Roast Beef & Rainy Days

Ok, so it was a rainy weekend and now I'm a little behind my post. I'll be making up a story now and I'd say it is 80% truth and 20% fiction.

I was at Costco last week when I spied a $50 dutch oven, which I have always wanted, and so on semi-impulse (dutch ovens are expensive!) I bought it. Here we can see it below in all its glory~ Yay~

Now not long before that I had bought a roast and decided that I would make my roast in the dutch oven. Salt, pepper and some Italian seasoning got rubbed on it and I brown it up in some butter. Added in my potatoes, onions, celery, Worcestershire sauce and Sam Adam's Holiday Porter and then let the roast go on the stove top -- the rack inside the oven wouldn't allow that much weight, which I didn't really consider. After a few hours it looked a bit like this.

Made some sandwiches with Dubliner Irish cheese and sun-dried tomatoes -- also the broth and vegetables made for a tasty soup with the bread on the side. So peruse those pictures at your own leisure.

Just baked that Kirkland lasagna too. So. If you don't see me in a few weeks it is because I can't get off the couch. Long live food!

Shiny Post

Okay, it has been a long time since I last updated this blog and even the posts before that were forced -- Simple trophies have nothing to do with this blog. I knew it. You knew it. It shall not happen again! Promise. Pinky swear. Moving on.

Noticing I take a lot more pictures from inside than outside and I'll try to make an effort to get out and snap more, but until then this is what we have. Very typical day in Astoria when it is sunny, and yes, I consider that sunny even with a giant friggin' cloud line.

This is the best fish and chips in town and I'm sticking by it. If you happen to be in Astoria and have the hankering then look no further than the Bowpicker across from the Maritime Museum. Beer-battered fillets that are crisp, delicious and smell divine -- if you like the smell of fried fish anyway. Definitely getting some malt vinegar at home so I can take it back and enjoy without it becoming soggy on my ride back. On a side note: if you can think of a better name than fish and chips holler at me. So far I've come up with ships -- fi(sh) and ch(ips). It's a work in progress. That's why I'm asking. Don't be a punk.

So this was a picture I during a lightning storm we were having this weekend. Around 3AM I awoke to the sound of thunder and for almost all the day it rained. The photos below are in order of what happened and I'll walk through the events. The sky was completely gray as it rolled in from the west and soon the windows were soaked from heavy rain and winds. Hail started to pelt the side of my apartment and I also saw some on the outside porch roof -- the sound was so strong I couldn't hear anything else going on in the apartment for a few minutes, but I think that might be due to the lack of insulation in the apartment. Strong winds carried the storm out in what lasted around half an hour and I later heard from Tom that hail arrived in Eugene so it might have been part of the same front.

"It probably would have been fun if I didn't feel worried my apartment would fall apart," I chuckled to myself. Sigh. So that was the last few weeks I suppose. Should be getting close to 2300 trophies now and might I comment that there are too many good looking games coming out lately and not nearly enough free time to play them?!

Leave a comment! Or don't... See what I care.

Steady on

Dead Space makes platinum 37. Around 2200 trophies now.

Definitely not up to much

Got the platinum trophies for Mirror's Edge and Mercenaries 2. Trophy count above 2100. That's about it.

All things on hold!

After a relaxing week of being away, having Sonic with Tombrah, and destroying Lolo with Mas, I have returned to say I have not whittled, nor carpentered, nor blogged (until now). So far I have drawn a few ideas for furniture and am reviewing project videos to integrate designs, but I suspect I won't start anything for a few more weeks. I'll be gathering a few branches this week and seeing what kind of little projects I can make. Pictures of stuff will come eventually -- have faith.

Comments are welcome as always.

Business as usual

Another week in the bag. Tenants moving in and out like the ebb and flow of the ocean! Ahh, the sound soothes the soul. So let's see what's going on:

• Whittled a small fish-shaped letter opener out of pine
• Re-arranged furniture in the living room area
• Bought knife sharpening kit and compound
• Got my platinum trophy for Nier
• Watched Harry Potter: Half-Blood Prince & Rambo II double feature
• Added Futurama, American Dad and Stargate SG-1 to Netflix Streaming
• Ignored the Astoria Regata but managed to catch some fireworks out the window

 I'll try and get some pictures up next post cause text-only is so old school -- Maybe have a post dedicated to whittling cause I'm sure that's what my friends want to hear about. Actually, comment away at what you'd like to hear about! I'd gladly oblige most reasonable requests. 

Bad times

A woman was beaten here in Astoria recently and died on the way to the hospital. An accident occurred where an auto broke a few signs, hit another car and the police came. My manager is on a much deserved vacation but it has left me with nobody to learn from. That's just a short run down on the major things that have happened, and then there's just the run-of-the-mill bad times too. Wishing it was better this week. Me.

Pictures y'all

Nikon Coolpix S3000 12 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Vibration Reduction (VR) Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Plum)

Day 3

I'm making a note here: MODERATE success. Yesterday was marked with uncomfortable heat that felt like a small, wet seagull was hugging my face, but today, today was good. Fog for breakfast, sea wind for lunch and cool hill air for dinner. Ahhh, feelin' it? That's the good stuff.

“How is work,” you must be asking. Thank you for your concern. Quite interesting. There's experiments to run and research to be done on the tenants who are still alive. If you don't get that reference, don't sweat it.

I don't have a camera here and my netbook doesn't do the view from my apartment justice, so I impart my words of fail! It is evening time and toward the south a lazy fog is rolling in front of the distant cascade mountains. The tall pines of Oregon serve as a picket fence between the fog and rolling valley that sprawls out from the front of my apartment. Birds' songs echo out from the surrounding forest and sea breeze rustles the blinds.

Distinct sounds of roman candles rip the air! God bless America and the endless supply of Independence Day fireworks (sic).

Anyway, on the other side of the apartment the treeline has since been thinned and exposes a breathtaking view of the Columbia river, banks of Washington, the Astoria-Megler bridge and Pacific ocean by way of the river's mouth. There were no clouds yesterday and the sunset was a mix of oranges, yellows and purples – it was also quieter; silly youngin's hollering, go back to wherever! Yeah. Whatever.

That's all from me tonight. Mo' comments, mo' details.

Go West, Young Man!

Well, I'm already on the West Coast, but soon I'll be actually living on the coast itself. A date has been set: The first week of July I shall depart for gray skies! Then around mid-July I will return to Portland for around two weeks, and then it is back to Astoria. I am anxious to start learning and familiarizing myself with the town. What will it hold in store for me?

Stop. Picture time.


Anne mentioned that the pictures I posted were too nice considering Astoria's stats -- a very valid point. This is a picture of the Columbia river during a wind storm, notice the Astoria-Megler bridge in the photo. Cool, cool.

Cowtown Got Me Down

Still here until Monday and the allergies are in full swing. Thanks Corvallis. I can hear the hoots and hollers of drunken students late into the eve; it is time to get the hell out of Dodge. On the plus side it gives me time to do nothing and by that I mean find fun facts about Astoria.

Astoria:

• Ranked 1st cloudiest city in the U.S. (240 days on avg.)
• Ranked 3rd rainiest city in the U.S. (191 days on avg.)
• Ranked 3rd wettest city in the U.S (69.60 inches on avg.)
  
• Approaching its bicentennial in 2011
• Has had quite a few movies shot around the area (Goonies, Kindergarten Cop, etc)
• Its got piers... forts... inns... stuff

I think that's about it. Check it, pictures. Boom.







View from the Astoria Column, some stairs, and an old man. I'm assuming he's representative of Astoria's demographic.

Episode IV: A New Hope

My journey to Astoria will mark the beginning of a new chapter in my life as I learn about real... stuff. Though I have not moved quite yet, I can say with a fair degree of certainty that I will be there soon enough, and as such I hope to blog about it right here. I will be living in this small nondescript apartment seen below:

As I read more into the city and what it has to offer, it feels like a good offering for only having a population of 10,000. Here's to hoping for a beautiful relationship, Astoria!