In History Limbo

Still haven't started my new job.

Not.
Happy.

The process has taken a long, long, historically long time, but the end of the old and the beginning of the new are now in sight.

Although, that's what I thought a month ago, too, so I'm keeping my expectations in check.

Hrrumph.

It's been weird to have short-timers disease for two months, having accepted my new historian position on 2/19. And it will be at least another two and a half weeks before I can make any transition.

In positive news, my new office will be right in NW Portland. It will shorten my 35-minute commute to about 15 minutes. And I can meet friends for lunch, go shopping on breaks and generally be a part of the downtown scene again. And this makes me happy.

The office space is in the basement of Oregon's first theater-pub, opened in 1987. The building itself was constructed in 1912 as the Swedish Evangelical Mission Covenant Church of Portland. I haven't yet heard if there are any ghosts.

Will keep you posted.


  



Historically Good Times Ahead

I have mentioned in previous posts that things are weird for me now, for various issues and concerns that I haven't gone into.

One of those problems has hereby been solved! I got a new job.

Whoop!

It wasn't that I hated my previous position as a marketing writer. It's just that I've been doing it for eight years. The job had evolved, as things tend to do over the course of eight years, to include way more work and no more pay. And it was all becoming rote. My ability to keep things fresh and interesting was slipping and I couldn't rouse the energy to care any longer.

So then a new position within my company came up, and within a couple weeks, BAM, it was mine. Yes.

I am now... (this is the super-cool part)... a historian. I get to record history. For a living.

This company, which deals in hotels, pubs and breweries, is unique to the Pacific NW in that the owners buy up old, historic, run-down properties and turn them into these amazing, colorful places where you can drink house-made beer, wine and spirits, see live music, watch a movie, stay the night in the hotel and more. But before the places open, our lead historian digs into the state archives and records to find out why the building was built, who worked and lived there, what happened to it, what events were held there. He interviews the people who came before us so that everything we do henceforth -- the artwork, the rooms, even the menus, in some cases -- are informed by history. It is meaningful work. And now I get to be involved.

One of my tasks will be coordinating History Pubs, in which we organize speakers to present on some facet of Pacific NW history and guests can come and listen to the program while they eat and drink. So I will get to meet some amazingly interesting people, learn more about the region and hear some wonderful stories. For a living.

Happy.

Oscar Dips

The Oscars are this weekend. They are 2nd-favorite award show (the 1st being the Golden Globes, because the dresses are more out there, people get drunk and no one takes it as seriously as they do the Academy Awards).

However, most important, are the dips.

I love a good dip. Anything creamy, salty, savory that you can dip carrot sticks, celery, crackers, pretzels or chips into. And watching the Oscars requires dips. (And wine and Doritos, but that goes without saying.)

Parmesan Artichoke Dip
Spinach Dip
Seven Layer Dip
Nine Layer Dip
Guacamole
Salsa (technically not a dip, but a condiment)
Tzatziki
Eleven Layer Dip
Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip
Artichoke Jalapeno Dip
Forty-Seven Layer Dip

Basically, anything with a sour cream/cream cheese base will do.

What am I missing? What dips do you recommend?

I'm Back! For Today, Anyway...

Well, there you have it. One month and sixteen days have passed. That was the longest I've gone without writing here since I began, way back in 2006. Someday I'll tell you why, but for now, eff it.

Moving forward.

Here's some stuff that's interesting at the moment. (Note: This stuff is just stuff. There is very, very, very little of anything profound ahead.)



Julep Nail Color in Donna

That there, below, is my eighteenth bottle of blue nail polish. I counted last night. There are eighteen different shades of blue, of course, but still... it's a touch excessive.

I like this one a lot. It's dark, but still manages to be a neutral that goes well with a bunch of different colors.

The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the functionality of the bottle. The shape and weight of it are nice, but then when you actually have to use it, it's tippy. I nearly spilled the entire shebang twice.

I also like this brand because it's based in the Pacific NW, in Seattle. However, at $17 bucks a pop, this will most likely remain my only bottle of the stuff.



Lip balm. As it clearly states above.

This, to the left, is lip balm. I got it in a sample box of other lotions and stuff from a Groupon deal. I like it. It's got a nice vanilla-peppermint scent and feels smooth going on, not at all waxy.

I used to have to have 1,348 lip balms handy and available at all times. I usually opted for Carmex or Chapstick, in the tube. NEVER the little pot -- man, that is so gross. I cannot stand putting my finger into a pot of balm and then transferring whatever nasty junk or germs were on my hand onto my lips. Blech.

Always opt for a tube.

    

Season 11 "Project Runway" cast.

Those people, to the left, are this season's designers on "Project Runway." I have watched this show for many years, but this season is extra-special because one of the designers, Michelle (third from the top left), is from Portland and used to be a co-worker.

Not only does this make it fun to watch, but she's also doing super-well in the competition. So root for her, please. She deserves to win.


*****
OK, that's apprently enough for now, as adding any additional images is causing Blogspot to have some sort of digital nervous breakdown.

More later. Maybe not-that-much-later, maybe another one month and sixteen days. We'll see.

I Resolve: 2013

Happy new year and all of that.

Usually, I look back at the past year's resolutions to determine how I fared. But after a quick glance, it was clear I had fared poorly. I give myself a D-.

So, moving forward.... Here we go, a brand-new list:

1) Cook more.
My mom wasn't a great cook. She made a few dishes extremely well, and others not so much. So instead of using the excuse that "I'm not a great cook," I plan to pick a few dishes and learn to make them really well. Simple stuff, like meatloaf. Meatballs. Salsa. Baked chicken. Mashed potatoes. [Anne, do you have Mom's recipe for meatloaf or meatballs? I need it, please.]

2) Lose the weight (again).
I've been involved in a months-long spate of comfort eating. (See above post re: meat foods.) So I've got 15 extras hanging about the tummyhipsassthighs area. That all needs to go, so I'm getting back on the online Weight Watchers plan in a couple weeks. It's kind of fun and breaks everything down into simple math for you.

3) Cut back on mid-week drinking.
See above. That should help. There's no need to depend on a liquid to get me through life's ups and downs.

4) Continue reading Mom's diaries.
I finally cracked the first one, from 1982, open this past week. In 1982, I was 9 years old, about the same as Finn. Mom was 44, just a few years older than myself. It was heavy reading, though -- turns out my mother, whom I have missed every single day without fail since her death in 2001 -- was human, in all senses of the word. I had forgotten that, and it is hard to be reminded of it.

5) Slow down at home.
My boys (ages 8 and 2) are at two very differently needy stages. But they both literally want to be on me, physically on me, the second I walk in the door -- they want to wrestle, snuggle, touch my face, pull my hair.... They fight over me. ("She MY mama!" -- "NO SHE'S NOT, I WAS HERE FIRST!") Some days I love it, some days, I am really, really annoyed by it. I am going to make an effort to enjoy it more, as it will shortly go away and I will be sad.

6) Read better books.
Along with the comfort food and perhaps too much drinking, I spent a year reading utter crap. I won't say that I didn't enjoy the hell out of those mass market paperbacks (romance novels), because I did. I admire any writer who has published anything and some of it is fantastic writing packaged in a cheesy way. Having said that, it's time for me to read better stuff. So far, I've read Bel Canto by Ann Patchett and Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. The first, I loved; the second just made me anxious and teary. Next up: Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin or The Keep by Jennifer Egan. All book suggestions are welcome.

7) Keep running. 
This is a separate goal from #2 above. Sure, it should help with that, but I do it for different reasons. Apart from the healthy-heart cardio effects, it has an incredible, tangible effect on my mood. I am happier. I feel better able to handle problems. I am less down, more up. Again, these are not groundbreaking observations. But as I creep toward middle age, I am gaining a sparkling clarity of how my body and mind interact.

I'm going to leave it there. That seems like enough. To all my friends, family and people out there who come back to this place once in awhile to see what blahblahblah may have spilled out of my mind, I give thanks for you.

Here's to 2013.

The Something-Elses

Along with the much-ballyhooed fun and festivities of Christmas Day -- both boys (ages 2 and 8) believe very strongly in Santa -- I have four something-elses to look forward to in the coming days.

1) The day after Christmas, I am high-tailing it to the Oregon coast for some solo decompression. First stop, Astoria. Second stop, Gearhart. During these 48 people-free hours, the plan is to read, read and read. Specifically, I'll finally be cracking open my mom's diaries. I've had them for 12 years since her death, but have been unable to actually read them. It's high time to do so, so I hope to take in her words, laugh, cry, know her better as a woman and share her thoughts with my three brothers, one brother-in-law, one sister and three sisters-in-law. Getting through her diaries is something I'm both anticipating and dreading. I realize I may very well learn some things about her, my dad and their relationship that I wish I hadn't, but it's OK. It will help me understand who she was, and probably better understand the woman I am. And if that gets too heavy, I'm also bringing along my 500-page single-spaced journal that I kept during the year I lived in Ireland, to remember what I was like when I was 26. 

2) Day three and four after Christmas, I'm heading back into Portland where Jon will meet me downtown to stay in two nice hotels. My Christmas gift from him, at my bequest, is a dinner-and-a-movie date. We hope to see Silver Linings Playbook and/or This is 40. And have a cocktail or two.

3) Fast forward to January 11. I will be boarding a plane, hopefully along with one of my best friends, to meet my sister in Chicago. Even the idea of being on a plane, without kids (sorry, kids, love you!), is just the very essence of exciting at the moment. Sure, we have to get to the airport at 5:30am. Sure, we're going to be packed in like cattle, flying into one of the nation's busiest airports in the middle of winter. Don't care. I can't wait. And once there, after spending the first evening with my three nieces and bro-in-law, we'll have a couple days to hang out at the pool, explore the city and do nothing but drink, eat and chat. But we're also meeting some new Irish cousins -- my dad's cousin's kids -- and their families, which is a pretty cool thing. Their dad, Ed McManus, was the lone Irish representative at my parents' wedding in 1961.

4) Home from Chicago on January 15, just in time for my milestone 40th birthday on January 16. I usually love my birthday, although I will admit that this one is throwing me for a loop. The par-for-the-course what-have-I-accomplished? kind of stuff. It's cool, I trust myself not to squander my time in the years ahead. Take it all day by day, and all that jazz. Bleh.

Stupid Vodka

I saw this on Facebook and watched it with the sound off, because I'm at work.

This made me very, very happy. Because it's so wonderfully stupid.

1) Stupid hairdo.
2) Stupid vodka-commercial acting.
3) Stupid premise. Feathers in your drinks, people. C'mon.
4) Stupid impromptu lakeside twirl in dirty sand.

Maybe it's supposed to be ironic? I don't know, since I still have the volume turned off. I do like that they're day drinking, though. Those crazy rich kids of all colors, drinking in broad daylight.

Oh jeebus, it's for whipped cream-flavored vodka. No, it's not ironic then. Just stupid.