I miss Lara

Now speaking of nostalgia, as I looked at college pics, I found these........ Lara and I took these the night before I left for Peru in 2004. The intent was to mimic a) how we were feeling at the present moment b) what we would look like in two years after being re-united and c) what we look like when see each other on a regular basis.

Now I think these three pictures still hold true. Only a couple of thing have changed.

Yep, back in 2004 I felt that way, and I still do. Life without Lara makes me look somewhat similar to a meth addict with a yellow face.

This is seriously what I can't wait to do with you again, when I see you for the first time- have you squeeze my head so hard that my eye gets stuck into my cheek, and I love it when you are so happy that you try to catch things in your mouth that are being thrown to you from far away.

This is what I remember my days like with you, and how I hope they will always be. By the way whatever happened to that sweater that I am wearing and Lara our heads look the same size in this picture. Why is it typing in blue underline, make it stop please, i don't know what is wrong.

Lara I hope you are having fun in Argentina, I do miss you, but I am so proud of you and what you are doing. I also hope that your new job is making your life meaningful still. Did you watch the Duck game? Have fun with your bro too! Ill miss seeing him around Eugene.

Clubhouse Nostalgia and Discovery

My last year in college was one of the best years of my life. It was a perfect way to end one stage of my life and gracefully be pulled into the unknown abyss of my adult life. I lived in a little white house and it was later named the "clubhouse". Many firsts happened for me in this house; I fell in love, I became addicted to TV, I painted my toe nails regularly, I got drunk and smoked my first Cuban Cigar, got a piercing infection- just to name a few. Here is a picture of our little abode.Now it is true, she was a little bent out of shape. But we loved her dearly. After graduation Tina and Andryce and I left for Europe and while we were away, we thought our friends were playing a prank on us by saying the Clubhouse had mysteriously walked away. When we returned from a party abroad we went to visit our old home and sure enough, our good ol pal was missing. Where could she have gone so quickly..????
A couple years had passed, and we heard things through the grapevine like "It was torn to pieces" Or it had found a new home on River Road. I thought she was gone forever, never would have I guessed that she was just disguised but living amongst us so closely. One day I was stopped at a stop light, that I stop at every day, between my house and Scott's house. I was looking around at the surroundings and then BAMMM.....I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The car in back of me was honking, but I shan't not move. I stayed and stared, and blinked and squinted. No matter what way I looked at, there was no denying, she was close, and I had failed to notice her for a whole year, she was living so close to me. You can change here color and location, but you can never take her spirit away and the memory she means to us! So here is to you, Clubhouse, a walk down memory lane a salute to the fun that was had between your walls.

Romantic Get-Away

Last Weekend Scott and I went to the beach at
Florence for a nice little romantic weekend to celebrate our 3 years as being enamorados and to just escape for a while and relax! My landlord has a beach house in Florence that he lent to us for the weekend. He told us that it was in a gated community with a hot tub. We were both thinking, wow this is crazy. First off because he is such a down to earth guy, your total typical retired hipee Eugene man. It just didn't make sense that he would own a house in a gated community. Second off I for some reason didn't feel as though I should deserve such free treatment; a huge beach house in a gated community all to ourselves for the weekend!
However when we arrived, we realized what that meant--a gated retirement mobile home park! My landlord bought the trailer for 17.000 and fized it up all nice and cozy and put in a little hot tub and a sweet garden. It was just what we were looking for for the weekend a quiet get-away. I learned that, well, retired people living in mobile homes sure are quiet! The only people around the whole park that I heard or saw were us.

Here I am with my Tio Escotch. Below us at the bottom of the cliff were two sea lions trying to mate. (They could sense an in love couple around so they just had the urge to do it!)

We went on a hike and met Sally Our Scary Slimy Salamander friend....Cute, but also looks like the salamander from hell..

Judging by Sally and this picture, it really looks like we were in a spooky I now What You Did Last Summer hike. The name of the hike that we went on was called the "Hobbit Trail"..........I guess now I understand why, it looks like it is straight from some sorta spooky weird story. Speaking of which, have you seen Pan's Labrynth, o el laberinto del fauno?

Book Clubs!

Future Book Club!

As I think I have mentioned in an earlier blog, I have joined a book club in Eugene. It is actually quite fun and one of my goals, after graduating from college, was to join a book blub so that I would stay somewhat smart! Katie Kohls had a connection from college here that invited us to her group. We meet once a month and read a book a month. Each month a different host takes the responsibility of hosting us all at their place. I really enjoy it! (of course i never host because my place is WAY too small) Everyone is very different in the club and all at a different stage in life, so it brings a lot of neat perspectives. One of the recent books that we read was Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross ( www.popejoan.com ) and it was one of the best books that I have ever read, and one of the most engaging conversations at the club that I have had in a long time. It is a definite read by ALL. So I urged Andryce to read it, and she loved it so much that she started a book club just so more people would read this amazing book and so we could all discuss it! Last weekend I attended her inspiring get together at her new, very cute apartment, and of course the book to discuss was Pope Joan. I say this is my future book club because if I ever leave Eugene and travel north to Portland to live in the future, (or very very near future like within the next 3 months) I know that I nice book club awaits my arrival with new friends.

PS READ POPE JOAN