Job Description

Every job has its share highs and lows, secret benefits, and unexpected surprises. I'm quite certain that very few young students ever think "oh the fabulous meetings I'll have when I'm a (insert profession here)!" Instead, we all dream about the more glamorous aspects of our chosen career without much real sense of what it will take day in and day out. Invariably it is a bit of a shock when reality hits.

My shock for this year was that I was expected to number, stamp, sort, and distribute 1200 new social studies textbooks. I had about three days of notice, and no extra help (or extra pay for that matter). I did one set of 300 books and then I ran over to my computer and begged for help. Fortunately for my back, I have many wonderful friends, and six willing helpers volunteered their time.

Everyone made their way through horrible traffic to meet me at my school after the workday was over. We sliced open boxes, unpacked the books, numbered them, stamped them, and put them back in the boxes in numerical order. It turns out that seven grown-ups are a force to be reckoned with. What would have taken me at least two days took the team only a couple of hours. Hooray! Now I just have to organize distribution to classrooms and things will be good.

Thanks and thanks again to the volunteers!

Camping With Children Part 2

There are good and bad things about Money Creek Campground. The bad things are the highway and the rail line that sandwich the sites. Most of the trains seem to run at night, so you are jolted awake every few hours by the sounds of whistles and wheels. It started to get pretty comical after a while, and everyone was exceptionally good natured about the whole thing. Fortunately, the campground itself is quite beautiful with huge old cedar and fir trees, and the swimable river off to one side. Another great thing about this place was the buffer between the sites. I love car camping, but not when I can see and hear every little detail of my neighbor's camping experience. We arrived at the campground with plenty of time to set up the tents ("can we get in the tent yet?!" x 1000 repetitions) and get the fire going. Luckily scavenging of downed wood was okay because the kids found the foraging process to be very exciting.

It is easy to forget how exciting things are to children. We adults get soooo jaded, but they seem to enjoy every little detail. The tents, the fire, the special cooking, special foods, lanterns and candles, singing around the campfire, and all those things that seem like such common parts of camping. We also had a few other entertainments planned to keep the peace. Little niece got to play with all the playdough she wanted (there is no carpet to worry about in the woods!), and we also had a set of Velcro mitts for playing catch with a tennis ball. The most popular entertainment was definitely the Madlibs. We had "A Trip to the Farm" and "Science Lab" to start, but the most popular one by far was "How to Ride the School bus." Both little and big niece were nearly falling off their chairs with the humor of it all. We learned that you should never talk to the hippo or throw princesses while the bus is in motion. We wrapped up the evening with roasting marshmallows. This was a very popular activity, but there were a few tricky moments when a little person would forget themselves and hot sticky marshmallow went waving around on the end of its sharp stick. Beware the stick!

On Saturday morning we headed out for hiking at Bridal Veil Falls. Little niece and I had the same opinion of the steep and rocky trial, so we spent most of the trip brining up the rear. She is such a tiny little person that piggyback rides are not difficult to give, and she got more and more of them as the trail went on. Big niece, on the other hand, was not having any assistance of any kind, and she was actually the one to set the pace. By the time we reached the top we all agreed that the view and the falls made the trip entirely worthwhile. We all dangled our toes in the cold mountain water, and some people even took off their pants and went wading. Big niece and I agreed that we do NOT take our pants off in public thank you very much!

On the whole, I would say that our camping expedition was a huge success. We were not put off by freight trains or helicopters (oh I left that bit out didn't I? It was loud.) and we managed to enjoy almost every moment. By the time we were heading home on Sunday the nieces were getting a bit crabby with each other, but they were SO well behaved for almost the entire weekend. Having the two of them along made the whole camping experience seem fresh and new (not that I was tired of it, but you get the idea) and I hope we will have time to do it again soon (maybe in a slightly quieter place?).

Camping With Children Part 1

Last weekend we went camping with my nieces who are five and eight. It was the "second best thing in the world after Disneyland" according to my elder niece, and I have to say that I concur. Okay, maybe not the second best time in the whole world, but still pretty darn good fun. We all met up on Friday afternoon and headed out to Money Creek campground on highway 2. I found this place by looking at reservable campgrounds in Washington State, and then finding one that had two free sites on the correct weekend. In short, I had no idea what we were really getting into. Nevertheless, we were all pretty cheerful with what we found when we arrived. But I get ahead of myself.

First, there was the packing part. Packing for a camping trip is usually a mad dash for me. I find it both thrilling and anxiety inducing to try and get all the required bits and pieces together in one place. We are so used to having all our comforts that it can be kind of tough to remember all the things will really be needed. Food is a good example of this. It is easy to remember that you need to buy some cans (keep in mind that we are car camping, so cans are just fine thanks) of chili if you want to have anything to eat. However, it is also easy to forget that you will need a can opener to get at that chili. I once carefully packed all the ingredients and materials required to make pancakes (including the butter and the whisk and all that) only to find that I'd forgotten to pack any forks. You get the idea. Therefore, I spent most of Friday morning running around trying to figure out what I might be forgetting. The elder niece vacillated between making fun of me and bouncing off the walls with excitement. She got extra excited when we went shopping for a new tent (we didn't know how to fit two not-so-little girls into our two person dome). We found one with, get this, two separate rooms! Add to that it's apple green color, and you've got something very special as far as an eight year-old is concerned.

Splendiferous green tent in hand, we moved on to packing the rest of the car (save the nasty anti-car camping rants for someone who cares please). Ice chest, sleeping bags, and all the rest went in and we headed off to meet up with the rest of our party. It only takes a little over an hour to get to the campground, so we also had time to stop along the way and buy a few essentials. These included a disposable cameras (we forgot the good camera) chili-cheese Fritos (mmm chili-cheese!) and a Strawberry Shortcake kite (little niece was captivated by its glory and it only cost $1.50). Finally, in the early evening, we made it to Money Creek.

Part 2 shortly

Happy Birthday Mjo

Happy birthday to our friend Mjo who turned 30 last week! Going to that party certainly reminded me of how close I am to that same milestone. Somehow, the idea of being 30 is sort of a shock. When you hit your 20's it's sort of like being an adult with training wheels. No one is surprised if you still behave like a child every once in a while. Once you hit 30 though there can be no question that you are a grown up. It's not that I fear being responsible or even sober(not that you are required to be serious); it's just that I can't quite see myself as a 30 year-old. I'm quite certain that I was 12 just a little while ago! I suppose it's going to happen no matter what, and I will just have to get used to it.

Kayaking the Duwamish

M and I love a good Kayaking trip, so when our friend P suggested a trip along the Duwamish we jumped at the chance. This is, perhaps, the most industrial part of the Seattle waterfront, and it is quite famous for having been badly polluted. However, we were not put off, and I'm glad because it was an amazing trip. We started out in a nice calm area near Alkai, but before the thing was over we were weaving our way in among the huge cargo cranes and massive cruise ships. The tugs were both amazing and a little scary because of how quick and maneuverable they are. We were SO tiny and slow compared to all the other things out on the water.

To Work or Not to Work

That is the question. Today we met at school to continue our planning for the upcoming year. There is no doubt that by working now we are saving ourselves a lot of effort later, but still, summer is only going to last a few more weeks. I could go in tomorrow and get a whole slew of useful and important things done, but would I be better off sitting on my bottom in the backyard? Tough to say for sure (I know that’s a fragment, but I just couldn’t help myself). The Stop and Smell the Roses Crowd (SSRC for short) would definitely say that a sunny day should never be spent inside, and besides stress is bad for you. Then again their own argument can be used against them. The Nose to the Grindstone Crowd (maybe I should call them The Deferred Gratification Crowd?) would probably argue that stress IS bad for you and that is why I should go to work and save myself from future stress. What do you think? Is it better to get your sunshine even if it costs you later? Or should more people get on with IT to avoid pressure down the line?

Produce at Last!

Sure, we've eaten quite a bit of lettuce from the garden already. However, the first cucumber seemed like a much bigger deal. Growing lettuce the way we did feels like a sort of a cheat. You plant the wee lettuce plants in the garden box, add water, and eventually you pick leaves off the big lettuce plant. The cucumber, on the other hand, came from tiny plants, grew into big plants with lots of leaves and nice trailing tendrils, grew flowers which turned into teeny tiny little cucumbers which grew into big spiky cukes. Wheew! Then I went out and whacked it off with a knife! Ha! Ha! (and people say vegetarians are wussies) It tasted very good, and I think we might even do some pickling if all those flowers live up to their potential. I LOVE my little garden.

Back to Work

Yesterday was my first day back to work since we went on break at the end of June. We spent two days writing a curriculum schedule for the whole year, and unit plans for the individual subjects. Since we weren't getting paid I was not surprised that only 6 of the 20 teachers decided to attend. However, it turned out that fewer cooks was really a very good thing. We were able to plow through a huge amount of work without much, ahem, debate or digression. Meetings that are actually useful and highly productive are SUCH satisfying things, but they are just so incredibly rare. The other 14 people will be back with us by the end of the month (not even they can avoid contract time!), so we will have the fun of hearing them complain about the things we did and did not include in the plan. I will have to restrain myself when I have the urge to say "oh, well it's too bad you couldn't attend when we decided that in August."

Oregon Coast

Okay, I've been waiting and waiting to post about the trip to Oregon so I could include the pictures. However, as the pictures are still not available, I am giving up on them and posting about our trip anyway. Otherwise I will forget all the pertinent details.

Right after we left the fair on Sunday afternoon we headed over to the Oregon coast for a little relaxation on our way back to Washington. The coast is only a little over an hour away, so it was not a big undertaking. It was hot and sticky in the valley, but as we got over toward the coast it was misty and clouded and the temperature was at least 20 degrees cooler. That was perfect as far as I was concerned; cool and misty is how the coast should be. We came first to Florence and then headed north to Yachats. The Overleaf Lodge is my new favorite place to stay on the coast. It is clean, beautiful, and located right on the water, so you can actually hear the serf at night. The best part is that it isn't very expensive. I only wish it wasn't quite so far south from us because we won't get to go back very often. I love, love, love the bluffs and craggy rocks of the Oregon coast. The waves CRASH into the shore and the spray flies over you. We have none of this delicate lapping along the sand like some places. We also stayed in Cannon Beach on our second night, but that place was just fair, so I wouldn't want to recommend it. I really want to resolve to go to the coast more often.

Luxury

Okay, there can no longer be any kind of doubt that M and I are members of the bourgeoisie. We are the bloodsuckers who live a life of luxury on the backs of the poor proletariat. We are the yuppies who consume and consume and consume without creating anything of value ourselves. We are members of the western military industrial complex. The proof? We have air-conditioning--- and it works.

Sorry, sorry, that was a political science joke (half truth). The really big news is not about our bloodsucking ways, but the fact that it was 97 degrees outside yesterday! 97! That is just not something we are used to in the Pacific NW. For us, anything over about 85 is cruel and unusual. Most of us are like frogs; we like cool slightly damp places with just a touch of sun now and then. All I could do was lay around and read. Today, on the other hand, we've cranked the air-conditioning for the first time. I don't mean to brag, but aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh that feels good. Because it's partly cloudy you could almost imagine that it was a 70 degree day, but all you have to do is step outside to realize that the heat, and more importantly some humidity, are still out there. I think I'll just stay inside today and enjoy the ill-gotten fruits of Capitalism.

Sea of Beads

Lacey Washington is just not a place where a person expects to land. However, if you join the air force or you really, really enjoy beading, you just might end up there. We went down last week so DW could revel in the beadiness of it all. Tucked away a few miles off the freeway is THE WORLD'S LARGEST BEAD STORE (or so they say). The title is well deserved; it is a massive warehouse JUST FULL of beads.

If you are standing in the doorway of the place, and you try to see the people on the other end, you would have trouble making them out. It is that huge. It contains beads from all over the world with all sorts of different qualities. Big, small, sparkly, shiny, matte, and ALL kinds of different shapes. I think I saw about 10 different varieties of banana beads alone. Don't all people need a necklace made of radishes and skulls? Perhaps you would rather a bracelet made of wiggly rubber beads?

M and I only spent a little time there before we headed off to the state park to kill time. DW was VERY happy with the selection, and doubly happy to find that much of it was on sale. She came away from the store with a sizable box of beads to sell in her store. Now I can say I've been to Lacey and I didn't even have to join the air force to do it.

Uninspired

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I've been fairly uninspired for the last few weeks. Summer is very, very wonderful, but there has not been as much relaxing (or blogging) as I had hoped. Why can't one ever be allowed to rest on the proverbial laurels? It seems like there is always something that needs doing, and I am not just talking about the dishes. Fortunately, I finished my stupid on-line class today (at least I hope I got it all off okay) so now the only thing hanging over me is the curriculum stuff for next year. I know I should be getting gobs of things done what with all the free time, but somehow the motivation is sort of floppy and anemic (if you know what I mean). Perhaps August will be more productive. I think I need a nap.

By Way of Explanation

Several people have pointed out that my entries about the Oregon Country Fair are missing more than a little back-story. I do apologize. I tend to forget that several different circles of friends read this blog, and not everyone is intimately familiar with all the details. M, R, and my old friend B know all too well what goes on at the fair, but for everyone else a small history lesson.

My parents moved from California to Oregon in the 1970s. They were fleeing the general ickiness of Los Angeles (I couldn't agree more!), and they thought that Oregon was a very refreshing kind of place. Having worked in silkscreen print shops in California (they met in one) printing seemed like a good business. I am not sure of the exact year they first went to the fair, but it must have been over thirty years ago. They took t-shirts in a number of different designs and sold them in a booth along the Long Tom River (I am not making that name up; you can check it on maps). In these first few years it was called the Oregon Renaissance Fair (or something like that) but it soon got sued by the California Renaissance Fair and had to change the name.

My parents' original booth fell into the river one winter, so we were relocated to a new section of the loop, and we have been in that same spot for more than twenty-five years. Booths consist of semi-permanent structures (the framework stays) made mostly from wood. There is a commercial portion out front and a hidden camping portion at the back. Vendors must try to avoid displaying "unnatural" looking things such as plastic. Virtually the entire fair is run by committee, so there are LOTS of exceedingly silly rules. One of my favorite overheard quotes ever was from one stoned hippie to another "dude, the fair used to be all about yes, yes, yes, but now it's just about no, no, no." Fortunately, the rules combine to make things work with such a huge group of people.

Fair family (staff, vendors, entertainers, etc) usually make up more than 5,000 people. Visitors are welcome during the day from 11am to 7pm, and the attendance is usually so good that they have to cap the number who can come. Most years 18,000 people PER DAY visit the fair. They come to eat as much as they can hold (there are more than 200 different food booths last time I checked) listen to music (there are more than ten different stages), look at the crafts, and just sort of soak up the, ahem, unusual atmosphere. Where else might you be accosted by giant chickens while looking at a topless woman painted blue?

Many people associate the fair with stoned hippies, and they do attend, but the bulk of people are just there to have fun. Allow me to just grab my goody-two-shoes from the closet. Ah, there we are now I've got them on, and they are just SO comfortable. I have never done drugs at the fair (or anywhere for that matter), and I really don't think I ever will. Drugs are bad m-kay. If you are not familiar with the fair this will seem like a digression but trust me it's not.

Moving on, the booths are all situated along a pedestrian-only path that is just barely wide enough for service vehicles. Only the very patient (or the very stupid) drive their goods in. Most people just park their cars outside the loop and haul stuff in by hand or by carts. This is a very heavy job, and it usually takes several people several hours to get everything unloaded. Once everything is in, we begin to set up the camp in the back and decorate the booth at the front. We use fabric (and this year a carpet) to decorate, and we hang t-shirts by size. When finished, the booth should look bright and welcoming with lots of fascinating merchandise. We can print just about anything on the t-shirts that is not under copy write. We've done dragons (very successful), medieval woodblocks (somewhat successful), and quotes from Ben Franklin (not very successful). Every year it is a challenge to think up something new.

Even with all the above, I think I can safely say that it is impossible to really describe the fair using words. Even pictures are only so helpful. It is a very unique experience to say the least. Some people love to visit, others can't stand it, and never want to go back. I am looking forward to my 27th visit next year.

It Lives!

Despite all the toing and froing about the mechanic and the tow truck, my car is once again fixed! What was the matter? Shock of all shocks! The car was flooded! After the nice-but-slightly-dense mechanic believed it for himself it took hardly any time to get things cleaned out and running nicely again. Of course "fixed" and "running" are relative terms, and you never know when things may change for the worse. Either I need to buy a new car or take some extensive courses in auto repair. Nevertheless, I am once again an independent person, and I cannot complain about that.

More Fun With Cars

To borrow directly from a clever friend of mine--- Welcome to my pity party!

We got home from our trip this afternoon. I pushed to leave Portland early so I would have plenty of time to call the mechanic, renew AAA, and wait for the tow truck. In other words, I had accepted the situation, and I was prepared to deal with things. If only it could have been that easy. The mechanic, it turns out, is on vacation for the next two weeks (his entire shop that is) so I have no one to do the work. I had another recommendation from a friend, but when I went online to vet them I found an entire webpage devoted to how awful they are. Okay, next plan, I did some more research and found a place with good ratings and a AAA recommendation. They actually answered their phone AND they said that, yes, they do work on rotary engines. Sure, they are going to charge me $100 just to find out what is wrong (hello! It's flooded!) but at least they will do the work. Next, I called AAA to request the tow. My favorite (oh my god! I have a favorite towing company!) and most reliable towing company was "experiencing delays" and they would have to farm it out to someone else. The someone else came without calling first (bad towing manners), backed the car out crooked (bad towing technique), wanted me to steer it up the ramp (bad towing policy), and then failed to secure both sides with straps (bad towing mojo). In short, I was not impressed, and I missed my regular guys. Oh well, supposedly it survived the trip, and they will get started with "the diagnosis" (I told you IT'S FLOODED!!!) tomorrow. I really hope the car gods are finished having a laugh at my expense.

Oregon Country Fair

Free WiFi is a beautiful thing! I'm sitting on the rough wooden benches in the back of our booth at the fair. The drum tower is in full swing, the noodle booth is frying up a storm nextdoor ("One chicken MURGI!!!"), there is tye-die everywhere, and the parade should be passing by soon. We are not making loads of money, but fortunately we don't care that much any more. We are having a wonderful time, and I will be sure to post more later (with pics is hope).

4th of July

"Mere vaporing and boasting become a nation as little as a man. But honest, outspoken pride and faith in our country are infinitely better and more to be respected than the cultivated reserve which sets it down as ill-bred and in bad taste ever to refer to our country except by way of deprication, criticism, or general negation. We have a right to be proud of our vast material success, our national power and dignity, our advancing civilization, carrying freedom and education in its train. But to count our wealth and tell our numbers and rehearse our great deeds simply to boast of them is useless enough. We have a right to do it only when we listen to the solemn undertone which brings the message of great responsibilities — responsibilities far greater than the ordinary political and financial issues, which are sure to find, sooner or later, a right settlement." - Henry Cabot Lodge, Americanism

Happy 4th of July! My deep, dark secret is that I think this is a truly great country based on profound ideals. This nation has, dare I say it, effected positive change in a thousand different quarters, and it can be a very real force for good. If you bring up these ideas in front of most people they practically fall over themselves to remind you about all the ugly and tragic things connected to this country. I am fully, painfully, aware of the darkness- thank you very much- but I refuse to submit entirely to those who would do nothing but disdain.

The ideals of this country allow me, a young, unmarried woman, to be more than the chattel of my father or my husband, to study where and what I want and as much as I choose, to earn my own living based on my own merits, to choose my religion (or lack thereof), my philosophies, and opinions, and to talk about them as little or as much as I like, to read and write and think freely, to associate with anyone and everyone, and finally, to vote with reasonable assurance (don't start with me!) that my ballot will be counted.

You may argue that these rights are available in many places around the globe, but my point is that this was not always the case. The United States is responsible for assisting in the propagation of these ideas, and I think that cannot be other than a very good thing. Therefore, happy 4th of July; long live the republic! Down with the monkey's butt!

Fair Prep

In three days we are heading down to the Oregon Country Fair. This will be my 26th fair since I was born, and my family has been attending for more than 30 years. Yes, it is a hippy fair. Yes, there are people there who don't wear too many clothes. Yes, there are people who drink or smoke things while there. Yes, many people there are overly fond of patchouli. However, I have never done any of these things at the fair, and yet I still manage to have a great time.

First, you get to spend some time with at least some of the family. I hardly ever get to see both my brothers at the same time let alone for several days on end (they are nice even if they do tease me ALL the time).

Second, it's a little world all to its own, and so you don't really have time to think about all the other stuff like your job, world affairs, or traffic on 520. You hardly even remember that 520 exists.

Third, its great fun to stroll around with M and other people and look at all the crafts, shows, and strange people.

Forth, it is actually kind of entertaining to run a tiny business for a few days. We always spend some time conferring about what will sell, and which colors to buy, and how many people might want.

Fifth, the FOOOOD! This place is by no means gourmet. Instead, it's more like a wide variety of street food. For any meal you can choose between falafel, phad thai, gumbo, or greek salad just to name a few. Sometimes I find myself jonesing for a Tia Supreme burrito in the middle of winter.

Sixth, it's tradition! I love the way this event doesn't change much in character from year to year. It really is like a little world, and you can imagine that you were never really away from one year to the next.

Viva la peach!

Dead Car

Ack! I have gotten used to the fact that my car, at 16 years old, is not exactly reliable. However, I also thought I knew at least some of its foibles, so I could try to avoid doing anything that would annoy it. I know, for example, that it is more likely to flood in cold weather, so I try to minimize the risks of flooding during the coldest months of the year (very short trips, parking overnight on a hill, not starting it for long periods). But this is July. Surely, based on all I have learned, I should be safe in July (are you laughing at me already?). Yesterday I decided to take out the lawn mower which is located in the corner of the garage. Due to garage configuration, this means I have to back the car out first. Normally I get M to help me push it out so I don't have to start it, but M was at work so I started it up, pulled it out, and turned it off again(oh the humanity!). I then went off and mowed the lawn. A couple of hours later I came out to drive downtown, and, you guessed it, the car would not start. Even though it is July the car is well and truly flooded. Now it needs a flatbed ride to the mechanic who will clean it out and get it running again. I am getting to know my mechanic and my tow truck driver REALLY well, and it sucks (not that they aren’t guys and everything).

This is the part where sane people are saying "but this car is old, old, old, why can't you get a new car made in, say, the last decade? Then the problem would be solved." Yes, a new car would certainly ameleorate the reliability problem. There is just one fatal flaw with this plan; I am REALLY attached to the old car. It is cute, it is sporty, it goes like a top (when it goes), and my brother gave it to me when I was a penniless college student. I LOVE this car. If I could just shrink it down to toy size I would keep it on my bookshelf and be happy. However, the science is just not keeping up with me on this one. The only thing to do is bite the bullet, sell the old car, and buy some new, non-exciting, non-special, something. At least the next time I need a new car I won't mind so much.

Nightmare Over

Good news! (be warned, this post is going to be full of !!!) I just got the transcript that I PASSED my Professional Certification course! The horrible, frustrating, humiliating experience is over, done, finished! Hooray! True, the teacher did have the nerve to give me a "B" even though I did all the required work (I honestly believe she wanted to stick it to me for being difficult) but I don't care because it's OVER!!! Of course I will not believe that it's truly over until I receive the new license from the state (the university now has to send my application to them). It takes the state over twelve weeks to process teacher license applications, so that will be a while. However, I don't really mind because the only thing I have to do now is waiting. No more essays, no more digital pictures of things you can't read, no more tormenting from the world's most clueless instructor. Hooray!