so it's raining

Fall greetings. Many apologies for the lack of entries. Learning how to work again is taking all my time up and I have little time to do the things that I used to consider very critical to survival. Sleeping and eating ranks considerably higher than this blog.

It's been a few years since I've earned a full time paycheck. That said, it's a little rough getting oriented to sitting and computerizing for 8-10 hours daily. Good news is that the work crew is great, and there's not a lot of awkwardness in terms of getting to know new people. I have an enormous second floor window that overlooks the MAX light rail tracks. There's a bar across the street which happens to be the source of much daily amusement. The rain has started so there is less activity out on the street than there is over the summer (or so I recall from 2008), but at the same time perhaps less activity down there is better. I have a lot of work to do everyday so fewer distractions are a blessing.

My repetitive hand injury, a bursitis swelling at the base of my right index finger, is flaring up again due to work. It's about the size of a small pea. A HELL of a lot of mouse clicks contributed to the condition. I have to get a referral to go to a hand doctor. That doctor can hopefully insert a needle in there and drain the sucker which I was told is full of sticky oil. No pain associated with it yet, but I imagine we're approaching the limits on that given the intense use of the mouse over the last 2 weeks. I wish I had invested more time to learning how to use a mouse left handed in graphics programs. Blast.

Other depressing news is that I am one month into recovering from a traumatic long term break up. I need a few months to think about what is going on in my head. I need to be clear about what I need and am willing to give and compromise on. I'd like to think I am very adaptable, but my latest experience proves otherwise. I am pretty sure I serially sabotage relationships, so I need to work on figuring out why. I wish I had money for psychoanalysis. I swear this all stems from my Dad.

Speaking of Dad, we recently observed on Nov. 14 the 7th year of Dad's departure from this Earth. It rained that day, as it did the day he died while duck hunting on Sauvie's Island. We had a siblings dinner and the four of us shared some Dad stories which were great to hear but made me cry quite a bit. Been crying on and off for the last month so I suppose it's sort of a pattern.

Hope to write more over Thanksgiving. I am thankful for my family and for having something to do that relates to my training. Feeling really alone right now, but hoping that gets a little better somehow.

Ways to waste a beautiful Saturday

This is the task I found myself embroiled in for 3 hours today. 'Why' you ask? I need these damn pens working right to do a project. A volunteer project.

Status: Pens are clean. Two out of seven are broken. Estimated replacement cost: $13-$20 each.

The concert that wasn't to be is to be

Twice in the past two years I have purchased tickets to see the Dirty Projectors in concert in San Francisco. Each time I had to pass the tickets over to someone on CL or just eat them entirely - school got in the way or I was out of town. I have really regretted each missed concert. They always sell out in SF.

Tomorrow night I shall be vindicated! Tomorrow night the Dirty Projectors (click here for tunes) are playing at the Aladdin Theater. Not only am I 99% sure I will be able to make it (pending car accident or otherwise), but I will also be able to enjoy the show from a reclined position (all seats at the Aladdin are in actual "seats"). The only challenge I foresee will be getting there early enough that I get a good seat close to the front, but not arrive so early that I am bored out of my mind waiting for the act to begin. I suppose I can nerd-out and bring a book with me (Devil in the White City, currently).

My time in Portland has certainly not been musical enough. I am still kicking myself for not getting a ticket last month to see Robert Earl Keen and David Jacobs-Strain play at the Wonderland Ballroom. That would have been a great show with a humorous, interesting energy to it.

I also failed to see Panda Bear play at the Crystal Ballroom during MusicFest NW a couple weeks ago. I am LAME. That show would have been so cool. I adore Noah Lennox.

Off to bed...

Back home. HOME.

That's right, folks. I am back in Portland. To be more specific, all my belongings are also back in Portland. I've moved.

My new address is at my sister's place. It's a fine upgrade, indeed. I have the upstairs of the house which includes a large bedroom and a small office alcove. Nice place despite it getting warm up here in the afternoon.

Tomorrow is the first day of my unpaid internship, and I am really excited about it. I like having a lot to do immediately upon arriving here.

More soon.

List

1. audio slide show (check)
2. volunteer design work (check)
3. unpaid internship (check)
4. Penske truck rental (check)
5. new roommate (check)
6. packing
7. selling IKEA junkiture
8. Sierra getaway
9. beer pong tourney
10. lunch/coffee/drinks/dinner dates to say adieu

Yes, I am moving. Headed back home.

Thank god. California is depressing (this coming from someone headed to Oregon, a state with worse unemployment than here).

He continues to sacrifice

I heard on the radio today that Cincinatti's 'touchdown Jesus' burnt to the ground after being struck by lightening last night.

The statue, built to the tune of about 250K, is likely to be "resurrected" if donor funds can be raised.

In my mind (unreligious as I am), if God struck the thing down, that is direct evidence that it should NOT BE REBUILT. This thing is frightening, a monstrosity. I suppose it is an interesting thing to laugh at as you pass by on the highway - on a journey to somewhere better than Cincy.

I'm with God on this one, though. Don't rebuild. Instead, do something God and Jesus would approve of: Feed some children. Buy books for kids in the public school system. Do something in the world. Smart, I know.

Blast from the Bateman Street past

For the last several days, Bay Area newspapers have been covering stories about men attacking bicyclists. The first assailant used his SUV to injure 4 cyclists in the Mission District of SF. The second assailant used tools to threaten and injure mountain bikers unlawfully using fire trails in the Berkeley Hills. Oh yeah, another little detail: the second assailant also happens to be a former next door neighbor of mine.

Between 2004-2006, my roommate and I called him Crazy Mike. But it was all in good humor - we considered him just one of Berkeley's eccentric weirdos - which there are many. Crazy Mike would ring our doorbell every few weeks to either report errant internet waves intruding into his home, to "lend" us books he thought we should read, or to tell us about how he likes to feed urban possums and raccoons that literally hold Bateman Street neighbors hostage in their homes between sunset and sunrise. Crazy Mike also drove a car that squeaked a hell of a lot - don't ask me why I remember this, but the car bugged me because my room window was next to the guy's driveway.

Other than that, he seemed harmless.

Right now, Crazy Mike is sitting in Oakland's downtown jail with bail set at $12,500 (reduced from $30K according to a mountainbike advocacy website). I have no idea how he is faring in jail, but I bet he is surprised to find himself all the way down in Oakland. A bit of brief research told me that Berkeley has only 16 jail cells in its modest hall of justice. Either Berkeley had no room in its jail when Mike committed his crimes or there is some kind of county jurisdiction at play since the attacks took place in the East Bay Parks District.

Googling Crazy Mike you will find several websites, one is his very own. The other is an interesting FAQ site that someone from a mountain bike advocacy site set up. Happy readings.

First post in many months. Many changes. Many sad things have happened it's hard to even start.

While Youngeffectual may be on official hiatus, I will still continue to post some odds n' ends that don't exactly fit thematically on the new website.

Music for roads trips is a very critical aspect to consider. I bought a few new albums for this long journey and I will share the good ones:

The Mountain Goats, The Life of the World To Come

The Rough Guide to Zydeco - This album is plain good, but may become even more useful if I have to drive a Cajun somewhere.

Vampire Weekend, Contra - Upbeat, pop music is important if you are getting tired while driving.

Please resume reading elsewhere...

I will now do what every website development and business retention specialist would object to: I will encourage you to redirect traffic from THIS site to THIS site. In order to share my soon approaching trip highlights with you enlightened readers, I have created competition for Youngeffectual.

Once the trip is over, I will probably resume writing on this one because it is more private and less visited. In other words, it is a place where I can complain more without offending anyone.

But for the next two months or so, you might find more to read here.

A new column link

After about 6 years of procrastination, I have finally found the help I need to construct my very own personal website. Sorry, this one is professional, so there won't be self deprecating stories or photos available on it.

As it stands, the site is a work in progress. The pages will become populated in a short time, but for now just the skeleton is there. I've gone for the understated approach to its design - simple and clean. The hope is that by keeping it simple, I will eventually be able to manage and update it myself. I received some technical assistance from a very kind individual to get it where it is - hopefully I will get in the driver's seat before too long.

Please enjoy: www.racheledmonds.com

The long (free) ride home

Location: Lihue Airport, Kauai, Hawaii
Time rental car due: 7:30pm
Time of Andrew’s flight: 8:00pm
Time of Rachel’s flight: 11:30pm
Updated time of Rachel’s flight once checked-in: 12:15am
Current time: 10:21pm

Hmm. This sucks.

So here I am at the Kauai airport. I’ve been here nearly three hours already, and my flight doesn’t leave for another several hours.

Despite the fact I am INSIDE the airport and have gone through airport security, I am actually OUTSIDE. This airport is an open-air design, probably intended to make visitors feel the island vibe immediately upon disembarking. Likely cuts energy costs, too. Still, I feel like I’ve been sitting in a public plaza for three hours. And by “public plaza” I mean a place with aging and worn furniture, dim lighting, cranky people, little to no back support, no wifi, and fewer than 3 power outlets for those of us who would like to keep our laptop batteries charged.

I can’t say it’s the perfect end to the perfect vacation, but I suppose it could be worse. I could be stuck in the Vegas airport where instead of the smells of island breezes and plumeria, the mixture of cig smoke and cheap booze is the prevailing odor.

Kauai is a fun place, and I am really glad I had a whole 10 days to experience it, and with the best company one could hope for. I did a lot while I was here, and I drove a TON – maybe around 550 miles – so I have certainly gotten my fill of the garden island. There are a few things I learned about that I would like to share with my reader.

1. Do not expect peace and quiet on Kauai. This place is NOISY – mostly filled with the sounds of chickens and roosters, helicopters, leaf blowers, mowing machines, weed eaters, etc. The only peace and quiet is found either at a swamp that takes 2 hours of hiking to get to or at the beaches. Both of these places have no chickens, which I appreciated after listening to them talk all night long, every night I was here.
2. The best things to eat are kalua pig, shaved ice (with ice cream at the bottom), and spicy tuna poke. You can eat these three things relatively cheaply, too, if they are purchased from budget vendors.
3. The beaches don’t disappoint – lots of choices – swimming beaches, surfing beaches, snorkeling beaches, etc.
4. Avoid Princeville. This place is boring, but the shopping center café area has a good espresso shake and fish tacos. Lots of golfing types hang here, so it definitely doesn’t get my thumbs up.
5. Stay with Connie and Major Inch. Their place is clean, cheap, has a drooling cat, an old horse, has lots of amenities like boogy boards to borrow, etc. However, sadly, they do have loud chickens. Can’t win ‘em all.

I’ve learned other things, but I will not share them quite yet. I am tired and being at the airport is making me less inclined to share all the good nuggets at this time. The above 5 points should satisfy your hunger for awhile.

Aloha from Kauai and signing off.

Time of sign off: 10:51pm
Time of flight, updated: 12:30am

Welcome, 2010: please be a better year!

Two full days into the new decade and I am getting ready to get on one heck of a long plane ride. We fly from RDU-ATL-LAX-LIH. Andrew and I have a TON of baggage and heavy winter clothes in our suitcases. We have an immense amount of woolen under clothes that will make a chance jaunt across the world only to sit inside a suitcase for another 10 days. We are hoping for balmy 80 degree weather. Right now it is 30F in Durham.

A trip calculator reveals the travel is about 4906 miles. The longest flight I've been on is from SFO-NRT-BKK....about 7900 miles. SO this one should be easy peasy.