Kayaking Out West - July 8

I just got back from a week and a half of paddling out west. I went with five other midwest paddlers. We spent three days in Boise, Idaho paddling on the Payette River. This was big water! Huge waves and holes. I stuck to the Class III stuff and had a blast. Here's the group hanging out after Swirly Canyon in a natural hot spring. Great way to end a paddle. The other shot is of Brian below Howard's Plunge which was named after a fellow who drove his car off the road in the rapid, not once but three times!
































From there we drove on to Husum, Washington where we knew a paddler working at Wet Planet which is a rafting company. We spent a lot of time on the White Salmon which was right on our doorstep! Lori showed us the lines and gave us all kinds of great beta on other rivers and hikes. She was an awesome host.

















A pair of our group ran Husum Falls and Punchbowl Falls (right). My boat apparently was feeling a little left out so it jumped off my shoulder during a portage around BZ Falls (below but w/ Brian and dog Cassidy), bounced twice on the rocks, fell in the water, and rushed right over the waterfall! Luckily it finally lodged on some rocks further downstream and the only damage was a crease in the stern. I emptied out the water in the boat and finished out the run.

I also got to do some hiking and caving with my uncle who lives in Portland. Photo on the right is from the top of Steamboat Mountain which was a quick hike with a great view. There was even some snow to play in on the hike up.

It's feels good to be home now with a few days to recover and be with Megan before starting my new job on Monday.

-J

Jobs! - Friday, June 25

So it's been about 4 months of looking for jobs since we got back. There were nibbles, resumes, phone interviews, and such but no offers. This week on Tuesday I went in for a 2nd interview with the client of a contract company I'd applied to. As the hiring manager walked me out the door, he told me to expect to hear soon and that I was his favorite for the position but he'd have to talk to the other interviewees. That afternoon they called to say the position was for the taking. Since I'd submitted a rate with my resume and the few benefits that were available were set in stone there wasn't a lot of room for negotiation. After talking it over with Megan, I accepted the position on Wednesday afternoon. It is a processes design position working with batteries for pacemakers. The contract is until December 21st of this year. My start date will be July 12, the Monday after I return from a kayaking trip to Washington. The commute is short (10 min) and I hope to bike it often. This seemed like a good fit since it would let me brush up my skills, try a new position and company, and make sure the balance sheet was in the black.

The very next day, Megan got a call requesting a third interview. That interview turned into two interviews which turned into two job offers that afternoon. She accepted job #2 and has a start date set for July 7.

It's been interesting getting the feel for job hunting, riding the ups and downs, managing the uncertainty, and having fun all at the same time. Can't say I'm great at it but certainly better than I was before. Actually looking forward to using it again rather than being scared about it.

-J

Garage Sale - June 5

So the neighborhood garage sale was today. When we'd packed up the house before leaving for New Zealand we had set aside some stuff that we didn't want any more and thought we could try to sell. Neither of us wanted to commit to doing it though and sitting around in the garage all day. So Friday night we went to bed not planning to do anything.

This morning, Jason woke up and stuck his head in the attic. Realizing all the boxes that were full of stuff to get rid of he decided at 7am that we were going to have a garage sale! An hour later we'd cleared a space in the garage, set up some tables, and laid our wares out. Our first customer didn't have any change and neither did we so Jason gave her $1 worth for free. We closed the garage for an hour until the banks opened and we could go get change.

Things started out brisk the second time we opened. Megan just wanted to get rid of everything so she was more willing to take offers. Jason got a little insulted when people wanted to haggle on a fifty cent item that was already cheaply priced.

It was fun chatting with all the people and our neighbors that wondered in. One customer left their car keys behind so Jason tried to find him by running down the alley. No luck but as we were making a sign saying we had keys for sale, he walked by looking distraught so we flagged him down. We also had a lot of people ask about our kayaks that were hanging in the garage.

Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate and the drizzle slowly drove people away. By 1pm the alley was empty in both directions so we decided to close things down.

All said and done we got rid of half the stuff we no longer wanted and made just under $100. Not too bad for a Saturday morning. So now it is raining and Megan and Tanya are making plans to go shopping for fabrics.

-J

Rejection Letter - May 11, 2010

Dear Applicant,

Thank you for applying to Red Bull Flugtag Twin Cities. We were flattered and amazed at the number of people who applied and overwhelmed by the creativity of the entries. But unfortunately, with so few openings available, we are sad to tell you that we are unable to offer you the opportunity to compete.

What you showed us was full of great creativity and imagination (we would have never thought to fly something like that). You obviously put a tremendous amount of time and thought into your creation and we want to applaud your efforts. These six energy shots may not take away your feeling of disappointment, but it will give you the energy to apply again next time. And we hope you do. In the meantime, we invite you to join the crowd at Red Bull Flugtag Twin Cities, July 24^th at Harriet Island.

Warmest regards,

Red Bull Flugtag Ground Control

Well we didn't make the cut for Flugtag. Guess that means I can return all the hang gliding books I checked out from the library and Megan can stop worrying about me injuring myself.

-J

Hard Work - April 20

Well I was getting a little discouraged with the job hunting so I decided to browse Craigslist for some temporary work. I found one posting wanting help moving a dishwasher, another for a SCUBA technician to remove weeds from Lake Minnetonka, and a third for buck brush removal. A phone call later I was signed up to remove the noxious invasive tree. After seeing the space where he wanted it torn out from, I thought alright a few hours right? Three hours and one broken shovel later I'd barely gotten through a third of it. I realized it was going to take longer than I thought and with the sun setting I called it a day. Next morning I started bright and early at sunrise but six hours later I was bushed and now only half way through (I hadn't figured on the time to cut and bundle it all). So I've realized that manual work is hard and the pay isn't so good (at least for this job anyway). On the bright side, this has turned into a really good motivator for job hunting! -J

Red Bull Flugtag!

Back in May I found out that the Red Bull Flugtag event is coming to the Twin Cities on July 24, 2010. Shortly afterward, a good friend of mine asked if I was interested since he was putting together a team so I jumped at the chance. What is Red Bull Flugtag you ask? Basically it is an event where teams of up to 5 people propel a human powered craft from a platform 30 feet above the river in an effort to a) go for the furthest distance or b) plummet spectacularly earthward. We're not sure which we'll end up doing but it ought to be fun!

If you want to get a better idea of what Flugtag is all about, just do a YouTube search. Here's one example: www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeIjasoOiBY&feature=related

Well actually we haven't been accepted yet. There is an application process where you submit your idea for the craft, an outline of a brief skit, and any other information you think might impress the judges. We submitted three concepts with the hope that at least one will be selected. We'd been keeping our ideas under wraps but now that the application deadline is passed I thought it would be safe to share them. In case any of you are on the judging panel, you'll know which ones to vote for. I think we find out in May whether or not we made the cut. If we did, I'll let you know so you can come watch the spectacle. -J

Broomball and Couches in Iowa - April 16-18

Last weekend we took a road trip to Des Moines, Iowa for a broomball tournament. The team was a combination of people with a good majority made up of Barons (Jason's men's team). Megan played with us too even though it was a men's division. We won our two pool play games and the semi final game on Saturday. The final on Sunday was a rematch against the Whiskey Sticks, a team from Rochester put together by another Baron. It turned out to be a fast paced, high scoring thriller that ended 5-4. We had successfully defended our title from last year.

The other highlight from the weekend was our foray into CouchSurfing. Basically it is an online community that connects you with people who are willing to let you crash on their couch. We met Nathan and Erica who hosted us for three days. On Friday, we took a canoe down the North River which turned into a grand adventure! Plenty of wildlife including eagles, owls, floating muskrats, geese, ducks, deer, and a mink. But the memories mostly came from dumped canoes. The first was a failed attempt to sneak under a log. Luckily the water was only waist deep so it was easy to empty the canoe afterward. The second was due to an overzealous landing which resulted in a thorough drenching of another paddler. Besides the paddle, we also enjoyed chatting and a potluck with other couch surfers. It was a great first experience with Couch Surfing. -J