1) Where did you begin 2010?
Warren & I both took off from work from Xmas to NYE but choose a staycation. We spent a couple of days at Breitenbush , enjoying the hot springs in the snow. For NYE itself, we had a simple date night, cooked together, lit a fire in the fireplace and enjoyed one another’s company. The next day we went to a big party, the aftermath of which Warren documented in his mouse story here:
in the wee hours of a new year
by Warren Washburn on Sunday, January 3, 2010 at 7:17am
having well-wished carl and talking with folks for some time, my social anxiety got the better of me and so we taxied our way home.
settling in for a movie biopic what about monet and the impressionists attempt at defining their world. a sudden shadow lit across the front of the hearthstone.
did you see? we asked each other. yes.
so i stands to me feet and around the coffee table and there behind the firewood bin staring me in the eye, the beast. the horror. please see the attached artist's rendering from eyewitness account.
if you see this animal, kill it dead. will pay cash.
in the subsequent pandemonium i lost track of the critter. pillows were tossed. facelights were used. books were raised as a blunt force weapon. some folks up the street lit off some fireworks. we poured over the living room, kitchen, and laundry area... but no trace of the creature could be found.
but i saw it. it exists.
we convinced ourselves and consoled each other that it was in fact not a TERRORMOUSE with power and toughness of 5/4 and flesh rending incisors but rather, a simple 0/1 mouse. unfortunately, also having the ability to tap and become shrouded until the end of the turn. fucker.
back to the movie. compelling film and pretty to watch.
a spotlight shines across the window. hrm? stop movie.
now, we have four or five of portland's finest police cruisers out in the street. cops are combing through neighbors yards and looking under cars... wtf? are teh mouse police here?
no. in fact, the firecrackers earlier were actually live firearms. the wannabe gangster shitheads across the street decided to pop off a few rounds for giggles and theater. us, completely clueless in our frantic fantasize about the mouse intrusion and potential rodentia attack failing to recognize the truer danger just outside the one-eighth inch of glass partition.
gah. i've got to move us from this place. we don't feel safe anymore.
i guess the moral of the story to be; if the crowd of one hundred or so of your friends laughing and dancing and having fun seems to be a bit much and you just have got to get away from it all... hunker down smile and nod. it'll all be over soon enough.
xoxo
2. What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before?
Got pre-approved for a mortgage (although we have not yet purchased a house), purchased and drove a scooter, rode a ferry to the San Juan Islands, watched for whales, saw bald eagles, visited some new hot springs, and saw Crater Lake, applied for graduate school, and attended two different board meetings for two non-profits.
3. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions. I am still occasionally working on the not smoking bits (mostly successful at the moment). I appear to now be able to do the social smoking thing, which seems to be a couple of cigarettes a week on average give or take. I really would like to see this go away completely once and for all. I am also still working on the regular exercise goals (less successfully than I would like to admit). My walking steps per day are very good. I spent three weeks monitoring this data. Cardio not so much. I need to get some aerobic exercise and more yoga in.
4. Were you in school (anytime this year)?
I got re-certified in CPR.
I did just apply to graduate school for Spring of 2011 at Portland State University for the Geography Dept’s GIS certificate program. I am on the waiting list for the pre-requisite class for winter term which begins on January 3rd.
5. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Not this year.
6. Any new additions to your family?
No.
7. Did anyone close to you die?
My grandfather Merle Anderson passed away on November 26th at the age of eighty-nine.
8. Did you know anybody who got married?
It seemed to be more of year of break-ups, fallings out & that end of the spectrum. Or people holding it together.
Warren & I celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary (and our honeymoon) by going to the San Juan Islands for a week around July 4th. We stayed on San Juan Island, in Friday Harbor and also went went to Victoria, BC.
9. What countries did you visit?
Canada. See above.
10. How did you earn your money?
My job at the Law Firm, although I was demoted in March from the Records Department to Support Services.
11. Where did most of your money go?
Rent. Utilities. Food. Student loans. Some entertainment.
12. Did you have any encounters with the police?
Other than the mouse story? No.
13. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
A house. A job which doesn’t make me want to stab people with sporks daily. Plans for travel.
14. What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Tineke’s graduation from NCNM. Way to go Dr. Malus!
15. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
This year was one with many challenges for me and my friends. I’d say my biggest achievement is holding on to my optimism.
16. What was your biggest failure?
Not finding a house to buy although we spent the entire year looking for one, actually going into about 150 or so houses, driving by more and looking online. The job situation in its entirety, specifically the demotion and my lack of a solution/better alternative.
17. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Actually this was a healthier year for me. Knocks on wood.
18. Where did you go on holidays/vacation?
Breitenbush; Mt Hood ski trip (with no inner tubbing for me); camping at the land for Land Olympics; San Juan Islands and the Olympic National Park; North Umpqua River/Tokatee Hot Spings/Crater Lake over Labor Day weekend; birthday weekend at the coast; Thanksgiving weekend in Montana with Tracy’s family.
19. What was the best thing you bought?
My scooter!
20. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Warren for starting my days with kisses on my eyes & always making it better; Dylan for showing such amazing courage & keeping her sense of humor and anger when appropriate; Bob New for creating so many volunteer opportunities for Common Ground Wellness Center; Lostmachine Andy, Happy Mel and Jesse Banks & ALL the crew who helped to create the pirate ship and get her to the Black Rock desert (despite differences after the the fact, I still want to acknowledge all the awesomeness that did occur); Matt McCune for coming up with the Ten days of Tanya and providing us with a catalyst for creating more random acts of kindness; Tanya for being an inspiration; and Doctors Tineke and Sija for creating the Portland Artists Clinic.
21. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
My employer’s behavior has both appalled and depressed me. I have never encountered such consistently negative personalities, worked in such a hostile environment or been demoted before. This clearly isn’t the job for me. Unfortunately for all the job searching and resuming flinging I have done I have only had one phone interview that didn’t materialize into a new opportunity. I really hope to change this situation in 2011.
22. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
My scooter? watching for whales? This year was about appreciating what I have & living in the moment.
23. Did you move anywhere?
Unfortunately, no.
24. Where do you live now? NE Killingsworth; Portland, OR.
25. What memorable shows/events/natural phenomena did you see in 2010?
The Devil & Billy Markham performance at Curious Comedy Theater; Cirque du Soleil’s Kooza performance; Hitchcock’s 39 Steps at Portland Center Stage; Bastille Day at the Joan of Arc Statue; Star Trek in the Park; Mondo Croquet; PDX Bridge Festival where there was concern that Solovox & all the people dancing might literally bring down the Hawthorne Bridge; Margaret Cho live; seeing the swifts at Chapman School; Ten Days of Tanya; last camping weekend of the year at the land; corn maze silliness; Iliad at Portland Center Stage; Anti-Con & santa carolling the mayor; our white elephant & bad sweater party; the White Album show.
