Left Coast: Notes from the Field

Saturday 1600 hrs: Darcy and Alli meet me at the airport. They are sunglassed, flip-flopped, smiley. They emit an almost blinding glow. I have been covered in ice for 3 months. I try, unsuccessfully, to remember why I ever left California.
Saturday later: Darcy and Alli demonstrate a remarkable ability to navigate the Stanford Shopping Center with their eyes closed, including ring-polishing stations. However, none of us can figure out 8th grade science. Even those of us who teach it.

Sunday 1000 hrs: Alli channels Billy Blanks, and I realize I can conquer any med school interview, as long as I reach towards a higher power and consider giving my interviewer a left jab.
Sunday 1500 hrs: Darcy asks for directions to the BART station. Worst local ever.

Monday 1320 hrs: I'm talking about Kairos in an interview, again.

Tuesday 1530 hrs: Mike and I talk on the phone for several minutes before realizing we're looking at each other.
Tuesday 1700 hrs: The English Department offers revealing dresses and wedge heeled shoes. Who knew it was so useful?
Tuesday 1730 hrs: True MENSA kids, it takes us more than two hours to answer three puzzles. We get the wrong answers.

Grand total from the weekend:
1 vintage jacket picked out by Darcy
2 Mexican dinners
2 Indian lunches
3 mint brownies made by Mrs. James
1 CD from Ameoba records
5 med school interviews
1 interviewer who tells me we should do the "secret Peace Corps handshake"
4 horses spotted on the streets of Portland
2 beers before tipsilly boarding the redeye home.

Thanks, guys. :)

People move to Oregon

So, I don't see that Kirstin (or with an e?) Quade is on here. Though some names are mysterious to me. The point: she's coming to Eugene for the MFA at the University of Oregon, having been unhappy in Texas, and I'll still be here next year since my girlfriend Quinn still has another year in these parts. Kirstin claims to believe people from Eugene are 'talented' and have 'good hearts,' something I had to convince her of by explaining that Hunt and I are the exception; most people don't burn boxes of kittens for fun, or laugh in an evil, dorky manner while doing evil, dorky things. I think she almost believes me. The point here is the following:

Eugene: 2

Texas: 0

Anchorage: 0

Seattle: 2?

DC: 1

L.A.: 1

NY: 1?

Boston: ? Unknown-- those of you who count Cambridge as Boston may be living a lie. Ok. Cambridge: 3

San Fran: Unclear. I suppose there are 4 fairly confirmed folks. But then, the greater Bay Area is so spread as to make the question of whether you can count 'San Fran' when you live in Cupertino a valid one. Also, the syntax of that last sentence was tortured within an inch of meaning.

Bloomington, IA: 1

And a number of other places. I'm sure my numbers are wrong. The point is that in terms of Kairos concentration, Eugene has recently surpassed the nation's capital, as well as the capital of Alaska, and the growth is exponential: 1 and now twice that, or 2. Who knows how many Kairosians will live here by years end? Will you be the next?

Eugene has a lot to offer. Why, recently we had the first day of sun in four months, and let me tell you, it was glorious. Well, ok, first five minutes of sun, when for a moment the sun cut the low-hanging clouds and blinded the light-sensitive, setting off a string of accidents and giving hundreds of melatonin-deprived residents sunburn. Still. The point here is that you should consider it. Sure Harvard and MIT have prestige, but consider the benefits of obscurity: in this lightless, rain-soaked little hamlet, hippies are still a force to be reckoned with, the peace sign still a potent symbol, and when you want to see a movie it's only six months lag time from release in a more major American city. I mean, think about it.

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