Westmoreland Asays

I took Friday off from work so we could leave early for the coast. We had reserved a Yurt at Beverly Beach State Park, and despite the fog that covered HWY 101 on our way in, the rest of the trip was relatively warm and sunny and clear. We brought hotdogs to roast in the fire, and Aaron actually gave up being a vegitarian-who-doesn't-eat vegetables and ate one (or at least most of one--he really wanted the s'mores that were contingent upon eating something of substance). I ate like five or six--I'm the hot dog champ of Oregon, I tell ya. On a side note, we had a number of BBQ's on the veranda outside our third-floor at ADP, and I always put away more hotdogs than anyone. It's the small, skinny guys that can usually pack it away (that's why the Japanese can always trash the fat Americans at eating contests ). Anyway, sometime that afternoon Meg got a serious migraine, so she retired with Eddie to the yurt early while Aaron and I had a nice talk around...

Tonight marked my return to the college campus--specifically UCLA (University of Chemeketa on Lancaster Avenue). I worked there for a very brief week during my sabbatical of 2004, but this time I will stick around for the entire school year, and I'm paying money this time to take a course (actually four--20 credits spread over the school year) in Networking , and which should prepare me to take the Cisco Certified Network Associate ( CCNA ) test. Taking the class will help me better understand the technology I work with and how to train others on it, but having CCNA certification would be a boon for my boss (and I've already been rewarded just by intending to take the coursework), ADP pays for me to attend class (100%, assuming I get a "C" or better), and it would increase my chances of getting a job should my current situation sour (I have a history, you know--but I'm hopeful this is the last job). I'd be a bona-fide "technical writer," or "tr...

For the first time since we moved to Salem--excluding the four days of "training" before Hood-to-Coast--I ran on a weekday. In Beaverton I ran in the mornings before work, but getting up at 4:15 a.m. just doesn't appeal to me. We have showers and lockers in the building, but I've just been too lazy to bring my gear in. My reward has been that I feel more languid, I tire more easily, and my weight has neared 180 pounds (post-mission starting point). Running on Saturdays for an hour while pushing Edward just makes me a weekend warrior, something I never thought I would become. Something had to change. So to celebrate the return of warm temperatures in the valley, I slipped into my running shoes at mid-day and pounded the pavement (and grass) of downtown Portland. I recall when living in Beaverton as a single guy, I once drove into Washington Park on a Saturday morning and ran for an hour or so through the quiet streets of downtown--I always thought it cool to run i...

For those who haven't visited lately, we have about 30 sunflower plants growing together tightly like a jungle in one corner of the yard. Meg despises them--especially since they've lost their golden yellow splendor, the heads began drooping, and the stalks began leaning over the paths in the yard because the heads are so full of seeds--but I've been looking forward to what should be a bounteous harvest--and just in time for beginning of the baseball playoffs. So the boys and I began harvesting the sunflower seeds this week. We've plucked the seeds from four of the heads so far and filled to the brim two coffee cans (the cans used to hold our food storage staples (flour, rice, etc.)). Tonight Aaron and I sat on chairs on the concrete slab just outside the back of the garage, and pulled seeds from what was probably the biggest head of the lot. It took us about an hour to finish, and I was impressed with Aaron's effort--he probably saved me at least 15 minutes ...

Our First Visit to the ER Fortunately it was only for a "minor" illness that Edward caught that drove Meg to take him to the Salem Hospital Emergency Room at 3:00 a.m. Friday morning. He had been sportin' a fever last week, but it came back with reinforcements late this week--topping out at a crispy 104.7 (KDUK style--on a side, another nice thing about living in Salem is that we get reception for radio stations in both Eugene and Portland). So Meg took Edward while Aaron and I slept the last few hours of the night. Selfless Meg tried her best to make it home before 6:00 a.m.--and she did--so I could play basketball with my friends like I always do on Friday mornings. Meg unanimously won the prize for best lead mom in the role of nursing a sick child back to health. From my perspective, Edward took the whole thing in stride; he lost his appetite (he eats like a king who just collected his taxes), clung to Meg every second he could, and didn't sleep very well at ...

Aaron's cousins Jacob and Caleb Jones of Monmouth spent Friday night with Aaron, and lucky for the boys that the SP&S 700 was rolling into Salem Saturday morning. We got there right as the train was arriving--and frankly, that was the highlight; that train was wicked loud and quite a sight to see it rolling down the tracks in Capital City. After it stopped, we waited in line for about 30 minutes so we could tour the engine and the caboose. The boys were somewhat wild and anxious waiting for their turn, but with Meg and Michael working hard, it was easily contained. There really wasn't much to see inside the engine, so we were on our way within two minutes. Yes, if you haven't guessed it, this entry is all about adding a few words with almost as many l inks of the many pictures we have of this fine event. If you scroll down to the bottom of this web page , play the video and see if you can spot Megan in the crowd.