Mama Goes On A Fieldtrip

at 03/20/10 7:16PM

Thursday night I attended the first of a ten-week series of classes offered by the Hillsboro Police Department called Citizen's Academy. Granted I'm ..."captivated" with anything even remotely related to criminal justice, but the evening was, in two words, absolutely fascinating.

For 3 1/2 hours I learned cool information from six different employees about everything from the history of law enforcement in Hillsboro, to what the organization pays for 911 service, bullet proof vests, and turning a Crown Victorian into a police car. There were informative charts and graphs both in handouts and power point presentations showing flow charts of the chain of command and another showing a breakdown of the 165 employees in terms of ethnicity, gender, sworn/non sworn, and bi-lingual speakers. Sweet!

Every speaker from Tina in HR who showed us exactly what a resume should NOT look like, to Lt. Mike who presented a very convincing case for community policing (including the "how to's" of building a rapport with the "customers" they serve), all presentations were stock-full of interesting material presented in an entirely "listenable" way.

What I was most impressed with was this: Even considering the diversity of the personalities of the six speakers including Daniel Lopez, the Crime Prevention specialist who organized the Academy, there were qualities consistent with each employee—the "family vibe" of the precinct, if you will. You couldn't miss it: Expertise. Confidence. Authenticity. Honor. Happy people.

Here's what I mean. It is obvious both by objective statistics (minimal litigation, etc.) and the way employees spoke of one another, that the key to job security at the Hillsboro Police Department is about doing one's job well. Everyone I met exuded self-assurance and an openness to doing anything and everything in an even better way. They were into reality. Nothing was exaggerated. They felt secure enough to share with us a personal opinion here and there. They occasionally laughed at themselves, were personable, and obviously love what they do. Yea Hillsboro Police Department! Your ARE different. I can't wait for my next nine classes!

Neat. Neat. Neat.:)

by sallyanne at 03/20/10 7:41PM
Glad I live in Hillsboro! :)

by stylinmama at 03/20/10 10:19PM
cool! sounds like a cool class. :)

by niffer at 03/20/10 10:42PM

Mathmas Is Radical

at 03/16/10 11:25PM

26 Celebrators enjoyed this unique and festive event last Sunday night!

Mathmas > All Other Celebrations from Cindy Dunagan on Vimeo.

Thank you for not featuring me in this video! ;)

by beavermom at 03/17/10 4:21AM
That came out great!! The eyeshadow lover part with Kashka made me laugh out loud.

by spinningbee at 03/17/10 9:25AM
I just times everything by cupcakes? lol, Garrett!

by robynbobm at 03/17/10 2:31PM
haha i like my label.lol. jordan was kinda disturbing...eating his guitar... :)

by niffer at 03/17/10 5:02PM
I called Melissa Mellor and said that she might want to mention to Lowell tonight that he update his Facebook profile. Perhaps Facebook should have an age limit on who can get get an account! :-) Lowell is 78, I believe and more than likely did not notice he had mis-selected on the pull-down menu.

by turner120995 at 03/17/10 6:51PM
That makes sense.

by lifeisgoood at 03/18/10 11:19AM

Auctions Are Loads Of Fun Because...

at 03/10/10 1:59AM

10. ...you get to see people pay what looks like way too much. Last week a used set of copper pots and pans went for over $300, yet later I discovered eBay had a similar set for around $1000.

9. ...you get to see people pay way too little. There are brand new appliances, exercise equipment, furniture, iPods, computers, and other popular items.

8. ...you get to learn a bit about the fascinating world of man toys such as "hoists" and "universal hitches".

7. You never know what's going to be there. I've not yet bid on anything, but I love the nostalgia of seeing things I have not seen since the early sixties.

6. The fast pace. The pace is so professionally speedy that there may be a mere five seconds of recording the transaction before the next item has begun. My mind can barely keep up with exactly "where we're at" - I like that.

5. I cross paths with people I would never see anywhere else. The rough, crusty, unpretentious, who look poor or uneducated, but lay down thousands of dollars in one night on items of which they (if not keeping it for themselves) not only know the value, but also know where they can market it for a profit. Fascinating.

4. The tackiness of dogs roaming freely, the animal heads on one wall and massive stuffed sword fish on the other, the scary things coming out of the snack bar including fake cheese nachos, and the clown head that marks the location of said snack bar. PS. The restroom is pristine.

3. The skill and humor of the auctioneer. He's a good ole' boy with a baseball cap, and just about a month ago announced his engagement. Sometimes he'll yell "come on!" (pronounced "comb own!" like he's moving slow cattle, he'll ask interesting questions about an item, reprimand the crowd if they are not seeing the value in an item, and when he's joking, everything's game— himself, the ugliness of the item up for bid, and the bidders themselves.

2. I'm in awe of the efficiency of the process: There are no loopholes to mess up the fairness: If you bring something in to be auctioned, you must guarantee it is in good working order. If you buy something electronic, it comes with a one-week money-back guarantee. You cannot bid on your own items to artificially raise the price. There's no reason to buy back your item because you'd lose money in the process. Upon arrival you show your ID and get a bid number for the evening. That way if you walk out without paying, they can track you down (your item is immediately handed to you upon a win and you are welcome to immediately take it to your car before paying). They alternate the kinds of things being bid so it never gets monotonous: First some coins, then a couch, then jewelry, then a box of tools, then a painting, then a box of CD's. If you see something you want, you grab it and put the item in line on a table so you don't have to wait very long. If you stay to the end, you can put your bid number in a box for a $50 drawing (that way people stay until 11:00 and perhaps buy more in the meantime). While the bidding is going on there is a woman next to the auctioneer tracking item #'s and bidder #'s at lightning speed, and about 3 to five employees on the floor near the categories (tools, furniture, etc.) to yell item numbers/information back to the auctioneer when he yells "What's next?" So basically, it's a staff of maybe 10 selling perhaps $50,000 or more worth of stuff in about 5 hours. Here's a bit of what they say on their website:

Consignor Info
* We are looking for desirable consignment items with a value of $25.00 or more. Desirability is the key to Auction Value. Things like Clean Furniture, Antiques, Functional Appliances, Power & Hand Tools, Antique Toys, Costume & Fine Jewelry, Clocks & Pocket Watches, Hunting & Fishing Gear, Musical Instruments, Pottery, Glassware, Nice Rugs, Artwork, Coins, Trains, Radios, Indian Blankets, Ivory, Collectable Dolls, Music Boxes, Sterling Silver, Quilts & Linens, Postcards.

No Broken Items, Flea Market or Garage Sale leftovers.

* Consignment fees are:

o 10% per item that sells for more than $5000.
o 15% per item that sells for more than $2500, and up to $5000.
o 20% per item that sells for more than $1000, and up to $2500.
o 25% per item that sells for more than $500, and up to $1000.
o 30% per item that sells for more than $100, and up to $500.
o 35% per item that sells for more than $50, and up to $100.
o 40% per item that sells for $50 and under.

* Items are auctioned without reserves.
* Consignment Checks are generated weekly with a net minimum requirement of $20. Balances remaining under $20 will be released after one month of inactivity.

1. And my most prevailing reason for loving the auction? I collect unusual experiences: I adore that "I'm in another world" feeling. Novelty. It's one of my favorite things about life.

There's No Place Like The Auction from Cindy Dunagan on Vimeo.

Fun! I like novelty.

by sallyanne at 03/10/10 10:07AM
Did you ever see that HGTV show 'Cash In The Attic'?

by turner120995 at 03/10/10 1:22PM
I'll check. :)

by dehutmom at 03/10/10 1:28PM
No I haven't Tim, but I definitely need to educate myself - I've ordered a 1000 page reference book on the topic.

by lifeisgoood at 03/10/10 3:11PM
That sounds fun! Whenever I have a place I can have animals, I plan on buying them at auction.

by robynbobm at 03/10/10 5:43PM
Thanks you SO much for sharing the material with me! I can't seem to pull it up though.

by loveofjebs at 03/11/10 9:52PM
I hope it did sink in! You come at the issue from a great vantage point, so I hope people take you seriously.

by robynbobm at 03/13/10 6:36PM
I got it. Thanks

by loveofjebs at 03/14/10 4:01AM
I used to watch "Cash in the Attic" while eating breakfast before work. Entertaining show - auctions fascinate me, but I've never been to one!

by linz_foster at 03/16/10 12:57AM

Spring: God's Refreshing Season

at 03/06/10 12:56AM

Proofreaders! This is my rough draft for my next article in the Beaverton Valley Times due Thursday. If you see lots that can be improved feel free to copy/paste it to send back to me in an email with edits (or leave your ideas for improvement in the comments below is also fine). In addition to grammar improvements, I also need to know stuff like: Too flowery/female? Too wordy at some point? Too choppy in content? Confusing anywhere? A better/clearer way to state something? Too casual? Better examples for application? Better Title? Thanks for helping!

Every Friday my husband returns to his hometown to meditatively wander in solitude a cherished piece of property in the wooded, rolling hills on the outskirts of Silverton— land owned by generations of his people. This quiet ritual refreshes him mentally and renews him emotionally. In the spring he'll come home waxing poetic about the smell of the good earth awakening as it comes back to life, the emerging wildlife, and the first baby sprouts of grass seed that will mature to be harvested come summer.

Just as all this green began sprouting, the songs of birds in the morning or little frogs at night commenced, and the warmth of a sunny day here and there warmed our faces, this gem showed up in a deep study our congregation was having from the book of Ezekiel: "Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! ...declares the Lord GOD... repent and live.

Then it hit me. Having eagerly read God's word through cover to cover most years of my adult life, I realized, this "repent and live" is nothing less than the summary of the other 807,358 words contained in scripture! God wants to give us the same refreshing and renewal He gives the earth every spring— spiritual "times of refreshing" that come only "from the presence of the Lord" (Acts 3:19).

"A new heart". "A new spirit". New as the freshness of March. How again, Lord? By "casting away", by discarding the old, destructive ways of thinking and behaving. Turns out the proverbial creepy guy on the corner wearing the tent sign "Repent!" that I've always walked a wide circle to avoid, was, well, right. Of course he was right. How many times had I seen it played out in lives all around me. You've seen it too. The husband who trades in his roving eye for loyalty to his wife and gains a deep intimate relationship. The addict who trades alcohol or drug of choice for sobriety and gains back his life. The teenager who takes a sharp corner from knuckle dragging indolence to resolute industry and eventually gains financial security. Mr. Materialistic who has a light bulb moment and trades in 20 hours of weekly overtime for more moments enjoying his wife and children.

Elizabeth George put it this way: "When I take the time to draw near to God today, I will make The Great Exchange. I will exchange my weariness for His strength, my weakness for His power, my darkness for His light, my problems for His solutions, my burdens for His freedom, my frustrations for His peace, my turmoil for His calm, my hopes for His promises, my afflictions for His balm of comfort, my confusion for His knowledge, my doubt for His assurance, my nothingness for His awareness, the temporal for the eternal, the impossible for the possible."

Perhaps seasons were created as an object lesson to teach us this very message: When all looks lost, God can create life yet again. Jesus said, "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). Choose abundance.

I like it. Well done. My only comment is the last statement...perhaps adding:
Choose life. Choose abundance.

They go together to me.

by trekkiemom at 03/06/10 2:09PM
^ I agree with Mo, but maybe also restate the theme, and say "Repent, and live. Choose life. Choose abundance." And for some reason the word "meditatively" in the first sentence is bugging me. Maybe change it to "thoughtfully" or something similar that flows more?

by beavermom at 03/09/10 12:58AM
First sentence--should there be an "on" after a and before cherished?
I'm not overly fond ot meditatively--I think solitude implies that to some degree...but I don't think it has to go.
Also, the punctuation after Ezekiel and before the quote should be a comma, not a colon. I understand that it is not universally agreed upon, but my college lit books all agree that a comma is more appropriate. And, you do not have ending quotes there.
I would remove the comma after realized and before this. I believe it is a splice. The periods after A new heart and A new spirit should be inside the quotes, as should the comma after casting away. I also think the comma after old is a splice. I'd also remove the comma after avoid.
I'd use a comma before the George quote, too.

It is a great article...these are just little things since you asked ;)

by sallyanne at 03/09/10 12:12PM
All very helpful - thanks!

by lifeisgoood at 03/09/10 1:29PM

What It's Like To Be 47. (AND blonde, some will no doubt argue).

at 03/05/10 2:13PM *

Zach's birthday on the 27th was REALLY busy (excuse). Sometime during the course of the morning when Zach ran outside to tell his girlfriend Kashka's mother, Erika, his big news of a job offer, Kashka took the opportunity to ask clandestinely if she could bring balloons by for Zach to discover after he got home from night snowboarding. I told her we'd probably be out to dinner with Brian and Ashley in town, but that I would keep the door unlocked for her when we left.

Meanwhile I sold by phone off of Craig's List Mark's childhood twin bed I had painted black (which, as a side note while doing so, my ipod randomly played "Paint It Black" by the Rolling Stones. It made me smirk).
The buyer was an upbeat, young mom with a cell phone number starting with a 7. She and I arranged for the transaction to be completed upon our arrival home from dinner that night.

Mark, Brian, Ashley and I headed out for a fabulous restaurant named Pok Pok featured on a national television show, but since it was to be a two-hour wait, we instead ended up at a Korean Restaurant on NW 23rd. We walked up and down this trendy district and popped into a couple fun stores before settling down to dinner. After we had ordered my cell phone rang with a number beginning with a 7.

"Hi?. I'm here at the house, and no one's here" said the upbeat, young voice.
"I know. We arranged for me to call you when we got back from dinner, remember?"
"No, I don't, sorry" was her sweet reply, "Hmmm. I don't know what to do."
"Remember... you said you are up really late and that even if we didn't get home until after ten that would work for you?" It had all been so clear and specific to me.
"I honestly don't." She said (she had to be lying. there was no way).
"I've got all these balloons...and...is there any way I could get into the house?"

At this point I'm thinking, okay, what do HER balloons have to do with anything. I mean, we really hit it off on the phone and she was really jazzed about this twin bed, but is she really THAT excited? Maybe she's got a party or something? How's she planning on fitting the bed in with "all these balloons". What an airhead, this girl. I mean, I'm fine with a stranger going into my garage and taking a bed, I guess she just trusts me to trust her to leave the money?

Then she inquires "Is Garrett home? Do you think he could let me in?" And believe it not, before it hits me who I'm really talking to, my 47 year old blonde head is thinking "HOW DOES THIS GIRL KNOW GARRETT LIVES NEXT DOOR?!" It was, of course, Kashka the whole time. Now who's the airhead?

Happy ending: Kashka came back to the house (she lives 7 min away) and had time to surprise Zach with his 20 balloons complete with twenty post it notes tied on containing the twenty reasons why she loves him. Kim, The Young And Upbeat, came by in her jammie bottoms to pay for the twin bed very late. I, of course, HAD to tell her this story. She loves us and has emailed me planning to visit the church with her foreign exchange student when Mark gets back from his meeting in Austin, Texas.

As I told Brian and Ashley at the Korean restaurant after I had hung up with Kashka. They are in BIG trouble trying to track me as I age. I imagine myself by then wandering aimlessly not knowing who I am or where I am going. Someone help me.

I would love that handout, sounds useful! Thank you!

What a funny story! I don't think it's your age. I might have done the exact same thing. :)

by stylinmama at 03/05/10 2:55PM
Since I am close behind you, no comment!

by beavermom at 03/05/10 3:36PM
Ha! Time to get you an ID bracelet with an emergency contact number. :)

by juliev at 03/05/10 7:02PM
LOL

by robynbobm at 03/05/10 7:51PM
Hilarious. We have a lot in common...more and more and more.

by sallyanne at 03/05/10 8:45PM

Mama Goes On A Fieldtrip

Mathmas Is Radical

Auctions Are Loads Of Fun Because...

Spring: God's Refreshing Season

What It's Like To Be 47. (AND blonde, some will no doubt argue).

lifeisgoood

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