#102 - corvallis

corvallis is the home of oregon state university, the best educational institution in the state of oregon. most people who live in this modest city of 50,000 people are either affiliated with the university or hewlett-packard. it's a very quiet place and there really isn't much to do if you don't look hard enough. i spent four awesome years there as an undergrad student and have been back quite a few times afterwards. yesterday i went down for a memorial service to my uncle. i went to hawaii in february to attend his actual funeral and inurnment at the national cemetary. since he was a professor at the college and resident of corvallis for almost 30 years he made quite a few great friends. they decided to have a memorial in my uncle's honor. it was a great service with lots of fun stories about him and then got together for food afterwards.

i've been back to c-town quite a few times since i graduated and it certain is changed. the old favorites are still there, like american dream pizza (now with two locations) and the beanery. then there are a slew of new stores and pseudo-strip malls. it is kind of strange. the campus is still beautiful, like the first time i visited in '98. it only took one visit to corvallis for me to fall in love. it sounds weird but i loved everything about it. going from my small-ish hometown to corvallis was a pretty easy transition despite the cold weather and rain. i spent the first couple years in the dorms on campus and eventually moved off campus to various apartments, duplexes and houses the next couple years. i rode my bike everywhere and it was just a nice place to live. yesterday i felt the same way, it really is a nice college town and i actually wouldn't mind living there again. sometimes the city gets too crazy, and portland isn't even a crazy city.

you can be sure that i return to corvallis every year, mostly to make a pilgrimage to reser stadium, home of the BEAVERS! i'm not sure if season tickets are happening this year for me but you can be sure i'll be wearing orange and black, sitting in the rain and cheering for my team till the bitter end. i took my parents to the ucla game last season (we got demolished) and they were troopers, sitting in the exposed section of the new addition to the stadium. it was so cold and rainy but they kept cheering with me, even though the team played HORRIBLE. my dad signed up for a credit card so we could get a free blanket! this season the university of hawaii WARRIORS are coming on september 13. in recent history each team has won once. the first time was the oahu bowl (1999), the first winning season for the beavers in almost 30 years. hawaii won by 6. it was my freshman year and i sat there in my orange, next to my whole family clad in green. it was great! in 2006 the beavers took another trip to hawaii, but this time they were ready. it was an exciting game, even more so because i tailgated with high school friends and they were all rooting for the warriors.

it would have been interesting to play the warriors last year when they went undefeated and went to the sugar bowl. i am a huge fan of the warriors as long as they are not playing the beavs. this season the beavers are younger, especially on defense. hawaii lost their star QB colt brennan, foursome of awesome receivers and the coach. all i know is it will be an exciting game and lots of hawaii people will be there (i hope!). my parents are planning on going and i will definitely be there.

everytime i go back to corvallis i don't stay very long. i hope i'll get to hang out a little this season. hit a couple of the old favorite bars and eat at el sol de mexico, home of the macho burrito. or maybe the all you can eat indian buffet for $6 or suds & suds (laundromat/bar) where i went "around the world" by drinking all their beers, got a shirt and my name on a plaque. mostly i want to ride my bike around on a nice spring day, pretending i just got out of class with nothing to do but enjoy life and play a little ultimate frisbee. back when life was simpler.