Friday, October 31, 2008

Baby Mia


This last week I became an aunt for the second time and it is just as exciting as the first time!

Denise had the baby last Sunday morning and everything went perfectly.

Mia Hae-Soon Oh

6 lbs. 13 oz. 20-inches

TONS of hair

I got a text while at church and I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with joy and emotion. I haven't even seen my new little friend, but I love her with all my heart!

Denise just posted pictures on Facebook and man, when she told me the kid had a lot of hair, I really had no idea until I saw for myself! Holy cow!

She's not even a week old and she already needs a haircut!



Mia with her big brother Kimball and mommy.



Kimball introduces Mia to two of her cousins.



October Sky


I'm still waiting for it to rain here. I am pretty sure that in the next few days all of that will change, but I am surprised that my weather expectations here have totally not come true.

Apparently, Eugene weather isn't completely like Seattle weather. Eugene doesn't get near as much rain, it's warmer in the summers, and it's less humid. I have been waiting for rain and I think it is coming pretty soon, but up until now, the weather has been exquisite.


October, in particular has been the nicest month here. The skies are clear and blue, temps are in the upper 60s and 70s, and the fall colors have been amazing.


My friend and I took a drive west of town to find a hike and do some exploring nearer the coast. We probably should have planned our excursion a little better, but the drive through the country was pretty great.

We ended up driving up to a the King Estate Winery. The vineyards seemed to go on forever and the colors were peaceful.






The rains are coming though. It's in the air.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Free I C


If you don't remember to vote, at least remember to go stand in line to get your free ice cream at Ben & Jerry's. Hopefully you'll remember to do both on Nov. 4.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Neighbors

My neighbors kind of drive me crazy.

I am pretty sure Goliath lives above me and his wife does aerobics usually around midnight and his son likes to construct furniture around the same time. For ALL of my years of apartment living I have always lived on the third floor which has always put me above my neighbors. This time around, I am on the second floor of a three-floor building and while I like not having to drag my groceries up three flights of stairs, I am feeling the pain apartment living.

This is what I look at every time I leave my apartment.


Apartment management will leave fliers at everyone's door with announcements and Valley River Court news and updates. They do this at least twice a month. I don't mind the paper because it keeps me informed but it does bother me that my neighbors across the hall, never pick up their fliers. This is a picture of their door and their stash of fliers of the past month. It's not like they never leave because they go in an out all day long. Yet, they never pick up their fliers. Instead, they step over them.

I have met a few people in the building but for the most part, everyone sticks to themselves. I have tried to meet the folks across the hall, but like they do with the fliers, they ignore me.

In contrast, here's what my door looks like.


It's inviting and pleasant and festive. No fliers around because I pick them up. It's just nice.

Come on neighbors! Don't be lazy. Pick up your crap.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Halloween Treat

There are few things I love more than a nice surprise and today, right in the middle of my toughest week of school yet, I came home to a fun and so welcomed package.

Kim Bigelow Atchley, proving once again how great a mom she is, sent me an awesome holiday care package...for Halloween! It was so fun to get the nice goodies and I love the care and thought she put into the simple little gift.



The kitchen towels will make all the difference in my less-than-spectacular kitchen and how fun will it be to gnaw on a gummy purple rat and suck on finger lollipops?! So fun, so fun!
Thanks Kim! You are the best!

And to top it off, she included my Girl's Camp Certificate (Yay! I certified!) and a montage of camp pictures on DVD. Man! A surprise AND a validating sense of accomplishment all in one. Could I ask for anything more?! It was just so nice to take a mental break from school and remember a great part my summer.

Thanks Kim and thanks to everyone else who has sent me thoughtful housewarming gifts and gems in the mail. Feels like the mission all over again! I should do a post about the butt-hole cat towel hanger and the french polar bear tea set. Next time.

Friday, October 17, 2008

"Bi-Weekly" what?

Will someone explain how this is? The definition just makes no sense.

From the American Heritage Dictionary:

bi.week.ly (bī-wēk'lē) adj.

1. Happening every two weeks.
2. Happening twice a week; semiweekly.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Race!


Check out this awesome race. It is encouraged that all plan for it next year. For a first-hand view, see Jennie's blog for a nice rundown of her hardcore effort that will take you there, and make you feel the heat!

Click: Jennie's Blog

Then after Volkslauf as a training run, prepare for the ultimate of all races:

Click: Death Race

Keep on racing!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Cute things


It is very normal for Catherine to send me web links to cute pictures of koala bears, polar bears and penguins, all of which give me a little welcomed tickle. Today, Amy Wiltbank sent this to me because she knows I like cute things and it made my day! I'm not a fan of rats mostly because of their long tails, but I AM a fan of paws and this little guy has cute paws!

Thanks for thinking of me and passing along all the cuteness!

For cute on demand, visit www.cuteoverload.com

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Blog neglect

Considering the state of my blog, I have come to a clear realization of just how much time I really used to have! It almost seems like working gave me so much more free time! Sad...so sad...

I have seriously been out-of-my-mind busy since I arrived in Eugene. After getting settled in and my apartment near acceptable, I jumped right into school.

The two-week "Orientation" later dubbed "Prologue" was an intense ten days in the classroom, 8-hours a day. We learned a lot about each other and a lot about ourselves, learned how to work in teams, how to do a case study, learned some things about making the most of our MBA school years, attended a few networking events and essentially were immersed in what was the start of the next two years of our lives. Though the days were long, I actually enjoyed the classroom learning and the tests of my skills. And the best thing to come of it was a closeness among all of my class. By the time school actually started, we all knew each other pretty well and it has made studying and the social aspect really easy to adjust to.


Prologue culminated to a service project at the Mt. Pisgah Arboretum where we laid sod and evened the ground on a popular trail. And then we got to relax floating down the McKenzie River for some white-water rafting.

Since school has started, I've been bogged down with way too much homework. I feel like every teacher thinks their class is my only class! The first week was rough and I felt overwhelmed with all of the homework that had to be completed. But this second week, I am getting a better hang of things. Either the pressure of completing homework is getting easier to handle, or I am just getting lazy. Let's hope it's the former...

Overall, my life is totally different. I play softball now, my most hated sport. I play basketball on Saturday mornings, a sport I have neglected. I can't remember the last time I filled up my gas tank, though the sight of so many bikes around town still throws me off. I am rarely on my phone. It's actually cold outside. I can think of few things that are the same other than the things I possess. But change is good, even when there's a lot of it.

One of the biggest changes for me has been the social scene. I pretty much just hang out with my classmates and literally, we do everything together. This picture was taken last night at the University of Oregon v. UCLA football game and is pretty much the norm for me. With only 10 girls in the program and 30 boys, these odds are about normal.

A typical night out usually means going to a school function of some sort and then hitting up bars around town. People drink a lot of beer! I drink of a lot of Diet Coke and water! A naive confession: I have come to realize that bar-hopping is one of the few options for a social activity and that people actually do hop from bar to bar. I don't really understand it, but I go anyway to socialize and be around friends.

Homecoming was last night as well and with so many Alumni in town, our entire Saturday was filled with seminars and networking events. Ducks sports are HUGE around here and the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center hosted a tailgate before the game.

The highlight of the entire day though was probably the opportunity to meet Founder of the Warsaw Center, Jim Warsaw. Jim was quite an amazing individual, not just because he has accomplished so much, but because of his attitude and sincere appreciation for everyone around him in spite of his battling with Parkinsons disease.

He spoke to us for a bit at a seminar all the while struggling to speak, yet applauded us for what we have accomplished and encouraged us to do more. I can tell he is a man well-respected not because of his career success but because of his character.

So, yes, it's been quite an adjustment, but it's been enjoyable all the same...

On another note, I have become the picture and blog girl around here as well, so to keep up on other things going on up here, visit other places that I blog if you are really curious.

http://www.oregonmba.com/blog/
http://www.warsawcenter.com/blog/

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Penguin Rescue

There are few things more joyful than seeing penguins rescued, fed and re-released into the wild.

Warms my heart. I just wish they would have let me have one of them before they sent them home...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/10/08/rescued.penguins/index.html#cnnSTCPhoto

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Wedding weekend

Last weekend I hit two weddings, of two close friends, in two different states in two consecutive days. Though a bit tiring, I must say that I was just grateful that I could make it to both.

Heather Feather & James
My two-week Orientation at school in Eugene ended Friday with a rafting trip down the McKenzie River. At 3:30 AM I left Eugene and drove two-hours to Portland to catch my flight. I landed in Phoenix two hours later where Sarah picked me up and we went straight to the Mesa Temple for the Sealing.

Arizona was hot and Sarah and I were burning up. Had we not been polite and mature adults, we would have been taking a dip in the fountain outside. Good thing we are well-trained and domesticated.

I had been looking forward to some familiar faces since moving to Oregon and it was such the perfect setting to spend time with close friends and to see one of my best friends get married.

Congratulations Heather Feather and James!






I spent the night in Phoenix with more Mormons than I've seen in the last two months combined. Sarah and I played some Rockband until the break of dawn at Tom Hung's and in the morning, I flew out to Utah for Kyong & Donny's wedding.

Kyong & Donny
Kyong is one of the first friends I made at BYU. We have been friends for almost 13 years and we have always managed to stay in touch.

Kyong and Donny had a beautiful wedding at the Sundance Resort in Provo Canyon and everything was exquisite. I had a great time catching up with Holly and some other close friends I hadn't seen in a while and driving into the canyon made me a little nostalgic for my past snowboarding days (sorry, random thought...).

The ceremony was beautiful and the jam was delicious!

Congratulations K&D!