Birthday #34

The weekend of August 2nd came and went without much of a "to do". The Red Bull Flutag was going on down town and I would have liked to check it out, but I was moving furniture instead. I bought my friends leather couch and arm chair and had to move it on Saturday... with the assistance of my mom. So ... this effort was going to take some time. I passed by the Flutag event en route to my moms and could see it was going to be a packed event and I had a twinge of remorse that I wasn't going to be able to attend. But In exchange I finally got some nice furniture for my appartment and could finally put the camp chairs away!
I spent a good part of the day with my mom since I hadnt seen her in a while, and we always lose track of time when we are together. When I got back to my appartment I had to take a nap and then get ready for my birthday dinner, which for some reason, I just wasnt that excited about. I was actually just plain old tired and felt like I wanted to sleep the evening away. When I got up from my nap and started to get ready, that's when the phone calls, texts, and emails started coming in from those who weren't going to be able to make it. I wished I could be one of those calling. And actually thought, heck, if I'm the only one that shows to my own bday dinner ... so be it. I'm good on my own like that. But thank goodness for the trooper friends!

We had dinner and drinks at On Deck. I was hoping for a nicer, warmer day so that we could sit out on the patio but that wasnt' the case. So they put us next to another big party... another birthday girl!

When we realized we were both celebrating our birthdays we got up and put on a show!

Things began to liven up after that and other people in the group wanted to head to another place to go dancing.

I had originally just wanted to do dinner and drinks and had nothing planned for later. Party foul on my part.

After a few more drinks a couple of the guests went home and the rest of us ventured out to this Place called Dirty.

I couldn't think of a better name for this place. I guess one has to be in the mood.... and I was not. And wantd to get the heck out of Dodge... and I wanted everyone else to stay enjoy themselves. I ate this macaroni dinner at On Deck and it was congealing in my stomach and I didn't want to drink more for fear of what I might produce in the way of congealed macaroni vomit later. After putting up with the obnoxious crowd at Dirty, we hoofed it up to the District, at which point I was now wearing my sling back shoes as bracelets. During this whole time we were all trying to figure out where to go to next, while I pleaded that the rest of the group go on with out me. By the time we got to District, the only thing we drank was water and then we all decided we were tired and it was time to go home.... yay!!!! We decided were going to have a "do-over' on the evening and plan it better than what I did. Cool by me!

On sunday I went back to my mom's and my brother came over to help me move my couch and arm chair from the garage to my apartment. Again, when I am with my family, time is out the window. All of a sudden it was evening and we hadn't moved any thing ... just gabbed all day. We headed out to Lake Oswego and got my furniture in the apartment and then went to dinner at the Olive Garden. I'd have to say the comfort of being with family made my day on Sunday. Next year I will rip it up on my bday!

Where has time... and the summer gone.

I have been working at Nike for a month and a half and it's been AWESOME!!! I'm still over the moon about getting the job here and have been enjoying every minute of it. With that said, having a new job limits the ability to take a vacation. I guess my time off between my last job and here was it. So the summer has been going by fast with a new job and a new mtn bike (From Fat Tire Farm http://fattirefarm.com/) , which has been an experience in itself. I've been riding with some very wonderful and PATIENT people who have been thankfully forthcoming with tips and tricks on making it down single track without dumping (I do still bite it from time to time however). The old bike I was riding was my dads, and it did not have disk brakes. Disk brakes make such a huge difference in riding. The one thing that is taking time for me to get used to is riding clipped in. This weekend we rode Falls Creek over in Washington. It started out rough as, on Saturday, I'd already done a road ride from the Gateway tranist center up to Crown Pt. which was a lot of climbing and miles. The Falls Creek ride had us starting out with a 10 mile road ride up to the trail head and I didn't think I was going to make it up, then I worried about my legs being totally hosed on the way down. Coupled by a bad mood, I thought I was going to be doomed on this ride. The first part of the trail was nice and smooth single track which I was loving... then we hit up hill with roots and rocks. I guess because I've been so into road riding, the concept of riding over rocks and roots freaked me out because the fear of flats and getting bucked off the bike. That's where lovely suspension and fat knobby tires come in. Well, that concept didn't take hold in my mind until half way through the ride. I swear at one point my riding partner was expecting to see me holding the bike over my head, getting ready to toss it off the trail. The thought had crossed my mind. Then, I became tired of fretting, and just thought to myself "Just roll the F*c* over the sh*t" (I tend to curse alot when tired and frustrated)... and getting momentum and biking over every thing all of a sudden became fun!!!! I'd been such a scaredy cat in alot of previous rides and then it just occurred to me to go for it! This is not a road bike and it's not going to bust going over this stuff. By the end of the ride, I was smiling and laughing and felt so accomplished... I'd made a huge mental shift in biking. That fear that prevented me from enjoying it before was gone. The last 45 minutes of the ride was the next best thing to being on a ride at Disney Land. My ride partner was very patient and supportive and won major pts in my book for putting up with my earlier antics. Needless to say, I can't wait to go out Wednesday and Friday to ride some more. I am hoping the summer weather lasts well into the fall so I can get as much mtn biking (and road biking) in as possible!