Starting school

After 8 long years and lots of life experiences, I have officially headed back to school to finish my degree. My new school is Portland State University. This is the first university I have ever attended. The other schools I attended were an art school and a couple community colleges. I am starting out as a senior, but I have to get a certain amount of credits before I will be officially allowed to graduate. My major is Art Studies. It was the closest major in relation to all my credits which would allow for the quickest graduate date. 

Portland State is the largest school in Oregon. There are over 27, 000 students. The campus takes up about 49 acres of downtown Portland and it has about 50 buildings. There is a huge LEED certified recreational center that Nik and I are using and a farmers market that goes on every Saturday. Nik gets to go to the rec center, because he is my domestic partner. Ha, I love Oregon laws, they are so relaxed. So far I love the culture of the school. People are very friendly and easy going. I don't feel like the oldest, because I think the average age of students is around 30. 

picture taken in the spring

I am of course still working full time, so my classes are after work at night. It works out great because our apartment, my work and school are each a mile from each other. So far this week, school has been an adjustment, just with the extra time it takes and of course homework. I think my first day I was in a little bit of shock. It was weird going back to being a student (let's face it, I am used to being the boss). Now, I feel better and will soon be well adjusted. 

Finishing school has been something I have wanted to do for the longest time. I know it won't be easy, but I will be so thankful I did it in the end. Nik has also been super supportive of me going back. I think he wants to go almost more than me. I suggested he could go as me to all my classes and they would never know. We laughed how it could work out, but of course we would never do that. Thanks Nik for your positive and encouraging words. You keep me motivated to stay on track and reach my goals. 

Wish me luck in my new adventure!

Swift Watch

Nik and I heard about a school nearby that has birds fly into the chimney at dusk and hundreds of people go to watch. That was about all we knew. We decided we would go check it out. We weren't even sure what kind of birds would be there and if it was going to be anything interesting. Upon showing up at the school (which was about a mile from our house), we saw hundreds of people laid out on the grass having picnics and enjoying the beautiful evening waiting for the bird show to begin.

We joined right in and within minutes there were thousands of birds flying in the air circling this towering chimney below that juts right out of the center of the school. (It has been estimated that about 12,000-14,000 birds fly in each night.) At first they were just flying around completey scattered about, but eventually they became organized and starting flying in a cyclone fashion. Soon enough, they started diving into this chimney. The amount of birds, the size of the chimney and the show they put on was something no less than spectacular. I still am pondering about how that many birds can fit into a chimney that size. It looked like smoke coming out of the chimney in rewind. Pretty amazing!!!

To be more specific about the event, the birds are called Swifts. They migrate south each fall. At sunset in September during the migration they choose a place where thousands of birds can roost. Since the late 1980s the Chapman School chimney has been one of the roosting sites. They are interesting birds and amazing aerialists. They spend much of the time in the air and hunt, drink, court, collect nesting materials and copulate all in flight.

We had a great time with each other, Wanda and the free show nature put on for us.

Moving in and moving home

I was scheduled to move into our new place on Friday the 10th. I was so ready to be closer to town and have a place we could call home. Not surprisingly, it only took me 3 loads of my little subaru to get all of my stuff into the new place. I don't have any furniture and the biggest items I own are Wanda and my bike. During my first 2 loads Wanda was so worried I was going to leave her behind. She had this terribly scared look on her face. I kept assuring her she was coming along, just not quite yet. When it was finally her turn to get in the car, she raced to the car and the look on her face completely changed to super excited. She didn't look back at the old house.

On Saturday while unpacking I received an email from Nik. They had lost their games in Germany and he was coming home on Tuesday. I can't explain the feeling of being really sad for his loss, but really happy that he was finally coming home. As bad as I felt for him, I was super excited he would only be a couple days behind me in moving in to our place. He was scheduled to come in on Tuesday night. I couldn't believe it, he was finally coming home and this time I would be meeting him at the end of security (instead of vice versa). I always get a little nervous before I see him after a long time away. This time was different, I knew he was staying for good and we wouldn't have anymore long goodbyes. I was nervous, but super excited to finally start the life together we have been planning for so long.

He walked through the security area and gave me the biggest and best hug. I could feel this gigantic weight come off my shoulders knowing that he was finally home. No more 9 hour difference, no more Skype and no more iNik. Awww, it was a good feeling. We got his luggage and off we drove to our new place. He was so excited to see it, but I could tell he was also very tired from the long (about 24 hour) plane trip. Nik loved the place (he did pick it out), but he was more excited to see Wanda (the dog). As soon as they saw each other I could tell she missed him too. She was so excited to see her play buddy again.

It has been wonderful having Nik home. It feels like we moved into our new place together and we are slowing working towards getting the things we need. Most of our stuff is in Reno, so we have been getting by with the bare necessities. Eventually we will take a trip home to get our things, but until then we will have to make do.

Our new life together has begun and we both are very happy and excited for all the wonderful things to come.