My favorite person

I know what you're thinking. Months and months with hardly a post and now two in two days? What happened?

No, I didn't buy a computer. The sad reality is that as long as my foot continues to hurt it will always be first priority if I have any extra cash. Which I don't. Because I'm spending it all on basketball tickets. But enough about that.

I'm writing a lot more because I do suddenly have a computer in my possession. Because somebody really really loves me.

That someone is Erin Althoff. My best friend. The only friend I have who knew me fresh out of high school in love with my boss at the movie theater and hiding behind waist-length hair. Before depression in Chicago. Before giddy almost-love in Eugene. Before I started cutting my own hair. Before Blazers. Before I even let myself be me. She new me back then and me now and me every step of the way between, and we have only grown closer as we have grown up. 

Now she lives in Portland, and every time I go up there I tense up and get giddy and I probably cross my eyes as I have been known to do when extra excited, because I get to see Erin.

Someone from Iowa. Someone from home. Someone who understands all the weird little quirks that make me me and loves every one of them.

The last time I saw her was for my birthday, and I was almost more excited to see her than I was for my 100 level basketball seats. My birthday was the day after the game anyway, so really that was more of a pre-birthday present. The real birthday present was spending the day with Erin. I would sleep in while she worked a little in the morning, and then after that we would roam the city together in the afternoon sun and enjoy each other's company. Sounds exciting, right?! A chance to completely relax and be myself without wondering where I stood or having to explain anything. To talk about crafting and Gilmore Girls and Blazers and Iowa and this crazy Pacific Northwest and how much we love it.

And it pretty much went just like that. And it was probably the most contented birthday I've ever had. I was happy no matter what happened. We had a few minor hiccups due to running late and a faulty DVD player, and though I have been known to get upset when things don't exactly work out, I never let any of it get in the way. 

And then, to top off my happy weekend, Erin turned to me while I was in the middle of lamenting how much I miss blogging and checking my email and wishing that I could look online for summer jobs without it costing ten cents a minute and said, 

"Why don't you take my laptop? I never use it anyway. I have three computers. You might as well take one." I sat there in complete surprise for a second, guffawing at her, then gathered myself enough to ask  if she was serious. "Of course!" she said.

I jumped up and down and thanked her profusely all night long and into the next morning and when I stepped on the greyhound to go home the next day I took extra care to make sure it wasn't jostled too much, and when I got home I immediately got it out of its bag and plugged it in and tried to connect to the internet even though I didn't know the password and was pretty sure it wouldn't work without it. Which it didn't, and I had to wait. But waiting has never stopped me from being excited, and every day I took it out and tried to make it work on a stolen connection, though those never worked either.

And now you're thinking I'm using that computer right now to happily write this blog.

But you'd be wrong. My room mate doesn't remember the wireless password so she's going to do some research and figure it out. But she's letting me use her computer in the meantime. So I can still blog and wait while the excitement mounts for the day that I can check anything online at any time I want to. What a luxury.

Dying to be there

Right now I'm waiting.

Every few seconds I look up at the clock again, willing it to go faster.

I keep trying to distract myself; read a book, check my email, drink some tea, but really there is nothing I want more than 10:00.

Game 5 Blazers tickets go on sale at 10:00.

Exclusively online.

I might actually have a chance of getting a couple.

Then I have to get work off and find a way to get up there and figure out how to pay my bills, but that all comes later. 

The most important thing is getting them.

Here's a little recap of recent Blazers history and how it relates to me:

The end of the regular season started winding down at the end of March/beginning of April, and I started writing down all the games that were coming up so I could compare the difficulty of each important team's upcoming schedule, so I could see where we would be if certain teams beat other teams and if we won certain key games.

I ignored invitations to hang out with friends so I could see as many games as possible before it was too late. Before basketball season was over.

I bought myself tickets to the last regular season game, tickets in the 100 level which put me about 15 rows behind the players and a little higher up. $150 each. One of the best birthday presents I've ever given myself. I could actually hear the players talking to each other on the court and the ball bouncing and their shoes squeaking. I really experienced a game for the first time. 

At the end of the regular season the Blazers came out ranked fourth in the West. Home court advantage for the playoffs. Remember that post I wrote a while ago about the best game I've ever been to, the one that everything happened in the last 8 seconds of the game?

The Blazers are playing that team in the playoffs.

The Houston Rockets.

I used to kind of like them.

Last year, when the Blazers didn't make it to the playoffs I first cheered for the Phoenix Suns because I like Steve Nash, but when they got booted in the first round I switched over and cheered for the Rockets.

Now I despise them.

Now I want them to fall down and injure themselves.

Because I'm nervous.

I remember how close that game was back in September and I desperately want my team to make it past the first round.

So for you non-fans, in the playoffs the teams play each other seven times, the same team, seven games in a row, sometimes at home and sometimes on the road, and they play for the best of seven (so four). It's a major advantage to have the game on your home court because then your fans can get you pumped up and encourage you when you're feeling down and reward you when you do awesome things and heckle the other team a little.

The Blazers got home court advantage. They started out at the Rose Garden, two games in a row at home before flying to Houston to play two more. I was giddy the day of the first game. I wore my favorite Blazers shirt all day and talked about nothing but basketball and went to work all excited for a gratifying home win and then they choked.

They lost their first game at home.

I was devastated.

Depressed.

I was in a bad mood for the rest of that night and most of the next day.

It took a visit from a friend I haven't seen in a while to cheer me up, and then yesterday, as game two approached I started to get more and more nervous.

Pulling my ear.

Biting my fingernails.

Pacing.

I didn't want them to lose both home games, it would be so hard to go to Houston and win there. They had  to win.

I went through my day all tense and worried, pulled on a Blazers shirt and walked to work, almost walking in front of a car because I was so distracted. I got to work and went through the motions but never really focused on my job. The game started. It was close. I could tell were were playing better than the last game, but Houston was playing just as well, and the lead went back and forth. Finally, after two and a half stressful hours the Blazers managed to pull ahead and win it by four.

Which puts the series tied 1-1.

And now we head for Houston for two games.

Which means unless we pick up one in Houston (difficult but possible) the Blazers might be coming back for game five down 1-3 in the series. They would have to win that game. They have to anyway, even if they get one in Houston. Because Houston is never going to get easier for them to play. So now the pressure is on, and that's one of the things that continues to draw me to basketball.

Everything gets so intense. 

I have to be at game 5. Tickets go on sale in 5 minutes. Wish me luck!

Tumbleweed

Sometimes I feel like I live in coffee shops and bars.
Like today.
Today I woke up and went to a coffee shop to get my coffee, went home, got dressed, found all my tax documents, and then spent about an hour at a coffee shop getting everything filled out (I get $198 from the federal government, I owe $145 to the state, I guess I'm coming out on top, but still disappointing. I was hoping to buy a computer with my refunds but it doesn't look like that's happening).
Spent a little time on facebook and yahoo getting updated, then on NBA.com getting pumped up for tomorrow's game.
Clocking in at 2 hours in a coffee shop today.
In a few minutes here I will go to Block 15 and switch to bar mode.
Super friendly Gwen will put on her smile and hostess anyone who walks in the door, then eat some food, maybe have a beer, then go home and sleep and wake up early to work at the coffee shop.
Mail can be forwarded to my new addresses... Block 15 and Interzone.
At least if I have to be somewhere other than home I have some pretty good places to spend my time.
I've never really liked my job so much that I want to hang out there when I'm not working. Now I have two jobs that I hang out at almost every day, happily.
Weird.
I should be grateful but, as it often happens when my life gets comfortable, I'm getting bored. Itching to stir things up. I wonder what it will be this time.
I've decided that moving is an unwise choice: Money that I might use for a deposit on a place should really go to other things (like debts) and I really should stop taking time off and get my butt in gear so I can owe the world a little less money. Definitely planning on staying in Corvallis another year at least.
When I moved here I thought it was only temporary.
Funny how the places I think I'll live in end up being short-term and the place I move for "just a second" ends up actually feeling like home.
Corvallis feels like Iowa City to me. But in Oregon.
Homey.
But with mountains in the background.
So even though I'm itching to stir things up it's not going to be by moving to another city. I'm going to have to find something else to make life exciting.
Something else has got to change soon, besides the scenery.
Stay tuned.