storm's brewing...

i'm getting excited... we've got a huge storm rolling in later this afternoon/tonight which is supposed to kick up some seriously large swell for tomorrow. my mom is graciously allowing me to borrow her van tomorrow afternoon, so i should be able to get some surfing in for the first time in a looong time. i'm almost antsy with anticipation. let me offer this piece of advice: don't ever learn to surf. not because it isn't fun, or thrilling, or exhilarating, or even a spiritual experience, because it is all of those and more... but it's also incredibly addictive. i'm not even very good at surfing, but it's still managed to sink it's enticing lures into my dreams and desires. it's like that verse in song of solomon that recommends to "not arouse or awaken love until it so desires." don't ever start surfing unless you can keep doing it with something bordering on regularity. that's my word of wisdom for the day

my roommate and i went kayaking almost every day after work this week. the weather was great, and we were trying to take advantage of the last week before the time change (sidenote: is daylight savings time beginning or ending? and why do we still observe this arcane practice of screwing with our sleep schedules twice a year? i think the whole thing is rediculous). yesterday we kayaked down the spurwink river and out beyond the mouth to a small little island which lay a little ways out in the ocean. it was gorgeous... we saw several great blue herons, countless ducks and other assorted waterfowl, and one fairly gregarious harbor seal. but the best sight of all was the sunset... oh sweet heavens. watching the sun set over the land from the ocean was a perfect capstone to a great day and a superb week. adding to the specialness of the event was the knowledge that it would probably be our last time out kayaking this year... the water is getting a little cold to be safely paddling without wetsuits, and the shortening of the afternoon daylight hours available means that our almost ritualistic post-work paddles won't be possible anymore. ah well... it's been a great run

every time i'm in the portland public library (which i am right now), there's a slightly eccentric person who sits at the same table and has this enormous stamp collection that he appears to be sorting through. i'm not sure what he does with his stamps exactly... he appears to just be arranging and rearranging them into giant squares of stamps. intriguing.

i FINALLY got my "official" uniforms for work earlier this week. i was pretty stoked... right up until i put the pants on. they fit o.k., but they feel like they were made from inexpensive burlap. not even nice burlap, but really crappy, junky, scruffy burlap. the kind that chafes your thighs when you walk, which is exactly what the pants did to me. the first day wasn't too bad, but the next day it started to get downright painful to walk. so i said to myself, "forget this, i'm not wearing the worst pair of pants in the history of the world even if someone else does wash them for me," and went home and changed into my own pants. much better. i plan on never wearing the pants from hades ever again if it can be helped

i was actually getting resentful about the pants. i kept thinking to myself, "after all the hard work i do and have done, this is the reward i get? the worst pants ever? gee, thanks for nothing." then i realized the trap i was falling into... should i necessarily expect free pants? no, i suppose not. but because they were provided, i automatically assumed that i then had a right to free pants. and from that position, i leaped to the assumption that i was due not only free pants, but free pants that were comfortable to wear. if all i had been told was that i would be getting some shirts, a sweater, a few t-shirts and a jacket, would i have been happy? no... i would have been thrilled to death. so perhaps my attitude shouldn't be one of discontent because the pants are horrible, but one of thankfulness that i even got pants at all, not to mention some other assorted items of clothing


it's all about perspective. and, admittedly, i usually look at things the wrong way. but i'm trying to change that.



"never look a gift horse in the mouth?" too arcane and outdated. thus i propose the following in it's place: "don't expect free pants to fit."