Saturday, February 27, 2010

What's going on?

(Please tell me at least one of you read that title and had the 4 Non Blondes song pop into your head!)

Here's a quick update with what's going on...
  • Still working too much. Far, far too much.
  • Softball season has started and I'm not coaching. It's odd, but good. There's no way I could handle that with everything else.
  • Sunshine today - yay!
  • Have a date with my dad today to go to the spaghetti feed at Mom's work. Mom will be there too, but she's working.
  • The husband is also working a lot. His schedule has gotten funky, which means we don't get to hang out much. He rarely gets a weekend day off anymore and it makes me sad.
  • We do have a date scheduled for Monday night. Portland Center Stage is announcing their 2010-11 season with a dessert reception and we have plans to attend.
  • Just had an observation at work. Anxiously awaiting the feedback from my principal.
  • We're planning a road trip for spring break. First non-softball related spring break trip since 8th grade. Insane, huh? More on the plans later.
  • My college roommate, Amy, and I just signed on to teach Chinese kids again this summer.
  • Ricky and I just finished a financial planning class and have a one-on-one meeting with the planner March 12. We hope to get a more solid plan going. We also need to get our will taken care of.

As you can see, life is very busy but not all that exciting. I am really looking forward to our date on Monday. I'm excited to spend time with Ricky and also to hear what shows PCS is producing next year. We've loved 3 out of 4 shows we've seen there this year and are hoping the next season looks as good. If it does look good, and assuming I still have a job, we plan on buying season tickets again. It's been great to know we have a date planned about once a month, and I love a good show!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Huh. That's a headscratcher.

Ricky and I had tickets to The Receptionist at Portland Center Stage tonight. Usually we really enjoy their plays, and from a production standpoint this one was on par with their other work. The script, on the other hand, left something to be desired.

In the beginning the script was funny. A caricature of office life. The receptionist, with her "phone answering" voice, her personal phone calls, and her morning rituals. The young coworker with her out of control love life. The older boss, close to retirement who leaves the ladies in the office on their own.

And then things got weird. A creepy visitor came from "the central office." He flirted, he overshared...and he was just creepy in general.

And then even weirder...there was talk of interrogation, working over the feet, breaking someone's pinky finger, wire to the eyes...Suddenly the boss disappears, his wife disappears, the young coworker packs up her office on the sly and takes off. Creepy visitor man comes and begins to interrogate the receptionist, and then takes her to the central office.

The end.

This script was like a bad joke. You know the ones, where the punch line is lost or forgotten or just plain stupid. Ok, no, this play didn't even have a stupid punchline, just no punchline at all. And it's going to bother me all. night. long.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Date Night!

Ricky and I hadn't been on an alone date in ages. We'd been out with friends, siblings, and/or parents, but not just the two of us. So when Saturday rolled around and neither of us had to work or had any other plans, we made plans together.

We started at a great little restaurant called Dingo's. Located in Portland's Hawthorne district, Dingo's is a "fresh Mexican grill" offering local, organic and sustainable fare for Portlanders. And it was yum! We started with a bowl of Pintos and cheese, topped with spicy slaw and tomatoes, served with chips. That was probably the best bean and cheese dip ever. Then we moved on to burritos. I had a chicken burrito with black beans and rice, smothered in mole sauce and served with sour cream. Ricky had a carnitas burrito with black beans and rice, smothered in a habanero sour cream sauce. Both were absolutely delicious - and filling. We each brought home half a burrito!

After enjoying our fantastic meal, we headed to OMSI for Laser Pink Floyd. What fun! We enjoyed a 45 minute laser light show set to the tunes of Ricky's favorite band. I am not the fan that he is, but even I recognized most of the songs and could even sing along with 2 or 3. I was surprised at how quickly the time went. Suddenly the lasers were flashing "the end" across the planetarium dome and I thought, "really?! Already??"

All in all it was a fantastic night. I was sad that we skipped out on a Mardi Gras party with my coworkers, but we desperately needed a night for the two of us. I would definitely recommend Dingo's to anyone, and the laser light show was a fun, different, and relatively inexpensive way to spend the evening.