Monthly Archives: February 2010

If an alien were watching me to figure out what I really liked to do, what would he see? Probably that I like doing home improvement projects, poorly. Today was actually pretty fun because I was able to take Sean and his daughter Hannah out for Sean’s birthday lunch at Skyline Burgers. Compared to the burgers we’ve had at Burger Club, it’s not such a big deal, but it’s a good diner burger. And the milkshakes push it over the top as far as my ratings go. But back to the aliens. If they did see me, they’d probably think what I like to do is home improvement, poorly. I … Continue reading →

Today should have been a normal day and a normal night. I started out a little slowly at the gym because I’m pretty tired but I wasn’t doing so bad. It’s burger night, too, and I had that to look forward to. It was just two of us, me and MattyG, so I wanted to step it up and try the bar burger at Paley’s Place, but Matty wanted to step it down and go to Hopworks. I think Hopworks has the best pub burger in town so it didn’t take too much to convince me to change my mind. But before we went, we found one of the coaches … Continue reading →

I just about dropped a 32kg kettle bell on my head. Twice. Once per arm. 32kg is like 70lb, or 43% of my body weight — at least the body weight that I’m pretending that I am right now. Oh the humanity. I got to work late today because I was waiting for the closet people to show up. I know that sounds fishy, but really I’m just getting Portland Closet Company to put some very expensive furniture into my closet. I’ve been wanting some closet gadgets since I saw them in Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. You’d think I’d fixate on something else in a movie of … Continue reading →

My co-worker told me my strategy for long-term investing in my retirement account — putting everything into an index fund and leaving it the hell alone — wouldn’t work because I’d be checking it all the time. How little he knows me. I’m really quite content to just look at my statements once a quarter and say, “Huh. It went (up or down).” I should be more concerned about my investments, but I can’t be bothered. The more I poke at it, the lower it goes. I suppose I should be more worried about my weight. I thought I’d put on five pounds but it seems that might have just … Continue reading →

I suppose TurboTax is my only choice on the Mac but it sure is buggy. Turns out to file your taxes you have to do some really odd things sometimes, but at least I succeeded. Taxes done, hooray. Honestly, I think I just used up any ability to write by replying to a friend who found me on Facebook. That and the hideous workout at the gym today. I have decided to think that I have done a 225lb front squat today, though in reality I think it was only 215 or 220. I’m just going to pretend, because it makes me happier than reality. Maybe not the best way … Continue reading →

I’m pretty predictable on Friday nights, which is why my neighbor called me up and asked if I wanted his spare ticket to the Trailblazers game where they were solidly beaten by the Celtics. The other neighbor who was supposed to go was stuck in surgery. I can’t believe my luck; I had incredible seats and was in the row behind the Blazer’s CFO. I’ve never been to the Rose Garden and I’ve actually never been to a NBA game. Last time I was at an actual basketball game was probably to see A. C. Green play in high school. It was a beautiful weekend, but I spent a lot … Continue reading →

I know I’m pretty picky about my hamburgers because, well, it’s one of my hobbies. We went back to Yakuza today. Last time we went we had a Kobe beef burger that was a bit bland, but was spiced up with yuzu and koshou. Matty G told me this was one of his favorite flavor pairings, citrus and spicy, but to me it was just two flavors that belonged somewhere else. The spice is for udon and the yuzu is for sukiyaki. I hate to be so picky, but it was like my sister said to me when I mentioned I was at Yakuza, “What, are you white now?” This … Continue reading →

Probably not much because I’ve just spent several hours trying to decrypt my mom’s handwriting so I can figure out what we donated to Goodwill last year. As you can imagine, it’s a bit of a mess. Not only is it in a foreign language, but my mom can’t even read her own writing. Yesterday was my blind panic trying to find all the fiddly slips of paper, and today is decoding some of them. Not all, mind you, since I gave up at some point. Speaking of giving up, WASN’T I SUPPOSED TO BE ASLEEP BY NOW? Time to go lie down and see what my whirligig brain comes … Continue reading →

Here I am, staying up too late. I started out fiddling around with lots of slips of paper, running around trying to figure out where the receipts for my window, insulation, and furnace were and then trying to decode the Goodwill donation notes I have. Half of them are in kanji, thanks to my mom. Ugh. Of course I gave up about an hour ago, but now I’m not sure WHY I’m up. I just am. And when I go to bed my brain will still be going on about something stupid like being being chased by zombies or something. I mean, really, how the hell are zombies even supposed … Continue reading →

It’s all about the waiting today; at least it was a day off for me. I finished part of my plumbing, screwing it up and getting water all over the place at least once, but I was waiting for a laundry faucet to be delivered to George Morlan so I could finish fixing the basement laundry sink. Unfortunately, it didn’t arrive in time so now I have another half-finished project. I wish that was all I screwed up today. At least I went to the gym and was able to come in DFL again.

Every time I think I’m done with painting, I’ll find some flaw that I want to fix. In fact, all I have to do is clean the paintbrushes like I learned in high school building construction (where Mr. Borquist beat it into our heads) and I’ll find lots of spots I need to touch up. I need to keep telling myself that it’s just a closet and it doesn’t need to be perfect. In any case, I finally finished painting (this round anyway) on Saturday. Today I decided I better finish wiring up the light in the alcove (over my bed) and to do some plumbing in the basement so … Continue reading →

Well, I got part of my New Year’s resolution taken care of today. I got my passport card. The picture on it is hideous. I always thought I was better looking than that. Oh, well. My mom thought I wouldn’t get any other St. Valentines Day loot, so she got me a cookie. Better than nothing, I suppose.