Beaverton

First off, if you ask "How's Portland?", my response will be "60 degrees and sunny." You're welcome. An ex-co-worker who lives out here told me that she was amazed that spring comes 3 months earlier than in Rochester, and based on her n=2 years out here, this is normal. Nice.

Technically, my employment starts tomorrow, March 1st. Ri-ight. I've been in the fencing center all day Wed and all evening on Thu. I'm learning a bunch, and as thoughts get organized, they'll probably crop up here.

My phone/email was ringing off the hook from Previous Day Job; I'm doing consulting / emergency work for them, and they had a week's worth of emergencies that needed tending. Naturally, my laptop died. In a way that I can't quite diagnose. It may be a faulty hard drive, or it may be a fried processor, in which case Previous Computer Repair Place that Screwed Up a Fan Replacement should be paying for the privilege. Given that Previous Day Job shouldn't be forced to wait, I went out and bought a desktop.

I tentatively have an apartment; a 2BR / 2BA place about 150 yards from NWFC. It's a bit 70s-chic, but it's a ground-level corner apartment. The sliding door overlooks a little brook. Hopefully the background checks won't be an issue, but given the property manager's reaction ("Do you have any debt?" "No." "Like a car?" "I own my car." "How about credit cards?" "Pay them off every month." "Do you have any friends we can rent to?"), great success seems assured. Naturally, the apartment will be ready as soon as K leaves, so moving will be a solitary affair.

At some point, I realized that continuing the previous health insurance via COBRA wouldn't work, because the Preferred Care network doctors are all in New York. New insurance has a 90-day waiting period. I'd rather not be uninsured for 3 months, so I was scrambling to figure out what to do. Welcome to America, where every person can experience the joy of being their own health care administrator! (Ah, but unlike those Communists everywhere else, we have choice! As long as you choose somebody that's in-network, or pay out-of-pocket anyway.) Fortunately, Preferred Care seems to be taking care of business and is faxing me a new plan for perusal ... my doc calls them Deferred Care, but they've been pretty good.

It's off to lunch now! Stay in touch!