A few Fridays ago, Nicole and I went to the Oregon Coast for a day of fun in the sun. The weather this summer where we are hasn't been nearly as hot as the previous two summers where we went months at a time having to run our air conditioner day after day. This year, I think we've only had to use it twice. It's been a blessing. Anyway, we spent ( Read more... )

It's been a swift November and December. Thanksgiving came and went and life has been quiet. For Black Friday, I didn't even get up early and only joined the masses in the late afternoon just to people watch. I did find a deal on a Jurassic Park video game but even three weeks later, I still haven't actually gotten around to playing it. Sometimes ( Read more... )

Rhythm games have been around for decades but over the last ten years, the peripheral-based guitar simulators like Rock Band and Guitar Hero have rules the streets and been quite a time-sink for my friends and family. I remember countless tunes being strung out when I first got to play the very first Guitar Hero way back in 2005. Since then, the ( Read more... )

I've been at my current job for just about 18 months. I've heard for a while that there's been a downturn in the industry and closer to home, the company is dragging its feet in hiring me in. I've even stopped bringing it up to my boss because he's flat out told me that it'll be January at the earliest. By then, Nicole and I have to begin looking ( Read more... )

The heat continues in the Portland area. A few days ago, we broke an all-time record for the most number of summer days above 90 degrees. I thought last summer was bad, but this one is worse. We have more heat coming in this week, including a potential day above 100 degrees. Every day above 90 is another day that sets the new record. Two record- ( Read more... )

I bought an iPad earlier this week. Yeaaaa I finally broke down and bought an Apple i-device after successfully resisting iPads and iPhones since their inception. Last Christmas, my siblings and I got together to buy iPads for my parents. That's the closest I've been to actually owning one ( Read more... )

The three-month heat wave that began in late June which sparked dozens and dozens of above-90-degree days and forced Nicole and me to buy an air conditioner is finally over. For this area to not get any rain for months at a time is bizarre. The heat was too much and really made it impossible to do a lot of things. It's wild to see the weather ( Read more... )

During the first week of the month, we had quite a snowstorm here. We don't normally get snow but once every few years we'll get maybe an overnight dusting that vanishes by noon-time. However this storm will probably go down as the worst snow storm in the Portland area since 2008's two-week blizzard.Things got off to a fun start when it began ( Read more... )

It's the first day of 2014! Every year at this time I take a moment away from normal journal entries to look back at the previous year and remind myself that it was a year worth living. Let's have some fun seeing what happened to me in 2013!

January was a quiet month as both Nicole and I were employed and working opposite schedules. In February, ( Read more... )

Nicole came home safe and sound last week from her California trip. She had a great time catching up with her family and old friends. As i mentioned in my previous entry, I had written a letter to Nicole's parents as a kind of introduction. Her situation is incredibly unique and I'm sure her folks welcomed any reassurance that the guy she's ( Read more... )