It has been a long time since I have blogged. I guess life is less interesting here in Portland. Or I'm here with everyone who reads this, so there isn't much to update that you all don't already know! But in case you don't live in Portland, a few updates:
My dad is home, and has been for a week and a half I think. Although he still complains and makes comments that he's never going to get better, he is a million times better. Yesterday we got the all clear on the blood clots, which means he's done with the 2x a day shots in the belly. He was psyched about that! When pressed about how he is feeling, he does admit that he's feeling better every day. Healing just takes time, and he's impatient :) But really, it's a miracle how well he is doing.
Work at UR is crazy as usual, even from 3,000 miles away. I can't imagine 3 years of that drama, but you do what you have to do I guess. Work here is great, although ironically filled with the same type of work I do at UR (which we had never done at PRE before I left). But the people are great and it is really nice to be back at the place where I "grew up."
Fall is finally beginning here, and it's beautiful. I love the smell. It's rainy, but the weatherman promises sun for the weekend. That means it will rain. I hear that Rochester had SNOW last weekend. SNOW. In mid-October. Yikes. I hope that is not a sign of the winter to come.
Again, thank you all for the prayers for my dad, as they clearly worked.
~Tia
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Sad reality
Tonight I had to go pilot a survey with a group of inner-city youth (give the survey a test run for those of you non-researchers). I had never been so aware of my whiteness in my life. In a room of about 20, I was the only white person. It was fine though, and everyone was very nice.
I'm handing out the survey, and one girl asks how she is supposed to do it. I didn't understand her question, until her friend pointed out that she couldn't read. I later found out this girl is 12 years old. 12. And she can't read. Her friend helped her through it, but what is this world coming to when this girl, who is involved in an after-school community program, can't read? It was so sad.
Another boy in the same group started to say "what does this..." and I thought he was going to ask for clarification on a word (which is what I was there to find out). I said "I'll help you, what's your question" and he quickly said "nevermind." I pressed him, since my job there was to edit the survey to be as user-friendly as possible, and he thought for a second and clearly decided I was trustworthy and said "This question asks if we have a job for pay. Does workin' the streets count?" All I could think to respond was "Do you get paid?" and he said "Yes" so I told him to mark "yes." Now this very sweet and respectful young man (who keep cutely calling me "miss") who was about 13 years old, just told me he's a drug dealer. Not 2 minutes later he tells me that through his involvement with this after-school program, he helps do things that make neighborhoods better and more of a community. So when he's not dealing drugs, he's helping make his neighborhood a better place. I am struck by the reality of these kids' lives, and how impossibly different their childhood was from mine. I have no brilliant ideas about how to rectify this situation of young drug dealers and 12-year-olds that can't read, but man this was an eye-opening night for me.
I'm handing out the survey, and one girl asks how she is supposed to do it. I didn't understand her question, until her friend pointed out that she couldn't read. I later found out this girl is 12 years old. 12. And she can't read. Her friend helped her through it, but what is this world coming to when this girl, who is involved in an after-school community program, can't read? It was so sad.
Another boy in the same group started to say "what does this..." and I thought he was going to ask for clarification on a word (which is what I was there to find out). I said "I'll help you, what's your question" and he quickly said "nevermind." I pressed him, since my job there was to edit the survey to be as user-friendly as possible, and he thought for a second and clearly decided I was trustworthy and said "This question asks if we have a job for pay. Does workin' the streets count?" All I could think to respond was "Do you get paid?" and he said "Yes" so I told him to mark "yes." Now this very sweet and respectful young man (who keep cutely calling me "miss") who was about 13 years old, just told me he's a drug dealer. Not 2 minutes later he tells me that through his involvement with this after-school program, he helps do things that make neighborhoods better and more of a community. So when he's not dealing drugs, he's helping make his neighborhood a better place. I am struck by the reality of these kids' lives, and how impossibly different their childhood was from mine. I have no brilliant ideas about how to rectify this situation of young drug dealers and 12-year-olds that can't read, but man this was an eye-opening night for me.
Rochester in the fall
While I am happy to be going home and being back with everyone I love, I'm a bit sad about missing my favorite time of year in Rochester. I have just, in the past week, noticed the first few trees are starting to change color as the fall approaches. It's always the maple trees that start first. The few trees that are changing colors look so silly right now, because they will have one branch that is brilliantly orange and red, yet the rest of the tree is still green. It's as if the tree just isn't quite willing to give up the last bit of summer.
I also saw my first "locally grown" apples at Wegman's (the grocery store) last week. Upstate NY grows tons of apples, second only to Washington. Fall here to me signals the start of the blissful drink that is Kelly's Apple Cider. It is unpasturized goodness, just one step away from heaven. I have heard that there was a law recently passed in NY that all juice must be pasturized before it is consumed, but I also heard that you might be able to get away with it still if it is being purchased on site (i.e. not in a graocery store). Who knows, but by the time I get back here in January, apple season will be long over, and the tress will all be bare and brown. I'm sure it will be quite the shock coming back without the beautiful transition of fall. Ah well, there is always next year. And the bright side is I won't be around to have to do the raking :)
I also saw my first "locally grown" apples at Wegman's (the grocery store) last week. Upstate NY grows tons of apples, second only to Washington. Fall here to me signals the start of the blissful drink that is Kelly's Apple Cider. It is unpasturized goodness, just one step away from heaven. I have heard that there was a law recently passed in NY that all juice must be pasturized before it is consumed, but I also heard that you might be able to get away with it still if it is being purchased on site (i.e. not in a graocery store). Who knows, but by the time I get back here in January, apple season will be long over, and the tress will all be bare and brown. I'm sure it will be quite the shock coming back without the beautiful transition of fall. Ah well, there is always next year. And the bright side is I won't be around to have to do the raking :)
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Flowers and Snowflake
Before I left for Portland a couple of weeks ago, I was having fun taking pictures of flowers in my yard (or ones that hang into my yard). While I sadly have very few flowers, it's looking like I won't be adding more at least until spring. Here are a few of the pictures I liked.
I really like how the contrast turned out in the picture with the blue berries. I have no idea how I did that, so it wasn't done using my amazing purposeful camera skills :)
Next up is the Blogger debut of Snowflake my foster cat. While she didn't come out of the basement for 2 weeks, she is now a very affectionate cat who likes to sleep on my bed and watch TV on the couch with me. Her downfall is that she hates other pets, is a bit skittish, and doesn't like to be picked up, so finding her a home is going to be difficult. If I could find a home like mine where she is allowed to adjust at her own pace, she would do very well. She now meows at me when I don't pay enough attention to her, which is starting to get a bit annoying and reminds me of Bryan's cat Penelope, minus the drooling! I was going to find her a new home when I come to Portland, but my roomie so cutely said "can you just transfer her to my name? I'm going to be lonely and she keeps me company." So thanks to Briana's kind heart, Snowflake will continued to be fostered here until she finds her forever home. She did not do so well during her first 3-day stint at Petco, probably because of the large number of barking dogs that come by, so she might be best adopted from Petfinder where someone can come here to meet her.
I really like how the contrast turned out in the picture with the blue berries. I have no idea how I did that, so it wasn't done using my amazing purposeful camera skills :)
Next up is the Blogger debut of Snowflake my foster cat. While she didn't come out of the basement for 2 weeks, she is now a very affectionate cat who likes to sleep on my bed and watch TV on the couch with me. Her downfall is that she hates other pets, is a bit skittish, and doesn't like to be picked up, so finding her a home is going to be difficult. If I could find a home like mine where she is allowed to adjust at her own pace, she would do very well. She now meows at me when I don't pay enough attention to her, which is starting to get a bit annoying and reminds me of Bryan's cat Penelope, minus the drooling! I was going to find her a new home when I come to Portland, but my roomie so cutely said "can you just transfer her to my name? I'm going to be lonely and she keeps me company." So thanks to Briana's kind heart, Snowflake will continued to be fostered here until she finds her forever home. She did not do so well during her first 3-day stint at Petco, probably because of the large number of barking dogs that come by, so she might be best adopted from Petfinder where someone can come here to meet her.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
9/18 update
Sorry for the lag in updates. I was so busy before I left that I just didn't find the time to sit down and write.
As of this afternoon, my dad was still in the ICU. The breathing tube was taken out on Saturday I think. While that's good because he can now talk to us in a barely audible whisper (due to the throat irritation of the tube), he is now cranky, in a lot of pain, and coughing with the most rattly chest I have ever heard. They are trying to wean him off of the epidural and onto oral pain meds, but they are making him very delusional.
He is having a moderately hard time breathing on his own, but that is to be expected with the pneumonia and the broken ribs. It was painful listening to him breathe, but hopefully the intense respiratory therapy they are giving him will help. My mom emailed me today and said my dad's latest thing is to pull out the nasal feeding tube. The nurses used to fight over who was going to care for him, but somehow I bet that isn't happening anymore! He is talking now and says himself that his own stupidity got him where he is, and he keeps asking my mom to take him home. He has an unknown length of time before that is even a possibility. I think next up for him is loads of rehab in the hospital once he is moved to the ward.
All in all, he is very slowly improving, although to us the last couple of days have seemed a bit worse since he is now awake and alert and realizing his pain. I am now back in Rochester, although not altogether with it since I flew back on a red-eye, went straight to work, and then taught tonight (which I absolutely loved for those who are wondering). The big news in my life (and don't tell my dad if you happen to visit him) is that I'm coming back to Portland for a couple of months to help care for my dad. I'm here getting things settled and I hope to be back in Portland within 2 weeks or so. I am blessed to have some amazing people in my life who have made coming back to Portland a possibility for me. I'm taking a leave of absence from school and I'll be telecommuting some for UR and filling in the rest with my old job at PRE in Portland. My dad is going to need an immense amount of care, and my mom just can't do it alone. I'll help care for him until he's doing much better, and I'll start classes again in January.
Thanks for all of your postive thoughts.
As of this afternoon, my dad was still in the ICU. The breathing tube was taken out on Saturday I think. While that's good because he can now talk to us in a barely audible whisper (due to the throat irritation of the tube), he is now cranky, in a lot of pain, and coughing with the most rattly chest I have ever heard. They are trying to wean him off of the epidural and onto oral pain meds, but they are making him very delusional.
He is having a moderately hard time breathing on his own, but that is to be expected with the pneumonia and the broken ribs. It was painful listening to him breathe, but hopefully the intense respiratory therapy they are giving him will help. My mom emailed me today and said my dad's latest thing is to pull out the nasal feeding tube. The nurses used to fight over who was going to care for him, but somehow I bet that isn't happening anymore! He is talking now and says himself that his own stupidity got him where he is, and he keeps asking my mom to take him home. He has an unknown length of time before that is even a possibility. I think next up for him is loads of rehab in the hospital once he is moved to the ward.
All in all, he is very slowly improving, although to us the last couple of days have seemed a bit worse since he is now awake and alert and realizing his pain. I am now back in Rochester, although not altogether with it since I flew back on a red-eye, went straight to work, and then taught tonight (which I absolutely loved for those who are wondering). The big news in my life (and don't tell my dad if you happen to visit him) is that I'm coming back to Portland for a couple of months to help care for my dad. I'm here getting things settled and I hope to be back in Portland within 2 weeks or so. I am blessed to have some amazing people in my life who have made coming back to Portland a possibility for me. I'm taking a leave of absence from school and I'll be telecommuting some for UR and filling in the rest with my old job at PRE in Portland. My dad is going to need an immense amount of care, and my mom just can't do it alone. I'll help care for him until he's doing much better, and I'll start classes again in January.
Thanks for all of your postive thoughts.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Update on my dad
For those of you that I haven't had a chance to contact yet, on Thursday my dad fell off the second story roof while cleaning off leaves. He is in trauma ICU at OHSU with 2 collapsed lungs, virtually all of his ribs are cracked or fractured, and a broken pelvis. He has been intubated (a tube is helping him breathe) and he is heavily sedated.
The good news-
Yesterday they took out the left chest tube, which means his left lung is doing well. They also switched his right lung from the bubbling filter to water suction, so if it drains less than 100 today that tube will come out as well. He is responding to us when we are there, even though it is only in the form of moving feet and hands. His sense of humor is clearly intact still though, because whenever my mom teases him his feet start moving rapidly :) When my mom and sister were there yesterday, they said he opened his eyes and was clearly paying attention to them.
He now (as of yesterday) has an epidural in his back that is basically numbing up his entire ribcage. The goal is that without all of the pain, he will breathe better and be able to taken off of the ventilator and the heavy sedation/pain meds.
The bad news-
We had hoped the ventilator would be taken out yesterday, but yesterday afternoon they told us he now has pneumonia. He spiked a high fever overnight and they have had to up the oxygen they give him and have the ventilator help him breathe a bit more. As of this morning his fever was very high again last night, so they have started some broad-spectrum antibiotics until the culture results come back. They said he is still responsive, and the antibiotics seem to be starting to work. It is looking unlikely that they will remove the ventilator before I leave on Sunday, which unfortunately means I won't get to talk to him.
As scary as all of this has been, the nurses and doctors assure us that things are going fairly well and that 60% of patients get pneumonia. They have no idea when he might get moved out of ICU and when (if all goes perfectly) he'd be back home. It's looking like it's going to be a few months though. Things are all still very touch-and-go, and we're hoping that the pneumonia gets under control quickly. We'll hopefully know more by this afternoon when the latest CT and x-ray results come back.
I'd like to thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers. It's amazing to see the outpouring of support...you never know how many people care about you until something like this happens and the phone rings off of the hook with people sending their good wishes. I'll try and keep you all updated as things change, but it's very slow going right now.
The good news-
Yesterday they took out the left chest tube, which means his left lung is doing well. They also switched his right lung from the bubbling filter to water suction, so if it drains less than 100 today that tube will come out as well. He is responding to us when we are there, even though it is only in the form of moving feet and hands. His sense of humor is clearly intact still though, because whenever my mom teases him his feet start moving rapidly :) When my mom and sister were there yesterday, they said he opened his eyes and was clearly paying attention to them.
He now (as of yesterday) has an epidural in his back that is basically numbing up his entire ribcage. The goal is that without all of the pain, he will breathe better and be able to taken off of the ventilator and the heavy sedation/pain meds.
The bad news-
We had hoped the ventilator would be taken out yesterday, but yesterday afternoon they told us he now has pneumonia. He spiked a high fever overnight and they have had to up the oxygen they give him and have the ventilator help him breathe a bit more. As of this morning his fever was very high again last night, so they have started some broad-spectrum antibiotics until the culture results come back. They said he is still responsive, and the antibiotics seem to be starting to work. It is looking unlikely that they will remove the ventilator before I leave on Sunday, which unfortunately means I won't get to talk to him.
As scary as all of this has been, the nurses and doctors assure us that things are going fairly well and that 60% of patients get pneumonia. They have no idea when he might get moved out of ICU and when (if all goes perfectly) he'd be back home. It's looking like it's going to be a few months though. Things are all still very touch-and-go, and we're hoping that the pneumonia gets under control quickly. We'll hopefully know more by this afternoon when the latest CT and x-ray results come back.
I'd like to thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers. It's amazing to see the outpouring of support...you never know how many people care about you until something like this happens and the phone rings off of the hook with people sending their good wishes. I'll try and keep you all updated as things change, but it's very slow going right now.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
There's no place like home
A little less than 2 weeks before Labor Day, I decided that for my own mental health I needed to go home over the long holiday weekend. I found a decently priced flight and decided to risk the two layovers of less than 40 minutes. Thankfully all ended up being fine.
Being home was both wonderful and terrible. Wonderful because I remembered all that I love about Portland and got to spend time with people I love (my apologies again for the happy hour confusion). Terrible because it made it all the worse to come back here, and had it not been 4am when I left (and the brain not working all that well), I probably would have stayed. Portland is such a great city with so many amazing people and great things to do. I realized that this weekend was the first time since I left that I genuinely laughed. Sad.
That said, I crammed a lot of things into a great weekend. Spent Friday with my parents, then yummy Lebonese dinner with Bryan, and drinks and dessert later with my sister and her cousin and his girlfriend. The chocolate dessert at Tabla is to die for! They were eating outside when I arrived, and it was a beautiful night for being outside. I took this picture of the sunset on my way there. It's not the best and hardly represents how beautiful it was, but it's hard to take pictures while driving!
Saturday was spent being relatively mellow because poor Bryan was sick :( We did go out to drinks with some friends of his, which is always fun. Sunday we got up and my personal chef made me some delicious crepes (every girl should have a man who cooks...it's great!). We then strolled along Hawthorne, me finding happiness in browsing Powells, and then we went to Pho with my parents. I really miss the food of Portland! That night we went to Rimsky Korsakoffee and had a lovely chat and dessert, despite it being 150 degress in there! I've only been back a few days, and I miss my Portland life already.
But back to Rochester news, I had to keep myself busy until midnight in order to catch Bryan's unlimited cell minutes, so I finally got the kitchen all cleaned and organized.
Tonight is my first night of classes. I'm actually dreading it, mostly due to the whopping SIX hours I'll spend sitting tonight (4:30pm-10:30pm) since both of my classes are on Wednesday. Ugh. I'll be sure to post how they go. Don't expect much exciting news besides "my life will now be spent reading every piece of literature that seems to exist on education" :)
I got my first foster cat here. An adult long haired white cat. She was friendly enough when the people brought her over, but she quickly found the cat door to the basement and hasn't come out yet. Every time I go down there I find her hiding behind the washing machine. I'll give her a few days and then drag her out for her Blogger debut.
Being home was both wonderful and terrible. Wonderful because I remembered all that I love about Portland and got to spend time with people I love (my apologies again for the happy hour confusion). Terrible because it made it all the worse to come back here, and had it not been 4am when I left (and the brain not working all that well), I probably would have stayed. Portland is such a great city with so many amazing people and great things to do. I realized that this weekend was the first time since I left that I genuinely laughed. Sad.
That said, I crammed a lot of things into a great weekend. Spent Friday with my parents, then yummy Lebonese dinner with Bryan, and drinks and dessert later with my sister and her cousin and his girlfriend. The chocolate dessert at Tabla is to die for! They were eating outside when I arrived, and it was a beautiful night for being outside. I took this picture of the sunset on my way there. It's not the best and hardly represents how beautiful it was, but it's hard to take pictures while driving!
Saturday was spent being relatively mellow because poor Bryan was sick :( We did go out to drinks with some friends of his, which is always fun. Sunday we got up and my personal chef made me some delicious crepes (every girl should have a man who cooks...it's great!). We then strolled along Hawthorne, me finding happiness in browsing Powells, and then we went to Pho with my parents. I really miss the food of Portland! That night we went to Rimsky Korsakoffee and had a lovely chat and dessert, despite it being 150 degress in there! I've only been back a few days, and I miss my Portland life already.But back to Rochester news, I had to keep myself busy until midnight in order to catch Bryan's unlimited cell minutes, so I finally got the kitchen all cleaned and organized.
Tonight is my first night of classes. I'm actually dreading it, mostly due to the whopping SIX hours I'll spend sitting tonight (4:30pm-10:30pm) since both of my classes are on Wednesday. Ugh. I'll be sure to post how they go. Don't expect much exciting news besides "my life will now be spent reading every piece of literature that seems to exist on education" :)
I got my first foster cat here. An adult long haired white cat. She was friendly enough when the people brought her over, but she quickly found the cat door to the basement and hasn't come out yet. Every time I go down there I find her hiding behind the washing machine. I'll give her a few days and then drag her out for her Blogger debut.
NY State Fair
Two weekends ago the girls and I went to the state fair in Syracuse (about 1.5 hours away). They are just the cutest little things, and we had a great time! Lani's approach was to eat her way through the fair, and I was all about that (although she could even out junk-food me!). Between pizza, funnel cakes, ice cream, and lemonade, we spent most of the 4 hours there eating, but we also managed to see an assortment of animals (chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, guinea pigs, cows, sheep, goats, pigs), feed some animals (goats, llamas, deer, donkeys, and a camel), and watch the horse riding and judging.
Cassie feeding a goat. I wish I would have gotten a picture of me feeding the camel. I told the girls I would go first, since they were a bit intimidated by its size. The thing bent over to eat out of my hand and I let out a squeal that made everyone turn and look at me. The camel was SO spitty that it scared me! He pulled away his mouth and left this huge disgusting trail of spit and slobber on my arm. A guy who was watching me started laughing hysterically. Needless to say the girls went back to feeding the goats!
Cassie posing in the cut-out bunny.
Us at the end of the rainy day. It was just drizzly, so it wasn't too bad, and the temperature was about 70, so it wasn't cold.
Loving sisters :) Too bad Lani's eyes are closed because this is an adorable picture. All-in-all, we had a great time and the girls were so well-behaved. It was less than 10 minutes out of the parking lot before they were both asleep! I guess I wore them out :)
Cassie feeding a goat. I wish I would have gotten a picture of me feeding the camel. I told the girls I would go first, since they were a bit intimidated by its size. The thing bent over to eat out of my hand and I let out a squeal that made everyone turn and look at me. The camel was SO spitty that it scared me! He pulled away his mouth and left this huge disgusting trail of spit and slobber on my arm. A guy who was watching me started laughing hysterically. Needless to say the girls went back to feeding the goats! 
Cassie posing in the cut-out bunny.
Us at the end of the rainy day. It was just drizzly, so it wasn't too bad, and the temperature was about 70, so it wasn't cold.
Loving sisters :) Too bad Lani's eyes are closed because this is an adorable picture. All-in-all, we had a great time and the girls were so well-behaved. It was less than 10 minutes out of the parking lot before they were both asleep! I guess I wore them out :)
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Going back to the gym is painful
So after talking with Bryan the other day and hearing that he is now running at the gym, I was motivated to start going again so he isn't better than me whenever I see him next :) I clearly just need to get my competitive juices flowing in order to be motivated to go to the gym!
Two days ago I ran a mile in my neighborhood. Yesterday I ran a mile and a half at the gym at a decent pace. Today I can hardly walk! It is painful, but I wasn't in as bad of shape as I had expected, since it had been about a month since I had been to the gym.
I can't believe school starts next week already! The year of no school went by so quickly, and I'm a bit nervous to start again, especially in a new field. The looks of sympathy I've been getting from other profs when I say I'm teaching Program Eval have scared me! I'm confident I can do it though, even if I have to be the dreaded "mean professor." As for my classes, I'm taking Concepts in Social Science Research and Race, Class, Gender, and Disability in America. That puts me in class on Wednesdays from 4:50pm to 10:15pm. Oh joy! I'm hoping they will both be nice intros into the education world though.
Work is going well around here, although I am insanely busy. I think I could work 80 hour weeks and still not get everything done. I have been fairly dedicated though about only working 40 hours. I don't want them to get the idea that they can work me to the bone (even though they are trying!). I still get to work 2 days a week from home, which is awesome.
I miss you all!
Tia
Two days ago I ran a mile in my neighborhood. Yesterday I ran a mile and a half at the gym at a decent pace. Today I can hardly walk! It is painful, but I wasn't in as bad of shape as I had expected, since it had been about a month since I had been to the gym.
I can't believe school starts next week already! The year of no school went by so quickly, and I'm a bit nervous to start again, especially in a new field. The looks of sympathy I've been getting from other profs when I say I'm teaching Program Eval have scared me! I'm confident I can do it though, even if I have to be the dreaded "mean professor." As for my classes, I'm taking Concepts in Social Science Research and Race, Class, Gender, and Disability in America. That puts me in class on Wednesdays from 4:50pm to 10:15pm. Oh joy! I'm hoping they will both be nice intros into the education world though.
Work is going well around here, although I am insanely busy. I think I could work 80 hour weeks and still not get everything done. I have been fairly dedicated though about only working 40 hours. I don't want them to get the idea that they can work me to the bone (even though they are trying!). I still get to work 2 days a week from home, which is awesome.
I miss you all!
Tia
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Living room, fully furnished!
Yay, my new couches got here today, which motivated me to finish cleaning up the living room. These pictures aren't the best, since I took them at night. The couches look wrinkly, but it's because they are microfiber and the artificial lights catch the fabric strangely. The idea is still there though! I haven't decided about the yellow/orange colors on the wall. While I'm not a big fan of it, I think it will be nice and bright for the long winter here. 
Friday, August 25, 2006
A brief upstairs look
Here are a few of the pictures from upstairs.
This is a view of the long hallway. The stairs are on the left of the banister. The bedroom below is the first door on the left, the bathroom the second door, and my office is straight ahead. The door on the right is just attic space.
This upstairs bathroom that will be Briana's.
The upstairs bedroom that will also be Briana's. Aren't the hardwoods just beautiful?!
Pics of my office to come when it gets organized. The rest of the downstairs should be finished this weekend, so you'll get pictures of that soon. My couches come tomorrow. Yay!
This is a view of the long hallway. The stairs are on the left of the banister. The bedroom below is the first door on the left, the bathroom the second door, and my office is straight ahead. The door on the right is just attic space.
This upstairs bathroom that will be Briana's.
The upstairs bedroom that will also be Briana's. Aren't the hardwoods just beautiful?!Pics of my office to come when it gets organized. The rest of the downstairs should be finished this weekend, so you'll get pictures of that soon. My couches come tomorrow. Yay!
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Murders and danger and roommates, oh my!
Well, it has been an eventful past week in the world of Greece, NY. Patrick was in town over the weekend, and he and Shawn and I went out to a British pub and then to a country bar. It was fun and really nice to see a face from home.
I have yet to watch the news out here because I don't get home in time, and I don't get the paper, so I'm not all that connected to what is going on around here. I discovered that is for a reason! Patrick is a news junkie, and he calls me up on Saturday night (as I'm on my way to his house to go out) to inform me that they have just found a body in the park a half-mile from my house! I guess the guy had been shot and his body was left in the park. All I have heard is that he was 24 and it is thought to be gang-related.
Two days ago I was searching the news on the web to find out the weather forecast. The headline story is that two Rochester high schools are now on the "persistently dangerous" list put out by the feds. The criteria for this is more than 6 serious incidents per 100 students. I'm thinking I'm all safe living in the suburbs, as the danger is in the city. Well, one of those high schools is a mile and a half from my house. Hmm. I technically live in the town of Greece, so my neighborhood doesn't feed into this high school, but it's still darn close. I'm beginning to see why the people moved out of my house! When I left 3 years ago, Greece was a very nice suburb. My how things change.
Now after these two not-so-nice pieces of news, it's not really fair to put to new roomie in this catergory! I found a girl to rent the bedroom/bath upstairs (from Craiglist no less!). She's a very sweet 20-year-old who is a nanny. I'm excited to not be living alone, and the extra income is going to be a huge help. She moves in on Tues/Wed, so I'll update you as to how things go. I'm expecting a smooth ride though. She brought her boyfriend over the second time she came, and he seems like a nice guy. I'm hoping it is going to be a good situation for the both of us.
Sorry, no pictures for now as I'm at work. I went to upload some last night, and of course my camera batteries died. I will get them up very soon though. Now that I'm all done with data entry for PRE, I'll have more time in the evenings to get things done.
Keep in touch!
Tia
I have yet to watch the news out here because I don't get home in time, and I don't get the paper, so I'm not all that connected to what is going on around here. I discovered that is for a reason! Patrick is a news junkie, and he calls me up on Saturday night (as I'm on my way to his house to go out) to inform me that they have just found a body in the park a half-mile from my house! I guess the guy had been shot and his body was left in the park. All I have heard is that he was 24 and it is thought to be gang-related.
Two days ago I was searching the news on the web to find out the weather forecast. The headline story is that two Rochester high schools are now on the "persistently dangerous" list put out by the feds. The criteria for this is more than 6 serious incidents per 100 students. I'm thinking I'm all safe living in the suburbs, as the danger is in the city. Well, one of those high schools is a mile and a half from my house. Hmm. I technically live in the town of Greece, so my neighborhood doesn't feed into this high school, but it's still darn close. I'm beginning to see why the people moved out of my house! When I left 3 years ago, Greece was a very nice suburb. My how things change.
Now after these two not-so-nice pieces of news, it's not really fair to put to new roomie in this catergory! I found a girl to rent the bedroom/bath upstairs (from Craiglist no less!). She's a very sweet 20-year-old who is a nanny. I'm excited to not be living alone, and the extra income is going to be a huge help. She moves in on Tues/Wed, so I'll update you as to how things go. I'm expecting a smooth ride though. She brought her boyfriend over the second time she came, and he seems like a nice guy. I'm hoping it is going to be a good situation for the both of us.
Sorry, no pictures for now as I'm at work. I went to upload some last night, and of course my camera batteries died. I will get them up very soon though. Now that I'm all done with data entry for PRE, I'll have more time in the evenings to get things done.
Keep in touch!
Tia
Thursday, August 17, 2006
A few more unpacked rooms
Greetings from the right coast! I've gotten a bit more unpacking done inbetween working and sleeping!
This is my room, which is on the main floor. It's not huge, but it's plenty big. There is a closet just past the fan which you can't see. I love the hardwoods, and the window right above my bed is awesome, because the nights here are alive with the sound of crickets and other chirping bugs that are the epitome of summer here (well, that and humidity!).
The other side of my room.
The chinchilla room. Of course, just my luck that it is the only carpeted room in the entire house (it actually used to be the bathroom), so I just bought a big piece of linoleum to make sweeping up much easier.
The downstairs blue bathroom. I love it. I discovered a wasp's nest my second day there in the window above the toilet, between the front panes and the storm windows. I panicked, then realized I was the only one there to deal with it, so I trekked off to the store, bought some wasp spray, and I haven't seen a bee come back. Success!
The shower. Most notable here is the great skylight in the bathroom. The tub is also a jacuzzi tub, which will be great in the winter.
This is my room, which is on the main floor. It's not huge, but it's plenty big. There is a closet just past the fan which you can't see. I love the hardwoods, and the window right above my bed is awesome, because the nights here are alive with the sound of crickets and other chirping bugs that are the epitome of summer here (well, that and humidity!).
The other side of my room.
The chinchilla room. Of course, just my luck that it is the only carpeted room in the entire house (it actually used to be the bathroom), so I just bought a big piece of linoleum to make sweeping up much easier. 
The downstairs blue bathroom. I love it. I discovered a wasp's nest my second day there in the window above the toilet, between the front panes and the storm windows. I panicked, then realized I was the only one there to deal with it, so I trekked off to the store, bought some wasp spray, and I haven't seen a bee come back. Success!
The shower. Most notable here is the great skylight in the bathroom. The tub is also a jacuzzi tub, which will be great in the winter.I'm starting to get more settled here, and I'm not painfully homesick as I was the first week. Everyone keeps asking me about Bryan, so I thought I'd update here. He has a promising lead on a teaching job with pre-K kids, but with the time difference he hasn't been ablet to connect with the director yet to talk more about the position. Keep your fingers crossed though!
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Eagle Creek Hike
Right before I left Portland, Bryan and I went on a beauitful hike at Eagle Creek State Park, out in the Columbia Gorge. The weather was perfect, and there were many waterfalls to see. I highly recommend it to anyone around there, although parts of it are a bit narrow (so I wouldn't recommend it for small kids). Although the water seemed WAY too cold to swim in it, we did see a few people who decided that cold meant nothing to them. The last picture is Punchbowl Falls, aptly named because the top of it is shaped like a punchbowl.
Am I finished yet?
My mom and I arrived safe and sound last Sunday at about 5pm. A few things I learned along the loooong drive:
1. DOT crews love to pinch you down to one lane for no apparant reason for miles and miles, and they somehow make sure you're always stuck being a person going 45.
2. 3/4 of this country is covered in corn. Who eats all of this corn? There is enough corn in this country to feed the entire world 10 times over.
3. Cleveland has the craziest freeway system. What town makes a freeway with multiple sharp turns that require you to slow down to 35?
4. Fast food options have greatly improved since I last did this drive. 3 solid days of eating nothing but fast food, and not one stop at McDonald's!
My mom and I ran a million errands the half day she had before she left. Thanks to her, I have a brand new TV and a shiny new lawnmower (my new enemy...more about that later). We also got 2 A/C units to cool this place down.
After my mom left I had this sudden realization that I was all alone for the first time in my entire life. This place makes me horribly homesick and if I didn't have this house I'd probably turn around and come back tomorrow. But in an effort to keep this posting mostly happy, I'll talk about all that some other day.
So I know you'd all like some pictures. All you get for now is the outside, since my house is a mess with boxes everywhere inside!
The first picture is the outside of the house. Sorry you can't see the right side very well, but the big maple tree makes it shady. The next two pictures are the backyard. Note the freshly mowed grass. That lawn looks nice and flat, but really it has invisible potholes that catch the wheels and ram the handle into your abdomen. I have a huge blister on my thumb and very sore hands and gut today. I'm no sissy, but mowing the lawn is man's work!
The last picture is my other enemy.....the pool! This thing is just a huge mystery of chemicals, pumps, hoses, and filters. I got a quick lesson for the guy at the pool store (after he said I needed $80 worth of chemicals). Not sure if this is going to stay up after this year!
That's all the pictures for now. Thank you to all of you who have been calling and easing my lonliness. Thanks also to all of you who gave me gift cards....they have all been put to great use! The one bright spot about here is that the weather has been a beautiful 75-80 in the day and 55-65 at night. I haven't looked at the weather in Portland, but hopefully is has cooled down from when I left. I miss you all so much!
1. DOT crews love to pinch you down to one lane for no apparant reason for miles and miles, and they somehow make sure you're always stuck being a person going 45.
2. 3/4 of this country is covered in corn. Who eats all of this corn? There is enough corn in this country to feed the entire world 10 times over.
3. Cleveland has the craziest freeway system. What town makes a freeway with multiple sharp turns that require you to slow down to 35?
4. Fast food options have greatly improved since I last did this drive. 3 solid days of eating nothing but fast food, and not one stop at McDonald's!
My mom and I ran a million errands the half day she had before she left. Thanks to her, I have a brand new TV and a shiny new lawnmower (my new enemy...more about that later). We also got 2 A/C units to cool this place down.
After my mom left I had this sudden realization that I was all alone for the first time in my entire life. This place makes me horribly homesick and if I didn't have this house I'd probably turn around and come back tomorrow. But in an effort to keep this posting mostly happy, I'll talk about all that some other day.
So I know you'd all like some pictures. All you get for now is the outside, since my house is a mess with boxes everywhere inside!
The first picture is the outside of the house. Sorry you can't see the right side very well, but the big maple tree makes it shady. The next two pictures are the backyard. Note the freshly mowed grass. That lawn looks nice and flat, but really it has invisible potholes that catch the wheels and ram the handle into your abdomen. I have a huge blister on my thumb and very sore hands and gut today. I'm no sissy, but mowing the lawn is man's work!The last picture is my other enemy.....the pool! This thing is just a huge mystery of chemicals, pumps, hoses, and filters. I got a quick lesson for the guy at the pool store (after he said I needed $80 worth of chemicals). Not sure if this is going to stay up after this year!
That's all the pictures for now. Thank you to all of you who have been calling and easing my lonliness. Thanks also to all of you who gave me gift cards....they have all been put to great use! The one bright spot about here is that the weather has been a beautiful 75-80 in the day and 55-65 at night. I haven't looked at the weather in Portland, but hopefully is has cooled down from when I left. I miss you all so much!
Thursday, August 03, 2006
The last day
Today is my last day in Portland. Mom and I are headed out tonight after work, to hopefully make it as far as Boise. I hate goodbyes. I've never been good at them, and I've never dealt well with change. A wise man told me something very helpful though: "It's not goodbye, just 'see you later'" That is a much easier way to look at things. I can't believe I'm going back to Rochester. I hope that it's the right thing. I think that when I get there and get acclimated it will be fine, but now it's a scary thing to leave everything and everyone that you know and love.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
To follow my NY exploits
So many people have asked me to keep in touch while I'm in Rochester. While I would love to email all of you individually, the reality is I'm terrible at doing that, and I'm going to be really busy :) I decided that a blog is a nice way to keep in touch with everyone in one central place. I'll be sure and post pictures of the new house as well. You're always welcome to email me (tia.neely@gmail.com), and I'll do my best to respond. I'd love to hear how all of you are doing as well. I'll miss all of you in P-town!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
