A little more than a hop skip and jump

With all of the happenings in the news of the volcano erupting in Iceland, I was leaving Portland knowing I had a slim chance of making it all the way across the Pond (Atlantic Ocean) to Germany. When I left Portland at 6:20 am on Tuesday, my connecting flight from Atlanta to Dusseldorf still said it was confirmed and leaving that day. I wasn't convinced, because the same flight the day before was canceled and the volcano situation had not changed much (at least the news was telling us this). I asked the guy at the counter what would happen if I got to Atlanta and my second flight was canceled. He basically told me they would get me eventually to Germany, but it would take days and they would not cover my stay. Yikes!! Chances were slim, I got Nik and Gail on the phone and discussed the situation. We all knew what a risk I was taking. The worst thing that could have happened would be I get to Atlanta and the flight is canceled and I have to come back to Portland on another flight. I had a good feeling about this and decided I would go ahead and take the risk. Really what did I have to lose.

While I am on the plane to Atlanta the worst happens. My flight from Atlanta to Dusseldorf gets canceled, about 30 minutes before I land, due to Germany not opening its airspace. My first thought was to cry, I really had a good feeling about this and usually my intuition is right on. Instead of crying, I decided before I head back to Portland I am going to do whatever I can to get me to Europe. I go straight to the customer service desk, luckily close by and not a huge line (about 6 groups ahead of me with 4 agents at the desk). I also call the customer service line while I'm still standing in line. The gentlemen on the line was nice, but the earliest he could get me a flight was the next Monday out of Atlanta. I laughed out loud and said that was not going to work for me, but was nice and hung up the phone. Now, keep in mind here, there are thousands and thousands of people trying to get to Europe right now and there are hundreds of planes that are miss placed, so I was very aware that the odds of me really making it to Paderborn were very low. I still decided to stand in line and just see, just maybe I could slip in on a flight. While I am waiting over an hour in line, I talk back and forth to Nik and Gail on the phone strategizing about what to say and how to get a ticket.

Finally a customer service agent calls me to the counter. By this time the line is all the way down the terminal and people are everywhere. I kept thinking, how am I going to stand out in this crowd so I can get some one to get me on a flight. All I could think of was SMILE. So... that is what I did. I walked up to Tyrone, the customer service agent, with a huge smile on my face, explained my situation and told him what I wanted. He looks at me kind of funny and says, "Are you sure you don't want to just go back to Portland." I smiled and said I would do that if it was the last option, but I wanted to exhaust all my other options before deciding to head home. I told him I will go anywhere in Europe, because once I get there, I will find my way to Paderborn. He looks in his computer for a while and starts out saying he can get me something in a couple days to Rome, to Frankfurt, to London. I'm thinking a couple days... that's not so good. So, I keep smiling and say what else do you have? You could put me anywhere, I am only one person, not very large, I could fit on any plane. I don't even care if its a real seat. He laughs and continues his search through the computer, while I am talking small talk with him (joking about this event, and asking him if he is ready to change professions.) Suddenly his eyes light up and he says, "Oh, wow, uh, what about Amsterdam... today... in an hour?" I smile, say "really?" and gladly accept. He goes on, "Wow, that's crazy, huh, don't tell anyone I am going to do this for you." Not really sure what he meant, but I gave him a high five and thanked him continually. The only thing I can think of is they were selling these seats for a ridiculous amount and he just gave one to me. He hands me a ticket and sends me to the terminal. The only problem with the ticket was it didn't have a seat assignment, I asked Tyrone and made him swear to me that this was an actual ticket and not a standby. He smiled and swore it was, I just had to get the seat assignment at the gate. I told him if it wasn't I was coming back to find him, but he assured me it was so I headed to the gate. Keep in mind, I had one bag checked, I was pretty clear this bag was not going to make it with me to Germany. Tyrone puts notes in the system to send it on, but he wasn't sure it was going to make it either.

I get to the gate and there is about 40 people in the line. I think, "Damn, he screwed me," but I wait in line anyway. Sure enough when I get up to the desk, I hold my breath, hand them the ticket and without saying a word to me, they exchange it with one that has a seat #. VICTORY!!! I did not want to get my hopes up to much, because I knew there was a lot more that could happen to prevent me from getting over the pond. After two hours of sitting on the runway (there was a lot of planes trying to leave Atlanta) we finally took off to head to Europe. 8 hours later I touched down in Amsterdam. REAL VICTORY!!! There was hardly any smog or volcanic ash in the air and the weather was quite nice. Now all I had to do was get to Nik .....

Walk, Race and Great Company

I was really looking forward to this weekend, not only was I doing a 10k race called the Bridge to Brew on Sunday, but Nik's parent's, Gail and Steve, were coming to town as well. We started off the weekend with a walk for MS Saturday morning. The walk took us from Pioneer Square (downtown) to the river and over two bridges (totaling about 3 miles). There was a band at the beginning motivating the crowd, which was nice, but we decided to fall back a bit to hear each other talk. We had a lot of fun, using it as a time to catch up and talk with one another.

Afterwards we headed to University of Portland for a baseball game. Gail and Steve used to come up here all of the time when Nik was in school to cheer him on during his games. They became really close with his coach and still are to this day. We enjoyed the game watching the Pilots beat LMU 5-1. Later that evening we were invited to his coaches house for dinner. Chris Sperry, his coach, is someone Nik has always respected and admired. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner of Greek Gyros, Chris made, and spent some quality time with his family reminiscing about old times. Chris has a great family (wife and 3 girls). Even though he is a busy Division 1 coach, he still manages to have a successful family life. I now see why they all have kept in contact with him over the years. What a wonderful guy! He complemented me saying, "Nik is way over his ski tips with you and he better not screw this up." Meaning Nik scored big time. I was flattered, but feel like I scored big time as well.

The next morning Martina and I got up early and headed to Widmer Brewery for the annual Bridge to Brew Race. It was a 10k (6.2 m) race, running over two bridges (different ones from yesterday), along the river, through the industrial area and back to Widmer. Beer and food was provided at the end, but for some reason a beer after a race didn't sound appealing to me so I passed. It was fun running in a race again though, something about the motivation and the excitement in the crowd makes me want to try hard and push myself.

Later that day Gail and I went shopping for a new Macbook Pro (for her of course). It was very exciting for her to get a Mac (all of her kids have them) and the first thing we did was Skype Nik. She loved it! Steve even got on for a while for his first Skype experience and thought it was great. For dinner, we met up with Andrew, Wanda and Martina and headed to a Mediterranean restaurant called Nicholas. Haha, spelled differently but I had to laugh! The food was exceptional, definitely one I will go back to. Pitas larger than anything I had ever seen and food to die for. Andrew is very close with the Kosach family because of the college baseball days playing with Nik, so they were excited to see each other and catch up. We had a ton of laughs and amazing food. It made for some memorable times.

Before the night was over we decided to stop at Veritable Quandary for an after dinner drink. The weather was fantastic so it was a no brainer to sit outside. It made for a perfect ending to a near perfect weekend (Nik, you were missed).

Thank you Gail and Steve for everything. I am so honored that you came to Portland for a visit. I truly enjoyed every minute and I look forward to many more memories.

Headed to the land of Bratwurst and Lederhosen

I have a few weeks before my new job begins, so I have decided to head to Germany for 9 days to watch Nik play some American baseball. That's right I'm taking a redeye on Tuesday (pending the Iceland volcano situation) to Dusseldorf, where he will pick me up and take me to Paderborn (the town he is living in). It is a little over 100 miles away, but since we will be taking the autobahn, I am sure we will get there pretty quick. I guess some people drive about 100 mph on this thing. I will be staying with him and his 4 other roommates. He has a couple days off while I am there, so we might venture out a bit to see the sights. He also has a double header game one of the days, so I will be able to finally see him in action.

I will definitely keep everyone posted on the events while I am there. I am very excited and can't wait to see my slugger play.

Visit from the Sis

I was so fortunate to have my sister Sarah come out from Idaho over the weekend for a quick trip to my new city. She arrived into town Friday morning. Our day was spent shopping, going to lunch at a fantastic place called Por Que No in the Mississippi District (amazing tacos), then hitting up the Beavers baseball game with some friends (Andrew and Wanda). I showed Sarah around the best I could, but since I am so new here, we had an interesting time getting from place to place. Most of it involved my trusty iPhone instructing us on where to go. Hopefully though I am starting to grasp it.

The next day, Wanda, Kim, Sarah and I decided to try a kettle bell class. Kettle bells are a newer form of exercise which involve a metal weight that looks kind of like a cowbell. You use your entire body for every move you do. We were the only people in the class, so the instructor was very helpful in teaching us how to get the right form. All in all we got a very good workout. Although, on Sunday I was so sore in my tush I had to take an ibuprofen to help the pain. Also, each of us had bruises on our forearms from the bells hitting them. OUCH!!! After the workout, we headed over to the Portland State Farmers Market (my new school). The weather was good, so we had a nice time sampling all the yummy veggies, fruits, cheeses, meats and even wine.

Later on Saturday, Sarah and I decided to meet up with Andrew and a couple other friends at University of Portland for another baseball game. I was excited to see this game, because this is where Nik played college ball and they were playing St. Marys (the team he coached when he lived in the Bay Area). I was much more entertained watching this game compared to watching the Triple A game the night before. The Pilots (UP) played so hard and kicked the crap out of the Gaels (St. Marys). They were hitting great and there was some amazing defensive plays. 

Afterwards we decided to hit up one of Portland famous happy hours. We chose Jake's Famous Crawfish in downtown Portland. They serve clams and 1/2 lb. burgers for about $4 a plate. The food of course was exceptional and we definitely did a good job of filling our bellies for just over $20 total. Gotta love happy hour!

That night we saw a movie at St. Johns Pub (a cute movie theater in my neighborhood). The movie "Valentine's Day" was so terrible though, I don't even want to talk about it. It was that bad! St. Johns Pub is a fun local restaurant/bar/movie theater that is great to go to for a cheap movie and dinner. Regardless of how bad the movie was, we still had fun in the atmosphere (besides the movie was only $3, so it wasn't a total waste). 

On Sunday morning, Sarah and I went for a 6 mile run in Forest Park. Forest Park is apparently the largest city park in the nation (beating out Golden Gate and Central Park). In other words, it is huge. We had a nice time running through what seems like the middle of no where and it is only about 5 minutes from my house. It was pretty muddy so we spent a lot of time jumping from dry spot to dry spot. Our long run definitely built up a nice appetite, so we met up with Martina and Wanda at the Tin Shed for brunch. This place is famous for its good breakfast. About an hour and a half later we were called to our table and had some ridiculously delicious brunch (well worth the wait). 

The rest of the day Sarah and I shopped around. We did a great job of not spending to much, even though we went to many places where we could have spent a pretty penny. While we were in Urban Outfitters I was walking over to where Sarah was and heard a loud crash. Apparently she was trying to pull out a drawer of tin letters, but the drawer did not have a bottom to it. So, all of the letters went crashing to the floor. We had a good laugh picking them up while an employee asked her is she hurt herself. 

On Sunday evening, Sarah's last night, I took her to Leisure for dinner. This place is kind of the neighborhood hangout. We rode bikes from my house (about a mile away). A bunch of my new friends joined in (all my roomies, Wanda, Andrew, Pat and Billy). It was so much fun having a bike crew and being able to ride on cruisers to a restaurant. This weekend flew by and it was so much fun having my best friend (my sister) here to show around. Thanks Sarah for the great memories!! I miss you already. 

Easter Events

Easter was quite an event this year. My house decided we were going to prepare an Easter brunch detailed with an Easter egg hunt and festive hats. I was in charge of the lamb roast which sounded a little intimidating, but I was willing to take it on. It actually was a lot easier than I anticipated. I prepared the roast, popped it in the oven, went on a run and showered just in time to pull it out of the oven ready to be carved. It ended up being very delicious. Along side of our lamb we had potatoes, deviled eggs, fruit salad and bread bunnies that Martina and I prepared the night before. We had some friends join us in our party and it turned out to be a lovely time.

That night we were invited over to my friend Andrew's parents house (The Wrisleys) for dinner. They were kind enough to invite all of his orphan friends (people without families around) over for an Easter dinner (4 orphans in all). We had an exceptional meal (which I was still full from earlier in the day) that his mom prepared. While I was in food comma we watched the opening game of Major League Baseball, Yankees vs Red Sox. Watching baseball has become so much more interesting since Nik has been in my life. This was the first MLB game I have watched since we have been together and I really enjoyed it. 

Even though I was away from my loved ones, I was able to have a great day with my new friends in my new life. 

New Roomies

Kim and Sean are the couple I live with. He owns the house and works for DeMarini Baseball Bats (a little ironic) as an engineer. He was just in China for work, so today was actually the first day I met him. He was so kind to bring a couple scarfs back for me. I couldn't believe how generous that was and unexpected. Sean has a dog named Abby, she is a Weimerheimer. She is a cutie and has so far gotten along well with Wanda. They were even playing the other night, it was so adorable. Abby was a little concerned when I moved in. I think I took her room, so she would stand in my room and give out little barks to let me know she wasn't so happy. I think she has already adapted because she now will just hangout without any concern. Kim is a student at Lewis and Clark and will be finishing her undergrad this semester. She works at Safeway part-time downtown and has some interesting stories to tell about her job. She is also from Sun Valley, ID, believe it or not. So far, both have been so welcoming and easy to get along with.

                      

Martina is my other roommate. She is from Austria and is finishing up her graduate degree this semester at University of Portland (the school Nik got his undergrad at). She knows about 5 languages including German. She has been so helpful with the move and has really made an effort to make me feel like part of the house.

The roomies eat a lot of meals together and I have to say this is something I am getting used to. I am so used to just worrying about me, that I don't think about the rest of the house. I keep things simple. If I am hungry I eat the easiest thing (usually a Clifbar and maybe some fruit). Martina was appalled at this and said that I am not allowed to have more than one Clifbar a day. She makes everything from scratch and sets the table for all the meals. I really do appreciate this. She has already taught me how to cook so many things, I am thinking I might have to kick the Clifbar diet. Besides, I don't want to be the bad roommate and not participate in the household gatherings. I really could not have asked for a better setup.

Gotta Love Skype

Since Nik and I are obviously not able to see each other for quite sometime we have had to resort to other forms of communication. Welcome Skype!! I know most of you have heard of it and probably use it, but for me this is really the first time I have had to use it as a main form of communication. Skype is video conferencing done over the internet. Truly I don't know how people did long distance before there was such a thing. It has made the transition much easier being able to see each other everyday.

Nik is showing me his new Untouchables hat

Don't get me wrong I would much rather have Nik here, but since I don't have a choice I will take the video. The other day I was talking to Nik and he mentions that I have to remove the picture behind me. In my new room there is an Andy Warhol painting of a gun on the wall (it came with the room). When I am talking to Nik, he sees the gun in the background, but from his perspective it looks like the gun is pointing at my head. He didn't like that, so he asked me to remove the painting. My intention was to remove it from the beginning (not a huge gun fan), but when he said that, it was promptly removed. We laughed about it, but the gun had to go.