Life is Not Always Wonderful, But It Could Always Be Worse

I still don't have a job. Money is just about all gone. We have no money for kids presents unless we put them on a credit card. We will be in the hole sometime in middle to the end of January. This pretty much sucks. I have applied at a temp agency even and no work there either. The Bonneville Power job that I earlier wrote about I was hoping for in another post, did not come though. Today I received a letter from the Bureau of Veterans Affairs that they are going to pass on me as well. So has everyone else that I have applied to--either that or they are going to postpone hiring until after the new year.

I went to see a counselor at the career services office this morning to talk about my prospects. She helped give me some other things I can do, but there does not appear to be any end to my joblessness in sight in the near future. Oh I am sure I am going to get a job, but I wish it were now. But it was very helpful to meet with her just the same.

I admit I am bit depressed. If you look at the my other blog you can see that my training has tapered down quite a bit. Partially the amount of workouts have decreased because there are days that I just don't care. I mean I care, but not enough to get out the door in the cold. Whatever. Today I rode in the bad weather, in some snow and it was great. Attitude is everything. I wanted to ride and so I had a great time. Great to get away from negative thoughts and doubts that occassionally swirl in my brain while I am at home. I don't feel productive when I am home. If Bridget is at work and I am home it is Ok, because at least one of us is making some money, but on days when we are both at home sometimes I just feel useless and cranky.

I am to the point where I am going to see if I can start delivering pizza or something just to bring in some money. Ugh. At least I passed the bar exam. Next week I am going to go get sworn in and join a couple of the new lawyer organizations and I am going to see about volunteering at Lewis & Clark's New Business Clinic. All the lawyers and students that work there do it pro bono, but it will perhaps give me some connections and a feeling of satisfaction from doing some good for those who could afford a lawyer otherwise.

At least we are all healthy, if not wealthy and my funk will pass. Bridget is confident that something will turn up. I think she is right, she always is--seriously. About life decisions like this she has a very good head on her shoulders and she has more faith than I at times like this--at least usually. She has been very nice to me while I have been in my funk. Anyway, I don't want to make it seem like I have been in a depressed mood 24 hours a day, but there is usually an hour or two a day where my thoughts turn dark and I worry about things. I mainly worry about the unknown. I have never liked the unknown. I am a worrywort. That is my bag and I/we will get through it fine. Enough rambling--everyone move on to the next couple of posts to read about more dead mice and moldy bread. ;)

Nasty Part II

Friday night is pizza night here. We usually go to Papa Murphy's Take and Bake and get a pizza to bake at home. We like them and the boys eat the pizza very well. Anyway, we are sitting at the table eating the pizza and watching a Thomas the Tank Engine video when I spy Clyde, our cat, at the sliding door, which is near the dining table. He has a mouse squirming/twitching in his mouth and he is looking right at me. Yuck. I almost lost my appetite right there. He wanted inside and he wanted to bring his new toy, the mouse, inside as well. Finally he put it down and I tried to get him to come inside, but he still wanted to play with it. After about 5 minutes he was tired of the game and came in. But still it was nasty.

Nasty

Ever see a movie, probably a horror movie where a guy goes to kiss a beautifull girl only to find after he kisses here that she turns into a horribly ugly thing or perhaps even a corpse or skeleton or something? It seems like that is something that has happened in movies like that, or if not it should. After realizing that the girl was something horrible the guy freaks out and tries in vain to rub off the kiss and wipe away the memory of the experience.

Yeah, something like that just happened to me. I went to make some toast today. We just made some bar-b-q beef sandwiches a couple of nights ago on potato bread hamburger buns. Pretty good stuff and so are the buns. I got the hankerin' for some toast and so I remembered that we had a couple of buns left over--seemed like a half of a bun would make a good piece of toast. I found a bag with two buns in a stash of bread and chips that we keep in a huge bowl in the back corner of the kitchen. There's lots of stuff in there, but the buns were near the top. I made one and made Jack one as well. I ate mine and it was delicious. Jack hadn't touched his yet, but instead of eating his, since it looked like he didn't want it after all, I went and grabbed another one out of the bag. I went to open the bun so that I could toast another half when I saw a horrifying sight, mold that covered 75% of the bottom of the bun. It was blue and white and pretty hairy looking. I instantly felt sick to my stomach. I didn't taste anything nasty, nor was there anything on that bun that appeared to be moldy, yet is had been sitting right next to this horrible thing that was before me. Yuck.

I thought it was weird that it went moldy so fast, but as it turns out, the leftover buns from the dinner a couple nights ago were in the cupboard. Yep, I felt like I had just eaten poison or taken a bite of an apple with only half a worm in it after the bite is taken.

I am still alive and well, but I shudder with the memory. And no, Jack didn't eat any, just me.

Jack vs. Grandpa Leroy

Setting: Jack has just has told us he is done eating his pizza one evening. Knowing that he had snacked before dinner I told him that it was ok to get down from the table. He had only eaten about a third of his pizza though and he usually eats much more. Then Grandpa came upstairs and the following took place.

Grandpa: Jack, you better eat your pizza.
Jack: (ignores him)
Grandpa: Jack you better eat your pizza or I am going eat it.
Jack: NO
Grandpa: Jack, aren't you going to eat your pizza? You better or no dessert.
Jack: (pointing his index finger at Grandpa states the following in a very angry matter) GRANDPA YOU GO DOWNSTAIRS. GO WATCH FOOTBALL, NO ME PIZZA!!!
Grandpa, loving the reaction he got out of Jack, tells him to eat his pizza again.
Jack: (again in with his finger thrust forward tells Grandpa) NO GRANDPA YOU GO DOWNSTAIRS. GO WATCH FOOTBALL. NO ME PIZZA!!!

We all laughed and thought it was great. Grandpa is a known trouble maker. I am not sure that we want Jack telling everyone off in this way, but it was cute coming from a 2 year old. It was quite a mouthful for him.

Patrick Sandwich

Here is the last roughhousing that the boys and Patrick did before they went off to bed and Patrick and Stephanie leave for Utah.

Patrick and Stephanie

Here are some pictures from their visit. They leave us tomorrow. Ryan and Jack will be so sad.




Last night Bridget and Stephanie went as saw Enchanted at the movie theater. They said it was pretty good. Patrick and I went and messed around with the boys for a bit but then settled to watch Along Came Polly, which was on TV. That movie has some funny stuff in it. Sometimes it is a bit painful though. Today Patrick and Stephanie are off to Saturday's Market in downtown Portland and to a farmers market.

Knock Knock

Jack doesn't quite get how to do a knock knock joke, but at least he makes us laugh in trying.


Here are some other pictures since Patrick and Stephanie arrived.




Patrick really doesn't have anytime to himself. Ryan and Jack think he is here to play with them exclusively.

More cyclocross pics

More on the Other Blog later today or tomorrow,but it was, under normal definitions anyway, a miserable day. Using the perspective of us nutty cyclocrossers, it was a perfect day for cross. Still, it was pretty cold and during a part of the 1st lap I was thinking I should pull off. Anyway, no results yet and when they come in I will post my report there on the RCMT blog.

UPDATE: the latest results have me 48 out of 77, with a half dozen others that DNF'd. That is my best finish in our series out here. I am feeling good about the training I have been doing. I have been slowly getting better...slowly. There are more pictures on my RCMT Blog as well.

It was a cold muddy messy rainy race. I found this pic on another blog: http://bikeportland.org/photos/



More later. I am tired though. Goodnight.

Our Names are Not just Mommy and Daddy

Jack has been getting a kick out of telling me that I am "Daddy and also Devin" He does the same for Bridget. I think it kind cute coming from a 2 year old. He is a smart little dude. Oh and I am supposed to write that Ryan can jump on one foot 42 times.

There will be pictures again when we get our computer back, hopefully next week. I am using Grandma Joan's computer for now. I don't feel like messing with putting pictures on hers only to end up transferring them back to mine anyway.

Oh and as far as computers go, I backed up our stuff before I sent the computer of to HP to be fixed. I picked up a 250G external harddrive for 70 bucks. All I have to do is connect via the USB port to transfer files. No other plug-ins required or power cords. Sweet deal I thought. A year ago I bought a 60G external for 60 bucks and I thought that was a good deal. I still use the small one, but it doesn't have enough room for all our stuff. But it is just a bit bigger than my wallet so I am sure that it will have uses in the future if I need to tranfer stuff between say work and home or something.

Oh and I still haven't heard about the job yet.

Internet and Pizza

Yesterday was Friday and on many Fridays we get Pizza. The Grandparents aren't around and we let ourselves be lazy by not making dinner but picking up a pizza, usually from Papa Murphy's Take and Bake. With pizza from there we can feed whole family for about 10-12 bucks, and many times we have leftovers.

Well, Bridget and I were kinda sick of Papa Murphy's. It is fine pizza, but the same thing gets old (unless your name is Grandpa Leroy, and then you can eat the same pizza from the same place, ham and pineapple from a local restaurant, all the time). Having not ordered from anywhere else in quite sometime I went online to see if I could find any specials or coupons. I found not only what the specials were, but that I could order pizza online and that the order would be directed to the proper store. This was true for Domino's, Pizza Hut, and Papa Johns. Papa Johns had the best deal and I went ahead and ordered it online. I thought the whole set up was pretty cool. I ordered at about 4PM because our whole day was off a bit and we were hungry. For Bridget and I, it was only going to be our second real meal of the day. The boys normally get hungry around 4:30 or 5:00 and start trying to snack if dinner is not ready. Thus the order time made sense. Then started the longest delivery time of my life.

Again order time was approximately 4PM, but not past that time.

At 4:30 I called to make sure that they got our order. The Papa Johns site said that I would get a confirmation email, which never came. Nevertheless, the people there at the restaurant said that the order had been processed and that the pizza was almost out of the oven. I thought things were going fine, although I wished the confirmantion email had come so that I didn't have to call. Afterall, the idea is to avoid calling, right?

At 5:10 I call Papa Johns and ask what the heck is taking so long. They are kind of vague, but apparently the delivery guy is out with our pizza and it should be here shortly. I am not impressed anymore, but whatever, I am hungry and the kids and Bridget are cranky. I start holding off Jack with some Blue Diamond smokehouse almonds. He love them and he starts to come out of a real cranky fit.

5:35 I call and I am calm but obviously disgruntled. I am told that the driver has been gone for quite some, about an hour, and they have heard nothing from him. They tell me that the pizza will be free. Nice, but I and the whole family are pretty hungry, having been told that pizza will be soon here for well over an hour. 4 and 2 year olds are not known for their patience afterall.

5:40 I give up and start making the kids food. I throw a waffle in the toaster for Ryan and start making Mac n' Cheese for Jack.

5:55 I call to get them to send us out another pizza. I am hungry and Bridget will soon have to leave for some event at her sister's house. And dang it, I want some flipping pizza--I have been pretty good for the past couple of weeks with the diet and working out and I want a reward. Papa Johns is screwing with my reward night and I am getting a little worked up. They are in the process of seeing if this is possible or if they need to wait until they hear from the delivery guy. Then, "ding dong", it is the delivery guy. I don't know what he was doing, and I didn't ask. I was still on the phone when he came and so I let the store talk to him. I got the pizza and the soda pop and I wasn't charged. He gave me back the phone and headed back to the store to face whatever consequences there were, if any.

The pizza would have been great if it was hot. Pepperoni, ham, italian sausage, olives and mushrooms. But it was barely above room temperature. We ate it and the boys still had some along with waffles and Mac 'n cheese. I ate too much because I was pretty hungry. I probably gained a pound yesterday because of the pizza and the fudge that arrived yesterday from Grandma and Grandpa Reed. Oh, and the fudge was made by monks in a monastery in Oregon. Weird, but it was really good.

Anyway, I will stay with the phone ordering. I don't know if that was the issue, but ordering online really is no better than ordering on the phone unless you are going to place an order for delivery in the future. You can order up to 21 days ahead of time, which is kind of cool as long as the pizza is not when it shows up.

Random Thoughts

When an interviewer tells you that they are going to let you know on a particular day whether they want to hire you or not, they really need to follow through. To not do so is cruel. Yesterday was the day I was supposed to hear back about a job. No call. So far today, no call either. I have thought this out and have reasoned that this is the most likely reason for the lack of a phone call--I was not their first pick for the job. But, neither am I entirely ruled out though either. Instead, I would guess that they are waiting to see if the people they would rather have, want the job. Then if they take it, they will at that time let me know. But, obviously, if the person declines the job then they will give me the offer. Frustrating.
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Working out is good, but sometimes it wipes me out for a good while afterwards. Swim days are prime examples. My average heart rate is never very high, but dang I am always really tired afterwards. I want to take a nap right now.
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Ryan had a hot dog in a bun with ketchup and mustard on it and chips on the side...for breakfast. What a swell dad I am. At least it wasn't chocolate cake.
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This morning I was laying down with Jack in his bed so that he would stay asleep when Ryan climbed in. That was in addition to the cat that was already there. Yep, I was nice and comfy in that twin bed, well not really. Squished is more like it. Ryan was on one side laying on me, and Jack on the other. Clyde would not budge so I had to curve my legs in a odd angle as well. I was counting down the minutes until Bridget returned from her early morning swim class.
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ACTUAL CONVERSATION YESTERDAY. This is an example of Ryan and his standup routine.
Ryan: "Knock, Knock"
Me: "Who's there?"
Ryan: Why did the chicken cross the road?"
Me: "I dunno, why?"
Ryan: "Because he wanted to walk to his house so he could go to sleep, hahahahah..."
Me: "ha, good one Ryan"
Ryan: "Knock, Knock"
Me: "Who's there?"
Ryan: "Donut"
Me: "Donut who?"
Ryan: "Donut up to the sky with chocolate and around the world up to the moon....hahahaha"
Me: "hahaha (sigh)"
I don't think we have to worry about him going on tour anytime soon. And yes, usually all of his jokes start with "Knock, knock" regardless of whether the phase is appropriate for the joke or not.
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Bridget has started tutoring a girl in our ward in biology. She is in high school but the class is at college level. Bridget stated that this was the first time that she has used her degree since graduation. And she is getting paid $20/hr! It is just for an hour or two a week, but it is a pretty sweet deal.
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I miss french fries.
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I was sad to hear about Gracie passing away this morning. I wonder how Peach will take it. Clyde, our cat, meows occasionally as if he is looking for Bonnie. They were with us for almost 5 years so I guess it makes sense that he misses her, even if their interaction was pretty much restricted to fighing over who got to sleep in the cat tree here in the house.
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I wonder how long until I get sick of eating a mixed salad with generic pressed ham (think Buddig ham, only the generic store brand), some cheddar cheese, and Ken's Lite Northern Italian dressing?
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No More Bonnie

So after crapping on a half-dozen cycling relating garments last week I took Bonnie outside and got out the axe and ...no really we just gave her away. I put an ad on the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association (www.obra.org) mailing list, which goes out to all of the members' email addresses. Within an hour I had a couple of people wanting to see pictures of her and on this past Sunday she was picked up by a nice woman.

Yea! I am sure she will be fine there. She will be the only cat, there are no kids in the home, and no remodeling going on. I didn't tell her about the pooping because she didn't ask and 90% of the time Bonnie didn't have any problems. It was only when her environment got all messed up.

So Clyde is now the only animal here. The boys weren't too sad about it, since Bonnie wasn't really too friendly to them. Clyde is more the family cat. Most nights he sleeps with Jack at the foot of his bed. Grandma and Grandpa Reed are glad not to be stepping on poop early in the morning. This weekend I think some squeezed between Grandma's toes. Yummy.

Estacada Cyclocross Pic

I was 66th out of 89. If interested see the RCMT Blog

computer is down

There will be few updates for the next week or so.

Cyclocross: Barton Park

A couple of pictures from the weekend's cyclocross race. Ain't I cool...


I didn't place as well as I had thought, but I did have fun. I have been training quite a bit lately and I think it has helped even if my placement was not a great. I blame my low placement partially on the departure of some fellow fatties to the new Clydesdale class. I could race in it too, but I am on the borderline and prefer to race just one class the whole year. I was 75th out of 98 in the preliminary results. I raced Master C's (for those 35+). At least this wasn't a result from racing the Beginner class. Here are a couple of pics. More info on my other blog: RCMT

Poop Walk

This is self-explanatory. Just watch the video.



This is Jack's normal walk after he poops in his diaper. We can't wait until the bathrooms are finished being remodelled--Potty training will begin again.

Swim Class Etiquette

I wish Bridget would write here, but she is never motivated to do so. She would rather have me do it for some reason.

Anyway . . . she goes to a swim class every Monday and Wednesday morning at 6:30 am. She has gotten pretty good and is one of the faster swimmers. The class is divided up into a couple of lanes, and in order that they can all swim at the same time, they swim in loops. Basically people are going up the lane and down the lane at the same time in a clockwise rotation.

Every so often they have a timed swim of 500 yards. Of the people in her lane (1 guy and 2 other women), Bridget has been first the past several times She may have even been the fastest in the class at one time, I don't know for sure. The person who is the fastest in the 500 swim is usually the one to go first. Bridget, this past time, was not the fastest. She had an off day and wasn't feeling tip-top and had a slower time. There was one guy who was faster by a bit. No big deal. Except that the guy is a dork.

Bridget is normally faster than him, especially when they are swimming long distances. It is a rule that if someone catches you during swim practice that you let them pass you when you touch the wall. This guy in Bridget's lane never does let anyone pass unless the coach makes him. I guess this morning Bridget was whacking on his feet and legs with her arms as she was swimming. She even went to pass him and touched the wall at the same time as him and he still cut her off and wouldn't let her by. Passing is a hard thing because there are people coming from the opposite direction. At most Bridget said that she would have about a half a lap to pass someone. Attempting to pass takes a bunch of energy. On a long distance swim this robs you of a lot of energy for no reason--thus if someone taps you on the foot when they catch you, it is proper etiquette to stop and let them go at the end of that length. This morning the Instructor eventually had to get involved. He told him to get over and let people pass. At the end another 300 yards he was around a half a minute back. She said she would have lapped him if they had to swim any longer.

Long story short, don't be a dork and don't get your speedo in a bunch just because a girl is a faster swimmer than you.