Manly Garage

Last night my family had a gathering at my aunt and uncle's new home in Salem. The house was built with numerous custom features, including a urinal in the garage made specially for my uncle's Harley-Davidson. I've seen bigger, more outrageous garages before, but this one takes the prize for being the "manliest."

Home for Christmas

It's been exactly a year since the last time I came home to Keizer, Oregon. It feels strange to be absent for an entire year from a place that is so familiar. Although I am unmistakably home, the little things that have changed since my last visit scream for attention. Like how the dog no longer jumps into my arms, and now uses a "stepping stool" to get onto the couch. Like how the cat is fatter, and my dad drinks Coors Light. There's a new dishwasher in the kitchen, and a wire-less internet router. My bedroom is, well--no longer my bedroom--now it's simply a place to lay my head for the duration of my stay.

Life sometimes changes in an instant: a graduation, a move across country, a new job, a new home, meeting a girl. But for the most part, life changes in small, subtle ways. And then you come home for Christmas and you realize that all these little things amount to something that makes you want to update your neglected blog.

To my faithful few: I hope your Christmas celebrations were met with a sense of expectation and joy. If you're a strange combination of person who lives in Keizer and reads my blog, I hope we meet in person.

A Frozen Morning

I woke up freezing this morning. At what time I don't know, because my bedside digital clock was not illuminated. The power had turned off at some point during the night, I assumed. But just in case, I flipped several light switches on and off throughout my place (why do we do this?) to be sure the power outage was not isolated to my bedroom. Peering outside for the first time, a world of frozen trees, telephone lines, and car windshields was revealed. It looked like Mr. Freeze from The Incredibles had battled an evil villain in the front yard. Despite the world being frozen over, I needed to make my way into work.

Reaching into a dark refridgerator, I found a barely cold carton of vanilla soy milk for my Just Bunches cereal. With my hair severely disheveled and my teeth unbrushed due to the lack of running water, I threw on a beanie and shoved my tooth brush and tooth paste into my coat pockets.

I felt like a mouse inside a maze trying to find my way to the wedge of cheddar as I drove into work. Because of all the fallen trees and broken branches, the road I usually travel was closed off. The length of my communte was roughly doubled as I struggled to find roads that were passible.

It's December 12th and winter has finally arrived.