Eugene

Eugene and Riverside have about the same population, but there the similarity ends. Think of Eugene as a bleached-out slow-motion version of Riverside. EVERYBODY is white (OK, nearly everybody - I just ran into Sadie at Trader Joe's, but she has a London accent so she's white in a way I guess) - Susan and I were out to dinner the other night and every adult in the room was white - but there were two children of color (one black, the other Asian), each with a white couple and other white children. Susan said, "Well, you have to start somewhere" [with diversity] but I disagree. People can't have relationships - romantic and friendship - with people of other races? Only adopt babies and then teach them to be white when they look brown?

And driving here is a trip. Areas posted at 30 mph would be 40 mph in Riverside (and people would go 50 mph) but here people go like 20 mph in those areas. I'm trying to be patient and adjust to the speed, but it feels like the slow-mo like at the beginning of the Six Million Dollar Man. If there were not cafes and drive-through espresso stands on EVERY street corner, clearly all of Eugene would lapse into a comatose state.

There's also a lot more homegrown stuff here - far fewer national chains and far more local shops. Less emphasis on conformity and standardization. Less cultivation - lots of pretty, wild-looking gardens rather than all that manicured lawn crap of SoCal. Of course tied to that are Children Without Discipline - they run wild everywhere because mommy and daddy (or whoever is doing mommy now) are afraid of somehow inhibiting the spirit of little Roseblossom and Sagebranch. Clearly ever telling a small child "no" would irreparably bruise their little auras. All I can say - the next little kid that runs screaming in front of my cart gets mowed down. I stop for no demon seed. I actually heard a 4-year-old today telling his mother exactly what she needed to buy for him and that he would allow no excuses. Um, we are bigger for a reason. How does a person learn self-restraint and maturity if never expected to exercise it? I may even revise my anti-corporal punishment stance if I spend enough time here.

Here's Susan in her natural habitat - REI. OK, my natural habitat, but she's a good sport about helping me with shopping.

And here's Selma hiding from the veterinarian. If we can't see her, we'll forget about her, right? I took her yesterday for her annual check-up and immunizations - because it's not bad enough that I abandon her and only visit irregularly. Heck, I may as well be the one responsible for her misery, too. As the technician was holding her down while the vet shoved a thermometer up her ass, the look Selma gave me was so clearly, "You will pay," that I'll be looking out for the rest of the time I'm here.

I think I'm about finished with shopping now - just bought the final suitcase and will start loading everything up to see how it all fits. The hardest thing will be getting the weight down to 20 kilos (44 pounds) because mostly what I want to take are books. As with all my life, screw the clothing and makeup and all that - books are most important. If I have to choose between War and Peace and soap, well, at least Tolstoy won't care if I stink.