KJ's Place

Celebrating my 7th Annual 29th Birthday in Ireland

2010-05-15T15:59:00.000-07:00

I recently returned from my first trip to Ireland. My original plan was to only visit Dublin since I had such a short time in the country, but I ended up heading to the west for a day tour. Here's everything I did, along with some photos... I remembered my camera this time!

The Night Before Day 1
Since my flight was scheduled to leave early the next morning, I decided to stay at a hotel near the airport the night. While my room at the Red Lion wasn't luxurious, it was clean and comfortable and only $60. You can't beat that.

Day 1
I hopped on the hotel shuttle at 6am for a quick 5 minute ride to the airport. My flight to Dublin (connecting in Chicago) left on time which was great, but when I got on the plane I discovered that I had a middle seat, which was NOT great. Oh well, a 4 hour flight wouldn't kill me.

I arrived at Chicago's O'Hare Airport which I am convinced is the most confusing airport in the world! I checked the departure screen and saw that my Aer Lingus flight to Dublin would be departing from Gate T5, but my ticket said it would be departing from M8. The only problem is that I didn't see any signs for a "T" or "M" concourse. Luckily I had about 5 hours before my flight, so I didn't have to worry about rushing.

I walked around for a while, still confused about this whole T5/M8 stuff until I finally realized that T5 stood for TERMINAL 5 AKA the International Terminal. I booked it over to the air train and rode to Terminal 5 with plenty of time to spare. Sure enough when I arrived, the departure screens in this terminal showed that my flight would be leaving from gate M8. Whew!

Unfortunately since I had to go outside the secure area when I left my arriving terminal to get to my departing terminal, I had the pleasure of going through airport security AGAIN. The line was long, but moved pretty quickly and soon I was sitting patiently at my gate to wait about 4 hours for my flight to Dublin.

After about 30 minutes, my stomach started growling so I decided to get something to eat. That's when I discovered that there are NO restaurants in the International Terminal once you get past security, just little kiosks serving cold sandwiches that have probably been sitting there for days. Yuck! I knew that if I wanted something hot, I would have to exit security and then go through the whole process again. Since I still had about 3 hours left I decided to bite the bullet and go for it. I went out, ate some pizza (which turned out to be the worst tasting pizza I've ever had... in CHICAGO for pete's sake!) then went back through security again for the third time. I was an expert by now!

I boarded the flight to Dublin around 6pm and while I was hoping to get a window seat, I ended up with an aisle. I can never decide which one is really better. On the one hand, it's easier to get some semblance of sleep if you sit by the window because you can lean against the wall. On the other hand, you have quicker and easier access to the bathroom if you're in an aisle seat. Inevitably every time I sit by the window, the passenger in the aisle seat is one of those annoying people who falls into a deep sleep the minute the plane takes off, so then if I want to go to the bathroom, I either have to wake them up or climb over them.

Anyway, the 8 hour flight to Dublin was uneventful aside from a bit of turbulence. Luckily each seat had its own on-demand video screen so I was able to watch a few movies to pass the time. I think it should be a law that EVERY plane have a video monitor at your seat, no matter how short the flight is. It really does make the fact that your crammed in with 300 other people a bit more bearable.

Day 2
After the overnight flight from Chicago, I arrived in Dublin around 8am...exhausted since I didn't get any sleep on the plane. I grabbed a cab to my hotel, the Castle Hotel in downtown Dublin. It is a reasonably priced, beautiful Georgian era hotel. Unfortunately, check in wasn't until 2pm, but the nice receptionist Gillian noticed how exhausted I looked and told me that I could wait in the parlor and she would let me know as soon as my room was available. I had to wait about an hour before Gillian came out with the most beautiful thing I had seen so far in Ireland... the key to my room. I unpacked and settled in for nice nap.

A few hours later, after a long nap and nice hot shower, I headed out to do some preliminary sight seeing. The hotel was located about a 10 minute walk from O'Connell St, which is really where you want to be for touristy stuff. The first thing I discovered is that you do NOT want to try driving in Dublin for two reasons:

Difficult Navigation AKA Where are the F**king Street Signs
Dublin likes to mess with you by not having easily noticeable street signs. They aren't anywhere near the street where you'd expect, but up high on the corner of the buildings and look like this:

Once you learn this, it's a bit easier, but if you're not prepared, you'll spend a fair amount of time roaming around wondering where you are.

A Street by Any Other Name
Dublin streets must get bored easily and want a change of pace, because a lot of them decide to up and change their names with no warning. (Of course I'm sure there's some logical method to this madness, but I was unable to figure it out).

Your best bet in Dublin is to walk or take public transport. Walking is perfectly safe as long as you remember which way to look for oncoming traffic. People in Ireland drive on the left. You wouldn't think this would be a big deal, but trust me, your brain is wired to automatically look in the direction that you THINK the cars should be coming from. Luckily, Dublin city planners realized this, so you'll see signs like this to help you out:

When I first saw this, I thought, "What kind of idiot doesn't know how to cross the street?" Then I promptly almost got pancaked by a huge bus while looking the wrong way, so yeah, those signs are handy.

After getting my bearings, I headed over to Trinity College to walk around a bit and explore. Founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I it's the oldest university in Ireland. It's also home to the Books of Kells, a manuscript containing the four gospels of the New Testament created by Celtic monks around 1200 years ago.

Moving on to the Old Parliament House which served as the seat of both chambers of the parliament of the Kingdom of Ireland for most of the 18th century until the parliament was abolished in 1800. In 1803 the Bank of Ireland purchased the building from the government to use as its new headquarters. The building still functions as a bank today. I went in there to get some change for the €50 note I got from the ATM earlier. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to take photos, so I didn't risk it. I have since seen photos on the internet, so I assume you can.

Then on to Temple Bar, a very touristy area with lots of pubs. Basically if you're in college and come to Dublin, this is where you'll be hanging out. Despite the fact that it's pretty much a tourist trap, it does have an interesting history.

By the 20th century the area suffered from urban decay with most of the businesses and homes being abandoned and shuttered. In the early 1980s the Irish Transport System decided to buy up the buildings and demolish the whole area to build a bus station. While this was in the planning stages, the purchased buildings were rented out at very low rates which attracted artists, performers, small shop owners and the like. After a few years, the National Trust of Ireland decided that demolishing everything to build a bus station didn't really make a lot of sense. The bus plan was abandoned and the government set up a non-profit company called Temple Bar Properties to oversee the regeneration of the area as Dublin's Cultural Quarter.

By this point the jet lag was starting to get to me, so I headed back to the hotel bar to get some dinner and retire for the night.

Day 3
I woke up early and went downstairs to enjoy the nice breakfast that was included with my hotel stay. Unfortunately I was still feeling a little "jet laggy" so I just had some cereal and juice. I decided not to risk trying the full Irish breakfast which consists of eggs, bacon, sausage, beans, tomatoes, and black or white pudding. And no, black or white pudding is NOT chocolate or vanilla pudding. It's a type of sausage. If you're curious, look it up, but don't say I didn't warn you.

Today I was going to use my Hop On-Hop Off ticket to explore a bit more of the city. I really liked this touring option because you buy a ticket for €15 and it's good for 24 hours. You can hop on and off whenever you like. Here's what I saw today:

The General Post Office: served as the leader's headquarters during the 1916 Easter Rising. You can still see bullet marks in the columns.

House Number 29: Dublin's Georgian House Museum. All the rooms are furnished as they would have been during the years 1790-1820. The virtual tour on their website explains the house in much better detail than I ever could and it has better photos.

St. Stephen's Green: I took a nice stroll around this park for about an hour.

My last stop for the day was Kilmainham Gaol. This jail was opened from 1798 to 1926 and leaders of the 5 Irish rebellions were detained here and many were executed.

After a quick jaunt back to the hotel for a nap, I grabbed a slice of pizza and headed out for the Musical Pub Crawl. This is a 2.5 hour pub crawl led by two professional musicians who perform while explaining the history of traditional Irish music. This was by far my favorite activity during the trip and here are some things I learned:

How to tell the difference between a "jig" and a "reel".
Musicians learn their instruments from a very early age, and some never learn to read music. Everything is learned by ear.
Sean-nós (Gaelic for "old style") is a style of unaccompanied singing. This is quite a change from the "lively" Irish music post people are accustomed to.
If you see people clapping along to the music during a session, chances are they are tourists. The appropriate way to keep time with the music is by tapping your feet since it doesn't distract the musicians the way clapping that starts and stops does.

The pub crawl ended around 10:30pm and I headed back home to rest up for my adventures tomorrow.

Day 4

Today was the day that I would be taking a tour to see the Cliffs of Moher on the west coast of Ireland. I headed to the tourist office to meet my tour group around 7:30am. The tour was operated by Paddywagon Tours and while our bus driver/tour guide was very entertaining, the bus itself was very cramped and uncomfortable... especially if you have long legs. Of course, the entire tour was only about $50 so I can't complain too much.

We drove across the country and stopped in Doolin, a tiny village that just happens to be Ireland's traditional music capital. Unfortunately we only stopped there for lunch and didn't have a chance to listen to any music.

Then it was on to the Burren to see the limestone surface that supports Arctic, Mediterranean, and Alpine plants all in the same area due to the unusual environment. Most people took a ton of pictures here, but for some reason I thought it was a little boring. It could have been because I was irritable from the cramped bus ride.

Finally it was on to the pièce de résistance, the Cliffs of Moher. The scenery was breathtaking. I'll just let the photos speak for themselves.

Unfortunately, riding in a bus across the country is exhausting and riding back home is even more so. I would definitely sleep well tonight!

Day 5 - The Final Day :-(

Since this was my last day in Ireland, I decided to take it easy. I had heard about St Michan's Church which offers tours of their underground crypt (with real mummies), so of course I had to see it. The guide was a quirky, yet very knowledgeable guy named Peter. There are 4 mummies on display: a 400 year old nun, a Crusader, a thief, and the unknown. Unfortunately photography isn't allowed in the crypts, but I was able to find this excellent documentary video on YouTube:

And that brings us to the end of my birthday trip to Ireland. I was sad to leave, but have added Ireland to list of repeat vacation destinations.

A New Year and a New KJ

2010-01-08T04:51:00.000-08:00

Ok, not really. I've decided not to make any resolutions this year b/c I always end up breaking them. I am going to restart the Couch to 5K training sometime soon and hopefully this time I'll be able to make it through the first week without breaking anything.

On to more exciting news...

For once I decided to do something fun for the holidays. I went to PARIS (France, not Texas) to celebrate the new year and had a blast!! I took the Rick Steves' Paris in 7 Days Tour. I probably could have done the whole thing by myself, but I'm lazy so I decided I needed something with a set schedule to keep me motivated. UNFORTUNATELY I forgot my camera, so any photos you see in this report were not taken by me.

Day 1 - Dec 23, 2009
I worked a full day and then rushed home to get packed. Yes, I waited until the day I was leaving to start packing. My goal was to get everything in one little carry-on. Yes, one week's worth of stuff in one little backpack. I'm proud to say that I succeeded (I did take THIS photo):

How does she do it? Simple... I don't take a lot of stuff. I brought a shirt for each day of my trip and 2 pairs of jeans (plus sufficient socks and underwear). I extended the wearing life of the jeans by wearing leggings under them. Also, I was going to Paris, not the Sahara desert which meant that I could go to a laundromat if I needed to (and I did!)
Moving on...

I flew from PDX to SFO to BOS and arrived early on Dec 24, 2009 (Day 2) and checked into the Hilton Hotel at Boston Logan Airport. This is where I stay every time I go to Boston b/c it's so convenient. I had grandiose plans of going out and exploring the city but it was cold and I was tired, so I stayed in and watched TV instead. Lame, I know.

Day 3 - Dec 25, 2009 -Christmas
Nothing too exciting. I checked out of the hotel at noon and waited around at the airport for my flight to Paris at 5:30pm. Luckily I had my new iPod touch to keep me company. The flight left on time and was uneventful, but not great. I sat in the very last row in front of some bitch who reclined her seat all the way for the entire trip. This wouldn't have been so bad if not for the fact that my seat did not recline.

Day 4 - Dec 26, 2009
Arrived at CDG around 6:30am. Got through passport control and customs pretty quickly since I didn't have to wait for any bags. I had booked a car to pick me up since I was unfamiliar with the public transportation system and knew that I would be too tired to try to figure it out. The driver wasn't there when I walked out the exit, so I called the company and was told that he had gone to the wrong terminal. He showed up about 5 mins later and apologized and I was on my way to the hotel.

I stayed at the Hotel Duquesne Eiffel located at 23 Avenue Duquesne. It was a lovely little boutique hotel within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower. It was also close to many metro stops, pharmacies, restaurants, laundries, etc. A great location over all. I shared a room with another tour member so I wouldn't have to pay the single supplement. She was a very nice lady from Memphis. The room was small, but comfortable and the staff was very kind and helpful. I will definitely stay there again when I return to Paris (as long as I can afford it).

So, I checked into the hotel and took a nap. The whole tour group met up together at 3pm in the breakfast room downstairs and after some introductions and chatting (members were from Texas, Wisconsin, DC, New York, Oregon, Washington, Missouri, Illinois, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a couple of states) we boarded a bus to take a quick evening tour of the neighborhood.

Later that evening we had dinner at a little restaurant called Cafe le Bosquet. I had a mixed salad with warm goat cheese, duck with pureed potatoes, and a tarte tatin (upside down apple tart). It was delicious. We went back to the hotel to get some sleep before starting...

Day 4 thru 9 - Dec 27-31, 2009

Since I have a horrible memory, there's no way I'm going to remember what we visited when, so I'm just going to list everything we saw on the tour and my thoughts on it. Just a warning... there's a very good chance that I will confuse some of the neighborhood/place names, so please don't use this as tour itinerary.

Sainte Chappelle - a Gothic cathedral located in the Palais de Justice complex built by King Louis IX to house precious relics he had purchased from the Byzantine emperor. Very beautiful. I especially liked the stained glass windows which you can see in this 360 deg. Quicktime video.

Place de Vosges - the oldest planned square in Paris built by Henry IV.

Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Basilique du Sacré-Cœur) - This church is located at the top of Montmartre which is the highest point in the city (with a much better view than the Eiffel Tower in my opinion). I'm not a religious person at all, but for some reason medieval churches are my favorite sites to visit. I think it's because they're so freaking huge and monstrous and I spend the entire time wondering how in the heck they were built.

Me at the top of Montmartre overlooking Paris
Photo: Diana Petterson

Montmartre Neighborhood - This is a quaint neighborhood where many impressionist artists lived in during the 1900s when they were all broke and couldn't sell any of their paintings. Now it's where tourists go to see modern artists who probably have a bit more luck selling their wares. It was also the home to the famous entertainer, Dalida. What? You've never heard of her? Strangely enough, most people haven't. According to our tour guide she was the equivalent of Elvis and Madonna combined in Europe, but never became famous in the states.

Chateau Versailles - There are no words to describe how beautiful and enormous this estate of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette is. It's very easy to understand why the starving French revolutionaries were a tad pissed off when you walk through the grounds. Gold and riches are everywhere. The only thing I did not like about our visit was the fact that it was SO CROWDED. Everything seemed to be rushed and I didn't really get to spend as much time in each room of the palace as I would have liked.

O'Brien's Pub - Of course I couldn't make it through 7 days in Paris without having at least one pint of Guinness! I went here with a few of my other tour members (Lanaé, her mom Linda, and their friend Anne). I had an awesome time, but unfortunately partook in way too many alcoholic libations and ended up with a horrible hangover. This meant that I was NOT able to visit the LOUVRE. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I went all the way to Paris and did not visit one of its most famous attractions because I was hungover. HOWEVER, I justified this by declaring that I now had an excellent reason to return to Paris!

Pere Lachaise Cemetery - This was my favorite, favorite, favorite site and it wasn't even on my official tour. It's like a peaceful oasis in the middle of a very hectic city. I think I spent about 4 hours just roaming around reading all the gravestones. A lot of people don't realize that in addition to all the famous people (Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, etc) buried here, it's also just a regular old French cemetery for normal French families. It was a welcome respite from all the crowds I had encountered thus far.

This takes us to the end of the tour. I'm sure I forgot some things and I've convinced myself that I need to keep a travel journal for my next vacation rather than try to remember everything that happens.

Edited: Oops, remember when I said that I was sure I would forget some things?? Well, yeah I completely forgot to mention NEW YEAR'S EVE!

We started the day by visiting the L'hotel des Invalides which is a complex of buildings all related to France's military history. It was initiated by Louis XIV as a home and hospital for aged and ill war veterans. It is also the burial site for several famous military heroes, the most notable being Napoleon Bonaparte.

View of Les Invalides from Eiffel Tower
photo: Gérard Ducher

Tomb of Napoleon
Photo: Willtron

Following the visit to Les Invalides, I broke off from the tour group and headed to Pere Lachaise cemetery (described in the list above) and then headed back to the hotel to take a nap. Then I took the Metro to find something to eat and ended up at a little bar close to the Richelieu-Drouot stop on Line 8. It was called the Tavern Bar (which I thought was a little repetitive) but the food and beer were good and the service was friendly. I even saved my receipt so I can go back there again when I return to Paris.

Later that evening the whole group got together for a delicious New Year's Eve meal followed by a river cruise on the Seine. A few people wanted to go to the Eiffel Tower to see the light show, but our tour guide warned us that it could be dangerous because it got very crowded and often attracted less than desirable individuals which in turn would attract many police officers and things could get ugly. She told us that we were free to do whatever we wanted, but that she would not accompany us. Since I was in no mood to deal with crowds or "ne'er do wells" I decided to head back to the hotel. Adam and Suanne, a couple on our tour celebrating their 30th anniversary, invited everyone to their room which had a excellent view of the Eiffel Tower.

View from Adam & Suanne's Room
Photo: My crappy camera phone

When the clock struck midnight we rang in the New Year with a vodka toast... and I was sad to realize that I had come to the end of my vacation in Paris.

I was up early the next morning and decided to take the RER to the airport to save some money. At first I was worried b/c I had only dealt with the Metro system and the RER would involve a whole different ticket system. Imagine my delight when I discovered that Paris public transportation is FREE on New Year's Day!! (I don't know about other holidays).

I made it to the airport in plenty of time for my return flight, but unfortunately because of THIS DOUCHEBAG, security was extremely tight and everyone had to have their carry-on hand-checked before they got on the place which delayed our flight for TWO HOURS! Oh and then the de-icing machine wasn't working which delayed us another 2 hours and then our plane just completely fell apart or something and we had to go back to the terminal. Ugh, long story short... my flight that was supposed to leave at 1:30pm didn't take off until 9pm. Thanks goodness this was at the END of my vacation, otherwise I would have been very, very cranky.

Needless to say I loved every second in Paris and can't wait to go back very, very soon!

Geez, can't a girl just get some damn exercise??!!

2009-11-06T20:02:00.000-08:00

So yesterday was supposed to be my 3rd day of the Couch to 5K thing. It didn't go so well b/c about 4 steps into my running portion, my ankle gave out. I'm not sure what is wrong with it, but I went to the urgent care center to have it checked out.

Edited: Well it turns out that I sprained my ankle. It has now started swelling a bit so I'll have to stop the Couch to 5k thing until after the first of the year. I have a holiday trip to Paris planned for next month and I don't want to risk re-injuring it. Sigh.

I can't believe I'm doing this...

2009-11-01T14:27:00.000-08:00

As of 7:30am this morning (11.01.2009) I am training to run a 5k race. Not run/walk, but RUN... as in the whole thing. The last time I ran any considerable distance was, let's see.. um... NEVER. I don't run. It's just not my thing.

In order to make training easy, I'm following the Couch to 5K program; which, as its name suggests, gets you off the couch and running a 5k in 9 weeks. Here is the website if you want to read more about it:

Couch to 5K

I had my first session today and managed to make it through without dying, passing out, vomiting, or crying. I'm going to try to run every other day, but the only problem is deciding what time of the day I want to run. I'm thinking early morning before work, but that means I'll have to be on the road by no later than 5:15am!

Monthly Update

2009-10-23T04:56:00.000-07:00

When we last met our fearless heroine, she had just joined the local gym. Well, since then I'm proud to say that I've visited the facility a total of ZERO times... but wait, I have excuses!!!

First, I had to recover from the extreme soreness caused by the trainer from hell, aka the Sadist. That took about a week. Then it was "that time of month" (ladies, you know what I'm talking about) and strenuous workouts were just not in the cards, and finally the pièce de resistance... kidney stones!

That's right, earlier this month while I was enjoying a lazy Sunday hanging out at home, reading some Agatha Christie, I noticed a strange pain in the my lower back. At first I thought it was some sort of cramp related to the functioning of my lady parts, but after a few hours the pain increased significantly and began to move around to my abdomen. Around 9pm, I decided that I would make an appointment to see the doctor the next day, and around 10pm I was calling a cab to the hospital.

By the time I arrived, I was to the point where I couldn't sit or lie down without pain, so I paced around the waiting room for about 30 minutes (felt like 12 hours) until they put me in a room. Of course once I was in the room, I had to wait a little longer to actually see the doctor and to make matters worse, the nurse wasn't permitted to give me any pain meds UNTIL I saw the doctor.

Finally, the doctor came in and assessed that yes, I was actually in pain and shortly thereafter, the nurse added pain meds to my IV. I can't remember the name, but I do remember that it was only marginally effective. I paced around some more and then was sent to have a CT scan.

About an hour later, the doctor came back and informed me that I had one kidney stone making its way from my kidneys and one still in my kidney (luckily this one was teeny tiny and probably wouldn't cause any trouble). He gave me a prescription for Vicodin and before I left the nurse gave me a shot of some much more effective pain medication. I also don't remember the name of this medication, but I know it started with a "D" but it wasn't Demerol. I do know that it was awesome. Seriously, I'd give up my first born for a shot of this stuff if I were in pain.

I headed back home to wait around until the stone passed. So far, I've either passed it and not realized it, or it's still there. Luckily as long as it's not moving, I'm not in pain. I'm due for another CT scan on Monday, so hopefully it will be good news.

Ouch, my aching... everything

2009-09-27T13:53:00.000-07:00

So, after being a lazy slug for the past few years, I decided to man up and join a gym. There's a 24 Hour Fitness located a few blocks from my house and I got a great deal on a 1 yr membership ($199 which equates to about $17/month). I stopped in yesterday for my first "fitness evaluation" with a personal trainer. He put me through a few exercises to determine my strengths and weaknesses. The consensus was as follows:

Strengths = NONE
Weaknesses = EVERYTHING

I do walk a lot since I don't have a car, but that's about the extent of my exercise routine. Evidently this is not sufficient, unless my goal is to have the body of a 90 year old woman. I'm embarrassed to say that even after a few simple exercises, my poor legs were so wobbly, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to walk home. I made it, but it was sloooow going.

My muscles were pretty sore afterward, but nothing compared to how they felt this morning. As long as I'm standing up, I feel fine. Unfortunately, daily life sometimes involves activities like bending and sitting which is now causing every muscle below my waist to feel like it's on fire. I've tried to do a few stretches and I walked about 3 miles this morning, but everything is still sore. I know that it will subside after a while, but it still SUCKS.

Not so smart

2009-08-03T15:24:00.000-07:00

Earlier last month I decided it would be a brilliant idea to open a new checking account with a credit union here in Portland. They were offering a 3% APR on the account as long as you met certain criteria (one electronic transaction per month, use your debit card at least 12 times & accept electronic statements). I was perfectly happy with my old credit union, but the lure of 3% interest was too hard to ignore. So, I opened the new account and change my direct deposit info for my paycheck along with my payment settings for the various bills I have. How did it go? Well, I'm not sure of the technical term, but I believe "complete royal f**k up" would be a good way to describe it. I won't go into all the gory details, but my brilliant plan ended up causing 2 overdraft fees totaling $54. Of course, $54 isn't a lot of money, but it's $54 that I now can't use for debt repayment. Ahhg!!!

On top of all that, I realized that it was absolutely stupid to open the account in the first place because I never keep any money in my checking account! If I stick to my super tight budget, which does NOT include overdraft fees, I'm usually left with about $100 at the end of the month. That's only after bills are paid and doesn't include the 12 debit purchases I would have to make to qualify for the high interest.

I still can't believe that those yahoos at the credit card company are going to be able to earn interest on an extra $54 this month.

Dear Mother Nature... WTF??!!

2009-07-28T17:32:00.000-07:00

104 degrees... in Portland, Oregon? Are you serious?

Ok, I suppose I shouldn't complain about the heat. My condo has remained around 79-80 degrees through all this and I DO have a portable air conditioner that my friend AJ gave me. Even with the 100+ temperatures, I haven't had to resort to using it yet.

Hopefully Portland will be back to her depressed rainy self soon!

On the bright side, the high temperatures have made me reluctant to go outside, which in turn means that I can't go out and spend money. Not spending money = more money to pay off debt!

Excuse me, now it's 105 degrees...

Update

2009-05-31T06:59:00.000-07:00

So, how's the new job going, you ask? Well, you didn't, but I'm going to tell you anyway. It's going GREAT. This job is seriously the highest paying, lowest stress job I've ever had. I think the best part is that I have very little contact with clients. The most stress inducing part about my last job was the constant worry that I had forgotten to do something for a client's account or that I had screwed something up IN a client's accounts. Another problem was bringing work home from the office... not necessarily physically bringing paperwork home, but just the whole feeling of something being left unfinished and having to worry about it until the next day. At this new job, when I leave work, I leave it... period. I know that when I go on vacation, I won't have to worry about getting calls from the office and I won't have any work on my desk when I get back. Awesome!

Why yes, it's another job

2009-05-02T01:33:00.000-07:00

Well, since I haven't updated all of my fans recently, I guess it's time for a new blog entry.

In my never ending quest to work for every corporation in the Portland Metro area, I will be starting job a new job on May 4th. This will be the 4th job I've had since moving here in June of 2006. I will be leaving my position as a Senior Registered Client Service Associate and starting as a Senior Registered Client Associate with another local investment firm. I feel much more prestigious without the Service part of the title. Normally I wouldn't have left my current company, but the offer I received was too good to pass up and will allow me to work on a trading desk again. I like trading desks!

My last day at my old company was April 30th and my coworkers were kind enough to give me a nice sendoff on Friday. Although there were aspects of my former job that I didn't enjoy, I will certainly miss my coworkers very much :(

So, that's all that's new in my neck of the woods. Later, peeps!

Visit back to Ochlocknee...

2009-02-16T16:44:00.000-08:00

After living in Portland for more than 2 years, I finally made it back home to visit my mom over the recent MLK, Jr. holiday weekend. The last time I was in my hometown of Ochlocknee, GA was for my dad's funeral in May of 2006, so this visit promised to be a bit more cheerful.

I flew out of Portland on a red eye to Atlanta and made it to my mom's place around 1pm the next day. I would have been there a little sooner, but I got lost driving from the Valdosta airport... gimme a break, I hadn't been there in 2 years!

Here is a list of the exciting things I did during my visit:

1. I caught up on some soap operas that I hadn't seen in a while. The best thing about soap operas is that you can stop watching them for 10 years and when you start up again, the SAME characters are still there... with the same plot lines!!

2. I drank sweet tea and ate fried okra and boiled peanuts. These are three things that I can't get easily in Portland.

3. I went out to dinner with my mom. Normally my mom's idea of going out to dinner involves eating-in at the local takeout place or going to a buffet. This time I insisted that I did NOT want to go to a buffet. I wanted to go to a real "sit down, order from a waiter, and stay seated while the waiter brings your food" type restaurant. My mom said that we could go to Ryan's Family Steakhouse. When we got there, I discovered that it was a giant buffet. Grrr! My mom insisted that going to a sit down restaurant was "too expensive" and that the "food here is really good". I just sighed and started piling my plate with all I could eat delights. As we ate, this was our conversation:

Me: "Why are you eating grits for dinner?"
Mom: "Oh I think that's rice."
Me: "Um, it doesn't look like rice."
Mom: "Oh, then maybe it IS grits...
Me: "What does it taste like?"
Mom: "Um, I think...."
Me: "Mom, grits and rice taste NOTHING alike."
Mom: "Then I guess it's grits... or maybe rice."

Later
Me: "Why didn't you get any meat?"
Mom: "I didn't see anything I liked."
Me: "You couldn't find any meat from their entire 'all you can eat' selection?"
Mom: "No, not really."

Still later:
Me: "Why didn't you finish the okra?"
Mom: "I didn't like it very much. It's kind of cold."

So, if you're keeping score, my mom had something that may or may not have been grits (or rice), no meat, and cold fried okra. The only thing I saw her completely eat was the mac and cheese and seriously, how hard is it to screw up mac and cheese? The cost of this all you can eat extravaganza?... $12.95 per person. I promise I did not rub this in her face. (Oh and in case you're wondering, I had some chicken, the mac and cheese, okra, some bread and a dessert).

I've already decided that during my next visit, we're going to a real restaurant even if I have to drag her to one kicking and screaming.

4. I saw my friend Candace who I've known since kindergarten. We only got to spend a bit of time together b/c I got lost driving to her house and ended up in some stranger's yard. Now that I think about, I'm lucky he didn't come after me with a shotgun. I decided to bring my mom along since we were going to a part of town that I wasn't really familiar with (come to find out my mom wasn't familiar with it either). The worst part was that there was no cell service so I couldn't call to get directions. Anyway, we finally made it to her house around 8:30 and hung out for a while and caught up.

My flight back to Portland was little more eventful that I would have liked. It started when I missed my connecting flight in Atlanta and had to wait for another flight that wouldn't leave until the next morning. Rather that sleeping in the airport, I decided to get a hotel room. I stayed at the Hilton which to my relief had a BAR. Unfortunately I was forced to drink Guinness out of TUMBLER glass and Jameson out of a shot glass and on top of all that I had to pay sales tax on it!

Whew, I'm glad to be back in Portland!

Bringing in the New Year

2009-01-01T07:07:00.000-08:00

Well, it's officially 2009 and I welcomed it in true party girl fashion by sitting around in my comfortable bathrobe, surfing the internet, and falling asleep by 10pm. Yeah, that's how I roll. Since the new year is upon us, I guess it's time to make a list of all the resolutions that I'll end up breaking by February 1st (oops, there goes #5). So without further ado:

KJ's Soon to Broken Resolutions for 2009

Save more money
Eat healthier
Be more social
Learn ASL
Stop being so cynical & pessimistic
Get married and settle down with a couple of kids.
Kidding about #6, just wanted to make sure you were paying attention.
Work harder at getting out of debt
Read more
Visit home more often

Here's to a better 2009!

Long Overdue Update

2008-12-14T22:03:00.000-08:00

Since I haven't posted anything since October 26th, I figured it was time to write. Here is some stuff that has happened over the past few months...

Trip to Yosemite
-----------------------
I traveled with my friend D. to Yosemite National Park over the Columbus Day weekend in October. It was my first time visiting the park, as well as my first time camping. I was ashamed to discover that I am a complete sissy when it comes to "roughing it". We stayed in a little tent cabin in Curry Village. A tent cabin is basically a tent with wooden floor. It looks like this:

We decided to stay in one with no heat because it was cheap. At first I didn't think this would be a big deal since we would have plenty of blankets and sleeping bags. Besides, it wasn't even supposed to be that cold. I was wrong... it was freeeeezzzzzing. I'm usually okay with the cold, but I realized that while in Yosemite, I was cold all the time. It wasn't like I slept somewhere warm and then got bundled up to go outside where it was cold. It was cold everywhere. Even when it started to warm up during the day, I was still cold. I'm getting cold just thinking about it! Here is a photo of me freezing on the first night:

Anyway, enough complaining. Here are some other photos that highlight the beauty of Yosemite:

We did a lot of hiking... a LOT of hiking. As for wild animals, I saw 3 bears, 2 deer, a skunk and some birds. I had a great time, but by the time we left on Monday afternoon I was exhausted. It didn't help matters that the breakfast sandwich I ate that morning made me queasy for the whole trip back to San Francisco. Luckily all I needed to make me feel better was a nice hot shower once we got back to SF. Then all was right with the world. The end.

Thanksgiving 2008
-----------------------
A few months ago I discovered that a fellow student from my small east coast college had randomly moved to the Portland area. We got in touch via Facebook and she invited me to her place for Thanksgiving. It was nice to have a home cooked meal rather than the crap I would have concocted for myself. I hung out with her family (husband, 2 kids) for the entire day. I even fed the baby (and did a damn fine job of it, if I do say so myself). I also had the pleasure of listening to an exciting story about dinosaurs, motorcycles and magic treasure hunts courtesy of her 3 year old daughter. I will have to bring my toddler decoder ring with me next time though, because I had a bit of trouble following the plot. The dinner was delicious (there were even pre-dinner margaritas!) and my friend was kind enough to send me home with leftovers!

Well that's all the news for now. I'll try to post more often, but I won't promise anything. When you live life on the edge like me, it's sometimes difficult to find the time to write a blog post.

How my mom found out about Sammy the Snake...

2008-10-26T15:45:00.000-07:00

Last night I inadvertently revealed Sammy the Snake's existence to my mother. Why is this a big deal, you ask? Allow me to give you a little background on the issue of my mom and snakes.

My mom is afraid of snakes. I don't mean she thinks they're a little icky and doesn't want to be around them or have one as a pet. I mean she absolutely cannot stand the sight of them; no snakes in real life, no pictures of snakes, movies about snakes, drawings of snakes, etc. She doesn't know why she has this phobia, but she suspects it comes from being surprised by a snake while walking home from school when she was a young girl.

Because of this, when I got Sammy back in November of 2006, I thought it would be best if I kept that fact from my mom. I sent photos of the Sammy to my brother with explicit instructions to "make sure you don't tell mama about the snake." I knew that if my mom did ever attempt to fly out to visit me in Portland (very unlikely, as she's also afraid to fly) I would have plenty of lead time to move Sammy to another location if necessary. I felt that there was no sense in making her worry unnecessarily about me being devoured in my sleep by my man-eating cornsnake. I kept the secret for almost 2 years, until last night...

I called my mom to tell her that I had just booked a flight home and would be visiting in January. While we were chatting, she joked that she'd have to start cleaning the house so it would be ready for my arrival. I told her that she'd better hurry up because she only had about 3 months. She replied, "I guess I should start by getting rid of all the rats and cockroaches." I said, "You know what'll help get rid of those rats?? Snakes!" She laughed and began making noises indicating her extreme disdain for snakes.

Somehow the conversation turned to a news story she had heard recently about the owner of reticulated python being killed by the snake. From there our conversation went like this:

Me: Well, mama, a reticulated python is a very large and powerful snake. Usually when you hear about people being killed like that, it's because they try to handle to snake alone rather than having someone there to help them. Even though it's a pet, it will still act on instinct and a lot of people take that for granted or they don't realize how strong the snake really is.

Mom: I don't see why anyone would want to own a snake, especially one that's so big.

Me: Yeah, I would never have one that big since I live by myself. I don't have to worry about that with Sammy though since he won't grow to be any longer than.... uh [to myself: Oh sh!t, oh sh!t, oh sh!t!!!!]... ahem, cough, cough, cough....

Mom: What? Who is Sammy?

Me: Oh, nothing. [At this point I tried to think of a way to change the subject and of course I drew a complete blank]

Mom: What are you talking about? Who is Sammy.

Me: [Sigh] Sammy is my snake.

Mom: [Silence]

Me: He's a cornsnake

Mom: [Silence for a few more seconds] I hope that's a snake made from corn.

Me: No, it's a regular snake.

Mom: You do NOT have a snake.

Me: Yes, I do.

Mom: No, you don't. You're just messing with me.

Me: Yes, I really have a snake. I've had him for about 2 years. His name is Sammy.

We went back and forth for a bit longer until I finally convinced her that I did indeed own a snake.

Mom: How big is he?

Me: Oh, about 2 feet long (he's really about 3.5 ft).

Mom: Is he poisonous?

Me: No.

Mom: Are you sure?

Me : Yes, I'm sure. Cornsnakes aren't poisonous.

Mom: How are you sure what type of snake he is? Where did you find him?

Me: I didn't find him. I bought him from the reptile store.

Mom: You PAID for him??

Me: Yes, I bought him from a pet store.

Mom: [Huge sigh] Where do you keep him?

Me: In a glass cage.

Mom: Are there locks on it so he can't get out?

Me: Yes, I have 6 locks on the top so he won't be able to escape.

Mom: Do you ever take him out of there?

Me: Yeah, I have to take him out to feed him and I handle him every once in a while.

Mom: What does he eat?

Me: Mice.

Mom: Oh, God! So you have mice, too??

Me: Yeah, but they're already dead and frozen. I just thaw them out when it's time to feed him.

By now, I knew that she had suffered enough, so I told her I would talk to her later. I asked if she'd like me to send some pictures of Sammy. Believe it or not, she said, "NO!"

My New Toy

2008-09-16T18:26:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to start making more meals at home, I decided to purchase this nifty little gadget from Cuisinart:

It's the Griddler, Jr. (GR3) and it ROCKS! It's similar to the George Forman Grill, but made from better quality materials. It cooks everything in a jiffy (ack, did I just say "jiffy"?) and the grill plates snap off for easy cleaning.

If by chance someone who has never met me is reading this, let me explain a bit about my relationship with cooking. To put it mildly, I hate it. No, seriously, I really hate it. I get hives just thinking about it. So, if I can manage to put together meals like the following without tearing my hair out, anyone can. Trust me.

Meals I Have Made with My New Griddler , Jr:

Grilled marinated chicken breasts with green beans and mashed potatoes (ok, the potatoes were from a box. Sue me.)

Roast beef sandwich on ciabatta with horseradish mayo and white cheddar.
Grilled asparagus with hollandaise sauce
Grilled pears (I didn't even know you could grill pears!)

I've only had it for 2 days, so that's pretty darn impressive for me. I thought about telling my mom, but decided against it. I'm afraid the shock of me cooking would be too much for her to handle.

Back from SF

2008-09-15T18:48:00.000-07:00

I returned from my World Class Customer Service Training Seminar in San Francisco a few days ago, and I'm now ready to go out into the world and give our clients the same level of service I was giving them before. I was already awesome so I see no need to change now.

Despite the banality of the seminar itself, I did enjoy meeting other CSAs in the company and getting ideas and tips for operational type stuff. As far as the customer service stuff though... I got that down pat already.

Since I flew down a few days early, I had a chance to hang out and explore the city a bit. I went to a neat opera concert in Golden Gate Park with my friend D and his friend M. Here is a photo of me absorbing the culture:

As you can see, I'm wearing sunglasses because it was uncharacteristically sunny in SF during my stay. I actually wanted to see the fog more, especially that day since I was wearing a sweater and it was hot. Of course the fog rolled in immediately after the concert was over. Just my luck.

All in all it was nice little vacation :)

Oh, I almost forgot...

2008-08-18T19:38:00.001-07:00

The All Blacks spanked the Springboks this weekend... on the Springboks home turf! That makes it sweeter. Check out the awesomeness:

Damn it's hot!

2008-08-17T11:10:00.000-07:00

I'll admit that 98% of the time I love Portland's weather. I love the dreary, overcast fall and winter as well as the low humidity, mid 70 degrees, blue sky summers. Unfortunately once or twice ever summer, Mother Nature decides to be a royal pain in the ass and stick us with a heat wave. Since Thursday the city has been sweltering with temps reaching 100+. The heat is especially hard to deal with because most houses (including mine) do not have air conditioning. I do feel grateful to have north facing windows since that means that the sun never hits my place directly, but when you have a couple of days of heat like this, it just kind of hangs around in the air. Right now the temperature in my unit is a toasty 84 degrees... not horrible, but not comfortable either.

Sammy is suffering as well. I woke up this morning to find him using his water dish as a pool. Snakes will often do that to cool off or if the humidity is too low in their terrarium, but this was the first time I've seen him do it. I wish he had stayed in there long enough for me to take a picture.

Luckily tomorrow is supposed to be back to normal with highs in the low-mid 70's. I don't think I've ever wanted Monday to come sooner.

On to other news...

I successfully passed my Series 31 and 65 exams earlier this month. It was a relief to get that out of the way. Now I will be able to participate in revenue sharing with my team at work. The more revenue we generate, the bigger my paycheck. Oh yeeeeaaaah! Also, I have been invited to attend a customer service training seminar in San Francisco next month. It's basically supposed to teach me how to do the job that I've been doing for the past 11 years, but for a free flight to SF, I'll deal with it. The seminar only lasts for 2 days (a Tues and Weds), but I'm flying down there earlier to make a 5 day stay out of it.
Should be fun.

Hilarious T-shirt

2008-07-20T15:28:00.000-07:00

While walking home today after watching Australia triumph over South Africa in a Tri-Nations game, I saw a young woman wearing a t-shirt that read:

SHAKESPEARE HATES YOUR EMO POEMS

I dare say I guffawed.

When I got home I did a google search for "Shakespeare hates your emo poems" out of curiosity and my experience today was made more hilarious when I found the comments here:

Don't laugh at me for being emo

PS. Hopefully we'll see an All Blacks/Wallabies Final in the Tri-Nations tournament.

Add butterfish to the list...

2008-07-12T21:22:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday I stopped by the Heathman after work to have a drink before heading home. Of course "a drink" turned into "3 drinks" but that's no big surprise. After drink numero 3 I decided that I was hungry and ordered the seared ahi from their bistro menu. The bartender told me about a new menu item they had recently added called miso butterfish and highly recommended it. Now comes the point in the story where I should mention that I'm allergic to fish. Well, some fish. I know that I can eat tuna with no problem, but I stay away from shellfish and most other fish just to be safe. Of course sober KJ would have said "actually I might be allergic to that, so I'll just stick with the tuna, thanks." Unfortunately we were dealing with her evil, stupid twin, slightly tipsy KJ who thought it was a fabulous idea to order the butterfish. So, that's what I did.

I took the first bite. It was delicious. I'd go so far as to say that it was the most delicious thing I have ever eaten. The bartender looked at me with a "so how is it?" look and I gave him an enthusiastic two thumbs up. I took the second bite. Yep, still delicious and most importantly I didn't seem to be having any sort of reaction. This was good. Then the barback walked over and commented that he had also eaten the butterfish that day and we agreed that it was delicious. I continued to happily munch away... until I got to approximately bite #5. That's when I started to notice a slight scratchy feeling in my throat when I swallowed. This was not good. I laid my fork down for a moment and waited. Then it happened. My throat continued to itch and now my lips were starting to itch and swell. To my great dismay, I was allergic to the butterfish.

I know that seafood/fish allergies can be very severe and cause anaphylactic shock that can lead to death if not treated in time. Luckily that has never happened to me so I don't think my allergy is that severe. At any rate I knew that if I were to go into anaphylactic shock, it would happen very quickly and in fact probably would have started already. Also the symptoms I was having were very similar to the symptoms I had during my previous yellowtail experience, so I wasn't too worried. Just to be safe though, I decided to go home and take some Benadryl. I paid my bill and started to head out when the barback noticed that I hadn't finished the butterfish.

He said, "oh you didn't like it?"

I replied, "it was delicious, but um I think I might be having an allergic reaction, so uh, I gotta go." and then I rushed out.

As I was leaving, I heard the barback relay that information to the bartender.

I walked home slowly; keeping an eye out for ambulances and police cars in the event that I needed to flag one down. Luckily I did not.

I made it home safely and stayed awake for another couple of hours to make sure I could still breathe. When I was satisfied that I was not going to die in my sleep (at least not from the butterfish) I called it a night and went to bed.

The next day my throat was still a bit itchy and my lips were still swollen, but I was alive. I decided to stop by the Heathman just to let them know that I didn't die overnight and they could still count on my patronage despite the fact that their bartender tried to kill me. The other bartender and the barback had a great time pranking the bartender from the previous night by telling him that I had spent the whole evening in the emergency room. They guilt tripped him for a good 5 minutes by reminding him that "she didn't even know about the butterfish until you recommended it."

Man, that butterfish was delicious.

A little more furniture...

2008-07-07T20:36:00.000-07:00

Well, a rug and an ottoman:

The ottoman is a nifty storage ottoman from Bed, Bath and Beyond. It even has 2 mini ottomans inside!

I got the rug from Fred Meyer of all places.

Big thanks to my co-worker, Carol who drove me around the burbs on Sunday so I could go shopping!

Where's Sammy?

2008-07-07T20:26:00.000-07:00

Can you find Sammy in this photo?

There he is!!

America's Birthday + Baseball = FUN!

2008-07-05T21:38:00.000-07:00

Since July 4th usually involves big crowds of drunk people and sitting around for HOURS waiting for a fireworks show to start, I usually end up staying home (b/c of my aversion to crowds of drunk people and waiting around). This year though, I decided to bite the bullet and go out to watch a baseball game followed by fireworks. I met up with a few friends around 6:30pm and we all bought general admission seats to watch the Portland Beavers compete against the Tacoma Rainiers. I didn't realize it until mid-way through the game, but this was the first time I've seen a baseball game in Portland and I forgot how much fun they can be. Even better was the fact that it was Family Feast Friday with hot dogs and ice cream sandwiches for only $1. Unfortunately beer was the regular inflated price of $7, but the cheap hot dogs made up for it... I had 3 (hot dogs, that is.)

Since I'm not a sportswriter, you can read about the Beavers' awesome comeback victory here:

Beavers Send Fans Home Happy with Dramatic Comeback Victory

After the game, PGE Park put on a nice little fireworks display. I recorded a few seconds near the end on my cell phone. The video is poor quality, but you can still tell that it's fireworks.

Sammy Update

2008-06-29T19:11:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in one of my previous posts, Sammy has now passed into the full fledged "OMG, that's a SNAKE" stage. I tried to take some photos of him this afternoon right before his weekly feeding, but I discovered that hungry snakes are not very cooperative and don't like to sit still. That being said, I was able to get a couple of decent pics. And here they are:

Although he's a big guy, I swear he isn't as gigantic as he looks in this pic! My arm is small and the photo was taken super close up.

Unfortunately you can't see his head in this one b/c he was just starting to burrow under the substrate in his terrarium:

Next time I'm out, I'm going to try to get some fancy looking decorations to spruce up his snake condo. It's looking kind of blah in there.

Avenue Q

2008-06-26T19:16:00.000-07:00

Last night I headed to the Keller Auditorium to see "Avenue Q", the 2004 Tony award winner for best musical. If you've never heard of Avenue Q, the best way to describe it would be like Sesame Street for adults. Since I love Sesame Street, I was sure I'd enjoy it.

Unfortunately, I didn't.... for one simple reason:

The puppet handlers were on the stage rather than being hidden away like they are on Sesame Street. You wouldn't think this would be a big deal, but it was seriously annoying. It was a pity too b/c it was a very funny show. I just couldn't get over the puppet handlers being on stage.

Here is a performance of "It Sucks to be Me." Like I said, funny stuff.

Two years

2008-06-23T19:46:00.000-07:00

Hello, Blog Readers (all 2 of you). I apologize that I haven't posted, but I was dealing with some extremely slow internet access for a while. Actually, it wasn't even mine. I was scamming a weak signal from the church down the street. To assuage my guilt, I rationalized that Jesus is a pretty cool guy and he would want me to have internet access. Anyway, it was slooooow, so writing and posting a blog entry would have taken about 2 hours. Thankfully, as of last Wednesday, I have speedy, LEGAL access that I'm sharing with a neighbor down the hall. So, on to the post...

June 20 was the 2nd anniversary of my move to Portland. I celebrated by drinking at the Heathman Hotel bar and going to sleep around 8:45pm. It's okay, you can be jealous.
(Editor's Note: I am a complete and total ASS! June 19th was my Portland anniversary. June 20th was my parent's wedding anniversary! My only defense, is that by the time I went to sleep on June 19, 2006, it was probably already June 20th. Yeah, that's it.)

My new job is going well. I'm finally starting to clean up a lot of the stuff that was left behind, but there are still a couple of new problems that crop up every now and then. To add to my fun, I have been informed by my compliance department that I am required to get 2 more securities licenses: the Series 65 (Uniform Investment Advisers Law Exam) and the Series 31 (Futures Managed Funds Exam). The material is extremely boring, so studying has been difficult b/c I keep falling asleep. I'm going to go ahead and schedule the exams and cram a couple of weeks ahead of time. Hopefully this will be enough to pass.

In other news, I am no longer caring for Zen and Lucy, the cats I've mentioned in previous posts. Their owner came to pick them up at the beginning of June. They were super sweet cats, but I can't say that I will miss cleaning the litter box, getting said litter stuck to my feet when I walked across my floor, and dealing with cat hair. So, now it's just me and Sammy. Now that the cats are gone, I'm able to take him out of his terrarium more often. He responded this afternoon by taking a big dump on me. I don't know if that's a good sign.

Speaking of Sammy, he is much bigger now. He's moved from cute baby snake to "oh my G-d, that's a snake!" I'm very proud.

Unfortunately, I have some exciting Series 65 studying to do, so that's it for now.

Long time, no blog...

2008-04-19T07:34:00.000-07:00

Yikes! I haven't posted on this thing in a while. Since I don't have a lot of time this morning to write out a long entry (and you probably don't feel like reading it) I'll give the bulleted version.

Stuff That Has Been Happening

I'm still taking French class. There are only 5 people in the class, all women. My covert plan to meet a hot guy trying to learn French has been thwarted. I'm joking of course.

I finally saw my first live rugby game. It was about 20 degrees outside and I froze my ass off, but it was fun. Unfortunately, the team I was rooting for lost. I don't have any pictures b/c I would have had to take my hands out of my pockets to take them and that wasn't happening. The many shots of Jameson Irish Whiskey I drank later at the post game party helped warm me up :)

I resigned from my job on Monday, though I'm still staying through until the end of the month. I'll be moving to another job at a well known international brokerage firm as a registered sales assistant. Although I enjoyed my job at my current company, there was some trouble with me being able to keep my securities licenses while I was employed there. Basically b/c of the type of company it is (investment adviser vs broker dealer) they can't put me on their books as a registered representative and after 2 years my licenses will lapse and I'll have to take my exams all over again. I would prefer not to do that, so when this position with a broker dealer came up, I took it. I start on May 1st. I felt guilty about leaving since my current company is in the middle of their quarter end reporting and consequently, very busy. It would have been easier if I disliked the job and my coworkers, then I could have just said, "I quit! See ya!" Oh well, I've got to look out for number 1 and I'm sure they'll find a replacement who's almost as good as me... almost. I kid.

Well, that's all for right now. I'll try to be more proactive and update this thing in a timely fashion in the future.

Mais, bien sûr je parle français!

2008-02-21T10:18:00.000-08:00

I've decided to start taking French classes again. I figure foreign languages are the one thing I'm actually somewhat talented at, so I might as well go for it.

Starting at then end of March I'll be studying at the Alliance Française here in Portland. The classes are small and affordable (unlike a regular college class which would be crowded and expensive. Seriously, PSU, $450 for a Level 1 French Class? Sacre bleu!)

I promise I will not start wearing a beret and eating smelly cheese, but I may not be able to control myself from peppering conversations with occasional French phrases.

Furniture has arrived

2008-02-21T10:11:00.000-08:00

The new loveseats were delivered by two young strapping lads on Friday as scheduled. Here are some photos:

I have to get some pillows or something to add a bit of color, but for now I'm just happy to have somewhere to sit.

New Member of the Family

2008-02-12T15:03:00.000-08:00

No, I didn't get another snake (but don't tempt me). It's a baby. No, it's not MY baby. It's my brother's baby. Well, it's he and his wife's baby. She's the one who did all the work, after all. Presenting Miss Chloe Louise:

Luckily for my brother and sister-in-law she seems to have mastered the sleeping thing.

ETA: For the love of G-d, people, look at her foot. I don't care what her birth certificate says, there is NO way this child is 8 lbs. That foot is the size of the average newborn head!

Tax rebate? Ohhh yeaaah!

2008-02-01T16:08:00.000-08:00

For the first time in about 10 years I will not owe Uncle Sam an exorbitant amount of money in April. In fact, I will be getting back a nice chunk of change in about 2 weeks once my Federal and State tax returns are processed. (Yes, I know it's not good when you get a refund b/c it means that you gave the government an interest-free loan, but I don't care, it's still money.) I'm using it to buy some decent furniture for my condo since I got rid of the crappy West Elm sofa that I bought last year.

As I'm sure you're curious, here's what I'm getting...

Two of these loveseats from Macy's:

I was originally going to do a sofa/loveseat thing, but after measuring I decided that the sofa would overwhelm the room. They'll be arranged like this:

The rectangular objects on each wall are my bookshelves. I had them pushed together as a room divider and placed next to my bed, but I decided that made things too claustrophobic, so I've opened up the floor plan a bit. Sammy's terrarium is on top of the shelf on the left and I'm putting my new TV on the shelf on the right. I also need to do something about the ugly white horizontal blinds on my windows b/c they completely kill the room. I'm thinking maybe some bamboo shades or something like that.

I bought the loveseats today, but they won't be delivered till the end of the month, so I have some time to do more planning.

Christmas is for Casanovas. Who knew?

2008-01-02T09:06:00.000-08:00

Since I despise traveling during the holidays, I stayed home in Portland this Christmas. I'm not a big Christmas person to begin with so I decided to spend the day watching a movie and then having dinner by myself at my favorite bar. Unfortunately, after taking the Max all the way there I discovered that my favorite bar had the audacity to be closed on Christmas. So, I left and walked around for a while trying to find a restaurant that was open. Aside from a few Chinese places (I wasn't in the mood the Chinese food) everything was closed. Dejected, I started to walk back home.

Heading down Broadway, I discovered that the Heathman Hotel Bar was open so I popped in there. The Trailblazers/Sonics game was on so I sat at the bar to watch. It didn't take long before some middle aged guy started talking to me. He was from California and spent most of the time alluding to how much money he made. Oh, and his father used to manage the Heathman hotel and he had met a lot of famous rock stars who had stayed there "back in the day."

Naturally, there's nothing I love more than a man who brags about himself especially when he does it loud enough for other people at the bar to hear. Of course a catch like that must be married, so I didn't get my hopes up... but then he revealed that he was going through a divorce... his second divorce. It took all my willpower to not rip my clothes off right there, but I remained strong. I decided to finish up my last drink, which he had bought for me and head home. (I usually don't accept drinks from strangers but it was already poured before I had a chance to refuse and there's no sense in wasting good bourbon.)

He excused himself to go to the restroom and I signaled the bartender to make my escape. I quickly paid my tab, leaving a decent tip because it has been my experience in the past that people who brag about their riches are usually shitty tippers and I felt bad for the bartender because she would be stuck listening to him for the rest of the night... unless some other lucky girl took my place.

Just when I think I've got it figured out...

2007-12-13T12:17:00.000-08:00

The other day I pondered about eventually moving away from Portland... then I remembered that we have stuff like this:

Santacon 2007

I wasn't able to last through all 12 hours because I'm just not the party animal I used to be, but I had a fun, fun time all the same. I didn't even mind that my pants were ripped and I was bruised and battered at the end. Ok, I did kind of mind about the pants.

Why am I so restless??!!!

2007-11-09T10:37:00.000-08:00

My last post concerned my failed pursuit of a new degree. Now for some reason I've started contemplating a move to New Zealand. Why New Zealand? Well, why not? The people are nice, the air is clean, it's safe, and their national sport is Rugby. What more could a girl want? Of course a lot of my thinking has to do with the fact that my friend D lives over there now with her husband (also a D) and loves the country so much I think she would marry it if that was legally possible. (And I'm sure she's checked into that.)

Don't get me wrong, I love Portland, but something keeps telling me that this isn't supposed to be my final destination. Of course thinking about a move to NZ and actually doing it are 2 completely different things. For one, you just can't MOVE there. NZ Immigration is pretty strict. Basically there are 3 ways you can migrate:

Marry a New Zealander
Have work experience in one of their areas of skill shortages (Surprisingly, Financial Admin Assistant is not one of those areas)
Have an offer of employment from a NZ company (difficult b/c companies in NZ won't consider you unless you are already authorised to work in NZ and you can't be authorised to work unless you satisfy options 2 or 3)

There is also a 4th option, the Working Holiday Visa. This visa will allow you to stay and work in the country for 12 months, but is non-renewable. So, if at the end of a year if you haven't managed to convince a NZ company to hire you over a NZ citizen b/c you're so amazingly awesome no one can compete with you, then you're heading back home on a plane.

Another obvious problem is that New Zealand is pretty f**king far away from, well... everywhere so visiting family would be more difficult than it already is.

Sigh... so I will continue to look into options and think carefully before making a decision (since I've been so good about doing that before!)

In the meantime, I'm going to go have a piece of pizza.

Well okay, so much for that...

2007-11-02T10:43:00.000-07:00

Remember this post from earlier in the year? The one where I ranted about how much I hated finance and predicted that I would start heading down a new life path to the World of Medical Lab/Forensic Science Goodness? Well, yeah that didn't quite work out. I quit. Why? Because I realized that I'm lazy. Of course there were other reasons, mainly that the entire program would have cost me upwards of $35-40k when all was said and done and it no longer seemed worth it to go through all that hassle and expense to get a degree that would provide me with a job that pays about the same (or maybe a tad more) than I'm making now. Overall, though, I just decided that I wasn't enjoying the classes and didn't feel like making the effort anymore. So I'm not going to be a top notch forensic guru who gets called in on important murder cases. BFD. I'll just coast along like I always have and eventually retire to Panama when I get old.

In the meantime, I'm going to start saving up for a nice trip to New Zealand in 2011 to see the Rugby World Cup!!!

Rugby = Greatest Sport Evah!!

2007-10-23T21:58:00.001-07:00

Do you like American Football, but sometimes think to yourself, "Man, why do they have to be such wusses and wear all that padding? And why does the game have to stop every 10 seconds?"

Or perhaps you like Soccer (Futbol) but sometimes you think to yourself, "God, those guys have great legs, but why do they have to be such dramatic cry babies all the time?" (Ok, maybe you don't think about the legs part, but I do.)

Are you a fan of the Ultimate Fighting, but really just wish there was a ball involved somehow?

Well, I'd like to introduce you to my new friend... RUGBY aka the most Awesome Sport Ever.

Ireland's Shane Horgan is stopped by Australia's Wycliff Palu (EMPICS)

It's like American football, soccer, and Ultimate fighting all rolled into one. No pads and no cry babies... I mean, the ref sometime has to tell players to get off the field b/c they're bleeding too much! How awesome is that?!

I've started watching a few matches recently(like the World Cup Final between England & South Africa) and I'm still learning all the rules but so far I love it! Now I just have to check out some matches around Portland.

Would you like to stalk me? Google makes it easy!

2007-10-23T21:51:00.000-07:00

Google has recently added "street view" to their maps, so now you can see the street level view of any address in downtown Portland. Let's talk a walk through my day shall we?

First I leave my house:

KJ's Condo

Hmm, perhaps I'll stop off at the Starbucks inside Safeway for a delicious Soy Pumpkin Spice Latte... mmm pumpkin.

Safeway

Nope, it looks like I'm running late. Time to hop on the light rail...

Ooops, look like I just missed it. Guess I'll be walking in to work today. Drats.

Fast forward to about 10 minutes later and voila, I'm at work.

Eight hours later....

What should I do now?? I know... let's go for a beer! Hello Thirsty Lion Pub!

Drink, drink, drink. Time to go back home.

The end.

First test is over

2007-10-18T10:15:00.000-07:00

I made a "C". I'm not too happy about that, but at least I didn't fail. All the questions I missed were from the last 2 chapters that I didn't get a chance to study as thoroughly as I would have liked, so I guess that's a good thing. As long as I do well on my other tests, I shouldn't have anything to worry about because the professor drops our lowest test score.

Amsterdam, here I come... maybe!

2007-10-15T10:32:00.000-07:00

Northwest Airlines just announced a new non-stop flight from Portland to Amsterdam, which makes it very easy to select my next vacation destination. Of course the flights don't start until March of 2008 and I definitely won't be taking the maiden voyage b/c I'll be in school during that time, but maybe I'll spend my birthday there. Who knows?

Right now I have to make plans to go home to see my mom b/c I haven't been there since I moved to Portland. Unfortunately I won't have enough vacation time accrued anytime soon (we accrue 3.33 hours per month) so I'll have to take an "advance" on my vacation if I want to travel down there before next year. It would be much easier if my mom could fly up here, but that's just not possible. Oh well.

The job is still going well and my class is going "okay". It's a lot tougher than I thought it would be. One of our three exams is this Wednesday, and I still need to catch up on the reading, not to mention actually start studying! Ugh! The exam covers eight chapters... EIGHT, people! That's ridiculous.

Well, I have some flights to book, so that's all for now.

Good news, bad news

2007-09-18T19:57:00.000-07:00

The good news is, I'm still employed. The bad news is... ha, there is no bad news! Gotcha!

Everything is still going well. I'm just getting accustomed to working in an office that isn't loud (remember I've always worked on a trading floor) and where I'm expected to actually leave the office for lunch and not just eat at my desk. Anyway, instead of blabbing on about the job itself, I thought I'd list some weird coincidences about my current position just to demonstrate my belief that everything always works out for the best.

1. Before moving to Portland last year, I flew out here for a job interview. After spending a crap load of money traveling to interview for a fairly low paying job, the company didn't even have the decency to call and inform me that I didn't get the job. I won't reveal the name of the company, but let's just say they're a bank and they're located in America. Some might even say that they're a bank of America :-)

2. The company I'm currently working for is located in the same building.

3. Shortly after I got laid off, I went to have dim sum with some friends. The fortune cookie I got at the end of the meal said, "You will receive an unexpected payment." A few days later I received severance from my former job which I most definitely was not expecting.

4. After I was told that I would be receiving a job offer from Company #1, I decided to go out and celebrate by having dinner. I chose Chinese. This time my fortune cookie said, "Something unusual will happen at work next week." The next day I found out that Company #1 had changed their minds, meaning that I wouldn't have a job for anything unusual to happen at, unless Company #2 came back with an offer. They did.

5. My current boss told me today that the evening after I met him and the other people in the office and he sat down to watch a baseball game being played in Baltimore. One of the main companies advertising in the stadium was my old employer. He took it as a sign. (Of course I was also hired b/c I had the experience.)

6. My old office in Baltimore: located next to a brew pub
My new office in Portland: also located next to a brew pub
If that doesn't scream "fate" I don't know what does!

It's official!

2007-09-13T20:15:00.001-07:00

Today was my first day as a new employee! I spent most of the day filling out forms and making sure that I was able to sign onto all the various computer programs that I'll need to use. The coolest part is that I have my own office. Not my own desk or my own "little area", but my very own office! Unfortunately it's kind of like a fishbowl so it's not really private, but it's still an office and it's MINE! Of course we also have all the typical perks: free coffee, soda, tea, etc.

It's a little frustrating because I can't really do anything until I get up and running on all the systems and that takes a while because of security clearances and whatnot. I don't like to sit there and be unproductive, but I guess I can stand it for a few days.

Also I have a new furniture addition to report. Thanks to my friend AJ, who has been personally responsible for delivering about 99% of the furniture in my house, I now have 2 Expedit bookshelves from Ikea. I plan to use them as a giant room divider/media stand. I managed to put one together yesterday, but the other will have to wait until this weekend. Eventually I hope to get a television also, but that will have to wait until a few more bills are paid.

Interesting Family History

2007-09-08T00:19:00.000-07:00

Since I've been unemployed over the past month, I decided to pass the time with some genealogy research. My mom's side of the family has been much easier to trace than my dad's since one of her cousins is a genealogist. I've been using Ancestry.com which has a neat little feature that allows you to find "famous" people to whom you are related. Here are some of the coolest ones I found:

16th Great Grandfather (Mom's paternal line)
Geoffrey Chaucer: English author and poet

11th Great Grandfather (Mom's paternal line)
John Billington: first person to be hanged for a crime (murder) in the new Plymouth colony

10th Great Granduncle (Mom's paternal line)
Edward Winslow: Governor of the Plymouth Colony

8th Cousin, 1 time Removed (Mom's maternal line)
Amelia Earhart: Aviation Pioneer

I am also distantly related to: John Hancock, President James Garfield, President Jimmy Carter, William Wordsworth, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Niccolo Macchiavelli.

I really wish I could get more information about my dad's side but so far I've been meeting a lot of dead ends.

What a difference a day makes!

2007-09-07T23:27:00.000-07:00

Don't you love when a company jerks you around and says they're going to hire you and then... oops, sorry we changed our minds!

After telling me for the past week that an offer was coming soon (mind you, this wasn't a "you're our top candidate so far" but a definite "we're writing up the offer but just have a few kinks to work out") I found out yesterday that the brokers from Company #1 have decided that they would rather just go ahead and use an assistant who already works in the office b/c they are "more comfortable" with her and know her personality better. Never mind that she isn't qualified for the job and will require training. I know if these guys were my investment advisers I would feel much more comfortable knowing that an assistant with zilcho industry experience was handling important aspects of my account. Thank goodness. Granted this was a decision made by the brokers and not by the people that I spoke to originally during my first two interviews, but still, it's grossly unprofessional. The office manager and HR person are supposed to be meeting to figure out another position they can fit me into, but I haven't heard anything back about that. And yeah, like I'd want to work there now??!! It really doesn't matter though b/c ...

In the meantime, Company #2 called this afternoon and actually offered me a position (none of this, "oh well, we have some minor details to work out..." bullshit). Salary + benefits, my own office, and it's across the street from a pub... WIN! I told them I wanted the weekend to think about it, but I'll be calling them first thing Monday to accept.

I suppose I should call Company #1 after I accept the position with Company #2 so they don't have to waste their time figuring out how to find an open position for me. Maybe I'll do that... maybe.

The Saga Continues...

2007-09-05T08:56:00.000-07:00

When we last left our young heroine, she was waiting for news on an awesome job offer. We pick up the story now and ...

she's still waiting for the job offer.

Company #1 decided that I needed to speak with some of the brokers I would be working with just to make sure we would get along. Now I can get along with anyone unless they're a certified asswipe and even then I'm pretty good at faking it, so I didn't foresee this being a problem. Luckily I was right and we all hit if off well. That was yesterday. They are supposedly going to call sometime this morning with an offer. I certainly hope so b/c I'm tired of waiting.

In the meantine, I have another meeting with Company #2 this afternoon which will turn into an eventual second job offer... at least that's what I'm hoping.

In case I haven't mentioned it before... job hunting blows.

This New Yorker cartoon says it perfectly:

Is that a job offer I see on the horizon??

2007-08-29T16:37:00.000-07:00

Why, yes it is!!! Company #1 has informed the employment agency I'm working with that they will be drafting an "irresistible" offer for me to consider tomorrow. They found out that I was interviewing with another firm (Company #2) and didn't want to risk losing me. Yes, the rumors you've heard are true... I'm really that awesome.

While I'm pretty sure that the offer will not involve a 6-figure salary and access to the company jet, hopefully it will be enticing enough for me to accept. I would still like to talk to Company #2 again, but they are holding off until one of their employees returns from vacation. This is the employee that I would working under (not literally, perverts) so I can understand their desire to have us meet. Unfortunately, I really would like to be employed as soon as possible because of these pesky things called bills.

Perhaps I will be employed by this time next week??!!

One month anniversary

2007-08-26T01:33:00.001-07:00

Well, I have officially passed the 1 month mark of unemployment. Yippee!

Luckily all the resumes I sent out are starting to pay off. I had a promising interview last week and have been asked to come in to meet with the senior members of the department on Monday morning. I'm happy to be called back, but all the waiting is kind of frustrating. On Tuesday I have an interview with a different company. According to the guy I spoke to on the phone, they are going to try to get everything out of the way in one afternoon. In other words, I'll be meeting with everyone I need to meet with at one time, rather than being called back for multiple interviews. I think I like that method better, even if it will kill most of my afternoon. Then again, it's not like I'm doing anything anyway.

So, how am I keeping myself busy? Well for the first couple of weeks I spent most of the time blasting out resumes. I've slowed down a bit on that now that some responses are coming in. If none of the positions I'm currently interviewing for work out, then I'll resume with the resume blasting. I've also started working on a novel that I've been contemplating for a while. And when I say working on, I mean jotting notes on paper napkins. I'm not staying up all night in front of the computer... well, okay, I am staying up all night in front of the computer but that's not the unwritten novel's fault... that's because of insomnia.

Anyway, on an unrelated note, I posted a few photos of Sammy the snake in my last message. One of the photos showed Lucy sitting on top of the cage. Well, now Zen is getting into the act:

Is it just me, or did it suddenly get dark in here??

Do you ever get the feeling you're being watched?

Three Week Update

2007-08-17T17:45:00.000-07:00

Maybe I'm just being impatient, but three weeks seems like a long time to be out of work. So, yes, to answer your question, I am still unemployed. I've started carrying on conversations with Sammy the Snake, which experts have told me is much worse than talking to your cats. I'm not sure the reasoning behind this, but I think it has to do with the fact that snakes really can't hear, don't make any noise and have no expressions. I personally don't think that Sammy is expressionless, I just think he's really concentrating on what I have to say. So far, he has not been very forthcoming with job hunting advice though.

Speaking of jobs, I have now resorted to sending my resume in for every job that I am remotely qualified for. I'm not even paying attention to the salary because $10/hr is still better than $0/hr. I'm beginning to think about going back to school full time so if I'm able to find a part time gig that will pay enough to cover my bills, I'll probably end up taking that. I would love to find something that would allow me to carry over my Series 7 & 63 licenses (they're only good for 2 years if I'm not employed by a NASD member firm) but right now that doesn't seem likely.

Lastly, speaking of Sammy the Snake... I didn't realize how much he has grown since the last time I posted photos. Look how big he is now.

He was being particularly clingy in this photo. Maybe because Lucy the cat was staring at him. She likes to watch him and I'm sure she's trying to figure out how to get into his cage:

Don't worry, he's locked in extra tight and the screen cover is very strong.

Two Week Update

2007-08-09T20:05:00.000-07:00

Newsflash: I'm still unemployed.

I did manage to qualify for unemployment insurance so now I'm sticking it to the man and using my checks for liquor, cigarettes and lottery tickets... just kidding... I don't smoke. I've sent my resume out for about 10-15 positions, mostly admin assistant type stuff. I had one interview yesterday and one is scheduled for tomorrow. The one today was with a staffing agency and they are going to forward my info on to the hiring firm for further consideration so I guess that's a good sign. Unfortunately the one for tomorrow is located way over in SE Portland which would involve commuting. I am not a fan of commuting especially since I have classes scheduled for this fall, so unless they offer me some unbelievable deal, I'll probably end up passing on the job. It's always good to get interview experience though.

Overall the worst thing about being unemployed is the boredom. I thought about taking a few weeks off to travel, but then I remembered that I didn't have a job which also means that I don't have any money. I don't have a television so I can't just sit around all day and watch soap operas. I finally broke down and signed up for the internet at home b/c I needed to use it for job searching and I was getting tired of having to go out to a coffee shop every time I wanted to check my email. That gets expensive, too. I've been reading A LOT.

The one class I'm taking now is going pretty well. I've gotten an "A" on all my assignments and just took my midterm on Monday. I think I aced that one too, but I'll have to wait and see.

You're fired!

2007-07-25T16:07:00.000-07:00

That's right people, I've been fired. Well, technically I was laid off. I think you're only fired if you do something wrong. I've never been unemployed involuntarily before. It's kind of weird.

Ok, to add a little more detail... I was not completely surprised about being laid off. Sales have been slow for a very long time, and my boss warned me a few months ago that things were pretty bad. Of course it sucks to lose your job for any reason, but at least I wasn't completely blindsided. I had been tweaking my resume recently, so it was all ready to send out. I applied for unemployment, just to be on the safe side and I have some money in savings, so I'll be fine for a while. I always like to look on the bright side of things... in this case it could definitely be worse... I could be unemployed and pregnant. See? Now being just unemployed doesn't seem so bad!

So long social life :-(

2007-07-13T09:11:00.000-07:00

My class schedule for next quarter. I'll probably be napping on Fridays and Sundays. (Click the photo to enlarge.)

I wanted this, right?

You've heard of LOLCATs...

2007-07-10T11:31:00.000-07:00

Now there's LOLSNAKEZ:

I amuse myself sometimes.

Bulls and Macs

2007-07-10T08:01:00.000-07:00

Wow, it has been a busy past couple of weeks! I thought things would quieten down a bit after my friend left, but no such luck. Actually, I shouldn't say that b/c it sounds like I'm complaining which I most certainly am not!

Saw the new release of Satoshi Kon's Paprika at Cinema 21. Hands down my favorite movie theater. The movie was awesome and a bit trippy. I normally watch anime on DVD but experiencing it in the theater was much cooler.

Celebrated America's birthday at the Waterfront Blues Festival. Unfortunately I had to work the next morning so I wasn't able to stay for the fireworks. Anyway, I think fireworks are lame so I wasn't too bummed.

Hung out with a few guests from Meetin chapters (Eileen, Dale, Alexis from San Francisco, Eric from Philly, Sue from Vancouver, B.C. and Nikki from Las Vegas). I apologize if I forgot anyone! A fun bunch of people although I'm sure they were all sad to leave the beautiful city of Portland where things like late night visits to doughnut shops and The Running of the Bullshitters are common occurrences... "Running of the WHAT?" you ask. Allow me to explain:

Everyone is familiar with the popular Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain. Sorry, but... BOOOORING. For the past 2 years, Portland has hosted its own version of the event substituting the bulls with people dressed like bulls. Basically you run the route and try not get "gored" by a bull (goring only involves magic markers and silly string, so no real risk of injury, unless you're allergic to silly string). Oh yeah, and there are some bar visits involved:

Running of the Bullshitters 2007

Sometimes I think Portland is just a giant playground for adults!

And last but not least, after almost throwing my laptop through the window when it froze up FIVE FREAKING TIMES while trying to watch a DVD, I broke down and got a Mac. I've been using it for about a week and I finally know what everyone's been talking about... it just WORKS! I'm still trying to decide whether it's worth it to buy Office for Mac. I guess it depends on how much file sharing and stuff I'm going to do. Best of all, I got a student discount of $100, plus a mail in rebate for $199 off of an iPod. Since I already had a Nano, I opted for a 30g video ipod.

Kim the Tour Guide

2007-06-27T05:54:00.001-07:00

Last week my friend Ilene flew out from Baltimore for a short visit. It was fun showing her my new city. I think we managed to do every touristy thing in the city and we agreed that most of it was overpriced (or we're both cheap). This was our itinerary. There were more than 400 photos taken and I downloaded about 20. Here they are: Trip Photos

Thursday, June 21st
Visited Powells, the greatest book store in the world (IMHO).

Attended a MiPL happy hour at On Deck Sports Bar with about 100 other people. I got to introduce a lot of new friends I've made since I moved here.

Friday, June 22nd
Took the "Best of Portland" tour with Portland Walking Tours Co. Most of the sites we visited weren't new to me, but there were a few interesting stories about the city. The coolest thing was that our guide was from Baltimore.

Took the streetcar to the Tram station and took a ride on the new Aerial Tram. The view was great, but seriously, $4 for a 3 minute ride?? That's a ripoff.

Saturday, June 23rd
For some reason I can't remember what we did early on Saturday. I think we went to the mall or something.

Later we explored NW Portland and had tea at my favorite tea place: Tea Chai Te

Then we went to Blitz Bar, a fairly new place in the Pearl that's marketed toward working class people rather than hip and chic Pearlies. I've been there before and always enjoyed it, but for some reason our bartender was a royal bitch this time. I finished my one beer and left. Then we went to Blue Moon over in NW Portland where the bartenders were much nicer.

Sunday, June 24th
Went to see the Bodyworlds exhibit at the Oregon Museum of Science. Tickets were $21, which I think was a little pricey, but it isn't every day that you get to see a room full of dead bodies, so taking that into consideration, I didn't mind paying up for it. I've heard from a lot of people that the exhibit was "gross", but I actually found it to be rather tame. Of course, I like to read about autopsies in my spare time, so my point of view may be a bit different from the average person. One thing I did notice is that there were a lot more male specimens than female. I guess men just have more of an opportunity or desire to donate their bodies to science. Oh, and as an aside, there were a few crying babies there. I can't imagine what would possess someone to bring a screaming infant to an exhibition of dead bodies. Seriously people, get a baby sitter.

As you probably already suspected, we were not allow to take photographs so you'll just have to enjoy these from the website: Bodyworlds Photos.

I think I may go back to see it again one day when it's less crowded.

Later, we took the train to the Rose Garden. I guess if you're really into flowers, you'd like it, but we both found it pretty boring. Lots of roses and that's about it. We were surprised to see a lot of guys with their wives/girlfriends. I wonder how whipped you have to be to agree to spend your afternoon looking at flowers. Pretty damn whipped, I'd guess.

Monday, June 25th
Spent the day in Seattle. Unfortunately b/c of the horrible Amtrak schedule we were only able to stay for about 4 hours. The earliest train left Portland at 8:45am and the latest train returned at 5:30pm. We managed to see the Space Needle and Pike Street Market, including the original Starbucks. We arrived back in Portland around 9pm and that ended our week of fun and adventure.

Reason #265 I hate to cook...

2007-06-07T13:41:00.000-07:00

Because it's dangerous!

Last Saturday I attempted to help my friend prepare ingredients for a yummy Vietnamese family dinner. All I had to do was cut up some fruits and veggies. I ended up almost slicing my finger off! To be fair, she did warn me repeatedly that the knife had just been sharpened and was, therefore, VERY SHARP. Since I have such a caring friend, the first thing she did was rush to get my finger bandaged up. The second thing of course in typical MiPL style, was to get photographic evidence:

Here I am showing off the injured finger and the offending knife. I think I'm going photo-shop in some snowflakes and to use this photo for my Christmas cards this year!

Next, for all those dinner attendees who missed the original accident, I was kind enough to reenact the scene... just like Forensic Files!! (Only without a murder).

Needless to say, I wasn't laughing the first time.

My friend quickly took me off cutting duty and kept me far away from the knives for the rest of the evening.

First class!

2007-05-25T08:31:00.000-07:00

Well, the ball has starting rolling. I'm currently signed up for my first class at PSU. It's an online course called: Intro to College Math I, which sounds very remedial in my opinion, but it's basically a pre-calculus course. I took Calculus in high school, but a bit of time has passed since then, so I thought it would be a good idea to brush up on some of my math skillz. Being online will be very convenient b/c I can work as quickly as I want and will probably be able to take the Level II course during this summer as well.

Yay for Cheap Haircuts!

2007-05-24T06:28:00.000-07:00

Since I have been in Portland, I've had 3 hair cuts. The first was $50, the second was $60, and the one I had yesterday was... are you ready...

$6............$6, people!

How did I get so lucky? Well, I recently discovered that the downtown campus of Beau Monde School of Hair Design is located 1 block from my condo! They offer services to the public that are performed by students and then checked and approved by instructors.

The cost was a little lower for me b/c I only got the hair cut and not the shampoo and style that normally comes with it . That would have been a whopping total of $10. I didn't mind not getting styled because hair dressers always spend WAY more time that I ever would on my hair and end up styling it in a way that I'll never be able to repeat.

At this price, I can get my haircut more often than every 6 months!

Let the midlife crisis begin...

2007-05-22T12:31:00.000-07:00

ETA: I just want to say that I greatly appreciate all the comments on this post, especially the "are you sure you want to do this" ones. They force me to think long and hard about my decision and that's always a good thing!

After approximately 10 years in the finance industry, I have decided that I'm getting out. The truth is, I hate business. I always have. It bores me. Yes, I did major in International Business in college, but that was more for the "international" aspect rather than the business one. I also had an idealistic view of business as this fast paced, exciting career path. It didn't matter that I hated every business class I took in college, because once I got out into the "real world" things would be different. Well, they're not. Business still bores me to tears. I also thought that once I worked in the industry for a few years that it would grow on me. It hasn't. This does NOT mean; however, that I have disliked the jobs I've held. On the contrary, I have enjoyed them very much, but that was always due to the office atmosphere more than the actual work itself. My jobs have always been something that paid the bills. In other words, they were always jobs and not a career. After so many years I found myself stuck in a rut. Sure, I wasn't passionate about my work, but as I stated before, it paid the bills and that was all that really mattered. Well, now I've decided that I want to do something that I actually enjoy. The question is... what?

I recently picked up a copy of this book: Life's a Bitch and then You Change Careers (big props to the Multnomah County Public Library). I normally don't put a lot of stock into these type of books, but I really enjoyed this one. One of my most eye opening exercises was the one that required you to quickly write down anything that you enjoy without analyzing it. This was the beginning of my list:

mystery novels
true crime shows (think Forensic files, not CSI)
medical shows
books about forensics
science documentaries
foreign films
studying languages/foreign culture

As Hercule Poirot would say, there appears to be a pattern here, n'est ce pas? More important than what's listed is what's NOT. No mention of stocks, bonds, investing, finance, the Wall St Journal, or anything that you would expect someone in the finance industry to enjoy.

Naturally, it is a little discouraging to realize that you spent 4 years (not to mention thousands of $$$) in college getting a degree that is completely wrong for you, but the past is the past and there's nothing to be done about it now. The only thing I can do is make better decisions in the future.

Starting this summer, I will begin studies to obtain a degree in Clinical Lab Science with an eventual goal of working in a forensic or medical lab. The degree is offered in a joint program with the Oregon Inst of Technology and Oregon Health & Science University. Unfortunately, since I took very few science courses in college (business majors don't do science) I will have to take about 48 credits of prerequisites at Portland State University before I have a chance to be admitted to the CLS degree program. I will take the prereqs part-time while I continue to work and once I'm admitted to the CLS program, I will start attending school full-time for 15 months. I'm not sure how things will work financially. Maybe I'll work part-time or take out loans or apply for scholarships. I'm sure I'll work out something.

So, that's it. The beginning of my midlife crisis. Some people buy a Corvette, I go back to school.

New House Guests

2007-05-17T09:44:00.000-07:00

Lucy and Zen (the cats from this post) moved in this past Sunday. Things are going very well so far. They're both pretty laid back kitties. Lucy is definitely more adventurous, she was running around checking out everything from the time she arrived. Zen is the epitome of a fraidy cat. He spent the first 2 days hiding under the bed and has just now started to venture out to explore his new surroundings. They have both met Sammy (not personally, of course, just through the glass of his terrarium) and they are definitely curious about him. No worries though, he's locked up tight.

Here are a couple of photos.

This is Lucy relaxing on my backpack. I'm not sure what she finds so fascinating about it, but she'll seek it out when I get home from work and go to sleep on top.

Here are both of them together. The funniest thing I've noticed is that they don't seem to really acknowledge each other. Most other pairs of cats I've encountered in the past have either hated each other and fought all the time or they've been joined at the hip (sleeping together, grooming each other, etc.) It's almost as if one doesn't realize that the other one exists. It's hilarious.

San Francisco & My Birthday

2007-05-07T07:15:00.000-07:00

I spent this past weekend in San Francisco to celebrate my 4th Annual 29th Birthday. It was my first trip to SF (not counting the airport). I enjoyed myself, especially since I met up with some friends who lived there. Here's a little run down of stuff I did:

Thursday May 3rd:
Arrived and checked into Bed & Breakfast. Took a nap. Walked around exploring the city.

Friday May 4th: (My BIRTHDAY)
Walked up to Fisherman's Wharf, checked out Chinatown and did some shopping.
Met up with some friends from MEETin San Francisco for happy hour at this place:

Cosmopolitan Cafe

To my surprise, my friend D who recently moved from Portland to SF showed up.

After happy hour some of us headed over to Naan-N-Curry, which in case it's not obvious from the name, is an Indian Restaurant with good, cheap food. During dinner we discussed places that I should visit, and someone mentioned Twin Peaks b/c of the great view of San Francisco. By the time dinner was over, I was exhausted and had a headache. We all said our goodbyes and D kindly offered to give me a ride back to the B&B. While driving, he decided to drive up to Twin Peaks so I could see the view we had all discussed during dinner. Unfortunately, by this time I really wasn't feeling well (possibly from the cheap Chicken Tikka Masala), but I knew this would probably be my only chance to see the view since I didn't have a car in SF, so I decided to suck it up. The view was gorgeous and like an idiot, I forgot to bring my camera. Here are some photos of what the view looks like:

Night View

Day View:

Saturday May 5th:

Attended a Cinco de Mayo festival (which was surprisingly boring) and then went on a Taqueria Crawl until around 8pm. Then we headed over to Berkeley to grab dessert at Au Coqulet. I took the BART back to the B&B and then left for Portland the next morning.

All in all, I enjoyed San Francisco, but I discovered that I have really become accustomed to the slower pace of life here in Portland. I'll definitely go back to SF one day b/c there are so many things I didn't have time to see, and hopefully next time I'll remember to bring my camera!

Kim the Builder

2007-04-27T07:13:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow morning at 8am I am going to undertake my first official volunteer project since arriving in Portland. I will be working with this organization on a home improvement/rebuilding project:

Rebuilding Together Portland

I'm going to have to break out my overalls!

The best part is that they provide free lunch!

Update:

Well, there was no building involved. I only got to paint, but it was still a lot of fun.

I'm going to be a Mom!

2007-04-25T06:19:00.000-07:00

More details to follow...

Okay, I'm actually going to be a foster mom...

...to a pair of cats.

A girl I met is going back to school to become a nurse and she will be unemployed during the first year that she's in school. Since she'll be unemployed she won't be able to afford to live where she's currently living (high rent) and is moving into a house with some other students. One of the students is allergic to cats, so she has to either give the cats up or find another arrangement. In this case, I'm the other arrangement.

I have agreed to keep the cats with me for the first year of her program. After that, we'll revisit the situation and if she's able to move back into an apartment by herself and take the cats back, she will. Otherwise I'll keep them for a bit longer. It's a win-win situation for both of us. She gets someone to care for her cats (she'll be covering the cost for food and supplies) and I get to have kitties that I don't have to commit to for their entire lifetime. The only requirement is that she is able to visit them occasionally, which of course I had no problem with.

Here are the kitties. Their names are Lucy (the gray one) and Zen (the black one). Lucy is short for Lucifer (long story, she's not evil or mean) and Zen was named b/c when he has a big Buddha -like belly.

Friday the 13th and Furniture Delivery Do Not Mix (Updated with photos!)

2007-04-13T10:51:00.000-07:00

So, I ordered a bed that is supposed to be delivered today. Needless to say, I'm excited. As per delivery protocol, the company was supposed to call me last night to set up a time. I stayed up until 11pm (waaaay past my bedtime for those of you who know my work hours). No phone call. I called the company this morning and they insisted that they had left a message for me and that they would be delivering my bed at 1:15pm. After some arguing back and forth we discovered that they had called the wrong number and left a message from some guy in Astoria, Oregon by mistake. I certainly hope he's not disappointed when there's no bed delivered to his place today.

So long story short, I have to leave work early today to wait for the delivery people who hopefully will show up!

In the meantime, here is my new floor plan for my condo:

This is only for the living room area of course. I didn't draw the kitchen and bath b/c they're not part of the redecorating project.

I'm thinking of hanging some curtains to act as a room divider. Something that will provide privacy, but still allow light to pass through. The other option would be to use some bookshelves, but I think that will make my place look too cluttered.

I'm using these sites for inspiration:

Apartment Therapy

Ikea Hacker

Update: Here is a photo of my bed. I'm probably going to paint/stain the legs to make them match my other furniture.

And I have to do something with those windows! They make me feel like I'm living in an insane asylum! Yuck!

Could it be? Yes, it's more furniture!

2007-04-06T07:10:00.000-07:00

My condo is finally starting to look like a normal human being lives there. I finished painting last night and have recently added a media stand (for the media I have yet to own) and 2 end tables. My bed should be delivered in a couple of weeks and I already have nice silk sheets for it. Yeah, that's how I roll.

As for Sammy's digs, he's now chilling in his new 20 gallon condo complete with climbing vine. He probably thinks "that lady who feeds me my mice" got a raise or something. Alas, no.

Once again, I have my friend AJ to thank for helping me pick up my furniture, especially the stuff that was "heavy as a bitch!" And most importantly, I managed to assemble everything without breaking down in tears once! I didn't even get frustrated when the bolts for my West Elm desk wouldn't fit properly. I just used some olive oil, and voila, problem solved. Or as I told my friend, "if you need to screw something and it won't fit, just use some olive oil." Perhaps one day I will live that down, but I doubt it.

Once all of my furniture is delivered and set up to my liking, I will post photos!

Sammy Update

2007-03-27T07:34:00.000-07:00

Since there's nothing going on MY life right now, I thought I'd post a few new photos of Sammy the Snake. He's growing like a weed! He's about 1ft long now, but still pretty skinny. His favorite thing to do is watch me in the kitchen while I cook. He's not very good with facial expressions, being a snake and all, but I'm pretty sure this one says, "Top Ramen?? Again??"

2007 Portland Urban Iditarod

2007-03-06T09:22:00.000-08:00

I'm sure most of you are familiar with the annual Alaskan Iditarod Dog Race. Well, the Portland Iditarod is somewhat similar... well, maybe not. From the official website:

"In the Alaskan Iditarod, more than sixty dog sled teams race across the frozen tundra from Anchorage to Nome. In our urban version, teams of 'dogs' lead by a musher will pull their sleds (shopping carts) through some of Portland's most scenic areas. These teams of barking humans must negotiate through the unrelenting and unforgiving dangers of Portland's urban frontier. As an incentive to run, dogs and mushers alike will have several 'rest stops' to replenish lost fluids and discuss tales of mayhem. The course is over four miles, so dogs and mushers alike need to be ready and able to run their tails off. "

Since this was my first year participating in Iditarod, I decided to go as an observer so you won't see any photos of me in costume. Maybe next year.

This video is proof that a picture is worth a thousand words:

Snakes, geckos, and spiders... oh my!

2007-02-27T07:09:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I attended the Unique Animal Expo and Pet Fair at the Washington County Fairgrounds. I won't bore you with all the details of how difficult it was to get there using public transportation (cold, rain, a bus that runs once an hour, etc).

I arrived around 10:30am and stayed for about 2 hours. There were a lot of interesting animals (yay snakes!) but I was disappointed that more people didn't bring their pets. Mostly what I saw were animals for sale. Also, I think I would have enjoyed it more if it were a reptile only show. One half was dedicated to the furry variety and while they were cute, anytime you have that many animals together, it's going to stink. They even had a petting zoo, but I didn't partake in that because it looked messy. All in all , it was interesting, but I don't think I'll go through all the trouble to attend next year.

On the bright side, I did meet up with some people from the Northwest Herptile Keepers Association and I'll be attending their monthly meeting in a few weeks. I think it will be a good chance to learn more about my snake and interact with people who aren't afraid of them!

Coughing cure on the horizon???

2007-02-14T05:48:00.000-08:00

As some of you may know, I have had an annoying cough for a while... actually it's more like a LONG while. I have been coughing, on average, every day for the past 7 years. No, I'm not exaggerating; just ask anyone who has spent any time with me. I cough all... the... time. I've been to different doctors several times over the years and so far no one has been able to figure out what causes it. Here's a small list of what I've been through:

several lung x-rays - all negative
pulmonary function tests - all normal
prescriptions for 3 different asthma medications - all useless
OTC cough medicine - all useless
skin allergy tests - all negative

and my personal favorite... the doctor who told me that it was psychosomatic... in other words, it was all in my head. Fucker.

Why am I blabbing on about this? Well, yesterday I had an appointment with an allergist here in Portland. I wasn't very optimistic about the whole thing. I mean, would you be? However, I am thrilled to report that after taking more than 5 minutes to listen to me, my new doctor diagnosed me with "Silent Reflux." Basically, I have GERD or Acid Reflux disease without the normal symptoms (indigestion, heartburn, etc). Read more here:

Silent Reflux

I was instructed to start taking Prilosec daily and he warned me that it could take 3 to 6 months before I notice any improvement b/c my throat and vocal cords are probably so damaged. If I don't see any improvement after 3 months, he will refer my to a GI doctor for further tests.

I actually read about silent reflux before and mentioned it to a few doctors b/c the symptoms sounded exactly like what I was experiencing, but they all dismissed it. One even told me that I couldn't have acid reflux since I didn't cough at night.

So, I'm still coughing and probably will for a while longer, but HOPEFULLY I have finally found the cause and will be able to treat it!

Portland Barbies

2007-02-08T11:24:00.000-08:00

ANNOUNCEMENT: Mattel recently announced the release of limited-edition Barbie Dolls for the Portland and surrounding areas market:

" Vancouver Barbie"
This Barbie now comes with a stroller and infant doll. Optional accessories include a GED and bus pass. Gangsta Ken and his 1979 Caddy were available, but are now very difficult to find since the addition of the infant.

"Hawthorne Barbie"
This doll is made of actual tofu. She has long straight brown hair, arch-less feet, hairy armpits, no makeup and Birkenstocks with white socks. She prefers that you call her Willow. She does not want or need a Ken doll, but if you purchase two Midtown Barbies and the optional Subaru wagon, you get a rainbow flag bumper sticker for free.

"Lake Oswego Barbie"
This yuppie Barbie comes with your choice of Rolls Royce convertible or Hummer H2. Included are her own Starbucks cup, credit card and country club membership. Also available for this set are Shallow Ken and Private School Skipper. You won't be able to afford any of them.

" Beaverton Barbie"
The modern day homemaker Barbie is available with Ford Windstar Minivan and matching gym outfit. She gets lost easily and has no full-time occupation. Traffic jamming cell phone sold separately.

" Stark St. Barbie"
This versatile doll can be easily converted from Barbie to Ken by simply adding or subtracting the multiple snap-on parts.

" Clackamas Barbie"
This recently paroled Barbie comes with a 9mm handgun, a Ray Lewis knife, a Chevy with dark tinted windows, and a Meth Lab Kit. This model is only available after dark and must be paid for in cash (preferably small, untraceable bills) ..unless you are a cop, then we don't know what you are talking about.

" West Hills Barbie"
She's perfect in every way. We don't know where Ken is because he's always out a-'huntin'.

"Pearl District Barbie"
This collagen injected, rhino plastic Barbie wears a leopard print outfit and drinks cosmopolitans while entertaining friends. Percocet prescription available as well as warehouse conversion condo.

"Forest Heights Barbie"
This princess Barbie is sold only at The Galleria. She comes with an assortment of Kate Spade, Prada and LV Handbags, Rolex watch a Lexus SUV, a long-haired foreign dog named Honey and a 25,000 sq ft. patio home. Available with or without tummy tuck and face lift. Workaholic Ken sold only in conjunction with the augmented version.

" Estacada Barbie"
This pale model comes dressed in her own Wrangler jeans two sizes too small, a NASCAR t-shirt and tweety bird tattoo on her shoulder. She has a six-pack of Bud light and a Hank Williams Jr. CD set. She can spit over 5 feet and kick mullet-haired Ken's butt when she is drunk. Purchase her pickup truck separately and get a confederate flag bumper sticker absolutely free.

" Gresham, Hillsboro, and other outlying suburbs Barbie"
This tobacco-chewing, brassy-haired Barbie has a pair of her own high-heeled sandals with one broken heel from the time she chased beer-gutted Ken out of Butler Barbie's house. Her ensemble includes low-rise acid-washed jeans, fake fingernails, and a see-through halter-top. Also available with a mobile home.

New Goal

2007-02-08T09:41:00.000-08:00

I decided today that my new goal is to visit all 50 states. The map below is all the states I've been to so far. In order to make it on the list, it has to be a state I've actually VISITED and not just driven through or flown into.

What's happening?

2007-02-07T09:01:00.000-08:00

Here's a short post since I haven't updated in a while. Things are still going well. Work is very slow, though and that really sucks b/c I'm paid on commission only. Hopefully things will pick up soon. I'm still sticking to most of my New Year's Resolutions. I have successfully knitted a scarf for my mom and I'm bringing my lunch to work more often. The debt repayment is going to have to go on hold for a while though b/c I've been hit with a hefty hospital bill and an even heftier tax bill. Oh well, I'm nothing if not a "roll with the punches" girl.

Valentine's Day, or as I like to call it Half Price Chocolate Eve is coming up. I remember from my days working at Godiva many years ago that they always have great sales. Yum!

Well, that's all for now.

A Snowy Day in Portland

2007-01-17T11:35:00.000-08:00

No comments necessary. Just watch the video.

The World's Most Expensive Nosebleed

2007-01-12T18:20:00.000-08:00

Warning: For those who are queasy, this is pretty gross.
Note: there are no photos, just my written description of the incident.

As is common for some people, I tend to get nosebleeds during the winter due to the dry air. Usually they last for about 5 minutes and are no big deal. The one I had on Wednesday night; however, turned out to be a pretty big deal.

It started around 9:30pm and still hadn't stopped by 10:00pm. By 10:15pm I had gone through a whole box of tissues and the bleeding still wouldn't stop. Blood was also beginning to go down my throat even when I held my head upright. When I started to feel weak and dizzy, I decided it would be a good idea to go to the emergency room. I woke my neighbor up and he was kind enough to drive me to Good Samaritan Hospital. I saw the ER nurse first and she instructed me to hold my nose and apply a lot of pressure, something I had already been doing for the past hour. As I sat there waitng for the doctor, I noticed that my left eye kept watering and I couldn't see well. I wiped my eye with a tissue and was horrified to see that it was RED. I had blood coming out of my EYEBALLS for pete's sake! Luckily the doctor walked in just as I was freaking out. After being examined for about 30 minutes, the doctor decided to pack my nose and send me home with an appointment to see and ENT specialist on Friday. In case you've never had a gauze pack placed in your nose, let me tell you, it pretty much sucks. Not so much painful as extremely uncomfortable. Since it was past midnight when I got ready to leave the hospital, I chose to call a cab rather than wake my neighbor up again. I arrived home around 12:15am, sent a quick email to the office to let them know I would be taking the day off and tried to get some sleep.

Unfortunately sleep would not come that night b/c I started bleeding again. This time from the other nostril. Just as before, the bleeding wouldn't stop and I was swallowing a lot of it. After debating with myself for a few minutes, I decided to return to the ER. I took a cab this time.

This time I saw a different doctor who after another examination (which almost included having to pack the OTHER side of my nose) determined that the original pack on the left side needed to be expanded to fit tighter. Evenually the bleeding stopped but she decided to admit me to the hospital since I had lost so much blood and for my safety in case I started bleeding again.

By this time it was 4am and I was exhausted. Unfortunately I couldn't sleep b/c I was so uncomfortable so I just lay (laid, lie, layed) there being miserable. The ENT doctor had been called to see me the next morning but due to some miscommunication he thought that I had already been sent home (which was technically true b/c I did go home originally). This snafu meant that I didn't get a visit from him until around 5pm. Rather than removing the nose packing then, he thought it would be best to wait until early the next morning just in case any complications arose.

At 6am Friday, I finally had the pack removed from my nose. And people, let me tell ya, that was some nasty shit! They kept me for another few hours for observation and my coworker Scotty Bobby came and drove me home.

Now, you're probably asking yourself, what in the world would cause such a horrendous nosebleed that would require hospitalization? Two words: Advil and Excedrin. On Wednesday I took one dose of Advil for a backache and later in the day a dose of Excedrin for a headache. Both of these medicines contain ingredients that thin the blood and cause it not to clot. Normally this isn't a problem if you're not already bleeding, but if you are, the bleeding won't stop.
So remember boys and girls:

A NOSEBLEED + IBUPROFEN OR ASPIRIN = BAD

Bill Gates Retires

2007-01-08T11:22:00.000-08:00

Happy 2007!

2007-01-03T14:51:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I'm 3 days late with my New Year's wishes. It's the thought that counts. I hope all of you had a great time on New Year's Eve and managed to make it to 2007 without getting arrested or ending up in the hospital. As for me, in true party animal fashion, I grabbed an early dinner, read some how-to books about knitting and was asleep by 9:30pm. How do I do it, you ask? I don't know... it's just a gift.

While I'm not a fan of making resolutions, I've decided this year I'm going to try to make a few changes. Perhaps if I post them in print for all the free world to see, I'll be a little more motivated to follow through with them.

Pay off my debt. (Yeah, that's been one for the past few years. We'll see how it goes this year.)
Learn to knit. (Next Christmas: Scarves for everyone!)
Bring my lunch from home at least 3 times a week.

That's it... pretty simple. Now I just have to stick to it.

Finally, I would like to congratulate the winner of the "What Will Be the Year-End Closing Yield of the OTR 2 YR Treasury" wager in my office...

That winner would be ME!

With a guess of 4.81% I was the closest to the actual closing yield of 4.808%. (Don't worry if you don't understand what any of that means. I won $10 and beat all the guys on my desk. That's all that matters.)

100 Things About Me... Redux

2006-12-26T09:13:00.000-08:00

I was born in Georgia
I lived there until I was 18.
I was the only girl in my neighborhood.
At the age of 7 or 8, I decided that I wanted to be hooker b/c I heard that they got paid to sleep with people. I thought that meant I would get paid to have slumber parties. I told my mom about my plan. She was not happy.
I ended up selling bonds instead.
I have 2 brothers; one older and one younger.
My parents were married for 35 years until my dad's death in May 2006.
I have a corn snake named Sammy. Here he is:
I lived in Baltimore from 1993 to June 2006.
I loved Baltimore when I first moved here.
I didn't really like it so much by the time I moved away.
There are a few things I miss about Baltimore, like my favorite bar.
I moved to Portland in June 2006.
I moved here without a job.
I found employment after 1 month.
I work on east coast time... my day starts at 4:30am
I used to be a night person before I started my new job. Now I'm usually in bed by 8:30pm.
I normally wake up before 6am on the weekends.
I've almost completely lost my southern accent.
My accent reappears if I'm talking to my mom on the phone or when I'm drunk.
It would probably be really heavy if I were drunk while talking to my mom on the phone :)
I cry everytime I go to an animal shelter.
I'm allergic to all seafood and fish except for tuna.
Tuna sushi is the only kind of "fish" sushi I can eat.
My favorite sushi is avocado sushi.
I hate guacamole (even though it's made from avocados).
I was allergic to bananas until I was in college.
I love mayonaise... a lot... seriously.... a whole lot.
I hate to cook.
I hate grocery shopping.
I eat out way too much b/c of #29 and #30.
I'm terrified of clowns.
I don't like people dressed in animal costumes.
I hate talking on the phone.
I think the Internet is the 2nd greatest thing every invented.
The first is anesthetic.
I like to watch DVDs on my laptop, but I almost never watch television.
I haven't had cable for more than 5 years and I haven't owned a TV for almost a year.
I don't miss them.
I tried smoking once when I was about 10. It made me throw up and I never had the desire to try it again.
I've never used any illegal drugs and I've never had a desire to do so.
I never drank alcohol in high school.
I'm an excellent speller; however, for some reason I always misspell the word "embarrassing".
Grammatical errors annoy me.
I can't stand hearing the word "ya'll".
This didn't bother me until after I moved out of GA.
My favorite subject in high school and college was Spanish.
I can read and write Spanish fluently.
I wish I could speak it as fluently.
I love studying foreign languages and am currently taking Japanese and will start German soon.
I share a birthday with Audrey Hepburn.
I sleep on the left side of the bed, but can adapt if someone else prefers that side.
I hate electric blankets.
I love the rain and thunderstorms.
I was disappointed to find out that we don't have thunderstorms in Portland.
I prefer British comedy to American comedy.
If left alone with no interruptions, I can read a novel in one day.
I wish I could sing.
I love penguins. I like the way they waddle when they walk.
I don't collect anything.
I can't stand knick knacks. The only one I own is a leprechaun figurine my friend Michelle bought me on her trip to Ireland. I have it on my desk at work for good luck.
When I was little I wanted to be an archaeologist (after my mother squashed my first career aspiration. See #4.)
I drink green tea everyday.
I was a vegetarian for almost 10 years until one day I decided I wanted to eat meat again.
My first meal with meat was a Burger King BK Broiler Sandwich.
Even though I eat meat now, I'll usually choose a meatless dish when I'm dining out.
I'm one of the few women who wishes she weighed more.
I'm much happier in my 30's than I was in my 20's.
I don't save as much money as I should.
I love horseback riding but haven't ridden a horse in almost 10 years.
I wish I could knit or crochet but I've never had the patience to learn.
I never wear a watch, but I still instinctively look at my wrist if I want to know the time.
The only type of jewelry I'll wear is a necklace.
My ears are pierced but I never wear earrings b/c the holes are uneven.
I never wear shorts unless they're pajama shorts and I'm at home.
I wrote a book when I was in 8th grade, but never got around to sending it to a publisher.
I've lost the manuscript.
I like to wear something that covers my ears and blocks out noise when I read.
I'm not afraid of dying, only of dying in an embarrassing manner.
I don't have a favorite color.
I call every soda "Coke".
I usually prefer Coke, but tend to drink Pepsi if my stomach is upset.
My favorite cereal is Cocoa Pebbles, not to be confused with Cocoa KRISPIES which I despise b/c of that annoying crackly noise it makes.
I can't drive a manual (stick shift) car.
I have atrocious eating habits.
I love sleeping.
My favorite season is fall.
I hate humidity.
Favorite movie: West Side Story
Favorite book: Anna Karenina
I'm a sucker for celebrity gossip websites.
If my first child is a girl, she'll be named Kathryn. I'll call her Katie when she's little and Kate when she's older.
I don't know what I would name a boy.
I think weddings are boring.
I think cigars are disgusting.
Panhandlers piss me off.
I can never read a book more than once. (Except for The Poky Little Puppy or The Saggy Baggy Elephant both of which I read about 3000 times between the ages of 3 and 6 and can probably still recite from memory.)
Before going to the airport for my flight to Portland, I realized that I didn't have room for my pool cue in any of my luggage. I gave it to a construction worker on my street... pink carrying case and all.
I'm very impatient and get irritated easily.
I grinned when I got to #69 in this list and almost wrote something inappropriate.

SAMMY IS HOME!

2006-12-01T23:11:00.000-08:00

Well, I came home this evening after dinner with some friends and was pleasantly surprised to find little Sammy slithering along the edge of my living room rug. I caught him, fed him, and now he's safely curled up in his terrarium. In the meantime, I've ordered a new terraium for him that has sliding doors in the front and most importantly... a LOCK! I will post pics of the former escapee when I get to work on Monday.

ETA: Here is a photo of the culprit looking guilty:

Sammy found... well, technically...

2006-12-01T04:56:00.000-08:00

Since I was almost certain that Sammy was hiding somewhere around the fridge or stove, I put a lot of plastic grocery bags around that area. Last night around 11pm I heard a loud KRINKLE, KRINKLE, looked over and saw Sammy sliding around. Unfortunately I walked over there too soon and startled him, so he skedaddled back under the fridge. I was disappointed, of course, but at least now I know that he's:

a)alive
b)still in my condo.

Hopefully I'll be able to capture him sometime this weekend.

SAMMY'S ON THE LAM!!

2006-11-29T06:10:00.000-08:00

Before leaving for work this morning, I looked into Sammy's terrarium to check on him like I do every morning... and HE WAS GONE!! It seems that one of the corners of his terrarium cover didn't snap down all the way and the little bugger slithered his way out! I'm hoping and praying that he is still somewhere inside my condo and will turn up soon. I left a mouse out for him and sprinkled talc powder on the floor so I can see if he goes through it. I'm mostly worried b/c it is so cold outside. Poor Sammy!

Nameless no more...

2006-11-27T10:51:00.000-08:00

My cornsnake now has a name. Allow me to introduce... Sammy. I think it fits his personality.

http://kimberlyjh.blogspot.com/2006/11/my-new-pet.html

I will have to take more pictures of him later b/c he had his first shed last night and his coloring is much brighter!

Drafty Windows and Cooking

2006-11-21T06:28:00.000-08:00

I mentioned my drafty windows in a previous post. My condo has been freezing for the past couple of weeks, so last night I decided to fix the windows temporarily with some plastic wrap and discovered why they've been drafty. They were open. Yes, I am a moron. In my defense, I didn't realize that they were double hung (able to open from the top as well as the bottom). The draft was coming from the top of the window. I closed the windows and the problem was solved.

Since I'm obviously not a genius when it comes to home repair, it will probably not surprise you to learn that I'm not a very good cook either. No, let me rephrase that. I SUCK at cooking. You know those recipes that are "fool proof" that "even a monkey can do it." Well, I even manage to screw those up. Alluding to my cooking skills (or lack thereof) my dad once told me, "Someday you're going to make someone a terrible wife." To which I replied, "Well Daddy, cooking ain't everything!" I realized shortly thereafter that referring to "other skills" that men would appreciate in their wives while speaking to your father is probably not the most appropriate thing to do, but oh well. Anyway, I don't cook. I "warm up" and occasionally microwave, but I never cook. Unfortunately dining out is getting to be expensive, so I've decided to take the bull by the horns and learn to cook. I'm trying one recipe at a time and starting with super easy stuff like macaroni and cheese. A friend gave me this recipe for the "best macaroni and cheese" she's ever had and I'm making it tonight. I'll post results of my taste test later. Keep your fingers crossed!

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 pound (box) elbow macaroni
8 tbsp (1 stick) plus 1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded Muenster cheese
1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded mild Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 cups half and half
1 cup (8 oz) Velveeta, cut into small cubes
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a deep 2 1/2 quart casserole pan.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the oil, then the elbow macaroni and cook until macaroni is tender. (approx 7 mins) Do not overcook. Drain well and return to cooking pot.
In a small saucepan, melt the eight tablespoons of butter. Stir into the macaroni. In a large bowl, mix the Muenster, mild and sharp Cheddar and Monterey Jack Cheeses. To the macaroni, add the half and half, 1 and 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese, the cubed Velveeta and the eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to the buttered casserole. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and dot with the remaining one tablespoon of butter.
Bake until it's bubbling around the edges and browned lightly on top, about 35 minutes. Serve hot and enjoy!

My new pet

2006-11-13T11:52:00.000-08:00

Ok people, brace yourself. I have purchased a new pet. It's not a dog, or cat, or a guinea pig..... it's a SNAKE. Yes, you read correctly... a SNAKE. Now since I know that snakes tend to give people the heebie jeebies, I will not post a picture of him here, but rest assured that he is tiny and adorable. Of course, he will get bigger (4-5 ft to be exact).

In case you're curious and would like to see a photo, click here:

Snake photo here

Oh, and as for his name, I haven't chosen one yet. A friend suggested "Slinky" and I'm seriously considering that one.

Also, if you've been following this blog for any length of time, you're probably wondering what happened to my 2 cats Ernie and SK. Well, before my move to Portland this summer, I considered taking them with me. However that soon proved to be more trouble than I anticipated. Flying with one animal is doable, but flying with 2 is almost impossible. After much consideration for their sanity as well as mine, I decided to rehome them in Baltimore. I interviewed many people before I found the perfect fit and I'm sure they're much happier in their new home. As it turned out, that was the best decision b/c my flight ended up being a disaster (serious turbulence, delays, etc.) and I hate to imagine what would have happened to them in the cargo hold.

Meeting the Neighbors

2006-11-10T05:35:00.000-08:00

I met one of my neighbors this morning while leaving for work. Well, that's not entirely true. I saw him, but he didn't speak. See, he was kind of sleeping... in the hallway of our building. At first I thought he was dead and that annoyed me a little b/c I was already running late for work and now I'd have to go back into my apartment and call 911. Luckily, he started snoring. Then I worried that he could be a transient who made it into the building, but then I saw his keys (which also had our security pass key on them) so that verified he was a resident. I stood there for a few moments studying him, trying to decide the best action to take. I assumed that he had consumed a bit too much in the libations department and wasn't able to make it into his apartment or better yet, that he had tried to use his key in the wrong door. I could have been a caring neighbor and woken him up and helped him into his apartment, but I didn't. He looked very comfortable and besides, it isn't everyday you see a guy sleeping outside your front door and I didn't want to deny any of my other neighbors that pleasure. I will admit that I did feel a tad guilty once I got to work and thought about going back to check on him, but it was cold and rainy, so I didn't. It would appear that he eventually made it back into his apartment b/c he wasn't there when I got home from work. So, Mr. Neighbor, I'm sorry I didn't help you, but trust me, the story is much funnier this way.

And then there was furniture...

2006-11-01T12:04:00.000-08:00

and it was good. I have finally purchased some furniture for my condo; a small loveseat and a lamp. The loveseat actually came in 2 pieces so that was very convenient. My friend AJ was nice enough to drive me to the West Elm store to pick everything up. I'm glad to have something to sit on, but I still need to buy a rug b/c the loveseat slides all over my wood floor.

Another thing that I have to do is figure out a way to seal my windows. I didn't realize until last night that they're mighty drafty! My condo is freezing!

1-888-POP-OPEN

2006-10-25T07:34:00.000-07:00

If you live in the Portland area, memorize this number. On the off chance that you lock yourself out of your condo on a weekend when most locksmiths aren't open. Yes, it happened to me.

Normally when I go out, I don't take my whole bulky keychain with me. I just grab my security pass for the building and my front door key. That's what I did on Saturday morning, but unfortunately instead of grabbing the front door key, I grabbed the storage room key instead. In my defense, they look exactly alike. I locked my door from the inside and about 2 seconds after the door closed, a little voice told me that something was wrong. I tried to ignore the voice b/c I knew that I would be royally screwed if I was locked out on a weekend, but it got louder and louder. I reached in my pocket to pull out what should have been my front door key only to find the storage room key. Ahhhg!!!

Thank goodness I had my ID, money and credit cards. I walked down to the Safeway Supermarket to use their phonebook to find a locksmith. Everyone I called was closed. I went to the Ace Hardware store and asked if anyone there knew a good locksmith. They gave me a number, I called, they were closed. Evidently people in Portland don't have lockout emergencies on the weekend. Finally after exhausting all my options, I decided the only thing left to do was find a hotel room for the weekend. I headed to the Heathman since it's across the street from my office and booked a room. Luckily, the concierge (Thanks, Troy!) was much more resourceful than me and managed to find a 24/7 locksmith for me. I called them the next morning b/c I was too exhausted to deal with it that night. For $50, my door was opened early the next morning. I was never so glad to see the inside of my condo!

So, in conclusion, now I only lock my door from the outside with the key so I can be sure that I'm using the right one!

Painting... ahhg!!

2006-10-18T16:27:00.000-07:00

You know those people who can look at a color and decide automatically if it will look good on a wall? Well, I'm not one of those people. I have tried no less than 5 colors for the walls of my condo and I still haven't been able to pick the right color. Luckily I've been able to buy some paint samples to use rather than wasting my money on gallons of paint, but it's still frustrating.

In happier news, I have finally purchased some furniture. I will be picking up my loveseat and lamp from West Elm next weekend. Yay! Now I just need to figure out how to decorate my place. A coworker offered help me by building a murphy bed which will help save a lot of room. I think I'm going to see if it would be possible to build one that includes a bookshelf.

I tried out a new pub last night called Rogue. Unfortunately since it was a weeknight I wasn't able to sample a good selection of their beer. I did have a Mocha Porter which was quite tasty. I'm going to go for the Chocolate Stout next time.

Speaking of beer, reason #754 I love Portland: I can buy beer and wine in the supermarket. In Baltimore the only place you can buy alcohol is in liquor stores or overpriced wine shops. It's just much more convenient to be able to pick up a bottle of wine for dinner (or a 6 pack of beer) without having to go to a separate store.

My Florida Adventure

2006-10-10T18:02:00.000-07:00

I have just returned from a short trip to St Petersburg, FL for the annual Taxable Fixed Income Outing sponsored by Raymond James. This is where a lot of people in the taxable bond business get together to eat, drink, fish, play golf, drink, mingle, make new business contacts and last but not least, drink. First I'll tell you what my travel itinerary was and then I'll tell you what actually transpired. Have a seat because this is gonna be long.

PART I: THE WAY IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE...

I was scheduled to leave Portland on Thursday Oct 5th at 7:30pm, arrive in Las Vegas at 9:45pm to catch my connection to Tampa at 10:52pm and arrive at 6:00am the next morning. I would spend most of Friday resting and then the activities for the outing would start around 4pm. I arrived at the Portland airport about 1 1/2 hours before my flight and stood in line to check my baggage. It all went downhill from there...

PART II: WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED...

My first sign that something was amiss was when the line for checking in for a 7:30pm flight was unusually long and slow. Then I noticed that no one was using the self check-in computer terminals. I mentioned this to the young couple in front of me and they were confused as well. Finally an America West/US Airways agent started walking down the line asking us about our connections. It turns out that the flight I was due to be on from Portland to Vegas was running about 45 minutes late. When I finally made it up to the counter, the agent looked at my ticket and informed me that I would be fine for my connection and I would have nothing to worry about as long as the flight left by 8:30pm. I checked my bag, gathered my boarding passes and headed through security. I made it through to the gate with plenty of time to spare and sat down to wait... and wait... and wait...

My flight took off from Portland at 9pm, just slightly later than the required 8:30pm departure I needed to make my connection. I arrived in Vegas just as my connection was pulling away from the gate. F*ck!!

I was told by the gate agent to go to customer service to be booked on another flight. Easy enough right? Well, the only small problem was that everyone else on my flight as well as another flight from Seattle had missed their connections. So now you have 300-400 people waiting in line at the customer service desk. 300-400 very pissed off people, I might add. Now, guess how many customer service reps they had to handle all of us? The answer would be 2. Rather than bore you with all the details of the 3 hours I spent waiting to be helped, I'll just give you the highlights:

After about an hour they decided to add 2 more reps, so now we had 4.
Everyone had to take a number.
US Airways did not comp hotel rooms for us b/c they insisted the delays were weather related. Funny how no other airline seemed to experience these "weather delays." Bastards.
I was booked on another flight leaving at 7am the next morning, connecting in Phoenix that would arrive at 5pm in Tampa.

So, here I am with about 4 hours until my flight leaves. I could have left the airport to stay at a hotel but I figured it wasn't worth the hassle b/c by the time I got there, I would have to turn around and come back to the airport. I decided to suck it up and spend the night in the Las Vegas Airport. Just a hint for any of you who are thinking of doing that. Don't. But if you have no choice, whatever you do, don't go outside the security checkpoint until you're ready to check in for your next flight. The reason is that all the comfy seats where you can stretch out are at the gates, not in the area before security. I found that out the hard way after I walked outside the security checkpoint area and couldn't get back in b/c I didn't have a valid boarding pass.

PART III: I FINALLY MAKE IT TO TAMPA!!!!

The next morning, after getting absolutely no sleep at all, I left on my rescheduled flight to Tampa. Thank God, this went off without a hitch (aside from the HOUR we spent waiting on the tarmac in Phoenix). I arrived in Tampa and, miracle of all miracles, my luggage arrived with me. I rushed to the Don Cesar Hotel:

Rather than taking a nap before the first reception, I just had time for a quick shower before I headed out. At this point I have not slept for almost 36 hours.

To be continued...

Now for the rest of the story...

I rushed downstairs to the Welcome Reception and spent the next few hours meeting new colleagues and chatting away. I was absolutely exhausted, so I honestly don't remember anything that was discussed. I grabbed a quick dinner with a few people and then headed to bed.

The next morning I slept in until around 1pm. When I left my room to start the day, I was confronted by the head of housekeeping who informed me that I was due to check out that morning. Whaaaa?? Yes, that's right. I had somehow managed to f*ck up my hotel reservation. I went downstairs and quickly straightened everything out. I left the hotel and went to have a drink b/c Lord knows I needed it.

Later that evening we all had a dinner under a big tent on the beach. I met even more people and ended the night hanging out at a local bar called the Undertow. When I got back to my room, I decided that I wanted to stay for one extra day b/c I was enjoying myself and I didn't have to work on Monday. I called the airline to change my flight and got no help whatsoever, so then I headed to the business center and just booked a one way flight back to Portland for Monday morning.

Sunday, I woke up fairly early and took a nice walk on the beach. Later I ran into S.M. a colleague I met during the outing and we had brunch, hung out at the pool and order mixed drinks from the bar (hard work, as you can imagine) and then watched an uninteresting baseball game at the other hotel bar. We were joined by a young engaged couple who were planning to get married at the Don Cesar next year. Unfortunately, they got into an argument (the girl was jealous b/c her fiance was not paying enough attention to her.) so that made things a little awkward. In our defense, it's not our fault that S.M. and I were so damn interesting. So to make a long story short, we quickly skedaddled out of there and I headed to sleep.

I left bright and early the next morning for my flight back to Portland which was very uneventful... Thank God!!

So, in conclusion:

I will NEVER fly on US Airways or America West EVER again.
The Vegas airport is not a good place to sleep.
The Don Cesar Hotel rocks.
I can't wait for the next bond outing.

Back in the fast lane

2006-10-04T10:25:00.000-07:00

I'm sure most of you have stopped reading this blog since I haven't posted an update in almost 2 months! Well, I've been busy doing stuff... stuff like BUYING A HOUSE! Ok, it's just a condo and a small studio condo at that, but it's MINE, MINE, MINE. I have no furniture and I have to do some painting but I should be able to take care of that over the next few weeks. Here are photos:

I love the color of the kitchen, but I'm not too thrilled about the living room wall colors. I spent about an hour at the paint store yesterday and I think I've picked some contrasting colors that will look very nice once I get them on the walls.

In other news, I will be heading to St Petersburg, FL tomorrow for a dealer conference. It will be my first trip to St Pete and although I'm not a big fan of the beach, I'm sure it will be lots of fun.

The Columbia Gorge Hike

2006-08-26T19:34:00.000-07:00

As I mention in my last post, Portlanders were beside themselves when they heard that I had not yet visited the Columbia Gorge. Some even fainted. It was not a pretty sight. My new friend S2 took pity on me and decided that it was his solemn duty to introduce me to this strange activity Northwesterners call hiking.

S2 rolled up to my place around 9am on a Saturday morning to start our day of hiking. Let me preface this by saying that I have no clue what one is supposed to wear for hiking (pants, shorts, boots, sneakers, hats??) so I wore a tank top, a pair of long shorts, and my NAOT sandals. I can see you rolling your eyes from here, but before you scoff at the sandals, you should know that they are very comfortable and have good traction.

Our plan was to hike up to Triple Falls, have lunch and then hike back down. S2 was kind enough to pick one of easier trails for my first hike. Now, let's talk a bit about the trail. For some reason, I was under the impression that we would be hiking up into the gorge with, um "gorgeiness" on each side. Like a pathway into the middle of the gorge, let's say. Well, it's not really like that. Take a look at this photo:

This is not a photo that I took, rather I found it on someone's website. Unfortunately, I can't remember where I found it, so if you're reading this and saying "Hey, that's me!" let me know and I'll give you credit for the photo. Anyway, back to the story.

Do you notice that the pathway is about 6 feet wide? Wanna guess what beyond those black rocks? That would be "an abyss". That's right folks, one wrong step and you're falling faster than Wile E. Coyote. Here's another photo that will illustrate this concept a little better:

Now, while I wouldn't say that I'm afraid of heights, I'm definitely not very fond of them, especially if there is no protection (i.e. a guard rail) to keep me from falling over the side. Many times during the hike S2 would say, "Hey check out this view!" to which I replied, "Oh, I can see it just fine from way back here, thank you."

Despite my discovery that we were hiking on a possible death trail, the hike itself was very fun. I won't bore you with anymore details, because let's face it, it's just a lot of walking. I will include a photo of the waterfall we visited though since it's so pretty:

Triple Falls Photo courtesy of Ron Niebrugge

If you would like a more complete description of the Triple Falls Hike, Mr. Kevin Gong has a website where he describes more than 100 hikes he's taken around the country. This is his entry for Triple Falls:

Kevin Gong's Triple Falls Hike

Alive and Kickin'

2006-08-17T07:02:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm still alive and enjoying life out here in Portland. Since I'm pressed for time and can't write long entries about everything I've been doing, here is the quick and dirty version:

I started work on July 17th. I work as a dealer sales person on a bond desk, or as I tell people when they ask about my job, "I'm a bond girl."

I get to work at 4:30am... yes, that's in the morning. On the bright side, I get off by 2:00pm. Waking up isn't as difficult as making myself go to sleep early.

In a stroke of genius, I have decided to give up caffeine. I even have it listed on my 43 Things page. So far it's going well. I had a few headaches last week, but they seem to have subsided.

So far since I've been in Portland, I've attended 2 BBQs. That's more BBQs than I attended the entire time I lived in Baltimore. These people love to barbecue.

Last Friday I attended the weekly "Flicks on the Bricks" in Pioneer Square. The featured movie was "Footloose." I hadn't seen this movie in almost 20 years and I swear it was much cooler when I was younger.

This weekend I will be hiking in Columbia Gorge. The Portlanders I've met were shocked and appalled that I had not yet visited this famous landmark.

That's all for today's update. Hopefully I will be able to add some photos later.

WTF???

2006-07-18T16:44:00.000-07:00

This week's weather forecast for Portland:

I think I'm going to cry.

I'm still alive

2006-07-09T22:22:00.000-07:00

Hello from Portland! I haven't updated the blog in a while but I've just been busy, busy, busy. I'll start with the most important news... I've found a job. For some reason, a local company here in Portland has decided that I would make a good dealer sales person for taxable bonds, despite the fact that I have no sales experience whatsoever. I think they were impressed with my "I moved across the country on a wing and a prayer" story. Anyway, it's a great job with great opportunity with a great company. The only thing that isn't great about it is that it starts at 4:30am... yes, that's 4:30 in the morning, before the sun is up. On the brightside, I'm out of the office by 2:00pm, but still... 4:30!!!

Speaking of jobs, allow me to extend a big F.U. to a certain firm that has so far been known as Potential Employer #1. I won't divulge their name here b/c most people who know me know to which firm I'm referring. This is the firm that I spent my own money to fly across the country to interview with (at their request). I have no problem with them not hiring me, however I do have a problem with them not even taking the time to inform me that I wasn't hired. I mean how hard is it to pick up the f**king phone or shoot off an email? Jerks.

Over the past few weeks I've been doing some interesting stuff around the city. I watched the World Cup Semi Final in Pioneer Square:

I've smacked around some balls... at the golf course, geez people, get your mind out of the gutter:

and last, but not least, I watched Italy triumph over France in the World Cup Final on Sunday. Go Azzuri!!! Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of that day, but take my word for it, it was super awesome.

Livestrong Challenge - Please donate!!

2006-06-28T18:34:00.000-07:00

I've decided to do something worthwhile and participate in the Livestrong Challenge to help raise funds for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The event will take place on July 30th here in Portland. Naturally, I will be doing the 5K Run/Walk (mostly walking!) Here is info about the event:

Livestrong Challenge

And if you would like to donate, and you KNOW you do, please click here for my donation page:

My Donation Page

Thank you!

My first week in Portland...

2006-06-25T17:52:00.000-07:00

Well, I've survived one week and I'm still loving it, so I guess things are going well. However, I am NOT loving the current weather...

Right now, at 5:49pm, it is 97 freaking degrees here in Portland! WTF? I left Baltimore to get away from this kind of weather. To make matters worse, my new apartment doesn't have A/C. Yeah, yeah I should have known that before I moved in, but I didn't check b/c I just assumed that all apartments have A/C. Wrong. So today I've been traveling around, trying to find places that have A/C. Right now I'm here:

Tea Chai Te

I'll probably stay here until the sun goes down and hopefully my apartment will be a little cooler by then.

In the meantime, here are a few observations I've made about Portland since I've been here.

1. People are nice... I mean REALLY nice. Coming from Baltimore, where you're lucky to get a smile or hello from anyone, it's kind of a shock. Now, I'm not saying that EVERYONE in Baltimore is mean. I met lots of nice people when I lived there. I'm just saying that overall, people are more polite from the beginning in Portland.

2. The public transportation R-O-C-K-S. It's so easy to use and... are you ready for this... the drivers are actually helpful. If you ask them a question, they will actually give you an answer rather than an attitude.

3. There sure are a lot of trees here.

The Big Moving Day... or how I arrived in Portland with no underwear

2006-06-19T17:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm sure you're wondering about the underwear part. I'll get to that.

My big moving adventure began this morning at 4AM. I had a lot of last minute packing to do and managed to get everything into 3 suitcases... 3 very HEAVY suitcases. My flight left at 8:30AM and everything was going well... until about 20 minutes into the flight.

When the flight attendant walked by with the beverage cart, I decided to get a cup of coffee since I needed a caffeine rush. I started to drink the coffee as the inflight movie started. It was a Disney film called "Eight Below". I had never heard of the movie so I read a quick description in the inflight magazine. It was something about arctic explorers on a mission, etc, etc. I've heard stories about that before, so I thought, "ok this'll be pretty good." I sat back to watch as I enjoyed my coffee. At one point, I put the cup down on my tray. A few seconds later, we hit turbulence, the cup tipped and spilled... right into my lap. I jumped up to run to the restroom, passing a whole group of Boy Scouts who were on the flight... you can imagine what they were thinking. Unfortunately, when an almost entire cup of coffee spills in your lap, there's not much you can do. The worst thing was that the flight was full, so there were no other seat cushions they could switch with my wet one. They did give me a blanket and that helped a little, but I basically had to sit in wetness for the remaining 3 hours of the flight. Of course, I didn't have a change of clothes with me.

If you think the flight couldn't get worse... think again. After I got back from the restroom and started watching the movie again, I discovered that it wasn't about a group of arctic explorers who got stranded, but rather, it was about a team of cute sled doggies who were stranded in the artic by themselves after the explorers couldn't get back to them. Oh, my Lord. The second I realized the plot of the movie, I immediately turned the sound off b/c I knew I would turn into a blubbering mess. That didn't help though b/c although I couldn't hear what was going on, I could still see since there were 5 screens throughout the cabin. So there I am, sitting in a wet, coffee filled seat, crying like a little girl. I'm sure everything thought "Wow, the lady is really upset about that coffee spilling!"

I arrived in Denver and rushed off the plane to find a place to buy some pants. The only place I could find in the short time before my next flight was a Harley Davidson kiosk, where I purchased a $45 pair of sweatpants. Ugh! Of course the underwear had to go, too since they were coffee soaked as well. Therefore, I arrived in Portland with no underwear. See, not as exciting as you thought, huh?

My apology to Jack Johnson

2006-06-17T19:29:00.000-07:00

I need to take a moment to apologize to a singer by the name of Mr. Jack Johnson. If you're not familiar with Jack, here's his IMDB write up:

IMBD Bio

I heard a portion of a song by Mr. Johnson a few months ago while browsing on iTunes. I thought it sounded a little "whiny". I don't remember which song it was, but I was immediately turned off and decided that I didn't want to hear anymore of his music. In fact I even referred to him by as a "whiny girly man". Fast forward to a few months later. I was in a coworker's car and he was playing a CD that I didn't recogize. The music was relaxing and upbeat. I asked the name of the singer and when he told me that it was Jack Johnson, I must admit, I was surprised. When I got home, I listened to some more of his songs and ended up downloading 3 of his albums. So, my first impression of Mr. Johnson was wrong. He does not sing "girly man" music. Yes, some of his songs are a little hokey, but I like them. I mean, he sings about Banana Pancakes. How can you not like someone who sings about the single greatest food invention ever?! Damn, now I'm hungry.

So in conclusion, I apologize, Mr. Johnson, for judging you too quickly and look forward to listen to more of your music.

In case you're wondering...

2006-06-14T21:16:00.000-07:00

why I haven't started raving about my new life in Portland, it's because I'm not there yet. I had to postpone my move until the 19th b/c there were some things I had to take care of in Baltimore. Selling furniture was one of them. See my post below about Craigslist Crazies for more insight.

Craigslist Crazies

2006-06-14T17:48:00.000-07:00

I'm sure most of you are familiar with craigslist.org, the online classifieds. I think there are 2 types of people who use Craigslist: normal people and those I like to call Craigslist Crazies. The normal people are the ones who see something they would like to buy, contact the seller, arrange a time to meet, decide whether to purchase the item, pay the seller and leave. The Crazies are the ones that I would like to rant about.

Category #1: The "I'll Be Right Overs"
These are the people who respond to your ad with comments such as "Oh my GAWD, that (insert item being sold here) is exactly what I'm looking for!! Can I come get it tomorrow?" You write them back to set up a time and then never hear from them again.

Category #2: The "If Onlys"
The "If Onlys" are the ones who feel the need to contact you to explain why they can't buy the item you're selling. For example, I am selling a beige microfiber sofa and some person emailed me to say "If your sofa was a darker brown, I'd definitely buy it. The beige color doesn't match my other furniture though." Umm, I said that it was beige and the picture shows that it's beige. What do you want me to do? Dye it dark brown for you?? Dumb ass.

Category #3: The "No Shows"
Pretty self explanatory. You set up a time to meet, they don't show. If you're lucky a week later they'll try to email you to set up another time, with no mention of the fact that they bailed on the last meeting.

Category #4: The "Ignorers"
These people completely ignore everything written in your ad. If you say "price not negotiable" they'll try to haggle on the price. If you say "I cannot deliver this item b/c I don't have a car so you'll have to arrange to pick it up" they'll ask how much delivery costs.

They should have a ratings system like they do on Ebay so people could post complaints about idiot buyers (and sellers of course.)

Jobless people like movies

2006-06-13T19:51:00.000-07:00

Well, at least this jobless person does. Best of all, I can rent them from the library for FREE. Since there really isn't a lot going on nowadays and talking about packing isn't particularly exciting, I thought I'd start reviewing the films I've seen of late.

Good Bye, Lenin (2003)
A dedicated young German boy pulls off an elaborate scheme to keep his mother in good health in this comedy drama from director Wolfgang Becker. Suffering a heart attack and falling into a coma after seeing her son arrested during a protest, Alex's (Daniel Brühl) socialist mother, Christiane (Katrin Sass), remains comatose through the fall of the Berlin wall and the German Democratic Republic. Knowing that the slightest shock could prove fatal upon his mother's awakening, Alex strives to keep the fall of the GDR a secret for as long as possible. Keeping their apartment firmly rooted in the past, Alex's scheme works for a while, but it's not long before his mother is feeling better and ready to get up and around again.

It's very entertaining to watch the lengths this guy goes to in order to prevent his mother from learning of the fall of the Berlin Wall and communism in Germany. I think this is a film I'll have to add to my DVD collection.

Question to ponder...

2006-06-07T22:02:00.000-07:00

What the hell do unemployed people do all day?? I mean unemployed people who have to save as much money as they can, not people who just don't have to work. That would be easy. I'd just travel all the time. I'm bored out of my mind! I mean there's only so many times you can walk around the Inner Harbor. The Indian guy that runs the Perfume stand at the Gallery Mall probably thinks I have the hots for him because I've passed by his little cart about 250 times over the past few days. Here's the basic schedule I've been following.

8:00 - Wake up
8:15 - Go back to sleep after I remember that I don't have to go to work
11:30 - Eat a sandwich
12:00 - Take a nap
1:30 - Walk to the Inner Harbor and window shop.
2:00 - Go to Barnes and Noble. Walk around selecting books a couple of hours. Get a coffee from Starbucks. Skim the books and then put them back on the shelf. Leave with out buying anything.
4:30 - Stop by library to check out books I found at Barnes and Noble.
5:00 - Walk home.
5:15-? Surf the internet and read

Exciting stuff, eh?

Moving on to something that doesn't involve me complaining. I saw 2 really good films recently.

Film #1: Z (1969)
The film presents a (barely) fictionalized account of the events surrounding the assassination of democratic Greek politician Gregoris Lambrakis in 1963. With its satirical view of Greek politics, its dark sense of humor, and its chilling ending, the film captures a sense of outrage about the military dictatorship that ruled Greece at the time.

The first 20-30 minutes of this film moved very sloooowly. I almost turned it off but I had read good things about it so I stuck with it and I'm glad I did. Awesome

Film #2: Nobody Knows (誰も知らない; Dare mo shiranai)
A 2004 Japanese film directed by Hirokazu Koreeda. The movie is based on a real 1988 event best known as the "Affair of the Four Abandoned Children of Nishi-Sugamo". The plot is about four children, each a child by a different father, being abandoned by their mother. They are then forced to survive in modern Japan on their own.

As sad as this film is, the most depressing part came after I watched it and looked up some info on the true story behind the film. The actual events were much, much worse than they were portrayed in the film.

Click here for a nice summary:
True Story of Nobody Knows

Bon Voyage

2006-06-07T19:53:00.000-07:00

Last night was my big going away bash at Edgar's. Ok, maybe "bash" is exaggerating a little bit. A few coworkers, some colleagues from Legg Mason and my friend D showed up. We drank, had some appetizers and surprisingly, did not play pool. It was a good relaxing time. I left around 9:00 and then went to another bar to finish out the evening.