Weinbrecht update

Well, actually, there’s nothing all that new to share. We start our days (at around 5am) getting ready for our respective routines—John goes and swims hard with his Masters team each AM while I walk over to the Shala for my morning yoga practice. After a bit of breakfast, our day begins. John continues his job search, narrowing even more his parameters on what qualifies as his ‘dream job.’ He has interesting things in play, and we have the strong feeling things will be resolved by the end of July. In the meantime, we are enjoying all the time together. Our dog, Appie, loves having her ‘daddy’ at home all day. Here she is for those who have never met our puppie:





It will be hard to adjust to having him gone again, for both Appie and I. We’re getting quite used to the lifestyle! Though the inflow of cash will be awfully nice!!!

I continue to plug away on the final chapter (boy that sounds good!) of my dissertation. I am hoping to have the entire writing process completed by the end of the summer and hopefully the thesis defended sometime in the fall. I doubt that I’ll be looking for a ‘job’ so much as looking for ways to bring in some money while I get some of my writing published. I’m exploring the idea of part-time teaching as well as possibly doing some freelance tutoring or other ways I might support what I hope is a budding writing career! Time will tell of course, but for now, I’ll just be thrilled with getting this dissertation completed and my degree, finally, under my belt!

For those who haven’t had the chance to check out our photo pages, you can click on the link ‘Our Photos’ here or under my picture at the top of the blog.

Portland, one of the top five greenest cities in the nation...

Sierra Club named Portland among the top five greenest cities in the country. Makes us proud to live here! Here’s the blurb from Sierra Club:

PORTLAND, OREGON
population 533,492



Dense development makes Portland walkable and green.

Portland has protected surrounding farms and open space by fitting new developments onto half the usual land area, making it a smart-growth pioneer--and one of the most livable places in the country. The first major city to tackle global warming, Portland creates less greenhouse gases than it did 15 years ago, while saving $2 million annually on city energy bills--and attracting new business with its efficiency expertise. Its green-building standards are the toughest in the nation.

To see the full Sierra Club report, go here.

John's High School Reunion

John’s 40th (yes, he’s old!) reunion in Indianapolis, June 17, 2006, was not JUST like Romie and Michelle’s High School Reunion, for those who have seen that movie. But still, there were some interesting similarities. Reunions are strange, funny things. Not so much for me, since I knew only our dear friends John and Joan who thankfully (for me) were there. I enjoyed myself more than I thought I would, given my status as ‘alumni spouse.’ John very much enjoyed visiting old friends and seeing what became of classmates. The best time of all was had outside the reunion for us. We had lots of quality visiting time with John and Joan, and we all rediscovered, I think, just how much we enjoy each other. John (my John) and Joan swam each morning with her Y Masters team and I got to go for my fitness walks each morning on the lovely Monon trail, a trail that was once a railroad track that goes throughout Indianapolis. Birds singing, lots of trees abounding, and very friendly people were had on my morning walks. We called it our ‘exercise vacation.’ Then we spent time walking around the renovated areas of downtown Indianapolis. Very lovely. And we saw Cars—very cute show if you have a chance to see it. All-in-all, it was hard coming back, as much as we love Portland. But we don’t yet have the kinds of quality friendships we have in our friends the Diercks. And we won’t, really, since John has known them for much of his life. Joan since Kindergarten!! Very wonderful folks!!

Joan and John Diercks, our hosts and good friends, are the two folks at the right in this picture. Very lovely people.



There's Joan and myself enjoying the reunion. I was so glad they showed up! The only faces I knew besides John.



Here's a great shot of John and our friend Joan. John has known Joan virtually all his life! They met when they both attended Kindergarten and were schoolmates for most of their elementary and high school lives. Her last name started with 'V' so they had lockers next to each other, etc. Very sweet.

For more photos of the reunion itself, check it out here.

State of things Weinbrecht...

Well, it’s June and things are moving right along here with the Weinbrechts! John’s job search continues. He is exploring such organizations as Mercy Corps and the local YMCA for job opportunities. He is very committed to finding work that is meaningful and impacts the planet, and the humans living on it, in a positive way. It can be a scary process, since he is definitely moving outside the box. But it’s a very welcome kind of fear, since it means he is stretching himself. As for me, I’m still in the throes of my third and final chapter. The specter of revisions hangs a bit over my head, as I know they are waiting for me as soon as this chapter is complete. I won’t know how many revisions there will be regarding the third chapter, but for the first and second it won’t be anything terribly extensive. Just some changes my readers suggested and I have subsequently thought about. Each chapter changes the nature of the entire project a bit, so I have to make adjustments accordingly. All very rewarding. Still, I am DEFINITELY looking forward to being finished. We also have been enjoying spring here in the Pacific Northwest. Lovely, lovely weather. We have been working in the yard, weeding, landscaping a bit, getting the back yard into shape for the summer (much to the chagrin of our animal neighbors who have come to think of our yard as their own!). All-in-all, we are faring well, even though things are a bit stressful with all the unknowns and changes. Good stress, but stress nevertheless. Stay tuned for more updates as things progress...