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February 28, 2008
I must be strong!
I saw the perfect periwinkle dress in the window of a boutique as I drove to work the other day, and I haven't been able to get the image out of my head. Ben and I are going to a wedding in Phoenix this weekend, and Ben's going to wear a tuxedo with a periwinkle cummerbund. I looked for a periwinkle dress, but I never found one one. I do have a nice new green dress, and I think it will look good. But man, that periwinkle dress. Today I finally made it to the boutique. The dress wasn't in the window anymore, and I worried that maybe I'd just imagined it. I asked, and the shopgirl said there was just one left. It was in my size. I tried it on. It was perfect. It was $240. I'm going to wear the green dress to the wedding.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 07:24 PM | Comments (0)
February 26, 2008
This made my day
"If you're feeling older, note that Grandpa and I are three times as old, and still enjoying life." - a note from my Grandma, who is indeed 90 and still enjoying life.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 10:46 PM | Comments (0)
February 25, 2008
How much I've changed
Age 5:
Age 18:
Age 30:
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 11:15 AM | Comments (6)
February 24, 2008
How little I've changed
Since I was about 13, the ideal birthday celebration has remained pretty much unchanged. It must involve pizza, angel food cake, fewer than 10 friends, and some kind of movie-related indulgence. Tonight was a little different than the birthdays of my teen years because there were no parents around and we had beer and wine for our guests. Still, it started with pizza and ended with angel food, and the nine of us sat around talking and watching the Academy Awards. Good times.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 10:44 PM | Comments (2)
February 23, 2008
Improvements
I ran five miles today, and it wasn't hard. Eight hours later I'm not even sore. Three years ago I couldn't run a single mile without walking, and when I tried my muscles screamed in pain.
The secret to long runs is the same as the secret to rugged hikes. Take it slow. I'm no speed demon any time. At my quickest, I average a bit faster than 9 minutes per mile. Today, I averaged slower than 10 minutes per mile. So what? I'm not trying to beat any records, just to build my strength and my endurance.
I wonder if slowing down would help me accomplish more in other areas of my life as well.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 10:23 PM | Comments (2)
February 22, 2008
Weekend!
Ben's already a quarter of the way into his-four day weekend as we sit on the couch watching the Blazers play the Sonics. We're both taking Monday off to commemorate the fact that I'm getting OLD. Unfortunately, the Friday off isn't for fun. It's for sick. We both got the flu shot, but apparently this year's shot didn't take and now Ben is sipping tea and working his way through a fever.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 08:25 PM | Comments (0)
February 21, 2008
Life in a dying industry
Yesterday The Columbian announced layoffs. I am still employed. Nineteen people are out of work, three in the newsroom. Eleven open jobs will never be filled. We're shrinking by 8 percent.
This is the way the newspaper industry is going. A lot of older folks who have been through downturns before think this is temporary, but I don't think we'll ever fully recover. People don't read print newspapers anymore, they go online. Advertisers just don't want to send us the same big chunk of their yearly budgets.
My real question is whether or not we'll survive. If we do, we'll almost certainly be much leaner and meaner in the end. The good news, for folks like me, is that Web-based news orgs are starting to see profits rise. The number of non-poverty-wage journalism jobs will go down, no doubt about it, but there will be some work for the skilled, ambitious and lucky.
None of my closet friends at work got the ax, but people with long histories with my newspaper are now going to have to reinvent themselves. People I like and admire.
On my lunch break today I went to a small strip of grass with a basalt bench behind our office and lay on the hard stone looking at the sky. Pedestrians, drivers and bicyclists gave funny looks to the sprawling woman in the suit as they passed. One of my teammates from last year's Portland to Coast Relay Walk stopped to talk, and I learned that she'll be unemployed in 30 days.
It's weird that I love so much about my job and my career, and yet I feel like I'm fundamentally on the wrong track. Today and yesterday my motivation levels have been nil. It's hard to work when you're surrounded by bad news. I'd much rather be outside in the crisp wind and sunshine. I feel like I have to DO something, but I don't know what, and it's mildly depressing and scary.
I feel stunned and confused, even though nothing has happened that I didn't see coming and even though I understand the broader picture. Maybe it's because I don't know what I'm working TOWARDS any more. For years I've had my eyes on better or bigger newspapers, and I figured at some point I would shift my focus and strive for increased responsibility, maybe I'd want to be an editor. Right now I don't know if there's a future for me in newspapers at all. Not because I would ever reject newspapers; I love them too much. But they're dying. There are a lot of other possible futures out there that might work for me, I know it. Which future should I pursue? It's bewildering.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 07:56 PM | Comments (8)
February 20, 2008
Astrology and evil doing
If I believed in astrology or the power of heavenly movements to influence my daily life, I would be really freaked out right now. First a massive meteor lit up the sky from Utah to Canada and fell apart somewhere above eastern Washington. Then the moon swelled full and hid behind all of our shadows. Tonight the government might blast down another satellite to protect its secrets. And did I tell you about my dream?
I woke up this morning convinced that I had done something really awful and that I had to cover it up. In the dream, I did this bad act unthinkingly, and then realized that I could have just ruined my life. I tried to destroy the evidence, but it was everywhere, inescapable, so I changed my approach, I pretended ignorance of the crime. "Look at this! Evidence of a crime! What do you think it could mean?" I asked, innocently. Ben's alarm clock goes off 10 minutes before mine, and while I lay with my head buried in the pillow waiting for the beeps I asked myself if I had ruined my life, my marriage, if my husband would love me any more. It wasn't until I was halfway to the shower that I realized that it wasn't real.
I told Ben about my dream and he told me that he still loves me. Weird how much relief that can bring, when the grief and angst I was suffering were over an ill-defined and imagined crime.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 08:41 PM | Comments (0)
February 19, 2008
Small epiphanies
I went for a walk on my lunch break today, and along the way I had two small epiphanies.
American history, and especially the history of the west, is such a blink, a nothing, it's been so brief. I crossed a bridge from the Columbia River to Fort Vancouver, a historical site where early settlers once lived. A hundred and fifty years ago Fort Vancouver was the American frontier. My great-grandmother was alive a hundred and twenty years ago. I met her, I remember her, and she knew people who lived in an era when rugged white settlers defended forts against the people who had always lived on this land. I am only two degrees of separation from frontier days, when everything was trees. Tall green trees blanketed the land, tall logs formed fort walls and barracks and homes. Trees. I could see it all from a tall overpass over a busy highway in one of the fastest growing towns in the west, with cars whizzing near, chain restaurants and vinyl-walled houses close by.
It's amazing what can be accomplished with vision, will power, and an entrepreneurial spirit. Vancouver, Washington, is an accomplishment, but I don't just mean Vancouver. I don't just the settlement of the west, but smaller and bigger accomplishments. The land bridge from the river to the fort was a dream four years ago. Somebody thought, "Let's commemorate Lewis and Clark's voyage west, let's see if we can recruit Maya Lin to help," and instead of just thinking it that somebody started a foundation, raised the money, lobbied the powerful, and now there's a multi-million-dollar bridge. It really does commemorate the history. It's beautiful. I could hear the cars, I knew the vinyl and the highway and the fast food were all near by, but all I could see was the river, the trees, the mountains and the fort.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 09:05 PM | Comments (0)
February 18, 2008
Today I was supposed to run five miles. It was a goal I set for myself. Instead, I didn't run at all. I walked with Ben to the pizza shop for a slice. Then we gave the kittens cat nip and feathers and laughed for a while. Later, I read my book. Tomorrow I can run five miles, but tonight I need to take it easy.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 10:36 PM | Comments (0)
February 17, 2008
This was a good weekend
Even though I didn't go for a run, this was a good weekend. Time at home with Ben, a party, breakfast out in the morning, Scattergoris with Morgan and Robin, lots of silly cats, bright sunshine. Good times.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 08:54 PM | Comments (0)
February 16, 2008
Dan has a new job!
Heading to a party shortly to celebrate the end of his indentured servitude and the beginning of his freedom. With a little more advance thought, I could have filmed the party, even. But the video camera's battery won't be charged for quite a while. So it goes.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 06:40 PM | Comments (2)
February 15, 2008
What movie should I make?
I've tried to cash in my hard-earned frequent flyer miles several times now. Each time, the number of miles required to fly has climbed to just a bit more than the number of miles I have, or else I want to travel on a restricted day, or else some other loophole intervenes.
Finally, last week I gave up. I logged on to the frequent flyer miles web site and clicked "merchandise." So today I have a 60,000 mile hand-held digital video camera. I also happen to have some video-editing software on my computer.
Now I just have to figure out what to film. Any suggestions?
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 10:10 PM | Comments (1)
February 14, 2008
I cut my hair this evening.
It is free to cut your own hair. Good deal!
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 10:58 PM | Comments (1)
February 13, 2008
A full life
There are people in this world, I gather, who have careers and kids and social lives, and who still manage to maintain commitments to other activities, like volunteering or running or serving on a board. I don't know how they do it.
Today I was busy from 6:45 a.m. until just now - 9:15 p.m. I got ready for work, worked, ran 3 miles during my lunch hour, worked some more, grocery shopped, attended an SPJ meeting and then finally headed home. When I'm done posting this I'll have a small dinner, pack a lunch and lay out some clothes to wear tomorrow.
Between my fitness goals, my job, my extracurriculars and my husband, something almost always keeps me on the go for at least 12 or 13 hours every day. I try to squeeze in a little Internet time, a little book time, and a little productive time around the house, and then suddenly it's time for bed.
How would I even cope if I had to do all this and guarantee the survival of a small human being? How would I get by even with a slightly more active social life? I guess I'd probably cut back. It doesn't seem worth it, to sacrifice from a life as full and satisfying as mine.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 09:16 PM | Comments (4)
February 12, 2008
Enchanted!
We went to see "Enchanted" at a cheap theater tonight, and it was two-for-Tuesday, so we got in for a total of $3 - not each, but for both of us. Then we blew our savings on pizza and beer. Nice way to celebrate pre-Valentine's Day, since we'll be busy the next few evenings.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 09:24 PM | Comments (3)
February 11, 2008
Turning Japanese?
We made sushi on Sunday. It was somewhat labor intensive. The week earlier, we made miso soup. Lindsey posted some pictures.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 06:46 PM | Comments (0)
February 10, 2008
"Across the Nightingale Floor" - a book
A boy on the verge of manhood returns from mushroom picking in the forest near his remote mountain home to discover chaos - his home in flames, his stepfather dead, warriors on horseback taking swords to the secretive members of a persecuted minority religion. "Across the Nightingale Floor" starts fast and never slows down, as the author takes the reader on a galloping journey through a fictionalized feudal Japan.
Our hero takes the name Takeo while in exhile, and find protection from a traveling man with powerful connections.
Meanwhile, a second lead character emerges, the daughter of a tribal leader, Kaede hostage to her father's rival, held to keep the political peace and powerless, as a woman, to affect her destiny. At least, at first.
"Across the Nighingale Floor" is a quick read, similar in structure to many Eurocentric fantasy novels but better written than most.
Author Lian Hearn writes realistically about mean and women, and doesn't fall into the sexist traps prevalent in many fantasy novels. The writing is crisp, the world awash in sound and color.
I picked this up because I'm struggling to get through the dry, history writing of "A History of Chinese Civilization." I'll finish it eventually, but sometimes a person has to take a break. I can't wait to read the next book in Hearn's "Tales of the Otori" series.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 09:39 PM | Comments (0)
February 09, 2008
Lazy Saturday
Ben brought me coffee in bed this morning. By the time I wandered my pajamaed self to the front door, it was 60-something degrees outside. So I went for a four-mile run. Then: bath, tofu, tempe, grilled cheese, basketball.
I needed to sleep in, after staying up until 2 a.m. cheering Ben to victory at Super Mario Galaxy. He is a Nintendo Wii champion, but he still got up before noon to make coffee and head out to his latest saxophone playing endeavor.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 04:48 PM | Comments (1)
February 07, 2008
Family news
My mom had a sinus infection, an ear infection, pink eye and she accidentally ate gluten.
My dad and Austin are in Tennessee right now, they saw tornado damage up close.
I still haven't sent Darcy's Christmas present.
Morgan and Robin live across town, but we haven't seen them for a couple of weeks.
Now Chance is getting sick, and so is my dad.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 09:00 PM | Comments (0)
February 06, 2008
How many dance teams does one basketball team need?
Cheerleaders, Blazer Dancers, Junior Dancers, hip hop something, and whatever the little kids who are younger than the junior dancers are called. The Portland Trailblazers have at least five groups of women dancing or parading in tight clothes on the floor during every home game. And I feel like I'm forgetting somebody.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 09:41 PM | Comments (2)
February 05, 2008
Community - bah!
I went in to our 12-member homeowners association meeting aware that there were openings on the board for a treasurer and a president, and determined not to take either position. I left with the third seat on the board, secretary. I have this compulsion, when I know I can meet a need that exists in the world, to volunteer. I'm actually trying really hard at work to keep my mouth shut, to not butt in, when people are having a conversation that I know I can contribute to. It's hard.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 08:46 PM | Comments (0)
February 04, 2008
Seattle day trip
Seattle has a better skyline than Portland. Tall buildings, densely packed. We're much more sprawling down here. Despite our sprawl, though, people seem less dependent on cars in the Rose City than in the Emerald City.
In other news, I'm dead tired. A highly-worthwhile work trip took me to Seattle today, and between driving and interviewing I was gone for 11 hours. Then I went to the gym for another hour and a half.
The lab I visited in Seattle today is involved in the fabrication of microelectromechanical systems, which in vastly-oversimplified terms are very, very small machines with cool properties. MEMs can be used to project light, measure pressure, and measure motion. They're key to my favorite new toy, even - the Wii. Learning stuff is so cool.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 09:20 PM | Comments (0)
February 03, 2008
SNDC
The not-a-dinner-club gang came to our house tonight, and all the regulars made it for the first time in a long while. Mike, Lindsey, Dan, Tommy, Ben and I stewed seaweed, chopped veggies, scooped miso and stirred it all toether to make a thick egg and vegetable stew. The conversation was rich, the food was delicious, and when it was all over we watched the last 50 seconds of the Superbowl, talked politics and bowled on the Wii. Good times.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 09:42 PM | Comments (0)
February 02, 2008
Austin
My 20-year-old brother spent most of the past several months in Portland, living with my brother Morgan, 26, and Morgan's wife Robin. Austin was trying to make a go of it in Portland, he really liked the city, but he never managed to find a job and Morgan and Robin's place is barely big enough for the two of them and their cats.
I really enjoyed having Austin out here. I was 17 and he was 8 when I stopped living with the Sherwood clan, and it turns out that he's a pretty cool adult, with a voracious appetite for movies, the best sense of direction I've ever encountered, and a quick and wacky wit. But his decision to go back home to Virginia, at least until he has the money or the job prospects to support himself, well, it makes a lot of sense. It took me a few goes at independence before it really stuck for good. I think that's normal for young adults.
So Austin's driving back to Virginia. My dad got a good deal on a plane ticket, so he flew to Portland to accompany Austin on the long drive east. They left this morning, in the snow. Let's hope they have a good trip and they don't encounter too much nasty weather.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 04:37 PM | Comments (1)
February 01, 2008
Friday night, time for ...
I've been ready to fill out those tax forms for about three weeks, but Ben only got his W-2 yesterday. So tonight I'm surrounded by 1014s, 1098s, and 1099s, and I'm ready to go. My strategy: enter everything in to the free version of TurboTax. To print out the actual forms TurboTax requires me to pay. So once I know my maximum refund, know what I'm aiming for, I'll break out my calculator, the 1040 form, and start filling it out all by myself.
Posted by Courtney_Sherwood at 08:29 PM | Comments (4)