Happy New Year! hehe.

January is behind us now and so far things in Oregon are as interesting as usual. Our car broke a timing belt and has been to two different shops over the past week and a half. Organizing work schedules, towing the car, and even going to the dentist midday becomes a huge pain. I am just extremely happy we have Tom and a good friend in Joe Delph to help us out. Can't wait for the bill... : (

Speaking of Joe Delph, he drove us to Seattle this past weekend to play in a Magic The Gathering prerelease event with Andy and some friends from up north. We had a great time and the weekend was as good as I was expecting. This weekend also marks the first successful month of my resolution to complete sets of daily pull-ups. The count is up to 1280 for the year! I have seen a marked increase in my climbing strength as well which is very motivating. Two personal goals of mine are to climb V10 outdoors and to qualify for the Magic Pro Tour. I am working V8-9 in the gym and still scrubbing out in MTG Pro Tour Qualifier events, but practice is progress. I have also started a blog to record my gaming ideas which allows me to keep track of interesting concepts. Let me know if you would like to be a member of the CardstockCrucible.

I have been terrible about finding and applying for programming jobs. The industry around our area is depressing as headlines like Microsoft laying off 1400, Intel closing local plant, and so on. I have applied for an Admin position at the Clackamas store in the interim so that I can possibly attain some stable paycheck of reasonable size, if only for the next six months or so while I look for something else. I should hear from the hiring manager by Friday about an interview.

I hope all is going well for everyone and I will try to be more consistent about posting.

Christmas Vacation

Just wanted to let everyone know I'll be spending Christmas(Dec.22-Dec. 29) with the charming Texas duo...Badda andVal. I am very excited and looking forward to this time away. Last time was to Oregon, Oct. 2007..(which was great !) I am a little anxious about leaving Grandma, I do feel this will be an important christmas for her. BTW: She had a very bad fall yesterday, hit face down on concrete and she sure looks bad. I spoke with her tonight before coming to work and she was in good spirits, not liking the having to stay in bed, saying she looked worse than she felt. Dr. said in a couple of days she will be hurting from the fall. Give her a call to say Hello..I know she would love to hear from any of you. More at a later date. Much Love to All,
Martharae

Welcome to Portland

Someone broke into my car yesterday while it was parked in the garage at work. They broke my side window and stole my gymnastics bag. The bag didn't have anything of real value in it, mostly technical manuals for drills and skills, but it was a special bag from my first gym and it had lots of memorabilia in it. I guess they thought is was a lap top bag. Sucks for us both.

What news from the Oregon-mark? Part One

It has been approximately a month since I arrived in Beaverton and the time has screamed by. The area still seems foreign and many of the common activities that I enjoyed in Maryland (playing magic, climbing, cycling) still seem a difficult fit here. I will save work and the move itself for another post but suffice it to say they have been uninspiring.

The Circuit climbing gym, that has replaced my old EarthTreks, is an amazing bouldering gym. This means no roping up and no 'tall' climbs but makes the trade off for ~10,000 sq. ft. of lower more dynamic climbing. I have not yet signed up for a membership so my visits have been on day passes and I have only been a few times due to time constraints. The gym is closer to home than EarthTreks was but still seems as inaccessible due to my poor knowledge of bike paths and the fact that Jenni and I are sharing the car. I look forward to the arrival of my good friend, Joe Delph, so that I can once again be on a reliable climbing schedule. What I have noticed is that I am out of shape! Just one solid trip has caused my appetite to spike and my eating to skyrocket. I have also found out that there is a Fall Competition Series!

The new game store Guardian Games is more friendly than my last and that is definitely a refreshing change. The few folks that I have met there all seem polite, intelligent and respectable which seemed an impossible demand in Maryland. I highly look forward to making some new play test partners to help me prepare for upcoming events. The downfall is that the store is on the opposite side of the city. Negotiating that trip has proven very difficult.

As for Cycling, I just need to meet a few interested individuals that have some knowledge of the surrounding area. I trust that in time this will correct itself; the unfortunate part is that time will push the cycling season into the colder winter months. Oh well.

One activity that has been a constant here is my ability to play video games on the internet, notably DotA, a warcraft 3 custom map. It is free, I can play at any time, and I can even chat with the Trout or with Tom while we are playing. I can't say that I will be terribly disappointed when my workout routiene picks up and dota tapers off but for now it is a good placeholder.

The weather has been amazing nearly every day and the few 'bad' days were laughable. I hear this changes in the winter as the rain and overcast skies move in but until that is confirmed I have to say I am impressed.

Welcome to OwensCountry

For some time now I have threatened to create a group focused on elevating communication in our family to more than just a bi-monthly event. I am terrible at remembering to update everyone on the interesting (or just odd) things that happen to me on a weekly basis, and when I do it only makes it to about two or three of you depending on who I happen to talk to. Obviously I do not intend for a blog to replace speaking with each other but instead to 'fill in the gaps'. I hope it becomes an enjoyable event reading, responding, and posting on what is going on in our lives and helps to tie us together, in spite of our geographical separation. Prepared to be regaled with some quality customer service stories!