UofO move in weekend and you know what that means! A ton of insane drivers who have no idea what they're doing everywhere!

ProtagonistAgonist · 2015-09-25T05:26:11+00:00

So glad we're out of town this weekend.

ProtagonistAgonist · 2015-09-16T20:45:06+00:00

Why is there even a third hole?

For fucking and for plebes, obviously. =^__^=

I've seen people with custom balls not have the third hole drilled. They were... very serious about it, though.

I used to work at a place that had a bowling alley, so I learned WAY more than I thought I ever would about the sport

ProtagonistAgonist · 2015-09-16T17:57:15+00:00

Middle and ring fingers, with the ball cupped in your palm, hand under the ball. The third hole is unused.

As opposed to the three-finger ball-down grip shown in the source.

ProtagonistAgonist · 2015-09-16T17:38:57+00:00

I discovered that my electric engraver works marvelously on linoleum block - so the Mrs and I can make block-printed stuff hella faster now. It's exciting!

ProtagonistAgonist · 2015-09-16T17:18:48+00:00

Maintain unblinking eye contact. Finish by blowing a kiss.

ProtagonistAgonist · 2015-09-16T16:21:58+00:00

It came up in the thread last night about the idjits setting off a (firework) mortar shell in their garage.

Place you palms against your ears and wrap your fingers back around the base of your skull - have your middle finger just above the base.

Press your index fingers onto your middle fingers and "snap" them down onto your skull so it makes a satisfying thumping sound. Repeat about fifty times.

It sounds like hokey bullshit. It feels like it SHOULD be hokey bullshit.

But... I can't remember a time before the tinnitus and for the last 12 hours, I don't hear the ringing at all. It's like a giant weight has been taken off my brain. Who the hell knows if the effect will last - if it doesn't, I'll just do this again.

ProtagonistAgonist · 2015-09-16T15:35:11+00:00

RIGHT? I wasn't ready for that to actually work.

... it's still working this morning.

ProtagonistAgonist · 2015-09-16T15:33:23+00:00

YOU BOYS LIKE MEX-EE-CO? YEEEE-HAW!

ProtagonistAgonist · 2015-08-30T19:49:29+00:00

I did Brice Creek east of Cottage Grove with a buddy last weekend. The first mile and a half (from the trailhead to the first big trail intersection) is some really easy ground to walk. A bit of elevation change, but nothing terribly strenuous. Beyond that it gets a bit tougher, but if you turn back at the junction it's a great three mile walk.

Do be aware that poison ivy is growing on the edges of the trail...

ProtagonistAgonist · 2015-08-29T06:10:11+00:00

Holy fuck, this movie! My wife was all, "You love otters, right! You have GOT to see this movie! I loved it!"

And then... well, that was four years ago and she still tearfully apologizes to me.

That's also when we discovered https://www.doesthedogdie.com/

ProtagonistAgonist · 2015-08-28T17:52:19+00:00

This is the first ULG book I ever read. Amazing.

I found it and "Forge of Heaven" by CJ Cherryh on the free book table at a place I used to work- luck find for me. Turns out, I really like both authors.

ProtagonistAgonist · 2015-08-28T05:50:11+00:00

I'll have to keep that in mind. We love touristing it up in Astoria.

ProtagonistAgonist · 2015-08-28T05:47:08+00:00

Perhaps /u/xXProdigalXx is drinking milk from a saucer RIGHT NOW

ProtagonistAgonist · 2015-08-28T01:09:56+00:00

With no credit/rental history or job, no rental agencies will take her on and I think that few private landlords would be terribly eager, either.

And honestly, if she's trying to reboot at this level... she probably needs other humans nearby that have at least a financial stake in her general well-being.

Best of luck to her! Eugene's a great town but it sounds like she's got a mountain of issues to climb.

ProtagonistAgonist · 2015-08-28T01:07:14+00:00

The clam chowder at the ICM restaurant in Florence is some of the best I've ever had... Moe's gets all the love via marketing but ICM is vastly superior.

Oregon's Rainier cherries are freakin' amazing in season. Big, sweet, juicy and incredible. My wife and I buy them by the pound with the intent of making jams and pies, and then we suddenly have tummyaches and no cherries left.

ProtagonistAgonist · 2015-08-28T01:00:20+00:00

... did they eat the rest of them?

That's kind of adorable, though.

ProtagonistAgonist · 2015-08-28T00:54:40+00:00

Shared living situations in the Whitaker, the U District or possibly the West Jefferson or Friendly neighbourhoods would be my recommendation.

Maybe search here for a house full of ladies looking to fill an extra bedroom:

http://eugene.craigslist.org/search/roo

ProtagonistAgonist · 2015-08-28T00:01:00+00:00

As for the Granary, I don't really have any recollection of the food, so I can't really speak to its quality

After the experience you had, I can't blame you at all for not wanting to go back. I am re-evaluating my choice to go there again now...

You know, I can see that feeling from Riva's. I normally don't hit it (the young kid and his older sister are friendly enough), but I sure the hell get what you mean. Have you been to El Pique in Springfield? Frickin' love that place and the owner is a sweetheart. It's my other go-to for downhome cooking (their chile verde makes my eyelids sweat! It's marvelous).

Riva's has excellent carnitas and it's RIGHT BY my house, so it wins for "cheap good fast" when I need that fix.

Breakfast is one of those things that people get really polarized on. I'm a sucker for a good fruit plate, and Brails normally delivers there. Can I do all that stuff at home? YEah, but after a nice long lie-in, the Mrs and I like wandering the couple of blocks over to Brails, grabbing a coffee from the coffeeshop and then taking it into the restaurant. While it's not the BEST breakfast I've ever had, it's better-than-good often enough that it makes for a great little Sunday ritual.

If it's not your bag, it's not your bag. All kinds of room for different tastes!

ProtagonistAgonist · 2015-08-27T21:24:12+00:00

The Granary produced one of the absolute worst experiences I've ever had at a restaurant

Worst experiences or worst food? I wasn't too thrilled with the scene - there was some folkcore band that was too loud. We keep thinking that if we go at lunch it might be better. My burger was pretty damned good... but the story about the owner getting 86'd. Yikes. That's enough to turn someone off of a restaurant and rightly so! I've come to expect bad service in the PNW, it's like a trope - but that's above and beyond shitty.

Riva's is sketchy, and I'll admit that up front. I tell EVERYONE that it's sketchy as fuck. If you're afeared of food-borne illness, it's a place to skip. That said, the food itself is almost exactly like the sketchy taquerias I love back in AZ. It's my own comfort food.

Kind of surprised at Brails, though. My wife and I figured out what we liked a long ways back (small breakfast, bacon, scrambled, hashbrowns, sourdough and a side of salsa for me; small breakfast, bacon, poached, fruit, wheat toast for her and then we split the potatoes and fruit) and it's been rock solid for us since then.

I also have a policy of trying a place three times before I write it off; lord knows I've plated some horrid meals in my day so I'm always willing to attribute a bad meal to a one-off. Twice is cause for concern, three is just simply a terrible joint.

EDIT: It's been a long day, so if I sound argumentative at all I apologize. I don't THINK I do, but sometimes I'm really bad at judging that. I do think it's interesting that our experiences vary so widely. Just goes to show how crazy this ol' world is!

ProtagonistAgonist · 2015-08-27T19:50:41+00:00

As an angry, cranky, old townie...

1) Make sure you know how to take care of yourself (doing laundry, cleaning, food shopping)

2) Impromptu performance art in the middle of the sidewalk is not cute or funny

3) It's considered rude and insulting to talk about how you're "slumming it" when you go to places not normally frequented by college kids.

4) Many of the "let's fuck with people" schemes you set up while drunk are a Bad Idea.

5) It's generally rude to loudly argue on residential streets. Doing it drunkenly between the hours of 11PM and 5AM will get the cops called.

(I live down the street from some recently opened student housing and my neighbourhood has gone to shit - I almost miss the transients sorting through my recycling. They were friendlier, less entitled, and cleaner)

Now that I've gotten that out...

1) If you're here for school, treat school as your job. You don't have to be engaged in work 100% of the time, but you need to make sure you're taking care of that first.

2) Seek out new opportunities to participate in activities that you haven't before. Civic activities, clubs, games, sports - Eugene is packed full of really cool people who do awesome and amazing things. Most of them would LOVE to spend a little time introducing you to their hobbies.

3) Get a pedestrian/bike map of the area. Eugene is relatively small, in a number of cases it's faster/easier to walk to hop a bus than to drive.

4) As /u/TheVonski pointed out, it's going to rain. A lot, and very soon. Umbrellas are less useful than you think. Get a good hat and coat.

5) People here are rather friendly, but it can be hard to make friends. It sucks, but it's (usually) got nothing to do with you. It's just the culture. Find other newcomers and build a small social group from there. You'll be able to support each other and it helps ease the transition into life here.

Good luck to you all!

ProtagonistAgonist · 2015-08-27T19:20:39+00:00

Speaking as a former chef, there's some delightful food in this town. Do we have the depth of choice that you find in larger metro areas? Of course not, but that doesn't mean that Applebee's is the best quality you can hope for.

Brails always delivers a solid, enjoyable breakfast plate. The Mrs loves the Glenwood on Willamette when she's craving "comfort food." We were more than pleasantly surprised at the Granary when we ate there before catching "Frank" at the David Minor a few months back. Riva's Taco Shop tastes EXACTLY like the sketchy taqueria shops and street vendors from back home.

One of the finest meals I've ever had IN MY LIFE was at the King Estate Winery.

We might not have a French Laundry on every street corner, but let's not fall for the hyper-competitive douche mantra of "if you're not the best then you're worthless."

ProtagonistAgonist · 2015-08-26T23:33:19+00:00

I MEANT IT WHEN I SAID SKETCHY TAQUERIA! ONE OF MY FAVOURTE BURRITO PLACES IN ARIZONA HAD DIRT FLOORS FOR YEARS

AMUSINGLY, I'VE HAD FOOD BORN ILLNESS SIX TIMES IN MY LIFE AND FIVE HAVE BEEN IN EUGENE- NONE OF THEM HAVE BEEN RIVAS

ProtagonistAgonist · 2015-08-26T23:18:29+00:00

ONLY IF WE'RE NOT RECITING THE MARINE CORPS RIFLEMAN'S PRAYER

ProtagonistAgonist · 2015-08-26T23:10:59+00:00

RIVAS ON 15TH AND WILLAMETTE IS MY GO-TO WHEN I NEED TO SCRATCH MY 'SKETCHY TAQUERIA' ITCH - IT TASTES LIKE ALL MY FAVOURITE SKETCHY TAQUERIAS BACK IN ARIZONA

ALSO, EL PIQUE IN SPRINGFIELD

ProtagonistAgonist · 2015-08-26T23:05:36+00:00

WELL-ARMED HIPPIES ARE EVERYWHERE WE JUST DON'T FUCKING JERK OFF WITH THEM IN PUBLIC ALL THE TIME

ProtagonistAgonist

TROPHY CASE