A brief accounting....

Good morning everybody!

Forgive me for I have sinned. It has been five whole days since my last blog. Sorry, guys. Believe it or not, I did get some complaints about my absence... even if they were secondhand through Franz. Anyway, on with the show.

So, here is a brief accounting of the last few days...

On the 4th Franz and I were lucky enough to be able to watch the downtown fireworks display from our windows here at the condo. It was really amazing, and totally neat to be able to do that. This is the first house I have lived in that I could watch a large fireworks show from my window. Of course, you can watch your next door neighbor set off bottle rockets until the cows come home... especially if you live in Banks. But this was way cooler.

The 5th saw Franz and I happily winding our way downtown to the waterfront to see Jonny Lang play in the big Blues Festival. You bring $5.00 and two cans of food and you get to watch blues greats from all over the world play. It was fantastic. I made a slight wardrobe faux pas and dressed a little too warmly. But, after the music started it didn't matter. Also, note to self (and anyone else who is interested), always eat before going to see a show with 20,000 of your closest friends. Because if you get dizzy and lightheaded in a crowd that large, it isn't always easy to get out, grab a bite and come back to find your spot still available. Luckily, Franz and I were able to find seats! This was even better than the “standing room only” area we spent the first part of the show in. Franz leads a charmed life... and luckily I get to go along for the ride.

The 6th saw me working out at the gym again with my trainer, Brandon. He decided to do a new routine for me with some different machines thrown in. And they, of course, are significantly harder than the old machines. "You can take it, you are getting stronger." he says. "Yeah," I am thinking, "Tell that to my aching body tomorrow." It's funny, now when I work out I can tell which things are going to hurt the next day. It's not all that hard, really. Pretty much if it is a muscle group I am working out, it is going to hurt the next day. (Grin) Come on; don't tell me you didn't see that joke coming.

Yesterday I woke up with a killer nosebleed. Franz and I figured it is because we/I have been sleeping with the AC on and the windows closed up at night. In fact, when it gets warm, I sometimes leave the windows closed all day too. Either way, I had a king sized nosebleed to show for my efforts at sleep Wednesday morning. This in turn led to a whopper of a headache for most of the day. I did finally get up a little before noon, but I am afraid I didn't get much done. Just a few loads of laundry and some dishes. I need to find a new primary care physician. I can't go back to the people at Student Health any more, because I am no longer a student. Duh. But I don't want to pay to get started with a new PCP, and then find out that he isn't covered under the health insurance I get at my new job. (Note the optimism about getting a job.) See how much of your life hinges on whether or not you have a job? God, this is frustrating.

But, when you have nosebleeds and bad headaches, it *is* fun to sit around the house and imitate Arnold Schwarzenegger in your mind saying, "It's not a tumor." I just love doing that.

Today will find me hanging out, trying to find a job online, and maybe eating some Cheerios. I finished Hillary Clinton's biography, as well as Chuck Palahniuk's book, "Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon." Both are highly recommended. Chuck's book if for no other reason than it is essentially a "weirdness history" of Portland. And what city dweller wouldn't like to know the history behind the weirdness of her city? Next I will be reading, "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right" by Al Franken. It is hilarious so far.

Franz and I have a Timbers game to go to tonight in order to celebrate one of his coworker's birthdays. It will be my first attendance at a professional soccer league game. Should be neat. I am going to try to learn the rules of the game so I will know what the hell is going on. As it stands right now, whenever I watch soccer it just looks like a lot of people running around after the ball. I know it has to be more complicated than that!

And I am looking forward to tomorrow when Franz's friends Christian and Sean will be in town. They are both hilarious and fun people to be around, so I am excited about where we might go and what we might do. I hope it involves pizza!

I also hope that everyone out there that I know and care about is happy and healthy!

And remember, "It's not a tumor."

Love to all,

Sherry