summer loving, part 1: vegas

So here's the deal: This summer the Ross and I have been able to do a ridiculous number of really fun things, all of which I have utterly failed to blog about. But no more! I hereby resolved to catch up. Starting with Vegas, June 26th.

Time for a true story? We hated Vegas. The exploitation, the environmental atrocity, the whole deal. Hated, hated, hated it...

...except for the Bellagio fountains (and yes, I know all about the wasted water, but they're so lovely) ...

...and the MGM Grand lions WHICH, I was happy to learn, are rotated out very often, which made me feel a little better about there being lions in a noisy, chaotic casino. Still, though, my Zoo brain was reeling at the lack of any educational naturalist-type person.
After Vegas we hightailed it to St. George, UT, where we ran into Ross' sister-in-law from DC in what was the single most bizarre coincidence of my life.

Hasta la vista, Vegas. See you never.

quick story

There's a group of guys who like to come and sing in front of my house. They're not busking, they're not selling CDs... as far as I can tell, they're simply doing it for the sheer joy of it (which I LOVE, no matter what the "it" is). They're each very different. One of them looks like a thirty-something hippy, and one of them looks like he does something technical at Intel. They sing old a capella standards and are very reminiscent of the Coats (formerly the Trench Coats). Anyway, as I was getting out of my car today I thought I'd let them know how much I appreciate them. I caught them in between songs and explained that I live right across the street and that every time they come to 23rd I open my window and sit and listen for a while. "You're the girl in the window," one of them said. "Yup," I said. "I'm the girl in the window. You guys are swell." As I walked away the big hippy said "Aww."

I love, love, love, love, LOVE this crazy, lovely life.

some reasons why deferring might actually be okay*

1. Red Ape Reserve at OZ

2. Miss Anna's opera

3. Jaws at Flicks on the Bricks

4. Amazing apartment

5. REALLY amazing neighbors

6. Potential, West Coast-centric trips here, here, or here (words cannot describe how much I loved Costanoa)

7. The sheer wonder and majesty that is our fair city

8. The Vaux's Swifts coming to roost in the Chapman school chimney in September

*Just as a note, we have not officially deferred yet. We're waiting until the absolute last second (and Ross has an interview). All I'm saying is that if we have to, there is compensation.**

**But we'd still rather go.

i'm totally going to this

July 24th. Be there and be square. We'll save you a seat.

oh say can you see

Happy Fourth, dear friends, and a very, VERY happy July.

Upcoming July highlights: Hiking and camping, 4th festivities, Bend weekend, and that most glorious of days, MY BIRTHDAY. Stay tuned.

and so it begins

As I write this, it's almost 10pm. For the last hour and a half Ross and I have been sleeping on the couch. Apparently, Tiger Camp (Haylie) + A continuing and mysterious cold (Ross) + One bowl macaroni-and-cheese (Annie's) = Enough to do us in entirely. And no wonder: today was the first day of summer camp, and it was both delightful and eventful. Favorite quote of the day:

Female Tiger camper, said with no trace of giggling or discomfort, in reference to the male Mandrill: I see his penis.

Could be.

This same camper, one of the most petite and ladylike girls in class, also sweetly and proudly announced when she was about to fart.

Could be.

In other news, I am HUGELY grateful for my incredibly amazing staff. I anticipate wonderfully mellow and easygoing things from Tiger B. BRING IT, summer camp. Tomorrow, though. Right now I'm going back to bed.

men, you know who you are

just in case your brain is spinning like mine

i want to go to there

Inspired by Iceland Video from Inspired By Iceland on Vimeo.

signs that maybe you're not meant to be a hipster biker

Remember that time I got in a bike accident and made such a big deal about it? Yeah... turns out that maybe wasn't as big of a deal as I thought. Full story when I can type with both hands (and please note that I'm okay). Bikes + Rain + Me = Double-Plus Ungood.

ross, mr. collins, and me

Two recent moments of perfect happiness:

1. Today, as I stood barefoot on the warm pavement of our deck with Ross, eating the very first harvest of snap peas in our "garden" while Creature jumped around chasing bugs.

2. Last night, as the previously mentioned Ross and I cuddled on the couch watching the Colin Firth version of Pride and Prejudice and geeking out over Jane Austen's boundless comic genius.

a creature by any other name

Hello all. Quick update: last night's mystery date was to Dance United, a collaborative work featuring Oregon Ballet Theatre, the Miami City Ballet, the Dutch National Ballet, the Australian Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, and the San Francisco Ballet. It was delightful (particularly the pieces by Joffrey and San Francisco), although not quite as good as Dance United 2009. Thanks, Ross. You did good.

In other news, my dear friend Amanda mentioned me on her blog, and I thought I'd return the favor, by which I mean that her blog inspired a topic, and I decided to run with it. Amanda talked about the "illustrious triple spoon," a spoon involving herself, her boyfriend (whose name is emphatically not Greg--sorry about that, yet again) and their cat, Lily. Ross and I also enjoy the triple spoon, which has led to Creature receiving the nickname of "the littlest spoon," or the "teaspoon." Anyway, that was a very long introduction to the topic of this blog, which is the many (nick)names of Creature the Cat.

• Creet Because it sounds like Creature. Obviously.
• Goober, Nerd, Weirdo and Turkey Because sometimes she's a goober, a nerd, a weirdo or a turkey.
• Whore Cat This is Ross' favorite.
• Russian Satellite We like to call her Turkey (see above), which one day turned into Turkmenistan, which turned into Russian Satellite. It's really nerdy in here. You have no idea.
• Fetcher This is Ross' second favorite.
• Insert-word-here-Face Foodface. Hungryface. Sleepyface. Kissyface. Sometimes even cuteface.
• Lady Because that's what she is.

Creature, thanks for giving us (Haylie) so much joy and laughter and for not being hurt by all of the horrible things we (Ross) call (calls) you. You're the best. Stay forever.

mystery date

Ross is taking me on a mystery date tonight. This absolutely thrills me. I thought we were going to The Lion King, but lo and behold, it doesn't start for another two weeks (and besides, we have tickets for July). So I have NO IDEA. What could it be? Shuffleboard at the bar? A movie date at the Fox Tower Theater (Ross' favorite because of the pretzels, my favorite because it shows documentaries and artsy foreign films)? I have no idea!

Oh, surprises. What would life be without you?

the week of living resolutely, day 5

So I think quick reminder is called for. This week I have pledged to try my hardest to keep the following seven resolutions:

1. Drink enough water

2. Wake up early

3. Write

4. Exercise

5. Eat less sugar

6. Be on time

7. Restrict napping

I've been doing pretty well all week and have been especially diligent, for some reason, about drinking enough water. But today, bruised and scraped and stiff and sore, I decided "to hell with it." I spent all day reading a book called Just Do It! and watching "Pretty Woman." I did not wake up early, I didn't really write, I dumped a liberal amount of sugar into my tea, and I wasn't late to work only because I called in sick. In fact, I didn't really accomplish anything. But I didn't take a nap, I drank an awful lot of water, and I took a much-needed break for my bruised and broken bod. So you know what?

Day 5 of The Week? RESOUNDINGLY RESOLVED.

the week of living resolutely, day 4

So today was... interesting. I drank my water, wrote for a while, woke up early, ate hardly any sugar, took a nap (whatever), didn't need to be on time anywhere, and WRECKED ON THE BIKE (don't worry, Nicole: the bike is fine, and so am I).

Here's what happened. As you may have noticed, the weather was distinctly bipolar today. It rained, it was sunny, it hailed, it rained again, it was sunny again. And with each change of the weather I changed my mind about whether or not to take the bike out. Finally it was looking sunny enough that I decided to pedal to the library, where I checked out eight books, had a lovely time, and stayed so long that it started to rain again. "Fine," I thought. "No big deal. I'll just be careful." WRONG.

So I'm riding down 10th avenue and trying to stay to the right, which means steering in between the streetcar tracks, which is basically the worst idea in the universe. I know they're dangerous, and I'm paying careful attention, but when I go to change lanes one of my wheels slips on the slick tiles around the tracks anyway and I hit the street on my left side, scraping the heck out of my left elbow and--I think--hitting my head (which was mercifully wearing a helmet--thanks, Nicole!). I get up as fast as I can and, seriously shaken, wheel the bike to the curb. There is only one car behind me. The driver's name is Diana and she's riding with her sister. They stop and offered me a ride, which I accept in a babbling kind of way.

A true comedy of errors ensues as we try to figure out how to get the bike in the car. At first it's not going well at all, so I offer to get on the streetcar instead, which Diana's sister is a fan of but Diana herself won't allow. We can't figure out how to get the quick release wheel to come off (please remember that I'm really shaken up and not thinking clearly), so I call Ross as Diana enlists help from a man walking past. Between the three of us (Diana's sister is still in the car) we get the wheel off but then still can't figure out how to get the bike actually into the car. The lo and behold, our savior arrives, in the form of a somewhat fragrant (but very nice) drunken fellow who hoists it straight in and makes the rest of us look silly.

Anyway, that was a long story. The take-home message is that I'm okay, although with a seriously scraped-up elbow, the bike is okay, and you should never, EVER ride a bike on the streetcar tracks. Also, people are inherently good and happy to help when the situation arises. Also also, helmets save lives. The end.

Day 4 of The Week? Maybe not resolved, but definitely not wrecked.