Saturday, May 19, 2007

Happy Birthday to me

I haven't written in forever and it's driving me crazy but I console myself with the knowledge that I'm going back to the beach in two days. In the meantime, I'm finally caught up with math and I'm in the middle of a fabulous birthday weekend.

I got an award letter from Ford Family Foundation this week, notifying me that I got picked to receive a scholarship. This means I probably won't have to work for the next _ years while I go to school, except in the summer. They actually prefer it if you don't work, which is why they pay 90% of unmet need for any school you want to go to. I'm going to stay at PCC for another year and then we'll see. They'll even pay for grad school if you graduate with a good GPA. It's a pretty awesome deal. Maybe I'll just become one of those people that just goes to school for umpteen years.

Nah.

Birthday festivities started on Wednesday when Jess and I rode our bikes downtown to Jimmy Mak's to hear Steph and Tony play for happy hour. I knew that Tony was a great musician but I haven't heard him play much. He did things with a banjo that were too fast to be seen with the naked eye. Very awesome.

I love having a bikey girlfriend who likes to commute around with me. We're making our peace with the fact that we're total and complete dorks, with our matching commuter bikes, matching helmets, racks, lights, etc. It's not our fault we have the same taste in, well, just about everything. I've given up fighting it.

This week we also started training for the Seattle to Portland ride in July. We tried to do it last year but sickness of varying kinds prevent us. This year it looks like we'll have no excuses, so the next 6 weeks will mostly be spent working (for her), eating, sleeping and riding. Yesterday we did 30 miles on windy Marine Drive and today 41 miles down one of my favorite loops on River Rd to Oregon City and back up the other side of the river through Tryon Creek State Park. The weather was a little chilly, but aside from one racial slur yelled from a car in the heart of Oregon City, it was a gorgeous and peaceful ride.

In a little while it's off to my cosmic bowling birthday party with 15-20 of my closest friends.

Tomorrow is spa day. We're going to Bonneville Hot Springs to use the gift certificate we got from my friend Jacqueline for a mineral bath and wrap. We also took some bereavement donations and added the Rock n Rain hot stone massage. I'm sure by the time we leave, we'll need a designated driver. :)


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on the scholarship! I am very happy for you. We are doing fine in Port Townsend. The Bayliner I purchased (did I tell you about that?) ended up needing a new engine so it will be like having a brand new boat at twice the price of buying a used boat. Boats are money sponges. Anyway, you need to come up ASAP! Before you get all edumacational in the fall.

Love,
Heather

PS. I am finally going to get another cat. An Abyssinian. (Not another vacuous but sweet rat-cat like Einstein.) ;)