A few more dollars poorer and a few more cups of coffee richer, these winter days continue to get darker and darker. Faster and faster. But there is sunshine on the way. Coming from all directions. Particularly the southeast.
I can't seem to find the keys to the mailbox. Woof. Kathy is going to ring my neck! O well.
I think the people at Springfield Lutheran Church are begninning to accept meinself. And I them.

I hit mein head on the cabinent at Kathy's mom's house yesterday. You can kinda see the bump on my forehead. Observe.

What I like about Eugene...

Sun breaking through the clouds

Sea Lion cavessss...

The other day during the storm there were 30-45 foot swells coming into shore. That's real big. People from Australia and New Zealand flew in to simply surf these babies. This foto was taken on a clear sunny day at the caves. I can only imagine the Sea Lions going bananas with those waves. I bet they had way more fun than the surfers.

I LOVE the rain!

Last night I played for a very few rich and "important" people at this lady's house in Eugene. Some singers from the Opera Workshop sang, I played for them, then we had free food and white wine. O and we were told to shmooze with the debutantes. The president of the University of Oregon can put away some wine, let me tell you. And as for my friend Rodrigo, he can put away the meatballs. I exaggerate not when I say he ate at least 25 meatballs. Bleck! At first i didn't want to play for this event, I got wrangled into it in the first place. But! At least I was dry and warm and well fed. Ah, Eugene. You have such splended weather. Today is 100% chance of rain (tonight too) and winds up to 50 miles an hour. A friend told me that on the coast the winds were getting up to 100 mph. That's 100 Miles Per Hour! Speaking of the coast...here is a link to a video that was shot about 50 miles down the road from Eugene in Florence. This might give you a sneakpeak at an Oregonian accent and how smart Oregonians are. (I say this sarcastically sarcastic, I think Oregonians are pretty smart, but weird to a degree)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtVSzU20ZGk

I just finished an excellent burrito to end an excellent fall term. Have you ever had mexican grey squash? Not bad. And you can't forget the Breyer's vanilla that i forgot about in the freezer. Ja! for icecream. It is very cold here in Eugene. And it gets light in the morning around 7:30 and gets dark around noon. I'm exagerrating but not by much. My friend Tyler, from NC, and I agree: it's a downer having so much darkness. But we also agree that the greeness of the area and positive happy feelings coming from people make up for the cold and dark. Plus, you get to eat dinner earlier.

For anyone I haven't told yet...I'm get to go home to georgia! I'll be there from the 10th to the 14th. Dan, put on your walking shoes!

My post-breakfast bowl of cereal (the one after I eat my real breakfast) is called Curves! What?!?! I bought it because it is the only $1.50 cereal out there. Not to shabby though.

Now, I am homesick. Woof.

After a long phone conversation I feel very good,at ease, warm, renewed and nostalgic for sure, also sad, happy, and a little older actually.

My ride back to Eugene was good. 8 hrs on the dotskie. I was accompanied by Ray (a girl) and Amir (an Israeli tourist). Both were very cool individuals. I'm happy to be back in Eugene.

We been playin on da compooter

Safely to the Bay

Well I've made it! I'm in San Franciskie at cousin Brandon and Amanda's apartment. My trip down was made very nice/interesting by 3 ridesharers: Rick, Jamie, and Ko. Rick and Jamie are a couple from Martha's Vineyard Island of the coast of Massachusetts. Ko is a landscaper who lives in Berkeley but went to the U of O for a couple of years. Ko was by far the coolest of us all. I came in last. Rick and Jamie are true hippies fully equipped with braided beard and soaked tofu slices that they shared with Ko and me. Rick and Jamie actually spent the night on Kathy's futon in Eugene. Poor train scheduling made it so...so we picked up Ko at 9 am from the Wandering Goat and made our way. There was much talk about Amma an Indian spiritual master who Rick and Jamie were going to see here in San Ramon. For more information visit amma.org She has hugged over 25,000,000 people. What?!?!?!?! Anyhow, Ko had spent a year in India and had heard of her as well. I was unaware that she probably will win the nobel peace prize sooner or later. A good trip down. Mt. Shasta was to die for also.

Ko made a great comment about some rolling hills that we saw on the way over on 80. He said that they looked like people laying down under sheets. And indeed they did! An interesting charater this Ko. A very cool dude.

When Rick and Jamie spent the night i made steel cut oats this morning for all of us and some great Jittery Joe's coffee that Ben and Katie blessed me with. Tonight, Amanda made a delectible chicken/gnocchi dish with salad and onions...mmmmm. Tomorrow be thanksgiving!! And in the Bay is a good place to be right now. Sunshine predicted with cool temps. Not to cool, though.

I need a kayak to get out of our apartment complex to the sidewalk.

Everything is nice when you are healthy. I had/have tendonitis in both of my wrists but it hasn't acted up in a while. Maybe i'm not practicing enough? NOT! I doubt it. Tomorrow evening is the Opera Theatre concert. I'm pretty indifferent about it. I'm just pumped about playing in the nice hall on the nice piano. And what a nice piano it is. It's like a Lamborghini of pianos. It's a nice instrument. $135,000. Would I ever spend that much money on a piano? You ask? No, i would not. But i would play on one.

This coming week i'm off to SFO to see cousin Brandon. Let's hope Maw Maw's dressing turns out okay. If not, no problem. There is speak of visiting some vineyards. I have two riders that are coming with me on the way down. It will be nice to have some company and folks to help out with ga$. Bagels from the humble bagel never cease to amaze. It's nice and wet here.

May the new year bring much rain and happiness!

I come to the Northwest and the only brave armpit-hair wearing folks i've found thus far are a trio of asian swimmers today. They infiltrated my lane but i willingly moved over one lane in honor of their hairy pits!

I went to buy deodorant and toothpaste today...More and more i realize (slowly) how important balance is. And just relaxing and having fun.

Hello All,

I had an utmost blog-a-licious day. Week for that matter. Lots going on. This morning i went to the EWEB child development center where i had a working interview. I am applying to be the kids music appreciation teacher. I entered into the toddler room with my guitar. (i had to take off my shoes first). Then sat down and asked how everyone was and got a number of different answers: crying, people turning their heads the other way, and even big googly eyes. I figured i knew just what they needed. My first song was "Little Surfer Girl" by the Beach Boys. It went over well. I moved on to some Wilco, Johnny Cash and then Mazzy Star. I even played one of my songs. They dug it. I was happy to be there. Alex, one of the kids, motioned that he wanted to play some. So he strummed some chords to tickle his fancy. Then I moved on to the Kindergarten room where i tried to play some rhythm games. They questioned a lot. I survived. Barely.


Then, I went over to the Catholic Services food pantry off Van Buren and 7th where have begun to volunteer and give out food to the folks who need it. They sure an energetic bunch of people. Not to mention the workers. I also got to speak a bit of spanish which was nice. Many-a-family from México and some from Guatemala. I asked if they like Eugene. Most of them just shook their head no. Something about the weather not being similar to México's. Got me. I also heard from some belovéd relatives too!

Todo bien por acá. Todo traquilo. Tuve una semana loquísima. Tenía que recuperar todo porque falté mucho el finde pasado con la visita de mi mamá. Pero igual. Todo bien. Está muy nublado en estos dias. Lloviendo mucho. Me gusta. Pero ahora estoy cansado...muy cansado. I'm tired. Mañana es otro dia. Tomorrow is another day!

My hands get puffy when i practice alot. But i can sure move my little digits like white lighting. My hernia is getting bigger by the minute. Luckily I am now gainfully employed!!! I got the job at Springfield Lutheran Church. O and I shaved my beard in case anyone was wondering.

I'm going to San Francicsco for Thanksgiving. Counting the days. And! A favorite band of mine is playing right down the street from my cousin, whom i will be staying with. They are called Band of Horses. We must go see them. I got $20 bucks tonight for sightreading for 30 minutes. That twenty bucks quickly translated into 2 ice creams and some beer. But there is still some leftover. Don't you go thinking that i spent it all.

Momma came to visit!!!!!

Not that this is new news or anything, but...I'm very lucky to have the family and friends that I do.

Lost and Found (sorta)

Well, I got my phone and wallet stolen today by some punks. Yes, some punks. I was pretty angry about it because they came in the school of music and left in a jiffy. I just went to the bathroom for about 2 minutes and when i came back to my practice room my backpack was gone (along with my phone and wallet). So i scurried around upstairs looking for my things in other practice rooms imagining that someone was playing a cruel joke on me. But didn't have any luck. So...i went down to the front desk and called public safety and let them know about it. Meanwhile, Jim, the receptionist at the school of music brought me over to the surveilance cameras where we were able to see the guys who took my stuff. Well, it turns out that they ditched my bag down a back stairwell and made off clean (or so it seemed) with my wallet and phone. Punks. But! we were able to see them on the camera. But that was about it. Thankfully i had just stowed away a ten-spot that i had made earlier from accompanying Alli Bach in a voice rehearsal. Thanks Alli! Anyhow...I went down to café roma and ate a cookie and talked with a spanish tutor of a friend. I mean, what else was I supposed to do? Right? I at least had my bag with books etc...and they didn't even take my ipod. Dolts. So i cancelled cards etc... as well. The rest of my day was spent practicing and just practicing some more.

My initial response to this whole thing was "Aww man, i want to hurt these people! Aww, man!" I knew it happened for a reason (as i believe all things do). So tonight before i went to bed I asked my roomate if I could use her phone to try calling my phone. So she did and I did. And....someone with a really scraggly voice answered who spoke in brief sentences. I immediately said "Please give me my wallet and phone back"
"I don't have your wallet, i bought your phone for $30" - sketchy voice, he continued "i'll give it back for $30"
Me - "Why in the world would i pay $30 for MY phone, i want it back, who did you buy it from? tell them i want my wallet back"
Sketchy guy - "I'm not gonna snitch! You're not a punk and i'm not a cheat. Meet me at the Fred Meyer's off River Road and i'll get you your phone back"
Me - "What?!?!?! I'm not gonna buy my..."
Kathy - "Say yes. At least you won't have to buy another phone and you'll have all your numbers."
Me to myself "Hmmm...you're very right. And being peaceful about it is a good thing to do"
Kathy - "Let's go."
Me - "Right on."

So we arrived at the Fred Meyer's after Kathy spotted me $30 from an ATM. And then called the guy who said that he was actually at the Albertson's across the street. So we went over there. I got out and proceeded to where the coke machines were and the sketchy guy standeth. I ask if i just called him and begins to say.

"Come over here...CANCEL YOUR CARDS and give me fourty dollars and i'll give you your phone."

Me- "No! I already cancelled my cards and all i have is $30."
Sketchy guy - "Ok."

I now have my phone.

Me - "If you see the guy you bought the phone from tell him that I would really like my IDs back."
Sketchy guy, really drunk acutally "Cancel your shit man, i know these people, they ruin people's credit"
Me - "I believe you."
SG - "If you take me down to Washington-Jefferson Park I can get you your stuff back, cause i think you're and okay guy. These are my group of people that have your things."
Me - "I'm kindof scared when you said that they will mess me up." (eventually) "OK."

So he gets in my car and off we go to the park where Kathy and I wait in the car while he (donny) goes to bicker with his friends to try to get my stuff back. He jets off on a bicycle and returns after a few minutes with a beer in hand. "I have to call him because he's not here." He calls him and no answer. So...we take him back to Fred Meyer and he says to me that he will get me my "shit" because he knows what it's like to lose your stuff. He told us stories of how his girlfriend doesn't let him sleep at home anymore and that his nephew just died in a house fire. Rough life.

So, I gave him my number which used to be his number which used to be my number. And so I hope to hear from him tomorrow. I have his girlfriend's number. So things are looking up. I could care less about the $30 and the cash that i had in my wallet.

I learned, though, that being peaceful and honest with people works. My first intention was to lay the smack down, when in reality i probably would have never gotten anywhere with that. But now look at me, i gots my phone back and maybe my ID.

Who am i kidding? I was really luck to get my phone back and would be infinitely lucky to get my ID. I shall keep ya'll posted.

Thanks for reading!

Dear Peoples,

Some "dude" looking people stole my wallet and cell phone today out of a practice room while i went to the bafwoom. So....

I will keep ja posted as to a new phone number possibly. And i will post also the Wienermobile picture that I saw on interstate 5 this weekend.

Rice

In a moment of clarity this evening, while i was playing a Bach slow movement, I thought to myself...

"It's just music, and I GET to play it. It's NOT life or death. It's a privlege to get to spend time making music/do something you enjoy. And you SHOULD enjoy it."

Some people take it sooo personal if you play wrong notes or uneven phrases or what not. The matter of the fact is that it ain't too shabby to study something that is not a matter of life and death. My shoulders got a good bit looser when i realized that. Then...I stopped practicing for the night and came home to make some rice.

A shot of me after i got my bike back from the repair man. sort of.

Well, my bike (Petuna) is better now. I called up a friend of a friend who runs a bike repair shop...on wheels. He comes to your house and then swings open the back of his what-seems-to-be-converted-icecream-truck and mounts your injured bike inside. And he's cheap too! Kinks Bikes is the name of his company. I wanted to tip him but he refused! What a guy. He drove 25 miles from Brownsville down to Eugene just for my bike. He got to have a cupcake that was leftover from my roomate's bake sale products (for the UO club swim team). And now my bike is ready to go. And it's looking like the rain might hold off a bit this week too! Por favor! And I am proud to say that I matched the number of friends of my roomate with the number of friends of mine at a wine and cheese gathering held here last night. Its good to be around people. Too much practice = too much practice (not enough LIFE).

Burn fat, Not oil

(a sticker i saw on a bike this morning)

Balance

It is 11 oclock and i actually have energy. And i think i know why...because i did stuff outside of the music school! Well first I went home to gather my things and then drove over to Springfield down Mill to the Salvation Army where i volunteer for FOOD for Lane County. There I served biscuits, gravy, mashed potatoes, and pork chops. Then washed dishes a plenty. Such a good time to be had. Good people too. Although, i don't think that enough adults eat their salad. What's up with that? Then I went down the road a bit to Springfield Lutheran church where i had an interview to be their accompanist/pianist/organist/janitor. But the janitor part is negotiable. jk lol! the interview went wonderfully. Such good down to earth people, i tell you. Then i went to the school of music and played for about a little less than an hour. Then i went to a great ice cream joint called Prince Pucklers. D-lish. Now i am eating supper. And i didn't even spoil my apetite with the large helping of cookie dough ice cream. Thankfully, Miss Celia's husband, David, does NOT have a cancerous tumor on his spine. YAY! It was a scare. I think also what made my day a good bit better than the others this week is that I had a cup of coffee from Cafe Roma off 13th next to campus. Their coffee is like crack (or so i'm told). It makes you feel really good, and all you need is the $1 small and you're good to go. I had one at 12:30 p.m. and i'm still feeling the effects i think. Anyhow, I hope all is well with you. If you're reading this then I miss you very much, unless you are someone that I don't know of course.

O and i cut my hair. You can't see it but don't worry...I still have a long skankified mullet. May the opera director ever wish that I cut it!

How in the world?

How on earth did I end up in Oregon? (I ask myself) I mean, I like it alot, but it's weird how you get caught up in things and don't even remember how you got there in the first place. Aha! I found a pencil on the desk to my right. I think Tim Mcintosh is a'coming this weekend for hanging out and food. Groovy.

Me looking real skanky holding my popped thera-band. There are a lot of people in gradschool who talk like they are saying something really profound. Lord help me not to go there! I don't have a clue. And (maybe they don't either?)

It is legal to walk around topless in eugene. (the downtown area)

Unexpected Visitor: Part Tres

Together with the sun coming out today, my hernia decided to make a cameo appearance. It's back! (i think)

Updates:

-My bike has had three flats in the past two weeks due to glass punctures ;(
-My theraband snapped in half, but never fear for the health center here had a huge roll and sold me a nice long one for $3.60
-I think i'm getting better at the piano
-There are alot of professors at the school of music having babies, I'm told this is because the days are really short in the winter (sun doesn't come up until around 8 or so and it's dark by 4:15 p.m.)
-The opera director at school told me in a round'a bout way "Shave your beard, cut your hair, and wear a tie and nice clothes." I could use a trimskie but I think the tie may be going overboard. He's twice-and-a-half my age for crying out loud. And we're in Eugene for pete's sake, laid back capital of the world. But don't get me wrong. I really like the guy.
-Making friends

Eugene

Columbia River Gorge

Spwash!

Grand Canyon of dee ol' yellerstone

shake it fast. show me what you are working with, sir.

Baaaaaaaaaadlands...

Lake Jellystone...i mean yellowstone

River in da yellerstone

smoky

care for some bubbly?

My new piano instructor

If i had to compare Eugene with athens, i would call it one big Normaltown. With more meth addicts, though. It's nice though, don't you get me wrong. Lovely, really. I hikied up Spencer's butte the other day after day two of operation clean-the-heck-out-of-the-apartment. It is becoming more liveable. However, i'm not really supposed to be living here yet it turns out. I had to apply for renting here (which i have just done) and then be accepted to live here (which i haven't been) before i acutally live here (which i am doing). But it seems that people in Eugene don't seem to care too much about anything except politics and the environment to notice that I am squatting on this fine piece of stained carpet! Ha! I am excited, though, about, going to shop at a very, very, cheap store for groceries called WINCO (washington, idaho, nevada, california, oregon). I'm told it's like shopping at walmart without shopping at walmart. hmmm...I happened to obtain a fancy new (very old) desk out on the sidewalk the other day that is serving me very well. Hopefully i won't be evicted for to have to move it again!

Mt. Dickerman

Yesterday my friend's (Nick) friend, Ed, and now my friend, and I decided to go for a hike while 'ol Nick had to go to work. We ate Subway first. I was a little hesitant about taking Albert, my car. But he did us very proud. We made it Granite Falls just north of Bothell where Nick lives. Stopped off at the Ranger station and then decided on the Mt. Dickerman trail. "An eight-mile, steep hike" we thought. Otay. It said that we were gonna gain 3500 feet over those 4 miles going up. And we did, sho nough. So we started hiking, but not before i used the bathroom next to the trailhead that had bullet holes in the door. And when i was taking too long in the boys room, Ed decided to throw some stones at the door which sounded like bullets and well...i was scared. The hike was georgousnessity. Big old growth tress all about. Ferns. Then after about the 2509348th switch back we were thinking the summit was near. No. We came upon this guy who seemed to be stopping every 2 or 3 switchbacks to take a breather. Looked like he was in rough shape, but he had a lot of water, which we didn't. And then we reached what we thought was near the top but it turned out we had about another mile or so, straight uphill. But there were some nice wild blueberries to help. And a crazy lady who apparently hiked all the way up there just to get the berries. But she had hiking poles. Then we reached the top and a 360 view of er'thang. Mt. Rainier, Mt. Baker, and much much more. Here are some pix. I am very sore today.

Coastin' in

Seattle. What a beaut. I've made it here to my friend Nick's apt. The ol' Passat is still truckin'. Barely. It quit on me a couple of times when i pulled in to fill up but when i reached speeds exceeding 1238u75128345 miles an hour...well, it runs just fine. I have faith that it will make it to dear Eugene. This country is big. Especially when you go across diagonal. Well, the porkchops are finished it sounds like. Dinna time.

Bozeman

Well i got to see a lot thus far. Memphis, Nebraska (the Edigers), Badlands, Mount Rushmore, the Black Hills, YELLOWSTONE, and now...Bozeman, MT. I do like it. It's nice and cool (round 65 i s'pect). Despite what people tell you: Mount Rushmore ain't that big, Yellowstone is worth it. Big time. And Montana is beautiful. i would post pictures but i have seem to left my cable for my camera in argentina. Woopsy. I was a little pleased and perturbed when i ran out of batteries though in Jellystone. It felt like i was just skipping along trying to snap the coolest fotos and not really focused on the beautie of that park. My goodness! It's really amazing. And huge. So much to see. It's a shame that they let so many cars in there (including mine). Which, i must say, has made it to Bozeman from Georgia with the check engine light shining bright. (i won't say anything else because it will probably break down the second i do). I think the Black Hills deserve a little more respect too. They have their own beauty that isn't so big as Yellowstone or the Rockies but they do have killer trees and nice camping. Which i was happy to take part in. And it took me quite a while at 6 in the morning to get the courage to jump into the lake by which i slept. Something about still black water. But i did it. Buffalo are bigger than you think also.

And I'm off! (sorta)

After a long and drawn out 'goodbye' to Athens and few certain people, I left with big puffy eyes that couldn't stop crying. But...I made it! Sans airconditiong all the way to birmingham. But not before I happen to fix my eyes on my "check engine" light around the GA/AL border. It came on. Blast! So I went to an Autozone and got the skinny. I gots a cylinder that is misfiring. Yep that's right. I hope to get this resolved pretty soon. Tomorrow is the earliest it could happen though. O well. It be HOTTTTTTTT down here.

All done...

Well, i had my surgery today. It was fine. What a baby I am when it comes to needles and stuff. My nurse, Joanne, was very chévere and talkative. We got to converse in spanish some too. She kept insisting that i get a girlfriend that is a Latino. Ja.
Whatev. I'm pretty loopy and tired right now because i'm taking loratabs. The operating room was extremely cold. When they got me in there i scooted to another table and then they put my arms out and put warm blankets on them. Then came the anesthesia. It felt like someone was turning the volume down and everything started to go numb. Then i woke up and was in recovery dining on saltines and graham crackers and sprite and water. D-lish. Now my stomach doesn't really hurt that bad. It just feels like i did a hundred sit-ups and then someone pulled out a part of my flesh and snipped it with some scissors. I guess that's what happened except the part about the sit-ups.

The Last Run

Well...it's still hot. It's ten a.m. and 94 degrees outside. I went for my last run on the eastern seaboard today. At least for a while. It was a hot one. My hernia will be repaired tomorrow, but i'm not sure when tomorrow. Dan, the older guy I live with, has the most glorious whistle. It's just lovely. He's got nice vibrato and a really pure tone to it. It's quite astonishing how clean it sounds. He likes to whistle hymns to himself and improvise upon them sometimes. It's charming. He just told me he would go out for a bike ride but then he went out on the front porch when he found that it was "just sweltering out on this front porch." As for me, i'm fixin to eat some break-t and head to the grocery store to cool off. Kroger knows how to keep it cool and the electricity bill high.

peace

Hot and August

I love the Georgia humidity. You walk down about a 1/10 of a mile even after the sun has gone down and it begins. Sweatie. Lots of it. It beads up and then drips and sometimes just sits there on your neck or oozes out of your armpits. Maybe you'll have a little droplet hanging off of your nose that you can blow off or have a friend point out to you. We can't escape it. I wonder how bad it would smell if you took everyone's clothes and put them in a big sweaty pile after a long summer day. mmmmmmmmm....

It's a...blog!

Hello,

This will be mine blog if you wish to find out about my goings-on. I'm fixing to move to Eugene, OR in a couple of weeks, but not before I get my belovéd hernia repaired. "Hernia repair is surgery to correct a hernia. A hernia is an abnormal bulging of internal organs, often the intestine, through a weakness in a muscular wall." Sounds fun huh? I'm dreading it for I won't be able to run or swim for three to four semanas! Cagado! But...i guess i won't have a hernia anymore. I'm gonna miss the little guy. He's fun to poke at and go on walks with. He told me a real funny joke the other day but i shant tell you. It's kinda crude. All i'll say is that it includes green tomatoes. I just ran 9 miles this morning and ate out with my gooood friend Matt. It were good. Ahh the internet...whooda thought?

I'm eating a Riesen candy..mmmmmmmmmmmmm.....