Nicholas Carroll

I took my brother out for his birthday last night: dinner at Outback, haunted house at VMC, and dessert at Pied Cow. It was fun. Haven't done the haunted house thing in over 35 years. It was good for some laughs, a few scares, and I may have blurted out a few obscenities.

This day cannot end soon enough. I'm taking my brother out to Outback steakhouse for his birthday and then to the haunted house at the VMC for post dinner entertainment and frights. Hopefully, neither of us will "lose our dinner" on some poor, unfortunate ghoul.

Minimal complaints to wade through, happy to be back at work. Watched "Hidden Figures" last night and was so touched and inspired by that film. I wish I had seen it in theaters, but never got around to it. It is fantastic in every way and was everything that "First Man" failed to be. I love movies that inspire, as well as movies that show the reality of life during the era it happened. There is even a scene that perfectly illustrates what "white privilege" looks like, and the perfect solution for that particular situation. The acting was dynamic. We need as much inspiration as we can find these days, and that movie has huge doses of it!

I actually made it to church for the first time in a month. Did not want to miss this one because we had a special speaker who works with women in abusive marriages and helps them either find solutions to improve their marriage or to find a way out. It was interesting to hear the different forms of abuse that is included, such as even sarcasm and silent treatment.

After church, I was going to go to Clackamas Town Center Mall to hang out for the afternoon, then I thought about going to the library in Gresham, but in the end, I just wanted to go home and enjoy the beautiful afternoon by reading a book on my patio. I did that for about an hour and realized that it was a bit chilly, so I went inside to read. Fall is truly here and it is beautiful!

Saturday means errand day! I was able to donate some unused / unwanted items at Goodwill and drop off some bottles to recycling to collect a few bucks back from the deposit. Its nice to have a clear trunk again. Now, to find a place to donate my many paper bags, which I will do at this coming weekend's Multnomah County Library Book Sale. They always need paper bags.

I am so grateful that no fights broke out in my section of the Moda Center last night as the Trailblazers beat the L.A. Lakers. People were well behaved and it was a great game.

Grateful to be back at work and hearing the noise issues of the day. Excited about tonight for the first Blazer game against the Lakers with Lebron James in the house. What I love about the part time work at Moda Center is that I could go there tired after a full day at work at City Hall but the energy of the crowd energizes me. You can really feel the energy of an excited crowd.

Staff retreat at a nice location. Lots of info and nice to get to know team members who do not work at City Hall. We have a great team!

This EcoChallenge has helped me to remember to carry a reusable bag everywhere I go, just in case I end up buying something. However, this past weekend, I saw a reusable bag with ghosts on it, so I had to buy it to add to my collection of reusable shopping bags. I no longer have an excuse to not have a bag with me. I have seen paper bags add up quickly, even though I reuse those for trash can liners and for mailing packages.

The best thing about having free time on the weekends is getting personal things finished and having a home that is uncluttered, with everything in its place helps give the home a calm, centering and serene vibe, which makes it easier to relax. I could use another weekend this week.