Wow. Merry Christmas all!! I can't believe that it's upon us already. Lexie's parents flew out yesterday. We're looking forward to spending time with them, and the weather was just beautiful once we got to the coast - clear skies, slight breeze, 50ish.

It's a little late, but we survived our first year of marriage together. Actually, on Christmas Day it will have been one year and two months. YAY!! If I remember right, we had the realization that we had been married a year while sitting in sacrament meeting. We'd both been so caught up in the day-to-day that we'd completely forgotten. Go figure. Anyways, it's been a year, as they say, of ups and downs - with more ups than downs. We found out two things about living here. The first is that we really like living on the coast, and the second is that we can't afford to right now. Lexie's job is moving onto shaky ground, and I haven't been able to find work, so we're moving in February to Wenatchee, WA to try our hand there. Lex accepted a job up there which appears to be a big step up from Tillamook. Not that Tillamook is bad, but Wenatchee looks a lot better. And, since it's a bigger population base, I'm hoping I'll be able to find employment there as well.

I took the POST (Police Officer Selection Test) and ORPAT (Oregon Physical Abilities Test) trying out for a position on Manzanita's Police Dept., but going up against a field of ex-military and ex-cops is tough in a small town PD and alas, I wasn't selected for the position. It was still a good experience, and in some twisted way, fun too. For a layout/description of the ORPAT click here.

Couple of new things to report this post. First up, last weekend we went to Utah on a spur-of-the-moment trip. We left Rockaway at 9PM Friday night and got to Lexie's parents at 3PM Saturday afternoon. One straight shot. The return trip was about the same, left at 930AM Monday and got home at 1AM Tuesday. In between we went to see Lee's band play and replaced the clutch in the Honda. Here are some pics - we didn't think to take them until after most of the work was done. Here are Lee and I putting the pieces in that we removed to get to the tranny in the first place:

Lot's of fun. I didn't realize until after I saw these pictures that my right arm was soaked - either with oil or steering fluid, I don't know which. You can see in the pictures we have kitty litter spread on the floor to absorb the spills we made, but we put it down after rolling around in the fluids for awhile.

And now the car is fixed, and after driving it for just over a week, I've gotten the hang of having a clutch that actually works. I'll take some pictures of the old clutch and put them up in the near future, but needless to say it was worn. I could let the clutch out most of the way before it would engage. Now, maybe 1/2". Yes, I killed it a couple of times since replacing it. :p

The other thing to report is I went to the OSP physical testing yesterday - and didn't pass. I missed the mark by 4 sit-ups. Disappointed about it as I am, I'm also pleased. I did better than I thought I would, and I learned a lot. And they're testing again in spring, so I have a little more time to train.

Dead-guy (not for the faint of heart) (seriously)

Before I get into this whole dead-guy thing, I need to explain a little background. Dr. B* (Lexi's supervising doctor) is also the medical examiner for Tillamook County.

So yesterday, I was in Tillamook waiting for Lex to get done when she calls and says she and Dr. B are headed over to the morgue to do a post-mortem exam on a body that had come in, and as luck would have it, I was invited along. So we get there and they pull the body out of the freezer, and at first it's wrapped in a blue tarp/body-bag thing with a zipper, and that gets opened up, and then it's wrapped in sheets (like bedsheets), and finally there's the body. Let me tell you, it was not pretty. He'd been dead for several days before they found him, lying on his side so all the blood and fluids had drained to that side. He was bloated from the gases involved with decomposition, discolored, and his skin had started to slough off. His finger tips were black, and the irises in his eyes had decayed from brown to a hazy gray color. All in all, not pretty. And then there was the smell. It wasn't the strongest odor or the most offensive, but it was pretty distinct and sick.

The body was ID'd and it was determined that he died either because of alcohol consumption or natural causes, not sure which, but it was in his sleep, on his right side, with his left arm draped across his body. This was known because 1) that's how he was found and 2) that's what the colors on his body told us. The blood had all pooled on the right side of his body, and the area where his left arm was resting against his body created pressure which kept the blood from that area, so there was no color there. They weren't able to get enough usable fluids to perform a tox-screen, but his medical history was known.

I didn't do anything other than stand there and observe of course, as that was my role in the whole thing, but I'm proud to report that I didn't get sick or nauseous or anything like that. In fact, we left the morgue and went to dinner at a Chinese restaurant (I wouldn't recommend it, but it was worth a try). The thought of touching the body and/or moving it made me a little queasy, but I think with time I could get over that. I mention this only because if and when I become a cop that will be something I have to deal with, at least once in awhile if not more frequently.

*Not his true name

Well, it's been forever since the last post. I don't really have too much to say - nothing's really changed in my life, but it's about time for a post so here it is. Since the beginning of July I've been volunteering a little at the Victim's Assistance Program in Tillamook County on Mondays and some on Thursdays. It's fun and it's led to a lot of contacts and shoulder-rubbing with a lot of cool people. Plus it's a good thing. Right now I'm not trained enough to really do anything more than type and print form letters or sit in court and take notes. I've also been on a ride-along with the Sheriff's Department, and got to tour the County Jail. Most of these things came from contacts volunteering at the VAP. In other news Lexie's cousin Jessica and her husband and baby are coming out on Thursday - that's going to be exciting. Oh, I almost forgot. This past weekend I took the motorcycle riding class, so I'm now almost motorcycle endorsed. The final step for that is to cough up gads of money for the DMV. I don't understand why it costs almost double to get a motorcycle endorsement than it does to get regular driver license - maybe it's to offset the reduced fuel revenue because motorcycles use less gas? Anywho, it was for the most part fun, with some beat-your-brains-out-with-a-brick moments. I was thinking about getting some pictures, but it's hard enough learning to ride a motorcycle without trying to use a cell phone as well (and the instructors probably would've thrown me off the range...), and I didn't feel comfortable asking the instructors to take pictures while they're watching us to make sure we don't do anything too stupid, so sorry...

So, this past week with Lexie's parents has been really neat for me. Poor Lex had to work during the days while her parents were here, so I got to spend a lot of time with them, and we had some pretty neat experiences. Wednesday morning we went down to the beach and were walking along and saw something in the waves, so we watched for a minute and it turned out to be a small pod of orcas!! So we hopped in the car and went down to Depoe Bay to the whale watching station there and struck gold - there were 3 or 4 gray whales in the area feeding, and we got several good looks at them. They weren't supposed to be there this time of year - usually they'd be further north, but we got really lucky, as I said. And then, yesterday, Lexie and her parents went for a walk and I came along later. They asked if I saw the car (I didn't). It was a local wildlife rescue rehabilitating a beaver. Anyway, we came back from Astoria today and saw the car there, so Kathy and I walked out to see Bubbles (the beaver), and although she was already loaded in the car, they opened it up for us to see her and I got to pet her, and it was awesome. More to follow.

I was going to post pictures of our new-to-us car here, but the original craigslist post has been removed and I haven't gone out with the camera, so....sorry. Here are some pics of the same car, just not the exact car:

Ours isn't quite as clean and has a few minor scuffs and dents, but the color and body style are captured.  Alas, I was unable to find pictures of the interior, but it's a darkish red color and in pretty good condition.  It currently has 218.7k on it and still pulling strong.

In other news, for those of you who don't know, my parents moved to Boston (for work) and left the packing up and cleaning of the house to me.  To be honest, they hired to do it.  Anywhoo, I turned over the last set of keys yesterday.  It is 100% done.  YAY!!  Many thanks to Jasmine and Mandi for their help.

Also, Lexie's parents are here for the week.  We've been for a drive down the coast (on our way home) and walked on the beach so far.  More to follow - at some point.

Time for another "Does it really matter?" blog entry. Why? Because it has been too long since the last entry. There isn't anything much to say, but saying there isn't much to say is saying more than nothing, eh? Besides, an empty blog is BORING. Not that I'm saying this post won't be boring, but it's got words doesn't it? And maybe a picture, somewhere.


Tomorrow (Monday) will be my last official day at my current job. They're willing to keep me on the payroll and have me come back (as I can) when they need help or their primary warehouseman is gone on vacation. Which is cool - I like working there. Not so much the drive, though.


Yesterday I spent 5 hours in a classroom at Linn-Benton Community College training to become a certified flagger. And yes, I did pass.

Well, I meant to post this on Sunday, but as you can see, that didn't happen. Oh well. Guess I'll just have to tack on some extra stuff. My last day went pretty well, it was way busy the whole day but it was fun. I got a lot done (I feel like), and my friends there were really nice to me. Karen and Cherin got me a card and a coconut cream pie ice cream cake from Coldstone, and Tim and Cindy gave me an acknowledgement and a bonus. I'm going to miss them there, good times, good people.

It's been awhile since I posted, and I guess it's about time for another one. Just for updates, my biggest piece of news is we got a shotgun a little over a week ago. It took a few days before we could get out and shoot it, but it was great. I just got back a little while ago from shooting it again (with my dad this time). Hit plenty, but more often than not it wasn't what we were aiming at. In other news I've been reduced at work to a part-time citiz - er, employee. It's kinda nice, but it's also boring having so much time on my hands. And the reduced income is definitely NOT cool. But at least I still have a job, so I can't complain too too much. Now I'm sitting here watching Lexie play DDR and writing this blog, but I think I'm gonna go do a crossword now, so tootaloo.

Bad mood

So, as you probably guessed from the title, I'm in a bad mood. A very bad mood. Without going into too many details as to what caused it, work sucked, and people who (imho) can't drive and think they can are really good triggers. That was the spark and the kindling. From there, the inferno raged until it had spread to such mundane things as my inability to type being the fault of the computer/internet. But, I'm not here to rage so much about those things as I am about matters of state.

First off, I am angry and disgusted with U.S. companies (more like particular industries). First up are banks. How the HELL do you justify an aggregate of $18 billion to CEOs for a "job well done" when 1) job WASN'T well done and 2) that money came from taxpayers in the form of bailout money? WTF? Where can I sign up to be a CEO for a chance to run an industry into the ground for a $10 million bonus, plus $400k a year while doing it?

Second up are car companies, specifically the Big Three. They're asking for bailout money (again) because they manufacture crap, sell crap, and *GASP* people aren't buying it anymore. It would be one thing if they were making cars and out of nowhere Japanese vehicle makers came into the U.S. market with - I dunno, flying saucers or something. But that's not how it went. The Big Three must have had some inkling that sooner or later, people would get tired of buying crappy cars, and that sooner or later fuel economy and emissions standards were going to have to go WAY up, but rather than preparing for these inevitabilities, they sat on their duffs and did the same damn thing year after year until sales drop and they have to go to the government for aid or they'll go out of business. Hold on, I think I see McDonald's getting in the bailout line - they ran out of kangaroos.

Well, as these things go, the fire has consumed all the readily available fuel and is now just a pile of smoking ashes in the corner. So, this is the end of this blog. But I'll be back, never you fear. Until then, peace be with you, and if that doesn't work, pieces be unto you.

So, a new year is begun, another year ended. Looking back, it's kinda...the same. A lot has happened to the point it has downplayed most of the other stuff such as Halloween, Christmas, and New Years. It's just hard to wrap my head around so many splendiforous events, so I defaulted to focusing on the events that are really big to me - namely getting married. It's hard to remember much else - we moved, got new jobs, started a new life, and the slate has been wiped clean so to speak.
I guess at this point I should make some New Years' Resolutions, but I'm so perfect I just can't think of any...oh wait, that's my other half. Let's see, I think the biggest thing I want to work on is not being such a procrastinator. I'll start tomorrow. The other thing (and I've improved a lot already) is not getting so annoyed at the other people on the road. I'll come up with more as the year progresses, but that works for me for now.
Right then, cheerio. I'd say see ya next year, but I put it off too long... ;)