2019 in review

Celebrated 10 years a motorcycle rider.

Had a challenging, awesome long motorcycle-riding weekend in Oregon, including seeing Fort Rock and the last Blockbuster.

Toured Northern California and Southwest Oregon by motorcycle, and had an amazing time.

Took some great day trips by motorcycle, including up in rural Washington state across a covered bridge, and various gravel roads around.

Got a great photo taken of me by Stefan, celebrating both motorcycle riding and a lot of weight loss - and BLM Oregon and Washington really liked it.

Read Lone Rider by Elspeth Beard (highly recommend).

Got visited by Stray Moto Cats, by Frank the motorcyclist and by Sönke the motorcyclist, all from Germany.

Saw Robbie Fulks in concert. TWICE.

Read comic books curated by a friend.

Got dressed up with Stefan for a wedding reception and was able to wear a dress I haven't worn since the 1990s.

Appeared on a local public access TV show, talking about bicycling. Stefan also was on TV, for a second time.

Forced Stefan to volunteer with me at the move for a new library in the next town over.

Did lots more local volunteering and civic engagement.

Lost out on a job that I really wanted, that would have turned my life around in every good way, because they didn't believe I was invested enough in the local community. Never recovered and, for other reasons as well, slowly quit most of my many volunteering gigs and civic roles.

Had a former client show up after an uncomfortably-long period of unemployment, and provide some very much needed income for a few months.

Got to present three times for international visitors at World Oregon, something that reminds me of who I used to be...

Got to see a friend from Austin I hadn't seen since 1999 or so - he's now a Jesuit.

Went to the Purple Rain sing-a-long in Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portlandia.

Went to the Portland Art Museum for the first time, to see an exhibition on the Paris 1900 International Exhibition (world's fair), and while in Chicago, went to the Art Institute for the first time.

Looked at my revised DNA testing and found out my ancestors aren't nearly as interesting as I thought they were.

Pissed off a friend with this blog.

Saw the definitive version of Julius Caesar.

Enjoyed a newspaper from August 1, 1946, found in a steamer trunk Stefan restored (he restored TWO, actually).

Went to Chicago and saw a friend from Afghanistan for the first time since 2007, and a best friend since junior high school I rarely see as well.

Shared something I never have.

Went to see Avengers End Game.

Saw the latest Star Wars movie.

Cooked my first goose (it was delicious).

Spent a couple of nights in April in a cabin in Silver Falls State Park, doing a lot of hiking, and spent a couple of nights before the year ended in a cabin in Stub Stewart State Park, and doing a lot of hiking.

Did a lot of hiking where we didn't camp, including to Niagara "Falls" in Siuslaw National Forest and Beal Wetlands.

Adored my dog, and discovered she's a secret agent.

Discovered Kipling.