Tag: me

In the 80s, when I swam on a summer swim team, the only caps available were made out of latex.  They were hard to get on by yourself because the latex would pull your hair. Putting them on involved two people.  I would hold the edge of the cap to my forehead and someone else would stretch the cap backward over my head.  They would hold it while I shoved my hair into the cap.  Then they could let the cap go.

The caps were prone to ripping, which meant you never bought just one, because you had to always have one on hand.  The best part about them was that they would stretch a lot in the water.  Sometimes at the end of a swim meet we would jump in the pool and carefully stretch the cap out in the water until we could put one of the younger swim team members inside.

Now they have invited silicone swim caps.  Which are much better in every way but stretching to small-child size.  They don’t stick to your hair and they last forever.  My cap that just broke lasted for years.  (Granted, not all of those were swimming years, but it didn’t even break down like the latex ones would.)

So welcome to the new cap.  And thank you, new cap, for showing me how to properly treat you through graphics and Engrish.

Things have been tough lately.  I hate keeping up with news (and keeping up with the news is something I love) because I come away informed, yet also angry and frustrated.  I feel powerless to change anything.  It’s March in Portland and it’s cold and rainy and there is no sun and it doesn’t seem like spring will ever come.  Every single thing I do seems like a waste of time.

And today I made myself write down one thing every hour that I was grateful for.

I’ve done gratitude journals before, and they don’t do much for me.  Having to think of five things each night means that I think of the same things every day, more or less, so it gets repetitive and feels like an obligation.

But this worked.  Something about repeatedly finding things to be grateful/thankful about during the day elevated my mood.  You noticed I wrote down the date at the bottom.  I had planned to keep doing this every day until things improved, but one day was exactly what I needed.

Phew!

Not only did I get this nice certificate, I also received my very own Rosetown Ramblers badge.  Fame 2017 is our class name.  Each class picks a rose for their name.  We liked our choice because it could go in a David Bowie direction or a musical theater direction.

My mom visited Boise and brought me back this mug.  It’s from the first place to ever employ me.  (Which has been sold to a new owner)

I appreciate how they got the hyphens correct on their mug.  

Every December, I search back through my photos and pick ten to print and display for the coming year.  The printed photos live on the photo collage next to my bed.

This year, I trouble finding 10 photos I really liked.  I guess taking good photos is another of the casualties of the changeover to the 40-hour week.  But here are the 10 I found to be good enough.

Here’s the photo that became the Christmas Card.  I love the Fairlift and I love the bright colors in this photo.

Also from the fair, this goat was nicely framed and had a sweet expression.

Another contender from the fair.  (What would I have done if we didn’t attend the fair?).  This monster truck is completely off the ground!

The vacationing couple, or perhaps important photographer and muse.  I mostly printed this for the memory of the endless photo-ing, but I also like how her outfit stands out against the gray Washington coastline.

Another photo from vacation.  This is Lake Crescent and its very blue water.

On the way to a weekend retreat in Centralia.  There’s actually an Instagram version of this photo that is better.  But this was the one I took with my camera.

The colors and the fog made this one a winner.  it’s also a good reminder that my regular walk across the bridge can be magical.

Usually the top spot in my photo collage frame is a concert or performance of some sort.  This was a panel discussion at Wordstock, so not necessarily a performance.  But it was very entertaining, and the selfie from different angles made me laugh.  It’s also a nice showcase of the Old Church.

Early morning contrails and an alley.  This photo didn’t come out quite the way I wanted it to. It’s standing in for the picture in my mind, which is even better.

Another “performance” photo.  This one was snapped a fraction of a second too late.  During Love’s Labour’s Lost this was musical montage backed with “Theme from a Summer Place.”  This couple made me laugh.

First, there was the phone.  Until 2013, I was a landline-only person.  I loved my phone number, so much so that when I moved from downtown, I called the phone company and told them, “I’m moving and I want to keep my phone number.”  Thankfully, rules had relaxed and it came with me when Matt and I moved in together, and then followed us to the Orange Door.

In 2013, I bought my first cell phone*, skipping over all other incarnations and jumping in at the smartphone period.  I was surprised at how much I liked it.  So this was why everyone was always staring at them.  One thing I didn’t like?  My cell phone number.  It started with 971, for one thing.  Who wants that stupid area code?  I didn’t actually want to talk on my cell phone, so I kept the landline, and my awesome phone number.

Just this year, I learned you can keep your landline number and have it ported to your cell phone company.  I would not have to give up my beloved phone number!  It happened that I was due for a new phone, so instead of upgrading and transferring my cell number to my new phone, I instead transferred my landline number to my new phone.  It was easy!**

Now we are not paying the monthly bill for a landline AND I have my favorite phone number.  All is well.

I realize that cool phone numbers are more-or-less moot.  Once the number gets programmed into someone’s phone they never look at it again.  But I know how cool my phone number is. It’s mathematically correct!  So I’m happy.

*Note that this is not cell phone, version 1, it’s cell phone version 2.
**Porting the number was easy, dealing with the fallout from the landline people was not. We lost internet for a few days, which wasn’t fun, and turned out to have not been necessary.

On the left, current cell phone, nearly two years old.  On the right current tablet, nearly one year old. In the middle, the new cell phone.

There are plans for this new phone.  But that’s a post for a later day.