the final week or so...

my last week or so was a blur. i was running all over the place running errands, seeing fam and friends, getting my things together, and so on. i still don't know how it all came together.

saturday the 13th, my mom and i headed up to seattle to help my dad and and brother zachary with an event called CoffeeFestNW. we handout tons and tons of samples to hundreds of people. at this kind of event everyone you talk to is important, because they could be a coffeeshop owner with 10 locations or someone with connections to a distribution company that could get our products in places we would have no idea how to pursue. it was great fun talking to everyone and gettin samples of other stuff like gelato, coffee, tea, and so on. by far we blew everyone else out of the water, people called the cookies and bards "outstanding," "fantastic," and so on. obviously, we already know that, it's just nice to hear it and be reminded... we went up and back the same day. i love spontenuity!

sunday the 14th was stephen's birthday which consisted of a small party with close friends and family. one of my favorite things to do ever is spend good time with my family, especially when the stories start. i had to leave early to head to my graveyard shift. which was sad, but work is work, and i had only had a tiny bit left to go

monday the 15th was such a weird but random day. emily, sarah, and i decided we wanted to go on a hike. i had a blister that allowed me only to wear flip flops, emily had gotten slightly ill from sun exposure the day before, and sarah had gone on a huge hike the wednesday previous, so none of us were in a mood to be "intense." we decided on silver falls. which is east of salem. so we piled into the little neon that had no air conditioning on a day around 93 degrees. probably not the best idea, but it worked out. i overshot the exit, but that allowed us to get lunch at taco bell. we got lost a couple more times, and never actually made it to the hike to the waterfalls. we stopped at the first chance of water which was silverton resevoir. for some reason it wasn't as hot outside as we felt, and that made getting in the water that much harder. we psyched ourselves out with the rope swing, but all took a turn at it. then tons of people showed up, so we retired to sit on the dock (of the bay). we headed back, and got dinner at dok koon. it was all random but good. but of course i had to work my graveyard again...

tuesday the 16th i was sooo tired. but i didn't want to waste my last week sleeping, so after work, i went home, and started working on my room, and getting everyting into suitcases. i relisted my camry on craigslist but this time with my phone number, and people kept calling me about it. to make a long story short, i sold. only $600 bucks, but i was not sad to see that car go, it caused me too much grief (literally). after i sold it, i walked over to oba's and grabbed lunch with tiina, gabriel's wife, and it was incredible. i don't ever want to forget that salad. it was the avocado and mango mesquite chicken salad with chipotle ranch dressing topped with pumpkin seeds. i cleaned my plate, it was that great. afterwards, i ran around downtown portland getting errands done, and then went BACK to oba's to get an early dinner with natalie. we were both so exhausted, but it was great to be able to catch up and see other. she gave me a ride back to vancouver, and then i headed home. the night consisted of mending clothes and continuing the endless packing.

wednesday the 17th. once again, i managed to get out of bed at a decent hour. i think i was so paranoid that i would oversleep, that i would wake myself up. i had no idea i could wake up at 7:45am consistently without an alarm clock. after piddling around my room, i got breakfast at mon ami with a friend. the mad scramble to see everyone i wanted to see was hard to handle, because i felt like i didnt get to see or talk to everyone i really wanted to. i guess that's what goodbye parties are for. ya know, the last ditch effort to see everyone... i didn't have one, couldn't bring myself to add anymore planning to my schedule. after breakfast i sold more clothes at buffalo, and magically made $35 bucks with stuff i had already brought them. they love me there, i am sure of it, why else do they take almost everything of mine? did a couple of returns then raced back to vancouver for my "date" with brett. every day, he would make the best sandwiches and never would give me just one bight. so somehow i got him to agree to make me a sandwich...on his birthday. zachary got an oreo ice cream cake and we had a mini party. i headed back into portland to see about getting some cameras fixed. my friend jordan totally helped me out, and was awesome about getting cameras fixed. i also managed to be able to afford a digital camera which was a relief, because i obviously wanted something for my future travels. after that i went to work at the office where i trained the new girl in the ways of my job. i put in a more than a few hours there, and didn't get out until late. i swung by sarah's on the way home, and we went to a goodbye party for her friend/co-worker who is taking a year of to travel latin america. how great is that? it's rare to find an american (not doing ywam) who takes time to travel. i had to cut out early to make it to fred meyer's before they closed, so that i could get a fishing license

thursdsay the 18th. i opened my eyes just as my dad was coming into my room to wake me up. today was our fishing day. it's been so long since i have gone fishing with my dad, but they are among my fondest memories of growing up. we dont fish in a boat in the middle of some lake, nor do we sit on a beach hoping for a bite. no, we hike to spots that people couldn't dream of getting to. we would hike through rivers in search for the "pefect hole" which always seemed to be "just around the river bend." to be honest, we didnt do that much fishing. we started out fishing, but the fish just kept taking the worms. we decided to try for a spot that my dad knew of. but we got distracted when we say the rocks forms made from the lavaflows. we hiked over those and peered into the caves that they formed. then my decided to show me a waterfall. so he literally just starts walking, i don't know how he knew exactly where to go, but we came to a cliff/steep drop off and we could catch glimpses of a beautiful waterfall. we managed to find our way down. we had to sit on the dirt and lower ourselves down in some places, we walked across a naturally fallen tree that was covered in moss and small plant life and huge beatles. we ate the huckleberries, and saw the remains of salmon berries on the bushes. then we were there. it was breathtaking. the waterfall dumped into a crystal clear pool of water. on the bottom of it was every shade of green, and it made everything jsut glow. we sat there fora while just taking it in. you know when there is a fire going, and everyone is just transfixed on it? it was the same, but with water. it was a true little utopia. we weren't allowed to fish there nor the other places my dad had in mind due to "closed waters." it's unfair, and extremely tempting, especially when my dad goes on and on about how on the first cast you would could catch a sizeable fish. the most illegal thing we did that day was drive on a road that we weren't supposed to. not that exciting. on the way home, i completely konked out. cars have always been able to put me to sleep, and this time was no exception. i awoke just as we pulled in to the bakery parking lot. my dad had one or two things to do. they didn't take long, so we finished the day with ice cream at baskin robbins. the day was perfect. i was with my dad, there were no distractions (such as cellphones), and we could relive so many good memories of being in those woods. i love it. it had been a big day, but by no means was i going to slow down. i got changed and headed for some more errands. the night ended with me in the ace hotel lobby working on my new computer. i was there until just before 12am. this time i did go straight to bed. so good.

friday the 19th. i woke up early, and headed to the office to finish off my last day there, and my last day of real work (i.e. pays money). i had to train someone else for basic tasks, and just after 1:30pm i was out of there. i had a doctor's appt. and then i headed home. packing was basically done, but i still had random clothes around. i took off again cause i had some other appointment to get to. when i was done i went to visit sarah at work. then we headed back to her place, and somehow we both stayed awake until after 1am watching the "virgin suicides." let it be known that i want to name any daughter that i may have in the distant futute, "Lux." i am in love iwth it. the movie... not so much. it was good, but so far beyond artsy. avant garde would be a good word, only because that makes any weirdness in any spectrum ok... you just HAVE to use that word.

saturday the 20th i woke up BEFORE 7:30, and i am pretty sure i had rihanna's overplayed song, "disturbia" in my head as it had been the entire day before, just as sarah was leaving for work. all we could do was glare. not at each other, but at the fact we were awake. in my delerium i remember sarah saying something along the lines of "i hate my life." in the context, it was just so funny. we were soooo tired. i didn't even go back to sleep, instead i went to get some tests done at the clinic that they couldnt' do the day before. i got breakfast at sarah's cafe, and then headed home. my plans were to have a garage sale, but those fell through when my parents made too many plans for the day. from 9am-3pm i continued cleaning, packing, and reorganizing things. sarah came over after work, and we chatted with mary (in hungary) for exactly one hour. we only stopped because i had to leave to get cookies and subsequently go to my nephew, hudson's 2nd year birthday party. i hit a major wall at that point, i was sooo tired, and at my wit's end. somehow it passed, and i was able to have fun with the fam fam. i got a text from royal inviting me to dessert with him and emily. i invited amy and zachary along as well, and we met at besaws later on. even though i had probably eaten too much at hudson's bday party, i could resist the peach turnover a la mode. it was great. we sipped coffee and picked at our desserts. we split way, and i head to north portland to meet up iwth another friend. at this point it was already nearly 10, but it didn't matter, i would have time to rest later. jov and i grabbed a beer, and caught up. i wish i was better about doing just that. hanging out, and seeing people that i don't always see. there are many people that i value, but so little time. but it probably just boils down to priorities, which i have never been good at. at 1am i finally headed home, and collapsed into my wonderful bed.

sunday the 21st i woke up and got ready for church. i miraculously got ready and out the door by 10:05am. for some reason, no matter how hard i would try, i could never get to church on time. maybe that's my adopted argentine blood running through my veins. in argentina, no one shows up on time for anything and no one worries one way or the other. a wise man once said, "americans always have the time, and argentines have all the time in the world." saying, that we are always looking at our watching and tapping our fingers. i have long since i have a hard time showing up on time for anything. i would tell someone i would meet them at say 10am, and i would show up at least 20 minutes late. no one ever complained, though i am sure i put one or two people out in the process. sorry, everyone. if we make plans, or need me somewhere by a certain time i need a 15 minute grace period. in the meantime, i will work on my problem. so anyways, church as usual was great. i got a send off, and my pastor prayed for me. i said goodbye to a couple of people, but was a little surprised that people didn't extend themselves out and say goodbye. i suppose it's a too way street and all, but only one person approached me to say goodbye. after church, i had to swing by the apple store, because the computer i had a defunk battery. i am going to believe the best, and hope that the person that sold it to me did so without knowing of that problem. as soon as i got home, i added the last few things to my suitcase. then the family showed up. it was sorta funny, because all the girls (tiina, amy, sarah, makenzie, emily) all were upstairs in my bedroom hanging out. i was doling out my fancy dresses to people that owuld "take care of them for me." let's just say amy may ormay not ahve a perfect holiday dress. my dad decided to cook all the meat in the fridge including but not limited to, chicken, beef, pork, and sausages. basically it was our own little "asado." hanging out and seeing my closest friends and all my local family in my final hours was perfect. i finally finished off my disposable cameras that have been in my purse since july. sarah and i got them developed, and we brought them back, and we all checkd them out together. insider tip: if you bring your photos to walgreens and ask for white borders and matte finish, you will magically end up with 3-4 copies of all your pics. i am 2-2 on that theory. try it out. it was nice, because my mom, sarah, tiina, and amy loaded up on pics, since most of them were of family stuff. everyone eventually took off. i had to say goodbye to zachary that night, because he had work in the morning and wouldn;t be able to go to breakfast or the airport. i cried, and since i cried, amy cried...it's definitely not easy picking up and moving out, and leaving your family that you love so much behind. i recovered, and got back to packing, somehow i kept finding more and more "stuff." sarah stuck it out until jsut after 10:30pm, she's a champ that one. then i had to head to beaverton to pick up a camera and get some snazzy programs for my computer from jordan.

monday, september 22nd (part 1)... i made it home after 1am, i think. the pictures were too good to ignore, so i scanned them... all of them. then i realizd i could scan more than one at a time and speed up the process at the same time, too good to be true. when i found myself laying on the floor in the computer room right slipping in and out of sleep i decided to get a couple of hours of sleep in my own bed... for the last time. i fell asleep, and somewhere in the middle of that, mary called. i was so glad to be able to talk to her. before saying goodbye, she prayed for me. it was so special, i wish i could have recorded. since i had been asleep, i can't recall everything, but i do know i couldn't keep from crying. technology and modern day communication abilities makes things like this a little bit easier. thanks to skype, i can talk to people and see them, and still be thousands of miles away. after that phonecall i drifted off into sleep....