Sometimes Its Just Good Enough To Be Alive

Ok. Sometimes life just doesn't offer nerve tingling sensations. Sometimes it is just a new day with the kind of events that one normally expects. This week has been full of those kinds of days. I think it is good, however, to go ahead and report even when life seems to go ahead normally.

It is the Christmas season and though I'm not really feeling particularly consumeristic, I did visit a couple of malls this week. I found nothing that really pushed any of my buttons and left without making any purchases. My condolences to all of the vendors out there competing for the few dollars in my pocket. We visited Clackamas Towncenter earlier in the week and discovered it to be noticeably lacking of patronage. If I had actually been in the mood to buy, it would have been the perfect opportunity to get some shopping done. We finally left the mall with a couple of cups of coffee and virtually no inspiration.

I needed to visit the DMV and discovered that they have an office at Lloyd Center that is open on the weekends. Yesterday, we decided to head down there so I could take care of my business. Our experience at this mall was completely different. To begin with, there was extremely limited parking availability. We finally found a spot on a nearby street that was available on a pay by the quarter hour basis. Boy, was this experience different than it had been earlier in the week. The mall was packed with barely enough spare oxygen for me to remain calm.

On top of that, this particular DMV office didn't offer the service that I needed. What a downer! We visted Starbucks

then wandered around for a short while, dodging the myriads of bodies and finally, to my relief, headed back to the vehicle for the trip back home and the welcome lack of nameless faces. Oh my goodness, how good it feels to be in my own quarters with only familiar people around me. Whew!

Today it was a pleasant church service with a bit of a twist. The service was a bit different in that there was a Christmas pagent in lieu of a sermon. Our seventeen year old, Jonathan, had a part and we were proudly watching during his performance this morning. I think at the last minute someone had dropped out and he was able, with very little prep time, to stand in with some significant speaking parts. You've got to love that!

Our church offers two services and between services this morning we offered a free breakfasts of all you can eat pancakes, sausage, yogurt with granola, and peaches. Jonathan's mother, Debbie, and I, helped serve up the breakfast. Debbie's father, Hans, was kind of ramrodding the outfit and we happened to be volunteers by association. It wasn't that bad. In fact, it was kind of fun but don't tell him. We'll just kind of keep that our little secret.