Out & About – Page 279

Postcard from Crater Lake

My aunts took a trip south, and my Aunt Pat reports that the water was a spectacular blue, reflecting off the three feet of snow that had fallen overnight.

Song of the month October 2016: Cleopatra by the Lumineers

The Lumineers “Cleopatra”

I’m a sucker for a song that tells a story, and if it’s a thwarted love story, all the better. With this song, I marvel at how so much story is stuffed into relatively few lines.

There’s something delightful about the way Westley Schultz spreads out the word Cleopatra. And I like the urgency of the music, paired with the stripped down chorus.

Also, as opposed to last month’s, video, this is really well done. One comment was something along the lines of “crying in the corner now.”

Also enjoyable this month is a song that was highlighted on Friend Jan’s blog in August. “Something More Than Free” Jason Isbell. It tells a story, it makes me want to thank God for the work, though I actually don’t. Jan writes good things about it, which you can read here.

Where the building exploded

A little past 9:30am on October 19, I heard a noise, which was loud enough to rattle the windows at work and cause some computer thing to beep as it reset itself. It happened a second time and then there were many sirens.

My co-worker, always quick to find answers, found the news on the Fire Department’s twitter feed. There had been a gas explosion in Northwest Portland. Firefighters were on the scene and reporters were told where they should go for updates, and the best route to get there.

Though there were injuries, amazingly no one was killed. You can see pictures and video by going here.

A week an a half later, we drove through the intersection, on the way to my Birthday dinner. This the corner with the building that exploded, as well as the apartments next door.

The plate glass blew out of the building across the street.

Saying goodbye to Videorama

When I moved to Kenton, Videorama took up 4/5 of this building, and the gym (also owned by the same people) was 1/5 of the building. At some point, the two reversed themselves.

And now, my last video store opportunity has gone.

I will miss having the opportunity to walk in, browse, rent new movies, find old movies. I will miss the employee picks. It was because of them I discovered All the Real Girls and other good movies.

It feels weird to realize that one of my jobs (video store clerk, Blockbuster Video) has completely disappeared.

I cast my historic vote!

When I was 18, I cast my first vote ever in the US Presidential race for Bill Clinton and he won! Growing up in a household of Democrats during the Reagan and Bush administrations, this was a very big deal. I began my adulthood with a president I voted for. I’m excited to be 42 and casting my vote for Hillary Clinton. I never really had a guess as to when I would be able to vote for a woman for US President, because it always seemed so far away. I’m happy to be casting this historic vote.

(I also voted for everything else too. Running this country isn’t just about who is president.)

Postcard from Minneapolis

From Sara, who got to attend the second (and probably final) NedCon Stories. For those in the know, it’s full of DFTBA fun.

Matt makes his own Trifecta Medal

George R.R. Martin has been read aloud!

I know we were reading this book on the way home from Cindy’s wedding, because that was when we decided to stop the “read one character at a time” method and switch to a regular read-through. That was August of 2013. We have been reading this book for a very long time.

(Note authentic Spartan Race scratches on Matt’s arm.)

McMenamins Passport: It begins again

Also while staying at Anderson School, we bought our second round of Passports. We aim to take 5 years to finish this one.

Hot tip: buy your passports in Oregon, not Washington. The Washington Sales tax means you will pay an extra $5.75.

“Seattle” Spartan Race

We drove to Snohomish for what is advertised on the web site as the Seattle Spartan Race. Matt was doing the Beast, which was a step up from his race in April. The sign informs us that the race is 11+ miles and 30+ obstacles. If I may interject, the lack of detail on the sign is maddening. Maybe they don’t know exactly how long the course is, but surely they know the exact number of obstacles, seeing as how they have to set them up.

Bag check.

Matt, his wristband, the map, and the plan.

Based on Matt’s performance in April, we estimated when I would have photo ops.

Plan established, Matt gears up, and poses at the official sign. Here, he is following my prompt to “be a Beast”

Shirts of a team of participants. While it’s impossible for the person on the right to fulfill both parts of her team name, she’s got the first one down.

Athletic supporter! Above and beyond!

Matt gets ready. Why walk to the starting line when you can climb over a wall?

This was the race were I discovered my camera could take continuous photos if I held the shutter down. I have a lot of continuous photo shots which were supposed to be complied into short videos, but were not. Here’s Matt at the start of the race. I enjoy this photo because he’s barely in the frame and that other guy has lost his shoe in the first 50 feet of the race. It’s going to be a long race for him.

Race started, I wandered to my next photo op, catching this picture of headstand guy.

Matt climbing up the rope, which was an obstacle he had a hard time with in April.

This time he easily rang the bell.

The rings, also a trouble spot last time. Apparently, they are very slippery, so a lot of grip strength is involved.

Plus, you have to transition from rings to the bar, which kills your momentum.

Then there is a third transition from bar to rope, and that’s where Matt fell

He did great on this obstacle, though.

Having fulfilled the first part of my athletic supporter picture duties, I retreated to the car to nap and read. According to our calculations, I would next see him at mile 8, at approximately 4:05. I set an alarm for 3:45 and proceeded to lounge. I could see the runners along the tree line and at 3:00 I happened to look up from my book. Was that just Matt? I jumped out of the car and indeed it was him, more than an hour ahead of schedule. Having missed the mile-8 photo, I packed my bag, closed up the car and headed for the photo-op spot, the A-Frame.

On the way I saw this sad story. Also: ballsy criminals. Due to the staggered start times of the races, people are wandering around all the time.

The downside of continuous shooting is that it eats through your battery quickly. I was already on my backup battery, and concerned about running out, so this part of the race I shot one picture at a time.

I liked how interested these boys were into tying grass around the caution tape.

Matt walking over the wall.

Matt at the top of the wall.

Headed toward the finish. Plus: that girl’s expression.

Trying to turn off the headlamp he was required to wear.

Socks, duct tape and shoes, post race.

Matt indicating he has completed a Trifecta: Sprint, Super and Beast. (The official Spartan Race requires you to complete all three races in one calendar year, but I think that’s a dumb rule, designed only to boost their sales.) When you have completed a Trifecta, you get to buy a special medal to hold all three pieces. The Spartan Race never misses an opportunity to make money.