Never leave a man behind

I work with the coolest bunch of people.  Last week I got a message on my crackberry from our CFO.  He said that with all of our hard work and accomplishments, not to mention the stress of the impending merger, we deserved a chance to blow off some steam.  We were all invited to "go postal" at a paintball event.  What?! I get to use co-workers, not to mention my boss, for target practice with a company sanction!?  I  replied immediately "I am SO there!"

The First Time: Adrenaline

D and I got married in Queenstown, New Zealand - the "Adventure Capital of the World."  D was determined to take on the bungee jump there at Nevis canyon.  This is no ordinary bungee jump - you throw yourself off a gondola suspended on cables 440 ft above the bottom of the canyon.  8 seconds of free fall.  Count that up: 1-one thousand, 2-one thousand.... that is like, forever, in free fall moments.

I am decidedly NOT an adrenaline junkie.  The rush that some people get when that natural chemical starts coursing through their blood just leaves me wishing to curl up safely under my blankie with a nice cup of chamomile tea to calm my racing heart.  So, despite all the recent til-death-do-us-part-yada-yada, I had no desire to join D in this particular leap of faith.  However, everyone on the gondola - even spectators - gets kitted out in a jump harness.  So we both got strapped into the gear and headed out to the jump platform.

More than you ever cared to know about me

The short story: I live a mostly quiet life in the countryside outside Portland, Oregon with my English husband D. in a little Cape Cod-style house that we are interminably remodeling. I have two cats, Kismet and Yoda, who were named before I ever met them but are suited perfectly to their monikers. I've turned 29 ten times so far (which, ironically, means my age is one year less than one assumes when I say that). I often get carded to buy beer at the grocery store, so I think I can carry that off for a while yet. I'm a licensed CPA - hence the beanie part of my nickname - but can't do math in my head. I enjoy good books, photography, snowboarding, surfing the interweb, and more DVR'd TV shows than are strictly good for me.


The slightly longer story: I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  I'm the only biological child of four siblings - the other three are a brother adopted from Vietnam, a sister adopted from Costa Rica and an African American brother from Pittsburgh.  (My mom got a lot of strange looks when we were out together).  We all moved to Oregon when I was 14.  My family isn't very close-knit, so I have created my own "family" in the form of a few dear friends I know I can rely upon if I ever need anything.  (Bless you, my chosen sisters.)  Unfortunately, they are scattered about the globe, so I consider this blog an open letter to them.


I met my husband D when he was living in the Cayman Islands and working for the same international firm as me - though I was based in Portland and traveling all the time.  That company funded our long-distance relationship until I moved to the Caribbean for a few months.  We married on a 10-week trip to New Zealand and moved near to his family in England but after less than a year, he got itchy feet again and we moved back to Oregon.  We've been here for six years so far.

The random facts:

• I am an unfailing morning person.
• I don't like coffee.  
• I love waffles.  
• I've eaten the same cereal (Frosted Mini-Wheats) for breakfast every school morning for going on about 6 years now.
• My pet peeves include slow drivers in the fast lane and people on the radio who aren't paid to talk on the radio.
• My favorite color is pink.
• I really am that blond.
• I love shiny sparkly things...
• But I hate shopping for shoes.
• I could toast marshmallows as a competitive sport...
• Which is about the only competitive sport I would excel at, since I suffer from a severe lack of physical coordination.
• I love my husband's sense of humor and the way he smells after a straight-razor shave.
• I am convinced I will meet a tragic, untimely end if I ever try whitewater rafting...
• But a little part of me really wants to try skydiving...
• Which is ironic because I've tried bungee jumping and never want to do it again.
• My favorite punctuation marks are ellipses (duh, see above) and I found when I googled it for correct spelling they are also called wielokropek in Polish, meaning "multidot."  I'm not sure which is cooler, the Polish word or the English translation.  Trust the sensible Poles to call it like they see it.
• Me in seven words: Smart girl - precious little common sense sometimes.