Bend

Since my trip home from the Inauguration I've been here, there, and everywhere in between, hence the inconsistent blogging. Now I'm packing up in order to hit the road for Bend, Oregon, my new home of five months. No time to blog now, just yet another plea to stick with me until my life settles into a new rhythm.

Non-Paper Daily, 1.11.2009

*An earthquake in Costa Rica has thus far claimed 18 lives. This sounds weird to say, but hasn't it been awhile since we've had a natural disaster?

*The death toll, 870 Palestinians and 13 Israelis, is nearing one thousand in Gaza. It continues to be unclear what Israel is trying to achieve. As we've learned in Iraq (and you'd think they would have learned in the last fifty years there), you can't win these types of battles relying on force alone. Apparently Israel is choosing to ignore that lesson.

*Sadly it's "au revoir" to this year's college football season. It's never too early to begin looking at next year, so here is Rival's initial rankings for 2009. Just a note, both Oregon and Oregon State are ranked!

Balloon Man

Last year Kent Couch tried to travel from Bend, Oregon to Idaho... via air... specifically a flying lawn chair... powered by big balloons. Awesome. Last year he made it Union, Oregon, a small town just 15 minutes from my hometown.


I didn't take the picture, thanks to Pete Erickson for the fine shot from last year's attempt. Pretty spectacular, right?

This year he tried again and, lo and behold, he made it! It's pretty incredible. Not only is it a long ways, but the mountains he crosses are a bunch of 8,000 foot peaks. Anyhow, cool stuff happening here in Oregon.

Bill

Though I'm an Obama-backer, I'm not so pure as to miss an opportunity to see Bill Clinton. In fact, it's the first time I've ever seen a president in person. For the first time in forever Oregon's presidential primary counts for something. Positioned fourth-to-last on the schedule, just beating out population powerhouses Puerto Rico, Montana, and South Dakota, we are usually a forgotten outpost. Mathematically Obama looks to have an insurmountable lead, but Hillary is fighting on for the nomination and for us Oregonians that means attention. On Monday Bill Clinton came to Salem, Oregon, so Serena and I hopped over there for the morning to see him speak. I'm firmly in Obama's corner, but Bill is good. Really good. By the end I thought, "Wellll, okay, I could see voting for her." That good. I mean, I know the strong reasons for voting for Obama, but he still made me think twice. That was the most impressive part of the entire thing. A couple other thoughts:

• They didn't have any kind of metal detectors, bag searchers, or basic check-in. That astounded me. I kept waiting and waiting for the check, but it never came. He's a former president! It blew my mind that they were just letting people in.
• There was a guy in the corner who kept yelling things about how he thought Hillary was terrible. Bill ignored him until about ten minutes left in the speech and said something to the effect, "I'm sure you've got some good ideas, but you keep interrupting me while I'm speaking. Now, why don't you let me finish and then you can have the stage and all these people who came to see me can stick around if they want to listen to you." This received a big applause and the guy was jeered into silence. Literally. He didn't peep after that.
• It seemed like there were a few people like me who weren't voting for Hillary, but were stoked about the idea to see a former president speak.
• The room was tiny, probably only able to hold 1,000 people. I'm guessing they didn't want to risk a half-filled room, but there were hundreds of people waiting in line that weren't let in. Seemed a little strange, but, again, maybe part of the strategy.

A couple photos of the guy in action. I can't say it enough, he's good:
I'm especially fond of the first one above. A) He looks like he's falling into the crowd and is bit worried and B) His secret service security agent (top right) looks so happy.

Who Would Have Thunk It?

In the past week I've come to find out that blogging is extremely difficult to do without easy and consistent access to the internet. I thought I'd be able to sneak it in here and there, but it hasn't worked out. The good news is that I've settled down into my new apartment in Philomath, Oregon and am wired for blogging.

BTW If you're in or near Philomath come on over and play some pool, I have a table in my place. Holllllller.

Obama in Oregon!

It's an Obama frenzy with his speech yesterday about race and the news today that he's coming to Oregon. There are events in Portland and cities to the south and I'm going to be able to attend as I head over to the west side of the state to visit Serena. Received my event ticket today. :)

There is much to be said about the presidential race, topics I will save for another day, but one is the possibility of having a president who inspires people. It's been nearly eight years with a president unable to speak articulately, evoke inspiration, or even use words correctly. All policy aside, it is a refreshing prospect to have a president who can do one of his most important jobs: speak.

That in mind, enjoy:

Gardening

The weather has finally turned (yes, I knocked on wood) here in La Grande which has ignited an itch to build. The past few days our backyard/garden has been a construction site with the sounds of the hammer, saw, and shovel mixed with singing birds happy to see spring. The goal: completely closing in the garden with raised beds and filling them with new topsoil. Today I drove the final nail. Now the unveiling of the finished product:



Note the handsome University of Oregon "O" while taking the picture. Shadows rarely lie.