To The Dump!

Since I am from a small town we do not have regular garbage pick-up like people from larger cities would. We save money by putting it in garbage cans and taking it to the dump ourselves. When I was a little kid, I remember going with my dad, Doug and Erika to the dump in Rainier. Dad would put the cans in the back of the truck and bungee them to the back so they wouldn't fly out while we were driving. Once we got to the dump, there was a huge sign, "keep children in vehicle." So we stayed inside. Dad would pay the man or woman the money, unlatch the tailgate and proceeded to take the cans out one by one and dump them. I remember turning around in the cab of the truck with Doug and Erika to watch what kind and color of garbage juice came out of the cans once dad was done dumping them. It was the highlight of going to the dump.

When we got older, we hated going to the dump with dad because he would make us dump the garbage and sometimes it would get on us or we would gag from the putrid smell. When we left for college, dad would actually save going to the dump until we came home for break. "Surprise, we get to go to the dump this weekend!"

Alien Daze

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending my first Alien Daze Festival in McMinnville, Oregon. I've seen pictures of previous years so I knew I would be in for a real interesting time.
On May 11, 1950, Mr. Paul Trent noticed an "unidentified flying object" in the sky and took a picture of it. It was later published in the News-Register and later the Oregonian. Within a month it was published in LIFE magazine. A while later, the photograph was carefully analyzed and even the best professionals could not prove it was fake. They just could not figure out what the heck it was. The whole sequence of events has led to a UFO Festival which is held ever year in McMinnville. It is the biggest gathering in the Pacific Northwest and second in the country to Roswell New Mexico.
We walked around 3rd street, which was blocked off due to the parade, I took some pictures and we found a place to sit to watch the parade. The parade lasted about an hour and we saw a lot of weird costumes.

The Past

Since I had graduated from college I have been thinking more and more about the past. I know you shouldn't dwell on the past but I believe the past is a great learning tool for the present and the future. If it weren't for the people from my past, I would not be who I am today. There are days I wish I could go back into time and relive those memories of me hanging with my friends, playing sports and all the random weird things I did with my family. I really miss my animals who have passed away since then, especially my dog Mickey.
If I had the chance to go back, I probably would have changed some of the decisions I had made. I even probably would have gone to a different college. However, like I mentioned above, I wouldn't be who I am today, I wouldn't have those memories, pictures, friends, learned lessons and the opportunities that have been given to me.
It's funny how plans change. When I enrolled into WSU, I had the intention of majoring in Geology and was going to walk on and try out for the women's soccer team. I joined the club softball team and changed my major to Sport Management. I was suppose to do that.
I wanted to be married by 24-25 and I really don't think that's going to happen since that is this year. I am not the type of person who rushes into things without thinking, unlike a certain person I know, we won't mention names...and I don't go out looking for anything, if it's going to happen it will find me.
I've never really been a fan of change either. A lot has changed since I have graduated high school. I always thought that high school would never end and we would stay in this constant routine. The routine ended when I went to college. I then got into the college life routine and loved it. I never wanted it to end. Then one day it did and now I am in the "real world" routine and I hate it. There are no more boundaries. Life is what you make of it up to this point. If I have learned anything the past six years it is this, you learn to adapt to your new routine. Maybe someday I will grow to love the "real world" routine. We'll see.

Mother's Day 2008

It is really hard for me to leave once I am at home for the weekend. I wait until the last minute to pack up the car, get gas and actually put the car into gear and drive away. I miss being around my family so much. There is always something exciting happening or something exciting that is going to happen. This weekend my brother and sister had a chance to come home from Pullman. They opted to stay there and work over the summer rather than coming home for break. You can tell mom and dad are lonely without their kids there. They definitely seemed more alive when everyone was home. Erika got a new Yorkie/Shitzu puppy with Brendan's tax money so she brought it home along with her cat Harvey. I also brought my kitties home as well. We had a mini zoo at our house along with the two cats and parakeets who already live at home. It was quite entertaining watching the puppy chase all of the cats and all of the cats hissing at each other. It was worth the wait.

We celebrated Mother's day on Saturday because it fit better with everyone's schedules rather than cramming it into an hour or so on the Sunday. Erika and Doug had to leave on Sunday to get back to Pullman. The weather was a little iffy but we managed to time it just right before it poured down rain. We had the best meal ever: bbq hamburgers, the fixings, chips, beans, desserts etc. We passed out presents and ate cake. We moved the party inside because the clouds were threatening us with rain.

We went inside and played Pictionary with the chalk and chalk board. Everyone started feeling tired so we went home around 8ish. Erika and I decided to go to Wal-mart and just walk around. I got my kitties some name tags and Erika bought some DVD's and a holder for them. We went home and watched some movies while Erika went through her stuff.

Sunday was a chill day. Cleaned up some stuff in the house, did laundry, went on a mini drive with mom and dad to Yelm, found out Yelm now has a Parks & Rec department and an awesome new sports complex out behind the Wal-mart. We went to Dairy Queen and had some icecream. I helped mom move her sewing table into my old room. The darn thing barely made it through the door frame. I got all of my stuff together and left to go back around 10 because I wanted to stay and watch the season finale of Survivor: fans vs. favorites. Parvati won over Amanda. It was a very weird season. Many people had to be taken out because of medical conditions and this season we had the most blind sides. Erik is definitely the dumbest survivor in history. Why would you give up your immunity necklace knowing that you will be voted off? Come on.

I got back around 12:30 a.m. and unloaded the car and cats, put some stuff away and went to bed.

Traffic and how much it sucks!

I grew up in a small town, not a lot of traffic, no stop lights, one highway that cuts through town. I went to college in a slightly bigger town, not a lot of traffic, a few stop lights and a few highways that cut through town. I got a job in a crappy town, 20ish miles from the freeway that takes an hour or more to get to when I am used to how ever many miles it is, that is how many minutes it takes to get there. I am located in McMinnville, Ore. and to get home to Rainier, Wash. I have to drive through Portland or around Portland on 205. No matter what time of day or the circumstance there will always be traffic. Highway 99W needs a lot of work done to it. Potholes, chunks of road missing and grooves everywhere. So many people use it for its everyday commute and the ODOT crew have not even tried to fix it. It's terrible. I hope to not be here for very much longer or I am seriously going to go insane.

I miss Washington

The last couple days I have been missing home a lot. I have no idea why. I am not happy with where I am living, in fact I hate it. I hate living alone, I hate cooking for one person, I hate living 20 miles from the freeway that takes an hour to get to, I hate traffic, I guess I just hate everything right now. The only thing keeping me here is the money and the free rent, tv, internet and electricity. I just want to get a permanent job and a permanent place to live. I don't care if I end up in Eugene or Washington, just not here. This place is a hole.