Hello Again

Well, my last post was nearly two months ago, and now that there are several things to post, I thought I would sit down and fill everybody in on life in Portland.

On Sept 25, Adrienne turned thirty. I think it was a little bit depressing for her. She kept talking about how frustrating it is that she was thirty and hadn't started her career. I kept trying to explain how it was really pretty awesome that she was able to hold out for so long. We had a really nice evening, as we went to the Portland City Grill for tapas and drinks, and then went to the Last Thursday street fair in the NE (Alberta). The street fair is really pretty cool, as they shut down a main street in the neighborhood, and many local artists, performers, musicians etc. sell their wears or perform. It brings a really interesting mix of people, so it is a great place for people watching.

On Oct 6th, Adrienne finally started work. Now she is officially a member of corporate america, as she got a badge and a cube. It is actually only down the hall from my space. Since she didn't have to be there until 9:00 for orientation we didn't go in together on her first day. That being said, I really enjoy going into work together in the morning. We catch the street car together, and get to chat in the morning the whole way to work. I think I will like working together. It reminds me of going to class together in college.

On October 24th, I was forced to address my wife as Doctor Menniti. This is the day that five years of hard work was granted with a PhD. For those that don't know, the process ends with a presentation to a committee of 5 PhD's. Two of which have to be from a university that is not your own. Adrienne chose to have two of her members from France, so she gave her presentation via video conference. So after you give your presentation to a general audience there is a short Q&A session. Then the general public has to leave and your committee grills you for another two hours. At which point they pass or fail you. Adrienne passed of course. It was really great to watch her presentation and I am really proud of her accomplishment. It was a long road with lots of ups and downs, but all in all the PhD experience was a good one for both of us.

November 1st, I finally got Adrienne to go hiking with me. She had been really busy since she got to Portland with the big push to finish her degree, so we hadn't had the time to go. With the fall colors it wasn't hard to convince her, but it did take some persuasion to talk her into a weekend off. Based on some reading about fall colors in Oregon, I chose to go to Silver Falls. I had went on my first weekend in Portland, but with the colors it was supposed to be even better. Let me tell you it didn't disappoint. It was fabulous. I don't think anything can really compare with colors in West Virginia, but there aren't to many waterfalls as backdrops for the colors. We spent the afternoon walking to a couple of the bigger waterfalls and took lots of pictures.

I am sure I will post again after the holidays, as we will be travelling. It will be nice to see family and friends.

Here are a few pictures from our hike. I will have pictures of the PhD day after Thanksgiving.