Archive for October, 2005
Starbucks is killing me
by paul on Oct.24, 2005, under Diary
Starbucks is killing me. Killing me with sweet kindness but still killing me. Let me explain.
I’ve been trying to loose weight for a few months now, and it’s all gone sideways since Labor Day. Looking back, I’ve had two big problems:
-
I got out of the habit of religiously counting calories. It’s like hitting snooze on the alarm clock, when I’ve had a few bad diet days, it’s just too easy to ‘forget’ to weight myself.
-
I got back into the grande soy toffee-nut latte. It’s all just too easy, I go into Starbucks to get an Americano (200 calories), and walk out with a toffee nut latte (450 calories) AND a scone (another 450 calories). That’s 900 calories, over half my daily goal!
Sorry Starbucks, but you have to go. At least until a big part of me has 
Ikea coming to Portland
by paul on Oct.20, 2005, under Diary
 |
Yes, it’s true – according to KGW News, Ikea is coming to Portland. As someone who has regularly shopped at Ikea for many years (both in the UK and then in California), I am so happy that Swedish style has finally arrived in Portland. However, I am double happy that the chosen site is on the other side of Portland from me, Ikea stores have a reputation for fanatical fans, amazing crowds and creating long term traffic chaos at every site (see Wikipedia). Now the only question is, can I wait till the Portland store opens in 2007, or do I need a quick trip up to Seattle to satisfy my habit? |
Googlehunt
by paul on Oct.20, 2005, under Diary
‘Googlehunting’ seems to be the latest craze going round the Oregon blogs (Tabitha,Rebecca Marie) and it seems such a great idea that I just had to have a go. All you need to do is go to Goggle, click on the images link and type in her answers to the questions below, then post the first picture that came up for each category as well as your favorite picture.
The questions (or more like categories) are:
- Name of the town where you grew up
- Name of the town where you live now
- Your name
- Your grandmother’s name (either one you choose)
- Your favorite food
- Your favorite drink
- Your favorite song
- Your favorite smell
Here are my results:
| Answer | First Picture | Favorite Picture | |
| Name of the town where you grew up | London |  A classic view of London, from a web site in California – go figure. |
 That’s more like it, this is actually from a London college. |
| Name of the town where you live now | Hillsboro, Oregon |  This light railway bridge is quite beautiful, although a little out of place in the otherwise normal looking neighborhood. |
 One of my favorite views, it’s just a shame it’s a view of Portland from Pittock Mansion and not actually Hillsboro. |
| Your name | Paul Brett |  Who is this guy? |
 That’s more like it  |
| Your grandmother’s name (either one you choose) | Nora |  |
 OK, so it looks nothing like my gran. Actually, I’m not even sure it really looks like a dog either. |
| Your favorite food | Veggie Pizza |  They must be good, if Google expect me to go to North Carolina to get a Pizza! |
 This one looks nicer, and I get to make it fresh at home. |
| Your favorite drink | Guinness |  The king of drinks. |
 |
| Your favorite song | Bohemian Rhapsody |  Why does Bohemian Rhapsody link to a site about classic solos? |
 I don’t see the link, but these guys are just too cute to not include. |
| Your favorite smell | Summer rain |  So pretty … |
 but much more real |
Go on, give it a try
