Today, a friend told me that I was the most straight-laced crazy person he knows.
How does one take this?
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Archives: richie
Whale!
June 15, 2014 – 10:36 am
We had been on the boat for about 10 minutes, but I had already lost hope of seeing any whales. I really like whales. Whales and octopuses (or “octopi” if you prefer) tie for first place on my list of coolest living creatures. (Have you seen this video? Or this one?)
So, in order to avoid disappointment, I was comforting myself with the fact that the boat ride was already a lot of fun. We were all standing at the front of the boat, enjoying the wind and the waves. Everyone was looking off to the right, where the most recent sighting had been.
Maybe I was wallowing a bit (I really wanted to see some whales), but I was staring down at the water in front of the boat. Suddenly, the water became slightly grey, and the grey was expanding, replacing the blue that was there before. There was a little monologue happening in my brain:
Hey, what’s that?
I think that might be a whale!
A whale!
That’s a whale!!
Although my brain was screaming, I wasn’t saying a word — and no one else was either.
Suddenly, I just started yelling, “WHAAAAAAAAAALE! WHAAAALE! WHAAAALE! WHAAAAAALE!”
Noise erupted as everyone noticed the whale emerging from the water. It was so close, the boat had to slam on the brakes and quickly switch to reverse to avoid an accident.
On second thought, maybe the octopus is a close second.
Win-Wins!
June 3, 2014 – 9:50 pm
Sometimes it is entertaining to read old journal entries. This is what I wrote one day in 2008:
…Claire said if I can’t find a good job in Portland, living in Utah is still a really great option. She described it as a win-win situation. Here are some other win-wins from yesterday:
1) Conrad threw up a few times, but the rug needed cleaning anyway.
2) I lost my silver iPod, but who needs four iPods anyway.
3) I broke my toe, but this particular toe is sort of useless anyway.
Double Dragon
April 20, 2013 – 8:03 pm
I have decided that my world revolves around food enough that I want to post about restaurants that I thoroughly enjoy. Today, I went to a regular favorite, Double Dragon. I normally get the amazing pulled pork sandwich, but today I tried the special, a Szechuan peppercorn burger. It was delicious! Check them out if you’re in SE Portland.
Happy Birthday Papa
November 26, 2012 – 9:20 pm
Claire: Good night, Harper. Happy birthday.
Harper: Thank you, Mama. I love you.
Rich: What about Papa?
Harper: Happy birthday, Papa.
Follow that Rope
November 26, 2012 – 9:12 pm
The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is under construction, so the exhibit is currently housed in the Hermitage Museum. I followed the map (iPhone’s Maps) to the museum that’s under construction where they are still selling tickets. When they gave me the tickets they told me to follow the rope and pointed up. I looked up and saw a red rope wrapping around the building. I thought this might lead to a map.
When I got to the other side of the building, I saw the rope extending out through the city, stretching between buildings, trees, and lights — criss-crossing streets and rivers — turning corners, hopefully leading to where I might find the exhibit. I’m sure I looked like an idiot walking down the street, staring up at this red rope. The path stretched over three miles — and not in a straight line. It seems like an idea one of my kids would have come up with but that never would have gone anywhere in the US. Props to Amsterdam for making it happen.
New York Mormon
July 29, 2012 – 9:40 pm
So, I’m buying a car and the salesman asks where I lived before Oregon. I told him New York and he asked if I was a Yankee’s fan. I, of course, told him that I was a Red Sox fan. He gave me a strange look and said, “That’s like being from Utah and not being a Mormon.”
Beyond Our Control
August 2, 2011 – 10:55 am
I called the IRS yesterday and got the following message:
Due to circumstances beyond our control, we cannot answer your call.
That’s it. No “leave a message and we’ll call you back” or “call back during regular business hours”…What does this mean?
The Mayor
June 9, 2011 – 9:55 pm
The mayor is following me on twitter. If this is a cunning trick to build support, it’s kind of working…