Memory Day

I remember Memorial Days. What I remember most is the beginning of summer. Whether our parents liked it or not, we were going swimming this weekend. Some cold-ass water, but regardless our lives could not be complete without the act of kickstarting summer. 

Memorial Day feels like any other Sunday for me. It's the most laid-back holiday that I used to get off from work. And there are good war movies on TV. I know what it's supposed to mean, so no need to get righteous.

Meghan said to me yesterday: "I want to think about the RV trip out here a lot, so I don't forget it."

Is the best way to keep from forgetting stuff to keep it on your mind more? Or is it to record it in words and images? Or is it to tell stories, teach people about the times you want to remember, good or bad. 

I (We) don't do enough of any of these things.

Don't bother imagining World Peace or whirlled peas.

Imagine if everyone remembered everything.  

Developing My Taste

I never drank a beer until 1991, my senior year at Seton Hall Preparatory School for Boys of Higher Learning and Education. I was 17. I remember not liking it at all, until I had enough to let the taste of it pass by and reap the benefits. Now the upside of alcohol is something I preach about daily, and am constantly reminded of through advertising.

Same goes for coffee. I clearly hated coffee until recently. I made fun of it. Now my head pounds without the creamy, delicious stuff. In Portland, good coffee is as easy to find as puddles of rainwater.

Another example of my developing tastes is the delicate world of raw fish. I despised sushi and was completely repulsed for years as friends and colleagues attempted to lure me to taste the mushy, expensive Japanese delights. Now, I crave sushi every day, all day. But I stick to the basics, no egg-y stuff or blowfish.

I own a Treo 650 now, with Palm software. I remember making fun of Palm Pilots and I still giggle inside when I think of nerds playing pocket-pool with their friggin palm-pilots. But now, it's a useful device for me. And I'm fine with the name "Treo".

I recently chose to purchase my third pair of jeans ever from Old Navy. They are artificially faded in places. This is a first for me as well. But I will NEVER purchase an artificially faded, worn hat. That's the worst thing that ever happened to hats, especially Burton hats.

I will continue to resist new things, ridicule them for fun and then join in them on my terms. When I do, I am not acting as a hypocrite. I'll let things change in a natural way and may remain slightly behind the curve, but ahead of the times just enough.

Listen and Speak

I've got two new holes in my head, courtesy of some rotten teeth. I had them removed the other day and the drugs gave me some time to think.

None of us communicate enough. We don't have the patience to sit and talk. Our relationships suffer from the lack of real interaction and true understanding.

The ability to listen and speak is something that used to be super important to people. In fact, it was essential to living, it was something people focused on.

Today we listen to corporations, politicians and news anchors more than we listen to our friends or family. These are not the people we should listen to or understand.

I believe technology can and will help people. But it should not help at the expense of real human understanding.

People wonder why therapists and "shrinks" are so busy today. Why are "personal assistants" and life coaches becoming more popular and necessary careers? These people are paid to listen. And they are paid to speak back to you, but mostly just listen.

So, many people retreat into their own minds, which can drive you crazy by not allowing emotions to be released, instead keeping them bottled up, like lava in an active volcano.

But more people just cruise, letting everyday life float along without realizing what's passing them by. This is probably my zone…

The ability to meet, speak, understand and communicate with other people is one of the things that makes life what it is. And it can make life, work and play better.

The problem is it takes work, and generally, people are lazy. This is definitely my zone…

Vertical infinity by anyone

From a great website I found.

And me wishlist in progress.

Trash Day

Just a few minutes before or after 10am every morning, someone in the neighborhood where my office lives blows a horn that sounds just like the General Lee, from the ole' Dukes of Hazzard dayz. Might just be that my clock is fast or theirs is slow, maybe it's supposed to happen at exactly 10, who knows.

Every morning, before we get out the door for work, the dude who lives across the street in the plain, one-story house with the shades drawn every day drives off to work in a truck that I would describe as a jalopy. It looks like he paints or works out of his truck. But he drives off rather loudly and with little concern for noise, fuel consumption or the benefits of allowing his truck to warm up a little before gunning it.

One Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, the fun of the Portland International Raceway is clearly heard. Racecars screaming through the gears on the track and top fuel dragsters just simply slamming the engine open until they reach the finish line are most often the loudest. The track also hosts bicycle races, but I am sure the crowds are smaller.

Meghan is not so sure about our other neighbors across the street. They own two vehicles and drive them often: an old Nissan 300ZX that's louder than the jalopy truck, and a gigantic, awesome, jacked up pickup with very large tires and very large everything. The woman of the house drives the big truck, and she makes sure most people are aware that she has a big engine powering them big tires.

I respect people's love of vehicles. My eyes usually fall on the sweetest motorcycles in the lot, and regardless of age, condition or manufacturer, I really like looking at them.

But today I say: F$%k Oil. And that's all I am gonna say.

PS: I looked out the window at all of the buildings outside my office this evening and wondered how much it would cost to cover the roofs of all of them with solar panels, because it's been sunny here for 3 weeks.

PPS: I read that someone made an car that gets 8000 miles to the gallon.

Ok, that's it.

I get 18mpg tops.

Grave Generalization Series #1

I know these things to be held true and self-evident:

1. Portland homeless people use cellular telephones and wear technical outerwear.
2. Upon first glance, the average breast size of women in Portland appears larger than those of Burlington, Vermont.
3. Everyone is hotter in the summertime.