about us brian (country mouse) is from new hampshire. karel (city girl) is from the new york metro area. in summer 2008 they are driving across the US and moving to portland, oregon. here are their adventures, photos, and observations.
I have officially become a resident of Oregon as of today. And it was EXPENSIVE!!!!!
Because I am new to the state the cost of a license was very high. To retain my CDL class B license was $130 and on top of that my motorcycle endorsement was another $75. $205 total. In NH it was under $100 so I wasn't expecting this much. I have also registered to vote here even though I hate politics and politicians entirely.
I just returned from the library where I got my library card which was FREE! Yipee, something I didn't have to pay for feels nice. I can take out the X-Files that they have on DVD for free for 3 weeks at a time for each season. Very excited about that.
After the library I decided to visit the park next to the school where Karel currently is which is also around the corner from the library. To my surprise and excitement there was for some reason a trampoline in the middle of a field with nobody or any signs around it. So of course I got on it with (my shoes off) and did my usual stunts. Backflips, frontflips, twisty tricks and so on. It wasn't until about 15-20 minutes after I started that a guy came up to me and asked if I was part of the photo shoot. "No". Apparently it was part of a photo shoot that was at the time in another part of the park. I was kindly asked to stop jumping not for my own safety but if I were to break the trampoline. Oh well, I had fun for 15 minutes or so. A guy sitting on a bench was apparently watching me the whole time and when I got off he said "pretty cool man". I knew the rest of the park with the parents and their kids were already watching me and I liked it. Every time I flipped I heard some kid go "wow" or make some kind of amazed noise.
So now I am back home and going to sort the final pictures I'll be putting on the website and with a little more work and lots of Karel help we'll finish soon. Also I will be making slide shows of the places we stopped at on the trip out here on my new Flickr account. But that won't be until the website is finished so don't bother looking yet.
August 26, 2008
some good news - and some bad news
Good news: I will be starting work bright and early tomorrow morning! My background check cleared today and my new colleagues are so eager to have me start (read: so desperately in need of help) that they called me up and asked me to start tomorrow. So I will be showing up at the school at 8:00am. My regular hours will be 7:30-4:00, meaning I'll be out of the house even before Brian! Crazy. But I think I'll love getting out at 4:00, as opposed to 6:30 or 7:00 as was the norm at my previous full-time gig.
Bad news: Portland Public School employees are paid monthly, and payday is the last teacher working day of each month. This means that I will not get my first paycheck until September 30th. Yes, September 30th.
Incidentally, September 30th is also Brian's and my one-year anniversary... so it will DEFINITELY be cause for celebration, for many reasons!
So, we'll be living like paupers for another month at least. Builds character I suppose. :)
Okay I think Brian has some news to share so I will let him take over:
So today I quit my job. that's correct! But don't worry because I had already secured a position at another place I had interviewed with after our my arrival here. Did you ask why? of course you did and I'll explain. It's simple.
It turns out that the company I was just with operated in ways that I didn't feel comfortable with. I know I should have inquired about it before but I didn't think about them since I have only known one way so far.
I contacted another place I interviewed with and asked them loads of questions that I couldn't think of before. I liked what they said a lot! I talked for about an hour with their main service tech and got a great deal of info from him. I knew I'd be more comfortable working with them so I made the switch and will start Thursday.
That is what happened and I feel better now because I was getting quite uneasy and feeling like I made a poor decision. I hope I'm right because if this doesn't work out like I think then AAAAAAH!. But I really feel this is a good decision on my part.
Good day or night, whenever it is you're reading. Or maybe good noon, afternoon, or possibly pre-noon time. Make sure to brush your teeth after every meal to help prevent cavities.
Hi everyone - quick poll, because I like to gather lots of opinions before I make decisions...
I've found a place in town that offers Asian language classes for adults at all levels. We won't be able to afford to enroll in them this fall, but are thinking about it for next spring. Brian will be taking Mandarin Chinese, of course, so he can have Chinese conversations with my parents, but I've been thinking about my options.
Here's what it comes down to:
Should Karel take Japanese or Thai language classes next spring?
August 25, 2008
this post took me over an hour to write
Okay. It's come to my attention that my Chinese characters are not being viewed properly by some browsers. The only thing I can think of to fix it is to go to your toolbar under 'view' then choose 'character encoding' and choose 'unicode.' That's on my Mac - Brian's PC isn't on so I can't look at the options for that. But it should be something very similar for PC-users. Hope that helps them look nice even if you can't read them haha
We've been making great strides here. Although I still don't have a start date for my job, Brian and I are finally taking steps in the right direction in terms of making a presence for ourselves in the Portland community.
The block party wasn't as disastrous as he made it seem (sometimes he speaks in hyperbole, as I'm sure anyone else who knows him is aware) - it was a small and relatively quiet neighborhood affair. We did meet several older folks who were very welcoming, some of whom had noticed us in the past few weeks and were quick to offer their help if we ever needed it! I've never really been very well acquainted with any neighbors of mine so I felt very grateful for that. We did meet the couple that he mentioned and chatted for a bit - they live just a handful of houses down and I think may be a bit older than us (they were married last November and I think the guy mentioned he'd been working for five years), but hopefully we can have them over for dinner sometime or something.
I'm not sure if I've mentioned this on here before, but I've joined Meetup.com which is... well... their 'about' page says it best:
Meetup is the world's largest network of local groups. Meetup makes it easy for anyone to organize a local group or find one of the thousands already meeting up face-to-face. More than 2,000 groups get together in local communities each day, each one with the goal of improving themselves or their communities.
I've joined several groups so far - Young Women Meeting for Friendship, Tennis Club, Book Club, and Chinese Language and Culture Group. I had my first meetup last night with the Young Women's group - about 10 new members met at a little coffee place down in Sellwood (a bit west and further south of us). I was a little shy at first - I've been a Meetup.com member since I was new to NYC but never actually made it to an event! - but soon opened up and had a lovely time chatting with the other women and getting to know them.
They're actually having a really cool event in mid-September... it's called 'Swift Watch' and something that I'm sure Wendy et al will be very interested to learn about (if you don't already know!). Every fall a huge group of Vaux Swifts make the chimney of a school in the NW quarter their temporary home before their migrate south for the winter, and in the evenings they swirl around the school and chimney for about an hour before settling into the chimney for bedtime. It's a huge family and community event, and I'll be bringing Brian along to the meetup. You can learn more here.
On top of that Brian's made some mountain biking buddies already - every time he's out riding he runs into someone and they make instant friends! I think I'll feel a lot better knowing he won't be hurtling down narrow trails by himself, and I think you'll all be a little more at ease too.
And the most exciting news I have for today is that I have finally learned how to stop on my bike without falling. Yes, at the tender young age of 25 I have conquered my fears of toppling over on my full-size big girl bike without having the seat lower than it rightfully should be. I'll spare you the gory details that brought me to this point but suffice it to say that it involved considerable tears, circling around a grassy park, and buckets of patience from Brian. (Mom and Dad... think of that video of me on the slide in Chicago. That's pretty much what it was like.) I went out for a little ride today on my own and did very well with the stopping, and I'm quite proud of myself.
爸媽：我終於學了怎糜用中文打字！：）我作天晚上夢見（不知道’見‘用得對不對）我回家了，而我們全家在紐約玩，但是當您們要送我回去時，我突然發覺我在 Brooklyn 沒有家了！ 但是我不可能叫爸爸開車送我回 Portland ﹣ 怎糜辦？！我沒計畫坐飛機，沒買票，而且先在也沒錢，只好讓您們帶我回 New Jersey 了。在那時候我才醒過來，發覺還好我還在我的新方間呢！我最近作了很多怪夢，原應大概是睡太多覺，一定要趕快開始上班了！！！
I was looking back at past comments and found myself thinking .. " I'm sure Karel has friends who want her to know they care." Know what I mean?
We just got back from attending a block party put together by some neighbors. While we were there we noticed that we were out of place surrounded by older people with babies and much older people who were just old. I didn't think anybody our age would show up but after about 45 minutes there a couple close to us showed up. They just moved into the neighborhood only a month ago. We talked for awhile and got their phone number so we can get together sometime. JOY! we've made friends.
Karel made 2 bunches of cookies and a large bowl of chex mix for the party. The cookies were gone very quickly but not so much on the chex mix which we believe was due to the cookies showing off. The chex mix was amazing (I know because I've been eating it) and I ate some.
A fire truck showed up later and I figured there was some kind of connection with the neighbors because there were already 3 police there at the party earlier. Someone got the truck to show up for the kids which was nice for them but at that point we left the party.
The party was ok but honestly kind of dull because there was nothing to do besides eat and sit down around a bunch of strangers and try to start awkward conversation. There weren't any activities for people to have fun and get to know each other which we both thought was necessary. Since I am super shy and Karel was feeling out of place we were lucky the new couple showed up and approached us.
Now Karel is making some jewelry which is indeed nice. She plans to sell it on a website that she is currently designing. I have already witnessed her selling some for good money so I don't doubt she can do it. Karel wants to make more expensive items that use silver and gold after she builds better skills and makes money to be able to buy the parts.
Yay, I'm employed! Officially! Now I can disclose the details of what I will be doing...
Portland Public Schools, along with The Language Flagship and The University of Oregon, hosts a Chinese Language Program in a bunch of schools in the Portland metro area. A part of this program is the Mandarin Immersion Program which starts in Woodstock Elementary School (which is about two miles from our house) at the Kindergarten level and will eventually extend through high school; the program consists of a half-day in Mandarin and half-day in English and is only about two years old so far. The goal of the immersion program is to produce bilingual and biliterate students, and one of the goals of the larger program is to create a model for Chinese language instruction that can be adapted by other schools across the country.
My job will be Assistant Coordinator, based at Woodstock Elementary, and I'll be providing support for the principal of the school as well as acting as the liaison for the University of Oregon program directors. Program participation is based on an annual lottery, so I'll be in charge of applications, lottery, and student registration, as well as coordinating school visits from parents, media, government officials as well as delegates from China! (Yes the position is bilingual.) I'll also be helping to compile reports for budgeting and annual review purposes, and, as every support position entails, any ad hoc administrative tasks that come up.
I'm really excited about this opportunity, not only because I'll be flexing my Chinese-speaking muscles again, but also because it's pretty much along the lines of my career aspirations - to work alongside public schools in incorporating arts and cultural education into the curriculum to foster well-rounded and open-minded students, who will then go on to be successful, compassionate, and ground-shaking adults. (Too optimistic? Thank Haverford for that.)
So, I don't have an official start date yet, because I need to pass my criminal background check first. I'm going in for orientation and paperwork tomorrow, and as soon as everything clears, I'll be a working gal again! Hurray for me!
I have just received a short but valuable HTML lesson from Karel. I am learning so I don't have to be dependent on the skills of Karel to update pictures and such. I need to be able to do it myself. I downloaded a program named CoffeeCup HTML 2008 because it is supposed to be for people who don't know HTML but want to build a website. It has so far been confusing in ways but I was able to take all the code Karel has written for my website and view it next to a preview of what the site will look like. This way I can look at the code and see what it translates into.
Karel taught herself HTML code by looking at other peoples websites, copying the code, and then playing around with the codes on her own computer and eventually understanding more and more. Quite impressed I have been. So now I am getting lessons from her. It's a lot to comprehend at first but once some basic rules are understood things make some sense.
Karel is starting work soon and once that happens I won't feel any more comfortable asking so much out of her than I already do now. Even now I am feeling slightly guilty but she is only doing this because she really wants to, I'm not forcing anything. I have always had a need to do things myself but I can't do this one alone and even knowing that I still feel funny about it.
The weather out here has been quite strange compared to NH weather and even New England weather gets nutty. There have been a couple mornings where I woke up at 7 to find 100% overcast skies and what looks like a crummy day which within an hour clears up to sunny cloudless sky and HOT!! The humidity out here is oppressive compared to anything I've experienced regularly back in NH. We just got a fan out of total desperation. 2 of the last 3 nights were 92 degrees in the house and we didn't have a fan. We couldn't even touch each other since we were already sweaty and quite sticky. I actually woke up in a pool of head sweat Saturday morning, gross.
And also the DMV is a madhouse. I went in Saturday to get my Oregon license and found out that I had to take the knowledge test just like everyone else. The problem was the book was 109 pages long. So I studied it for 2 hours back home then proceeded back to the DMV. Most of the laws are the same but there are some funny numbers that need to be remembered that will be on the test. BLAST! It will also cost me over $140 to keep my CDL and motorcycle endorsements. The upside is renewal is once every 8 years! JOY! I returned to the DMV at about 10:30 only to find that there was a line of 44 people in front of me. So yes, I didn't get my license Saturday. I will try this week if I get out of work early.
Karel and myself have been eating well contrary to some suspicion. Beef and turkey burgers with salads, corn, beans, peas, potatoes. Our own spaghetti creation consisting of.. spaghetti, Ikea bought Swedish meatballs and cream sauce. WOW it's incredible. Mom I love your spaghetti but this creation is a whole different experience. Also chicken stuffed with goat cheese and oyster mushrooms paired up with Spanish rice mix. Gourmet pizza from a great local place called Oasis Cafe. Vegetables yes those too and Bloody Mary for Karel. More too but this is enough.
Work is moving quickly since I am already on the prowl with my own truck. I wasn't expecting to be so soon so it caught me by surprise. I've learned a couple new tricks while also showing a couple of my own. I got my first paycheck last Friday and what a relief! My bank account went up for the first time in 2 weeks.
Ok for now. More some other time. Get some rest, you must be drowsy by this point.
So, I realize that the videos I took at the festival are kind of grainy. Also, I was kind of far away and off to the side. So I've taken the liberty of finding some representative videos on youtube to show you what Bhangra and Bollywood style dancing is supposed to look like:
Bhangra
Bollywood
And seriously, youtube's quality is severely lacking. Oh well.
Today marked the first day that Brian and I ventured out of our quarter of the city and downtown via public transportation! We took the bus down to Pioneer Courthouse Square for the Annual India Festival sponsored by the India Cultural Association of Portland. It was free admission, with a full day's worth of entertainment, food, and other information. We only stayed about an hour but had a chance to sample some delicious food (I'm trying to broaden Brian's culinary horizons) and watch some dancing.
We shared a mango lassi (mango yogurt drink), samosas (potato and vegetable puffs), and chicken tikka masala (chicken in a cream sauce cooked in a clay pot). Sooo yummy! I wished there was a bit more variety in the offerings, but I'm sure in time we'll find an Indian restaurant to frequent. I need to introduce him to dosas!
The dancing was pretty cool - I've decided that once we're in the swing of things and have time, we should take Indian dance lessons. Brian didn't say no!
After leaving the festival we headed to what will likely be our staple pool hall for some nachos and pool. As we got off the bus, Brian had me pose for this picture:
You never knew this until now but I have an intense need to be the BEST AT EVERYTHING so I have made a new version of myself as I am determined to be the best at representing myself in any form, whether it's real-life or silly online cartoon:
The reason I don't think Brian's is very accurate is because my hair does not look like an androgynous Asian cartoon character's, and although I do have single earrings in one of my ears, it is not a single lobe piercing to make me look like even more of an androgynous character. And I am a bonafide, 100% girl, dammit!
Okay. We're off for our India Festival adventure. We're going to ride the bus! :)
August 16, 2008
My representation through cartoons
Karel made the animated us creatures so I made some of my own after being instructed to do so. I insisted that Karel's rendition of herself didn't look enough like the real thing. After tiring hours of tormentuous building I created these ones(really only 30 minutes). Make your own decision, it's ok say what you really feel, just know that if you don't like mine more you may have an accidental accident. So here they be.
Off topic comment: We are going to the Oregon State Fair in Salem, OR. Check it out at oregonstatefair.org. It appears to be entirely sweet so Karel and I have booked a hotel as so we can spend the entire weekend there and not have to waste gas and drive time. We will be attending the fair Saturday 30 and Sunday 31; of August that is. There will be so much to do our heads may explode from the excitement.
Oregon is proving to be a very exciting place to do activities (at least when it's not raining according to locals). The winters here I am told by multiple people now are a near constant cloud cover with an annoying light drizzle of rain almost every day. Good thing we've bought rain jackets. We will be needing pants though it seems.
Also I cleaned the house today with a dry Swiffer. What a pain. We really need to get a cheap hardwood floor vacuum like the Swiffer SweeperVac. Due to my extremely poor memory I didn't think of mentioning this to Karel when we were in Target getting a Swiffer dry sweeper.
I will apologize if anybody was expecting my website to be done earlier but I didn't realize how complex it is to construct a website. Karel is doing an incredible job and it's very time consuming. She has other stuff to do too so that makes it take longer also. Soon... I really have a large amount of pictures that need to be loaded and formatted correctly so that in itself adds to the delay.
Thanks to all the dedicated followers. More insanity to come. Good day!
August 15, 2008
this is why i need to start working
This morning as I had a nice breakfast of Hello Kitty waffles-
What's that? You don't know what I mean?
Behold. Yes, I do own this - but it was a gift. Not that I should be ashamed to have purchased it on my own... but I was fortunate enough to not have to do so.
Anyway, I made myself some waffles this morning and decided to make cartoon versions of Brian and myself via this website: Face Your Manga. Manga is Japanese animation, but I don't really think we look very Japanimated... you can decide:
Anyway, in more frustrating news, I still don't know when I'm starting work. I've gotten the unofficial offer to work for a public school, I've even been to a first meeting where I met everyone I'll be working with, so they've clearly ended the search and I know that they fully want me onboard. However, Human Resources is taking their sweet time in getting that phone call out to me with my official offer, salary, and start date because right now is crunch time for onboarding and they want to get all new teachers in the classroom first. Understandable, but I still don't like being in limbo, especially because the projected start date for this position was originally Monday the 18th. Yes, this coming Monday. Aaah bureaucracy!
This weekend should be nice - the weather is, as it has been for almost the entire time we've lived here, sunny and warm. (It is supposed to rain a little next week, finally... I know you east coasters have had enough of the rain but it's sweltering out here and we need hydration!) We'll probably go downtown on Sunday and check out an India Festival that's happening there all day. Mmm, Indian food!
First I would like to further comment on the photo website situation. Originally I have been naming my pictures with capital letters and spaces. Karel then tells me after I named every photo I have that i need to get rid of the capitals and keep spaces to a minimum. So there was 2 nights wasted and many hours. Just part of the learning process I guess.
Then I needed to resize all my pictures to 800x600 (my camera program doesn't have that option, which is stupid so I had to find one online that wasn't junk) because I take them at high resolution of about 3200x2800 which usually makes a 2.5 to 3.5 MB file size. They are much too large to upload quickly and I have lots of pics. I am however going to have at least 1 full size picture in each category for extra viewing pleasure. Hopefully sometime later when the site is going fine I can gradually load big ones.
Now I'm selecting the ones I want to put on and then WA-LA!! Soon enough it will be completed, and Karel was truthful, we're spending lots of time on this but once its up it will be easier to just add stuff.
I realize that I've pretty much monopolized this blog - Brian's on his fourth day of work and when he gets home it seems we have more things to do than expected (like make dinner! Bet he's not used to that! Ha ha...) - he is almost through sorting his photos for the website so hold on tight, it's coming. Making a photo website is much more involving than making a blog (I made this blog in a day) because of all the coding that goes into arranging the photos, and categorizing them, etc. But I promise you, it is fully on the agenda.
Also on the agenda is the launch of my new website, which will include a site for my writing. As I'm sorting through my masses of word documents (some of them easily a decade old, no joke) I found this that I wrote last fall, shortly after meeting Brian, and I thought we'd stray away from a report of our days to bring you a little glimpse into just how our little Country Mouse affected me early on:
I'm not entirely sure that I can articulate the change that has come over me - or what it is about him that makes me feel like this can only be right. Perhaps I'm swept up in the present, but I've learned that I can only exist in a present plane. That's a somewhat bohemian mindset and one that strays from the philosophy under which I've been raised as well as the one I've been conditioned to consider when making decisions affecting my career. But when it comes to love - something that is altogether irrational, defiant, at times fickle, at other times crippling - I can only surrender to what feels right and true at the present moment. Any other approach has only caused me physical and mental anguish, neither of which has a place in the pursuit of that unparalleled feeling of contentment in the presence of one other.
And that is what I have found in him - utter contentment and the feeling that we can exist in the same space without turbulence. As one who has long prided herself in and cherished her independence, I find myself unruffled by his existence in the space of my life and time - I find that he quite naturally fits right in. My hesitant yet unendingly curious heart finds safety in him and in his unabashed, untainted candor - my heart is warm, very warm, always warm, and churns in quiet anticipation of having him in my arms once again. He is my present, my comfort, my newest challenge and yet I feel no fear - only a perpetual sense of amazement and peace.
I know, gag me with a spoon. I guess this one was for all you ladies ;)
While Brian's at work today, I'm loading pictures onto Facebook and decided to plug in his memory card to retrieve the photos he took on his camera this weekend... and I found a treasure trove of photos that I had all but forgotten that we'd taken up until now! Blasphemy!
So, pardon the lateness of these, but I'll have him held accountable when he returns in a few hours. ;)
When we first arrived at the house two weeks ago and had to wait about 20 minutes for the landlord to arrive. Brian had already peed in the backyard ("Go pee! It's our house," I'd said) but I had not, and was suffering considerably. Oh, and we were hungry too.
Striking an appropriate pose in front of the Asian shopping center by our house!!
Last weekend before we met up with Lise and Ben, we stopped to watch a street magician named Brian. Ha ha.
This past weekend, waiting for the MAX train downtown with Lisa and Derek. Brian and Derek are frighteningly similar. More on that later.
Yesterday we went to the Oregon coast for some sand dune action. Unfortunately we were discouraged from bringing cameras on the dune buggies, but we did get to climb our own on foot beforehand. I had a lovely view of everyone's butts.
This is how I felt about it.
Brian never disappoints when action shots are concerned.
Together at last!!
We had a lovely weekend with Lisa and Derek. They're fantastic people, and Brian and Derek hit it off instantly. We'd already known of some of their similarities - a disregard for convention and love of adventure - but as the weekend wore on we were struck at just how much they reminded us of each other. Lisa and I did a birthday gift exchange and they stood around us intently photographing us like a pair of paparazzi! Like Brian, Derek loves the outdoors, will wear shorts in the dead of winter ("On Christmas!" Lisa protested), and is quite the jokester, always giving Lisa a hard time but never with ill intentions.
Saturday night we went to the Bite of Oregon food festival downtown and ate to our heart's content, then headed to the MAX station to take the free train back to where we had parked the car. Earlier that day I had mentioned to Brian that he was the only person I'd ever met who said 'snaz' - meaning 'cool' or 'awesome' - and as we stood waiting, Derek blurted, 'Snaz!' and I almost fainted.
It's perhaps not too surprising that the two of them are so similar, because Lisa and I have always marveled at how much alike we are, despite having grown up in such different environments and never met. It only makes sense that we've found such similar guys for ourselves!
Well, I haven't left the house all day so I think it's due time for some fresh air...
Woohoo! As of around 10:30am today, we are officially wired and no longer need to venture outside the house to get on the internet. We also have a large array of Comcast cable channels to choose from if we should ever want to watch. And by we, I mean mostly me, although Brian enjoys television more than he lets on (shhh don't tell him I said that haha).
We still have to figure out wireless, though, because the cable guys installed the internet onto my computer before I realized that our router software only works on PC's. Oops. I'm sure it's easily remedied.
Anyway, before I set off sweeping the house, I wanted to show you the lovely handmade gifts that Brian's grandmother gave us before we left New Hampshire:
Here is one of the towels hanging in our bathroom (also note the cabinet mirror - you won't believe the hassle we went through trying to get that. We'll save that story for another day):
And the pillowcases, as well as some decor in the bedroom:
Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date with a very handsome man named Swiffer.
I thought it would be cool to show you some of the things we've gotten to furnish our house... for those of you who are new to IKEA, here's your chance to check out what kind of stuff they have too!
LIVING ROOM:
tv bench - black-brown finish with reinforced back panel for mounting our flat-screen!!
Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a listing for our couch online. But we posted a picture yesterday so hopefully that will suffice!
BEDROOM:
our bed - black-brown finish, full-size
quilt cover and shams - light brown, full-size
organic cotton sheets - brown, full-size
6-drawer chest - black-brown finish, for me. Yes, I fit all my clothes in there besides what went in the closet and winterwear in underbed storage. Proud of me much?
4-drawer chest - black-brown finish, for Brian. He hasn't bought it yet but plans to once he's been working a little while.
SPARE ROOM/STUDY:
daybed - this was actually my bed in NYC and I couldn't bear to part with it!
bookcase - black-brown finish. We don't have this yet either but I have my eye on it for sure
desk - again, don't have this yet and not sure when I'll get around to buying it...
So, that is that! We do have, as Brian mentioned a little while ago, some used furniture in the living and dining rooms that will do for now. Eventually some patio furniture is in order, as well as a tarp for that gazebo in the backyard (Donna, the mystery is solved... it is a gazebo! A coverless one, but one nonetheless).
I also forgot to mention yesterday that we've been invited to a block party in our neighborhood in several weeks! We were setting up Brian's tripod in front of the house the other day and a nice old man came up to us and handed us a flyer. We're going to have to bring some sort of food to share, and there will be hot dogs and burgers for everyone! I'm so excited - I've never been to a block party but always wanted to be a part of one. This will be a great chance for us to make friends with our neighbors :)
I've just finished a massive load of laundry and we have a list of things to do today before Brian starts working tomorrow and then Lisa and Derek arrive. As a motivator I've promised to treat Brian to see The Dark Knight tonight if everything gets done in time...
So I have finished all my interviews and have chosen who to work for. It is Rose Heating in NE Portland and I start Friday. I will ride around with the guys for 2 weeks or so to get a grip on how they function before they let me loose.
I just got back from a drug screen which barring any problems with the lab itself I should pass that. I would be surprised to find I failed it in any way. So I have one day left of unemployment then I'll have steady structure throughout the week.
The weather has been mostly entirely sunny with only a couple very brief and weak showers. I will be out on the bike as much as I can to enjoy the niceness since apparently the winters here are quite wet and not bike friendly. But I will gear up when necessary and ride anyway because I can while the weather is crummy.
The photo website design is nearing completion and Karel is doing a fantastic job building it. It looks incredible and we can't wait to make it available. I leave you all with this photo of Mt. Hood.
Well, without further ado, here are some pictures that I'm sure will whet many appetites:
Us in front of our house!! Finally. We've only been putting it off because Brian's tripod broke in the sweeping winds in Idaho.
Our IKEA couch. I've never owned a couch before - only futons and I was really sick of not having armrests. True story.
Me on my new bike!! I need to name her.
My hero, scooping poo from the backyard. There was so much poo it nearly filled that bag. 'The handles almost broke!' he proclaims. Seriously. Ick. We're tempted to mail it to the previous tenant's new address... if only we had it.
So, there we are. Not much else going on with me... waiting for official news from my job. I've been in contact with them regarding paperwork and the like so I know things are happening, but nothing solid yet. Well, no one said working for the public school system was easy! (That was a clue! Haha)
I'm still working on building various websites - it's all coming together nicely so I would say hopefully by Friday things will be up and running. Brian starts working Friday (I'll let him fill you in on that) so I will have nothing else to do all day but lounge around and tinker on my computer!
We're also trying to get things set up and cleaned up in the house in time for Lisa and Derek to arrive on Saturday - we've got a fun-packed weekend ahead of us that includes hiking at Multnomah Falls, some brewery action, and driving out to the coast and riding dune buggies over sand dunes and screaming. It'll be a blast!
August 05, 2008
in which karel gets the crap scared out of her
Well, as Brian mentioned a few posts ago, we saw the X-Files movie recently. It was quite enjoyable - I had some issues with a few portrayals of FBI protocol, such as calling the other agent's name out loudly and proclaiming 'I'm right here!' while chasing a violent and possibly lethal suspect - but left me shaking in my boots a little bit. However, I can't pass up a good mystery (I am a huge fan of cop/FBI/medical dramas... Bones, Numb3rs, Law & Order, House, Psych (ok, that's a comedy)) so when Brian mentioned that he has the entire first season of the X-Files on DVD I had to start us watching.
The past two nights we've made dinner and then settled down in front of the television for some X-Files action, and have watched three episodes so far. The first two were heavily concerned with the government alien conspiracy whatnot, establishing the characters of Mulder and Scully (a couple times I asked Brian when Scully loses the stick in her butt), but the third episode SCARED ME HALF TO DEATH. It combined so many of my fears - paranormal, late-night stalking, invisible point of entry, and OLD THINGS - that after it was over I could barely move and then I made Brian not leave my side the rest of the night, especially because we don't have curtains in our kitchen windows.
Anyway, it is just a very interesting dilemma because I really do enjoy these kinds of stories, and piecing together mysteries, but I swear, the fear factor may just shave a couple years off my life. Oh well - what are you going to do.
Well, my project for the day was to start designing Brian's website, as well as redesigning my own... so I'd better get started on that. I'll probably write more later so stay tuned!
I have just made a crazy but necessary purchase here for my $2500+ bike. I bought a New York Kryptonite Lock for $120. It's the ultimate lock available and is only capable of being destroyed by a cutting torch. Bolt cutters and hacksaws do nothing as well as fluffy marshmallows.
Last night Karel and I went to our first Portland theater and saw The X-Files-I Want to Believe movie. We both liked it although Karel was a bit put off by having a severed head the size of a VW bug in front of her. Pardon the interjection, but I would like to point out that Brian situated us so that I was sitting literally in the smack dab middle of the theater and everything was happening right in front of me!!
Before the movie we had dinner at a local gourmet pizza place called Oasis Cafe. We had been here when we visited in April and liked it lots. Karel invited a friend she knew from college and she came with her sister and boyfriend. We had a fun time and have pizza left over! SWEET! So we've established some friends here and that's nice. The great thing is that Ben (Lise's boyfriend) grew up here so he knows the area pretty well and can give us suggestions for living on a budget. They also have a dog in their apartment who's not quite used to city living so I've offered to have them over so she can run around our yard... speaking of which, our yard is no stranger to dogs, as we well know because it is FULL OF DOG POOP. That is right. The previous tenant clearly did not believe in scooping. Ugh. Luckily for me, Brian has gallantly volunteered to pick up all the poop today. What a guy!
There are apparently many kinds of biker events around to raise money and have an enjoyable ride at the same time. I may do one soon on the 24th for either a 25 or 50 mile loop, I'm not sure which one yet. It's a bike tour of Portland and ends with a gourmet dinner featuring SALMON!!!!! Also guide books and help along the way if needed. This will be a fun time for Brian for sure. While he's on the trip I will be lounging at the MALL!!!
OK I'm tapped for now. I will be spending a good rest of the day naming and organizing my pictures for the website soon to come. We're now off to Trader Joe's for some food stuff. Have a good time in NH for you all there. And then everyone else do the same thing where you may be. Bye.
Since you asked (well, not outright perhaps but I can hear your minds churning all the way back east), here is a preview picture of what our house currently looks like. You will then understand my hesitation to show you the rest:
That is our living room, and I'd like to add, all of Brian's stuff. Mine only took up a slight corner of the dining room - and actually, as of last night, I am all unpacked except for things that need to go in furniture we haven't yet purchased for the spare room.
That was our mission for today - to find furniture at a smattering of yard sales we found on Craigslist. We had one starting at 7:00am, one at 8:00am, and a few at 9:00am... however, we roused ourselves out of bed at 6:30 and were at the first place by 7:10 only to find no one and no semblance of a yard sale in sight. What?! Yes. What a letdown. However now we are able to sit down at Peets Coffee & Tea for some morning beverages and wireless. Peets is, I think, relatively unknown on the East Coast (correct me if I'm mistaken) and is not, unfortunately, the little coffee shop we've been making our second home in. I wish! It is very cute in here and they are playing classical music, and the barister is appropriately crunchy looking.
By the way, everyone should know that Brian ordered an iced coffee out of his own accord. What is the world coming to?!
Also, tonight we will hopefully be having our very first social excursion that includes other people besides each other (thank god! Ha)... my friend Lise from Haverford moved here this summer as well and we've made tentative plans to have dinner. Yay!!
Ok, I will leave you with a never-been-published picture from the party Brian's family threw for us before we left New Hampshire before we head off to the 8:00am yard sale. They better be there!! Grr.
