Pacific Northwest – Mark Petruska

Inverse Correlations and Escaping Cats

Cats weren’t meant to be kept in bags, so I’m going to let this one out now and share a bit o’ news with y’all: Tara and I are moving to Rapid City, South Dakota next summer. Funny how something that started out as an off-the-cuff remark I never expected my wife to take seriously turnedContinue reading “Inverse Correlations and Escaping Cats”

Wanderlust In Our Blood

I want to start off by saying that I love the Pacific Northwest. This should be obvious to anybody who has ever read my blog. It’s been my home for almost 23 years now, and I always figured I’d spend the rest of my life here. I probably will. But maybe I won’t. When IContinue reading “Wanderlust In Our Blood”

An Umbrella Reversal

I have famously gone on record as being anti-umbrella. Living in the Pacific Northwest, using an umbrella is frowned upon by the locals. It’s just not “cool.” One of the surest ways Portlanders can identify people from out of town is when they’re walking in the rain carrying an umbrella. We even have a termContinue reading “An Umbrella Reversal”

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

This morning we called my dad, put him on speakerphone, and sang “Happy Birthday.” Which would have been great, had it actually been his birthday. Oops. So we were a day off. In my defense, January 11 was my grandmother’s birthday (RIP), and my dad’s is the 12th. I could never quite get those twoContinue reading “Ask and Ye Shall Receive”

Cold AFF

It has been cold AF here lately. If you don’t know the meaning of AF, you’re not hip to the lingo. (The fact that I used the phrase “hip to the lingo” probably indicates that I am not hip to the lingo, either. Oh, well.) AF simply means “as f**k.” I’m sure you can fillContinue reading “Cold AFF”

The Forest is My Happy Place

This past weekend, Tara and I went hiking. Which seems to be a recurring theme in my life these days. I have gone hiking every weekend for the past month. Maybe in a past life I was Paul Bunyan, but in this one I have traded in my axe for hiking poles. I don’t want to chop down trees;Continue reading “The Forest is My Happy Place”