague idea of how to change a tire. We knew where the spare was, but had difficulties in removing it from the trunk. As Kambria and Cassandra tried to figure out how to remove the tire, I took out the jack and started lifting the car. By the time I got the car up, they got the tire out, so we now had to take off the flat tire. In a failed attempt to remove the lug nuts from the tire, it was now that I remembered that you are supposed to loosen the nuts before lifting the car with the jack. This discovered, we lowered the car back down and at about this time a nice man came to help us.
We loosened the lug nuts and discovered that my car has a nifty lock on one of the nuts that prevents people from stealing your car tires. That guy finished loosening the nuts and seemed to will the car upwards with the jack at the speed he was going (anything was probably faster than me jacking up the car).
Both of my parents arrived on the scene, and my dad finished fixing the tire, letting the nice man get back to his work. We put everything back together, and headed to school. So much for a normal monday morning.
This morning it took me even longer to get up, because I'm so beat up and sore from the weekend's events (Belt testing, etc.). I miraculously got out of bed and ready for my Monday so we could leave the house 10 minutes after 7, to be just in time for my first class.
But who should know that when we left the house we would have cause to not be on time to an 8 o'clock class in Corvallis? Nearly into Brownsville, my sister Kambria notices a strange sound and turns off the music. All of us thinking this sound is indeed strange, I decide to pull over in the parking lot of Dairy Mart. Out of the car we discover that I have a flat tire. Maybe that autoshop class from high school will actually be worth something.
Out of the three of us there, I was the only one who had some vague idea of how to change a tire. We knew where the spare was, but had difficulties in removing it from the trunk. As Kambria and Cassandra tried to figure out how to remove the tire, I took out the jack and started lifting the car. By the time I got the car up, they got the tire out, so we now had to take off the flat tire. In a failed attempt to remove the lug nuts from the tire, it was now that I remembered that you are supposed to loosen the nuts before lifting the car with the jack. This discovered, we lowered the car back down and at about this time a nice man came to help us.
We loosened the lug nuts and discovered that my car has a nifty lock on one of the nuts that prevents people from stealing your car tires. That guy finished loosening the nuts and seemed to will the car upwards with the jack at the speed he was going (anything was probably faster than me jacking up the car).
Both of my parents arrived on the scene, and my dad finished fixing the tire, letting the nice man get back to his work. We put everything back together, and headed to school. So much for a normal monday morning.
Monday, October 6, 2008
The Happenings of My Life
It has been a long while since I have returned to this blog to write, and in the meantime much has happened. Since my last blog, I have won another disc golf tournament which coincides with winning the Oregon Series (the series of disc golf tournaments over the summer), I've started school again, and I'm getting ready for my brown belt test.
Disc golf is a little more off of my mind these days, because of the grand finale of the Oregon Series being over, but I am very excited about this year's outcomes. At the beginning of the season I was thinking, it would be pretty sweet to win the Oregon Series, but I felt I had no chance at that. After one or two tournaments, I realized I am very much in the running for this win. Lo and behold, it came to pass that I won 2 tournaments which sealed my spot for the win in the Oregon Series. Now I have next year to look forward to, as I will be moving up a division to try and give those girls a run for their money:)
Then there is school, which is the part of my life I am trying very hard to focus on right now. It's my senior year, so I'm finishing up my Exercise Sport Science stuff, and getting started into this Apparrel Design thing. It's very exciting to be so close to then end of my college career, and have a pretty good idea about what I want to do with my life.
Another funny thing about school is, not much has changed. There are still swarms of people at the change of the hour at every intersection, people who are obsessed with their i-pods, and those people who think rubber boots can be a fashion statement. With nothing really changing about school, I still feel different. My attitude in regards to classes and professors has changed, I used to be timid and afraid of even asking a basic question in class, but now I have a new found confidence and my professors and my peers are far less intimidating. Maybe its because I'm a senior this year, or maybe its something else.
The last big thing going on in my life (that I'm willing to blog about!) is karate. I am finally getting ready to promote to the next belt. The journey to brown belt has been quite a frustrating one for me and it isn't over yet. I have obstacles I still need to overcome to be where I want to be for this test, and time keeps zooming by me.
All in all, life is pretty great right now. I know that I will have plenty more to blog about :)
Disc golf is a little more off of my mind these days, because of the grand finale of the Oregon Series being over, but I am very excited about this year's outcomes. At the beginning of the season I was thinking, it would be pretty sweet to win the Oregon Series, but I felt I had no chance at that. After one or two tournaments, I realized I am very much in the running for this win. Lo and behold, it came to pass that I won 2 tournaments which sealed my spot for the win in the Oregon Series. Now I have next year to look forward to, as I will be moving up a division to try and give those girls a run for their money:)
Then there is school, which is the part of my life I am trying very hard to focus on right now. It's my senior year, so I'm finishing up my Exercise Sport Science stuff, and getting started into this Apparrel Design thing. It's very exciting to be so close to then end of my college career, and have a pretty good idea about what I want to do with my life.
Another funny thing about school is, not much has changed. There are still swarms of people at the change of the hour at every intersection, people who are obsessed with their i-pods, and those people who think rubber boots can be a fashion statement. With nothing really changing about school, I still feel different. My attitude in regards to classes and professors has changed, I used to be timid and afraid of even asking a basic question in class, but now I have a new found confidence and my professors and my peers are far less intimidating. Maybe its because I'm a senior this year, or maybe its something else.
The last big thing going on in my life (that I'm willing to blog about!) is karate. I am finally getting ready to promote to the next belt. The journey to brown belt has been quite a frustrating one for me and it isn't over yet. I have obstacles I still need to overcome to be where I want to be for this test, and time keeps zooming by me.
All in all, life is pretty great right now. I know that I will have plenty more to blog about :)
Thursday, August 7, 2008
My First Place Weekend
Wow, what a weekend. Not only was this weekend the first weekend of August, but also a first for many other things. I won my first Oregon Series Tournament, I heard a unique pick-up line, and I rode in an ambulance for the first time.
Now for all the details. I had been looking forward to this weekend, because I knew that this could very well be a weekend I could win, and not only that, but in doing so I would beat one of the other intermediate women I had not beat before. You should also know that it just so happens that this weekend was not only the weekend of the Calapooia Classic (the disc golf tournament I speak of) but also the weekend where my high school friend Justine was visiting from Arizona and my friend Heidi's friend Kiira was visiting from Washington. Because these wonderful girls were visiting, Heidi and I had to make sure they had a good time, and of course that means going out and hitting the clubs on a Friday night!
So that was our plan. I wanted to make sure that I got to play the pre-tournament doubles, because they were at the course I had not played in the new layout. Doubles started at 6:00p at Bryant Park, I ended up being partnered with Mike, a great guy who helps run the weekly doubles at Adair. The round that I thought would take a mere 2 hours, ended up taking me 3 hours to play, and in doing so made me late for picking up Justine.
After I picked up Justine and headed to the house in Albany where I was house-sitting, we talked a little, I changed real quick and we headed right back out the door towards Corvallis, leaving Devynn behind with the dogs. (We tried to convince her to come, but for some reason she thought the dogs would enjoy her company better than we would that late at night.)
We started at McMennamins, Justine and I were the first to arrive followed soon by Heidi and Angie (Heidi's roomie). While waiting for Kiira we ordered some food and drinks and discussed all the many things there were to discuss.
Kiira arrived, we continued our evening over at Cantina and the time was about 11:30p. (My original plan was to only stay out until midnight, me having a tournament the next day and all.) We were all pleasantly surprised that the place was actually busy, and the dance floor was moving!
First things, first though, Heidi and I had a much awaited duel to get on with. Since I have started going out, I have learned that there are fun ways to drink drinks. One of them being a drink that you get a shot of some liquor in one glass and some red bull in the other glass. The way you drink this drink is to put the shot glass into the larger glass and then drink the whole thing as fast as you can. You finish first, you win. The drinks we got are called Spider Bites, so the shot is some pretty blue liquid. Angie opted out of the crazy duel, and instead took pictures. I of course, won the contest:)
The rest of the night we danced and drank water and talked, and had a great time. Sometime during the night when we were dancing, actually it was one of the time Heidi and Angie took a break from the dance floor and left Justine, Kiira and me. Now I don't think that I am that tall, but I am definitely taller than Justine and Kiira. With that in mind, I will tell you the next part of my tale.
There's us three girls, dancing in the middle of the dance floor, having a great time, and this tall, very white guy come up to me and says, "Your friends are short, you wanna make out?" I was somewhat dumbfounded at this, and uttered some "No" while Justine blurts into the conversation and says, "She has us to make out with." The guy left, and left us with this funny pick-up line to tell everyone else about. He apparently was pretty interested in making out with me, because he came by another time before we left.
The night was filled with lots of fun memories, and I did not leave at Midnight as planned, but right before closing (1:45am).
And now for the major scheduled event of my weekend, The Calapooia Classic disc golf tournament! Saturday morning, I showed up early, reunited with my disc golf friends, and set about warming up before the round. The first course we were playing was one in Albany, Bryant Park, the same one I had played doubles at the night before. I was on a card with Kim Smothers, and "Over the Hill Bob". Both are very nice people and pretty fun to play disc golf with. At the end of that round I was slightly disappointed with my score of 81, because it only beat my score at that same course (in a easier layout) by one stroke. But, when I heard the scores from the other Intermediate Women's card I was pleasantly surprised to find myself in 2nd. Celeste and Rebecca had played the course with an 85, and the new girl Jackie, had played a 76. So it wasn't as bad as I thought.
Then the race for first got closer, because of a scoring error. Jackie had actually shot a 77, and her group re-counted and thought it was a 76. It ended up being a 77, so her score was adjusted to 79 with the 2 stroke penalty.
The next course we played was Timberlinn, a course I remembered well from last year as fun, but with a lot of O.B. (Out of Bounds). I wanted to shoot better than an 82, and ended up with a 78, which isn't bad, but not as good as I had hoped. Jackie still shot better than me, with a 75 (Now leading by 5 strokes). Rebecca shot an 80 to keep 3rd from Celeste, who had a tough round with a 91. That concluded day one of the tournament. I then proceeded to go to the house and sleep for the rest of the evening.
The next morning, I ventured out early, Devynn decided to join me and the rest of my family informed me that they wanted to watch and would be out at the course later. The course we were playing twice today was Waterloo, a new course to the area with a lot of rough edges still. Devynn kept score and spotted, making us feel quite professional.
Right off the bat, I stole the tee by paring the first hole while everyone else 4-ed. That round I kept playing well and driving far, making the pars come easier. Sometime in the middle of the round I counted up strokes to see that I was now pulling ahead of Jackie, I had earned that 5 strokes back and was now taking some more! She had a couple tough holes, which seemed to cause her to get a little more frazzled. At the end of round 3, I had shot a 69, which made me very happy, because I have never shot under 70 before! Jackie shot an 80 keeping 2nd, Rebecca shot a 79 barely hanging on to 3rd with Celeste shooting a 70 to come back from that previous 91.
Round 4 started off ok, Jackie took back the tee right away, and I was not playing that well. I was letting the pressure get into my head that I was now in first. After a few holes I did shake it off (with Rebecca's help) and started playing well again. At the end of the round, I was definitely in the lead, shooting a 75. Jackie shot a 79, Rebecca also shot a 79. At the end of the round we did not know what Celeste shot, but she ended up shooting another 70 taking 3rd from Rebecca.
After calculating our scores and initialing the score sheet, we started walking back to tournament central across the parking lot. My friend Rebecca is really allergic to bees. The day before her husband played the same course we were playing today and got stung 6 times. Because of this she made sure she carried her Epi-pens with her in case she happened to get stung, and before the rounds started on Sunday, she showed me and the whole group how to administer the shots if she couldn't.
As we walked across the parking lot, the thing that we thought we had avoided happened. Rebecca stopped and started messing with the back of her hair, trying to get a bee out. I stopped too, and kept asking her if she had been stung. All of a sudden she stopped trying to get the bee out and looked at me and said "I've been stung." I rushed over to her disc golf bag and pulled out the first aid kid she had in the front of it. I opened it up as band aides and various things started falling out as I fumbled around to get the Epi-pens out. I handed one to her and immediately started undoing the next one. She jabbed herself in the thigh and dropped the applicator. I asked her if she needed the next one yet, and she told me we need to wait 3 minutes. She asked for a place to sit down because she knew she was going to faint. I looked around and saw the picnic tables, then noticed my car right next to us, so I went to open the door to that.
Some other people had noticed by now that something was wrong, and someone brought over a fold up chair as Rebecca gave herself the second shot. I noticed Jackie on the phone and asked if she was calling the ambulance. (She was)
In a crisis situation it seems that is easier to take if you stay busy. Rebecca told me to get a hold of Kevin (her husband), which proved to be a rather difficult task, because he didn't have a phone with him. I called all of the people I knew who were at the course he was on, and no one was answering. I went through her phone and looked for people to call.
All the while I am calling people and trying to get a hold of Kevin, Rebecca faints in her chair and starts having convulsions on and off. The first time she had one and stopped scared me. It seemed normal for her to faint and her body to be shaking, but when it stopped I was afraid of what that could mean. So many thoughts ran through my head. This was the first time she met my family and they got along great, surely this would not be the only time they see each other.
The ambulance came and the EMTs started checking the status of Rebecca. I was there answering all the questions they had about her and about the situation. They got her situated and moved her to the back of the ambulance from the parking lot and it was about this time the tears started streaming from my eyes. I kept it pretty well under control, most people have never seen me cry because I have mastered this skill so well.
I was chosen to ride with Rebecca in the ambulance, and while I was waiting for us to take off, Josh or "Crawdad", helped comfort me and tell me she was going to be ok. He told me about different situations with bees and people being allergic to them and being way out in the woods and them ending up ok. When the ambulance took off, the EMT driving also helped me deal with the situation. I find it an amazing thing that comfort is always there when you need it.
My whole family waited for her in the hospital, I finally got to go in and see her. She was awake and doing well, and was ready to go find out if she kept her third place or not. Right before we finally got the discharge papers for her to leave, we got a call from her husband Kevin that he was in Albany at the Calapooia Brewing Company. (He had went there after he had driven all the way over to Waterloo and found no one there, terrible way to find out his wife had been stung.) We told he we would meet him there.
We got to the Awards Ceremony in good time, Kevin wanted to take Rebecca home right away so we said our goodbyes and she left. At the Awards I had lots of people telling me congratulations for my win and an equal amount of people asking me about Rebecca. It was definitely a unique experience, I hope that the next time I win a tournament there won't have to be anyone getting stung!
Now for all the details. I had been looking forward to this weekend, because I knew that this could very well be a weekend I could win, and not only that, but in doing so I would beat one of the other intermediate women I had not beat before. You should also know that it just so happens that this weekend was not only the weekend of the Calapooia Classic (the disc golf tournament I speak of) but also the weekend where my high school friend Justine was visiting from Arizona and my friend Heidi's friend Kiira was visiting from Washington. Because these wonderful girls were visiting, Heidi and I had to make sure they had a good time, and of course that means going out and hitting the clubs on a Friday night!
So that was our plan. I wanted to make sure that I got to play the pre-tournament doubles, because they were at the course I had not played in the new layout. Doubles started at 6:00p at Bryant Park, I ended up being partnered with Mike, a great guy who helps run the weekly doubles at Adair. The round that I thought would take a mere 2 hours, ended up taking me 3 hours to play, and in doing so made me late for picking up Justine.
After I picked up Justine and headed to the house in Albany where I was house-sitting, we talked a little, I changed real quick and we headed right back out the door towards Corvallis, leaving Devynn behind with the dogs. (We tried to convince her to come, but for some reason she thought the dogs would enjoy her company better than we would that late at night.)
We started at McMennamins, Justine and I were the first to arrive followed soon by Heidi and Angie (Heidi's roomie). While waiting for Kiira we ordered some food and drinks and discussed all the many things there were to discuss.
Kiira arrived, we continued our evening over at Cantina and the time was about 11:30p. (My original plan was to only stay out until midnight, me having a tournament the next day and all.) We were all pleasantly surprised that the place was actually busy, and the dance floor was moving!
First things, first though, Heidi and I had a much awaited duel to get on with. Since I have started going out, I have learned that there are fun ways to drink drinks. One of them being a drink that you get a shot of some liquor in one glass and some red bull in the other glass. The way you drink this drink is to put the shot glass into the larger glass and then drink the whole thing as fast as you can. You finish first, you win. The drinks we got are called Spider Bites, so the shot is some pretty blue liquid. Angie opted out of the crazy duel, and instead took pictures. I of course, won the contest:)
The rest of the night we danced and drank water and talked, and had a great time. Sometime during the night when we were dancing, actually it was one of the time Heidi and Angie took a break from the dance floor and left Justine, Kiira and me. Now I don't think that I am that tall, but I am definitely taller than Justine and Kiira. With that in mind, I will tell you the next part of my tale.
There's us three girls, dancing in the middle of the dance floor, having a great time, and this tall, very white guy come up to me and says, "Your friends are short, you wanna make out?" I was somewhat dumbfounded at this, and uttered some "No" while Justine blurts into the conversation and says, "She has us to make out with." The guy left, and left us with this funny pick-up line to tell everyone else about. He apparently was pretty interested in making out with me, because he came by another time before we left.
The night was filled with lots of fun memories, and I did not leave at Midnight as planned, but right before closing (1:45am).
And now for the major scheduled event of my weekend, The Calapooia Classic disc golf tournament! Saturday morning, I showed up early, reunited with my disc golf friends, and set about warming up before the round. The first course we were playing was one in Albany, Bryant Park, the same one I had played doubles at the night before. I was on a card with Kim Smothers, and "Over the Hill Bob". Both are very nice people and pretty fun to play disc golf with. At the end of that round I was slightly disappointed with my score of 81, because it only beat my score at that same course (in a easier layout) by one stroke. But, when I heard the scores from the other Intermediate Women's card I was pleasantly surprised to find myself in 2nd. Celeste and Rebecca had played the course with an 85, and the new girl Jackie, had played a 76. So it wasn't as bad as I thought.
Then the race for first got closer, because of a scoring error. Jackie had actually shot a 77, and her group re-counted and thought it was a 76. It ended up being a 77, so her score was adjusted to 79 with the 2 stroke penalty.
The next course we played was Timberlinn, a course I remembered well from last year as fun, but with a lot of O.B. (Out of Bounds). I wanted to shoot better than an 82, and ended up with a 78, which isn't bad, but not as good as I had hoped. Jackie still shot better than me, with a 75 (Now leading by 5 strokes). Rebecca shot an 80 to keep 3rd from Celeste, who had a tough round with a 91. That concluded day one of the tournament. I then proceeded to go to the house and sleep for the rest of the evening.
The next morning, I ventured out early, Devynn decided to join me and the rest of my family informed me that they wanted to watch and would be out at the course later. The course we were playing twice today was Waterloo, a new course to the area with a lot of rough edges still. Devynn kept score and spotted, making us feel quite professional.
Right off the bat, I stole the tee by paring the first hole while everyone else 4-ed. That round I kept playing well and driving far, making the pars come easier. Sometime in the middle of the round I counted up strokes to see that I was now pulling ahead of Jackie, I had earned that 5 strokes back and was now taking some more! She had a couple tough holes, which seemed to cause her to get a little more frazzled. At the end of round 3, I had shot a 69, which made me very happy, because I have never shot under 70 before! Jackie shot an 80 keeping 2nd, Rebecca shot a 79 barely hanging on to 3rd with Celeste shooting a 70 to come back from that previous 91.
Round 4 started off ok, Jackie took back the tee right away, and I was not playing that well. I was letting the pressure get into my head that I was now in first. After a few holes I did shake it off (with Rebecca's help) and started playing well again. At the end of the round, I was definitely in the lead, shooting a 75. Jackie shot a 79, Rebecca also shot a 79. At the end of the round we did not know what Celeste shot, but she ended up shooting another 70 taking 3rd from Rebecca.
After calculating our scores and initialing the score sheet, we started walking back to tournament central across the parking lot. My friend Rebecca is really allergic to bees. The day before her husband played the same course we were playing today and got stung 6 times. Because of this she made sure she carried her Epi-pens with her in case she happened to get stung, and before the rounds started on Sunday, she showed me and the whole group how to administer the shots if she couldn't.
As we walked across the parking lot, the thing that we thought we had avoided happened. Rebecca stopped and started messing with the back of her hair, trying to get a bee out. I stopped too, and kept asking her if she had been stung. All of a sudden she stopped trying to get the bee out and looked at me and said "I've been stung." I rushed over to her disc golf bag and pulled out the first aid kid she had in the front of it. I opened it up as band aides and various things started falling out as I fumbled around to get the Epi-pens out. I handed one to her and immediately started undoing the next one. She jabbed herself in the thigh and dropped the applicator. I asked her if she needed the next one yet, and she told me we need to wait 3 minutes. She asked for a place to sit down because she knew she was going to faint. I looked around and saw the picnic tables, then noticed my car right next to us, so I went to open the door to that.
Some other people had noticed by now that something was wrong, and someone brought over a fold up chair as Rebecca gave herself the second shot. I noticed Jackie on the phone and asked if she was calling the ambulance. (She was)
In a crisis situation it seems that is easier to take if you stay busy. Rebecca told me to get a hold of Kevin (her husband), which proved to be a rather difficult task, because he didn't have a phone with him. I called all of the people I knew who were at the course he was on, and no one was answering. I went through her phone and looked for people to call.
All the while I am calling people and trying to get a hold of Kevin, Rebecca faints in her chair and starts having convulsions on and off. The first time she had one and stopped scared me. It seemed normal for her to faint and her body to be shaking, but when it stopped I was afraid of what that could mean. So many thoughts ran through my head. This was the first time she met my family and they got along great, surely this would not be the only time they see each other.
The ambulance came and the EMTs started checking the status of Rebecca. I was there answering all the questions they had about her and about the situation. They got her situated and moved her to the back of the ambulance from the parking lot and it was about this time the tears started streaming from my eyes. I kept it pretty well under control, most people have never seen me cry because I have mastered this skill so well.
I was chosen to ride with Rebecca in the ambulance, and while I was waiting for us to take off, Josh or "Crawdad", helped comfort me and tell me she was going to be ok. He told me about different situations with bees and people being allergic to them and being way out in the woods and them ending up ok. When the ambulance took off, the EMT driving also helped me deal with the situation. I find it an amazing thing that comfort is always there when you need it.
My whole family waited for her in the hospital, I finally got to go in and see her. She was awake and doing well, and was ready to go find out if she kept her third place or not. Right before we finally got the discharge papers for her to leave, we got a call from her husband Kevin that he was in Albany at the Calapooia Brewing Company. (He had went there after he had driven all the way over to Waterloo and found no one there, terrible way to find out his wife had been stung.) We told he we would meet him there.
We got to the Awards Ceremony in good time, Kevin wanted to take Rebecca home right away so we said our goodbyes and she left. At the Awards I had lots of people telling me congratulations for my win and an equal amount of people asking me about Rebecca. It was definitely a unique experience, I hope that the next time I win a tournament there won't have to be anyone getting stung!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
What? Washington?
So today I find myself in Washington, not exactly where I had planned to be. The original idea was that Devynn would attend her class in North Bend, while I check out the local disc golf courses and maybe a little bit of shopping. To my excitement, I found that there was a 9-hole disc golf course located in North Bend, and another 9-hole course in the nearby town of Coos Bay.
Alas, this is not how the day would go. Just before 6am, while I was still gathering up my things to go, Devynn comes into my room to inform me that she was mistaken. This class she signed up for is not in North Bend, Oregon, which is a drive of about 2 1/2 to 3 hours, it is actually in North Bend, Washington, a drive of about 4 1/2 to 5 hours. So not only were we needing new directions, but we were also pushed for time, as the class was to begin at10am.
We left immediately, I felt we had a chance of getting there in less time than predicted. I drove us up, speeding along the way where I could. (It's a lot easier to drive fast when there is no one on the road!) Along the way I had my mom look up local disc golf courses online so that I may still be able to play.
I wasn't very hopeful. The last time I tried finding a course in Washington was when Devynn and I came up to Seattle for a book signing. It ended up being a long drive, and since we took the train up, it was expensive too. Not only that, but the course was not well marked so I didn't end up playing the entire thing.
My mom began reading to me the nearby courses. The first one was in a place called Ravendell, a private 9-hole course only 13 miles away from North Bend, Washington. The next course, also private, was an 18-hole course about 20 miles away, and after that one a public 9-hole course about 25/30 miles away.
I weighed the options in my head as my mom read more information about each of the courses. At some point she mentions that the private 18-hole course is Crystal Mountain. Now it just so happens that I was recently talking to a guy aobut that course, in the interest that I might do the artwork for the upcoming tournament.
I am excited again! This is even better than playing the two little courses in Southern Oreogn! Now I'll get the chance to see this course and possibly get some great ideas for the artwork! My mom called and left a message, funny that they aren't open at 6:30 in the morning.
Happily continuing on our way, a non-stop 4 hour drive to the place in North Bend where Devynn needs to be. My mom calls back, letting me know that I can play Crystal Mountain and Dee is ther person she talked to. As fate would have it, Dee is also the person I had been talking to about the artwork, so what a great opportunity this was turning out to be!
With 8 minutes to spare, I got Devynn to her destination on time. Now to find more specific directions to this course. I called my parents, and upon further investigation, we discover that Crystal Mountain is not the mere 20 miles away like we thought, it is actually 68 miles away. So much for that idea. With no good attempt at finding another course, I decide to go find some fuel for my car and get some food.
One good thing that came of this trip is that I finally learned how to use my car's navigation system. I figured out where the nearest little town was and went to find some fuel in Snoqualmie.
Usually gas stations provide little means for an amuzing story but as I pulled up I remembered that I am no longer in Oregon, and therefore no longer in the state that requires the attendant to pump your fuel for you. I pull up to the pumps, pop the gas lid and look to the machine for answers. Wonderful! Directions on the screen! "Insert card or pull handle for cash." Ok, that's easy enough. I take out my credit card and try to shove it in the machine correctly ... "Try again." I put the card back in and remove it quickly as the instructions say, and again an error. I flip the card so the strip faces the other way and the machine starts beeping at me and reads "Get assistance from the gas attendant." I frantically push the cancel button to try and stop the thing, it silences the beeping. I look around the station, half hoping that a gas attendant does come to help because I have no idea what I am doing.
The screen goes back to the original message, which must mean it is safe for me to try again. I insert the card the flipped way this time, remove quickly, and watch the screen. Success! I look to the screen for further instruction. "Lift handle to pump gas." I remove the gas cap, as I try desperately to remember the one other time I had to pump my own gas but thankfully had someone to help me. I grab the nozzle and put it in my tank and lift the handle on the nozzle. Nothing. I fiddle with the nozzle a bit, figure out that there is a way to lock the handle on the nozzle, but still nothing. I must be missing something. I glance around the gas station again, this time looking to see who looks like the friendliest person I could ask for help. There's a guy with a vehicle behind me who is just finishing up his gas, he looks at me but doesn't seem like the helping type. Two guys with motorcycles on the other side of the pumps seem ok. They're older so maybe they'll be friendlier? I take one last look around the gas station and it seems those guys are my best bet. (Not to mention the guy parked behind me is now driving away.)
I walk over and ask for some help and they both leave their bikes and come assist me. I blame my ignorance on being from Oregon and they seem to understand. They tell me they have the opposite problem when they go to Oregon. They try to figure out how I need help and then one of the guys notice. I haven't lifted the handle. The handle refered to on the screen is the handle on the actual gas machine. The gas finally starts being pumped and my humiliation is nearly over with.
I was right about these guys being friendly. They make some conversation with me, tell me a story they heard about a guy from Oregon who pumped regular unleaded fuel into his diesel car. My tank is full, I thank them and bid them goodbye and now begin m quest for food.
Again, turning to my under-used navigation system, I find a place in town called Twede's Cafe, which has 50 different kinds of burgers! I tried the Cordon Bleau hamburger, it was great. The rest of the time I hung around town, looked at a bunch of factory stores including Nike.
Sometime after I was done eating, my mom called me to see how I was doing. She knew I was disappointed in how the day was going and suggested that we still go over to Crystal Mountain and stay the night there. After some conversation about it, I agree.
At 2 o' clock I go to pick up Devynn (which doesn't end up getting done until 3 o'clock.) I inform her of the plan and set my navigation system to direct me to Crystal Mountain. About 2 1/2 hours later, we arrive, check-in to the hotel and rest on the bed for a bit. After a few minutes of rest, we decide to go check out this place, it is after all a ski resort. I grab my map of the disc golf course and we go look for hole 1.
After a while of walking around we head back to the hotel and I get a call on my cell phone from Dee (who was playing disc golf earlier and was not at the desk when we checked in.) We decide to meet at the restaurant to discuss the artwork for the tournament.
I meet with Dee, and we talk a little about the artwork, but more about what sort of arrangement can be made for payment. I wasn't intending on getting paid for this sort of thing, it being my first real job in this line of work. We came to the agreement that we would do a little trading, I didn't have to pay for mine and Devynn's room for that night and if I decide to come up for the tournament or any other time I could get the room taken care of.
The deal was made. The next morning I went and played the course, losing 2 discs, my beloved dragon and one of my new favorites the sidewinder. Devynn did some exploring around the mountain. After that we drove home. What a weekend that ended up being! So much for planning ahead!
Alas, this is not how the day would go. Just before 6am, while I was still gathering up my things to go, Devynn comes into my room to inform me that she was mistaken. This class she signed up for is not in North Bend, Oregon, which is a drive of about 2 1/2 to 3 hours, it is actually in North Bend, Washington, a drive of about 4 1/2 to 5 hours. So not only were we needing new directions, but we were also pushed for time, as the class was to begin at10am.
We left immediately, I felt we had a chance of getting there in less time than predicted. I drove us up, speeding along the way where I could. (It's a lot easier to drive fast when there is no one on the road!) Along the way I had my mom look up local disc golf courses online so that I may still be able to play.
I wasn't very hopeful. The last time I tried finding a course in Washington was when Devynn and I came up to Seattle for a book signing. It ended up being a long drive, and since we took the train up, it was expensive too. Not only that, but the course was not well marked so I didn't end up playing the entire thing.
My mom began reading to me the nearby courses. The first one was in a place called Ravendell, a private 9-hole course only 13 miles away from North Bend, Washington. The next course, also private, was an 18-hole course about 20 miles away, and after that one a public 9-hole course about 25/30 miles away.
I weighed the options in my head as my mom read more information about each of the courses. At some point she mentions that the private 18-hole course is Crystal Mountain. Now it just so happens that I was recently talking to a guy aobut that course, in the interest that I might do the artwork for the upcoming tournament.
I am excited again! This is even better than playing the two little courses in Southern Oreogn! Now I'll get the chance to see this course and possibly get some great ideas for the artwork! My mom called and left a message, funny that they aren't open at 6:30 in the morning.
Happily continuing on our way, a non-stop 4 hour drive to the place in North Bend where Devynn needs to be. My mom calls back, letting me know that I can play Crystal Mountain and Dee is ther person she talked to. As fate would have it, Dee is also the person I had been talking to about the artwork, so what a great opportunity this was turning out to be!
With 8 minutes to spare, I got Devynn to her destination on time. Now to find more specific directions to this course. I called my parents, and upon further investigation, we discover that Crystal Mountain is not the mere 20 miles away like we thought, it is actually 68 miles away. So much for that idea. With no good attempt at finding another course, I decide to go find some fuel for my car and get some food.
One good thing that came of this trip is that I finally learned how to use my car's navigation system. I figured out where the nearest little town was and went to find some fuel in Snoqualmie.
Usually gas stations provide little means for an amuzing story but as I pulled up I remembered that I am no longer in Oregon, and therefore no longer in the state that requires the attendant to pump your fuel for you. I pull up to the pumps, pop the gas lid and look to the machine for answers. Wonderful! Directions on the screen! "Insert card or pull handle for cash." Ok, that's easy enough. I take out my credit card and try to shove it in the machine correctly ... "Try again." I put the card back in and remove it quickly as the instructions say, and again an error. I flip the card so the strip faces the other way and the machine starts beeping at me and reads "Get assistance from the gas attendant." I frantically push the cancel button to try and stop the thing, it silences the beeping. I look around the station, half hoping that a gas attendant does come to help because I have no idea what I am doing.
The screen goes back to the original message, which must mean it is safe for me to try again. I insert the card the flipped way this time, remove quickly, and watch the screen. Success! I look to the screen for further instruction. "Lift handle to pump gas." I remove the gas cap, as I try desperately to remember the one other time I had to pump my own gas but thankfully had someone to help me. I grab the nozzle and put it in my tank and lift the handle on the nozzle. Nothing. I fiddle with the nozzle a bit, figure out that there is a way to lock the handle on the nozzle, but still nothing. I must be missing something. I glance around the gas station again, this time looking to see who looks like the friendliest person I could ask for help. There's a guy with a vehicle behind me who is just finishing up his gas, he looks at me but doesn't seem like the helping type. Two guys with motorcycles on the other side of the pumps seem ok. They're older so maybe they'll be friendlier? I take one last look around the gas station and it seems those guys are my best bet. (Not to mention the guy parked behind me is now driving away.)
I walk over and ask for some help and they both leave their bikes and come assist me. I blame my ignorance on being from Oregon and they seem to understand. They tell me they have the opposite problem when they go to Oregon. They try to figure out how I need help and then one of the guys notice. I haven't lifted the handle. The handle refered to on the screen is the handle on the actual gas machine. The gas finally starts being pumped and my humiliation is nearly over with.
I was right about these guys being friendly. They make some conversation with me, tell me a story they heard about a guy from Oregon who pumped regular unleaded fuel into his diesel car. My tank is full, I thank them and bid them goodbye and now begin m quest for food.
Again, turning to my under-used navigation system, I find a place in town called Twede's Cafe, which has 50 different kinds of burgers! I tried the Cordon Bleau hamburger, it was great. The rest of the time I hung around town, looked at a bunch of factory stores including Nike.
Sometime after I was done eating, my mom called me to see how I was doing. She knew I was disappointed in how the day was going and suggested that we still go over to Crystal Mountain and stay the night there. After some conversation about it, I agree.
At 2 o' clock I go to pick up Devynn (which doesn't end up getting done until 3 o'clock.) I inform her of the plan and set my navigation system to direct me to Crystal Mountain. About 2 1/2 hours later, we arrive, check-in to the hotel and rest on the bed for a bit. After a few minutes of rest, we decide to go check out this place, it is after all a ski resort. I grab my map of the disc golf course and we go look for hole 1.
After a while of walking around we head back to the hotel and I get a call on my cell phone from Dee (who was playing disc golf earlier and was not at the desk when we checked in.) We decide to meet at the restaurant to discuss the artwork for the tournament.
I meet with Dee, and we talk a little about the artwork, but more about what sort of arrangement can be made for payment. I wasn't intending on getting paid for this sort of thing, it being my first real job in this line of work. We came to the agreement that we would do a little trading, I didn't have to pay for mine and Devynn's room for that night and if I decide to come up for the tournament or any other time I could get the room taken care of.
The deal was made. The next morning I went and played the course, losing 2 discs, my beloved dragon and one of my new favorites the sidewinder. Devynn did some exploring around the mountain. After that we drove home. What a weekend that ended up being! So much for planning ahead!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Hey! What's up?
So, say you're walking down the street. You're walking down Monroe looking for some delicious pizza and who should you meet but some acquaintance that you have... and what do they say? They say "Hey, what's up?" but all they are really meaning to say is "Hi, I'm just passing on my way and see you are doing the same and just wish to acknowledge your presence."
And what I usually say is "good, how are you?" But that usually trails off into the distance to be unanswered as I return to my quest for good pizza.
Does anyone else have this dilemma?
Welcome to my blog!
And what I usually say is "good, how are you?" But that usually trails off into the distance to be unanswered as I return to my quest for good pizza.
Does anyone else have this dilemma?
Welcome to my blog!
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