Waking up from a long slumber

Life had gotten boring. I didn't realize how boring until things turned around. And when it turned, it turned dramatically.

I'm not quite sure where to begin. A big project at work has resulted in long days and long weeks. And it the midst of all that, I almost moved to Portland. Twice.

There are many things about the prospect of becoming a commuter and the living arrangements being considered that were a cause for concern. I didn't know if my old truck could take a 90-mile round trip every day. Plus, I've lived alone for 5 years, and I came very close to becoming the roommate of my two young nieces and their mother in a two bedroom apartment.

It would have been a major lifestyle change. And I have to admit, I was excited about it. Most of my friends who live anywhere close live and work in the greater Portland area.

Unfortunately, the move fell through, not once but twice. But the prospect of the move got me excited again. It got me looking forward to a new life. The project at work, the launch of a new website, though taxing and sometimes frustrating, also revitalized me.

The pace of life accelerated rapidly. I now realized I had not been moving toward or working toward anything in some time. I'd merely been hanging on and trying to get by. That's no way to live.

I don't know yet what that next goal, that next objective is, or even what the next project might be. But I know I need to have something to work toward, to climb for, rather than hanging here trying to maintain a grip on a life that is not all I want and need it to be.

Spring in Salem

Every year, I seem to miss the peak of the spring cherry blossoms on the Capitol Mall. Either the weather's not right, or about the time the trees are reaching optimum bloom, we get rain and the blossoms are decimated by a spring storm. But this year, I timed it right.

Last week, the weather was great on Monday. The skies were clear and blue and I ventured down to the Oregon Capitol, which is only about a mile or so from where I work, to get some pictures. I wish I had borrowed a camera from work, but got a few pictures I liked anyway.

By midweek, the weather turned gray and rainy and conditions have not been as good since.

Timing is everything, particularly with photography. You have to be in the right place at the right time. There's only one right time around here every year. I think I got the timing just about right.

We now return to our previously schedule clouds, rain and gray-skied gloom.

She was my first, but I'm starting to see the light

We've been together a long time. We've covered a lot of ground together. I wasn't sure our relationship would last this long. Family and friends tell me I need to move on. But it's not that easy.

When we met, I'd only been in California a few months. She helped me get through my first long hot summer in the Mojave. We've been together ever since that July day in 1995. I was only 29 then. And, well, she was my first.

She was the first, and only, car I've ever bought new.

Well, actually she's a truck. A 1995 Dodge Dakota.

I traded in a car I loved, a 1988 Honda Prelude, for her. But the Honda didn't adapt too well to life in Southern California. Someone punched the lock and stole some stuff out of it. But that wasn't enough to jilt her. The real reason for the breakup was that she didn't come equipped with air conditioning. That hadn't been an issue when I was in college in Corvallis. It wasn't even much of a problem during summers in Eastern Oregon. It certainly was not a problem on the Oregon Coast. But in the Mojave, where, if memory serves, every day in July that summer was hotter than 110 degrees, it was a different story. No air conditioning was definitely a problem.

So I traded her in. I decided to get a pickup, because I was a long way from home, family and friends and didn't know many people in town yet. My dad always had pickups I could borrow. I had a Toyota pickup part of the time through college. I might need a truck in California.

As it turned out in the nearly 14 years since, I haven't really needed a truck all that often. But I still have her, and she's taken good care of me over the years. There have been a few bangs and scrapes with inanimate objects. And one little fender bender when I couldn't quite manage the clutch and brake fast enough at a stoplight. Not bad for nearly a decade and a half.

When I moved back to Oregon in 2005 I thought maybe that might be our last summer together. But there was really no room in the budget for a car payment, so we've stayed together. The relationship was strained when gas got up in the $4 a gallon territory. When I first bought her I could fill her up for about $15. At one point last year it cost about $75. That kept both of us close to home on weekends.

The truth is, she doesn't get all the attention she deserves because money has been tight. The new tires she got late last year weren't really in the budget either. But she and I were both glad she had them when she we needed to navigate snowy roads in December in and around Portland and Salem. The guy at Les Schwab warned me that the brakes were showing wear too, but I knew I couldn't afford that bill with Christmas coming.

But we may not be able to wait any longer. A couple of warning lights popped up on the dash yesterday. The ABS and brake lights are on, glowing steady, and I can feel the mushiness in the brakes. I am nursing them all I can, but I know there is a trip to the brake shop in my immediate future.

Tires, brakes. That's stuff that need to be replaced from time to time. But that's not the only trouble she's seen lately. Last year after watching my daughter play in the state golf tournament she refused to start. Her battery cracked and the acid damaged the cables and some parts in the engine compartment. She had to be towed to a repair shop. It was the second time she'd been in for repairs since we got to Oregon. She needs other work too. She needs shocks. The windshield has a nasty crack. She leaks oil.

And the odometer reads more than 130,000 miles. Not bad, given her age. But I'm not certain how many miles she really has left.

I never thought she'd carry me this far. Or this long. She's been a loyal and trusted companion. I'll miss her when she's gone. And I'll miss not having car payments. But I won't miss the repair bills. I guess I know where my tax refund is going this year.

Thanks to a stranger of the giving kind

A woman I had never met, who's name I do not know, gave me an early holiday gift this evening. She demonstrated the spirit of generosity, sharing and selflessness that the holidays are supposed to be all about.

I don't want to be overly dramatic or make a bigger deal out of it than it deserves. We aren't talking about an organ donation here. But she game me something new to be thankful for and made me smile.

I went to the local Fred Meyer store to pick up a pie for tomorrow's family Thanksgiving feast. I was asked to bring a pumpkin pie, but I didn't know if one would be enough. I didn't want to take two of the same pies. You have to have a little variety and give people some options. Besides, I don't eat pumpkin pie. I'm not a big dessert eater ever and pies in general are not my favorite dessert. But on those occasions I do eat pie I mostly stick to apple pie and cheesecake. Cheesecake is my favorite, but when I think of Thanksgiving desert, I think of apple pie.

So when I walked in the grocery store this evening, I checked out the large display of pies at the front of the store. There were plenty of pumpkin pies and a few peach pies, and a bunch of other berry pies. But there was no sign of an apple pie.

While looking through the selection of baked goods, I noticed another woman who also seemed to be having trouble finding whatever it was she seeking. Pretty soon she walked away and I was left to examine the display more thoroughly. But soon I gave up and headed for the back of the store to the bakery section.

When I got there, I found another big display of pies, including pumpkin pie in two different sizes. So I grabbed a pumpkin pie and kept looking.

"Are you looking for apple?" a woman standing near the display asks. I recognized her as the woman I had seen a few minutes earlier at the other pie display.

"Kinda," I said. "I'm under orders to get pumpkin, but I like apple."

"There were only two left," she said. "Here, take this one. I already have one." And with that she places the pie she is holding back on the top of the display."

I tried to say no thank you, but she said she didn't need two and that I was welcome to it. "Take it," she said. She smiled and went on her way.

I smiled too. That simple act of sharing, that display of generosity, was a great way to start the holiday season. I have been looking forward to Thanksgiving because it will give me a chance to spend time with people I love. But now, thanks to a random act of kindness, I'm looking a little more forward to the holiday season in general. I had been worried about finances and not being able to buy as many or as expensive of gifts as I would like to buy for loved ones. But a stranger in a grocery story demonstrated what I already should have known --it's acts of caring and kindness that make this season special, not the price tag or label on a gift.

Snow? Say it ain't so

There's snow outside my window. Not a lot, but some. Snow in the Willamette Valley is not good. People here don't know how to handle slick roads. There has been snow in surrounding areas for the last couple of mornings, prompting a flurry (if you'll pardon the pun) of snow closures and traffic problems.

I knew there are those who love snow. It's so white and pretty. I've never been a big fan. Not that I have anything against the flakes themselves, but if there is snow sticking around that means it's at or below freezing, and I loath the cold.

To me, the best snow is that that dusts nearby mountains, making for a picturesque backdrop. That's what I loved about living in the Southern California deserts, near mountain ranges. It was usually warm (or at least mind) during the winter months, but snow was common at higher elevations on nearby mountains. It was beautiful, especially under warm, sunny skies.

The roads may be a mess in the morning. Fortunately, I don't have far to go. And I am fairly confident that the snow, if it sticks around overnight, will likely be done by midday. Perhaps only to be repeated again tomorrow.

I'm not a big fan of gray skies and rain in the winter here in Western Oregon, but the one benefit of just dreary conditions is that it is usually above freezing -- day and even at night -- here in the Willamette Valley.

How long is it until spring again?

The fog

I'm not real good at planning my errands. I always thing on my way home that I'll have plenty of time to run out later, after I've vegged out a bit, had a bite to eat and unwound from the day. I knew I needed to stop at a story on my way home from work but didn't. So, there I was at midnight, venturing out for my delayed errand. Fortunately, there is a Circle K nearby with precisely what I needed.

What I didn't expect to encounter upon walking out the door was fog.

Fog on a chilly night is not good. Fortunately, the temperature hasn't quite dipped below 32 degrees. Because freezing fog is nasty stuff. About the only worse driving condition is freezing rain, but freezing fog is not good.

It's looking like it's going to be a nasty morning on the roads here in Salem. There's nothing like skating to work, especially if it involves bend metal and bloodshed.

Well, the freezing conditions may have one upside if schools are closed and people go in late to work. Maybe there will be fewer morons on the road to play bumper cars with in the morning.

Write or wrong?

I was looking around online and found out that there is a new chapter here in Salem for the Willamette Writers group. I've never really considered myself I writer, even though I do some writing now and again. But for some reason I am intrigued about possibly attending one of the local chapter's gatherings.

If nothing else, it may be a way to meet some new people in town.

I guess it depends on what the people are like and what sort of stuff they talk about at their gatherings. So far they've only had one gathering it looks like, which took place this month.

If anyone stumbles across this blog and knows anything about that organization, I'd welcome any information you have about it.

The group may not be a good fit for me, as I think most of the people in that group are more aspiring poets or authors, and I'm more of newspaper writing hack. And, as I said, I don't really consider myself a writer. I mostly fly a desk and tinker with other people's writing. So it may not work out. But I'm still intrigued.