Jurassic Meh / Kayaking the Tualatin / Heat Wave Pool Day / Another Quiet 4th
So every other Tuesday on my short work weeks, Nicole and I have begun going to the cineplex to catch a flick. Tuesdays have become a day in which local cinemas discount tickets, so it works out well. It's a very cheap way to see the latest movies, and last week we saw Jurassic World, a movie that I've been waiting for for fourteen years. I enjoyed it to a point but being such a fan of the original movie as I am, I couldn't help but be critical. Though it was better than the previous two sequels, JW still had a lot of preventable problems. I didn't connect with any of the characters and any emotional development felt forced. It was nice to revisit that universe again but I think I'll continue to have to wait for the best possible sequel story to be told. I know there exists in someone's mind somewhere the perfect JP sequel. Just have to wait. My biggest complaint with the film was having the T-Rex and Blue the velociraptor practically fist-bump and go their separate ways at the end of the movie. It made no sense considering we have four Jurassic Park movies as evidence that they'll eat each other if given the opportunity. I just didn't buy it. But for $5/head, it was perfect summer group entertainment.
After months of prodding me to participate, my friend, Bryan, finally got use out of his kayaks by me agreeing to go out on a local river with them. And so Nicole, Bryan, and I spent a lazy afternoon last week on the Tualatin River, which is a fairly nice stream bordering the city to the north. Unfortunately, I was a bit wobbly getting into the thing at first and I managed to fall out and into the river. It was a very hot day, so it was actually rather refreshing. Unfortunately, I was an idiot and brought my cell phone, which got water-damaged. Now, the power button doesn't work at all, so if I let the battery run down and it shuts off, I'll never be able to turn it back on. I've already ordered a replacement phone so now I just need to wait and try not to allow my current phone to die. Yea, falling out of the kayak was not my greatest moment, but I recovered and after that the day went perfectly. We saw a bunch of wildlife on our slow four-mile float and saw the city from a new perspective. Now that we've done that, we're gonna go bigger the next time we kayak. Probably a different body of water and probably for a longer period of time. It's gonna be a nice summer for doing that, too.
Portland is in the middle of a serious heat wave. Last summer, I remember July and August were simply intolerable because half of the time it was well above 90 degrees for weeks at a time. This summer, it appears that might happen again but sooner. Already in late June, we've had a 100-degree day and we've been at or above 90 for weeks now with more predicted for the next few weeks. Thankfully, we did get a better portable air conditioner that has really helped. The complex we live in has two swimming pools and last Saturday, we had a friend over and spent the day poolside. The pools have been busy but we managed to magically land on a moment in time when no one wanted to use the same pool we did, which gave us free reign to enjoy and chat and at least in my case not be so self conscious. I'll just be happy with a milder summer than last year. Yea, doubtful.
The Fourth of July is only a couple days away and because of the heat wave, we're not really doing anything with the family this year. Plus, it'll be a work-night for me, so I won't even be able to stay up to watch any fireworks. Ohh well; it'll be nice to have a few days off and to just mellow out.
After months of prodding me to participate, my friend, Bryan, finally got use out of his kayaks by me agreeing to go out on a local river with them. And so Nicole, Bryan, and I spent a lazy afternoon last week on the Tualatin River, which is a fairly nice stream bordering the city to the north. Unfortunately, I was a bit wobbly getting into the thing at first and I managed to fall out and into the river. It was a very hot day, so it was actually rather refreshing. Unfortunately, I was an idiot and brought my cell phone, which got water-damaged. Now, the power button doesn't work at all, so if I let the battery run down and it shuts off, I'll never be able to turn it back on. I've already ordered a replacement phone so now I just need to wait and try not to allow my current phone to die. Yea, falling out of the kayak was not my greatest moment, but I recovered and after that the day went perfectly. We saw a bunch of wildlife on our slow four-mile float and saw the city from a new perspective. Now that we've done that, we're gonna go bigger the next time we kayak. Probably a different body of water and probably for a longer period of time. It's gonna be a nice summer for doing that, too.
Portland is in the middle of a serious heat wave. Last summer, I remember July and August were simply intolerable because half of the time it was well above 90 degrees for weeks at a time. This summer, it appears that might happen again but sooner. Already in late June, we've had a 100-degree day and we've been at or above 90 for weeks now with more predicted for the next few weeks. Thankfully, we did get a better portable air conditioner that has really helped. The complex we live in has two swimming pools and last Saturday, we had a friend over and spent the day poolside. The pools have been busy but we managed to magically land on a moment in time when no one wanted to use the same pool we did, which gave us free reign to enjoy and chat and at least in my case not be so self conscious. I'll just be happy with a milder summer than last year. Yea, doubtful.
The Fourth of July is only a couple days away and because of the heat wave, we're not really doing anything with the family this year. Plus, it'll be a work-night for me, so I won't even be able to stay up to watch any fireworks. Ohh well; it'll be nice to have a few days off and to just mellow out.