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Due to an unfortunate accident, I’ve been nursing a very sore, slightly swollen, and bruised nose all day.

As we attempted to kiss each other goodnight (in the dark) last night, Eric leaned forward to kiss me and I leaned forward to kiss him and a terrible crash occurred. The bridge of my nose smacked his right eyebrow in an event that sent both of us holding our faces and groaning in pain to our respective sides of the bed.

What a great first day! Despite being so excited, anxious, etc., that I didn’t sleep terribly well, my first day of work went well.

6:30am is awfully early, but I managed to wash the sleep from my eyes in the shower and arrived bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for work at 8am. After a somewhat overwhelming but pleasant tour of the plant involving a wealth of friendly people whose names I’m still forgetting, Linda (my supervisor) taught me the basics of updating vitamin labels, which I busied myself with until lunch. Lunch was a delicious Thanksgiving pot-luck complete with all the trimmings, some delicious ham, and great desserts. After lunch my afternoon was rather quiet, and I felt rather productive, updating almost 3 sets of labels on the day due to the exactness of the work. I left around 4:15pm feeling rather good about the atmosphere and experience of my first day of work.

Our (Linda and I) office area includes two glass-top desks in opposite corners on a bamboo floor. I have a lot of desk space, which is useful, and a beautiful widescreen monitor. Two printers adorn the other two corners, creating a rectangle-shaped area. We run Mac OS X and have the Adobe CS2 suite and have a wide variety of music playing in the background. Also available is a small refrigerator for lunch, 1 liter bottled water for a quarter, and unlimited coffee for $3.00 per month – too bad I don’t drink coffee!

Overall, the people are wonderful…very helpful in directing me through the maze of the plant and understanding. Linda reminds me of Mandy, a good friend of mine, quite a bit and is so willing to answer my many questions and get me up to speed.

I hope I enjoy tomorrow just as much!

Lately Eric and I have expanded our cooking skills to include 2 excellent meals, chimichangas and ham chowder. Yes, ham, not clam, chowder.

Reed’s Chimichangas (~20 mins)
From a past roommate Reed, these chimichangas are absolutely delicious.

Ingredients:

• shredded cheddar cheese
• salsa
• shredded chicken
• extra large tortillas

Note: Amounts based on your preference and how much you’d like to make. For 6 soft taco-sized chimichangas, I used 2 small cans of chunked chicken, a couple of spoonfuls of salsa, and most of a bag of shredded cheddar cheese.

Combine ingredients until mixture is “gloopy.” Roll mixture into warm tortilla shells. Fry in 1/2″ of oil until brown, or bake in oven for a healthy alternative. Enjoy!

Sue’s Ham Chowder (~45 mins – 1 hour)

Ingredients:

• 2 c. boiling water
• 2 c. diced potatoes
• 1/2 c. sliced carrots
• 1/2 c. chopped celery
• 1/4 c. chopped onion
• 1/4 c. margerine/butter
• 1/4 c. flour
• 2 c. milk
• 2 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (10 oz.)
• 1 can cream-style corn
• 2 c. cubed ham
• ground pepper

In a large pot (and I do mean large), combine water, potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, and ground pepper to taste. Cover and simmer for 15-20 mins. DON’T DRAIN! In another pot, melt butter and stir in flour. Add milk, stirring constantly with a wire wisk on medium heat until thickened. Add cheese and continue stirring until cheese melts.

Add cheese sauce, corn, and ham to veggie mix. Heat until hot but not boiling. Enjoy!

Since I just got a new job, Eric demanded I reward myself with a small purchase. Literally, I was not allowed to leave the store (Target) until I got something for myself. When I saw Civilization IV, no more demanding was necessary.

True to the box, which claims “…should blow away both new players and long-time fans” (GameSpy.com), Civ IV rocks. The menus and game play have been altered for a more efficient interface; the interface has the same feel as the WarCraft-style interface, but its not a complete ripoff. Besides the new gameplay, they’ve included new Wonders, new Scientific Advancements, religion, enhanced the government (now referred to as civics) options, Great People, and have completely redone the military. The military units now have weaknesses and strengths and have promotions on a points-based system accumulated through battles. Also, the communications and activities between civs has been updated.

Overall, I’ve enjoyed the hell outta the first two games I’ve played. Civ IV is to Civ III as The Sims 2 is to The Sims. What began as a pretty fun, well-thought out game has turned into a must have (if you’re interested in this type of game).

Specs: RTS (real-time strategy), recommends a 128mb video card, 512mb RAM, 1.8GHz processor, 1.7GB hard drive space.

I got a job I was really, really hoping to get! Starting Monday, I now work for Highland Laboratories in Mt. Angel, Oregon; our company manufactures and distributes vitamins worldwide. As the new graphic design assistant, I will be updating label information and helping with graphic duties as necessary.

Since my interview late last week, I had a very good feeling about this opportunity. I can’t say why, but Highland really has it together for a fairly small company. They are meticulous in complying with FDA standards, offer a great benefits package, and really seem to care about their employees and product.

Mt. Angel is almost exactly 1/2 hour northeast of Salem. Famous for its annual Oktoberfest, many of the businesses reflect this German influence. The town is nice and small (population 3700) and seems very comfortable – it reminds me of home. The drive is gorgeous, through rolling farmlands with the Cascade Mountains creating a nice backdrop.

I hope this is the beginning of a wonderful career!

Finally! The Packers chalk another in the win column. It only took 10 weeks. *sigh* This weekend was a great weekend in football: the Pack won, the Broncos won, the Raiders lost (to Denver – hahahahaha!), the Chiefs lost, and the Chargers had a bye.

Linds and I have been meaning to have arts & crafts night, but it just hasn’t happened due to schedule conflicts and general busy-ness. Yesterday, though, I got my sew on and mended the edge of our Yellowstone National Park blanket, which was beginning to unravel. Its in the washer now, so I’m hoping my feeble attempts at stitching hold.

Mom, you’d better be proud!

While I haven’t found a job yet, I’m still looking and have an interview tomorrow. I’ve had 3 interviews in the past 2 weeks, which is pretty good for this area. Job hunting is tough. *sigh* To pass the time and build my portfolio, however, I’ve been doing some freelance and volunteer work. Among those I’m working with are Squidsuits, a swimsuit company; KINOG (Kids in Need of Guidance), a non-profit youth program; HydroSports, a SCUBA diving business; and the administrative office at the Salem Public Library.

Hopefully soon I’ll have a real job. Wish me luck!

Success! The costume party was a hit! The pictures, and the mess, prove it. Including our house, 17 people turned up for our Halloween bash. Some of those in attendance were Gimli, Willie Nelson, Frodo, Ron Burgundy (& Baxter), an Urukai, Satan’s girlfriend, Grima Wormtongue, a fairy, a Naz’guul, the devil, and a Cowboys fan (booo!).

Preparations included 2 pumpkin pies, 1 cherry cheesecake, decorating the house, apples and caramel dip, and, of course, costumes! Apparently the pies were good; the cheesecake is gone and most of one pumpkin pie is too.

The scoop on the evening:

• Fake weapons rock
• Jeff, Sean, TJ, and I went trick-or-treating
• This new guy, JoDo, can play a mean guitar
• Fake weapons rock
• Cheap beards shed worse than 3 dogs