you know that saying...

the one that goes something like, you don't know how much you would miss is until it's gone? well, it's hitting me like a ton of bricks tonight...

Earlier this year, I made the decision to forgo the usual barrage of softball games by limiting to one co-ed and one wmn's team. Decision was partly to recover my sanity from the constant recruiting for female players, and partly to pursue other interests. Perhaps I'm just so used to the barrage of games each week, so now that the weekday schedule is lighter, I feel a little lost. I would hear snippets of other games played by my former team, or other folks participating in tournaments over the weekend. I feel like I'm missing out on all of this activity that I thoroughly enjoy. If it weren't for the constant recruiting needs, heck, I'd still be playing 3-4x a week and I would be perfectly happy with that. I like to play ball - a lot! Not that I'm complaining about finally having my Fridays and weekends free (since basketball is also on Wed now) to do other things, I just feel a little lost, maybe even a little empty. The camaraderie that comes with team sports is like nothing else. Maybe it will come soon enough, but maybe it won't. I guess I just really miss my games, what can I say?

What kind of pie are you?

You Are Pumpkin Pie

You're the perfect combo of uniqueness and quality Those who like you are looking for something (someone!) special

What Kind of Pie Are You?

Toyota FJ Cruiser

You Should Drive a Toyota FJ Cruiser

A true adventurer, you're always up for trying the latest new thing. And you need a car that will take you anywhere, because there are no roads where you're going!

What 2007 Car Should You Drive?

It's a Mal-let Fin-grrrrrrrrrhhhhh!!!!

This is my version

it's when you mess up your finger so badly that you can't bend it, it hurts like hell when you touch it, you can't straighten the damn thing, and have to tape it to do anything beyond scratching your head, oh, and when you catch a ball wrong in your glove, it makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck and you wish you had an axe to cut off the stupid digit..

Here is the official version..

Atop Iron Mountain

Mt. Washington

Mt. Jefferson

Mt. Hood

The Three Sisters & Broken Top

Note to self...

...never move heavy furniture while barefoot...

Geeking out... on flowers

I've been tackling one hike at a time in my "100 Hikes in the Central Oregon Cascades" book.. Aside from the awesome views I've managed to enjoy, I've had the opportunity to ID some of the native flowers that grow in Oregon. As I take more pictures, I'll keep adding them HERE...

• Monkey Flower
• Bleeding Heart
• Smith's Fairybells or Fairy Lanterns
  
• Columbine
• Salmonberry
  
• Wild Camas
• Oregon Iris
• Avalanche Lilly
• False Solomonseal or Star-Flowered Solomonseal
• Skunk Cabbage
• Wood Sorrel or Sourgrass
• Spring Beauty or Candyflower
• Trillium
• Balsam Root
• Larkspur
• Lady Slipper
• Paintbrush
  

Puuuuurrrrty Neat..

Waterfalls

Majestic Falls

Royal Terrace Falls

Upper Kentucky Falls

Lower Kentucky Falls

N. Fork Smith Falls

I almost stepped on the little guy...

near Sweet Creek Falls

the white banana

Though I don't read often, Amy Tan is one of the authors that I have enjoyed reading growing up. Being of Chinese descent, she writes about many things that I can relate to, on a level that most people cannot understand.

The latest "I-can-relate" mention in her book "The Bonesetter's Daughter", was a reference to how the narrator's mother counted with her fingers. The Chinese counting style is by pointing first to one's own baby finger and bending each finger down toward the palm, whereas the American style is to keep fingers open and spread out. It was another one of those things that made me chuckle to myself. It also made me realize that the author must be very observant to pick up these things. Heck, I've never realized that's how my mom counts until the author pointed it out.

it's the weirdest feeling...

Today, I deleted a friend's email address from my address book. It was the strangest feeling to do that. It's not the first time that I deleted an address of someone, usually because I no longer keep in touch with that person. But this was the first time that I deleted an email address because the person had died.

She died in a motorcycle accident. She did all the right things - wore a helmet, and was slowing to a stop at an intersection. It was a big SUV behind her that crushed her up against another SUV in front of her. She didn't have a chance.

I've never had anyone close to me pass away. I have been lucky, I guess. All I keep thinking about is what an exceptional person she was and how much she will be missed. She was about 5'2", skinny but super strong. The license plate on her car was "GI Jane", reflective of her captain status in the Army. She made it through Iraq and came back in one piece, but it irks me that after all that she has accomplished, it was a stupid driver that took her life.

So, yes, I have these mixed feelings about how I should and should not feel. Maybe I am still in shock. I do know, however, that this was just another life taken too soon and for all the wrong reasons.

Born wacky, I guess...

My parents and I live in the same town. Them on the SW end of town and I on the NE end of town. It isn't that I can't stand being around my parents, so I chose to live at the polar opposite end of Eugene - it just happened that the place we have now had the best features. Anyhoo, last night, I decided to pay a visit to my parents. After all, I haven't seen them in several weeks and mom had just returned home from another one of her long business trips.

So upon my arrival, mom is in the office fiddling with her new laptop - I assumed so that she could work on the stuff she brought home from the office again. Dad was migrating between a show on OPB and the kitchen, where he had been installing new kitchen cabinets. I give mom and dad hugs while mom explains that she's having trouble with the laptop. I offer to help troubleshoot the problem and follow mom into the office.

It appeared that the keyboard wasn't functioning correctly - keys weren't assigned correctly so that typing "ABC" came out "q5D". Mom thinks that the problem was because she hadn't installed a new Windows update when prompted early in the week. I run the anti-virus software and fiddle around in the Control Panel looking for the usual suspects. Nothing worked. I tried running the Help Tool for answers, but no luck either since there wasn't a clear index, and I couldn't do a keyword search with a messed up keyboard.

Then I came upon a link to a LiveChat Support. (yes, I realize that my keyboard wasn't working correctly) Hey, why not give it a shot? Mom insists that it's a problem with the Windows update but at the same time, she is snickering at me for trying to chat on that keyboard. I try to type "keyboard not working", hoping that enough letters would show up correctly to get the point across. Instead, it shows up "7ehb*a4d np5 w@%}n'". Yea, good luck with that, I thought. I couldn't even type my name and had to use "Chr!s" as my username to start the chat. I tried typing a simple "help!", but that came out "n#8!". This might be a long night....

As I was thinking this, I can see that the support person was running a remote diagnostic on the laptop. He types : "Press NumLoc"

DOH!

postscript....

Back when I first resurrected this blog, I wrote about the strange phone calls I used to receive at work (see March 2006 entry). A couple of weeks ago, I found out why.....

We were channel surfing at home when a commercial came on about a new medical research study that a local firm was conducting. D had already changed the channel, but I asked him to turn back, out of sheer curiosity. Moments later, there it was..... the great mystery had been solved! A For-More-Info phone number flashed across the screen in giant, white block letters. It just hit me! That phone number was exactly 1 digit off from my old work number. Instead of a 6 in the prefix, it was a 9, which on a phone keypad, one number is immediately above the other... the great mystery has been solved!!!

somewhere along Fall Creek trail...

Nature is cool...


triliumtree frog

I like snow...

snow is pretty...

snow is fun...

but so are horse lips...

Help a teammate!!!

My former teammate/captain Becky broke her leg playing volleyball during the final game of last season. Unfortunately, she does not have medical insurance to cover ambulance costs, sugery, rehab, etc.

Our team has put together a fundraiser for her via Papa's Pizza on Tuesday, February 27. Bring the flyer (above) with your order and Papa's will donate 50% of the food value towards Becky's medical fund.

Or, if you would like to help with a personal donation, please let me know.

Thank you for your help!

I kick ass!!!

Today is January 29, 2007.

My 2006 tax returns are DONE!

I kick ass!!!


Now, about that laundry that's been sitting in the dryer....

Tests, tests, and more tests

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Snow Day

I like snow. I like to play in the snow. I like to make things with snow. Snow is fun.