Scott: The Dirtiest Footprints, The Shiniest Spoon.

As some of you know, Matt and I are partially able to do this trip because of the managerial duties at "the Spot" in Eugene, OR. Basically we get free room for the daunting task of cleaning up after college students. I do the dishes and Matt takes care of rent collection, emptying garbage, and basic cleaning around the house. In the end I would definitely say it's worth it, but there are times when you think, "What the hell? I hate every guy between the ages of 18 and 21, excluding the biking the states crew and a few others I've met along the way." This brings me to the title of todays blog.

The dirtiest footprints and the shiniest spoon are actual recent events or nouns, what have you. It's what they represent that sums up our stay in Eugene and the excursion we are about to take in two freaking weeks, respectively.

As the year has progressed, people have become more and more lazy. It started out with a few dishes left here and there, but for the most part they were confined to the kitchen. Every once in a while you would get the puddle of vomit from a night of drunken promiscuity the night before, and there would, of course, be the tail end of someones "chew" habit. This is not the wonderful bubble gum chew you remember from your childhood. No. This is the "Sandlot, get wasted go on a carnival ride and let your saliva fly," chewing tobacco that you find in the major leagues, and with people who have lost their tongues to mouth cancer.

Time passes and you get the moldy food that has been festering in peoples rooms for who knows how long. You get the milk that expired last summer. You get the daily spit cups and nightly specimens fit for an impromptu sperm bank. You get the sugary concoctions stuck to the counter tops and everyone burns their food to the pots and pans they cook it in.

All of this leads to the dirtiest footprints - the culmination of every pain in the ass thing we have to do here. Matt mops the floor in the kitchen, leaves for a minute, and returns to find someone has walked all over it leaving mud wherever they went. That pretty much sums up the care people take when they don't have to worry about doing the brunt work. The only thing that keeps me going is the idea of the shiniest spoon.

I live my life by way of the shiniest spoon. (Some would call this anal retentive.) This spoon was given to me by my parents, and was made by the wonderful people who sell the quite popular swiss army knife. The spoon came in a picnic set with a small fork, however I've seen shinier, and a knife to cut the food. This will be my primary cutlery in two weeks when I no longer have to worry about anyones dishes but my own. This spoon is pure perfection down to the size and shape of the oval head, and I know it will carry me through the summer and beyond. I may even take a picture of it for you.