We’ve lived in our place for a year and two months now, and we’ve made a few changes. I decided to just do a second tour of the apartment instead of posting pictures of the new stuff. Here goes!
If that doesn’t tell you how much two people can acquire in one year, I’m not sure what will. My goodness, the consumer machine at work!
Things have been a little crazy around here for the past month or so! Most of you are already up-to-date, but to recapitulate:
1. Matthew and I are engaged. We are very excited. He proposed on 9-23-09 on a foot bridge at the base of a beautiful waterfall. For the non-facebookers, here’s the facebook album:
We haven’t set a date or made any plans. I need to get all my applications in for graduate school, and then we can do fun things, e.i. plan a wedding.
2. I took the GRE on 9-30-09 and did well on the things that I needed to do well on. I did score VERY poorly in the math section, but I don’t care. I am content with the outcome overall and I’m not retaking. Score one for the home team!
3. We spent the first weekend in October at a game convention. Super nerdy and super awesome. Nikki and I were sort of spectacles, since there are not many gamer-ladies in the community. There’s another convention in Seattle in January and I think we might go to that one too. It’s much bigger, and it’s in Seattle which means fun times exploring a new city. Sounds like an adventure is a’ brewing.
4. Matthew got offered the other job that he applied for, but in the end he decided to stay at his current position. Where he is now, there is more room for advancement, continued education, and overall growth. In addition, it will look better on his resume that he worked at the same position for almost two years, rather than 9 months at one job and 9 months at another. He’s going to have to find a new job where ever we end up next, and he wants to do what will help him most when that time comes.
5. I got a raise! My job is the same though, except…
6. There is a new girl at work and she just happens to be amazing! Her husband is awesome too, and he and Matt seemed to like each other when we all hung out the other weekend. Also, she taught me how to crochet. I’m still learning, but I’m happy to have a new outlet for my crafting needs. It’s all very exciting.
I think we’re caught up to the present now. It’s been getting colder in Portland, and all the leaves are falling off the trees. I really need to go collect some before they’re all brown and mushy. This rainy fall weather has inspired me to pick up my knitting again. I’ve decided that I’m going to make a blanket out of many knitted squares. It’s a hardy endeavor, but I’m up for it. I’ll put up a picture when it’s all done. Unless its ugly. Well, I’ll probably put up a picture either way.
Next Friday, Matthew and I will celebrate our 6th anniversary. I’m going to leave work early so we can have more time together in the evening, but we’re not sure what we’re going to do yet. We don’t have plans for Halloween either. We did get some pumpkins from the pumpkin patch, and I think we’ll carve them this weekend. I do love this time of year!
Overall, things are happy and things are good. I haven’t decided on all the schools that I’m applying to, but that’s what today is for. Matthew is at work and I am at home, so I need to be productive. Better get back to it!
Matthew and I successfully attained our Oregon driver’s licenses today! We both passed the test and Matthew had a nice new haircut for his picture. I guess we are officially Oregonians now. Their turn around on the licenses is really fast too! He said we’ll have them in about 5 business days. I wish the turn around for fixing cars were the same. Our car is still being problematic and won’t pass the emissions test. AAHHHKK.
In other news, we are going to a concert tomorrow! It’s an instrumental band called Explosions in the Sky, and Matt is a fan. They’re playing at the Crystal Ballroom about two blocks away. We’ve been wanting to check out that venue, and the tickets were only $21 dollars each, so we went for it! The concert is tomorrow night. It’ll be a late one though. We’ll see how work on Friday goes. I have a feeling it’ll be worth it.
Yesterday Matthew had an interview for a lab position at OHSU. It’s better pay and it would be lab experience which he is not getting right now. He was interviewed by a panel of three people, but he said that despite the set-up being rather intimidating, he thought that it went really well. Lots of head-nodding on their parts, as Matthew said. He’ll probably find out within a few weeks if he got the position. He’s not certain that he will leave Monkey land if he gets this job offer, but it is an option.
Last thing: As most of you already know, I had a fantastic birthday. Lots of warm wishes, delicious food, Harry Potter galore. Thank you again to all my wonderful friends and family who helped to make it great.
Matt got the promotion! He was really starting to get down in the dumps about it because it was taking them so long, but I felt in my heart that he would get it. Because he is awesome. He officially starts his new position on Monday with a pay raise (yay!). He got himself a present yesterday to celebrate. Can you guess what it was? You probably guessed correctly: a new game. It’s called Agricola and Matt says it’s the no. 1 rated game on BGG. It looks pretty fun, and I’m actually excited to try it out. Usually, I’m suspicious of new games, but this one looks like its right up my alley.
I have a week off in September. The week of my birthday, if you can believe the luck. Of course my mom was overjoyed at the prospect of my having no work for a week, so she bought me a plane ticket. I’ll be in Minnesota from Saturday the 5th to Saturday the 12th. I didn’t want to fly on my birthday because flying is stressful and traveling exhausting. I’m excited. We’re going to go to the State Fair. I WAS very sad that I was going to miss the Fair. Oregon has a Fair in Salem. Matt and I are going to go on Wednesday. It will be fun to compare the two, though I think I already know which one will be better. 
That’s all the exciting news for now. We failed to get our driver licenses the other day because we didn’t have birth certificates or passports to prove our citizenship. The car still hasn’t passed the smog test either. GAH! The week I am gone, they can keep the car in the shop all week until they flippin’ figure it out. And when I get back from MN, I’m bringing the documents we need to get those licenses! Then we can officially be Oregonians. (Though I still talk like a Minnesoooootan).
See you soon!
Matt won DDR with two dance pads on ebay and we’ve been dancin’ fools ever since. Matt is pretty good already, but then again, he’s a quick learner and usually good at everything. I’m pretty uncoordinated, but I too am improving steadily.
Notice how my feet aren’t touching any of the arrows…
Lately, much of our pastime has also included watching the show “Man versus Food” on Netflix. It’s pretty amazing. The host is cute and charming and he spends the whole show stuffing his face with delicious-looking foods from all over the country. At the end of each show, he also does a food challenge e.g. eating a hamburger the size of his face in one hour or drinking almost a gallon of milkshake without upchucking. It’s awesome. We don’t watch it unless we’re eating dinner or already full because watching him chow down really makes you want to snack.
Our car still hasn’t passed the emissions test and is in shop until they can figure it out. Not having a vehicle has caused more problems than I anticipated, and I’m really getting sick of dealing with this problem. Tomorrow I think Matt and I are going to go down to the DMV and see if we can pass the Oregon drivers test and get our new licenses. At least if we can do that it’ll be one less thing to think about!
Matt still hasn’t heard about his promotion and I still haven’t scheduled my GRE exam. Still to scared. I guess so far we’re failing on being responsible grownups, but we’ll have plenty of time to perfect it.
So I haven’t really made good on my promise to update more, but I’ll add “update blog more” to my list of goals. I’ve been thinking a lot about personal goals lately. Matthew and I have been in Portland coming up on a year now, and we’ve been sort of coasting though life. Not that we haven’t been having tons of fun–we certainly have–but it’s time for us to start thinking about our long-term and short-term goals. We are grown ups now. (As scary as that is.)
To be more specific, I’ve been thinking about going back to school. It’s become very evident that a BA in English and French won’t get me much of a career (trust me, I’ve been looking), and it won’t get me anywhere near the career that I ultimately want (which is teaching dumb college kids how to write like less-dumb college kids, for those of you who don’t know.) In order to go back to school, I need to take the GRE sometime this fall, finish at least one of the short stories that I’ve started (but not finished or polished), and most importantly figure out what exactly I want to study and where. I’m not sure if I can, or more importantly if I am ready to, do all of that in the next four months, but we shall see how it goes.
Matthew is not entirely satisfied with his job at the monkey center. He’s still waiting to hear about the promotion that he applied for a few weeks ago, and he’s not feeling confident that he will get it. (Though he’s very qualified, over-qualified actually) There are lots of opportunities for advancement at his place of employment, but if he’s getting overlooked then something has to change. He’s considering looking for another job where he can get more lab experience. Matthew has been pretty tight-lipped about his own personal goals, but that may be because he’s only just been forced to think about them since I’ve started prodding him for personal growth. More to come on that.
Now to address some old news. My lettuce plant no longer has aphids. Nikki found me two lady bugs that killed most of them off. It was pretty exciting. Here is photographic evidence of the tiny carnage:
Pretty awesome, I know. Unfortunately, my lettuce plant did not live happily ever after. After the aphids all died and the lady bugs moved on, spiders hatched on it. It was like something out of a horror movie. I looked at my plant one day, and it was covered it webs and crawling with hundreds of tiny spiders. Matt was at work and I was all alone and I panicked. I sprayed the plant with bleach until everything, including my plan, died. So that’s the end of that story. Perhaps one of my long-term goals will be learning how to keep plants alive and infestation-free.
Since my last update, Matthew and I have been dealing with some unpleasantness in the form of a bad locksmith company. Most of you know the story by now, but the punch line is that they will not refund us our money (even though their inexperienced locksmith destroyed our lock). We’re refuting the charges with the credit card company, and I may take them to small claims court. It’s not even about the money anymore. This company is scamming people and I will not stand for it! Here’s a picture of what the guy did to our lock/door handle:
And to ensure that none of my beloved friends or family ever use the same company, here is their link:
http://www.run-local-locksmith.com/us/Oregon.html
I’m sure you all are smarter than I was and you’d read the reviews of a company before calling them. If not, then my only advice to you is ALWAYS READ REVIEWS!
I guess that’s all for today. Love, Peace, and Chicken Grease.
Matt and I had a wonderful time at the coast. I’m sure most of you saw the pictures on facebook. Matt was back to work on Thursday and tomorrow I resume my regular work schedule. I can’t say I’m too stoked about getting back into the regular routine again. Actually, I think I’d rather dive off a cliff. In any case, I’ve concluded that vacation is much more fun than non-vacation.
On a sad note, my lettuce plant has aphids, and I’m not pleased. According to some website, I need to find lady bugs and they will eat the aphids. The problem is that I live in the city and ladybugs are not easy to come across. Luckily, I did get to eat a good portion of my plant before it became infested. We’ll see how things go with the ladybug hunting and what not. Matt and I are probably going to go on a hike on Wednesday (weather pending, cross your fingers!) I bet nature has some lady bugs that she’d let us have. I’ll have to remember to pack a little jar.
Last thing: As many of you know, I love the movie “The King of Kong” and I think you all should watch it.
That’s all folks.
Matthew and I have settled in back in Portland since our adventure home. Things are more or less back in order, though our suitcases are still sitting by the front door waiting to return to the storage unit. Matt’s six month review at work is coming up and will hopefully be accompanied by a raise. Work is still the same for me, but the office is closed all this week because it’s the last week of school around here. Matthew and I decided to take off on Tuesday and Wednesday (Matt’s days off) and go to the coast. We live an hour from the ocean but we haven’t been there since we’ve moved. How silly. Since it’s the middle of the week, we’re hoping to get some good deals on hotel rooms and not have to face too many crowds. I suppose that’s the advantage of having your “weekend” during the week. The disadvantage is, of course, our friends have regular weekends off. Matt’s hoping to move up the totem pole here soon and when he does he’ll be working a rotation, meaning he’ll probably have 3 out of 4 weekends a month off. That will be nice.
The weather has been particularly gloomy lately, but I guess it’s like this until July when it’s supposed to get very beautiful. Despite the gloom, Matthew and I went on a hike last Wednesday at Eagle creek. There’s a pretty waterfall and you can wade in the water right above it. Of course you’re wading in Mountain water which is cold as death. Matthew and I got our feet wet, then had lunch on a giant rock. It was lovely. No pictures though because I forgot my camera. Grr. I told Matt that we have to go back because it was so beautiful and I really want some pictures. Those to come, I hope, soon. In this gloomy weather, Matt and I have been reading a lot. Matt has been reading a seven-book children’s series by Garth Nix and I’ve been reading a seven-book children’s series called “Harry Potter.” Yes, that one. We’re both enjoying our respective reads as they are both written for adult enjoyment as well…I suppose most people already know that of Harry Potter though. I think it’s amusing that we’re both reading books written for kids and loving it. Matt’s a big fan of Garth Nix which is how he came to his series. For me, I think I needed a refreshing read after finishing Lolita. That one was a little heavy.
As some of you may know, I’ve been growing a lettuce plant in our window for the past month and a half. It’s been getting quite large and I took a picture to share with you. I’ll probably be eating the lettuce plant soon, so it won’t look as pretty after lunchtime. I also have a potted Cosmo, which is a flower. Well, it’s supposed to be a flower, but I can’t get it to bloom. I even pruned it. Meredith, if you’re out there, any tips? In any case, it’s nice to have something growing in this place. Here they are:
You can even see in this picture that it’s not very sunny out there. I suppose it’s better right now that it’s not very hot because our precious Hawaiian Breeze (our tower fan) crapped out on us. We used to prop it up on the dresser so it could blow on us up in the loft, but it started making horrible noises. The first time it happened was in the middle of the night and it scared the crap out of me. The Breeze is already sort of scary up there because it has two glowing red buttons that look like eyes in the night. Add terrible, screaming noise on top of that and you’ve got a night terror waiting to happen. For now, we found a small, clip-on fan for the loft, and it has been working well, but we’ll need to get a replacement for the room when it starts to get hot again. I did, incase you were wondering, take a video of the Hawaiian Breeze making its noise:
Matt and I bought a Wii fit and we love it. It is a bit sassy if you don’t use it every day, and if you gain two pounds (or more I’m assuming) between visits, it makes you tell it why you’re fatter. Really. And if somebody else who’s registered with it doesn’t use it for a long time, it makes you tell it if that person is fatter for not using it. All of this is sort of amusing, but it also makes you not want to let it down. I can see people just not using their Wii anymore because it keeps calling them fat. I guess it’s a bit weight-ist, but I get a kick out of it. The step aerobics are my favorite. The little Miis look so funny working out. The balance games are fun too. Yeah, I think I would endorse this product.
Okay, that’s the longest post that’s happened in a while. Usually, our days are pretty much all the same and I don’t feel like updating the blog with mediocrity. However, I will make an effort to write more, for those who still glance this over occasionally, even if things get boring. Love to you all!
It seems strange to call a trip to Minnesota “a trip home.” Really, we’ve made a home for ourselves out here. We have jobs and a place to live. We carry on all our daily life stuff here. And our dear friends live right upstairs. We have all we need here to call this place home. But as they say, home is where the heart is. With most of our friends and family still residing in the midwest, I guess that’s were home is.
We bought our plane tickets today. I haven’t gotten my time off approved yet, but I’m sure it will be fine. At any rate, I have a ticket, so I’m sure they’ll let me go. We leave on Monday, May 18th and arrive in Minneapolis at 1:47 p.m. Matt will be returning to Portland on Friday the 29th, and I’ll be returning on Sunday the 31st. Needless to say, we are beside ourselves with joy over a (long over due) trip home. It’s going to be tricky seeing everybody, but we will make it work. I miss you all, and I can’t wait for lots and lots and lots of hugs. 
Seth and Nikki are on their spring break, so we decided to spend our mutual day off (yesterday) watching Lord of the Rings. All of them. Extended. Yeah. We started watching the movies at 9:00 in the morning. We took two breaks so Seth and Nikki could walk Lars, and we finished at 10:45 that night. You’d think that we’d be sick of the whole franchise by now, but no way. It was awesome. Nikki got a projector from her department, and we set up camp in our living room. The picture was a little dark, but big and amazing. Matt and I pulled the mattress of the loft and we nested on the ground. There were pizza and cheetos and ice cream. What a day.
