Morning Bizarre

I was driving to work this morning and had just turned off of Highway 217 onto Canyon Rd. I pulled up to a stoplight and heard the noise coming out of the sound system of the vehicle to my left.

Now usually this is the thumpa-thumpa of some sub-woofer enclosure and some version of the latest rap classic coming through the speakers. But not today.

I turned to my left and saw a late 90’s green, dusty, Ford Taurus wagon. The passenger window was down and the driver, about my age, a bit disheveled in the hair and wearing some type of uniform with badges on the sleeve, was singing along with the music:

It was rhythmic.

It was droning.

It was clearly making him happy.

It was drill chants from the U.S. Marine Corps. No joke. This guy’s morning pick-me-up was to relive his time as a Marine plebe at 7:20 am.

As he pulled away I noticed the back of the Taurus had several U.S. Marine stickers, including one that said LIVING LIFE one kill at a time.

I love Portland.

Semper Fi.

B!

Bits And Pieces

Weekend Update

Summer seems to have finally arrived. Better temperatures, some humidity, barbecues. I’m not a fan of super hot weather, but anything right around 80 degrees will work for me.

Yesterday I had Heather and some of her friends over for a quick cookout before heading to The Rose City Rollers Roller Derby Bout at the Expo Center.

I’d seen roller derby on TV and I have a fondness for sports entertainment of many kinds so I was very excited about seeing it live. Fun times. The expo center is the perfect venue for it: plenty of space, easy to get to, etc. There were four teams in competition. I couldn’t intuit all of the rules but the basics were easy enough to follow. Great crowd too: Hipster doofuses, lesbians, fathers, daughters. A perfect patchwork of Portland.

Heather and her friends all came up with their own Roller Derby names. Heather’s is ‘Smack N’ Cheez’. Funny stuff.

Cut To The Chase

I’ve got surgery scheduled. July 11. Here’s the deal: When I put on too much weight several years ago I created a small umbilical hernia. Now these things aren’t dangerous (as long as they’re small, like mine) but they get to be very uncomfortable. I’ve had a hard time lifting, moving, bending, etc as a result of this unwelcome guest.

So, this nice and amusing doctor is going to shave parts of my chest hair, put a small semi-circular incision around my belly button, and insert a piece of Gore-Tex mesh to repair the abdominal weakness. It’s supposed to only take 30-40 minutes and is an outpatient procedure. So, no big deal as far as surgeries go, right? I have to decide whether to use a local or take the general. All things being equal I’ve been advised to take the local, as it’s less disorienting as you regain you feeling. What do you think?

Anyway, it’s a bit of a big deal for me. I’m not a big fan of the doctor world. But the discomfort has really started to bug me.

B!

Intermission

It seems like taking a break is contagious around here.

Some goings on in the world that is my world:

I’m heading to Bend this weekend for nephew’s birthday, friend’s birthday and some quality time with the family and with Heather. Heather’s met the folks and an aunt and uncle. Now she’ll meet Stu, Melissa, the boys and a zillion friends that I’ve known for a good long time. I know she’s up to the task as she’s such a sport, but it’s still a bit daunting.

I’m having surgery. Nothing major. In my weight gain of the last 8-10 years I developed an umbilical hernia. It’s been bothering me a lot lately so the Doctor’s and I have decided to get it fixed. The surgery takes only 30-45 minutes and I should be back on my functional feet in a few days and fully active within a 4-6 weeks. I’ve got to negotiate the scheduling of it, what with summer weddings, plans and all. Oh, and work. Can’t forget about work.

Tuesday, June 10 The Portland Timbers will play Hollywood United in the U.S. Open Cup. Hollywood United is a club team from Los Angeles that was founded by some actors and rock stars. They are a cut above your local pub team and word is that they are bringing some of their big names to PDX on the 10th. Anthona Lapaglia is the current owner of the squad. Pretty cool. What’s also pretty cool is that I will be in the broadcast booth for the match. I’ll be doing play-by-play on the USLLive broadcast. The match will only be available On Demand once it’s completed but it’s still a great opportunity for me to re-test my skills and continue to slowly re-engage myself in the broadcast biz.