Just a couple of quick shout-outs to my peeps!
Hi Gabe!
Hi LeAnna!

Wow, ten whole days without anything new! I’ve been neglecting you! Well, what’s going on lately… Mom and Dad will be here on Wednesday, to spend a few days and then take Danielle home. It’s going to be weird to live by myself - she’s been here for three months! We’re trying to cram in as much fun as possible in these last couple weeks, so Saturday we got up really early and, along with Robin and Temby, drove to the Oregon coast for the day. We stopped in Astoria (home of the Goonies!) to explore a bit, and then spent the bulk of the day in Seaside, with a quick jaunt down to Cannon Beach to scope out Haystack Rock, and then trekked back home late that night. It was a great trip, laid back and relaxing like a vacation should be. We window shopped in the fun little stores, looking at kites and seashells and wooden ships. We took a nap on the beach in the sun. Well, it was sunny for a little while, anyway. We ate clam chowder, and ice cream, and had pancakes for dinner. And took a bunch of pictures, which are up in the photo section for your enjoyment. So, enjoy!

Who’s in a good mood today? I am, i am!

Mark this day on your calendars, folks.

I got a job!

I start at John L Scott Real Estate, 2 weeks from tomorrow (August 5th), as a Field Service Technician, basically traveling tech support for their offices around the city. Caleb referred me to them with good things to say, and i liked what i saw at the interview and they called me out of the blue today, and i’m still completely freaking out so my grammar’s not the best. Wah hoo! I’m actually going to be using that expensive degree, and building a career, and learning stuff, and not hating my job, and working in my field, and it’s gonna be great! And i actually get holidays off - how sweet will that be! OH, and did i mention that it’s more money than i’m making now? And the commute’s half as long? Do i need to continue here? Can you tell i’m freaking out? Is it obvious? Waaaaahh!

I never know how to start these. It’s kind of like figuring out what to put in the “subject” line of an email - what exactly am i supposed to say besides “here’s today’s stuff”? Mailing a big padded envelope to Christian today - Danielle and i put together a note, some goofy pictures and a couple cd’s to keep him entertained in boring old Europe. I drove to Tacoma last night (not nearly as scary as i imagined) to meet a friend of Dad’s, Niles, and we talked about linux, open source software and other geeky stuff over dinner. He’s connecting me with a strong linux users’ group down there. I’m excited to have some more friends and contacts in the tech biz, especially of the open-source variety, and of course the potential for finding a great job is huge. So that will be cool - Niles is headed back to MT this weekend, but we’ll get back together after he gets back and swap more ideas. In the meantime (until some linux shop snatches me up for a great new project) i’m applying to be a bank teller at Key Bank today, and will drop an app at Columbia Winery this week, too, for part time possibilities. So maybe i can turn in that resignation letter this week after all - here’s hoping! If that doesn’t pan out, i can always hope to get laid off… Ann dropped me a note, expressing her frustration about the small repertoire of the quote generator on the front page. She suggested i beef out the database with Friends lines, but i’m not sure if the first thing i want someone seeing when they pull up my site (especially if they’re considering hiring me to maintain their highly secure database, or something) is “Ooh, shrimp toast!” So in the meantime, my apologies for the repetition. And Ann, lay off the DVDs!