Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit (of coming home)
I haven't blogged in a while, and with a little push from Adam, I figured I'd get on here and try to spark my interest in writing again.
It's a little hard with my job now, because the office internet is ridiculously locked down, so I spend half my time looking for loopholes in order to post to twitter and read news and stuff. I still haven't found a way to update the blog, and when I come home, the last thing I want to do is sit in front of a computer. The previous 9 hours of the day have kind of ruined it for me. Kind of like college and textbooks did with reading. I'm actually reading The Watchmen right now, and while it's only a graphic novel, I consider it a big step up from not wanting to read ANYTHING during college. Plus, The Watchmen is really good. I recommend it for anyone who liked Sin City and/or is interested in seeing the movie.
Anyways, life here in Texas has been pretty good. It's been cool lately (mid-70's), I've met some cool people, and I'm getting to the point of training where I understand a lot of stuff, so it's a lot more fun than it was 2 months ago. I'm going to Albuquerque this next week for a training trip with another employee who's been at it a lot longer than me. I'm heading home to Portland the weekend before (this weekend) and am really looking forward to it. I haven't seen Hayley in a while (or Bella!), as well as Mom and Dad, so this will give me a chance to see all of them. If anyone else will be in town, I would love to see you all, so just let me know and we'll figure something out. I'm only in Texas until Christmas, and will be home twice before that, so I think these next couple months are going to fly by, which is more than welcomed.
However, until then, I'm finding a lot of ways to enjoy my time in Houston. It's a pretty ridiculous city, and you'd have to be here to know exactly what I mean, but it has its perks. There is a LOT of good music that comes touring through here. I went to a Ben Kweller concert last week, which was great. My brother actually saw him this weekend in Eugene, so that's pretty cool. I also went to see The Kooks, but they canceled because the lead singer was "ill" (hungover), so the opening band The Whigs played as the headliners for free, and were actually pretty darn good. Next, I'm going to see Kings of Leon later this month, as well as Keith Anderson, and (hopefully) TV On The Radio. I thought Portland was big on live music, and they are, but not on quite the scale that Houston is. You can go out EVERY weekend and see good live music anywhere, as well as check out tons of concerts, so I've been doing that a lot.
I've also been exercising a lot with Allen, a buddy I met down here who's going to Orange County. He's the one I've been going to concerts with, too. But we've been getting up every morning to run and then going to the gym most nights after work. It gives me something to do, and keeps my mind off of missing home, as well as get me into shape, so it all works out. We are starting to drive out to Memorial Park by 6:00am, get a solid 30-50 minutes of running in, then head back in time to get to work by 8:00am. Running in the morning really makes me feel good at work. I'd never done it before, but it's a really nice way to wake up. It's relaxing for me, but also gets my body going.
Last weekend I played 36 holes of golf. The first 18 were in a company tournament. I helped my team to a solid last place finish, but it wasn't my fault. It was a scramble, but we had to use a certain portion of everyone's shots. First off, our A (best) player didn't show up, so we were already off to a bad start. But then, the guys I was teamed with were awful. I mean, we struggled to take any of their shots. We used almost all of my drives, approaches, and inevitably (after they missed) my putts. Anyone who has golfed with me knows, from those statements, that the team was pretty bad. I mean, I was our best player? Come on guys. Plus, I was using a friend's clubs, which weren't anything like mine at home except in the fact that both sets suck. But anyways, Allen, Rob and I decided to go out for a second round right after we finished the first. Rounds at this place (Blackhorse GC) were typically $75, but we got the "replay" rate, which was $16! We couldn't pass that up. However, we did go get a bottle of Pendleton and some beer. That helped us through the second 18. But when I come home, you better believe I'm going to be wanting to go out on the course. Anyone in for a round this weekend?
I have been trying to keep up on the Ducks, but aside from a few games that they have at sports bars, I haven't been able to catch many. Last week's was just ugly, so I played Big Buck Safari instead of watching the end of it. Franklin has done a pretty good job of keeping me updated, which I really appreciate. Him and Rob Moseley have been my only links out here. Oh, and if I have to hear anymore bullshit about the Texas - Oklahoma game this weekend, I'm going to shoot myself. I hate both teams, but that's all I hear out here. Ugh. I can't wait to get back to Oregon where I can watch football without all the stupid shit. Well, not counting FSN...
I can't wait to start watching Blazers games, too. Hopefully they will play the Rockets in Houston while I'm here. That would be awesome. Tonight they're beating Sacramento in their first pre-season game. Can't wait to see Oden in action!
This is an interesting time in America. The presidential elections are a month away, the economy is the worst it's ever been since the Great Depression, and yet here I am, displaced and feeling totally removed. It's a weird feeling. I am following the debates and everything, and will vote, that's a given. But I don't have any money invested in the stock market (if I have to hear Wall St. vs. Main St. one more time...), no house, no mortgage, not much money in general, so I really haven't felt the hit. And it's kind of scary. I know all this crap is going to affect me, especially when I go to get a mortgage, or eventually start contributing to my 401k, but I just can't make it seem real right now.
Alright, well, I've rambled on long enough. I want to keep up on the blogging thing, but a little nudge now and then won't hurt. I plan to come out with a Top 5 Albums of the Year list soon, as I've been listening to a LOT of music lately. Any other ideas? Just ramble about life or what?
You can always keep up on my life somehow. I'm always trying to find ways to communicate, and have a few methods:
