it's Spring ... isn't it?

It snowed yesterday. It's almost April and it snowed in downtown Portland ... a lot. It was really weird, and cold.

Slye came up last night from Eugene to see his friend's band play. I went with him downtown to Kelly's Olympian and had a few beers and hung out. There was some problem with the sound at the venue, and the band didn't start until after I left so I have no idea what they are like.

I didn't drink that much last night, but I woke up this morning with a raging headache. I took Ally to school and then came home with the idea of napping on the couch. I turned on the TV and got caught up watching The Universe. It was too interesting to fall asleep to. Eventually Slye came over and we went to get breakfast/lunch. We went to a Pho restaurant and had some salad rolls and pho. It was so incredibly delicious, and my headache/hangover disappeared almost immediately. After we ate, we went to Jim and Patty's coffee shop (the original owners of Coffee People) and had the best Cafe Americanos that I have ever had.

Now I'm back on my couch relaxing. It's been a pretty decent day so far.

delicious hangover cure

arms of jello

I hadn't been to the gym in a few weeks so last night I decided to get off my lazy ass and work out. Usually I just use the Elliptical machine for 45 minutes, but last night I decided to use it for only 30 minutes and then I did some crunches and used some of the resistance machines to work my arms and chest. I've never really had much upper body strength, and today it is painfully obvious. It was hard to wash my hair this morning. My arms didn't want to be lifted up even a little bit. I'm such a wuss.

much better

I'm feeling much better now. My fever passed and I am left with very few symptoms from my sickness. Usually I am stuffed up and have a bad cough for a week or so after a fever, but this time isn't too bad.

The fever broke in time for me to go see Gogol Bordello. This is the second time in less than a year I've seen them, and to be honest I would see them many more times in a year if possible. If you've never seen them before, make sure you do next time they are in your town. They won't disappoint. Their music contains so many influences, fans of almost any type of music should be able to enjoy their shows. They have so much energy on stage, and they are such great performers. They make me wonder why I spend money to see bands that simply stand around in one place and play their instruments. Most of the time there are around 10 people on stage, and they are all constantly running around playing their instruments and getting the crowd involved. There are little to no pauses between songs, and they play sets that are around an hour long, wait about 3 minutes while the crowd urges an encore and then they return to play an encore that is almost another hour long. After the shows, the singer DJs an after party at a nearby bar (that I haven't been able to stay up late enough for yet). I have no doubt that they are the hardest working band around.

a terrible start

I woke up the day after my birthday and threw up in the sink. I had clearly had too much to drink. I spent almost the entire day on the couch too hungover to move. It wasn't until probably 3pm or so that I finally got off the couch and went with Ally and Slye to get some food.

The next day I went to work and the whole time my head felt like a balloon. I was dizzy and starting to feel a fever coming on. I left work early and went home to lay on the couch.

I woke up yesterday thinking that I was feeling much better. I took a shower to get ready for work and instantly starting feeling feverish again. I laid on the couch and pretty much stayed there the whole day, drifting in and out of sleep. I felt cold, but was sweating profusely.

This morning I felt a bit better than yesterday and decided to come to work. I am at my desk right now, but my head still feels a bit weird and I'm still a bit sweaty. I wish this fever would just go away. I hate feeling this way.

What a terrible way to start a new year of my life.