The Update of all Updates...

So it has been many months since I sat down to update this page, and many events have come to pass in what seems a short amount of time. As I write this we are in Portland Oregon, preparing Jennifer’s big move back to the West Coast for school. But to back up a bit, the last time I wrote we had just arrived back from New York for the summer and were preparing for another academic year in South Bend. While the fall semester was relatively uneventful for me, Jen spent her time flying around the country interviewing for her Masters program. After gaining acceptance to many of the top 10 programs in the country she chose OHSU in Portland, a great city and close to family. She would start mid-June and therefore had six months of freedom to enjoy before diving into a hyper-intensive program for two years. It would also mean our return to the long-distant relationship, although perhaps an easier version being in the same country and only a four hour flight apart. We chose one of the more effective coping mechanisms and are currently living in denial of this fact until I leave at the end of June to return to school.

As another brutal Midwestern winter descended upon us we were able to travel much of the spring semester. We had the wonderful wedding of Jen’s sister Steph to Kyle, which was a beautiful event in Southern California. A quick trip to Charlotte for a conference gave us our first view of North Carolina, and then our first trip to Canada, venturing to Montreal for another conference. The city was beautiful and we had plenty of time to see the sites and murder the poor French language.

As we move closer to present day, and the winter began to ease, we drove to Missouri to collect my replacement from a shelter there. Augustus, a very regal name for a very cowardly dog, is a cross between a beagle and a pug and is presently a stomach on four legs. One thing to note has been the phenomenal gas this small dog can produce, to the point you can actually locate him in a room of people based on the expression on their faces. This little guy will be keeping Jen company in Portland for the year, and then probably moving in with me while Jen does her second year rotations. The two weeks of constant supervision, sleep deprivation and houstraining before our departure to the West Coast was by far the most effective form of contraception, and despite it being nothing compared to caring for a child, has made us seriously rethink having children.

So now we are close to our most recent adventure, a final roadtrip across America and Canada to the West Coast and Jen’s home for the next two years. We couchsurfed our way across, Augustus in tow, and checked out the University town of Madison-Wisconsin, the amazing hospitality of aspiring bed and breakfast owners in Minnesota, and messed around with helicopters and night vision goggles at the Air Force base in North Dakota, before jumping across the border into Canada.

In Canada we drove through the Canadian Rockies and spent time exploring the spectacular Banff National Park. Incredible views in every direction and a wonderful way to sample the beauty of the country. One complaint however is the astounding price of alcohol and has made me rethink the sacrifices needed for a universal health-care system.

Pictured:

The worlds largest truck, the sleeping dog, Banff National Park, a Subway lunch with a view and Montreal cityscape.