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October 30, 2006
Sax
When Ben picked up his saxophone for practically the first time in eight years, he sputtered a little bit before things -- haltingly -- started sounding good again. But within a couple days he sounded like a guy who really knew what he was doing.
A few weeks later, he joined in with a bunch of random strangers at a North Portland hangout for a public jam session, and he got kudos for his "chops."
Now he's in a big band.
As I listen to him practice tonight, I'm blown away. There's a really great sax player making music in the next room. I mean it.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 09:17 PM | Comments (1)
October 29, 2006
Ashy paw prints everywhere
The cats broke in to the fireplace last night. Mister, in particular, looked pleased with himself. We've cleaned the scattered ashes off the wood floor and dunked Mister's stained paws in sudsy bath water, but the kitchen is still in major need of a mop. The mop's at our old place, however, which Ben and I need to finish cleaning today so we can relinquish those keys forever.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 10:21 AM | Comments (1)
October 25, 2006
car troubles
Jerk cut me off, I tapped my horn and the horn kept on honking. For four or five minutes I headed toward home freaking out as the car freaked back last night. Then finally I punched the steering wheel and it stopped.
Until 1 a.m. A strange nasal blaring woke me up. It took me time to find the door, find the door knob, find the light switch in the unfamiliar bedroom. We're moved, and I don't know my way around yet. Finally I got outside and punched the car again until it stopped.
I've got a conference to attend this morning. Good thing my mechanic's on the way, with good public transportation to take me the rest of the way in.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 06:44 AM | Comments (0)
October 22, 2006
moving
So, today and tomorrow are the official big move days. We've already moved a fair amount -- books, craft projects, sport equipment, dishes, food. But there's still quite a lot left. We've got movers helping us with the heavy stuff and a U-Haul rented tomorrow. Today we'll be taking carload upon carload of boxes over. Guh. Moving sucks.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 10:27 AM | Comments (0)
October 20, 2006
my shadows
I'm not the only Courtney Sherwood out there.
A long time ago, I was contacted by a "Courtney N. Sherwood" from somewhere in Australia, who came across me by googling herself. There's a Courtney Sherwood from Minnesota who was a successful high school athlete a few years back -- there are still articles online detailing her exploits. Another Courtney Sherwood went to Cornell University. A third (fourth, if you count me as #1) is now employed at Grand Valley State University.
Most of the other Courtney Sherwoods I'm aware of I've found through the web. Either I googled them, or they googled and contacted me.
But there's at least one other Courtney Sherwood in the Portland metro area, and she and I live shadow lives. She went to Oregon Episcopal School, where she knew a former editor of mine -- he worked there at the time. She's a member of my health club in downtown Vancouver, Washington. I've never seen her there, but the folks who take my card tell me her middle initial is "E" and she has blond hair. A couple of weeks ago, I was paying for something at my North Portland vet and was asked, "Are you Courtney C. Sherwood or Courtney E. Sherwood," so I guess my shadow also takes her animals to the same vet that I randomly happened upon when we moved to this part of town.
I wonder if we'll ever meet.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 11:23 PM | Comments (1)
October 19, 2006
Ben's saxophone
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 07:16 AM | Comments (1)
October 15, 2006
"Cripple X"?
I went out to Longview for good times with some Daily Newsers, my former colleagues. Eight months in, my new job is starting to grow on me. I'm glad I took it. I still miss those great folks up in Longview, though.
We went to a comedy show called "Cripple X," which features three able-bodied Portland comedians then ends with an angry man with cerebral palsy as the headliner. Most of the jokes were pretty typical comic fare -- lots of sex stuff, homophobic stuff, demeaning-to-women stuff. On the one hand it's offensive, on the other hand it's funny. The headliner also had jokes and routines about his disability. Wacky, weird stuff.
Next weekend we officially move. We've got a U-Haul reserved, and we're paying a moving company to help with the heavy lifting. We've already got access to our soon-to-be-home now, however, so Ben and I have been spending a lot of time moving boxes and thinking about where things belong. It's probably time to do some more of that pretty soon.
This is where we'll soon be living.
This is where we're living now.
This is where we lived from May 2005 to February 2006.
This is where we lived for two years before we moved to Woodland.
Yeah, I'm getting pretty tired of moving.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 10:44 AM | Comments (0)
October 08, 2006
the new place
Our new apartment is on N. Ainsworth a few blocks off Interstate Avenue near I-5, for any one familiar wiht Portland.
It's in this duplex:
Our neighbors seem nice.
There are more photos here.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 04:43 PM | Comments (7)
packing it in
Ben and I are packing. We've signed the lease for our new place. We'll be moved by the end of the month.
I've found a bunch of old started-but-not finished diaries. I have a hard time writing when I don't have an audience. I've managed to post consistently online for more than five years, but I've never managed to log my private thoughts for more than a few weeks without getting bored.
Here are some deep thoughts that I found too private to post online:
Aug. 1, 2001
Overheard --
Man: I was having cereal this morning, and I've gotta tell you --
Woman: Yeah?
Man: -- and it was really good. And I looked at the box and it said "Harmony."
Woman: Oh no!
Man: And it said, "cereal for women."
Woman: Yeah, I've been meaning to try that.
Man: So it was really good. But it was for women, and I started itching all over and sweating ...
Woman: (laughs) So it was really good? I've been feeling a little unbalanced lately. Maybe I should get some.
Man: Yeah, you should definitely try it. Just don't let your husband have any.
March 14, 2001
There is a reason why I could never keep a journal as a reliable record of my life:
Monday, April 7, 2003
A story requires three acts:
1. Establish conflict that must be resolved.
2. Build to resolution, develop, do not solve.
3. Climax, conflict is solved, resolution.
Don't think in terms of "plot," think in terms of conflict.
Don't worry about character development. Characters will reveal themselves.
"Angst" is not a conflict. It is annoying.
Conflicts:
1. Man v. Man
2. Man v. Self
3. Man v. Society
(question: Is Hamlet's conflict with himself, his dad, his uncle?)
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 02:40 PM | Comments (5)
October 02, 2006
You've just reached the peak of Mount St. Helens. What now?
More hiking photos here.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 09:12 PM | Comments (0)
It's official!
Ben's been promoted. From a guy who programs computers and works with databases, he's now been elevated to ... guy who programs computers and works with databases. Officially, he's going from database analyst II to systems analyst, and the change means he'll be taking on more responsibility and he'll spend more time on big picture stuff, which probably includes lots of coordinating with other people.
I think the promotion is especially exciting because Ben's boss specifically sought him out and encouraged him to apply when a the job became vacanct. I've always known Ben was a smart, reliable, capable guy, and this promotion shows that the folks he's working with also recognize how fortunate they are.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 06:06 PM | Comments (2)
October 01, 2006
Mount St. Helens
Volcano almost killed us. Five miles, 4,500 foot elevation gain. I've done worse. But the first 2 miles have about a 500 foot elevation gain. Then you're left climbing 4,000 feet in 3 miles, all above the tree line. Two miles: boulders. Huge boulders. Two miles of bent-over boulder scrambles. The last mile: a 45 degree slope, sand-like ash, two steps forward, one step sliding back. The rim at the top was awesome. It took about two minutes to slide back down ash that took an hour to climb. But scrambling downhill over boulders? Even harder than scrambling up.
The stats:
* Four hours up.
* Four hours down.
* 10 miles traversed.
* 1 steaming crater.
* 2 beers at the peak.
* 6 power bars.
* 2 peanut butter jelly sandwiches.
* Sore muscles: all of them.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 06:24 PM | Comments (5)