The Gorgeous Gorge

This week Alex and I found ourselves overwhelmed by the pile of things we needed to do. Even more overwhelming was the thought of trying to attack those piles of work inside our house--surrounded by reminders of things-left-undone (dirty dishes, underplayed guitars, un-filed mail, unpacked camping gear, unfolded laundry...).

So, we decided to run away. We took all of our portable work (lesson plans, homework, reading for work), packed our toothbrushes, a change of shoes, pillows, and jackets--and filled the car with gas.

The fall foliage is just beautiful right now. In the Northwest, there is a very narrow window of time when the leaves are changing colors--and still on the trees. When the heavy fall/winter rains begin, the leaves turn into soggy brown piles that clog the gutters and flood low-lying intersections. But--this weekend the leaves were crunchy and colorful. We hopped in the car after work and headed to the Columbia George.



We drove through a little town on the Washington side called White Salmon. It was 8:30 at night and everything appeared to be closed--until we drove past a Glassblowing gallery where they had "Friday Family nights." We ducked out of the cool crisp air and into an almost sweltering showcase with colorful art with white-hot ovens burning. We had entered some magical place where a glassblower bibbity-bobbity-boo'd a glass pumpkin right before our eyes. It was really amazing.

We stayed the night in a hotel where we whittled down our piles of work--slept in a bit--and then got back on the road for more adventures. We stopped by the Ice Caves, but didn't stay long without a flashlight. But we did spend quite a bit of time at the Natural Bridge--collapsed lava tubes and piles of lava rocks crowned with flame-colored leaves. So Beautiful!






Then we headed back home via the Bonneville Dam where we visited the returning salmon at the fish ladders and hatcheries.

It was really cool! We got to watch 20-pounder salmon (at $18.99 / pound!) working their way up the ladders. Then on the Oregon side, we watched the adult salmon in the "crowder" as they jumped out of the water and smashed against the concrete sides of the tank. (Where did they think they were going?!)

All-in-all it was a great way to escape the constant reminders of buried-under-responsibility, and enjoy the moment (while getting some of the more important work-stuff done along the way). I highly recommend such an escape for anyone with portable tasks and cabin fever. I feel refreshed and ready to tackle another busy week.

Blurry pictures...blurry week!

Monday......Band Practice
Tuesday.....Stomach Flu...all day
Wednesday...Kalaloch concert in Salem (tummy still tender)
Thursday....From work to a Built to Spill concert in Portland (home at 2 a.m.)
Friday..my nephew stayed the night to avoid attending an unfortunate wedding

Last Saturday he had a girlfriend. Last Sunday she called to announce that her ex-boyfriend proposed marriage...and she said yes. Today (Saturday) they are getting married.

...I guess the stomach flu is not so bad in comparison.

blurry week. blurry pictures. blurry girls with blurry morals.

Oktoberfest

Whew! The first full week of our new jobs is over! I'm a bit embarrassed to admit how exhasted I am from working a standard 40 hours/week...it's just been so long since I had such a regular schedule. Things will be a little different when classes begin, but for the next week or two there won't be too much variety.

Alex and I had fun comparing our "first days" in the office. I showed up at Chemeketa, and my co-workers had my desk all set up with all of those office-supply-goodies: pads of paper, post-its of various sizes, pens and pencils, a phone number list, and a cute purple-potted plant. I got my computer booted up and was changing my settings when my co-workers came into my office with a huge boquet of roses! They are so pretty!

vs.

On Alex's first day, he showed up to his cubicle, and it was COVERED in old files that his boss admittedly hasn't touched the entire time he has worked for US Bank. Oh, and a dead potted plant. His boss asked him if he had a green thumb.

Wow. A dozen roses vs. a dead potted plant. It was awesome.



Anyway...we celebrated a free weekend by hanging out with our friends Vince and Christi (we went to a yummy italian resuraunt) on Friday night. Then on Saturday we went to the big local Oktoberfest in Mount Angel Oregon. It is a really big event. We had never been. The entire town is structured around this 4-day annual event. The buildings "downtown" are German-styled resturaunts, etc. There is even a large tower replica of The Glockenspiel from Munich. It was a bit like a country fair, but more upscale. They had mobile food vendors designed like German caravans. We had sausage and sourkraut, doughboys (like a donut), and a divine piece of apple cake with hot butter-sauce. Not a great night for the diet...but it was fun.

Orientation

Orientations are so anticlimactic! You get so excited/nervous/anxious about the first day on the job...only to spend the next three solid days sitting in uncomfortable chairs and talking about harassment, email policies, and mission statements.

Orientation takes me back to being a child and having to eat foods that I didn't care for. On one hand, it is something that I do not want to do: it's yucky and mostly unenjoyable at the time (there are tidbits that I do enjoy...like the melted cheese on top of my macaroni and tomatoes). And, it takes FOREVER. But on the other hand, deep down I know that it is good for me: it will enrich my future and, in the long run, help me to function more efficiently.

Anyway, I started my new job yesterday. When I got home that night, Alex said we could do anything I wanted to celebrate my first day. We've eaten out and gone to movies so much lately that those options didn't sound very celebratory.
Instead, I wanted to go to Roth's grocery store and get some of their fresh baked (fried?) taco bowls. One of our favorite meals is grilled veggie taco salads with lots of guacamole. Yum. They were so pretty that I took a picture. So, we enjoyed our taco salads and watched some Friends episodes. (We bought the complete series. We have Mexican Food Night once a week and watch 2 episodes. It's a bit silly--but it is the only t.v. that we watch on a regular basis. )

I guess tomorrow is the last day of my first week on the job, and Alex's last day of his last week on the job.

Band Practice

So, in preperation for recording some songs in a studio this month, we have invited Alex's friend Dennis to play drums with us on the recording. And--hurray!--he said yes. So, tonight was our first rehearsal. He is not joining Kalaloch, but is simply joining us for the recording and perhaps a show this month. Anyway, it was really great to hear our songs with drums.

We decided early on that while Kalaloch was seriously lacking rhythm, we didn't want to post a want-ad for a drummer. (Wanted: drummer for a husband and wife indie rock band. Must be willing to take a back seat to our married-people whims and non-verbal conversations.) Instead, we are hoping that adding a drummer to Kalaloch will be a natural, organic process. Perhaps one day some super talented drummer will come to one of our concerts and be so moved that he asks to jam with us. Alright. Well, perhaps one of our friends will casually mention to their novice drummer friend that Kalaloch could really benefit from a drummer. Any drummer. Nothing fancy. Then perhaps we will meet and will be able to stand each other. Or maybe we will never have a real drummer. But, it was really great to play with Dennis. The songs were suddenly a little more solid...out loud that is--they are always perfect in my head.

Of Endings and Beginnings

This is the beginning of my blog, so I suppose that this is an appropriate posting.

Tomorrow is the end of my enviable job as a private math tutor. It is an end to 5-hour work weeks and 3-hour lunches. Wednesday I begin my first 40 hour/week job since...has it really been that long?...since before I was married: 5 years. Wednesday I will start my new job as Math/Science Instructional Specialist and Chemeketa Community College. School doesn't start until the 24th, but I will begin Wednesday. When School does start, I will also begin my first term teaching Basic College Math (Subtraction, Division, Fractions...there really are people who haven't learned this before they arrive at college!). Yup. Two new jobs.

This week is the end of Alex's job as a marketing analyst at MaPS credit union in Salem. Next week is the beginning of his new job as "portfolio analyst" (a stuffier word for number-crunching-guy-who-looks-at-bank-accounts) for U.S. Bank. This will be the beginning for him working in a skyscraper (granted, he will work on the 3rd floor in the arm lies in the shadow of the pink tower, but does not support her).

This month also marks the beginning of the month in which we will begin a professional recording of our band Kalaloch. Yeay!

The new job in Portland also marks the beginning of the end of our time here in Salem. My sweet husband cannot possibly keep up a minimum hour-and-a-half commute forever. But, he will try for a while so that I can have this new job opportunity. However, we are certain the commute will chip away at his patience until his stoic chiseled profile begins to sag under the weight of lost time. Then, we will move.

We have really loved our time here in Salem. We complain that there is nothing to do, it is too far from rock and roll (not to mention culture)...but we have truly loved living in Brian & Becky's basement apartment. To think of that ending is very sad. But, right now I'm supposed to be happy. Happy about new jobs. New beginnings.

From the messages left on our machine while we were away (camping at Kalaloch, our paradisaical home away from home), it appears that we may both be receiving new callings as well. We're both sad about that possible ending. We are both Primary teachers and we agree that it is the best calling in the church. Hum. Grum. That is only half a grumble. I'm grateful that the Lord has blessed us so much recently. Certainly we must meet his new challenges with a willing heart.

And this, this is the ending of my beginning post:
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