Winter snow update

An update on the snow situation for Monday evening, 12/15/08:

- It is freaking cold here. The snow storm has stopped, but now everything is iced over, which makes the sidewalks and roads even more dangerous. Wonderful.

- Despite all the news channels and government authorities urging everyone to stay put today, the VAMC was open and we were told by our bosses to report to work at 7:30am sharp.

- J and I froze our butts off waiting for the #64 Trimet bus this morning, which was ~15 minutes late. It was ~26degrees outside, but with windchill it was <20.

- We each saw a total of 2 pts at work. It was so incredibly, irritatingly slow. Plus, the power went out for 2 straight hours, and we had to do exams in the dark, without a working slit lamp or access to the patient's files. I lucked out and got an 81 year old glaucoma patient for that exam.

- The sloped driveway to our apartment complex was roped off when we came home this evening. Two cars had skidded on it. As such, there is currently no (known) way to drive out. Lovely.

- But even if we were able to drive out, our cars can't make it up that driveway anyway. We don't have snow chains. Between the two of us, we must've called 12 different stores to see what was available. Guess what -- NONE had chains in stock for our cars.

- Another snow storm is coming this Wed! (Stay tuned for whether we get lucky enough to have a snow day from work.)

- J and I were planning to drive back to SF this weekend, but we need snow chains and well, we'll see if we get any before the week is over. If we aren't able to buy any by Thursday, we head to Plan B: K will buy chains in SF for us, and bring them onto the plane with him when he flies up on Fri. Isn't that sweet?

- The major downside is that it's our last week here in Portland, and we're stuck at home, unable to hit all the remaining places on our to-do list. Major, major bummer.

- The upside: being stuck at home means we get caught up on a LOT of tv watching. I finished Season 1 and am halfway through Season 2 of Battlestar Galatica. It's a fracking good show!!

Visitor Weekend 3, Part 1: Christmas fun at Pittock!

Last Saturday was a fun-filled day: a tour of Pittock Mansion, a walk through the garden of my peeps (aka the Portland Classical Chinese Garden), and dinner at Pok Pok. Since there's so much to say, I'll have to divide the post into 3 separate sections.

Christmas fun at Pittock Mansion
The day was gorgeous! Clear blue sky, crisp wind in the air. So FALL. So perfect for exploring more of Portland, especially with S & T in town!

We started our morning with a trip to Pittock Mansion, a grand, historic house that sits high above Portland. Every Christmas, the mansion is decked out in festive holiday decorations with the theme of "Twas the Night Before Christmas." Each room reflects a different line in the poem; there are even lots of tiny, stuffed mice hidden throughout the house. Each room also has a different Christmas tree. On the main floor is a pianist playing Christmas carols on the 18th century piano and the music echoes throughout the house. In short, the place just screamed CHRISTMAS at every corner, and it was awesome.

The house too, is gorgeous. The interior architecture is absolutely amazing and opulent. For example, some of the rooms are curved and the wood floor pieces are also curved, to match the shape of the walls. Crazy cool!

The views of Portland are also breathtaking. Right now, you get a great city view with Mt. Hood in the background, but I bet a century ago there was a lot more trees and empty land. In any case, almost every room has huge windows to show off the view, even the bathrooms!

Some pics for you all to enjoy:

T & J goofing around in front of Pittock Mansion

The view from the mansion. You can see Mt. Hood in the distance.

4 happy kids in Christmasland

Picking a thorn off his foot?

The pantry filled with mice of all different shapes and sizes!

Scary mannequins in the bedrooms. Why did they put those freaky looking covers over the eyes?? And what's up with those talon fingers?

One of the bottom floor cardrooms, decorated completely in miniature Santa doohickeys

Pretty pretty!

The VA in Portland is a really pretty hospital. It's huge, sprawling, and on top of a hill that overlooks all of Portland. It's fairly new too, very airy and bright unlike SFVA (which while it has a pretty view too, it's all grey and concrete and damp). Optometry is located on the 8th floor, so we are treated to this view on a daily basis:


Ok, obviously, yes, it's only this beautiful when the sun's out. Today, it rained buckets. No need to show you that view.

Jimin has a view of the opposite side of Portland from her window. Lucky!! My room is windowless.

For all of my moaning and groaning about the charting here, I'm enjoying this rotation. The patient base is fabulous. Who would have thought that old white men would be better than young healthy college students? It helps that they all speak English fluently. Oh, and their lids are so floppy, they're a cinch to evert or indent. :)