Captain Underpants

I went on a last-minute field trip with some other Cornish design students today to the Cedar River Watershed Education Center up in North Bend. It was blissful and idyllic, as expected. The weather was perfect, the drive was scenic, and the Center didn't disappoint either. I loved the cool green roofs on parts of the structures and the awesome public art installation which involves water droplets beating drums in a courtyard and some crazy neon in tree roots (above) on the inside.

And then after we had exhausted the possibilities of the site, we headed back to the city and enjoyed a three-hour lunch at Tutta Bella where I got a really good juicy story from one of the girls about how her summer had gone so far. It is too involved to recount but does contain such highlights as: a boat trip from El Salvador to Hawaii; Captain Underpants; a big storm; a leaking fuel tank; an aborted journey; a breakup with a poorly timed comment the next day; drunken diving off of a yacht with Australian girls; a sprained wrist put in a cast in Acalpulco; removal of said cast with a dremel tool in a basement; surgery to correct misdiagnosis that was actually a double fracture and a new cast; and lots of Oxycontin. I think she won the "What I Did On My Summer Vacation" award. But I did wear my mustache necklace, which was much-admired. Perhaps I won the "Best Accessory" award?

Beyond that, I think I might be sick. I thought it was just allergies, but it is feeling less hay feverish and more like a cold/flu/curse. Or perhaps I'm just getting old. When I was taking Kate home late on the 4th of July I realized that I was thinking to myself, "I'm so tired! It's after midnight!" and "It is so hard to see when driving at night." These are thoughts that I wasn't expecting to have for another twenty years or so. Is 30 the new 50? WTF?

And then this afternoon there was a big sign posted in our lobby on the wall above the mailboxes and in the window announcing to UPS/FedEx/DHL/Post Office delivery people that they should not leave packages as they have been disappearing from the lobby lately. That really gives me a big warm, fuzzy feeling about our apartment building right now. Especially after our recent storage locker break-in. So much for living in a secure building.