Odds and ends

No particular story to tell today, just a few random bits floating through my brain this morning, chit-chat over the morning coffee.

Goodness, this has felt like an autumnal weekend! A serious dose of rain and cooler temps. And I’ve been noticing the first few drift piles of leaves littering the curbs and driveways. Fall isn’t here yet, but it’s in the post. Walking upstairs this morning to make the coffee, the floor was cold in a way that felt distinctly familiar. Best make the most of what little remains of Summer.

And speaking of which… a friend of a friend died Sunday morning. She was very recently diagnosed with stage IV cancer, and still I find myself stunned by how swiftly it progressed. As if that’s the sort of thing that should be called progress. After having recently endured a bunch of family deaths that hit pretty close to home (grandfather, uncle, mother, MJ, grandmother, in that order), this is the first death in a while that I’ve been able to watch with some distance and perspective. It’s not the most original thought, but I find myself wondering how much of our grieving is related to a deep emotional sense that our day will come too. And then Melody reminded me that some amount of it is simply lost history. Someone dies and you realize that was the last person who could have reminded you of lost stories, could have explained small mysteries, could have filled in specific holes in your life story. I want to ask Mom how to do the perfect barbecue pork shoulder, or ask my grandfather about growing up on a farm and fighting in WWII. Those stories are gone now, forever and ever.

Death, in its democratic fashion, votes for each of us, eventually. So there’s your theme, Summer and life, make the most of however many days we might have left.

I did my second ride through the SW hills yesterday, about 30 miles., on a route that went down to Lake Oswego, circled the lake, then back up to Stumptown. I felt reasonably strong and could have gone faster than the collective group speed, but I won’t pretend the hills didn’t kick my ass. The elevation profile for the ride looked like an EKG. And while 20 miles feels like a fun night of lazy riding, 30 miles definitely feels more serious. At the very least, it’s the threshold where I want real padded biking shorts for my delicate bum. I’m still trying to top 1000 miles for the year. I know some of the people reading this will scoff at that number, and some will be impressed. It’s just a number; at the end of the day, we’re only competing with ourselves.

Still expecting to be laid off from the Big Fruit in two weeks. I’ve been accepted into PSU for the Fall and I’m still awaiting word on my transfer credits and how much distance might be between me and a math degree. I’ve thrown my name in the ring to continue tutoring at MHCC this fall, but depending on schedule that may not work. Or maybe I’ll look into tutoring at PSU. Of course, I’ve also got my resume into a couple of tech recruiters in the area, and if something interesting came up I might get distracted by a sparkly shiny new job/project. But with this economy, I wouldn’t count on it. Ahh well, I refuse to get stressed over it. New adventures, one way or another.