Day in Eugene with GirlyMan

Today and went to Eugene with Anna, Isaac and their friends Julie and Craig.  We stopped in at REI to check out all the stuff and I picked up some new 2nd hand clothes at Buffalo exchange.  From now on I'm only buying 2nd hand clothes or technical clothes onsale on the net that I can use in the outdoors... no more will anyone see me at Abercrombie or Structure... 2nd hand clothes are cooler and more stylish anyway!  And out here there isn't the pressure to dress like everyone else like there is in Boston or on the East Coast.. thank God.  We also went down to 5th street market to walk
around which was very cool.  Check out the pic of the pet bird that was free to walk around the inside of the market place.  If you look closely you can even see it's feed bucket in the background.  In the East something like this wouldn't make any sense at all but out here I wasn't even suprised to see it.  We stopped in a kitchen appliance store called Hartwicks which we all were fascinated by.  Seriously, the place had the coolest kitchen gadgets I've ever seen including a blender that was so powerful it actually heats up whatever it blends and a garden called AeroGarden that grows veggies 10x faster than soil through hydroponics and nutrients... Cool shit!
    At 8 we headed over to the Luna Jazz lounge next to Adam's Place restaurant for a performance by GirlyMan, a band that Isaac's brother plays with occasionaly.  They specialize in cool folk music and a little bluegrass banjo.  Not really my type of music but I had a really great time.  Everyone I was with ordered fancy martini's etc but I held myself back still and actually got to drink a beer that was a
mistake anyway.  Usually on Saturday I like to go into the outdoors and push my body to it's physical limits but today ended up being a leisurely relaxed day that really enjoyed with great friends.  I just love being out here and I love all the people I've met and am friends with now... I really feel like despite everything in my life that is going on right now I am really meant to be here.  It finally feels "right" to me. 

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Borat - Cultural Learnings

Last night I went to see Borat with Eleanor, Mac, Anna and Isaac.  They didn't like it too much (thankfully I left to pee during the naked guy wrestling part) but I thought it was hilarious... until I found out that it was the same guy who plays Ali G!  I friggin' hate Ali G!  But oddly I love the
character of Borat so I guess that guy who plays the two (and another Russian character) is pretty damn talented!  I think that he makes fun of America as much as he does Kazakistan in this movie.  He's not biased towards either country.  He just likes to poke humor at everything.  I'm so sick of everything having to politically correct these days and how everyone takes things too seriously.... Come on world... learn to take joke!  Everyone should be able to laugh at themselves and get a chuckle out of stupid comedy which this movie definitely is.  Anyway, I thought it was great - so go and see it!  Just close your eyes when the fat man starts to undress! hahaha.

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Coriolis Billiards

This week has been pretty exhausting for me.  I finally decided that I needed to drop my math course Matrix and Power Series because I was completely lost.  I had no right being in that class after 6 years of having no math whatsoever.  My advisor should have told me how to prepare months before I came out here when I asked her repeatedly too.  Now I just feel lost and I'm having to work incredibly hard (think 12 hour days 6 days a week). 
    Anyway, enough complaining and boo-hooing... Here's what took place today.  In my Physical Oceanography class we had to make a presentation in lab on the effects of the coriolis force (Force
that deflects water to the right of it's path of motion in the Northern Hemisphere due to the earth's rotation - simple explanation).  Everyone was going to use pottery wheels, water buckets, etc but I of course wanted to do something
memorable...  So I decided that we (Brycen, Karen, Brendan and I) should buy a kids pool table from Walmart and rig it up to a merry-go-round and shoot pool to demonstrate it.  So today Brycen picked up the pool table and we went down to the playground at the pre-school on 29th street to shoot some film of Brendan and I playing pool.  Well, as soon as we go there kids started to pour out of the building for recess, and we were't supposed to be there.  After talking to the principal (Princi-Pal) he agreed to let us do our expirement which thoroughly entertained all the liltle kids who instantly got excited about the science experiment! 
    We had a great time playing pool on the spinning merry-go-round.  Everytime we'd shoot the ball straight it would get deflected to the right which made for some great hook trick shots... Check out the video we made for class HERE.  At the end I got down to the ground so that all the kids could see
themselves in the video on my camera.  As we left they all ran up to the fence to wave good bye to me.  The project wasn't even for a grade but we definitely got a few laughs in the class when we presented... and we even got to buy something from Walmart, rip the box apart and then return it (I hate Wally Mart!). 

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McKenzie River Trail

We were all supposed to go raft the Deschutes River this weekend but several people got sick and the large amount of rain we've been getting lately has made the river a little dangerous so we had to cancel the trip last moment.  Being that my midterms are finally over (some ugly, some ok) I was pretty excited to get away for the weekend and do something active.  Thus, I was really bummed out to hear our trip was cancelled.  Then I found myself sitting in the media lab with my friend Tiffany Gregg who suggested we go biking on Saturday instead.  Tiffany is a strong biker and I've wanted to go with her for a while now so I jumped at the chance.  We planned to get an early start around 9am and head to the McKenzie River Trail, a 25 mile long singletrack trail that follows the river and is famous for it's beauty. 
    I got a call from Tiffany around 9am and she was at my place to pick me up in her Tacoma (girls that drive trucks = mad cool) and I was informed that we had gathered more people to ride with us including Chris Holmes, who had been out last night until 4am and Pam who Chris had walked home before returning home himself.  Pam's roomate Brett came along too making 5 total.  Brett and Pam live with Ashley Hatfield who has been on several hikes with me in the past and is in previous posts.  Brett, and Pam live in the "biking" house where the captains of the bike team live and Tiffany is also on the girls cross country team here.  That meant that Chris and I were heading off to the woods with a serious crew of strong bikers... And Chris was chugging down gatorade to cure his hangover on the way to the trailhead.
    We got dropped off at Clear Lake Campground and shuttled Tiffany's truck down river to the Ranger Station near McKenzie Bridge 25 miles away.  We ended up getting started around 1:30 (late start due to a hungover morning for some.. haha) but we didn't think it would be a problem.
Immediately we took a wrong turn and started to make a loop around the lake but thanks to some quick thinking by Chris and Pam we found our way back to the trail.... nope... we ended up on the scenic waterfall trail meant for pedestrians, not bikes.  This was great for me because I just rocketed down the steps on my
plush suspension freeride Kona, while for the others it was a little more sketchy.  We even got to ride through some spectacular lava fields eraly in the ride.  Even though we were on the wrong trail we knew how to eventually hook back up to the McKenzie River Trail and we got to see some amazing waterfalls for our mistake.  It poured all day so the falls were really kickin' as well.  We ended up biking around a small resevoir and taking a connector trail to get back onto the McKenzie River Trail. 
    The McKenzie trail is by far the best mountain bike trail I have ever ridden.  It is very well maintained with plenty of bridges over streams and other hazards and besides a few technical sections through some lava outcrops (which I thoroughly enjoyed) it was fairly smooth.  I definitely
plan on heading back to the trail when I get a helmet cam down the road to get some video of it.  I took a bunch of pics throughout the day but since it was pouring my camera was getting pretty wet and I had to pack it away eventually.  Biking through the rainforest with steam coming off us and everything around us was amazing.  I had gore-tex pants on and a waterproof top but was eventually soaked like everyone else.  We stopped at a large bluish green pool of water which caught my
attention because there was  a fairly large stream pouring out of it but no stream pouring into it????  I inquired and was told by Pam and Chris that the McKenzie River actually dives undground in several areas through ancient lava tubes!  Later I asked Jason about what I saw and hes said that it was a giant spring.  Either way it was pretty damn impressive.  It was there that Chris had the quote of the day.  He was sucking on his camelbak tube and got a wierd face.  When I inquired he looked up and said, "shit, I think my tea bag just blew up".  hahaha.  He had put a tea bag in his camelbak for some reason, but it was the way he casually said it that was hilarious.
    I found a new appreciation for my Kona as well.  It ate up any terrain that was thrown my way with the big shocks and biking cross country wasn't that bad with it. Perhaps down the road in a few years I'll trade it in for a truly cross country bike but for now I think I'll keep the heavy rig and continue to build up my leg strength. 
    Towards the end of the ride as it was getting really dark and too hard to see my legs began to really feel it and then painfully cramped up like rocks.  The only thing I had eaten all day was a half
bowl of cereal before Tiffany had picked me up... bad choice.  I was exhausted but thankfully after chugging a ton of water from my camelbak and a tasty powerbar from Brett I was able to finish out the trip without too much trouble and pain.  We had to duck out of the woods a few miles early because it was getting too dark to safely see the trail ahead of us and I was the only one with a headlamp.  As soon as we got on the road the "true" bikers rallied into a pack and left Chris and I in the dust!  Chris and I took our time and met up with the group about 10 minutes later at Tiffany's truck for the very squished ride back East to Pam's car.
    We ended up getting dinner at a Mexican joint on the way home at which we all gorged ourselves.  It was a very exhausting ride for me but the best and most beautiful I've done in a long, long time.  We were the only ones on the trail all day (odd for it being a Sat), and I can't wait to go back in the spring with sunny weather to take more photos and the right trail at the beginning.  After worrying that my Saturday would be ruined when rafting was cancelled I actually ended up having the best trip I've done yet in Oregon!

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Squirrels and Platinum

Even though this is under the "Drinkin" category I did not partake in that activity myself as I am sticking to my "no beers till New Years" rule.  I met up with Anna, her friend George, Isaac, Eleanor, Chris Holmes, Aaron Hart, Mac and Sarah at Squirrels for drinks before they convinced me to go "clubbin" with them at a skeevy joint called Platinum downtown.  I really wish that I had a picture of the sketchy bouncer who took my 4$ (wayy to much for a place like that) cover charge.  He had tatoos everywhere but twisted his beard and sideburns up into some sort of bad ass devil meets hillbilly hair-do.  What a freak!  So I followed everyone downstairs into the dungeon where there were no more than 30 or 40 people in a giant room with a bunch of pretty descent breakdancers layin' it down on the dancefloor.  Everyone around me was having a great time and when they started to play my old school anthems I had a good time too for a bit.  They also had a pretty sick surf movie being looped on a large projector in the background.  Mac was in his element apparently.  I had no
clue that he was such a club go-er.  After swinging on a stripper pole a few times and dancing with streamers he tried his hand at breakdancing with the locals which ended up with him in the hands of a bouncer dragging him off the dance floor.  We all thought this was absolutely hilarious.    When he returned he told me that the dancers were actually PAID TO BE THERE!  How lame is this place??? Anyway, after a little while I took off because I had biking early in the morning with Tiffany on the McKenzie River Trail...   Fun night with good friends and it didn't bother me a bit that I was stone sober! :)

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No Drinks till New Years... hopefully...

Well, I woke up today and as usual after I drink too much didn't feel motivated to do anything. That fact combined with the fact that I just crashed my truck and will have a $500 deductible has led me to declare for myself, "NO BEERS TILL NEW YEARS". I spend less than 20 bucks on beer a week which includes the regular Tuesday night at Bombs to chillax and friday and sat night. But because there is free beer in my apartment I've been able to pre-game pretty well before big events like Halloween and the corn maze. Also, the shinanigans I went through at the inital COAS party with the free keg there led to pretty buzzed Jonny Danger. Also... when I'm out having a good time I'm pretty energetic, and rambunctious whether I'm stoned drunk or just slightly buzzed, it's just my nature. But when I crashed my truck and the first thing several of my friends asked me was, "were you drinking" led me to ponder what people think of me here. Yes, I work my ass off 12-14 hours a day on schoolwork, and yes when I party I party hard, but do I want the stigma as a drunken party animal? No I do not. Thus, for myself to save money, and to prove to everyone that I'm not some drunken shit show I'm declaring no beers until New Years. Frankly I think it will be very easy for me seeing I have such very little time anyway. This way I'll prove to everyone that I act the same when out with friends as I do when I'm out with friends drinking. It's just my fun, outgoing personality. But I promise you all one thing.... I'm going to ring in the New Years with bottle of Captain in my hands! hahahahahah!
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Halloween Party

So last night was the annual COAS Halloween party at Pam's house.  After the football game we picked up our outfits at my place and Eleanor's and headed to Anna's for some pre-gaming and
preparation for the party.  I wasn't sure what I was going to wear for the party until I got to Anna's and was talked into wearing a boxer's outfit.  I looked absolutely ridiculous.  Anna talked me into wearing a pair of her shorts, which were a pinkish red and very, very short.  I then put on a blue wife beater that Isaac had and a pair of red gloves while Anna put makeup on my eye for a black eye and gave me a bandaide on my eyebrow for toughness!  Slowly people started to arrive at Anna's including Logan in his Ronald McDonald outfit and Mac and Sarah with his motorized cowboy blow-up costome.  At 9 we grabbed the pumpkins we had carved and then went to the party.  From what I can remember of the party it was a blast.  I had made Pam an old school hip-hop mix of the hits we heard while
in High School and the DJ at the party was definitely playing a lot of them.  I'm not even sure what I was drinking but there was a keg of microw brew at the party and there is a picture of me holding a Pabst which doesn't make sense to me.  Ashley came with a bike helmet on in a costume that looked hilarious.  Kendra looked
pretty damn cute as a wtich dressed all in black with a big black hat on.  Then Milli Vinilli showed up (Chris & Aaron) which was hilarious....
even funnier when their song came over the stereo.   Eleanor, who had warned us she was a violent drunk earlier, was tearing it up at Beer Pong (Bowdoin Style cause Mac was at the table).  I went over to say high and distracted her from the game, also may have given her
a friendly chop with my padded glove, and was angrily thrown to the floor against a heater which hit my head.... yup... a violent drunk.  Later I would try to talk to her again and got a full beer thrown on
me.... so that was the end of me having fun with Eleanor last night.  Eventually people started to leave the party including Anna who I apparently was pretty rude too and am sorry for.   It was a very drunken night and thankfully I got a ride home from Kendra or I may have ended up in a gutter.

OSU Upsets USC

That is what ESPN's web site said yesterday with little print at the bottom "Cardinals win world series".  Yep, that's how big the news was that OSU (not even ranked) beat #3 ranked USC in football yesterday at Reser Stadium.  I've never been to a football game in my life besides highschool and the one I chose to go to ended up being the biggest game for the Beavers in over 20 years!  I heard that the last time we even beat USC was in the 1960's! 

Eleanor, Anna, Isaac, Karen, Brycen, Abby and I had all waited in line for tickets monday morning at 6:30 in the morning so we could make the highly anticipated game.  I pretty much woke up Saturday morning planning to have a great day and drinking a beer as soon as I crawled out of bed... next week is midterms and today (sunday) I spent all day studying for Chemistry - taking a short break to write up this.  So... I planned to have a good day on Saturday before hell set in.  By the time we all got to the game (we picked up Chris Sommes at his place and played a few games of flip cup and Beer Jenga) I was about 10 beers deep, but since we couldn't bring anything into the game I knew I would sober up before the Halloween party.  Being that I had such a shitty day on friday I told everyone that I thought the Beavers would win because something good had to come my way after such an awful night.  We quickly found our seats as the game started which were all taken up by rowdy Beaver fans anyway so we stood on the edge of the risers near the isle. 

As the game progressed we noticed something really odd.... we were DOMINATING.  It seemed like every hail-mary pass that we through, we actually caught and powered our way down the field.  By
halftime the score was 30-10 Beavers!  The fans were going absolutely crazy!  Watch and Listen  We had a couple interceptions, one was actually a touchdown pass USC tried that was caught and run down the field by us for about 60 yards!  After halftime things started to go downhill but the Beavers had built up a dam of so many points (yes I wrote that purposely) that USC ultimately lost despite a huge comback in the 2nd half.  The score was 33 to 31 after USC scored with less than 10 seconds left on the clock.  This meant they had to go for a 2 point conversion instead of kicking a field goal to tie the game.  They hiked the ball, threw... and somehow by a miracle of God (and I've still yet to see the amazing replay) one of our guys got their fingertips on it and deflected it enough that the reciever missed the catch.  The fans instantly stormed the field from the bleachers but were ushered back for the last 5 seconds of clock time where they kicked off to us.  Once the clock ran out it was mayhem.  The
bleachers emptied onto the field as students jumped the walls and ran to congratulate and lift up the Beavers!  I myself jumped the wall, ran up to the Beaver mascot slapped him five and then stormed the field with everyone else... Check out the video of the last seconds of the game and mayhem HERE. 

  It seems like once again I am good luck with sports...  When I left NY and moved to Maine for my undergraduate studies the New England Patriots started to blow up, then when I moved to Boston the Red Sox won the World Series for the first time in 86 years.  Maybe now that I'm at OSU the un-ranked Beavers will tear it up!  Doubtful but one can always dream.....

BANG!

Tonight I was planning on staying in and possibly getting some work done but after a stressful week and the urging of Anna and Eleanor I was talked into meeting them at American Dream Pizza at 6pm for the movie "Little Miss Sunshine" at the cool rustic theatre downtown.  It took a while for Isaac to show up and when he did we were too late to see the movie as it was sold out.  Logan decided that we should all go to his place to watch a rental so we took a detour to Hollywood Video and picked up Nacho Libre and headed to his place.  Eleanor was riding with when Bang! I was hit from the side taking a left onto a sidestreet near Logans to park.... I didn't even flinch, just turned my head,
sighed, "shit".  I pulled over to the side of the road and the woman in her white truck said she would pull around.  My back driver's side door was completely smashed in but it looked like that was all that was hit.  This just sucks!  What a day... From the moment I got up today I've had a bad day and this was just icing on the cake. 

The woman pulled around and we talked at her car.  She was incredibly nice and we even joked a little bit about the accident.  Her truck seemed absolutely fine while my truck was caved in.  That's why old early 90's trucks with the real metal bumpers are the way to go!  Don't make 'em like they used to!  We exchanged numbers and info and then I walked over to Logans to watch the movie, pretty bummed out that I would now have to pay a $500 deductible AND my insurance would go up again after I just got it lowered by moving to Oregon!  What a shitty day!

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Fall colors and Cabbage Night

Yes, the leaves in Oregon turn color.  Not as much as in New England but they do.
Over the past few weeks the campus has turned a multitude of colors and the leaves on the ground has made longboarding to classes a sketchy task.  And of course with Halloween comes cabage night and frat row... haha... If you look closely at Anna you'll see her black eye from an attack by a kayak the weekend before! haha. 

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Carvin' Pumpkins

On monday I sent out an email to all of COAS inviting everyone over to my place for pumpkin carving and beer on Thursday.  Being that it is midterms I figured that not many people would show and I was right, which is good because I too have a lot of work to do.  It was a nice crowd though.  Eleanor, Mac (the pumpkin carvin' expert), Chris Holme, Aaron Hartz, Kendra and her friends Anne Marie & Brad,
Brendan, Karen, Ashley, Jason, Kenzie and myself.  We started carving the pumpkins around 10:30 and weren't finished with them until a little after midnight.  Eleanor failed to bring a pumpkin to the party so she took charge of cooking up the pumpkin seeds which ended up smoking us out in the kitchen!  Jason was sitting on the floor and casually looked up at Eleanor and said, "set off the fire alarm yet?" to which Eleanor jumped up and ran to the oven to find her charred pumpkin
seeds stuck to the pan... hilarious.  Meanwhile, Mac was on my computer looking up pumpkin porn to carve...   Ashley Hatfield showed up for a little while towards the end of the night to watch the pumpkin carving shit show for a bit.  We all ended up with great pumpkins and several were left at my place to bring to Pam's Halloween party on Saturday night.  Jason and I also ended up with a huge bin full of pumpkin guts and a lot of pumpkin seeds to eat up.  It was a fun and friendly get together.

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The Descent

Just a quick blog here... I went over to Bart's place in The Gem last night to watch a scary movie in recognition of Halloween coming up.  What I didn't expect was to be honestly impressed by how scary the movie was... If you go like it rent... It's called "The Descent" and it involves a bunch of hot women stuck in a cave with some pretty nasty looking creatures...

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Rooster rock

Today I woke up so hungover I didn't know if I wanted to do anything but Anna called me and motivated me to make a plan for the day and make the most out of the weather.  Her and Eleanor were downtown at the Farmer's Market where I met them briefly to say hi before heading East towards the mountains for a day hike up to Rooster Rock, a really cool volcanic tower of rock off route 20.  I got to the trail aorund 1:30pm and noticed that the guidebook said there were two trails up to the top.  Being a hiker who loves loop hikes rather than returning the same way I decided to drive further East to the Rooster Rock Trail and return via the Trout Creek trail 2.5 miles back from where I had come.  The trail up was very steep with very few switchbacks but I hauled ass up it so that I could get back and study some Chemical Oceanography with Anna and Eleanor (which didn't happen because they had their phones
off... my bad luck I guess).  On both hikes I've done in the area I've noticed that in the valley where the road and river are the vegetation is pretty much like a rainforest with ferns and moss covering literally all of the bark on trees and rock.  It's amazing.  It feels as if I'm walking through a rainforest until I ascend further up the slope of the mountain and the vegetation turns to enormous Cedars and volcanic rock formations.  The variation in vegetation and the amazing geological structures created from ancient volcanism are truly amazing to behold.  On the way
up I saw several Pacific banana slugs (Ariolimax columbianus).  See pic.  they are enormous and look more like rotten bananas!  When I got up to Rooster Rock I was truly amazed.  It was a giant spire rising from the side of the mountain into the sky.  The small part of it was easily the size of my parents
house and the spire behind it was about 3 times as big.  Check out the picture of it from the trail going down.  I climbed about 100 feet more to a lookout that was about level with the top of Rooster Rock from where I had come.  I was afforded great views from the lookout over the range of mountains towards the glaciated snow caps of the Sisters, a famous volcanic
chain of mountains to the East.  After a few minutes soaking up the views I tightened my pack and literally ran down the Trout Creek trail back to Route 20 where I dumped my pack and then
ran the 2.5 miles east down the road to my truck again...  It was a beautiful day, a great hike and the fall colors are really beginning to show despite the relatively warm and beautiful weather we have been having! 

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Corn Maze of Death

Last night I went through a Corn Maze with my friends from COAS.  All the new COAS students have pulled together and made a calendar of fun events for us all to participate in.  General idea is to keep it fun, cheap, and easy for everyone.  Last weekend's kayak trip was one of these events as well as Gwen's house warming party, etc.  This week Abby and Brycen put together a trip to the Corn Maze in town.  It was only 8 bucks and I took a few beers from Jason's stash at home for the adventure.  I had been drinking some left over beers from when Eleanor, Mac and Sarah came over for cards last weekend before we went to the Maze while Anna, Isaac and I watched PCU at my place.  So by the time I got to Brycen's place I was a little lit, but not too badly so... that was later...   Before I go on I want to clarify something to anyone who may think I drink too much.  I don't.  I have a few beers every Tuesday at 10pm at Bombs merely to socialize and relax from schoolwork from Sunday -Tuesday.  Then I pick either Friday night or Saturday night to also drink... thus only two nights a week do I drink... that's not bad for the amount of stress I'm under :) - Plus I just read that a drink a day keeps heart disease at bay... so it's
also healthy for me! :)  Anyway... At Abby and Brycen's place we gathered together and were given awesome glow sticks, necklaces, and glow glasses to wear
(check the pics, I bet you can guess where I've tucked the lowest glowstick in the photo... haha).  When we got to the Corn Maze I was able to sneak in a couple beers while walking around which was fun, as did
Anna :).  We ended up getting stuck in the HUGE maze for about an hour and a half.  Every once and a while someone in a costume would jump out and try to scare
us.  I was buzzin' pretty good so I had a great time, and the whole night only cost me
8$ for the entry to the maze!  When we finally got out ( I was told people could tell
where we were from my screaming!) we went back to my place for a "dance party" around 11pm and some cards.  It was a lot of fun and McKenzie even joined in on a jog pile,... I mean dog pile...
when he got home (see pic).  Great night last night and it was a little rough getting up this morning.  I was later told I left several messages on Brendan's phone to the tune of "we are all going to die, we're never gonna make it outta here!"... hahahaha.

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Attacked by a Samoan

Well, I guess it's become tradition now to go out for a couple drinks every Tuesday night at 10pm to Bombs for $2 drink night.  I only end up spending about 9 bucks and I get some tasty microbrews for it!  Plus, after working 12-13 hour days on school work it's a much needed break once a week.  Tonight we met up and were having a great time when this obnoxious Samoan (from Samoa) comes up to our table and starts dissin' my buddy Anna... We still don't really know why.  We think that she has some sort distant connection with Logan who was sitting with us.  In any case, she was horribly drunk and told Anna that she was biased against short people, which she prounounced "shirt people" in her drunken state which was pretty amusing.  Also the fact that Anna herself isn't the tallest girl in
the room doesn't make any sense.  At midnight we began to leave bombs to walk down to McMinimans (don't know if I spelled that right) and guess who comes walking out after us to talk more shit to Anna and Eleanor.  I was snapping a few pictures (as I always do) to remember the funny situation when the girl turns around and grabs me by the arm... hmmm the word "grab" doesn't really cut it here... She freakin' latched onto me and wouldn't let go, dragging me back into Bombs Cafe.  I could only utter a few faint cries for help from my friends now walking away unable to hear me.  Back inside I found myself a prisoner of this drunk Samoan abomination.  She wouldn't let go until one of her guy friends who could see my plight grabbed her and pulled her off of me... I of course ran as fast as I could to catch up to my friends!  haha.  After hanging out for about half an hour more I went home for the night, still shaking from my near abduction! 

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North Santiam River

Yesterday I kayaked down a section of the North Santiam River just east of Mill City, OR with my
fellow new COAS grad students.  It was Robyn, Esther, Anna, Eleanor, Bart, myself and Greg who organized the event.  We had rented inflatable kayaks from the Outdoor Rec Center at OSU for the day and took his party van, and my truck to shuttle us between the launch and the pick-up.  We put in at Packsaddle park and ended up at Fisherman's Bend County Park about 6 miles down river.  It was a
really fun trip with a few close calls.  At one point a friend fell out of her boat and I was able to hold on to her and safely get the two of us to the shore to get back in our boats.  Another time, while helping some friends steer their kayak through a rapid, I got sucked into a pretty big hole and was instantly catapulted out of my boat straight into the air, back flipping back into the rapid.  I sort of felt a little tug back towards the hole when I was underwater but gave  few good kicks and re-emerged at the surface for a gulp of air before going over another small hole underwater again.  I've been caught in white water before like this in Australia so I knew it wasn't a big deal and it would spit me out.  I held onto my paddle the whole time and when I was free of the rapids easily swam to my boat, flipped it upright again and jumped in.  It was exactly the dangerous thrill I've been looking for a
while for!  Got my adrenaline pumping again.  Apparently it looked pretty cool to see the bottom of my boat completely vertical in the air from downstream.  ha ha.  We pulled our boats out about half way through our trip for some lunch.  I had on a cotton t-shirt and board shorts while everyone else seemed to be covered in layers, sailing jump suits, polypro, or wetsuits.   So I was a little cold to say the least.... Lunch was fun and relaxing and gave those of us that were a little unnerved by the dangers of the river a much appreciated reprieve.  We got back in our boats and soon caught up with a local ex-river guide named Rick who was super nice to us and helped us safely down the river.  He was able to tell us what lay ahead and which angle to take down the river to avoid the bigger rapids.  We owe him big for giving up his afternoon to guide us.  We eventually got to a site where the inexperienced among us could go ashore and rest while Anna, Eleanor, Greg, and I followed Rick down the last section of the river to where my truck was parked.  We had to go over a 3-4 foot waterfall and then negotiate some smaller rapids afterwards to get back to my truck.  It was great and we were able to play a bit before reaching the truck.  I drove Rick down to his truck about 6 miles away so that his wife wouldn't worry about him taking so long (helping us).  I also got his email and number so that we might contact him to take us in the future.  From the time we left the main group to the time we got to my truck I was still shirtless, in water that is fed directly from the Cascades so I was pretty damn cold and shivering at times.  I'm sure I was sporting a little THO action... ha!  We got everything loaded in my truck and I drove everyone (Eleanor and Anna riding in
the bed on top of the gear) back up to Greg's party van (I will always refer to it as that... I mean come on... It's got a stove and a fridge!).  We all stopped at DQ on the way back (this has become a tradition after trips).  I can't speak for everyone, but I myself had a terrific time and can't wait to kayak again!  Hoo-ra.

Thought last night's shinanigans were over... nope.

Anna and Isaac dropped me off at home last night and I promptly fell asleep but at
4am in the morning I woke up feeling terrible and ran to the bathroom
to possibly puke my brains out... As I was sitting on the side of the
tub, stomach horrible with heartburn (I've been known to puke from
heartburn before) I saw a small object dart across the floor.... a
mouse!  The mouse we had been trying to catch, and it couldn't get
out!  I then spent the next 10 minutes scrambling on the floor of the
bathroom, blind without my contacts trying to catch the damn jumpy
thing!  Finally it was on the top of the toilet looking at me
defiantly.  I went for it and it jumped.... right into the waste paper
basket!  hahaha!  I had him.  I ran to the kitchen and put a plate on
top of the basket and set it on
the sink with a note that said, "guess
what I caught bro, shake can to find out", for Jason to find the next
morning.   By the time I was done with all that I had forgotten all about puking and went comfortably back to sleep.  This morning when Jason walked to the bathroom, groggy still from sleeping and picked up the plate to a very jumpy mouse he jumped back... it was hilarious.  We then let the mouse go in the backyard for Mckenzie to chase... no he didn't catch it. 

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Hart's Cove & House Warming Party

Today I went for a hike on the coast with Anna, Eleanor and Ashley.  We took Anna's diesel bug from Corvallis because it gets 50mpg and it was an hour and a half drive.  On the way we stopped for lunch at the Newport Cafe where I got a great California Sandwich and bowl of mushroom soup.  We got a little lost finding the forest service road past Lincoln City but when we did it was a relatively short drive down the dirt road to the trailhead.  This trail was completely different than any other trail I've hiked on because it started off going down towards Hart's Cove.  The four of us found ourselves steeply descending through large cedars until we entered into a literal rainforest complete
with streams, small waterfalls, muddy trail, and dew on all the vegetation.  The trees surrounding us were enormous as well, towering into the sky, each of their branches as big a single tree in the East.  We passed by several downed trees across the trail that had to be chainsawed.  One of these had to be atleast 6-7 feet in diameter (check the pic of the girls sitting on it).  As we were walking through the rainforest about a thousand feet above the ocean we could hear many seals and sealions grunting on beaches below.  I've never been on a hike and heard that before.  We finally descended to a
meadow on overlooking the pacific with Hart's Cove below us to the left.  There were small volcanic seamounts and outcroppings along the shore.  One of them, through wave erosion had formed into a bridge with several large holes in the center of it.  We could hear the sea lions below but were a little too far away to see them clearly.  We hung out for a bit in the 70 degree weather and sun and then headed back up, yes up, the trail to the Bug.

The trip home was a lot of fun involving me playing DJ with the ipod and us singing along to all the old school hip-hop tunes and 80's rock ballads.  I had to go to the bathroom bad when we got to Newport but the girls were determined to find a Dairy Queen for Blizzards on the ride home.  When we didn't find any in Newport I thought my bladder was going to explode before we got home, but then, as if God himself had created and dropped it into the land, a lone DQ appeared on the side of the road out of the woods like a mirage...  Ashley failed to see it so was scared shitless as the three of us screamed in excitement!  I of course bolted for the bathroom right away.  The woman behind the counter who got our blizzards had a shirt on labelled "Blizzard Tech"... haha... Did she actually go to school for this?  When she made our blizzards it looked as if she was actually working with a beaker filled with a dangerous solution that could explode at any second.  She took her job as head blizzard technician very seriously while her stoner co-workers took their breaks.  I gave her a tip for her hard-earned effort and amzing Blizzard-creating technical skills! 

We dropped Ashley off at her house and then the three of us hi-tailed it to Fred & Myer after picking up Isaac to get some house warming gifts for Gwen and Cosmo who had just purchased an absolutely beautiful new home on 17th street complete with a beautiful garden in the back and fish pond.  The girls picked up great gifts such as UNO and some candy while I picked out the most ridiculous thing I could find... a calender called "Monkey Business"... basically a magazine filled with hilarious looking apes dressed in outfits making funny faces.  It was a huge hit and was hung next to the refridgerator so that any time they are upset over anything all they have to do is look at the monkeys and laugh.  Gwen made some delicious sushi for us and we ended up all playing UNO for a while.  People there were Brycen & Abby, Robyn, Karen, Bart, Greg, Anna, Isaac, Eleanor, Gwen, Cosmo, and I.  So the game of UNO was pretty damn big.  I watched the first couple games which Anna won and then Abby and then after being pressured into it joined in and immediately won the first game I played... mwa ha ha.  I was a great party and everyone seemed to truly have a great time.

 

The Gaurdian with Jason and Eleanor

Tonight I went to see the Gaurdian with Eleanor and my roomate.  It actually turned out to be a terrific movie.  We stopped at Wilco for some candy on our way there which turned out to be a shit-show for me as usual.  My candy bag had a hole in it which caused me to spill candy all over the isle and then I forgot (never really buy bulk candy that often) to right the candy bin number on my bag so the guy at the register had to take extra long making me look like an asshole.. haha.  Then my atm card wouldn't swipe... man I was really holding up the line by that point.  When we got to the movie theatre we had to wait in a long line with two 20 oz bottles of Rogue Shakespear Ale in my top cargo pants pockets and 4 PBR's in my lower pants pockets for us during the movie... (I had a hard time walking up the steps of the theatre with pants full of bottles and cans!)  We finally got in and were all pleasantly suprised by the movie which paid a great tribute to the Unsung heros of the National Gaurd.   At the end I was suprised to hear from Jason that CMRU actually trains with the same coast guard helicopters for mountain rescues that were used in the movies and that at some point I would also be trained to hook into the line and put injured people into the baskets to get flown out.  Lucky for me though I wouldn't be doing it while floating in the cold pacific like in the movie.  Anyway, it was a nice relaxing friday night at the movies with friends. 

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Crow Bar and Naughty Schoolgirls with the COAS Crew

Tonight after I finished up my Math review with my TA Brian in the Valley Library at 8:30pm I met up with Anna and Eleanor & their friend Kate at Crowbar downtown for some drinks.  I had had a very long day of school work (Physical Oceanography Questions were a bitch!) but had actually ended up ahead of the class in math according to my TA.  So I felt entitled to a drink or two with friends.  We had a great time and were about to leave when Mac and Brendan walked into the bar.  Anna and Isaac (who showed up briefly) left around 10:30pm but Eleanor stayed with the boys for a few more drinks.  Apparently tonight was the night of the Naughty Schoolgirl Contest at the "Cantina" downtown.  After some coaxing and being "called-out" by Mac as a wuss I was convinced to go check it out... Eleanor rode her bike home (which I feel really bad
about because I should have given her a ride).  But.. I ended up at a skeevy bar that is better placed in NYC than Corvallis, OR.  And yes... there were naughty school girls on stage dancing on poles for all the horny undergrads...  I snapped a
few pics of the lovely ladies, had a cold one with the boys and then headed home for the evening.  I might be the only male in the world to say this but that just really isn't my scene.  I've been to strip clubs many of times with friends from high school and past co-workers but I've never really enjoyed them.  This wasn't a strip club but it was pretty much the same thing... a bunch of young girls dressed slutty dying for attention from guys that they have no interest in dating.  It's basically just all eye-candy.  It would be totally different if one of them climbed down from the bar, walked up to me with her hot outfit on, proclaimed that she was a oceanographer, loved mountaineering, and was a pro skier looking for a nice guy to grab a cup of coffee with.  If that happened, I would go to these kind of events every night... In reality, the girl probably would end up going home with some meat-head jock for the night, possibly start dating him for a week and then end up cheating on him with in two weeks with one of his jock friends, cause that's how girls like that operate.  Anyway, that's my 2 cents on the whole slutty dance-club, stripper scene.  I'd rather find a girl who is bright, likes the sports I like, and can hold a conversation without saying the word "like" forty times who I can then dress up as a naughty schoolgirl just for me :)... haha. 

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McCulloch Peak, Endo & Extendo

I went to my Matrix and Power Series math class today only to find a sign on the door saying that it was cancelled which presented a perfect opportunity for me to jump on my bike and explore more of the MacDonlad-Dunn Research Forest nearby.  After stopping at the house I was able to make it to the Oak Creek parking lot by 3:30pm to start my ride.  Initially I had planned to just bike up the forest service road to the top of the Extendo Mountain Bike trail and head down but I ended up going further...  I had gotten my bike repaired at Hike & Bike downtown over the weekend so it was in great condition and peddling wonderfully with a new chain and fixed back brake.  When I got to the top of Extendo I noticed another singletrack trail coming into it from above so I decided to keep going up the road until I possibly saw the entrance to that trail.  I had heard that there were many more "un-marked" trails in the area that were great for biking so I figured this was probably one of them.  When I got to where I thought the trail started another biker caught up with me (unfortunately I forget his name now).  He told me that it was indeed the trail I was looking for and that the manager of the forest didn't like Mtn. bikers so had blocked off most of the un-marked trails with downed trees... (He doesn't like mtn bikers because he thinks they destroy the ecosystem but is willing to cut down 20-30 trees and destroy several acres to prevent the bikers from going down trails that are invisible from the sky above... how does this make any sense?).  I told him I was planning on biking to the top of McCulloch peak and he replied that he was as well.  So we biked together up the remaining 800 feet or so to a rock quarry with great views near the top of the 2,400 foot mountain with his dog running up beside us.  He is a PHD research assistant in the geosciences
at OSU and has lived here for a long time so gave me a lot of good tips on the trails back there.  We hung out at the top for a bit and then went our seperate ways down.  I rode up another quarter mile to the true summit of the mtn (I'm such a peak-bagger) and then bombed down the gravel roads to the top of the un-marked trail which I was told was called "endo".  I had to carry my bike over many cut trees to get to the trail but when I did I was greeted by a seesaw right away which I happily
rode over.  The trail down was steep as hell and pretty technical so I was having a blast on my freeride Kona.  When I got back down to Extendo I followed a guy on his freeride rig down the trail who showed me several cool spots including riding between two trees so tight together that I only had about an inch or so on either side of my handlebars to make it through.  I got back down to my truck about 2 hours after I had left it.  It was a great ride and I can't wait to explore more of the trails back there.  I plan on bringing my gps on every ride so that I can make a map of the un-marked trails for myself and close friends.

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CMRU

Tonight I went to my second CMRU meeting (Corvallis Mountain Rescue Unit).  This week there were more people in attendance and we ran through a rescue operations scenario for a hypothetical lost family near Mt. Jefferson.  I recorded the entire meeting on my camera so that I may be able to learn from it.  A lot goes into every rescue.  Amazingly the search radius of rescues, if no other information is gathered, is the distance a family can drive in their car at 65mph in the time since they were seen last.  So if a family was lost that left at 8am they could theoretically be several states away in any direction which is a huge search undertaking.  Luckily most of the time their car can be located at the trailhead indicating they are in the woods in usually a 20 to 30 mile radius... which obviously is much better.  Then command posts for the search have to be established, and human resources must be pooled together to aid in the search and rescue.  These can include local police, state troopers, Boy Scouts, CMRU, Volunteers, The Posse (horses), Air National Gaurd, etc... It really is an amazing process of organization and execution.  From watching the scenario play out in the meeting I can tell that CMRU is well trained and know what they are doing.  It's going to take a lot of training but I'm looking forward to becoming an active member myself in half a year or so.  Plus, the meeting was a lot better than going to the Computer Workshop Class.... :)

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