Do you remember when we used to dance? An incidence arose from circumstance

I have not done any studying the past 2 days, I have a status report to turn in for work too. I spent Saturday getting drunk with my girl and her family. We hung around her house drinking wine and beer, then had a big dinner at the Olive Garden. Her mom and dad and college aged brother drove into town to see her triathlon. They are very nice, down to earth working class people, very easy to talk to. They are just like my girl, constantly cracking jokes and looking for opportunities to crack jokes, especially her dad and brother. I can see that she gets her sweet side from her mom. They sent me on an errand to buy baloons for the triathlon, then we went to bed early - we had to get up at 3:30 in order to make it to the triathlon course by 5 o'clock, when they start taking their practice swims and getting their numbers and such. I was very impressed by my girl - the triathlon was gruelling - 1/2 mile swim in a cold lake, a 15 mile bike ride, and then a 5 mile run. I can't even do a 5 mile run, let alone any of the other stuff. And this is a girl who just 15 months ago had cancer. Me and her bro and dad sat around watching the racers go by and cracking jokes. One running joke was that they should add a full contact kick boxing to the triathlon, to even the field a little. JCB was conveniently busy when he found out it was at 6 in the morning. After the tri, me and the girl said goodbye to her family, had breakfast at the Golden Angel pancake house, then we slept for the rest of the day. I really liked her family - I felt bad that mine were relatively standoffish around her. I am really liking my girl a lot these days - sometimes I let my mind wander and I have these crazy thoughts about settling down with her and trying to make a go of it. Doing something like moving to California together, build a new life, accumulate a lot of wealth together. She doesn't even particularly like California, and she's not as materialistic as I am. Anyways, I got up around 6, packed my bags, we had dinner, then she drove me to the airport, as I had to make my 11 o'clock flight to Portland, where I am going to be attending a conference this week.

My flight was delayed, but I got in around 3 am. So here I am in Portland, sitting in a conference room, eating cinnamon buns and drinking coffee, waiting for the speakers to begin their presentations. This morning I went for a little walk around downtown Portland. It seems like a small town, a really clean and friendly place to live, despite there being some bums around. It's nice not having to go to work today, I won't miss some of the assholes I work with. Been stressed out about money and this class I'm taking lately. I have some organizing, planning and work to do when I get a chance later on tonight. If I do not pay attention to my work and finances for a few days I start getting anxious. I'm reading 'The Millionaire Next Door' right now - or, listening to it on audiobook, it's really inspiring. I think my whole deal with my finances is that I am motivated to simultaneously live the status conscious consumer lifestyle, and also maximize my net worth as quickly as possible, you can't really do those two things at the same time.