The turnaround I’ve seen in Portland since moving here in 2015 is pretty dramatic. https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2023/01/portlands-101-homicides-in-2022-set-new-record-at-some-point-we-have-to-be-tired-of-burying-our-children.html

As I cooked dinner tonight, I was struck by the fact that I have almost no memories of my dad cooking dinner growing up. Unless it was fish or on the grill, it just never happened. Mom also packed his lunch every single day. My how things have changed.

Truly wondering if half my coworkers are using mouse jigglers today. #wfh

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but it’s the merging party’s responsibility to slow down or speed up when entering the freeway.

I like how we all just collectively ignore the fact that yoga studio ‘new student specials’ are predatory because it makes us feel good to have a 5-class pack we know we’re not going to use in the next 3 months.

One great thing about living in an oceanic climate: growing food year-round. Just pulled these out of my raised beds.

Dentistry feels like such a racket at times. My 70-something-year-old ex dentist said I definitely needed a crown on a tooth that had been giving me trouble. Said there was a crack that couldn’t be seen. Seemed extreme to me, so I fired the guy and had it fixed by someone else for a thousand dollars less. Havent had any problems with it since. Glad I got a second opinion.

I was never able to get Portland Radio Project to come in over the air on my car stereo or at home, so it’s nice to be able steam it in Apple Music now. Just wish there was support for displaying what song is currently playing from within the Music app. #pdx #portland #radio

There’s a guy in CA with the same name as me who keeps trying to use my Gmail account as an alias for another email address. I also keep getting receipts from his business expenses, and I’ve even received some legal documents from his attorney a couple times. I’ve emailed the guy several times now and he just doesn’t respond. Boomers!

My car is seemingly getting close to its last leg and wouldn’t start this morning. My wife and I are considering just creating a ride-hailing budget instead of getting a new second car. Was looking at EVs but to get into anything new would be at least a $500/mo payment not including electricity, insurance, and maintenance. That’s a lot of Lyft rides.

Sometimes when I’m milling about Metro #Portland I think about how shoddy some of the suburban construction is and imagine how absolutely fucked we’d be if we had some big employers evaporate like Detroit did a few decades ago (ahem, #intel *cough*). At least a lot of the building stock in #Detroit was made of super high quality materials. The amount of T-111 sided 1980s boom-time tract housing in the #pdx area is wild, and it would be absolutely eviscerated.

We’ve been looking at real estate a little bit. I don’t understand how people afford Multnomah County property taxes. It’s gotta be one of the highest property tax burdens in the country. In some cases, the monthly property tax payment would be as high as our PITI in Washington County. #pdx #realestate

Every morning is like a game of whack-a-mole trying to make the phone notifications go away. I especially hate having unread emails. Lately I’ve been thinking maybe I’ll just have them marked as read the moment they hit the inbox.

A little over a month until I’m 42, which happens to be how old Elvis was when he died. I just watched him perform Unchained Melody live in Rapid City in 1977 on YouTube, and damn, he was looking pretty rough. I guess I do too, if I’m being honest with myself.

Looking back at my science classes growing up, so much stuff was taught like religion. Recently even the Big Bang is being called into question. I think we need to be more careful about how we teach sciences. No wonder people are skeptical of things like vaccines.

If the condition in which our post offices currently exist is any indication as to the health of our nation…

Was thinking today that by the time my mom was my age (41), she already had one kid in college, another was a soldier at war in Iraq, and a third kid with their driver’s license.

At Kaiser Permanente in Beaverton bc my kid cut the webbing on his thumb with a tape measure. Already been here an hour and they say it’s going to be 2 more hours before he can see a doctor and maybe get stitches. I feel like this location, despite being newish, is way too small to serve this area. #pdx #parenthood

Was having a conversation with some coworkers and they said that their kids, who are adults, can’t read cursive because they were never taught it in school. Also learned that a younger coworker has trouble with it, too. I’m blown away that apparently this is really common.

At this point of the winter, I’m just looking forward to the middle of March when sun sets after 7 p.m.

My 4-year-old: “Zoey just said ‘uh-oh’!
“What? Dogs can’t talk dude!”
“Yes she can! I heard her say ‘uh-oh’ in dog Spanish!”
#spanish #dogs #kids

Detroit is truly one of the greatest cities in the U.S. Living in the PNW the last 8 years, I miss it. I miss the people, the architecture, the food, the music venues, the vibe. #detroit #cities

Speaking of movies, the first one I ever saw in theaters was The Boy Who Could Fly, in 1986 while I was in kindergarten. My mom took me to the Court Theater in Saginaw, Michigan. Hadn’t watched it since, so I’m watching it now.