Enter the Dragon

Now that I'm settled into my new job http://www.markowitzherbold.com/showattorney.asp?Show=73, they've decided I need to start marketing myself. In my case, that means meeting as many people as I can in my new city. To that end, I've gotten involved in several organizations, including the Oregon Women Lawyers.

As it turns out, the Oregon Wowen Lawyers sponsor a dragon boat team. A what? A dragon boat looks like a long canoe in which paddlers sit two abreast on a bench and paddle on their own side of the boat. I'll let Wikipedia help me with this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_boat

I love it! As I've mentioned, Portland is divided by the Willamette River, which is where we paddle. It's a different way to see the city and it seems like a very Portland thing to do. There are lots of teams in Portland.

Our team, called the Dragonflies http://www.owlsdragonflies.org/ competes in several races a year. I've just signed up to participate in a race in Tacoma, Washington. We race in these big boats:

Here's a head shot for you:

And a couple of tails:

By contrast, these are the boats in which we usually practice:

Ok, that's it for now.

My First Visitor from Another Time Zone

My law school friend Melanie traveled across three time zones to visit Portland (and me) over Easter weekend. (Family: flights also leave from Michigan!) She is not my first visitor (that was Angela http://alladither.typepad.com/ from Seattle), but she does hold the honor of farthest traveled.

We spent some time in the city one afternoon:

There are lots of cool bridges in Portland across the Willamette River http://www.portlandlogue.com/bridges/ , so we checked out a couple. We walked across the Hawthorne Bridge:

We also visited Cathedral Park underneath the St. John's Bridge http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/index.cfm?PropertyID=97&action=ViewPark :

Even though she really seemed to enjoy Portland, I'm guessing she was homesick for NYC. You may not be able to read it, but one of those directional signs informs you that Times Square is 2,443 miles away.

Deciding that I wasn't going to impress Manhattan Mel with the "cityness" of Portland, I took her to visit our waterfalls the next day.

Here we are all soggy at Multnomah Falls:

Here's another waterfall (I've no idea which one):

Finally, here's a shot that shows some falls (again, no idea). You can also see the Columbia River in the distance -- all of these falls are in the Columbia River Gorge.

I think I won her over with the waterfalls.

It was great to see you, Mel! Come back anytime.

Snowshoes!

Long ago, I made a pair of snowshoes. I was on a class-taking binge at the time (also learning to scuba dive), so spent a few evenings at Woldumar Nature Center http://www.woldumar.org/ learning to weave some snowshoes that I'd never use. They look cool. They are the old fashioned kind you see hanging in lodges with wood frames and long tails. They were fun to make, but they've never been in the snow. In fact, until recently, I had never snowshoed.

Lots of people snowshoe here. My friend Margie and I decided we should join them. We bought matching snowshoes and matching hats (!) and on a sunny January afternoon, my beau David took Margie and I to Trillium Lake to try out our new gear.

Here is a group shot of all of us: Me, Murphy (David's dog), David and Margie. For good measure, Mt. Hood is in the background.


Here's one of me and Margie:


And, finally, an action photo:

Sure, it rains...

Before moving to Portland, no one ever asked me about the weather. To be fair, most of us were in the same state, at most 90 miles from each other and we all knew what Michigan weather was like.

Yes, it rains. Sometime alot, for days in a row. But, in the same way that Midwesterners scoff at those who complain about a little purifying cold, Portlanders seem to scoff at those who complain about the rain. It's all just about being prepared. And, remember when it was fun to play in the rain, jumping in mud puddles? Well, it still is. Check out my shoes and running pants after a particularly fun run through the woods:


I swear, they looked muddier in person.

But, it doesn't always rain in the winter. Today was a beautiful, cloudless day.

Here's a picture of Mt. Hood taken from Mount Tabor (an inactive volcano about 30 blocks from where I live):

Finally, a shot of the downtown, taken today from a path that I frequently run along the waterfront. The bridge you see is the Hawthorne Bridge. I work in one of the buildings in this photo. Although, it is nearly obscured by the building with the flag on top.

More sun predicted for the next two days!

All Right Then...

It seems like 100 years since my last post, so much has happened. My last installment shared the happenings of late April/early May when Rich and I first arrived in Portland. For the sake of catching up to real time, I'll only hit the highlights. From May to the end of July, this was my typical day --


Once the Oregon Bar Exam was done, we took a quick trip to California to see the redwoods --


Then, I waited. I'd wait two months for my results. During that time, I applied for a few jobs and did a lot of running. I took a quick trip to Michigan to visit family and for my annual trip to Mackinac Island with my mom. This year, although I don't have any pictures to share, my dad and Karen surprised me by stopping on the Island before the race. Here's a pic of me and mom after the race, me with my race medal (she makes me wear it :)) and the Mackinac Bridge behind us --


On Sept. 14th, the results came out. The secret is already out that I passed (woo-hoo!!), but here it is again: http://www.osbar.org/admissions/examresults_july2007.htm#o

Here's me, newly minted Oregon lawyer right after the swearing in ceremony --


This is where the story gets interesting. In the midst of looking for a job, Rich and I decided to part ways. I had considered inserting an amusingly unflattering picture of Rich in this spot, but I decided to stay positive. There are still two men in my life and these guys are as predictable as ever -- Sam appears first; Rudy, second.

So, everything is new. I found a great apartment within walking distance to a lot of cool stuff, including a beautiful old park called Laurelhurst Park. Here's one view --

Miraculously, I landed a job at a small law firm just about a month after receiving my Bar results -- http://www.mhgm.com/home.asp

Check out the beautiful flowers my dad and Karen sent in honor of my new job --

PDX Adventure, indeed! But, it's good. It's all good.

Moving Out, Moving In

My previous post featured the last leg of our return trip to Michigan after our week of scouting Portland this spring. Upon returning home, much work awaited. I had decided to sell my house in Michigan, rather than try to rent. After a great deal of effort, my house went on the market just before we left. Here's my cute little house, all primped for prospectives:


For the move, we rented space in a huge tractor trailer. It rumbled up, looking ridiculous on my residential street, barely clearing power lines and snapping my neighbor's cable wire. We were amazed at how much space we filled (that is to say, why didn't we give more away!!)


When the truck came to take the trailer away, it was a bit surreal. Rich and I stood in my empty, echoing house watching all of our earthly belongings disappear toward Portland. If there was ever any doubt about moving, it was too late!

A few days later, the trailer appeared in front of our new home in Portland.

Here's a shot of the inside of the new place, Day 1.

Ugh. But, the cats found it perfectly acceptable. Preferable, actually.

Enough for now. More later.

Wall Drug!

Well, I really wanted to stop at the largest ball of twine. Apparently there is some debate about who can rightfully claim that honor: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Largest_ball_of_twine. At any rate, Rich didn't share my enthusiasm, so no pictures of me next to a big twine ball.

Instead, we visited Wall Drug. For those of you who aren't familiar with Wall Drug, it's in Wall, South Dakota. A dusty town in the middle of nowhere. It's a fabulously cheesy tourist trap that started as a regular pharmacy and gradually expanded to a place that is, I'm sure, beloved by Japanese tourists. I'll provide the Wikipedia link, so you can get some good dry facts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Drug. You should also check out their own website because it captures more of the true flavor. I love that the left sidebar categorizing their wares includes a separate link for jackalopes. Of course it does. http://www.walldrug.com/

Here are a couple of shots inside and out:

Here we are modeling a few of the items that the Japanese tourists must love. Don't all Americans own cowboy hats and boots? If not, then we're all just fooling ourselves, pretending to be too cool.

In addition to the acres of stuff for sale, there are some priceless items not for sale. Rich found a couple of things that caught his eye.

To be fair to Rich (because I know how much he appreciates "The Painted Lady"), I'll end with one making me look silly.



Ok, this post is long enough. Take care y'all.