Family Time Back East

(My niece Victoria)

I've been back on the east coast all week spending time with the family.  My grandmother isn't doing so well and I've been spending time with my parents taking her to her medical appointments.  My other grandparents are doing quite well.  My sister and her new baby girl are also doing quite well.  I was supposed to fly back west today, but decided to stay through Saturday to spend some more time with the family.

I did get to catch up with my friends Justin and Sarah on Saturday as well as the Edelstein's.  We had a great afternoon out on the water wakeboarding.  Beautiful weather, warm water, and good friends made for a really great time.  I also caught up with my old high school friend Jacklyn over a nice dinner.  Helene and I also got to catch up over dinner tonight.

Julie spent this past weekend in Maui with her friend Liz.  They had a great time and got to see an amazing sunrise.  I'm looking forward to Julie coming to Portland for a visit a week from Wednesday.

(Victoria & I enjoying some time at my parent's place)

(My Sister Nicole with her new baby Victoria & my Mom's Mom, Loraine)

(My Father's parents, Marilyn & Ken, and I)

(Dick, my Mom's Dad, and I)

(Justin driving the Edelstein's wakeboard boat)

(Me being goofy for the camera)

(Airing it out with a stylish grab)

Marathons & More Flights

Well I managed to get a few of my goals for last week completed at least.  I got the Google job, but won't start for a week or so.  I also did two Phix demos that went well.  Most of the week I was just taking it easy trying to rest up for the Portland Marathon.  I got two 5 mile runs in early in the week and managed to get some solid shin pain in my left leg and knee pain in my right.  I also had a major kink in my neck all week from the beating I took in my surf kayak last weekend.  One way I took it easy was by playing some poker at the local casino.  I managed to go home with a few hundred in profit both times I played.

I managed to run a 3:59:47 marathon, just under my 4 hr goal:)  It rained the whole race and never got over 50 something degrees.  I was running a 3:45 marathon until about mile 17 when I backed off a bit.  At mile 21 my legs started to completely seize and cramp up.  I ended up walking a few times because my legs wouldn't bend far enough to get a running stride.  At about the 25 mile marker it started to rain harder and the 4 hr pacer passed me.  At that point I just put the pain aside and told myself that I wasn't going to let my 4 hr goal slip through in the last mile or so.  I ended up sprinting that last 1.2 miles and finished a few hundred feet in front of the 4 hr pacer.  My legs are completely broken today, but hopefully with some rest and ice they will recover quickly:)

Today I flew back to Maryland to visit with family and see some friends.  I'm looking forward to visiting my Grandparents and seeing my niece, Victoria Ariana.  I'll be flying back to Portland next Monday.

I'm still working on plans for the future.  A solid career is still one of my primary focuses, and still not happening very fast:(  I am very much looking forward to a visit from Julie in a few weeks in Portland.

Google Time

This week has been full of time on the computer in my new apartment near Portland.  I've been settling in and working on the normal things, finding a job and keeping up with friends and family.  I did manage to get out surf kayaking yesterday and had a blast as usual.  I've also been training hard for the Portland marathon coming up this weekend.  I think I'm ready for a sub 4 hr. marathon, but we'll see how it works out:)

On the work front not much has changed.  I've looked at a ton of things, sent out a few applications, and heard nothing back from the MANY applications that I still have out there.  I did start doing demos, just one so far, for Phix energy (www.phix.com).  It should be a fun and easy side job.  I've also been working all week on a test for a job with Google as a web site rater.  It would be a solid part-time very flexable job that I could use to pay some bills each month.  I'll be working late to get it done by tomorrow morning's deadline and we'll see what happens from there.

Julie and I are still going strong and trying to figure out what the future holds for each of us independantly and together.  Julie's big news from yesterday is her completion of the Molokai outrigger canoe race!  This is a 40+ mile 6 man outrigger canoe race across the open ocean channel between Molokai and Oahu.  Julie worked really hard to accomplish this goal and had an amazing experience surrounding the race.

The family is having some crazy times to say the least.  My sister is in labor currently, I think?  I might be a uncle before the day is out.  My Grandma Devol is still in the hospital and on my mind all the time.  From what I hear her spirits have slightly improved, but physically she is still struggling.  Please keep her in your prayers and thoughts.  My Mom and Dad are amazing for handling all this chaos with such grace and composure.

My goals for this week are to: get the google job, schedule some Phix demos, run a sub 4 hr marathon, find a full time job, and take care of a ton of little things that I just haven't had time to take care of.  Wish me luck as this might be a tall order!

Cispus Video

Cool video of me running the big drop called Behemoth on the Cispus River in Washington.  I wrote about this run a few weeks ago.  If you look closely I had a helmet on at the top and none at the bottom.  Luckily I had a good run and my helmet popped up undamaged next to me in the eddy a few minutes later.

Video

Hood, Kailua, & now in Portland

(Kailua from the air, you can see the Mokalua Islands just off Laniki Beach)

It has been a crazy week.  I've been running a ton prepping for the Portland Marathon in two weeks, Oct. 5th.  I managed a 20 mile run yesterday in exactly 3 hrs, a 9 min/mile pace.  Low water has kept me off the rivers and it seems that the wind only blows when I'm leaving town, so no kiteboarding.

On the job front there is very little to report.  I'm working on three part time jobs now, more on that next week.  The one I worked a bunch early this past week was the Skagen watch merchandising job.  In two days I spent over 12 hrs at 6 different Macy's stores in the greater Portland area.  I'm still looking for that career move and will be working even more this week to really focus my energies on getting something to happen ASAP.

The big news, and craziness over this past week was a very last minute trip to HI.  I bought a ticket at 4 am Thursday and was in HI at 3:30 that afternoon.  I just got back into town this morning from a wonderful few days with Julie.  I figured out a few months ago that I had made a huge mistake leaving her in HI back in June.  I needed to see her in person and show her just how much I love and miss her in my life.  Julie and I have an amazing friendship and a love for one another that is extremely rare.  We have committed to each other to work things out and find a way to be together in the future.

Julie is racing in the 6 man outrigger canoe race from Molaki to Oahu this weekend.  I wish her and her team a safe and speedy crossing of this grueling and challenging channel.  I'm so proud of the huge amount of work and effort that Julie has put into this amazing endeavour.

My Grandma Devol is in my thoughts everyday.  Her health is not getting any better and she is back in hospice care after another trip to the hospital this week.  Please keep her in your prayers.

My sister Nicole is expecting her first child within the next two weeks.  She seems to be doing well with all of it and I wish her the best.  It is crazy that I'm going to be an Uncle!

Please keep in touch, as you can see I've been busy!  Please also keep me in the loop if you know of any job opportunities.  I moved into an apartment near Portland today with a paddling friend, EJ Etherington, but can still move anywhere for the right career move.

(Honolulu Airport)

(Julie ready to tackle the Coco Head Hike)

(Julie and Bryon happy together again)

(Hawaii Kai and Honolulu with some rain rolling through, from atop Coco Head)

(Sunset over Hawaii Kai from atop Coco Head)

(Julie prepping the paint for another outrigger canoe)

(Julie spraying in the first colored gel coat)

(Julie showing off one of her creative masterpieces)

(I got to check out some serious RC airplane and helicopter enthusiasts in Kailua)

Still Working Hard to Find Work!

The headline tells most of the story.  I'm putting in most of every day trying to find a new career, or at least a descent job.  I have accepted a very part time position, like 12 hrs a month, doing merchandising for Skagen Watches in the Portland area.  This is the same position that I had with Skagen in HI.  I'm also working on a part time position with Google rating websites.  Other than that not much is happening on the job hunt side of things.

My Grandma Devol is having some more medical issues and I keep her in my thoughts everyday.  My parents are amazing and are dealing with a lot to make sure that their parents are having the best lives possible at this time.

The water is drying up fast around here and there hasn't been much in the way of whitewater to be had.  I got a low water run in on the Green Truss and hit up a dam release on the Tieton.  The winds have also been dead most of the week, and only blowing when I need to get work done:(  I have been running really hard though, trying to prepare for the Portland Marathon on Oct. 5th.  I feel pretty good about my speed and distances, but the marathon is going to hurt with the minimal time that I've had to prepare.  I'm shooting for a sub 4 hr marathon, anything below that will make me happy.

Joe and Rachel have been great hosts here in Hood River, but I don't want to overstay my welcome.  I'm working on finding a place to live in the Portland area, which will also hopefully get me closer to some job opportunities.  The commute to the kayaking and kiting will be a bit further, but I'll be closer to the job center and only a little over an hour from the coast.

Surf Kayaking on the OR Coast

(Indian Beach, OR)

Overall this has just been another week.  I have been running a ton, preparing for the Portland Marathon on Oct. 5th, and searching for jobs.  I'm still sending in new applications and following up on old ones every day.  The job search is getting old fast and my funds are running dangerously low.  I've even contacted a few local car dealers to see about selling high end cars again!  Bills need to get paid one way or another:(  I managed to sneak in a short kite session as well as a mellow kayak during the week as well.

All the photos this week are from a trip on Saturday to the Oregon Coast to go surf kayaking.  A big group from Portland as well as Joe and I headed to Indian river and got some solid 7-9 ft. surf.  Joe and I spent more than 5 hours out on the water trying to catch all the big ones in our surf specific boats.  It was an exhausting day, but was well worth the long drive.  On the way home we stopped at this really cool old logging museum/restaurant.  The brownie desert is amazing and you might get a glimpse of Sasquatch while your there!

(The North end of Indian Beach)

(My first Elk spotting in OR, rite on the coast.)

(Joe spotted Sasquatch!)

(Sasquatch and I making a run for it!)