Monthly Archives: July 2011

flashback friday

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I decided a few days ago that Fridays at burpobanter.com would be reserved for flashbacks – or a look back at old pictures or a repost of previous “banters,” if you will. I did this for two reasons: 1) Because I’m guessing it’s rare that I’ll be motivated to write a full post on Friday nights and 2) I thought it might be fun. For me at least.

That said, first allow me to say that today was quite a nice day. And I mean that literally, to begin with. After several days of gloomy, somewhat chilly weather, we had one of those days today that we live for in Portland…high 70s and not a cloud in the sky, and of course no humidity (sorry east coasters). Picture perfect, really. And it’s supposed to be that way through the weekend. This afternoon I was invited to spend some time out and about in the zoo touring the construction site for our new Veterinary Medical Center that is scheduled to open in December. It’s one of the first projects that has been undertaken within the bond program. And, wow. It’s going to be such a great, state-of-the-art facility that, like all else the zoo is planning for the future, is pushing the envelope in terms of how we care for the animals. It’s pretty cool.

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space ranger in training

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It all started innocently enough. I was on tap to take both Elena and Ian to daycare/school this morning. Jeff was home, so he helped load us all in the car and off we went. I had the radio tuned to NPR, which perhaps was my first mistake because there was a story on about the last flight of the space shuttle.

I recall that we were about halfway into the 10 minute drive to St. Andrews when the first question came from the back seat. Mommy? Yes. Why don’t they wear helmets in space? Well, because I guess they don’t need them. (Brilliant answer, I know.) Oh. Then, silence, except for Elena’s usual vocal inflections and exclamations of wonder at some unknown object she’s passionately pointing at out the window. Suddenly: Mommy? Yes. Does the space shuttle have a name? Yes. What is its name? Well, I believe there are two space shuttles and they both have different names: one is Atlantis, which is the one that is about to come home for the final time, and the other was Endeavour. Oh. And from Elena: Oooohhhhh….ha! So they only have two space shuttles? Why? Yes, I’m pretty sure there are only two space shuttles right now and that’s probably because they are very expensive to build and take care of, so they can’t afford to have too many of them at once.

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tired

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Let me just start by saying that the fact that it’s Sunday night and I’m about to start a full work week scares me just a little. Because really, my body is telling me that it should be Friday. How tired am I? I’m so tired that the best title I could come up for, for this post was “tired.” So sad.

I mean, not only do I feel like I’ve been hit by a Freightliner (just to be different), I feel like I’ve been thrown to the side of the road and then rolled off a cliff. Okay, maybe not the cliff part, but definitely the side of the road part. Perhaps more proof that my body just doesn’t operate like it used to.

I think it all started Saturday morning when I, perhaps foolishly, decided that this was the morning that I was going to overcome recent aches and pains and give it my all in my Zumba class. It definitely felt good during the class, partly because I felt as though I was conquering mind over matter, but by the end I was already kind of starting to feel like I could have been mistaken for a puddle of rain water on the floor. But there was no time to waste because we had limited family time ahead of us. Showers, naps, snacks, a load of laundry in, 10 rounds of clean up and we were headed out of the garage. First stop: lunch. Second stop: Best Buy to research new camera options.

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culture shock

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When you’ve spent most of your career working for public relations agencies in Washington, D.C. – or really – doing anything in Washington, D.C., there’s bound to be a certain amount of culture shock when you start a job not only at a zoo, but a zoo in Portland.

Six months in, there are still so many days when something happens and I think, “Wow, am I really at work right now?” Like today when I’m at my desk and we start hearing a loud quacking-like sound. And your first thought is, “Is that a…a…duck?” Why yes, it is. Just a duck in the office. That’s normal, right? Or, the line of six-year-olds who stroll through with their camp counselors. That’s normal, right? Or, the teens having a meeting in the conference room across from my area who are giggling like, well, a bunch of teenagers. That’s normal, right?

Then there are the times like yesterday when you have on your Outlook calendar something like: Zoomer training, 11am – 12pm; please bring your driver’s license. What is a Zoomer, you ask?

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