Now this is just silly....

The soda machine is toying with me. First the Dew that got stuck, then the two Pepsi pay back. Then the dollar-stealing antics....and now this. Today the machine gave me two Pepsis for the price of 1 again. This machine is wacko!

The Cold Steel Sting of Monday

Today was a Monday. As far as Mondays go, it wasn’t too bad. But a Monday is a Monday, and so to dull the pain I made brownies for desert tonight. Brownies don’t solve all Monday’s problems or make Monday’s bitterness dissolve, but they’re a good start, and second only to beer on the “oh, god, not Monday” registry of consumables known to hasten the transition to Tuesday. When the timer sounded, I removed the yummies from the oven to test for doneness. I normally do this with a butter knife, but I didn’t have one. We were also down to just two forks, which we would need for dinner, so I opted for a steak knife.

Rewind to Christmas.

For Christmas our friends Sakshi and Tamy sent Ryan a really really nice set of knives. In the world of cutlery, “really really nice” translates into “holy carp that’s sharp!” (I rhymed there, ya like that?) Anyway, what does one typically do after piercing the warm, chocolaty brownie with the butter knife? If you said, “lick the butter knife” you’d be correct. And that’s just what I did, only this wasn’t a butter knife, it was a really really sharp steak knife. I’ve never in my whole life used such sharp knives. (I bet you can tell where this is going…)

So yes, I cut my lips, both upper and lower, while licking brownie off the knife. The bottom lip is barely scrapped, but the top one was a bleeder. For the rest of the night the sting of Monday more than just an intangible feeling, it was an earnest, burning sting with every spoonful of salty soup that was our dinner.

Next Monday I’m sticking to beer. I think it’s safer.

So much for retribution

Retribution was short lived. This afternoon I tried to buy the machine's last can of Mt Dew. I put in my dollar bill. Pressed the button. And nothing. Not even an attempt to spit out my beverage. It was as if the machine didn't even know I put in a dollar. If it had, and tried to spit out a drink and failed, it would have at least given me my 25 cents change. The current score is:

soda machine: 2
me: 1

Blast!

Retribution

I'm not typically a believer in the ole "what goes around comes around" karmic theory of the universe evening things out. But today... today is different. Today I felt like I got what's been coming to me. Back on July 5th of this year, the soda machine at the lab took my money, and gave back no soda. My Mt. Dew got stuck in the machine as you can see in the picture on the left. And there it stayed for over a month until the soda delivery guy came and refilled the machine. Mocking me every time I passed it. But today... today I finally got what was coming to me. I inserted my dollar, pressed the button, and ka-thud, ka-thud! TWO Pepsis fell down the chute! Today is going to be a good day.

Rocks don't rock

Driving down OR 42 last night, Ryan, Bob, and I. Bob was here but just for the one night. We though we'd be spontaneous and adventuresome and go to Bagby Hot Spring. It was dark and gently raining. All was going swimmingly, then BAM! Head sized rock in the middle of the lane that couldn't be avoided. Immediate flapping sound of a flat tire. We pulled over. Damn. I have never seen such tire damage before. My rim is mangled and destroyed. The tire is ripped apart. Thankfully I have a full size spare. After we put it on and drove another mile or so we saw the "rocks" sign. Hmm. Would've been a little more helpful a mile back. Needless to say, we never made it to Bagby. Boo.

Holiday Recap

Thought I'd just throw in a brief recap of my holidays.

Started out by meeting up with Jerry in Salt Lake City for a few days to visit with friends Sakshi and Tamy, and Lis and Gabe. I got to SLC before Jerry so I treated myself to a relaxing bubble bath at Sakshi and Tamy's place to kick off the vacation in a relaxing fashion. It was indeed relaxing, but unfortunately it ended up in injury. When standing up, I managed to hit my bum on the faucet and get a big cut haloed by a black and purple bruise (oh yes, pictures soon to follow). This just confirms my suspicions that I am destined to die in some sort of bath-related accident. Anyway, aside from that, it was a great visit. We played dozens of games of ping pong on Sakshi and Tamy's new ping pong table. We went skiing the morning after the mountains got 19 inches of fresh powder, and Lis and Gabe treated us to a fabulous home-cooked dinner before an evening sitting in a hot tub on the top of a high rise in downtown Salt Lake.

After saying good buy to my Salt Lake friends, it was off to NH to visit with family and friends there. Despite a midnight arrival, both of my parents were there to greet me at the airport which is always exciting. I got to watch 2 Patriots games on my dad's 52 inch plasma TV with surround sound. (The games look and sound so much nicer than when watched over antenna at my place.) My mom made a spectacular 11 lb prime rib roast for Christmas and the whole family got together to eat and be merry. The day after Christmas my mother and I were treated to a spa day complete with pedicures, paraffin hand dips, and hot stone massages. This will definitely be a new holiday tradition! My dad showed off with his new prize possession, a Margaritaville margarita maker. My dad still makes the best margarita around. I got to catch up with good friends and we had a nice holiday party at Christine's parent's house. Instead of doing gifts anymore, we all decided to donate money to a new charity every year. This year we donated to a leukemia research foundation and everyone felt really good about it. After all, the holidays are about friends, family, and giving.

After a great week in NH, it was back to Portland. I got in on the 30th of December and basically struggled to stay awake the rest of the day. Since my plane had left before 6am, I hadn't gone to bed the night before. I was exhausted. Thankfully, I woke up New Year's Eve Day with a bit more energy. I was looking forward to New Year's Eve and Day because they were the first real time Ryan and I have has to do stuff around Portland together in many many weeks. With my exam finals, and the holidays etc., I had been working most weekends for a long while. We wet out to Milo McIver state park and played a round of disc golf. I hadn't played for 2 or so months so it was great fun. Back at home we made a first attempt at home film developing. Results weren't so great. Turns out we used the wrong developer concentration but at least we know what needs to be done next time. Finally, we headed to the Laurelthirst bar at around 10 pm to ring in the new year. I was happily surprised that it wasn't at all crowded. There was music and food, and beer, and I even got Ryan to dance (though he may deny it if asked). It was one of the best New Year's Eves I've had in many many years. On New Year's Day there was more golf to be played, this time at Timber Park. We played two rounds of doubles and then headed straight for the Laurelthirst for a private New Year's Day party. There was tons of free food and beer. We only stayed about two hours but it was a good time.

After a full couple of days, I crashed early last night. Today is back to the old grind. Being back in the lab is almost surreal. Classes will start again on Monday. Hopefully I will be able to make time for plenty of R&R and fun this quarter. I'm only taking 1 full class this quarter as opposed to 2 last quarter. I'm hoping that will make a difference. All work and no play makes for a very unhappy Chris. I think making time for R&R and fun should be one of my New Year's resolutions.