Starting work again

This marks the last week of non-work. Starting Monday I will be going through orientation for Lifeways facility in Umatilla Oregon. A 16 bed residential facility. Although I am not really sure exactly what I will be doing, it is going to be a real departure from case management with federal inmates.

Next Sunday is another grappling tournament, going to be the first one since moving to Washington. For some reason here, the masters division starts 30 years and over. So for this competition I will be going into the masters division for the first time.

Ashley is coming along well and survived her first trip across the border. And she did minimal disruption to the house, although it was pretty dog proofed from previous occupants. Now the challenge is going to be finding a dog sitter to help out this first week while I am at work. So far the search has not yielded anything, but we have to find something fast...

Winter Snow

Today is the second or third snowfall since we have arrived, however this one is more of a dusting and if the forecast holds it should be mostly melted off by tomorrow afternoon. It turns out that the cold spell that hit in November seems to be more normal than we had thought. Many people had remarked that there is usually a cold snap in November and then it warms back up, which so far has been consistent. Today there is about an inch of snow on the ground, but tomorrow is supposed to be back up in the mid-forties. The weather overall has not been that bad, but it is dry and I have found the value of vitamin D supplements. Staying hydrated is a bit of a trick, in the cold consuming water really doesnt seem necessary, but its a lot easier to forget than I would have thought.

The job search has turned fruitful and I should be employed come January. After taking the law enforcement exam (and winning the local test section physical requirements with first place in the 300 of my heat, max sit-ups and push-ups and first place in the 1.5 mile with an 8:40, very happy with that) I realized that the police gig is just not very realistic. Even if I get called in for the second of 4 tests/interviews, there are only 9 spots available and would be at least 6 months to a year before completed the testing and getting the job. However, completing the personal history statement with a 10 year history of residences and lifetime employment history was interesting and put me in touch with some people that I have not spoken with in years.

But this last week has yielded several interviews, some at places that I wanted and others that would at least be money coming in. I was interviewed at the Boys and Girls club for a Teen Program Coordinator position, and had a second interview today, but turned it down because I had already accepted another position. I interviewed yesterday for a position at an employment worksource company, but that didnt really seem like a move up the ladder. So I accepted a position that was offered at Lifeways, a longterm mental health facility as a Mental Health Specialist. The job is set to start in January. The only downside is that the job is in Oregon, which means a 35-45 minute drive each way. But I am hoping that after training I will be able to either work a 4-day schedule (4/10's) or 4 plus day schedule (4/9's and half day in the middle). That would leave me able to still make it to train fairly often and be able to take care of Ashley at least one day a week. But it looks like we are also going to need a second car and a dog walker to make sure Ashley can get out during the days. I am still waiting to see a copy of the employee handbook, but assuming nothing weird is in it, I will be starting work next month. Time to enjoy my unemployment while I still have the time.

So to enjoy the time I am going to be entering a BJJ tournament Jan 10 in Spokane. I will be able to train until the week before full time and then with the training week I will do what I can to be prepped for the tourney. After that I will have to see how much time I have to make it to the gym. I am hopeful that I will be able to get to the weight room in the mornings before driving to work... but I dont know.

Ashley is also coming along well, but we have several things that need work. I am still not sure how long we could leave her in her crate without issues. When she first got here she had some fairly severe separation anxiety and the first attempt to leave in the crate while we were at the store resulted in her shitting the crate... not how I wanted that to go. So I have been slowly putting her in and leaving the house for short amounts of time, but nothing more than 15-20 minutes. But it does seem to be going better. The other challenge is that since we dont have an area to really confine her while we are gone she will find all kinds of things to chew up. Things I dont think to put away because what is the fun in eating a plastic tape dispenser? But slowly we are getting better (it has only been a month) and she is getting more comfortable and less anxious. The trip to the dog park last week went pretty well and working with her on not getting crazy when she sees another dog, but that is a slow battle. While at the dog park it seemed that she was able to maintain a jog to full sprint for the entire time, about, 30 minutes. I have been repeatedly impressed by her stamina. And she still doesnt bark, so that part is nice. The next test will be christmas.

We are going to be heading to Vancouver to spend the weekend with Marina's family. Going to get to see what Ashely does to the house while we are not there... fun times.

The job search

One challenge that has presented so far has been finding a job. Being a fairly small place, it is not teeming with employment opportunities outside of labor and a few random industries. I have had some luck off the bat and hope that the positions offered are worth while because after this round of searching the next round is going to require a lot more creativity.

This afternoon I went to an interview at gold's gym for a personal trainer spot. I think the job is a lock, but it's a sales and commission based position. So the company could really care less about who they hire. Either you come in and make sales or you don't get paid. They win either way. That is the main reason I haven't been to interested in corporate gyms and one of the main drawbacks at the UFC, people were always trying to sell you on something. While I understand that, it gets old fast and not really what I want to be doing. But if the experience can help lead into the blending if mental and physical health then it would be a good experience. Have to wait until the follow-up interview.

The second promising lead is with the boys and girls club. They have a great program coordinator position available and an interview the Monday after thanksgiving. That position would be way better long term, but if it doesn't come through then personal training may be the best in the short run.

Finally I am set to take the police exam for openings in the Pasco police department Dec 4. That one I go back and forth on, but figure it is with trying out. I have been studying a little and think I am ready for the psych eval at least. From the news recently I know that you always resort to deadly force. So on all the multiple choice I got that one ready. And the physical section will be easy. So at least it will be an interesting day.

In the midterm I need to find things to pass the time. I am looking for a Chinese tutor. There is a larger Chinese population than I was expecting so I am hopeful there. Other than that winter is killing a lot of options. Time to get fit and clean the shit out of the house. Half-marathon anyone?

Thanksgiving in Richland

So now we have a house, a decent amount of furniture and have had our first houseguest. This week will be thanksgiving and the first time that I have not cooked a bird in 7 or so years. I am actually looking forward to enjoying the meal. Usually by the time I am done cooking I want to eat anything so it will be a nice change to see it from the other side again.

Marina is starting to settle into her job, although with the first week of orientation and the second cut short by a holiday, i think it will still be some time before she really gets into a flow at work. Next month will be cut short again, but then it should start in earnest. I however, am still looking for work.

Things are moving slowly on that front, but it seems that it is starting to get somewhere. I have an interview tomorrow at Gold's Gym and another next Monday for a position as a Teen Program Coordinator at Boys and Girls Clubs. So will have to see what comes of those. I would say that I am happy to not be working, but unlike Hawaii, in the winter here there really isn't much to do. I would try to spend more time at the gym, but even the martial arts here are not as popular as other places that I have been and finding classes that run all day has been a challenge. But one way to distract myself while searching for work is playing with our new dog, Ashley.

We adopted Ashley from the shelter last week and she has gone in today to be spayed. We know very little about her history, although from her behavior I would guess that she had a rough go for a while as she can be very timid around people. overall she is very friendly with everyone, althouhg we are going to have to work on the jumping up on people. A good size (38 lbs) and while we dont know her age, young probably between 1-2 years. She is working on basic commands, sit and stay would be good and they are coming in pretty quick, only a couple days and she is starting to sit before be asked when coming in or before getting the ball thrown. 

Time to pick her up from the vet, more to come.

Settling into Richland

We arrived last week in the Tri-city area of eastern Washington and have started to settle in. We went through a mad dash to try and secure housing before our placement at the guest house for PNNL was up. After getting a feel for the area and figuring out that we wanted to try to be closer to Marina's job so she could bike to work freeing up the car when possible we decided that north Richland was the place to be. We ended up moving on a duplex with a decent size yard. However, like all the properties we saw, it was bare, included no washer or dryer. There was also the fun of waiting to find out until the last minute if our application was approved because of several complications. First the credit check got held up because the job for Marina had not technically started so we had to prove that we could actually afford the house. Then once that was cleared it was veteran's day, so the background check was delayed another day. But it was resolved with 24 hours to spare. So as soon as we were approved to move in there was another mad dash to get furniture in the weekend before Marina starts work.

There are still many things needed to make the house more comfortable. We are going to be testing out amazon as there are at least 20 plus packages set to arrive in the next couple days. It will be like 8 days of Christmas except at this rate it will likely run for more than 8 days... but our kitchen will be fully stocked before we know it.l

The other thing that we have been trying to do, now that we have a place, is get a dog. Which has proven a lot harder than we thought. There are plenty of dogs for adoption, but finding one the right size and temperament has been tricky. The ones that we have seen and really liked were of course snatched quickly by other assholes who also liked the amazing dog. Part of the problem was that in our excitement to find the right dog we started looking before we had a house and didn't know if we would be dealing with breed restrictions (most apartments have all kinds of restrictions and Kennewick has restrictions on pit bull ownership). Now we are checking the lists to see what comes in so we are ready to swoop in a get the best dog possible before anyone else.

Time to run... have to run and get an air mattress for our first guest coming one week after we moved in...

Driving Leg 2

After the return from Brazil it was time to get back on the road...but have to say, starting to get tired of being on the road. We are now in Portland and not sure if we are going to be heading to Richland or making a slight detour to Seattle while waiting for the housing to be arranged in the Tri-Cities...

Driving Leg 1

Part one of the road trip. After Austin there was a slight (35 day) detour to Brazil, but at least we got a break from driving.