Faceless...

I was driving to Portland today, and stopped to get gas at exit 104. As I turned toward the gas station, I noticed a figure holding a cardboard sign on the offramp. I glanced at the writing as I drove past and saw only a few words, namely "homeless," "ugle," and "help." It was the "ugle" that really caught my attention. I realized that, try as I might, I couldn't actually recall the man's face, "ugle" or not. That bothered me...

It seems that I am no longer seeing the faces of those who are looking for a meal, a handout, or a chance. I mean, I'm not going to start peeling out bills to every corner, but I am starting to look at the person standing there, rather than pretending they're not there (something that I see quite a lot of) and drive/bike/walk on. Hopefully eye contact will lead to some sort of connection beyond a hand grasping a dollar... We'll see.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

This would have shut down
the city of Portland...

Woke up this morning to a light dusting of snow. The perfect kind: pretty, but not dangerous. Still, I walked to work to enjoy the feel of the first snow of the season... and into town... and to the store... and back to work... and back home. I like the snow like this!

the "elf tree"

I was actually thinking of skipping any decorations at home this year, as it's just me and I don't really have holiday visitors to impress. But - of all places - Safeway had these great little "elf trees," so I got one, broke out my box of ornaments, and set up the tree. Then, after a few folk had come by for dinner, realized that it was dripping water on my stereo, cleaned up the water... and knocked the tree over, breaking 4 ornaments. *sigh* Sarah, bless her heart, was still over, and helped me gather ornaments and reset the tree.
But apparently I hadn't gotten the decorating bug out of my system, because I went and splurged $1.50 on some lights, stripped the tree, and redressed it all over again while watching Muppet's Christmas Carol.

All I'm Saying is That I'd Better Get My Cleaning Deposit Back...

I Just Cleaned the Left Side

So I finally got around to cleaning the gross looking linoleum that lines the non-carpeted portions of my apartment. It boggles my mind that they took the time to completely replace the carpet but couldn't be bothered to mop the floors. Mind you, this did take my most of an hour with a scrub brush, but this is my kitchen! I prep food here! Ick...

Next... the full bathroom! *shudder*

Visits by Night...

 
So the cat with the broken tail found it's way into my apartment again. Apparently I brought in more than my laundry from the basement! But a bit of tuna and a warm lap was all he was looking for... and then back out to the cold...