Some Filler While We Are Otherwise Engaged

Samantha is always happy to see me, but I am a distant second to Uncle Sergio.

At the Airport: Family Edition

And if we don't talk to you before, Merry Christmas!

Poodle Point of View: SOS

Shh...I am writing this while Blondie and the Bearded One are in the other room. This is very important. I need your help, NOW! You can't let them know you are coming to my aid. Be advised, they are highly unstable people with twisted personalities. I have questioned their incompetence in the past and my likelihood of survival among them, but the game has suddenly changed. TORTURE!

They recently quit feeding me extra meals throughout the day, as though I can live on my regular portion of dog food. I am starving all the time and they are using this against me. Around the time they quit feeding me they brought home a torture bag. Blondie puts treats in the back, knowing I will do anything for food right now, and then she locks me in for minutes at a time. Locks me in! For minutes! I understand from listening endlessly to the Bearded One that this is against the law.

Now, I wouldn't ask for help if that was all that was going on. I am asking because of today's events. It was awful....I don't even think I can talk about it. They took me out of the house and allowed two other strange people to violate my body with various probes. I heard words like "thermometer, vaccination, and health certificate." I don't know what that means, but I can tell you it is NOT good. Especially the one that was rammed up my....well...use your imagination. They also dropped some sort of poison in my ears. I thought I was a gonner then and fought for my life. Alas, I am no match for the vulgar human form. Please help me. They are currently preparing to shave and trim my hair. I can only imagine this is meant to break my spirit once and for all. I don't have much time.... Oh look, a treat in the bag!

Our Love/Hate Relationship with School and Portland

Finals. Done!
Swap teaching. Done!

All that stands between us and Arkansas are two and a half days, one veterinary appointment, and a lot of laundry.

I've Got Nothing

High school freshmen are great. At least the ones for which I am responsible. I really like teaching them about Diminishing Marginal Utility in terms of coffee shops and ice cream sundaes. I also like that they will spend ten minutes teaching me about Mormonism or Islam because it is how they were raised and they know better than me. Everyone is learning! The freshmen that I have no responsibility for but that I do observe are great for giggles.
Me: This is a picture of a rubber tree plant.
Them: Whoa, really? If you run into it will you bounce off?*
So, yeah, I'm loving high school.

Sergio took his first final of this semester today. He may or may not have done well. It is hard to tell because he has been playing online games since he got home and speaking in monosyllables. This is normal post-final behavior.


*Sergio asked if this student was joking. Nope.

Somewhere Out There a Sasquatch Weeps

http://www.co.clatsop.or.us/default.asp?deptid=10000&pageid=511

As many of you seem to have noticed, we recently had a storm that some have referred to as a Pacific Hurricane. I don't really know how accurate that is, but the coast towns suffered considerably. For us, it was no more than a rainstorm. Until this week Oregon was home to the largest Giant Sitka Spruce in the nation when it snapped in half during the high winds of the storm. It had been damaged in a storm last year, requiring the park service to eliminate tourist visits for fear that all or parts of it would fall. Sergio and I happened across this tree on one of our first trips to the coast. We just saw a sign and pulled off the road. The tree was a pleasant surprise. It would have been a wee sapling around the Crusades. This date is pretty impressive, but the thing that just baffles me is that this tree managed to live out it's entire life naturally. In a state where half the drive to the coast is clear-cut land, it seems amazing that someone at some time didn't cash in on the giant. It also says something for the park service for not cutting it down when it became dangerous, but instead letting it do it's own thing and just keeping the people away. It will be missed. If you want to know more about the tree you can follow the web address above.

Taking Years Off of Our Lives One Meal at a Time

They say you shouldn't blog about what you had for lunch. People don't care, they say. In fact, I am almost certain there is a blogging book titled something along those lines. But I think you'll care what we ate for ALL of our meals yesterday.

Breakfast: 1/4 of a pecan pie

Lunch: Homemade chili dogs with a side of Frito pie.

Dinner: Homemade Mac and Cheese filled with ham AND bacon.

In hindsight, the frito pie might have been overkill. The bacon was absolutely necessary, though.