Saw the launching of new barge this afternoon.

Went to Gunderson for the launch of a 480ft ocean going barge this afternoon. Got a tour of their production facility and saw them christen and launch this huge barge into the river. Amazing event. Pictures to follow. This is video of a smaller but similar barge launch from the same location.

St Johns Toyota Facility

This is a couple blocks away from my home.  It is also to source of most of the trains that disrupt my sleep.

Part of this Levi's commercial was filmed in the park across the street from my house.

Why I'm A Terrible Friend

I've come to think of myself as one of those people who is not good at maintaining friendships over time. I'm reasonably good at establishing friendships. Turning aquaintances into friends seems to hinge largely on the frequency of contact. This could explain why most of my friends (& girlfriends) have been coworkers at some point. Especially with my current hypersocial job, I've become someone who can strike up a conversation with just about anyone. However continuing the friendship seems to require an externally imposed schedule. It could be work, a regular drinking date, yearly events like festivals and the like. Without these my contact with most 'old' friends seems largely comprised of mutual promises to meet at some vague time and location. Facebook, this blog, or any other kind of social networking doesn't solve the problem. If anything it highlights the pitfalls of trying to keep in touch. Most peoples Updates and posts tend to either be trivial and thus needing no more response than a meaningless thumbs up / like, or they communicate some life changing event like childbirth which is equal difficult to glibbly comment on. My own updates, tend to be content clipped from others or random pictures of my fur children. To try to say anything more meaningful or to try to really catch anyone up on my life reminds me of every horrible Christmas letter I've ever recieved. "My dog made new friend in the park today, his name is Gus. Tails were wagging, butts were sniffed. It was a good day." Or worse, I feel like I'm trying to write some kind of social resume. Instead of jobs I'm listing relationships.
2002-2005 Married,
2005-Present, Committed Relationship.
Instead, today I'm sending out this rant by way of explanation of why I'm a terrible friend. I like having friends. I like keeping in touch. I just suck at it.

Why life is good even tho it sucks. w/ illustrations

Life is good even tho it sucks. The economy is fucked and might possibly become apocalyptic. Katie's w/o a job. Her grandma passed on. I had to go to a catholic funeral (sit down, pray, sing, stand up, kneel, be sad, be thankful, be scared, sit down, dress up, be humble, be proud, be christian etc etc ad nauseam). Thoughts of my own mortality have been forced upon me. I work too hard for too little money. Vacations are beyond my financial reach. My car keeps dreaming up new and expensive ways to need repair. My home is worth only slight more than I owe, and less than I paid. I'm addicted to nicotine, have little motivation to try to quit. It's been a long weird winter and a wet chilly spring. And yet, I'm in a pretty darn good mood. It's the second day of a three day weekend. The weather is awesome. I'm sitting on deck/porch/lanai/portico/balcony. Thanks to Kurt & Rob, I've gotta great local beer at my lips. I've got some amazing copper river salmon to grill, even tho I had to practically get a second mortgage to do so. Buddha is happily keeping the neighbor safe. Fae is nibbling away on cat nip. I'm playing with my favorite toys (iPhone & MacBook). Our herb garden is doing great. I have, perhaps, the best view in Portland. I have a beautiful and extremely tolerant girlfriend. I truly like all the people I work with, and almost all my customers. My job is actually pretty darn good. I do no harm, I get to be sarcastic and have fun while earning a living wage. My pets / fur kids are wonderful fascinating individuals. There's going to be Shakespeare in the park, as well as the Jazz Fest. The Historic Races coming up, as is the waterfront Beer Fest. OPB & NPR provide the background sounds for my life and feed my brain & soul. Despite it's kiss of death, so help me I love smoking. Even tho I'm solidly in my mid-forties, I usually feel and apparently look much younger. This is a good life by any standards, most certainly mine. In my past I've tasted depression, pain and more. It's good to have that context to inform me now. Now life is good even tho it sucks.