It's different here, in Eugene. In Oregon.
For one, no sales tax. Convenient, but it pops open a touch of suspicion about public works funding and general prices (particularly with all the never-before type purchases I've been making."
For two, it's illegal to pump yer own gas. Eerie stuff, to me. And a touch inconvenient. Takes a mo' longer, often, and harder to find a place to fill in the middle o' the night, which I've found myself needin' more often than not. O'course, not having to get out of yer nice warm/cool car, that's not so bad. Lower gas prices, too, so far.
For three, there's a definite odd couple of trends in shop naming protocals. There's a lot more of the unnecessary misspelling. Dari Mart, Minit Mart, Candy Tyme, Bi Mart, etc. It's starting to get to me a little. Particularly Dari Mart. It's sounds like an Indian or African joint, does Dari, but is it? No. Just the worst type of spelling-bee drop-out commercial success. Then there's the way they name day-cares: Security First. Lion's Den. Is it prison or harm's way I'm putting Tommy-Sue into? It's a crazed and crazy thing I'll have nothin' for or of.
Last, what is wrong with these coffee places? What kinda java joint doesn't have a bit of free wifi? It's a wrong, strange, confusing and frightening place.

The neighbors, to the right, they're a house full of girls. Entirely average girls, far as I can tell. Normal range of sorta cute. Giant inflatable beer-bottle in the back seat. Cat. One of them is of that beautiful stereotype femme and speaks in fast uninterrupted streams of words with lots of explanation, detail, and minor personal opinions. Nothing for or against in that, but it's sort of funny.
The sourceless external beeping, for now, seems to have stopped, but if it starts again, I've a classy new hammer to run about with.
This is all, by the by, sent to you through weak off-and-on signal stolen from someone who, apparently, has clean pants. The funny ways of server names, hey? It'll do for little short bits until I have my own connection proper.
Tomorrow, I go to a training class on MRI safety first thing from dawn and'll stick there a couple hours yet. After that, if I haven't forgot my own cash, I'll hit a little lunch and run whatever errands on campus I can do, make a couple calls in the hope of setting up the web, and maybe have another go at finding a desk and shelves. Maybe even a fancy little euro-futon for the place between the Swedish stylish furniture.

Best thing: there're blackberry bushes behind the house. They HAD berries on them, 'til I ate them. They were delicious.

Been feeling a bit like an irritated predator. Dangerous, not hungry. Like a new fish in prison. Who is also a grizzly bear (no self-consumption impulse yet, though. Bears, fishes, eh.) I keep wanting to rear up on two legs and chase people until I realize that it's not that impressive, the rearing up, and is mostly just crazy and stupid, the chasing. Ah well.

Spiders everywhere.

Oy. Once I've got a desk and it's easy to type again, there's a good storm front of things to come... which might become entirely shred up by the rocky shores of first weeks. We'll have to have a wait and see on that. Hopefully, all's well without me, though it's true to think that without a center, how can the balance hold?

Best with y'all.