This page contains a journal of my adventures in Oregon. As a bit of background, on May 20th, 1996, I began a one year temporary work assignment in the Portland area. I have never been to Portland before, so this move is filled with question marks. The question marks were increased by the fact that I am a life-long Detroit native, who was actually happy in the Motor City (believe it or not!). This page will be a semi-serious look at what is happening in my Western life.

Since the page was getting a bit large, I've moved the older entries to the Archives Page.

June 9, 1997 - It was one heck of a busy weekend. On Saturday, I played in the Fujitsu/Sharp Golf Tournament. Originally, I was not signed up for that tourney. Eric was scheduled to play, but his wife wouldn't let him. Russ substituted for Eric, but then Russ' wife said no. By this time, Eric's wife had decided he could play after all, so Eric was signed up to substitute for Russ, who was substituting for Eric. Once again, Eric became unavailable, so I wound up substituting for Eric who was substituting for Russ who was substituting for Eric. <Whew> Sounds very much like an Abbott and Costello routine! As a result, Saturday was one of the few times I was glad to be unattached -- there wasn't anyone who could tell me that I couldn't play! (Well, except those who actually saw me playing, but that's a whole different issue.) Fujitsu lost to Sharp. Too bad. My team finished dead last, making this my second straight last-place finish. While I was getting ribbed about this fact, I proudly proclaimed, "Yeah, but I got golf balls for being last! You didn't get diddly!" Following golf, I returned to my apartment to watch Red Wings Hockey. Wow! As excited as I was about the finals, even I didn't see a four-game sweep of the Flyers! How sweep it is! I just wish I could have been in Detroit to experience all the excitement of The Motor City during such a great victory. On Sunday, I went hiking in the vicinity of Mt. St. Helens with several people from work. First, we started at the Ape Caves. It was a beautiful, sunny day, so, naturally, we decided to go underground. The caves were really very interesting, having been formed from lava flows. This trip marked the first time that I've been into a cave which required hand-held illumination. Unlike many of the caves in in Kentucky and Pennsylvania, lights have not been added to the Ape Caves. The upper cave was very challenging -- it required climbing over many large rocks, including scaling an 8-footer. As we were traversing this cave, it was possible to hear breaking glass -- several other groups broke their lanterns! After that climb, we decided that we hadn't had enough, so we went to Lava Canyon. We really didn't know much about Lava Canyon, except for its location. As we approached, there was some concern that it was a waste of a trip. Much of the land looked barren, still trying to recover from Mt. St. Helens' last eruption. We decided to take the trail, anyway, and I'm very glad we did. The trail was rated as "Most Difficult", and for a good reason -- it was a tough hike. But it was worth the effort, as it was undoubtedly the most eye-pleasing hike I've been on yet. The elevation change on the hike was over 1300 feet, with a stream running over the rocks the entire way down. The water was crystal clear. It was simply beautiful. I may just have to repeat that hike later this summer. Fortunately, since it is not a well-publicized hike, it was not at all crowded. Of the ones who were there, quite a few were very attractive ladies. Too bad they were already with guys! Oh well, I'm bound to find someone sooner or later! (With my luck, it'll be when I'm 82 years old, but better late than never!) Today, the patent application article came out in my company's print version of the newsletter. Unfortunately, the picture didn't arrive in time to make the publication, but I'm still very proud of the accomplishment.

June 16, 1997 - The picture is from part-way up Dog Mountain, on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge. The left side of the photo is Oregon, the right side is Washington. I'll cover Dog Mountain a bit more in just a minute. First, I need to discuss Saturday night. One of my coworkers held a big bash at his house. While it was a fun party, there wasn't a whole lot that was truly noteworthy, with the exception of one incident. The house is in a new subdivision. Currently, there are not any houses in back of it. Bob (that's the same Bob mentioned in other entries, for those of you who've been following along!) was hitting some golf balls off of a mat towards the empty field. There was only one problem -- there was a solid wood fence between the field and where Bob was standing! OK, no problem. Bob's a good golfer, and he was using a high loft club. Without warning, there was a loud CRACK, followed by a clunk behind us. You guessed it, Bob hit the fence, from where it apparently bounced into the neighbor's house (judging from the sounds). Well, I guess that's what the neighbor gets for not coming to the party! I understand that the ball was seen in the neighbor's yard the next morning. Good shot, Bob! Now, back to Dog Mountain. When discussing the hike at Lava Canyon, I remarked how many attractive women were seen on the trail. When getting ready to head to Dog Mountain, while trying to determine where the name originated, I determined that the prospects did not look quite as promising. Sure enough, on the Dog Mountain hike, I saw some really ugly people. Okay, ladies, before you start getting mad at me, it was both men and women who were, uh, not quite of "model" caliber. Heck, I thought they even made ME look good, and that's hard to do! <grin> Anyway, Dog Mountain was another very difficult hike. It was a steep uphill climb, with very few level patches on the way. In addition, as we approached the top, we could feel a very strong wind. The picture above was taken about half way up the trail. (Sorry, but that was the second-to-last picture on the role. The top of the trail is still in the camera!) From farther up, we could get some nice views of the Gorge and Mt. St. Helens, along with some limited views of Mt. Adams and the top of Mt. Hood. Just a tip, however. While it was a nice hike, it is probably not one that should be done the morning after staying up late at a party! Such a hike should probably be saved for a day when one is well-rested. The pictures from the rafting trip have been developed. I'm a bit too tired to deal with them right now, but I should have at least one of them on my page by the end of the week. (The McKenzie River picture will probably be moved to the Harpo II page, with the North Umpqua picture taking that spot on the Harpo page, but that's just a guess.) Oh, one last comment. I don't wish to end on a solemn note, but I'm going to, anyway. My best wishes go out to Vladimir Konstantinov and The Detroit Red Wings. The accident was a tragedy that shouldn't have happened. The Red Wings were being responsible in hiring a car, and yet the accident still occurred. Here's wishing for a speedy and complete recovery for Konstantinov and the trainer who was also seriously injured.

July 20, 1997 - OK, so it's been a long time since I made an entry. Deal with it. The past month hasn't been too remarkable. We had a practice softball game a couple of weeks ago, which resulted in my knee going "blooey". This time is definitely the worst the knee has blown out since about seven years ago. Most days, it feels rather like a dentist sticking a drill into a raw nerve. Ouch. I've been more-or-less taking it easy trying to get the stupid thing to heal. Actually, I don't think the softball practice was the real culprit -- the knee had been tense for a few days, but just happened to pop on the softball field. Has that actually stopped me, however? Heck no! Since the injury, I've played in another practice game (supposed to be real, but we had to forfeit due to not having enough players), and another softball practice session. I've also been to the golf driving range multiple times, with absolutely no positive effect on my golf game. Last weekend I went home, where I played two rounds of golf, ranking as terrible and awful. On the plus side, I went to a batting cage yesterday and was really smacking the ball. Ooh, that felt good! I still don't have a definite date for the end of my temporary assignment. When I signed on, I felt that I could manage one year without too much difficulty. It has been fourteen months, now, and I'm really beginning to feel worn down. Without a doubt, I'm ready to head back to Detroit. Maybe my spirits will rise after my next trip home, when I get to visit Cedar Point for the second time this summer. That would be two weeks and counting. I just hope the knee is OK by then so that I can experience the park without discomfort! Then again, I originally injured the knee while working there in 1988, and it didn't stop me from having a blast, so I'm sure I'll manage even if the knee is still a bit sore.

July 30, 1997 - Cedar Point II Countdown = 4 Days! That's right, I'm hitting The Point again. I'm flying to Detroit tomorrow, then driving to Cedar Point on Sunday, where I'll be staying through Tuesday. This time, my parents, brother-in-law, niece and nephew will all be joining me. I think my nephew will be tall enough for many of the coasters this year -- I can hardly wait to get him on them! As for Portland, I had a rather busy weekend last weekend. On Saturday, I drove around the Mt. Hood loop. The loop is nearly 200 miles around the mountain. Along the way there are quite a few places to stop to get beautiful views. I also saw a few places that looked good for hiking -- mental notes were duly made. On Sunday, I went golfing with some friends at the town of Hood River. It was a very scenic course, with great views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams (in Washington). I just wish my game had matched the views. Instead, I donated 8 golf balls to the course on the way to shooting a 103. Ugh. I think it's time to put my golf game out of its misery. I wonder if Dr. Kevorkian can assist in the achievement of a final rest for golf clubs. One hole was a par 4 dog-leg to the right. Well, I'd been slicing the ball, so I figured I shouldn't have too much trouble with this hole. Straight ahead was a road. Well, naturally, this hole had to be the one where I hit it straight, into the road. The next day, one of my friends suggested that I possibly should have used a three wood on the drive. Naturally, I thought that was a great suggestion, especially considering that I used my five wood. If you're going to lose the ball, you might as well lose it from being WAAAY long! (Of course, he thought I used a driver, which is why he made his suggestion.) If you ever travel to Portland and need to get some pictures developed in an hour, heed this advice: avoid Kits Photo. I'm not going to go into detail, but tonight's episode would seem to indicate that they will only do the pictures in an hour if they don't have anything better to do, such as stand around and talk to each other. Tonight was not my first problem with Kits, but it is my last -- they've lost my business for good. My next entry won't be until I return from Michigan/Ohio, and even then it'll be a little while. My flight back to Portland is at 10:30 PM on Wednesday, arriving back here after Midnight. Ugh. On Thursday, in addition to a full day of work, I'm going to a Weird Al Yankovic concert in Washington. Saturday, there is a company picnic. It's going to be one heck of a busy week! If I survive it, I'll be sure to provide information on how it went!

August 12, 1997 - Well, Cedar Point II went off pretty much as planned. There were three great days at The Point with my brother-in-law, nephew, niece, and my parents. My nephew was tall enough to ride most of the coasters, so I got to take him on them -- I now have a new "coaster buddy!" I even took him on Chaos, Cedar Point's new ride for 1997. It must be a good ride -- even I was disoriented while riding it! It takes quite a bit to make that happen! I took more pictures for my Cedar Point Virtual Tour, now all I have to do is find the time to keep developing that tour. Ya know, it takes about 3 hours to put each one of those sections together. If I didn't have to do this ridiculous thing called work, I'd have the tour done by now. Sadly, the trip home ended on a very poor note. It was an off-key D flat. Seriously, there are some very difficult problems with which my family and I are struggling. I'm not going to go into details here, since the problems are quite personal. Let's just say, "It done be bad." I was putting off making an entry here until I was in a better mood. At this rate, that would be sometime around the year 2067. I gave up and decided to make an entry, anyway. That 10:30 flight on Wednesday night was an interesting experience. I arrived at Metro Airport only 40 minutes prior to my flight (due to those family problems). The "special accounts" check-in desk was closed. Fortunately, my "preferred" status allows me to use the first-class check-in. Unfortunately, there was only one clerk at that desk. She was taking her own sweet time, while the line kept getting longer. At about 10:10, she suggested just going to the gate, luggage and all. Now, my suitcase is rather large, and fitting it through the airport scanner was really quite a feat. But, somehow, I managed to get it through. I arrived at the gate, where the desk attendant promptly left the desk to start taking tickets for the boarding passengers. Yup, that's right, Northwest had only one person working at the gate. After everyone else was aboard, I was finally able to check in. Naturally, the 10:30 flight didn't leave until 11:00, although everyone (even me!) was on board by 10:30. Northwest blamed it on the UPS strike, claiming they had to carry more packages. Oh well, I finally got in to Portland, where I managed to get a convertible for my rental car. Oddly enough, this car has Hawaii license plates. That must have been a tough drive! The car is really in rather pathetic shape. The paint is cracking, the doors are rusting, the top doesn't fit quite right, and the motor for the top has trouble moving it into the proper positions. Nonetheless, it is quite enjoyable to be cruising around with the top down. Thursday, I did get to the Weird Al concert at the Clark County Fair in Washington. I was truly amazed at all the hicks that were at the fair. It was sort of like an Andy Griffith convention. I kept expecting to see Opie carrying some fish. What really struck me, however, was just how polite all the concession people were. I think they all went to the Saddam Hussein School of Good Cheer. In other words, they were remarkably rude and annoying. Heck, they made Detroiters look downright perky! They could even make New York subway workers look great! Friday night, I went to see George of the Jungle. On the Geekazoid Scale of 1 to 5 Pocket Protectors, I give George a 4. The plot was rather dumb, but the movie was funny, which really lives up (down?) to the standards set by the original cartoon. It helps to be familiar with the cartoon in order to catch some of the jokes in the movie, but there is plenty of humor that stands on its own. Saturday, I went to the Fujitsu picnic at Alderbrook Park in Washington. That day was rather pleasant. The food was adequate, but it was an attractive setting for a short hike and lots of volleyball. Sunday, I wound up taking a rafting trip down the Deschutes River along with quite a few co-workers. We took two rafts for the 10 of us. These rafts were owned by a relative of one of my co-workers, so we took this trip without a guide. There were many water fights leading to a total drenching of everyone in both boats! Two people from our expedition went for an unexpected swim during one of the rapids. Bob and Theresa went overboard. A private company takes pictures at a couple of spots along the river. From those pictures, we could see that Bob was outside the boat, hanging on, and Theresa came flying across into him, causing both of them to be separated from the raft. Good tackle, Theresa! Fortunately, neither one of them suffered any serious injuries, although Theresa did bang up her legs a bit. Yesterday, I had a fantastic steak dinner, courtesy of two people whom I am assisting in setting up a business web site. I guess I should come up with a "Will provide web consulting for food" banner! I just hope I can help Kathy and Deni to become successful in their web-based business. I'm always trying to help. It sure would be nice to succeed at helping someone for a change.

August 17, 1997 - I want to start by mentioning something that I forgot to mention when discussing the raft trip down the Deschutes. On board with us was a small Jack Russell Terrier named Chibi. (I'm not really sure if that's the right spelling, but it'll do for now!) During some of the calm parts of the river, Chibi would walk around on the edge of the raft, looking in as if she were planning on jumping. When we got to some of the rough spots, she quickly moved to the center of the boat. When we were on shore, Chibi decided to do some landscaping. She would stick her head under the water, grab a rock, and move it onto the shore. Then she'd go back in the water after another rock. I keep telling her owner that he should teach her to do that with golf balls -- he could save a fortune by taking her out to a golf course when he's playing! At one point, she tried getting at the rocks while she had her life jacket on. Swim as hard as she could, she simply couldn't reach the bottom to get to the rocks! Ah, but she did try! Yesterday, I drove up to Seattle. It's the first time I've been in the city, if you don't include the airport. I really enjoyed that trip. Much to my surprise, there was a small amusement park next to the Space Needle. Naturally, I rode the roller coaster and the water ride. For such a small coaster, it was actually rather fun. I wish I had known about it earlier -- I wouldn't have waited so long to get to Seattle! Going to the top of the Space Needle is expensive, but it was a nice view. I hope the pictures turn out well. I rode the monorail into the downtown area, then walked to the waterfront. There's a nice market place with some interesting stuff, plus an aquarium. Even though I thought it was a bit pricey for looking at fish, I paid to go in the aquarium. I was actually pleasantly surprised. For a fish zoo, it was quite an enjoyable visit. I particularly liked the sea otters. There was one otter that was trying to sleep on the water. It would float into the wall, then push off with one foot. Two other otters were close at hand, and were not letting the first one rest all that peacefully. One of them kept floating into the resting otter, who would then raise a paw, looking like it was going to really smack the other one. When the one otter got too close, the resting otter would push off using that paw. The third otter was playing and spinning in the water. On occasion, the playing otter would get too close to the resting otter. The resting otter would turn and look at the playing otter as if to say, "Hey, knock it off. I'm trying to sleep here." While I liked the city itself, one feature of Seattle really made an impression. The people seemed remarkably rude. When they wanted to get by, they would merely go bumping into anyone in their way. If they didn't bump the person hard enough, they'd come back and try again. Now, I know that there are some friendly Seattle people. I work with some people who live in Seattle, and they are very kind. However, from this experience, my general impression would be that the people of Seattle are the rudest of any city I've been to. That includes New York, Los Angeles, and Paris, France. (Actually, I found the French to be very pleasant, but that's a whole different story.) I'm glad I don't have to relocate, but, despite my impression of the people of Seattle, I would pick it over Portland if I had to choose between the two cities. Why? It just seems that there is more to do in Seattle that is of interest to me. Besides, the Portland people are only friendly when the sun is shining, and that's only about two weeks of the year! Oh, I guess I should mention that, on my way to Seattle, I nearly got nailed by a police car. No, I wasn't speeding. The police car didn't even have a driver. It was on a trailer, on which one of the tires blew as I was approaching. Pieces of rubber went shooting everywhere, and narrowly missed hitting me in the open convertible! Fortunately, the truck that was pulling the trailer carrying the police car was able to pull off to the side of the road without causing any damage to any other cars.

September 9, 1997 - I've been really busy lately, so the Journal updates just haven't been happening. I'm finally getting around to one, however. Yippy Skippy. One week ago Sunday, I had quite a busy day. I drove down to Silver Falls State Park in order to do some hiking. When I first arrived, I wasn't really sure I was in the right place, so I hopped out of the car in order to read a sign that was posted on the trail. Sure enough, I was at the north end of Silver Falls State Park. After observing the sign, I started wandering over to the "Fee Machine". It seems there is a three dollar day-use fee for this park. While walking over there, a State Patrol car pulled in. The trooper hopped out, and, sure enough, headed for my car first. From the fee machine, I could see that he was starting to write out a ticket. I called over, "'Scuze me. Sir! That car's mine. I'm just dealing with it now." Well, this statement seemed to satisfy him. He waved, then moved on to the next car. Good thing I didn't take a longer look at that sign! The hike was a rather hefty one, being about 8 miles long, although it wasn't all that difficult. Along the way, I was able to walk behind several waterfalls. Overall, there are 10 waterfalls at this park. A couple of them were running on empty, so all I could see was a drizzle. Just from the looks of the rock faces, I bet those falls would be fantastic in the spring. Regardless, there were quite a few nice waterfalls. The picture shown above is one of the many falls. Following the hike, I travelled a bit west to go to Enchanted Forest near Salem. Enchanted Forest is a small theme park. I have a book on roller coasters that mentioned the Ice Mountain Bobsled, constructed in 1982. Although I knew it wouldn't be anything like the Cedar Point coasters, I decided I couldn't finish my Oregon stay without giving it a try. When I got there, I noticed a disgn indicating that the admission was $6.50. I pulled out my wallet, walked up to the booth, and said, "Hello." The booth attendant made absolutely no comment. After pausing, I continued walking into the park, completely unhindered. Apparently she wasn't too concerned about collecting the admission fee! Well, I felt a bit guilty about it, but I figured it isn't my job to try and convince her to take my money, when she doesn't appear too anxious to do so. I wandered around for a bit, watched a water show (OK, but not particularly noteworthy), then went to the Ice Mountain Bobsled. Near it, there was a ticket booth for purchasing tickets for that and their log ride. (They only have two rides.) I purchased tickets for each. As expected, the coaster didn't compare to even the smallest of Cedar Point's adult coasters, but, for a minor coaster, it was really rather fun. The cars were somewhat unique, with a plastic top closing over the entire car. I started out without hanging on to the handles, but then I decided to hold on after bouncing on one hill, causing my head to hit the plastic top. Oh, it didn't hurt, but I didn't really see the need to repeat that move! Considering the fact that it only cost $1.50 to ride this coaster, I found it quite enjoyable. The log ride, costing $2.00, was very interesting. It was really a bit of a combination between a typical log ride and a roller coaster. There was a dip where the ride was not on water. Next door to Enchanted Forest is Thrill-Ville Amusement Park. Thrill-Ville appears to be a travelling fair that got tired of moving, so it plopped itself down on this spot. After examining the rather meager choice of rides, I decided I would ride just their roller coaster. Their coaster was a Wildcat variant, utilizing a different style car, and a modified track. You know a ride isn't going to be particularly wild when there isn't any form of restraining harness. Regardless, it was an enjoyable little ride. This weekend was even more active. For the first time, my parents came to visit. They arrived on Friday around noon, so I took the afternoon off. Speaking of roller coasters, this weekend had more ups-and-downs than all of Cedar Point put together! I may have previously mentioned that the family is going through a bit of a crisis. Well, that's still true, and it hit here with full force on Friday. Despite the churning emotions, it still turned out to be a good weekend. On Friday, we drove to the Oregon Coast, did some sight-seeing, watched a beautiful sunset, then stayed at a fabulous hotel. The Inn at Otter Crest had a magnificent view. The hotel itself is quite fascinating, with a funicular as the elevator, since the property is built on a slope. Cars are not allowed near the rooms. Instead, a bellhop drives you to your room in a stretch-limo golf cart. The next morning, we wandered down to the hotel's beach, where there are quite a few tidepools. All sorts of ocean life could be found in these pools, including starfish, snails, anemonae (is that the right spelling?), and many creatures that I just don't know what they were. On the northern shore, seals were lying on the rocks. It was actually possible to get rather close to these seals. They'd look back, but they didn't seem too concerned that people were nearby. Next, we drove to the Yaquina Head lighthouse, where we did some whale watching. Sure enough, we saw some grey whales. It seems they are currently migrating. We travelled farther along the coast to the Sea Lion Caves. There weren't as many sea lions there as the last time I visited, but we still saw quite a few. Following that stop, we drove back up to Newport, where we attempted to see Keiko the whale (a.k.a. Free Willy). It seems he was tired, however, and was sleeping in the medical bay. All we got to see was an empty tank. Oh well. We ate at the Canyon Way restaurant. From the outside, this place looks like quite a dump, but it appears much nicer on the inside. In addition, the food was reasonably good. (Just a bit too much pepper, however!) In addition to the restaurant, Canyon Way also has a very interesting book store. It really was quite a treat. The hotel, the whale-watching spot, and the restaurant were all thanks to suggestions by Brian and Theresa. Maybe Theresa should become a travel agent! On Sunday, we took the Mt. Hood loop. We had a beautiful day for the journey. I even managed to get my parents to take a short hike to Bridal Veil Falls. Considering how long it took them to go on this short 2/3 mile trip, I figured I should avoid any of the more difficult hikes! The final result of the weekend appeared to be a good one. The parents definitely left in a better mood than they arrived. (Of course, their kid now feels wiped out, but what're kids for? <grin> Hey, if anyone wants to practice giving some free psychology, just let me know -- I could provide "oodles" of problems for you! <grin>) Seriously, I'm glad I was able to help. Next week, I'll be going to the Puyallup Fair in Washington, where I intend to see The Monkees in concert. Additionally, this fair has a roller coaster that was built in 1935, burned down in the 40's, and was rebuilt in 1950. I've got to give it a shot! Too bad that coaster is only open during the two weeks that the fair is running.

September 17, 1997 - I've made my last weekend trip back to Michigan. The next time I go to Michigan, it'll be to stay awhile! There are some things I'm going to miss about Portland, but I'm ready to return home. I did make it to the Puyallup Fair on Monday to see The Monkees and ride the roller coaster. That day was a blast! I rode the coaster twice, once in the front seat and once in the back seat. When riding in the back, the rain was coming down. True coaster riders know: there's nothing quite like a coaster ride in the rain to make you feel glad to be alive! For such an old coaster, I was really surprised at how smooth the ride was. The Monkees performed for about 1 hour and 45 minutes in a fantastic concert. Even the rain didn't dampen the festivities. At one point, Davy was singing a solo, looked down at the audience, and asked some lady who she was talking to. He then took her cellular phone and said into it, "We're doing a show here." He then continued singing. The only appearance by Mike was on Davy's t-shirt. One poor guy was sitting right under where the rain was running off of the canopy over the stage. Davy invited the guy on stage, got him a towel, and a bottle of water. How nice. While this guy remained on stage, Davy led the crowd in singing The Brady Bunch theme. Those are only a couple of examples, but the whole thing was really fun. I just hope the pictures turn out! Oh, I almost forgot. At the fair, I also rode on The Rotor. That's the spinning ride where you stick to the walls and the floor drops out. I haven't been on the Rotor since Cedar Point pulled theirs out quite a few years ago. It was just like old times! Sleep-wise, it's been a rough few days. My flight on Sunday was late, as usual, so I didn't get to bed until midnight, limiting me to 6 hours of sleep. I returned from Puyallup on Monday night at 1:30, getting to bed around 2:00, thereby getting 4 hours of sleep. If you're keeping count, that's 10 hours of sleep over two nights and three days. I'm just getting too darn old for that sort of thing! However, I had a great time. If the Puyallup Fair was a year-round activity, my company may have had a chance at getting me to move here. Oh well!

October 1, 1997 - Look to the skies. Finish all your business. Beware of falling computer systems. The end... is here. This is it. Tomorrow, it ends. After sixteen and a half months, the twelve month assignment is finished. It is time to return to Detroit. The next web site update you see will be from the Great Lake State. Does this mean the end of the Portland Journal? What is to become of the Oregon Archives? Will little Jimmy be able to play baseball again? Will Selma find her true love? Is there any end to all these stupid, meaningless questions? For the faithful readers, stay tuned -- the Oregon Adventure is not at an end. Over the course of the next twelve months (or sixteen and a half in corporate time), I'll still be visiting Portland approximately once a month. However, I can now take my life off "pause" and get it rolling forward once again. Yahoo! The computer is being shipped out in the morning, so this entry is the last during my stay in Portland. I should mention some of the activities that have happened since my last entry. Well, it's been a very busy time. At work, we finally brought up the system that I've been out here helping to develop. The startup wasn't without problems, but it generally went rather well. It looks like we've got a winner on our hands. Considering all the great people with whom I had the honor of working, I'm not surprised. Likewise, all the small problems that were encountered were corrected quickly, often without the customer even realizing that a problem existed. Two of my coworkers married each other. Their wedding ceremony and reception was held on a boat in the Willamette River. It was absolutely a fantastic setting for a beautiful wedding. In addition, their cake was fantastic. Apparently, it was wrapped in a layer of white chocolate, giving a very unusual and stunning visual effect. It tasted really great, as well. They had quite a bit left over and wanted everyone to take some. Initially, I refused, as I'm trying to cut back on the sweets. However, I saw the boxes sitting there, and, well, I guess my will against chocolate just isn't all that strong! I'm glad I took some of it with me. In addition, Jane visited from Michigan. Jane is someone with whom I worked in Troy, and with whom I was on a bowling team. I was delighted that she visited. We took the Mt. Hood loop, including hikes to Mirror Lake and some waterfall whose name I can't remember. We also went to the coast, where we ate on a balcony of a restaurant overlooking a dock where sea lions like to rest. (They were a bit noisy. Additionally, they seem to have a bit of a problem with gas, without a single Gas-X tablet in sight!) Well, it's time to return to Michigan. I'm excited about going home, but I also feel some sorrow. The people at work are wonderful, and I've enjoyed the hikes. However, life is a constant adventure -- it's time to start the next chapter. Goodbye Portland, Hello Detroit!

November 9, 1997 - Welcome to Motown. If I'm back in Detroit, what the heck am I doing updating the Portland Journal? Well, as indicated, there will be frequent trips to Portland, although the majority of time will be spent in Detroit. Other trips are also possible. So, this journal is looking at a potential migration into the Travelling Journal, but that hasn't happened yet. What has happened? Well, the first week in Detroit was a bit rough. The going was a bit slow at getting some of the connectivity in place that is required for work, so I almost wound up heading right back to Portland. That event had me in just a bit of a "snit". However, we worked it all out, and I spent the next two weeks successfully working from Detroit, followed by a one week vacation to Las Vegas. Now, with all the travelling I've been doing, the last thing I wanted to do was get on another airplane. A friend talked me into it, however, and I'm glad she did. No, I didn't break the bank in Vegas, but I did just about break even. On top of that, I got to see three shows: Enter The Night, Starlight Express, and EFX. When seeing Vegas-style shows, my dad has a tendency to giggle when he sees the topless showgirls. Fortunately, this is not a trait which I inherited. My dad would always claim that he was laughing at all the "feathers and stairs," and it had nothing to do with the clothing, or lack thereof, on the showgirls. Yah, right, dad. Anyway, Enter The Night was the only show containing feathers and stairs. All three were fantastic shows, even the two without feathers and stairs. Incidentally, Enter The Night did not have as many feathers and stairs as a couple of shows I've seen in the past (Bally's Jubilee and at Moulin Rouge in Paris), but there were times when one showgirl was so, um, "attired" that the feathers and stairs definitely would have kept my dad laughing. The following week, I was back in Portland. It was a one-week trip, going from a Sunday to a Sunday, thereby allowing my company to cash in on cheaper air fares. I sure hope they appreciate it! More important, I hope they show their appreciation! Anyhow, the instant I stepped of the plane in Portland, I caught a cold. This was not just any cold. This stupid virus couldn't decide if it wanted to be a head cold or a chest cold. It solved that problem by switching between the two several times each day. It did not stop me from going to a Halloween party in Vancouver, WA. For this party, costumes were labelled as optional. Well, I quickly discovered that I worked with a bunch of old fuddy-duddies. None of them intended to dress up for the party. I had to be a bit of a ham, however, so I wore a Starfleet captain's uniform. I had the necessary materials to manage the complete "Picard" effect, but decided not to go to all that trouble if I was already going to be the only one in costume. Well, it turns out that Brian and Theresa decided to really splurge at the last minute -- they went to a local store, got some sheets, and turned them into ghost costumes. Wow, what a wild and crazy bunch. Darn, the sarcasm doesn't translate well in writing. Regardless, I had a good time, even if I was the only one to plan ahead with a costume. I had a Saturday to spend in Portland, and I decided to spend it downtown. I went to Powell's bookstore, where I bought way to many expensive books (again), and I poked around at the Saturday Market. At the market, I encountered some kids with skateboards and bright red hair. I didn't actually talk to them, but I overheard some of their conversations. I think they really could be a good lesson that people should not be taken at face value. From what I could tell, they seemed to be nice kids, just with a bit different taste in hair color. Yesterday, I spent the day in downtown Detroit, where a friend and I went to the Egypt exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Arts. It really was an enjoyable time. Afterwards, we walked over to the Detroit Library. I had never been in that building before, and was surprised to see just how beautiful a building it really is. Today, we went to Frankenmuth to visit Bronner's Christmas Shop, the largest Christmas store in the world. The place was packed! Mr. Bronner is doing quite well for himself! I'm sorry to say that I helped his cause by spending just a bit more than I probably should have. Oh well, hopefully the new decorations will look nice! My next Portland trip won't be until December. I'm trying to avoid the holiday rushes. Meanwhile, I'm getting a deck built, and might actually get to see my parents for a change. They went on a special 40th anniversary trip to Boston. Before they got back, I had left for Las Vegas. When I got back, they were just leaving for two weeks at Hilton Head, SC. While they were in Hilton Head, I went to Portland and returned. Wow, what a jet-setting family! (Well, OK, the parents drove to Hilton Head.)