Life updates: January 2008 Archives
After a wonderfully relaxing Christmas with friends and family, Lindsay and I braved the storm and drove to Portland on Thursday where she left me with Jeff and continued on to her Christian retreat. Jeff and I enjoyed a few days of relaxation and hanging out with friends, laying low in anticipation of an exciting New Year's Eve. We followed the San Francisco Zoo Tiger Mauling story very closely (more to come on that later) and watched some college football.
On Sunday, I decided to head south to Florence to meet the newest addition to the Goss family, Chloe. Unfortunately, that was not how it worked out. About 2 miles away from Jeff's house I was in a car accident. I was driving my sister's car, and collided with a guy driving his friend's van. That proved to be an interesting insurance claim, but luckily no one was hurt and the damage was, well, manageable. I guess we'll work that one out later. Perhaps the worst part of it all was that I didn't get to meet the baby, hopefully I will get to before she gets much older!
Since Sunday was obviously a very stressful day I wasn't in the mood to do much of anything. Jeff and I rented the movie The Lives of Others which was AMAZING. It requires a lot of thinking and concentration - but it's a fantastic movie. It won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film and several others internationally. It is about the Stasi (secret police) monitoring the cultural scene in East Berlin. The great thing about watching a film in a language you don't understand is you can really appreciate the actors' talent. With a Foreign Film, you must rely on their non-verbal forms of expression such as tone or facial expression. I highly grecommend this film, but be prepared for a lot of work. Jeff and I were mentally drained after watching the extremely complex story.
To celebrate the New Year we had our second annual party at the Thirsty Lion Pub in downtown Portland. Since we've had so much fun there for two years in a row, we've decided it's going to have to be an annual event going forward. No complaints from me, it's a fun bar with a pretty good band and cheap drinks! We are going to have to make Chez Jose a tradition as well - it's the best Mexican food I've ever had in my life in any city - who knew I'd find it in the Rose City?
Anyway, back to San Francisco and the real world. Vacation has been nice and I'm feeling well rested - which will make it that much harder to go back to work next week :(. I hope everyone else had a wonderful holiday and wish you all the best in 2008!
