Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Oregon Extravaganza

I got back from my trip to Oregon last night after spending a week back in the northwest. I must say, I had a great time and I am somewhat homesick already. Damn you doctorate program, why are you so long and time consuming! On the plus side, when I got back to Boulder I found that I had a paper accepted in an ASME journal, so the Young name should soon be famous. In the immediate future, I will begin my study for my last prelim exam, this one is in Analysis, my least favorite subject. I feel pretty good about my odds though, but we'll find out how I feel in about a month.

I first flew back last Tuesday, the 17th getting into Portland at like 11 pm. Nick picked me up and we enjoyed ourselves a pint of Portland's finest, PBR, at some crappola dive bar in the Hollywood district. Erin picked me up the next day with her friend Katie and she took me back to good ol' Albany. I ate some pizza with the family in Corvallis and proceeded to Freddie's house to catch up. He's moving to Denver in a few weeks and I spent the time convincing him to get a job skiing so he can hook me up with free passes and whatnot.

The next day, I headed up to Salem to see Shannon and her baby Emmerson. For some reason, small children always seem to like me despite the terror I experience when encountering them. This one was no exception, feeling free to smile and fart at liberty in my presence. We got some lunch and I procured a new coffee making device, the Aeropress. It is like a giant syringe that pushes water through coffee grounds, and it make surprisingly delicious coffee. I then headed down to Eugene to visit Josh for a bit.

Friday was wedding preparation day. This involved my sister and her friends making all the flowers while my mother and aunt prepared salads. I got roped into helping with the deviled eggs; this required me peeling 9 dozen eggs, and awesome and rewarding experience. Later on, there was a rehearsal dinner and me forcing my mom to watch Tour de France highlights.

Saturday was wedding day. The first priority was picking up the new Harry Potter, then heading to the wedding. There was some concern of rain, but it all cleared up by the afternoon and turned out to be about perfect conditions. There was a short and sweet ceremony and a nice reception where I got to catch up with most of my family. I heard later that my grandmother took a fall and broke her thumb after the wedding, looks like someone was taking advantage of the open bar! My cousin Melissa took me back to Portland, and being that it was Saturday night, I met up with my college amigos and later with Melissa and her friends for drinks downtown.

Sunday and Monday in Portland revolved around Nick and I reading Harry Potter and getting food/drinks with friends. It was a pretty great time and I wish I could move back. I finished the book on the journey back to Colorado, so if anyone wants to discuss it, talk to me.

3 comments:

James said...

I'm done to. Thought it was good. You? Maybe this is better done via email?

Mary said...

Where are the flippin' pictures of the wedding and you in the suit on the big day?

Oh, and I finished the book at camp. Let's discuss over a beer.

Shannonia said...

I like that your visit with Shannon was so memorable that you do nothing more than brag about your infant appeal and new Aeropress. Lame.