Sunday, December 30, 2007

Christmas in Oregon

We had a great time in Oregon, making a fast trip into Portland, down to Albany, and then over to Bend where we spent Christmas Day skiing at Mt. Bachelor. It was great to be able to show Shane around where I grew up and have him meet the family. He even made it through a night of caroling at the Higgins family Xmas Gathering. Can't say I had experienced anything like it, but he was a great sport!
The family is all doing well, and it was great to see G&G Fullmer, the Higgins crew, my Dad's new house and enjoying Mom's birthday with she and Vincent!

Thursday, December 20, 2007

My Faith in Humanity Restored

Who knew a trip to my favorite burrito place could restore my overall faith in humanity? It's been snowing off and on in various storms for the past 7 days. And between the: shoveling, the attempt to save our parking spots that we spent 2 hours digging out, the brazenness of fellow residents to disregard our attempts, and my frustrations with people who seem to ignore the fact that they aren't the only ones on the narrowed sidewalks, I was FED UP with living in the city, dealing with the snow, and everything that happened after I got out of bed in the morning. And then I went to Boloco... It's my favorite burrito place in Boston, and today was their grand opening of their new store (50 Congress St). It's about 4 times bigger than the last, and they NEEDED it! The store is always packed, rightfully. They have one of the best customer programs I have ever encountered. I eat there once a week (on average) and every 5 weeks I get a free burrito. On top of that, when the Sox won the world series, everyone with a Boloco Card got 2 free burritos, and then for my birthday I got a birthday burrito. So, today, with the opening of their new store, everyone was getting a free burrito. And when we walked in the line was probably 60 people deep. But, it moved quickly and on top of that, a guy walked around offering people hot chocolate while they were waiting in line. How great is that? And everyone was just excited to be there, people weren't even angry about standing in line- in fact I didn't see one person walk in, see the line and leave, the line just kept moving and people kept piling in the new huge store. And everyone was smiling. Who doesn't smile at the thought of a free burrito? It is still snowing and it's still cold, but my faith in humanity has been restored, thank you Boloco!

Friday, December 14, 2007

Picture from the storm

So, it snowed yesterday. And, because I don't have to commute, I really enjoyed it. I even walked home in it last night, mostly because I didn't want to deal with a bus full of sweaty, melting people... Here's a view from my office this morning...
And while I am at it- here's our Christmas Tree, it takes up 1/2 the living room, but we love it...

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Global Warming

I am all about the environment. Ask anyone and I am the first one to recycle anything, reuse paper, or plastic bags. I considered buying a hybrid for a while, but today ride fairly guilt free as I take the bus to and from work. But I am from Oregon, I have been recycling since I was old enough to walk. As I watch the news about the crazy weather that has hit the West Coast, closing I-5, or the fires in San Diego, or the devastating water shortage in the South East, and the ever declining amount of snow in all of our mountain ranges across North America. I am reminded that even I, who fills the recycling bin on a weekly basis with cans, bottles, plastic and cardboard containers, am not doing enough. More needs to happen. And to help inspire all of us, I encourage you to read Al Gore's Nobel Prize acceptance speech. I am so glad he decided to use his influence on something that he can really make a difference in. Politics be damned! Chose a cause and make it your life. I encourage all of us to do that...