I Comment on the News, School's Out for Summer, and Coast Extravaganza!

Hello everyone!

I started a new blog.

Let me explain--I was feeling like this blog was becoming somewhat schizophrenic. In a way, Rob Dow's World has become a mixture of stuff going on in my life and me commenting on what was going on in the rest of world. So I decided to split myself in two!

From here on out (meaning until I change my mind), this blog, Rob Dow's World, will focus on personal stuff, and my new blog, Rob Comments on the News, will be where I, well, comment on the news.

So update your bookmarks. The new site, Rob Comments on the News, can be found here. Or you can also click on the handy link on the right side of this page.

Either way, just keep in mind that the address for Rob Comments on the News is http://robcommentsonthenews.blogspot.com/.

I plan on updating my new blog, Rob Comments on the News, at least once a week. I also plan on updating this blog, Rob Dow's World, whenever anything worth writing about happens in my world.

Speaking of which, I'm done with school until September. I'm glad, too, because I was getting pretty burned out. I'm also finally completely done with taking classes at Lane (yes, I finally passed them!), which means I'll soon be sent a piece of paper that says I have an "Associate Degree"! It's time to go frame shopping!

I worked as a checker at Kmart when I was 18, and I was referred to as an "associate". That should tell you how illustrious an "Associate Degree" is. And it only took me three and a half years to earn one!

But like heroin, I could never fully leave Lane. I'll probably go back to work there as a tutor in the fall. I might even try to sit in on one of Steve Candee's Political Science classes.

Here's something else worth writing about: I had a fantastic time with the families last week. My parents, grandma, sister, niece, and niece's fiancé, as well as Cathy's parents, sister, and sister's big, friendly dog, Kody (or Kodi, or Cody, or Codi, or Quod-hyee, or however it's spelled) hung out in the area for a while, and we all stayed a beach house on the Oregon Coast near Newport for three nights. It was a great time. We went to the touristy yet still interesting Oregon Coast Aquarium. We flew stunt kites on the beach. We relaxed in the hot tub. We played a mean game of Balderdash that I managed to win despite having consumed way too much wine.

Here's the funny thing. Normally, this is where I would post lots of pictures of our adventure. The problem is, I ain't got none.

Don't get me wrong, Cathy has a nice digital camera (though if you're reading this and thinking, "Hmm, I should buy those guys a fancy new camera," email me, and I'll give you our mailing address). There were fresh batteries in her camera, and the memory stick had plenty of room for many great pictures. We even remembered to take the camera with us, though both of us forgot to pack our cellphone chargers (and our phones take pictures, too).

The thing was, we were having such a great time, neither of us thought to bust out the camera and take a single picture. Not once.

However, I'm reasonably sure that there were other cameras there. And I'm reasonably sure they were being used at least once or twice, if not more. I'm also reasonably sure that at least one or two of the other people who were there and possibly using said cameras also occasionally read this blog. Maybe one of them will email me some photos, so I can post them for the millions and millions of three people who read this blog.

Anyway, while I sit here at my computer and wait for that email, be sure to check out my new site, Rob Comments on the News!

Rob