Wednesday, November 02, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Yikes, it's been a couple months. I'll try to sum up what's been happening.
Pre-move
So, I can't remember much the first couple weeks of August, but I know we were still scrambling to get all the stuff packed before the move date of the 17th. Laura's parents came out to help us a few days before the pack date, which I think was the 15th. Anywho, after the truck came, which was much smaller than I thought it would (it was only a couple of feet longer than the truck I drove out to Portland), it parked in front, we started working on the packing. We got a handtruck and laid out some plywood over the gravel to make it a bit easier for us. First up was the armoire...the dreaded armoire. At least we were getting the worst part done first. And actually, it wasn't all that bad. Not sure why it wasn't this time, maybe because the handtruck helped a little bit. Either way, after that the couch went and some of the other big items. All in all, we were 90% done at the end of the day, probably after 7-8 hours of loading. We finished up the next morning and the truck actually came earlier than expected that afternoon. Good thing we were done.
The move
I knew the worst was still ahead of us...well, at least me. My car was the big issue. No A/C was the killer and it was over 100 through Kansas and Oklahoma. We leave the next day early in the morning, around 7 I think. The first day wasn't bad at all. It was cool throughout the day and opening the windows at times did the trick. We got to somewhere in Idaho, I forget what city. We got there around 8 or 9 I believe.
The next day, we leave early again and head for Laramie. We get there around lunch time, and we ate. Well, I actually stayed at the Walmart parking lot to cool the car down. Just before I got to Laramie, the car started to overheat a little bit. The temperatures outside were getting up there, in the 80s/90s. After we leave Laramie, we were heading to Chris' house. We were also meeting up with my Mom and Ellen too for dinner. About an hour or so before we get to his house, the temps were in the high 90s and I think it even hit 100 or so. My car was hurting. I didn't know whether I should go fast so the radiator is cooled or slower so the engine didn't get too hot. During this time, I was making stops here and there to fill the coolant reservoir up. Finally, we got there and my temp gauge was pretty much at the red "H". Day was done for my car for now.
We grilled dinner and we told my Mom and Ellen about Laura being pregnant. They were happy. Unfortunately, Alicia wasn't there, so we texted her the news and she actually called to congratulate Laura.
Next day rolls around. I already know this day was going to suck, but I underestimated! We leave early and start heading through Denver and Kansas. It was getting warmer but right around the time we cross the border, the heat just shot up and I was uncomfortable. Even the windows open wasn't helping. We stop halfway to Salina to take a break since my car was already overheating. Laura's Mom was nice enough to head to Walmart and get me a water spray bottle with a fan. I didn't use the fan, but after we started off again, the water helped a lot. Probably for an hour or so. But then, I got used to that and it wasn't enough. But, it was weird since now, if i didn't spray myself, it was just too much, even though the spray was warm in itself.
We finally take the road south into Oklahoma. I was miserable. We stopped at a Braum's to cool off. We had like 2-3 hours left I think at this point. Laura continued on, but I had to stop like every hour to fill up on coolant and cool down.
(In hindsight, I think my car would have been fine if I had just replaced my radiator cap. After I got to Oklahoma, I was checking around and saw that my radiator cap was pretty much busted, so it was just leaking/evaporating every time I drove...simple $10 fix...oh well. I'm not sure at what point it busted, but I think it was sometime before I got to Chris' house and before crossing the Kansas border)
At any rate, we all got to our house at like 9 at night. It was dark, but the temps weren't getting any cooler...strange thing. We checked out the house real quick and promptly went to bed. NOW, the worst was over.
Unloading
We had the weekend to relax since the truck was coming Monday morning and if I remember correctly, Laura's Dad was going to come over to help unload on Tuesday. Monday rolls around and the truck comes with the trailer, parks outside and leaves. It was already in the high 90s/100s then, so I only got a few things out. As night fell, I was able to get a few more things out and into the house. Couldn't do much more by myself. I believe Ryan came over that night to help us at least get the mattress and box springs so we could get a good night's sleep. That went easier than we thought since the mattress was on top of everything.
Next day, Laura's Dad arrives and we get started around 8 or 9 or so. Nothing out of the ordinary. I think we were pretty much finished around 3 or 4. Goes a lot quicker when unloading.
Unpacking
Now we had to unpack and organize. Probably the worst part after you move. All in all, it took several weeks to finally be finished with this. There's a bunch of empty boxes in the attic and overall it seems that we have more room to store stuff here than at Portland.
Labor Day Party
A couple of weeks after we moved, Laura's family had a labor day party at their house with friends/family over. It was fun to relax. It was also then we told everyone about the new baby. Now that the fun was over, the fun of job searching began.
The Job Search
Long story short, nothing yet, unfortunately. I've applied to quite a few places now, but they've either filled it or haven't even moved on to the sorting process yet....that or they're ignoring me. I started the week after the Labor Day party, so it's effectively been about 1.5 months after I started. I'm starting to get discouraged, naturally. There aren't many around and the more time that passes, the less time that I will have to work there. If I start November, I'm at around 7 months of work time, factoring in Laura's maternity leave. I still have a couple of promising apps out...we'll see if they even call back.
We've now bought a crib and it's up in the baby room. We need to get a mattress soon. Laura has been filling up the baby registry as well. There's a bunch of stuff to get. I think we signed up for a couple of classes for January or something since it was full already for November. Laura mentioned that it's about halfway through the pregnancy. We still have to decide whether or not to find out the gender!
Pre-move
So, I can't remember much the first couple weeks of August, but I know we were still scrambling to get all the stuff packed before the move date of the 17th. Laura's parents came out to help us a few days before the pack date, which I think was the 15th. Anywho, after the truck came, which was much smaller than I thought it would (it was only a couple of feet longer than the truck I drove out to Portland), it parked in front, we started working on the packing. We got a handtruck and laid out some plywood over the gravel to make it a bit easier for us. First up was the armoire...the dreaded armoire. At least we were getting the worst part done first. And actually, it wasn't all that bad. Not sure why it wasn't this time, maybe because the handtruck helped a little bit. Either way, after that the couch went and some of the other big items. All in all, we were 90% done at the end of the day, probably after 7-8 hours of loading. We finished up the next morning and the truck actually came earlier than expected that afternoon. Good thing we were done.
The move
I knew the worst was still ahead of us...well, at least me. My car was the big issue. No A/C was the killer and it was over 100 through Kansas and Oklahoma. We leave the next day early in the morning, around 7 I think. The first day wasn't bad at all. It was cool throughout the day and opening the windows at times did the trick. We got to somewhere in Idaho, I forget what city. We got there around 8 or 9 I believe.
The next day, we leave early again and head for Laramie. We get there around lunch time, and we ate. Well, I actually stayed at the Walmart parking lot to cool the car down. Just before I got to Laramie, the car started to overheat a little bit. The temperatures outside were getting up there, in the 80s/90s. After we leave Laramie, we were heading to Chris' house. We were also meeting up with my Mom and Ellen too for dinner. About an hour or so before we get to his house, the temps were in the high 90s and I think it even hit 100 or so. My car was hurting. I didn't know whether I should go fast so the radiator is cooled or slower so the engine didn't get too hot. During this time, I was making stops here and there to fill the coolant reservoir up. Finally, we got there and my temp gauge was pretty much at the red "H". Day was done for my car for now.
We grilled dinner and we told my Mom and Ellen about Laura being pregnant. They were happy. Unfortunately, Alicia wasn't there, so we texted her the news and she actually called to congratulate Laura.
Next day rolls around. I already know this day was going to suck, but I underestimated! We leave early and start heading through Denver and Kansas. It was getting warmer but right around the time we cross the border, the heat just shot up and I was uncomfortable. Even the windows open wasn't helping. We stop halfway to Salina to take a break since my car was already overheating. Laura's Mom was nice enough to head to Walmart and get me a water spray bottle with a fan. I didn't use the fan, but after we started off again, the water helped a lot. Probably for an hour or so. But then, I got used to that and it wasn't enough. But, it was weird since now, if i didn't spray myself, it was just too much, even though the spray was warm in itself.
We finally take the road south into Oklahoma. I was miserable. We stopped at a Braum's to cool off. We had like 2-3 hours left I think at this point. Laura continued on, but I had to stop like every hour to fill up on coolant and cool down.
(In hindsight, I think my car would have been fine if I had just replaced my radiator cap. After I got to Oklahoma, I was checking around and saw that my radiator cap was pretty much busted, so it was just leaking/evaporating every time I drove...simple $10 fix...oh well. I'm not sure at what point it busted, but I think it was sometime before I got to Chris' house and before crossing the Kansas border)
At any rate, we all got to our house at like 9 at night. It was dark, but the temps weren't getting any cooler...strange thing. We checked out the house real quick and promptly went to bed. NOW, the worst was over.
Unloading
We had the weekend to relax since the truck was coming Monday morning and if I remember correctly, Laura's Dad was going to come over to help unload on Tuesday. Monday rolls around and the truck comes with the trailer, parks outside and leaves. It was already in the high 90s/100s then, so I only got a few things out. As night fell, I was able to get a few more things out and into the house. Couldn't do much more by myself. I believe Ryan came over that night to help us at least get the mattress and box springs so we could get a good night's sleep. That went easier than we thought since the mattress was on top of everything.
Next day, Laura's Dad arrives and we get started around 8 or 9 or so. Nothing out of the ordinary. I think we were pretty much finished around 3 or 4. Goes a lot quicker when unloading.
Unpacking
Now we had to unpack and organize. Probably the worst part after you move. All in all, it took several weeks to finally be finished with this. There's a bunch of empty boxes in the attic and overall it seems that we have more room to store stuff here than at Portland.
Labor Day Party
A couple of weeks after we moved, Laura's family had a labor day party at their house with friends/family over. It was fun to relax. It was also then we told everyone about the new baby. Now that the fun was over, the fun of job searching began.
The Job Search
Long story short, nothing yet, unfortunately. I've applied to quite a few places now, but they've either filled it or haven't even moved on to the sorting process yet....that or they're ignoring me. I started the week after the Labor Day party, so it's effectively been about 1.5 months after I started. I'm starting to get discouraged, naturally. There aren't many around and the more time that passes, the less time that I will have to work there. If I start November, I'm at around 7 months of work time, factoring in Laura's maternity leave. I still have a couple of promising apps out...we'll see if they even call back.
We've now bought a crib and it's up in the baby room. We need to get a mattress soon. Laura has been filling up the baby registry as well. There's a bunch of stuff to get. I think we signed up for a couple of classes for January or something since it was full already for November. Laura mentioned that it's about halfway through the pregnancy. We still have to decide whether or not to find out the gender!
Thursday, August 04, 2011
2 short weeks until we move. We're dreading it, but I think deep inside, it's sort of fun to always be on the move. I think I'd enjoy it more if it were all done by someone else. Oh well.
Laura and I are heading to the coast tomorrow for a couple of days of relaxation at a place right near the beach. We were going to check out whale watching, but I don't think Laura secured a spot on the boat. I'm not a big whale fan, anyway, but maybe we'll do one anyway.
My car has been the biggest issue lately. Since that time I left the sunroof open, it's been about, oh, 3-4 months. Turns out all this time, there's been mold growing in between the papers I had under my passenger seat...and I've been inhaling all that. It all makes sense now (or, at least we think, anyway). My chest/breathing/headache issues started around then and it was getting worse until a week or so ago when I discovered that tried to clean out all the mold in the car. I think there is still some somewhere, but I can't find where. I scrubbed and vacuumed the main area, but the smell still exists. I'm really not sure where it could be. Took all the mats out and will probably throw it away soon. Not worth cleaning. Anyway, this whole ordeal was just dumb. Now my car smells like smoke. Maybe I'll donate it.
In other news, tomorrow is my last day at work here. That 1 year and 2 months went by quick! Trying to tie up last minute loose ends here, but yeah, just clearing out my queue of work. I'm about out of things to do.
The house is probably 85% packed up. The big furniture, dressers, beds, kitchen stuff and some garage stuff is all that's left. Oh, and that stupid armoire. Current plan is to leave the 17th, stay somewhere in Idaho the first night, get to Denver-ish on the 18th, hang out with family/friends, and take off the 19th to arrive at the new house. Can't wait for it to be over. At least there will be no moving truck that just turns off on the highway this time.
Next blog will probably be from the new house and internet, granted I can get it in a timely manner. Hopefully it's fast and stuff. Comcast has been pretty nice this past year. No major hiccups. Just a few times last fall where the connection kept disappearing, but I'm not sure if that was a modem thing or a problem with the splitter I was using to split the internet/cable line. Overall, speeds were fast. We'll see how Cox internet is. They get fairly good ratings, so that's good.
Laura and I are heading to the coast tomorrow for a couple of days of relaxation at a place right near the beach. We were going to check out whale watching, but I don't think Laura secured a spot on the boat. I'm not a big whale fan, anyway, but maybe we'll do one anyway.
My car has been the biggest issue lately. Since that time I left the sunroof open, it's been about, oh, 3-4 months. Turns out all this time, there's been mold growing in between the papers I had under my passenger seat...and I've been inhaling all that. It all makes sense now (or, at least we think, anyway). My chest/breathing/headache issues started around then and it was getting worse until a week or so ago when I discovered that tried to clean out all the mold in the car. I think there is still some somewhere, but I can't find where. I scrubbed and vacuumed the main area, but the smell still exists. I'm really not sure where it could be. Took all the mats out and will probably throw it away soon. Not worth cleaning. Anyway, this whole ordeal was just dumb. Now my car smells like smoke. Maybe I'll donate it.
In other news, tomorrow is my last day at work here. That 1 year and 2 months went by quick! Trying to tie up last minute loose ends here, but yeah, just clearing out my queue of work. I'm about out of things to do.
The house is probably 85% packed up. The big furniture, dressers, beds, kitchen stuff and some garage stuff is all that's left. Oh, and that stupid armoire. Current plan is to leave the 17th, stay somewhere in Idaho the first night, get to Denver-ish on the 18th, hang out with family/friends, and take off the 19th to arrive at the new house. Can't wait for it to be over. At least there will be no moving truck that just turns off on the highway this time.
Next blog will probably be from the new house and internet, granted I can get it in a timely manner. Hopefully it's fast and stuff. Comcast has been pretty nice this past year. No major hiccups. Just a few times last fall where the connection kept disappearing, but I'm not sure if that was a modem thing or a problem with the splitter I was using to split the internet/cable line. Overall, speeds were fast. We'll see how Cox internet is. They get fairly good ratings, so that's good.
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Well, the 4th came and went. I'm not much of a fireworks person, unless you know, the fireworks are close to our house like it was in Laramie. Oh well!
We're doing well on packing I think. We've got a lot of the house packed and we did a lot in the garage yesterday. The weird thing is, we still have a lot of the boxes that we moved here with broken down, so either we still have a lot to go or we threw away a lot of stuff. I'm afraid it's the former.
Laura is flying out Thursday to go find houses for us. We have found one house that we kinda like, so hopefully we get it. The guy was a picky rentee or something, but we have a great reference and it's not like we're going to trash it, so.
That's it for now.
We're doing well on packing I think. We've got a lot of the house packed and we did a lot in the garage yesterday. The weird thing is, we still have a lot of the boxes that we moved here with broken down, so either we still have a lot to go or we threw away a lot of stuff. I'm afraid it's the former.
Laura is flying out Thursday to go find houses for us. We have found one house that we kinda like, so hopefully we get it. The guy was a picky rentee or something, but we have a great reference and it's not like we're going to trash it, so.
That's it for now.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Wow, almost a month after I said I'll write a blog soon...bad me.
At work right now, but I finally found some time to try and write a little something.
What happened in April...hm...I really can't remember anything exciting happening in April.
In May, we traveled to Wyoming for Laura's walking and graduation for her Ph.D. Woohoo. She's not quite done yet, but basically. She defended her dissertation as well, like I knew she would. It was fun to visit Laramie again. I do miss that place. We ate a Prairie Rose for breakfast, it was windy, relatively crowded because it was graduation weekend, drove by our house which seemed like it wasn't "taken care of" all that well (from what we could see), and finally we hit up Vee Bar Ranch for dinner. It was good. Funny story incoming:
So, there was a big party of like 25 or something there we were sharing the grounds with...a couple of loud and annoying folk, but whatever. After the dinner we had a little music and hang out time in the saloon. We started playing Polish Poker and the 2-man band was playing music.
Since we got there after dinner, I thought it would be a good idea to ask Laura for a dance. I was waiting for the right moment (she was sitting across the table, so it was kinda hard to ask) and a few songs went by where nobody was dancing. A couple got up and danced to a slow song, so they took my "first dance" opportunity from me...whatever. Then a few more people with whom seemed like their grand kids got up and started dancing. After a couple of more songs and some break with dancing, the band said "This might be a good one to dance with your significant other." I didn't want to miss this one so I quietly asked Laura across the table and she snubbed me at first! I know we were both embarrassed but anyway. So after a couple exchanges of talk between her parents and such, we got up and after we did, a few more couples got up. Woot.
Anyway, onto late May and June. We've started packing slowly and we're moving along. Not the most favorite thing to do. Laura's been doing much of the packing, so. I'll be doing most of the packing into the truck, I reckon. :P
Well, short but sweet update. Gonna have to start looking for a job soon.......
At work right now, but I finally found some time to try and write a little something.
What happened in April...hm...I really can't remember anything exciting happening in April.
In May, we traveled to Wyoming for Laura's walking and graduation for her Ph.D. Woohoo. She's not quite done yet, but basically. She defended her dissertation as well, like I knew she would. It was fun to visit Laramie again. I do miss that place. We ate a Prairie Rose for breakfast, it was windy, relatively crowded because it was graduation weekend, drove by our house which seemed like it wasn't "taken care of" all that well (from what we could see), and finally we hit up Vee Bar Ranch for dinner. It was good. Funny story incoming:
So, there was a big party of like 25 or something there we were sharing the grounds with...a couple of loud and annoying folk, but whatever. After the dinner we had a little music and hang out time in the saloon. We started playing Polish Poker and the 2-man band was playing music.
Since we got there after dinner, I thought it would be a good idea to ask Laura for a dance. I was waiting for the right moment (she was sitting across the table, so it was kinda hard to ask) and a few songs went by where nobody was dancing. A couple got up and danced to a slow song, so they took my "first dance" opportunity from me...whatever. Then a few more people with whom seemed like their grand kids got up and started dancing. After a couple of more songs and some break with dancing, the band said "This might be a good one to dance with your significant other." I didn't want to miss this one so I quietly asked Laura across the table and she snubbed me at first! I know we were both embarrassed but anyway. So after a couple exchanges of talk between her parents and such, we got up and after we did, a few more couples got up. Woot.
Anyway, onto late May and June. We've started packing slowly and we're moving along. Not the most favorite thing to do. Laura's been doing much of the packing, so. I'll be doing most of the packing into the truck, I reckon. :P
Well, short but sweet update. Gonna have to start looking for a job soon.......
Friday, March 18, 2011
As it has already been 2 months, I'll give a quick update.
We are moving to Oklahoma City! In mid-August, that is. The couple of weeks leading up to decision day was stressful for Laura. The offers that she got at the most opportune times didn't help out, either. In the end, we decided we are going to try OKC out for a year and see how we like it. We both really like Portland, so, if fate has its way, I'm sure we'll find our way back here sometime.
We'll be moving in right at the height of Summer. Hopefully the house we rent will have ample cooling. There were a few days in Portland that were quite hot and muggy and we couldn't do anything about it, really.
What else. During this time, both the Motorola Xoom and iPad 2 was announced and already out. Despite my prediction in my last blog regarding tablets, I actually want one now...either of them, really. We had a chance to play with them at Crap Buy and they are appealing. It can easily replace a netbook, I think. I may try and find what I can sell of mine to get to buying it for essentially free. The Xoom, which I prefer, is $200 more than the iPad 2..ridiculous. And the iPad 2 is, well, an Apple product.
Tonight, we're going to try and head to a vigil at the Japanese Gardens. They asked me to lend/donate crane bouquets for this event and through March, so Laura and I scrambled to make a couple in such short notice. I delivered it yesterday and they will have it displayed during the vigil and next to the wish arbor they set up for visitors. Hopefully, I can snap a few pics when we go and hope it doesn't rain!
Thursday, January 06, 2011
I've been talking about tech predictions for this year. Here goes my picks:
- 3D will not be anywhere near as big as they tout it to be this year, both in the consumer TV market and the movie market. They just can't 3D-ify everything and expect it to be money-makers. I think the 3D sales will steadily go up until about mid-year and then start to decline.
- TV/entertainment content via the internet will be huge this year. With all the new-ish competitors starting to jump to this trend, I think it will be a nice win for the non-cable providers.
- I think Netflix will, at some point in the year, just add Blu-Ray renting for free alongside their normal DVD option, instead of the $2.99 they charge now.
- I don't think the tablet format is going to be a hit. Yes, the iPad and other tablets do look good, but I think in the end, netbooks or super light notebooks will begin to climb back up in sales again. Not sure how to explain it. I guess an analogy could be e-readers vs. books. There's just something about books that e-readers can't mimic. In the same way, I think people will just want to be typing on a keyboard, having DVD-ROM drives, etc. Besides, everyone's going to have a mini tablet via their fancy Android/iPhone phones anyway. :P
- Android will totally dominate the iPhone. :)
- I think Groupon is going to tank...relatively speaking. I just don't think it can keep growing like it did the last 2 years.
- I hate to say this, but I think Facebook.com may overtake Google.com as the #1 visited site on the internet.
- Although I love Google's innovation of the Chrome OS, working with everything via the cloud is, at least for this year, something that people won't be able to get used to. It's such a radical change. The mainstream couldn't handle that. Plus the inconvenience of needing an internet connection to sync and stuff like that is sort of burdensome.
- Car companies will be touting only slightly higher mpg...maybe just hitting 40 mpg...seriously, my turbo civic gets between 35-40 mpg on the highway and it's a '96! We should be at at least 50-60 for affordable (under $20k) , consumer cars by now.
- Yahoo! is just going to be even more horrible...
I'll stop with 10, I guess.
Friday, December 31, 2010
What a year 2010 has been. And another year that's passed by quicker than the previous years. I'm in Tulsa, OK per usual holiday fanfare. Let's take a quick look at the 2010, shall we?
(So I started this in Tulsa, but am finishing it up at our home in Portland. I just didn't have the time to finish it while on vacation)
Winter/Spring
Yikes. I'm still at TEM. We're still in Laramie, WY. I do miss Laramie, by the way. I'm not sure why, since the amenities here are SO much more. It kind of makes you think about the fact that it's not about the amenities or the material stuff that makes you like some place. It's those intangible things that you get attached to. Traffic? Psh. 5 cars at a light was traffic for us in Laramie. Now, it's tens and tens of cars per intersection and missing the friggin' light like 2-3, sometimes 4 times. The commute? It's multiplied by 10-15 times...used to be about 1.5 min, now it's 17 or so minutes, sometimes longer depending on construction, etc. I still remember when we found out we were going to be moving to Portland. It was very early morning and it took a bit for the news to sink in to both of us. All and all, I think it was a fine move. We just sort of miss Laramie is all. Laura not as much. I do think, though, that the big reason why I like it here is probably due to something that doesn't even have to do with Portland. The fact that we are renting a house with no shared walls with neighbors. I think that issue lifted off my shoulders would make me like wherever we ended up with, honestly.
Spring/Summer
My last day at TEM was 5/7/10. I remember writing out the letter I sent to everyone that worked there and got some nice responses back. Besides, back then, I was probably in the top 10 people who were there the longest. That's hard to say in that company. After I left, MANY of the old-timers had also left, including 2 others in fulfillment, giving Sven a hard time in the following 2-3 months, and a few others in sales and such...not to be the bragging type, but I wonder if their leaving had anything to do with me leaving? Who knows, but I can be optimistic on my end. So, the drive out to Portland was horrible, we all knew that from my blog post back in May. Not doing that again. or renting from Budget. Ever. The first week or two here was kind of rough. The next month was very boring while I tried to find work. I must say I played A LOT of World of Warcraft. Thankfully the job search went pretty fast considering the economy, which seems to be doing the same or worse at the moment. I am still regretting not going to the interview for the web design job for the technology non-profit, but man, what can I do now, right?
Summer/Fall
So, I've been working during this time while Laura had a nice little break from her work during July and half of August. There wasn't really much going on during this time. We had a lot of visitors, however. During the latter part of Summer, we probably had more visitors than we had during all of our time in Laramie...COINCIDENCE? I think not. The weather had been great all Summer, too. The rain and overcast hadn't really started to come until about October and even until November. It was an overall great first experience for us, which is probably why we started to like it so much. There were a couple of really hot days during which I really wished we had an air conditioner or at least a swamp cooler (and we sort of almost bought one), but it just didn't make sense to get one for 2-3 days of the year.
Fall/Winter
And bam, back to reality already. Mostly overcast, we do get a bit excited when the sun starts to shine, even for a couple of hours. We had a good Christmas holiday break, as well. Although, for some reason this year, I felt that we traveled "more" (despite taking the plane and kenneling the dogs) and accomplished a lot less during the vacation. Not sure why. It may have just been the combination of waking up early each day, having the days filled with "stuff" to do and the fact that we were only there like 5 days really if you consider the 2 days of travelling time at either end. We did get some cool gifts though, most notably my webcam that I hope to use for some projects in 2011.
So, what can you expect from me in 2011? I dunno. This upcoming year will be a bigger year than 2010 I know. There will be some exciting things happening, one of which MAY be another cross-country move...sigh. I HATE moving, but whatever. Still, we have well over half a year left in Portland to do more stuff. We really gotta get outdoor in 2011 more. It's been hard to do because we've both been "busy", in the sense that the day is consumed with work and when you get back, you just don't want to do anything and just relax and go to bed. I felt like we did do more outdoor stuff on the weekends in Laramie, but that's probably because the outdoor stuff was much closer. We still need to head up to the mountains to the east of us and we'll need to visit some coastal areas as well. The thing is, it just takes so long to get to the southern coast area that we need to spend a weekend doing it and that means usually kenneling the dogs. Now that we've found a good kennel, maybe we'll start planning more. We need to take Deni's parents' cabin offer, as well.
To finish this off, I enjoyed 2010 and all that it had to offer. Let's hope for some surprises in 2011!
(So I started this in Tulsa, but am finishing it up at our home in Portland. I just didn't have the time to finish it while on vacation)
Winter/Spring
Yikes. I'm still at TEM. We're still in Laramie, WY. I do miss Laramie, by the way. I'm not sure why, since the amenities here are SO much more. It kind of makes you think about the fact that it's not about the amenities or the material stuff that makes you like some place. It's those intangible things that you get attached to. Traffic? Psh. 5 cars at a light was traffic for us in Laramie. Now, it's tens and tens of cars per intersection and missing the friggin' light like 2-3, sometimes 4 times. The commute? It's multiplied by 10-15 times...used to be about 1.5 min, now it's 17 or so minutes, sometimes longer depending on construction, etc. I still remember when we found out we were going to be moving to Portland. It was very early morning and it took a bit for the news to sink in to both of us. All and all, I think it was a fine move. We just sort of miss Laramie is all. Laura not as much. I do think, though, that the big reason why I like it here is probably due to something that doesn't even have to do with Portland. The fact that we are renting a house with no shared walls with neighbors. I think that issue lifted off my shoulders would make me like wherever we ended up with, honestly.
Spring/Summer
My last day at TEM was 5/7/10. I remember writing out the letter I sent to everyone that worked there and got some nice responses back. Besides, back then, I was probably in the top 10 people who were there the longest. That's hard to say in that company. After I left, MANY of the old-timers had also left, including 2 others in fulfillment, giving Sven a hard time in the following 2-3 months, and a few others in sales and such...not to be the bragging type, but I wonder if their leaving had anything to do with me leaving? Who knows, but I can be optimistic on my end. So, the drive out to Portland was horrible, we all knew that from my blog post back in May. Not doing that again. or renting from Budget. Ever. The first week or two here was kind of rough. The next month was very boring while I tried to find work. I must say I played A LOT of World of Warcraft. Thankfully the job search went pretty fast considering the economy, which seems to be doing the same or worse at the moment. I am still regretting not going to the interview for the web design job for the technology non-profit, but man, what can I do now, right?
Summer/Fall
So, I've been working during this time while Laura had a nice little break from her work during July and half of August. There wasn't really much going on during this time. We had a lot of visitors, however. During the latter part of Summer, we probably had more visitors than we had during all of our time in Laramie...COINCIDENCE? I think not. The weather had been great all Summer, too. The rain and overcast hadn't really started to come until about October and even until November. It was an overall great first experience for us, which is probably why we started to like it so much. There were a couple of really hot days during which I really wished we had an air conditioner or at least a swamp cooler (and we sort of almost bought one), but it just didn't make sense to get one for 2-3 days of the year.
Fall/Winter
And bam, back to reality already. Mostly overcast, we do get a bit excited when the sun starts to shine, even for a couple of hours. We had a good Christmas holiday break, as well. Although, for some reason this year, I felt that we traveled "more" (despite taking the plane and kenneling the dogs) and accomplished a lot less during the vacation. Not sure why. It may have just been the combination of waking up early each day, having the days filled with "stuff" to do and the fact that we were only there like 5 days really if you consider the 2 days of travelling time at either end. We did get some cool gifts though, most notably my webcam that I hope to use for some projects in 2011.
So, what can you expect from me in 2011? I dunno. This upcoming year will be a bigger year than 2010 I know. There will be some exciting things happening, one of which MAY be another cross-country move...sigh. I HATE moving, but whatever. Still, we have well over half a year left in Portland to do more stuff. We really gotta get outdoor in 2011 more. It's been hard to do because we've both been "busy", in the sense that the day is consumed with work and when you get back, you just don't want to do anything and just relax and go to bed. I felt like we did do more outdoor stuff on the weekends in Laramie, but that's probably because the outdoor stuff was much closer. We still need to head up to the mountains to the east of us and we'll need to visit some coastal areas as well. The thing is, it just takes so long to get to the southern coast area that we need to spend a weekend doing it and that means usually kenneling the dogs. Now that we've found a good kennel, maybe we'll start planning more. We need to take Deni's parents' cabin offer, as well.
To finish this off, I enjoyed 2010 and all that it had to offer. Let's hope for some surprises in 2011!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Time for an update.
Recently, I was pulling on my collar bone for fun...yes, for fun, and now I'm paying for it. Apparently the joint that connects the collarbone to the ribcage, though pretty strong, isn't as strong as I thought. It's been hurting there for a couple of weeks now, finally getting better. Well, I won't do that again!
Autumn is definitely here in Portland. Overcast, cold and damp. That is all.
We are going to eat at De-shits tonight with Laura's graduate friends. I'll probably get the fish and chips. Hopefully it's not crowded, though I'm sure it will be considering it's Halloween Friday. I hope we have/get a reservation.
Been working on a website very recently for a director doing her first directorial debut. I think it'll be fun. I'm currently just waiting for some content like photos/videos to put on to the site.
Nothing else really new. Just chugging along. I can't believe it's almost November. Time has flown by since we've moved here.
Recently, I was pulling on my collar bone for fun...yes, for fun, and now I'm paying for it. Apparently the joint that connects the collarbone to the ribcage, though pretty strong, isn't as strong as I thought. It's been hurting there for a couple of weeks now, finally getting better. Well, I won't do that again!
Autumn is definitely here in Portland. Overcast, cold and damp. That is all.
We are going to eat at De-shits tonight with Laura's graduate friends. I'll probably get the fish and chips. Hopefully it's not crowded, though I'm sure it will be considering it's Halloween Friday. I hope we have/get a reservation.
Been working on a website very recently for a director doing her first directorial debut. I think it'll be fun. I'm currently just waiting for some content like photos/videos to put on to the site.
Nothing else really new. Just chugging along. I can't believe it's almost November. Time has flown by since we've moved here.
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
2 months already? Wow.
Sad to say nothing has really happened. We've been having a lot of visitors lately. Late August, Kelly and Ryan and Wesley came to visit. It was a short visit, so we couldn't do much, but it was a fun time. Now, Laura's parent's and a friend are visiting for about 2 weeks. Then a week after they leave, my Mom is coming out for a couple of days.
I think that's it for visits for a while.
Been productive in the realm of hygiene and health, lately, mainly because it's free/cheap. I've had a dentist appointment, all free thanks to insurance. I had an eye exam and am getting, gasp, glasses in a week or so. Not sure how much I'll wear them, but, we'll see. During the test, I could see pretty clearly, though. Crazy.
Other than that, work is chugging along. Still watching Netflix. Still surfing. My WoW subscription is expiring, whoa, today! I thought today was the 3rd or something, but apparently it's the 5th. Okay, then, no more WoW for now, I guess.
We've been trying to budget recently as well, in terms of saving and stuff. We got a basic plan going, but we're already spending a little out of the budget. Ugh. Hard to do when you see something cheap and just want to buy it. We just need to win the lottery. That would be awesome.
It's been super cold the last couple of days, at night mostly. It's weird how in Laramie, 30 would be WARM at times, but it's like 60s out and I'm shivering. I turned on the heat to 66 today to keep it warm for the dogs. I think Kip was cold through the night too, because he's been wanting up to sleep next to Laura the last couple of nights. Callie is fine. She's always panting anyway.
Fall colors are starting to come and looks like just around when my Mom visits, the Japanese Garden should be in full Fall bloom. That will be cool to see and photograph.
I haven't photographed much lately, either. It could be partly due to motivation, partly due to not have a photography partner to compare photos and techniques with (at least, not locally), partly not knowing where the good places are, and, finally, partly not knowing what I'm "into" at the moment. I want to move out of the nature thing for a little bit, and do some urban architecture type stuff. Old buildings, deserted buildings, the like. I did see a cool like "dirt road" right by our house I want to photography sometime in the morning when it's foggy out. I like those kinds of shots.
Well, better get back to work, lol.
Sad to say nothing has really happened. We've been having a lot of visitors lately. Late August, Kelly and Ryan and Wesley came to visit. It was a short visit, so we couldn't do much, but it was a fun time. Now, Laura's parent's and a friend are visiting for about 2 weeks. Then a week after they leave, my Mom is coming out for a couple of days.
I think that's it for visits for a while.
Been productive in the realm of hygiene and health, lately, mainly because it's free/cheap. I've had a dentist appointment, all free thanks to insurance. I had an eye exam and am getting, gasp, glasses in a week or so. Not sure how much I'll wear them, but, we'll see. During the test, I could see pretty clearly, though. Crazy.
Other than that, work is chugging along. Still watching Netflix. Still surfing. My WoW subscription is expiring, whoa, today! I thought today was the 3rd or something, but apparently it's the 5th. Okay, then, no more WoW for now, I guess.
We've been trying to budget recently as well, in terms of saving and stuff. We got a basic plan going, but we're already spending a little out of the budget. Ugh. Hard to do when you see something cheap and just want to buy it. We just need to win the lottery. That would be awesome.
It's been super cold the last couple of days, at night mostly. It's weird how in Laramie, 30 would be WARM at times, but it's like 60s out and I'm shivering. I turned on the heat to 66 today to keep it warm for the dogs. I think Kip was cold through the night too, because he's been wanting up to sleep next to Laura the last couple of nights. Callie is fine. She's always panting anyway.
Fall colors are starting to come and looks like just around when my Mom visits, the Japanese Garden should be in full Fall bloom. That will be cool to see and photograph.
I haven't photographed much lately, either. It could be partly due to motivation, partly due to not have a photography partner to compare photos and techniques with (at least, not locally), partly not knowing where the good places are, and, finally, partly not knowing what I'm "into" at the moment. I want to move out of the nature thing for a little bit, and do some urban architecture type stuff. Old buildings, deserted buildings, the like. I did see a cool like "dirt road" right by our house I want to photography sometime in the morning when it's foggy out. I like those kinds of shots.
Well, better get back to work, lol.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Okay, back.
I was going to podcast with TJ tonight, but I just didn't get the time. Hopefully soon like over the weekend.
Anyway, to continue my story. After the whole Budget thing passed, things were good and fun. Chris and Alicia was visiting for a few more days of vacation. We hit one of the coasts, Tillamook and the cheese factory (had an awesome grilled cheese sandwich there), Japanese Garden, 4th of July fireworks, etc. Overall it was a fun time and was good to see them since we won't as frequently. They just moved about 10 minutes from where they used to be.
After they left and a couple of days had passed, Laura's parents and Ellen visited for a week. Between that time, Laura and I (her mostly) scrambled to get the entire moving thing done with and unpacked. We barely made it, but there are still lots of boxes in the garage. Probably will stay that way for a while.
Work is, well, going. That's about it on that topic.
We've been into Netflix a lot lately, primarily because a) we don't have digital cable anymore, just basic with like 15 channels and only 1 is even worth watching (Discovery) and b) we are using the 2-month gift certificate TJ got us. We like it, especially the instant watch stuff.
TJ just moved to Atlanta. I think they are doing well despite them having a little struggle with the first house they chose, but things are looking up.
What else...dunno, really. The daily routine has been pretty set for the last month or so, but now that Laura is going to be working too, I think things will need to adjust a bit. The dogs are going to be very bored every day now that we will leave them by themselves from approximately 7:30 to 4:45pm or something.
I just finished Sarah's wedding video and Laura will be shipping them off tomorrow. I think it came out okay, considering the limited amount of footage that I had to work with. While doing it, I started to really want to video weddings, perhaps for side money, but it's hard because I'm sure clients would want a better looking camera than my small, flash, handheld. At the VERY least, I wish it were HD. The low light quality isn't too good on this cam, either. But, yeah, we'll see how that pans out. I really like doing stuff like that. In that way, I do miss my old job, being so computer-oriented and all. Fulfillment, however, after next Tuesday, is going to get hit HARD with reality...I don't feel bad, though.
Oh, Saturday we celebrated our 2-year anniversary by going to this Japanese restaurant on the East side. It was super good except for getting the check. It took like 15 minutes because our waitress totally forgot about us. Oh well...still good food, I guess.
Here's to many more years!
I was going to podcast with TJ tonight, but I just didn't get the time. Hopefully soon like over the weekend.
Anyway, to continue my story. After the whole Budget thing passed, things were good and fun. Chris and Alicia was visiting for a few more days of vacation. We hit one of the coasts, Tillamook and the cheese factory (had an awesome grilled cheese sandwich there), Japanese Garden, 4th of July fireworks, etc. Overall it was a fun time and was good to see them since we won't as frequently. They just moved about 10 minutes from where they used to be.
After they left and a couple of days had passed, Laura's parents and Ellen visited for a week. Between that time, Laura and I (her mostly) scrambled to get the entire moving thing done with and unpacked. We barely made it, but there are still lots of boxes in the garage. Probably will stay that way for a while.
Work is, well, going. That's about it on that topic.
We've been into Netflix a lot lately, primarily because a) we don't have digital cable anymore, just basic with like 15 channels and only 1 is even worth watching (Discovery) and b) we are using the 2-month gift certificate TJ got us. We like it, especially the instant watch stuff.
TJ just moved to Atlanta. I think they are doing well despite them having a little struggle with the first house they chose, but things are looking up.
What else...dunno, really. The daily routine has been pretty set for the last month or so, but now that Laura is going to be working too, I think things will need to adjust a bit. The dogs are going to be very bored every day now that we will leave them by themselves from approximately 7:30 to 4:45pm or something.
I just finished Sarah's wedding video and Laura will be shipping them off tomorrow. I think it came out okay, considering the limited amount of footage that I had to work with. While doing it, I started to really want to video weddings, perhaps for side money, but it's hard because I'm sure clients would want a better looking camera than my small, flash, handheld. At the VERY least, I wish it were HD. The low light quality isn't too good on this cam, either. But, yeah, we'll see how that pans out. I really like doing stuff like that. In that way, I do miss my old job, being so computer-oriented and all. Fulfillment, however, after next Tuesday, is going to get hit HARD with reality...I don't feel bad, though.
Oh, Saturday we celebrated our 2-year anniversary by going to this Japanese restaurant on the East side. It was super good except for getting the check. It took like 15 minutes because our waitress totally forgot about us. Oh well...still good food, I guess.
Here's to many more years!
Saturday, August 07, 2010
Whoa, I cannot believe that over a month has gone by since my last post. Seriously, I thought it was only a week or two ago...time flies. So let's recap from just before Laura and the dogs moved here.
1. The shuttle ride was fine, the airplane ride was fine. Laura and company picked me up at the airport and went home. We were all pretty tired at that point.
2. Next day we get the Budget truck...oh my, if I had known the horror of this Budget truck, I would not have gone with Budget ever, even if it was saving a couple of hundred dollars.We start packing. Time progresses and we seem to barely make a dent by 12pm when Denis arrives to help us pack. I will admit that without him, we would not have been able to pack that truck how we did. For the 2 houses we loaded, the 24' truck was barely enough. Anywho, our house was finished into the truck around 4pm. We started around 9:30 I think...damn. We were tired and we still had Christina's house to do. It was much smaller, so we got it finished quick, around 6:30pm or so I think. We all took a break afterward and went to Corona Village for our last meal in Laramie.
3. We leave around 6:45am or so. We should have noted the slight gas leak from the Budget truck. That wasn't what hindered our progress, though. Our truck was a piece of shit. Literally. After some jerking car movements starting out, it smoothed out about an hour into the trip. Max speed? It was governed at 70mph...okay, whatever. It was a huge truck anyway, it couldn't go much over that. At times, we were going 35 up hills.
4. After a LONG day of driving, we stopped at La Grande, OR around 8 or 9pm. Exhausted, we found a hotel, got some food, and went to bed. This 24' truck is a bitch to drive, however. I do not recommend it if at all possible.
5. The second day was the worst. Truck was starting to struggle. After a few hours, we entered Washington and the Seattle area. I was dreading driving this monster to that downtown area...my worst nightmare was coming true. We actually got to the house quite smoothly, despite the numerous turns, bridges, and streets we had to take. After a bit of maneuvering, we parked down a TIGHT alley and started unloading. That took like an hour. So much faster to unload than load. Anyway, that was done, but my worst was yet to come.
6. We left for Portland shortly after. I was able to get out of the alley way after almost tipping the truck turning left.The downtown was HORRIBLE. Probably not bad if you're in car or just walking around but driving that POS truck through the worst part of downtown, not knowing where to go, having Chris read shitty ass directions, things go downhill quick. All in all, we were able to get out of the downtown area fairly unscathed.
7. It was an hour, however, before we were rolling again since it was crazy bad traffic.Then it happened...the first of 5 or 6. The truck just fricken stopped while going like 20. I was like, um, wtf? I pulled off into the shoulder. I didn't know what was going on. It would not start again unless I took the keys completely out. I turned it on again and it worked...we thought it was just a weird fluke...yeah right. We drive fine for another couple until we get to the WA/OR border.Traffic again. Bam, truck stops again...I'm running out of shoulders to stop into...I just pull to the side. I do again what I did near Seattle. I can feel it dying...I was about to break down. Being helpless like that, in traffic mind you, in a place I don't know much about, SUCKS. We get off and drive around...not sure what we were doing, but just slowly getting down to our house. I needed gas. I decided to get some at the Shell I think. Oh, I try to fit into this side pump...BAM, I hit the concrete barriers to keep the pumps say...LUCKILY, I only just hit it with the wheel...I was so close to hitting that pump...we pay and fill up...I don't know what to do. It's going to keep stopping like this randomly...that's the worst part. I don't know when it's going to happen.
8. We get on to the highway...it starts stopping. We try to stay low speeds, but that's not the reason why it's shutting down. Chris suggested to manually switch gears from 1 through 3. The idea worked, because we figured the automatic transmission was crapping out. It made sense. It didn't "stop" until we finally go home...it was the longest 8 or 10 miles of my life. Going 35-40 miles in heavy traffic. Damn.
9. We finally get home...it was like 6pm or something. We all just get a breather.We didn't do anything but eat and go to bed that night because I still had to work the next day. They unloaded everything actually that next day. I came home to finish up the armoir. I still had to drop the truck off. Well...I decided to just do this thing and leave it over the weekend. Around 8pm, I get in the truck...one more hurdle. I still had to fill the truck up. I drive to the first couple of stations. No diesel...I ask and get to the Chevron. I fill up. We start heading to the drop off location. Bam, stops again 2 or 3 times just before the last few turns. I am begging to just let me out of this nightmare.We get there, park, and never see it again.
Gist? Go U-Haul.
I'll continue this story tomorrow. Time to watch a movie since it's 10pm.
Brake repairs, possible podcasting, doc's appointment, oh my!
Well, today I got my car back
1. The shuttle ride was fine, the airplane ride was fine. Laura and company picked me up at the airport and went home. We were all pretty tired at that point.
2. Next day we get the Budget truck...oh my, if I had known the horror of this Budget truck, I would not have gone with Budget ever, even if it was saving a couple of hundred dollars.We start packing. Time progresses and we seem to barely make a dent by 12pm when Denis arrives to help us pack. I will admit that without him, we would not have been able to pack that truck how we did. For the 2 houses we loaded, the 24' truck was barely enough. Anywho, our house was finished into the truck around 4pm. We started around 9:30 I think...damn. We were tired and we still had Christina's house to do. It was much smaller, so we got it finished quick, around 6:30pm or so I think. We all took a break afterward and went to Corona Village for our last meal in Laramie.
3. We leave around 6:45am or so. We should have noted the slight gas leak from the Budget truck. That wasn't what hindered our progress, though. Our truck was a piece of shit. Literally. After some jerking car movements starting out, it smoothed out about an hour into the trip. Max speed? It was governed at 70mph...okay, whatever. It was a huge truck anyway, it couldn't go much over that. At times, we were going 35 up hills.
4. After a LONG day of driving, we stopped at La Grande, OR around 8 or 9pm. Exhausted, we found a hotel, got some food, and went to bed. This 24' truck is a bitch to drive, however. I do not recommend it if at all possible.
5. The second day was the worst. Truck was starting to struggle. After a few hours, we entered Washington and the Seattle area. I was dreading driving this monster to that downtown area...my worst nightmare was coming true. We actually got to the house quite smoothly, despite the numerous turns, bridges, and streets we had to take. After a bit of maneuvering, we parked down a TIGHT alley and started unloading. That took like an hour. So much faster to unload than load. Anyway, that was done, but my worst was yet to come.
6. We left for Portland shortly after. I was able to get out of the alley way after almost tipping the truck turning left.The downtown was HORRIBLE. Probably not bad if you're in car or just walking around but driving that POS truck through the worst part of downtown, not knowing where to go, having Chris read shitty ass directions, things go downhill quick. All in all, we were able to get out of the downtown area fairly unscathed.
7. It was an hour, however, before we were rolling again since it was crazy bad traffic.Then it happened...the first of 5 or 6. The truck just fricken stopped while going like 20. I was like, um, wtf? I pulled off into the shoulder. I didn't know what was going on. It would not start again unless I took the keys completely out. I turned it on again and it worked...we thought it was just a weird fluke...yeah right. We drive fine for another couple until we get to the WA/OR border.Traffic again. Bam, truck stops again...I'm running out of shoulders to stop into...I just pull to the side. I do again what I did near Seattle. I can feel it dying...I was about to break down. Being helpless like that, in traffic mind you, in a place I don't know much about, SUCKS. We get off and drive around...not sure what we were doing, but just slowly getting down to our house. I needed gas. I decided to get some at the Shell I think. Oh, I try to fit into this side pump...BAM, I hit the concrete barriers to keep the pumps say...LUCKILY, I only just hit it with the wheel...I was so close to hitting that pump...we pay and fill up...I don't know what to do. It's going to keep stopping like this randomly...that's the worst part. I don't know when it's going to happen.
8. We get on to the highway...it starts stopping. We try to stay low speeds, but that's not the reason why it's shutting down. Chris suggested to manually switch gears from 1 through 3. The idea worked, because we figured the automatic transmission was crapping out. It made sense. It didn't "stop" until we finally go home...it was the longest 8 or 10 miles of my life. Going 35-40 miles in heavy traffic. Damn.
9. We finally get home...it was like 6pm or something. We all just get a breather.We didn't do anything but eat and go to bed that night because I still had to work the next day. They unloaded everything actually that next day. I came home to finish up the armoir. I still had to drop the truck off. Well...I decided to just do this thing and leave it over the weekend. Around 8pm, I get in the truck...one more hurdle. I still had to fill the truck up. I drive to the first couple of stations. No diesel...I ask and get to the Chevron. I fill up. We start heading to the drop off location. Bam, stops again 2 or 3 times just before the last few turns. I am begging to just let me out of this nightmare.We get there, park, and never see it again.
Gist? Go U-Haul.
I'll continue this story tomorrow. Time to watch a movie since it's 10pm.
Brake repairs, possible podcasting, doc's appointment, oh my!
Well, today I got my car back
Sunday, June 27, 2010
I figured I should go to sleep at a "reasonable" hour today since I stayed up until about midnight last night. Anywho, 2 more days until I see Laura and the dogs! Can't wait. Decided I will be parking my car at the parking garage and taking the shuttle from downtown to the airport. It's only $14, so that's cool. I'll leave work a bit early at like 4pm or so, just to make sure I account for enough time considering there could be traffic and such. The shuttle leaves every half hour so I'll take the 4:30 on I suppose. I have to walk down to the river to the Marriott since it leaves from there.
I thought of taping the entire drive from Laramie > Seattle > Portland. Figured why not. I'll try and use the power inverter...well, actually, I definitely need to use it anyway since the battery will only last like a couple of hours at most. The card in the camera at the lowest setting will only record about 5 hours, so I'll need to download it to my netbook every 5 hours. There will be a few minutes of "blank" in between, but that's okay.
I cleaned the cabinets and put together the bed more securely and put the sheets on today. Everything else is ready to go, pretty much. When they arrive, I want to mop the hardwood floors since it smells weird and vacuum up a few places, mainly the corner where all the dead ants are. I can't quite get them with the small vacuum I have and there's no hose attachment. I mowed the lawn on Thursday and it looks good. Although, now I wish I had mowed it tomorrow, so it'll stay nice when everyone arrives. I'll probably have to mow it again next weekend, like Saturday. The cool thing was that after I mowed the lawn, I wasn't tired at all. Just sweaty. It was weird because the last time I mowed it, which was just about 2 weeks ago, I almost died. I haven't really done anything special since then. I have been walking a lot during lunch to find places to eat. Maybe that's why.
We're going to try and hit the beach when Chris and Alicia visit. Tillamook and a spot up north maybe and then back. I keep forgetting that it's the weekend of the 4th, so it will probably be crowded-ish everywhere anyway. Tomorrow I may look for "places" to watch fireworks. I did see a few fireworks stands around town, so it seems as though it's not prohibited to use like Laramie. Dunno for sure, though.
I'm not looking forward to this drive, though. The side trip to Seattle kinda sucks, because without it, we can easily get into Portland/our house by early afternoon on Thursday, but it's going to be the evening...perhaps even later because we just might hit rush hour in Portland. And on top of that, I need to work the next day early. It is just going to be a crappy few days.
Well, gonna head to bed.
I thought of taping the entire drive from Laramie > Seattle > Portland. Figured why not. I'll try and use the power inverter...well, actually, I definitely need to use it anyway since the battery will only last like a couple of hours at most. The card in the camera at the lowest setting will only record about 5 hours, so I'll need to download it to my netbook every 5 hours. There will be a few minutes of "blank" in between, but that's okay.
I cleaned the cabinets and put together the bed more securely and put the sheets on today. Everything else is ready to go, pretty much. When they arrive, I want to mop the hardwood floors since it smells weird and vacuum up a few places, mainly the corner where all the dead ants are. I can't quite get them with the small vacuum I have and there's no hose attachment. I mowed the lawn on Thursday and it looks good. Although, now I wish I had mowed it tomorrow, so it'll stay nice when everyone arrives. I'll probably have to mow it again next weekend, like Saturday. The cool thing was that after I mowed the lawn, I wasn't tired at all. Just sweaty. It was weird because the last time I mowed it, which was just about 2 weeks ago, I almost died. I haven't really done anything special since then. I have been walking a lot during lunch to find places to eat. Maybe that's why.
We're going to try and hit the beach when Chris and Alicia visit. Tillamook and a spot up north maybe and then back. I keep forgetting that it's the weekend of the 4th, so it will probably be crowded-ish everywhere anyway. Tomorrow I may look for "places" to watch fireworks. I did see a few fireworks stands around town, so it seems as though it's not prohibited to use like Laramie. Dunno for sure, though.
I'm not looking forward to this drive, though. The side trip to Seattle kinda sucks, because without it, we can easily get into Portland/our house by early afternoon on Thursday, but it's going to be the evening...perhaps even later because we just might hit rush hour in Portland. And on top of that, I need to work the next day early. It is just going to be a crappy few days.
Well, gonna head to bed.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Been into more blogging as of late. Probably because of the lack of stuff to do. My WoW subscription ran out, but not renewing it for a while (ever?) since the next couple of weeks/months are going to be busy in terms of guests, work, unpacking, etc. The expansion will probably come out this Winter again, but who knows...maybe I won't get it. StarCraft 2 is coming out at the end of July and that seems pretty cool too.
In other news, I can't believe it's already time for Laura to move out. It has been over 1 month, 5 weeks in fact. Not looking forward to the drive again, but it will be good to have her here. I'm pretty sure there are gophers in our yard...I've been hesitant to buy gopher killer just yet. Maybe the dogs will get them out of here. Laura called to tell me that Kip did a stupid thing today...that dog is dumb.
But, like I told Laura, I'm starting to like working downtown. I think it is because it's just a "better" downtown than Denver is. I dunno, I suppose I only saw the 16th Street area of Denver, really, but since that area sucked in my mind, the entire city did...and I'm sure I'm right. Walking around Portland is pretty cool because of all the 1-block large "parks" that are scattered all over. So far I've eaten lunch at a couple of locations. Weird eating by myself, so hopefully Laura can start eating lunch with me soon. Different areas have these water sculptures and architecture that some person did for all the parks or something.
Anyway, gonna go. The day's been "full", to say the least. I wake up at around 7am, leave around 7:40am, come back at like 5:30pm. It's like, I'm a working man...or something. The dogs are going to hate being left alone for that long. I wish we could leave the doggie door open, but I have a feeling they could possibly get out somehow or bark a lot.
In other news, I can't believe it's already time for Laura to move out. It has been over 1 month, 5 weeks in fact. Not looking forward to the drive again, but it will be good to have her here. I'm pretty sure there are gophers in our yard...I've been hesitant to buy gopher killer just yet. Maybe the dogs will get them out of here. Laura called to tell me that Kip did a stupid thing today...that dog is dumb.
But, like I told Laura, I'm starting to like working downtown. I think it is because it's just a "better" downtown than Denver is. I dunno, I suppose I only saw the 16th Street area of Denver, really, but since that area sucked in my mind, the entire city did...and I'm sure I'm right. Walking around Portland is pretty cool because of all the 1-block large "parks" that are scattered all over. So far I've eaten lunch at a couple of locations. Weird eating by myself, so hopefully Laura can start eating lunch with me soon. Different areas have these water sculptures and architecture that some person did for all the parks or something.
Anyway, gonna go. The day's been "full", to say the least. I wake up at around 7am, leave around 7:40am, come back at like 5:30pm. It's like, I'm a working man...or something. The dogs are going to hate being left alone for that long. I wish we could leave the doggie door open, but I have a feeling they could possibly get out somehow or bark a lot.