{35 miles north of mexico}

or, in other words: coming to you live, once again, from sunny, breezy San Diego. 

feels good to be back, spending a little time with family on a business-slash-leisure trip.  we're in Phase 5 of our seven-phase system rollout [insert more-than-halfway-done dance here] and the timing of this week's training, 11 miles south of my parents' house, meant i was able to spend my dad's birthday [Saturday] and Mother's Day [Sunday, duh] with said parents.  sweet.

my life as a Portland-er is nearing it's 6-month mark.  in the beginning, i wondered how i'd meet anyone - and, you may recall, i found that answer in the Portland New-in-Town Meetup Group.  it was at that very first meeup that I met some of my closest friends in Portland  - tif & lauren, doug,  emmy & jonathan, lauren [oh, and doug.  did i mention doug?].  now, six months later, i find myself the new Organizer of the meetup group.   

joe, one of the group's founding members and, until recently, the fearless leader of the New-in-Town group, is leaving the country for the summer.  when he approached me about taking over the Organizer role, i was hesitant.  while it's true that i enjoy helping to coordinate the activities of the underground group, truth be told i'm more comfortable with de facto leadership.  but there's another truth to tell, too: there was no way i could turn him down.  six months is not that long; i haven't forgotten what it was like to be new to Portland.  the idea that there is even one other person out there in the city feeling even a little of what i felt... well, it doesn't sit well with me.  plus, i'm so grateful to joe for having organized the group that introduced me to what would become this very fulfilling, very happy life in Portland.  in the end, i agreed to organize the group for the next three months; it just wasn't an option not to.

our next meetup is next Sunday at New Old Lompoc brewery in Northwest... last time i  was there [which also happened to be the first time i was there], with doug & his brother, it was a warm Sunday afternoon, and their seasonal amber beer mingled with the vibe of the outdoor patio to produce one of the most relaxing times i have had in the city.  given the chill atmosphere and the amount of space, it seems like a good place for a gathering.  so far, 14 folks have rsvp'd yes; i'll let you know how it goes...

................

updated my flickr. page tonight.  finally got photos up of some of the events from march & early april, including suzanne's visit ... doug's party ... emily's birthday.  also posted some photos of snowboarding trip #2, as well as pics of heidi's birthday and my first church of craft gathering.   

a few faves :  brunch with the girls, me & heidi, me & emmy, doug & jonathan

   

 

more photos to come.  more posts to come.   [srsly.]

Comments

[ginamonster]

Glad to hear things are going good, I thought perhaps you fell off!

[nikki workman]

Hey sista friend...life looks good on you!

[Emmy]

HA HA HA!

I can't believe you have pics up of us. I can't wait to show this to Johnathan. It is summer and now I can check my email and friend's blogs. So I will be checking for the Friday 5's