Westmoreland Asays

Meg and I attended the Blazers/Jazz game tonight. The Ducks basketball team was playing the best team in the tournament, Louisville, earlier in the day, and I hadn't heard the outcome yet (I had recorded the game, in case the Ducks figured out how to pull off the upset). Early in the first quarter of the Blazers game, the stadium announcer played a clip on the big screen from the end of an unnamed college game, saying simply, "And here's the last play of the game." One of the teams was wearing yellow jerseys, and the other white. I immediately assumed it was the Ducks game, and my excitement grew as I had no hopes the Ducks could survive to the last play of the game. I anxiously watched the final play and, when the yellow team emerged victorious after a wild defensive stop, I shot out of my seat screaming and dancing in unbelief. I had actually picked the Ducks to win their first two games, but no way would I have picked this big of an upset. Meg asked if ...

If you asked me at different points in my life to name my favorite season,  I would have given different answers. As a child: Summer . No school, near-total freedom, and shorts and no shirts every day. I'll ignore the fact that I had to spend what seemed like an eternity weeding our huge garden on Saturdays. As a teen-ager: Autumn . Working nearly 60 hours a week on the iris farm, exposed continually to the sun and who knows what kinds of chemicals, was hard. Going back to school proved to be such a relief, and running on the Cross Country team was the frosting on the cake. As an adult: Spring . Death has begun creeping into my life, and I don't like its finality, so the concept of a rebirth soothes my soul. The subtle smell of the cherry blossoms, the days stretching ever-so-slightly longer, and the splashes of color returning to Western Eden fill my soul with hope and optimism that have become something of a rarity for this normally pessimistic and sarcastic fellow. ...

View of Wilhelm Mortuary from the trail I recently lamented to Meg about my dis-like of having church at 1:00 p.m., because it's difficult to do anything significant either before or after our meetings, and how I wish the weather was better last Sunday (because I didn't have extra meetings, due to my status of single-parentness ) so we could have gone on a family hike in nearby Oaks Bottom, as the trail was recently reopened after Mother Nature damaged its usefulness last spring. My brain fails to process from time-to-time, but thankfully Meg was actually home and able to suggest that I take the kids right now, as the sun had just come out and we were home early (Stake Conference was done by noon). Aaron and Ian enlisted to the cause, and we set off on the short trip via bike. Ian, Warrior Ian has been riding his balance bike for nearly two years now, and he has mastered the act. But as he was leading us down the steep hill to Oaks Bottom, he started wobbling, lost co...

Ian catching some air in Sellwood Valentine's Day came and went like never before. I came home from the office to see my wife +Megan Asay  walk out the door, luggage in tow, to the bus stop, which would take her to the train station, which would take her to Seattle to spend some time with her girly friends.This left the four boys home to fend for ourselves, which is actually simpler than it might seem, as I'm not of those incompetent, bumbling dads portrayed on television (my favorite: Hal, from Malcom in the Middle , although I feel a lot of sympathy for him). My flamboyant feet After taking the older two to school by bicycle on Friday morning, Ian and I met a former co-worker at Grand Central Bakery in Sellwood. I expected to find a quiet hangout, but it was overflowing with people and noise. I guess everyone else in the neighborhood was taking a vacation day, too. We hung out there for a while before breaking free and walking the neighborhood and soaking up the...

My wife decided to leave me alone on my birthday (as in alone with all the kids), so we celebrated a week in advance. She even let me decide what we would do. Most of you probably guessed roller skating and Japanese food--my life is an open book. I picked a restaurant in downtown Portland based solely on the fact that they serve okonomiyaki, the dish I cherish the most from Japan (it would require forever and a day to explain). And because I called an hour beforehand to reserve a seat, they let us sit in a special section that barred shoes and let us sit on the raised floor (sadly, no tatami mats). Meg cheated on Saburo's by ordering smoked salmon sushi. She should have known better, but after one bite she noted that her salmon was raw. I tried it and it was surely smoked salmon. It was also much rawer than she preferred, so I disposed of that cold, nasty fish for her. The okonomiyaki was nothing like I remember it from my halcyon days in Japan, but it was probably worth going...

During winter break I learned from The Twitter that  +Ken Jennings had spoken at Google. I watched his talk in the living room while the older boys were playing games or something, and Aaron watched bits and pieces with me. Ken's one of my favorite mormon celebrities, someone I would invite to my birthday party, and the smartest guy I pretend to know, so my family knows of the bromance I have with him. When I saw that Ken was coming to Portland, I marked it on my calendar and asked Aaron if he'd like to go. He jumped at the opportunity (Aaron and I also had gift cards to spend at Powell's, and Aaron has been begging to visit the legendary store ever since we moved back to the area). We rode the bus into downtown and enjoyed a leisurely walk to Burnside. The store might not seem that impressive from the street, but once we were inside, Aaron slowed down and was overwhelmed trying to take it all in. We spent a little bit walking around the first floor in the children...

A few weeks ago  +Meg  passed a Christmas card in front of my eyes. It was postcard-sized and had a high-quality photograph of a nice-looking family on the back. I didn't recognize the adults, but the kids--a boy and a girl of similar age--looked vaguely familiar. Upon further review, I understood the girl to be one of Edward's peers from school, but I couldn't quite identify the boy. Meg was laughing in the background at my confusion when I realized the boy was Edward. Huh? The couple lived around the corner from us at our previous house in Sellwood, and apparently they like to send out zany Christmas cards. So while they were all attending a holiday craft fair at the school, they grabbed two kids who weren't theirs, took a photo together, and passed it off as their own family. I don't think Meg would go for something fun like this, but I thought it was the best Christmas card we had ever received. I just don't know how they convinced Edward to go along for t...