Super-Awesome-Fantastic Sunday

(Remember, if it's orange, you can click on it...)

Yesterday Ian planned a sort of "pre-celebration" for my birthday.  First Amy, Ben, Ian and I ate lunch at the food carts downtown and then we headed over to OMSI, the Oregon Museum of Industry and Science.  The featured exhibits were Game On 2.0 and Narnia.

The Game On exhibit walked you through the history of gaming technology and culture and gave you a chance to play over 150 consoles.  It was pretty rad and Ian made some 11 year old boy cry when he beat him at Bomberman.

They did not have a VirtualBoy on display or for demo, so that was disappointing.  They were such a market failure, according to Wikipedia that only 800,000 units were shipped worldwide, making them valuable.  I wish I still had mine.  I wouldn't sell it.  I'd just play a lot of Mario's Tennis.

The Narnia exhibit was definitely more intended for small kids, but we still had fun playing around in it and looking at the costumes from the movies.

After OMSI we met Justin, Richelle, Phil, Charlotte, Heidi and Jesse and had dinner at Le Bistro Montage.  It's a trendy place with a sort-of Cajun vibe to the menu.  I had linguine with veggies (chopped collard greens in pasta!) and it was fantastic.  Ian had gumbo.  It was lively and fun.

Ben, Amy, Justin, Richelle, Ian and I concluded our evening over at the Kennedy School where we played pool and shuffleboard.

Here are a few phone pictures (forgot my camera) from throughout the day:

Ava's ears are clearing up and she's back to meowing at my face until I wake up in the morning.  Yay!

OMSI also had an exhibit on fetal development (oddly appropriate).  Amy was the same size as the model cut out.

Ben, Amy and Ian going through the fetal development exhibit.  The exhibit included a week by week growth timeline with plasticized human fetuses (whom all perished naturally or accidentally according to a placard).  It was done by the same folk who do "BodyWorlds."  It was intense, but awesome.

Killing time with a coin whirly thing between OMSI and dinner.

Montage makes your leftovers into animals and other fun things.  Charlotte got a giraffe!

Amy's baby belly prevented a decent shot, so she improvised.

It was a great time.  We had to say goodbye to Ben and Amy this morning, which was a huge bummer, as we completely adore them.  I'm still recovering.  But, we will see them soon.  And in a few weeks, there will be another Nanney!  Yay!

Good night!

Inactivity

Motivation. Want to.  Energy. Productivity. Ambition.

Whatever you want to call it, I am lacking.

I am so tired all the time.  Even on "short" shift days I have a hard time doing anything before work.  I'm always thinking about getting ready to go and I feel too rushed to do much else.

Ava is feeling better.  She's more alert and interested in attention.  Her ears are still pretty red, though.  We give her treats after her ear drops to take the edge off.

We are watching C.S.A. The Confederate States of America. It's pretty funny, I recommend it.

Well, I don't have much else to post since I haven't written a sentence of fiction or otherwise.

Good night!

Poor Ava

I didn't do any writing today.  I also did not go for a run.

Instead, I took Ava to the vet.  She has an ear infection.

She's a pretty sad little girl right now.  Super mopey.  She did very well at the vet's office, though.

Twice weekly cleanings and four medicated drops in each ear twice a day and she should be good as new in a few weeks.

Sad Ava in her box waiting for the doctor.

I'm probably going over to a PCC campus tomorrow to take my placement tests (I'm trying to get into a Korean class at the community college), but I don't feel prepared.  I also don't want to have to take them, as I've graduated university... So, I'm not sure how much writing I'll get done.  My class starts on the 27th, so I'd better get these tests done soon, if I don't do them tomorrow.  I can't register until I take them.

Good night!

Unusual

I thought that this picture of Ava was a good illustration of just how bad the weather has been.  We had one nice day (Tuesday) and the sun strip from the back bedroom window seemed to perplex her.

This picture also shows me that I need to cut back on her dry food.  She's a bit rotund.  And she woke us up at 5:30 this morning simply because she didn't want everyone to be asleep anymore.  She does that sometimes. We still like her.  Usually.

Kitty Comes Home

My cat, Ava, went to live with my mom while we were in Korea.  I wanted us to be moderately settled in before we brought her to Portland, so she was with mom for a few months after we got back.

I drove up to Mom's on Monday night after work.  I stayed the night there and left with Ava in her Humane Society cardboard carrier in the morning after Mom went to work.  I was sure that Ava would have a rough go of our three hour journey, but she slept the whole way, only quietly poking her nose out to investigate a couple of times.

All of her stuff is set up in the back bedroom/office/random room, I took her right in there when we got home.  I left the door closed and let her get acclimated and build a comfort zone for about an hour.  Then I opened the door and went about my chores and things, knowing she would come out when she felt comfortable.

Ava is a backwards cat.  She felt comfortable being out and exploring when we were in the room, but hid as soon as we left.  She stayed in the bedroom until my friend came over for dinner, when she came out and sat on the floor next to him.

She goes well with our decor.

So do her dishes.  She doesn't eat any artificial ingredients, either.

She watches joggers and dog walkers out the windows.

And she follows us everywhere we go and cries at our closed closet doors and the glass block window in the entryway.

Ian made this bed for her out of a suitcase that we bought at a vintage store.  She slept in it some yesterday, which, if you know how cats can be about things you do for them, is a little remarkable.