Wonderful/Terrifying night

Last night Melissa and I went down to the riverfront to catch the Oregon Symphony Season Opener. A free outdoor concert ending with cannons and fireworks during the 1812 Overture.

What a great evening this was. Parking was easy. The weather was amazing, got a little chilly after dark. The people were all great around us. We saw another beagle'ed family. They brought treats over for ours.

We stood on a lookout over the river really close to the barge they were going to launch the fireworks from. When they started it was amazing. Next thing I know, my arm is being jerked by the leash. I look; Baxter and Daisy had decided that we were under attack, and were making a B-line out of there. We had to follow, they were really frightened. I haven't laughed that hard in a while. We tried picking them up to carry them out, but we were not moving fast enough for them. No, they preferred to do the pulling.

As we got out of most of the crowd we decided to run WITH them, and boy I have not seen Baxter run like that in years. Just 2 months ago he couldn't walk!

I will never forget that momment when the fireworks started, I was just about to say to Melissa, "Wow, these fireworks are amazing".

And of course this was the LONGEST fireworks display I have witnessed, it didn't let up until we reached the safety of the car. Poor little guys.

...right?

SO we are still struggling with food here. Not the end of the world. We are doing well with breakfast/brunch places though. Enough of all that.

It feels like the last month and a half is finally hitting us. We are exhausted after work and even on weekends. Not having that routine of waking early for work has made this transition back to working a little difficult. But we will be fine. I am getting a little annoyed with public transit. I am starting to realize I have a slight case of claustrophobia. When the bus gets too full and taking too long, I find myself getting off WAY before my stop, and just walking the rest. I hope my issue goes away before the weather prevents pleasant walks.

Our house is a mess. This is really unlike us. If you have ever been to our house before, you will know we hate clutter and uncleanliness. But our fatigue has left us pretty complacent with a messy house. We still have boxes to unpack!

After using the Comcast DVR for the past month, I have since went ahead and purchased a Tivo HD box. Once you go Tivo, its hard to go anywhere else. The Comcast DVR interface is dreadful, and the season pass options were a joke. Just have to wait a week for Comcast to come by with some cable cards, and we will be back in Tivo heaven.

Again, we don't watch a ton of TV, but there are a few shows we really enjoy. Tivo allows us to cut our viewing time down, and prevents us from watching crap we had to settle on. Plus there are a lot of other things the Tivo does besides just TV viewing.

I will leave you with the greatest speech on the state of the US educational system:

Eats

One of the challenges Melissa and I have found being new to Portland is finding places we enjoy to eat in. We have tried so many times with varying luck to find a place that we enjoy for both food AND service.

Pretty much anywhere the service seems sub-par to what we were used to back in the South. Wait staff doesn't seemed to be so concerned with things like speed, drinks, etc.. I think we are getting used to it, but hmmm. Another thing, what is the deal with so many "seat yourself" places. We have been to many you have to walk in and find a clean table yourself, go order at a counter, then they bring your drinks, then food. If you are bringing us drinks, why not take our order then? I am not looking for someone to hold my water glass to my mouth, but it is just a difference I have noticed here in the Portland area.

And don't get me started on the food... I have never been let down so many times from going out to dinner by the food before. Bland, small portions, and in general nothing to write home about.

We have found a handful of restaurants that have made the cut, but you would think a big city like this would have a better batting average.
Please feel free to leave comments with suggestions, I know there must some good stuff around, but seems like they are being kept a secret. At this point I am frustrated. We are really looking for some good Mexican food, Tex-mex would be fine as well. thanks!

thanks

google

If you found me by using a google search:

This is not me

and

This is not me

k.

Ran DOOM

Got the internets in the house now! Booya.

We had some friends from Norman hang out with us this weekend. Kiley was here on bizness and his wifey flew up to hang. We had a great time with these two. Great people, that MUST MOVE TO PORTLAND SOON. I am not worried about it, because they are hooked. One visit is all you need.

Here are a few pics from this week:

Part of my job is traveling between the two campuses using this transit:


And here is a quick weather report:


Dealing with some repairs at the house this weekend, so I promise to write some more in the not so distant future, take care. Stay COOL

Quick UPdate

OK, so in true Brewer fashion we moved quick.

We found a GREAT house to rent in North Portland. This area is super cute, relaxed and mellow. 5 minute drive to downtown. 2 minute walk to the train station for my commute.

Here are a few quick photos:




We have a garden, a yard, 3 bedrooms, peace and quiet. I think the beagles love it too. So crisis is over. Melissa and I moved everything ourselves, which was fun taking a couch down 4 flights of stairs. But we made it.

Melissa again is the greatest women on the face of the planet. If you challenge that, I will just laugh you off.

So we lost a little money on the experiment of living in a studio apartment in NW Portland with two beagles. But we will get some money back from security deposit and if they rent the apartment quickly, which they will, we will get most of our money back.

I promise to take photos of the house once we get unpacked and settled. No internet at the house until Saturday. But we both start work tomorrow and should have access there.

I think this has been the most trying week of my life mentally and physically. So I am hoping the experience will make me stronger both mentally and physically. All my muscles hurt.

You got to love that

Ok I don't have much time or patience to write too much about this. Let's start with the bad news:

We were notified yesterday that our dogs have been howling while we were gone. They gave a list of dates that this was an issue for the last 3 weeks. Today was the first we heard about it. We have 14 days to "fix" the problem or move out. I talked to the management and we all decided that a lease buyout would be best. We will have the honor of paying an additional months rent in exchange for breaking our 12 month lease just after 1 month. Sweet. So we are going to move, again second time in about 40 days. We now understand we must have a house with a backyard. The crappy part is we got to the point where, we leave and they are quiet; we come back and they are quiet; so we had no idea they were howling. So the search is on. This means we have to leave this posh neighborhood in exchange for something a little quieter across the river. This is how it goes. I have been through a lot of freak outs over this. I think I am coming down though....

Good news:
Melissa got a teaching job!!!! Melissa is my superstar and has proven herself to be a stronger willed person in the face of stress than me. She has been my rock holding everything together. I am the luckiest man on the Earth to have found her, and for her to stick around with me. Melissa will be teaching at a 1 year old charter school. Meaning the school is only 1 year old. So it will be a more advanced modern learning/teaching environment. And they use that year-round schedule you have heard about.

So here's to moving. It's something I am getting a lot of skill in. If you have any words of encouragement or own any property in Portland, please share?