Homeward Bound

Having packed Old Blue to the brim and said a fervent prayer for the life of our creaking car, we set out on the long, roundabout drive home.

Before heading out across the continent, we decided to drive up through California to see the national parks of the Sierra Nevada and visit friends who live in the Bay area. On our first day of travel the car was behaving just fine, and we got into Sequoia National Park without incident. The South entrance to Sequoia involves a lovely road full of construction and switchbacks, and by

the time we got to the top, where the eponymous trees are located, our transmission had decided it did not like shifting from 1st to 2nd on mountain roads with too much cargo, and would rather jerk and balk like a rented mule. Regardless, we pressed on, saw the largest trees on the planet, and camped in Kings Canyon NP (The conjoined twin of Sequoia.) We both wished we could have spent more time in Sequoia, but we wanted to get to Yosemite the next day.

On the way to Yosemite, we had a flat tire. Now, a flat tire is usually a minor hiccup to be endured when travelling, but for us, a flat tire was a bit more of a headache. First, the trunk was packed tightly with our cargo, and our bikes were on a bike rack strapped to the trunk. So changing the tire involved taking the bikes off the car, completely unpacking the trunk, changing the tire, repacking the trunk, strapping the bikes back in place, then repeating the entire process again when we got to a tire shop. Second, I discovered that there is a great deal of sharp metal inside of a worn-out tire. I discovered this by gripping the tire firmly and pulling it off, then screaming and using language I won't repeat here. Fortunately, I had a nurse at hand. Several bandages later, we got on the road and found a tire shop just outside of Yosemite where we replaced the flat tire and it's equally worn out partner with what looked like lightly used tires. More on that later.

Yosemite was gorgeous. I was there twenty years ago on a family vacation, and my memory didn't do the park justice. Pictures can't do the park justice. Ansel Adams produced some great shots of Half Dome and the other features of the park, but nothing compares to standing at the base of of a 4000 foot sheer rock face and just looking up. Seriously, if you like the outdoors and haven't yet gone to Yosemite, find an excuse to do so. (I would suggest that you go earlier or later than we did, though; the tourists are thick from June to August.)

While in Yosemite, we biked the 15 miles of bike trails, saw the museum, took a short hike, floated down the river, and relaxed at camp.

After two nights in Yosemite, we drove to Berkeley, where we stayed with Stephanie and Erin and saw Tim and Becky. I think I could move to Berkeley just for the vegan soul food restaurant we went to.

The next morning, the long drive back to GR began. From Berkeley, we had about 2200 miles to cover, most of it following I 80. We crossed the Sierra Nevada into Nevada, where one of our tires decided it was time to disintegrate. One of our new-to-us tires was a retread, and the new tread ripped off at 70 mph and wrapped itself around the axle, causing the engine temperature to spike dramatically. After repeating the elaborate tire-changing process, we realized it was after 6pm on a Sunday, and the odds of finding a replacement tire were slim to none. Having barely dented our 2200 miles, we limped to the next town and got a hotel for the night.

We were waiting when the tire shop opened the next day, and decided that we could still make it home by Tuesday night as we had originally planned. So with 1800 miles and 40 hours to go to meet our deadline, we got started. We had thought northern Nevada was the most barren and inhospitable bit of terrain the US had to offer until we crossed into Utah and discovered the Great Salt Desert. 100 miles of straight, uninhabited highway with no lifeforms in sight. Eastern Utah is lovely, though. By the end of day 2 we were in Nebraska and were almost back on pace with about 925 miles to go to GR. Day 3 involved a lot of cornfields as we drove through Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois. We passed Chicago a little after dark, and finally reached Grandville around 12:45.

Parental visit and backpacking

Late as always, but here we go with a string of posts to bring us up to date.

At the end of June, Laura's parents came out to Riverside to visit. We went to Venice beach again, and showed Mom & Dad Streelman the wonderful absurdity therein. Mom got her picture taken with one of the medical marijuana salesman, who insisted on having his face covered for undisclosed legal reasons. We found the largest hat store in the LA area, and I finally found the hat I've been looking for for the past year. Mom also bought a lovely sun hat for gardening.

After a day of recovery and packing, we headed towards Palm Springs, where we took a cable tram a mile up a cliff to a trailhead. From there, we hiked seven miles up the face of Mt. San Jacinto, the second tallest mountain in southern California. Just over the ridge, we made camp amongst a massive pile of boulders at an elevation of over 9000 feet.

Our second day out was the 4th of July. From atop our boulder pile, we could see out over the valley below, and watched the fireworks displays of a half-dozen cities at the same time. It was definitely the most unique fireworks-watching experience any of us ever had.

On the 5th, we hiked back up a brutal series of switchbacks and took the trail to the peak. The end was another scramble over massed boulders, but we reached the top at last and took in the view over lunch. The hike back down the other side was much easier than up, and we relaxed on the tram ride back down.

Laura had to work the next few days, so Paul & Jane borrowed the car for day trips to Big Bear lake and downtown Riverside while I packed up for the immanent trip home. Thanks to Amtrak's very generous baggage policies, we were able to send most of our clothing home via train with Mom & Dad, rather than shoehorning it into our titular blue taurus. Had Old Blue been burdened any more than she was on the drive back to GR, we might still be in Nevada somewhere. Paul & Jane saw the mandatory tourist sights in Hollywood before catching the train out of LA, as Laura and I made final preparations to leave LA.

To Be Continued...

June in CA

So it turns out that Hollywood is a dirty, dirty, place. That's not a commentary on movies, just on Hollywood Boulevard, which is apparently the world's largest consumer of X-rated mannequins. We went to see the tourist sights of Hollywood, and hoped to see someone (anyone) famous. We saw the Hollywood sign, the walk of fame, and Mann's Chinese Theater. It's touristy. No celebrities; I'm sure they stay away from the tourist hot spots. We found a few of our favorite stars on the walk of fame.

A few weeks ago we drove up into the mountains to Big Bear Lake. It was nice to get out of the smog and into fresh air. We hiked up from the lake to a mountain ridge, where our trail connected with the Pacific Crest Trail. Along the way, we were assaulted by a vicious swarm of ladybugs. We saw lizards, a woodpecker, and some very interesting trees. Then I was mauled by a bear.

We've been to the beach a couple of times now. Venice Beach is very interesting; in addition to the usual sand, surf, and sun, Venice has a boardwalk with an eclectic mix of shops, restaurants, political advocacy groups, schizophrenics, pot dealers, and a weightlifting area where Arnold Schwarzenegger was discovered. We found a great organic vegan restaurant just off the beach. The last time we went, we stopped off at the REI in Santa Monica to pick up Laura's new bicycle, then hit the coastal bike trail.

We'll be leaving Colton on July 15, and driving home to GR for a visit and some intense job hunting. (On that note, if anybody knows of a good job opening in the GR area, please let me know at mhall22@alumni.calvin.edu.) Where we go after that depends on whether or not the job search yields anything.

Further adventures

Laura arranged her schedule to get as many days off in a row as possible. This does mean that she also works 6 12-hour shifts in a row, but she has a full week off in between. We're now wrapping up one of those weeks off.

Monday we went to the Renaissance Pleasure Fair, a massive ren fair that's been running in the area for almost 50 years. We went with Stephanie, another nurse working through Laura's company. There were a half-dozen different stages with performers, countless artists and shops, and a spectacular arrangement of costumed players. We've been to ren fairs before, but nothing on this scale. With a city the size of LA, there are many more people interested in dressing up like knights and nobles, and I think the presence of the film industry contributed to the high quality of costuming I saw. Laura found a booth selling hand-dyed wool, and she is looking forward to spinning it.

Yesterday we went south for a day trip to Palomar mountain. First, we went hiking in Palomar Mountain State Park. The drive up was beautiful; we miss nature. The park was a Civilian Conservation Corps site in the '30s. The CCC built a forest fire watch tower and a summer camp, and roads to allow logging in the Cleveland National Forest nearby.

After a hike and picnic lunch, we drove further up the mountain to the Palomar Observatory, home of a 200-inch telescope. (That's 200 inches across the lens. Very big.)

We finally replaced the bike that was stolen in Vegas, and we're both exercising more. We've found our favorite course that allows us to work out together. I bike from our apartment to the base of Mt. Rubidoux, about 8 miles away, while Laura drives there. She runs and I bike up the mountain, and once we get back down, I ride home. This gives both of us a good workout, but lets us spend time together.

The trail to Mt. Rubidoux runs along the Santa Ana river. Although you can see a number of factories, gravel pits, and the county dump, the trail is good and the riverbed is full of wildlife. Thus far, I've seen coyotes, a snake, countless lizards, a roadrunner, hawks, and what I'm pretty sure was a bobcat.

Laura has decided to familiarize herself with the birds we see around here. None of the familiar cardinals, robins, etc. Thus far, we've identified the Black Phoebe, the Western Scrub Jay, the Acorn Woodpecker, the Red-Tailed Hawk, and Some Sort of Swallow That Moves Too Fast to Be Identified Conclusively.

So Cal, finally

<=The big building in the middle is the hospital I'm working at

Below: Mission Inn patio, Flowering cacti on Mount Rubidoux, Peace Bridge on Mount Rubidoux, the cloudy beach

Sorry it's taken so long to post. I don't know where time has gone, and honestly I have a hard time thinking of things in my life anyone would be interested in. But, my mom keeps pestering me so here goes.

When we first got here we stayed at the Mission Inn because we didn't have our furniture for our apartment and I had reimbursable money to spend for travel. The inn is a historical landmark and almost every president has stayed there since Teddy Roosevelt. The architecture was beautiful; it was a fun night of enjoying and exploring what will be our home for 3 months. We even got room service for breakfast and were the only ones in the swimming pool.

Matt and I are enjoying Riverside; it is brighter and greener than Vegas, which is what I was hoping for. I love all of the flowering trees and vines everywhere - even around highways. The cacti are flowering here too. We went on a hike up Mount Rubidoux (a small hill near our apartment) and had a great view of Riverside, including my hospital, and many flowering cacti and trees. They also have many good coffee shops here, the dark, older, local kind with baristas that know what they're doing.

Our favorite coffee shop is Coffee Depot, it's in the original train station building in Riverside with a lot of the original architecture and lots of fun events every week including the stitch and bitch knitting club of Riverside (not as cool of a name as Sin City Hookers but equally as fun). One element of the area we could do without is the heat. I know it's only spring and there is more to come (the locals keep reminding me) but 80 degrees in May is just not right.

There was a short trip to the seaside which turned out to be cold and cloudy even though it was 80 degrees and sunny in Riverside, so we watched the waves and birds and sat as long as we could without freezing since we were dressed for warmer weather. It was a fun drive and we saw a movie-making in progress. We don't know what movie but it was fun to see anyway.

That's about all the excitement as of yet, but I've had a rough schedule and not a lot of long strings of time off. I got an official contract at the hospital I'm working at for a month, and guaranteed schedule and time off (I don't have to be available for 5 days and they can call me 2 hours before work to tell me whether I am needed or not). So I should have a nice long weekend coming up and we will have some more exciting adventures to post soon.

New Address

Here's the new address:

1401 Santo Antonio Dr.
Apt. 389
Colton, CA 92324

It's sunny and the birds are singing here in southern California. More details to come when we have a better internet connection.

-Matt

Goldstrike Canyon and beyond!

First, a little bit of business-

Laura has signed a contract for the next three months to work in Riverside, CA. Unfortunately, this isn't up north where we wanted; it's in the orbit of Los Angeles. But it's work, and as long as the fires and mudslides don't get us, it should be fun. Maybe we'll see some celebrities. Anyway, we'll be leaving here in a week and a half, so if you need to mail us anything, wait until we move in in California. We don't have an address yet, but my task tomorrow is finding an apartment for us, so hopefully we'll be able to post that address soon. Keep watching this space.

Yesterday, Laura and I hiked the Goldstrike trail, a canyon that runs down to the Colorado river. The canyon starts out broad and flat, but narrows down to a rugged landscape of steep cliffs and jumbled rocks. About three miles down the canyon there's a hot spring that previous hikers have shaped into a series of pools suitable for bathing. The trail used to be fairly straightforward, but an earthquake a few years ago knocked a lot of boulders down, creating blockages that require intense scrambling and climbing to get past. Some of the blockages are intense enough to require ropes. Conveniently, ropes have been permanently installed by previous hikers.

We saw more wildlife than we have in the last three months combined, by which I mean we saw some wildlife. Seriously, the Vegas area is pretty barren. A few pockets of vegetation, but other than pigeons, no fauna to speak of. In the canyon we saw dozens of little blue-and-brown lizards, birds, butterflies, and other insects.

After hiking down to the springs, we decided not to traverse the last, most difficult rocks. The weather here has been heating up, and by lunchtime, we were dripping and beat, so we passed on taking a dip in the hot springs, too. By the time we made it back to the car, we were beat, and every muscle in our bodies seemed to have been used. Climbing over all the rocks was certainly a full-body workout!

Arizona Visit

Our newest adventure was a trip to Tuscon, AZ to visit Grandpa and Grandma Streelman. We left a little late because both Matt and I slept in (I worked 6 days in a row to get a week off - I was tired, but it was worth it). We had a great drive down to Tuscon, lost an hour, and got to grandpa and grandmas nice little trailer at 6, just in time for grandma's delicious cooking (cheesy broccoli soup!). The next day we had a great time hiking down the Sabino Canyon after we took the tram up. since they've seen so much rain in AZ all of the bridges were flooded, G&G hiked down to the first stop with us and Matt and I hiked the rest of the way over flooded bridges. It was a great hike.

The next day we checked out a cute craft down south of Tuscon called Tubac, they had some amazing crafts and beautiful area around there. That night we went to see Tracy and Brady (friends from college) who are also living in Tuscon. We had a great Chinese dinner and went out for coffee (our common love). It was great to see them again!

Sunday morning we went to church, had a dinner with friends and went home because there was a storm brewing. We had a great night of playing games (one of my favorite things to do) but Matt won most of the time - very frustrating. The next day in a continuing sprinkle of rain we got to see Wycliff where G&G work/volunteer. It was great to see the whole area and what they have been doing for so many years. It was such a positive community of volunteers, I think I could do that when I retire. After that we went to see Greek Orthodox Monastery with gorgeous architecture. Grandma and I had to wear skirts and head scarves. It was beautiful. We had just enough sun for a nice walk around the grounds.

On Tuesday morning we left earlier for a drive up to the Grand Canyon before we ended our vacation. The drive was uneventful until we got up to an altitude of 8,000 feet. Then we were in a blizzard. We could barely see a thing and I was glad to be right behind a plow truck clearing the way with flashing lights to follow. Once we got out of the high altitudes it was a little better and the grand canyon had a lovely light snow falling when we got there. The canyon itself was full of clouds and we couldn't see past our noses. We saw the visitors center and a few more cloudy sights, then checked into a cute little lodge and ate at the only open restaurant in town. The next day was much clearer and we had a great hike down into the canyon. It was a rough hike due to the slippery snow the whole way down and the 12% grade the whole way up. But it was beautiful and invigorating. After our long hike we drove back to Vegas, we had such a great time. Time spent with Grandpa and Grandma can never be bad. Now I've worked three nights with class in between (I averaged 1.5 hours of sleep per day) I'm exhausted and ready for a few days off. We are still unaware of where we are going next, but something should come through soon. Thanks for all the support, e-mails and comments from everyone! We miss you all!

~L

February Pic update

Abby and I met a Blue Man, we think he's probably the one from Calvin.

The classic photo with the fam

The guys at Red Rock

Abby found her nest in the rock at Zion

I couldn't resist what I learned from Grandma Ribbens, Abby got a snowball down her shirt while she was trying to pose for a photo.

February

For the record, I did predict that the updates to this blog would be spotty. I hadn't expected to leave it untouched for an entire month; I hope someone is still checking for updates every now and then.

So, February:

Started off slow; overtime for Laura, fruitless job hunting for me.

A few weeks into the month, Laura's parents and sister, Abby, came to visit us over a long weekend. I've long heard about the grueling nature of Streelman family vacations, but never fully experienced one until now. In 72 hours, we packed in more activity than I, left to my own devices, would engage in over the course of a month.

The family flew in Saturday afternoon, and after checking in at the hotel, we went for a hike in nearby Red Rock National Conservation Area. We hiked the Pine Creek trail, an interesting geological holdover from the ice age; pine trees don't generally occur in the desert, but there's enough water in the pine creek valley to have supported a pocket of pine since the region was cooler and wetter.

Day two was our day on the Vegas strip. We walked almost the full length of the strip, from Luxor near the south end, to Treasure Island and the Palazzo. In about 12 hours, we saw the lions at MGM, wandered through Excalibur, New York New York and Luxor, saw the fountains at Bellagio, explored Caesar's palace, saw the Eiffel tower at Paris, avoided the sleazy guys with the prostitute advertisements, and strolled the Grand Canal at the Venetian. We had dinner at a lovely outdoor cafe at the Palazzo before seeing Blue Man Group at the Venetian. I have to say, Blue Man Group is the single greatest thing I have ever seen on a stage. There are simply no words to describe it. It began with scrolling message boards that cued audience participation. There was paint, lights, food, audience members drafted and brought on stage, music, and a tsunami of toilet paper that rolled down from the balcony, passing over the entire crowd. We were in the third row, which was part of the "Poncho Zone". I was impressed that the show involved the entire audience; there were no bad seats. We crawled back to the hotel exhausted.

Day three involved a road trip to Zion National Park in Utah. We went to the north entrance first, and took in the view of the majestic peaks. We then drove to the south entrance and hiked the Emerald Pools trail, a beautiful climb up to a series of pools and waterfalls. Just before dusk, we drove up a dizzying series of switchbacks a tunnel through the mountains. Again, we were exhausted when we got home.

On Tuesday, we had the morning to fill before the Streelmans were scheduled to fly out in the early afternoon, so the decision was made to pack TWO adventures into the morning. First, we drove to the Hoover dam and took some dam photos. Then we went to downtown Las Vagas, the site of the early casinos. Mom Streelman had a dollar a friend had given her to gamble on her behalf, and Mom picked the Golden Nugget as the casino of choice. We found the slot machine that felt the luckiest (that is, we wandered until I pointed at a random machine), and Mom proceeded to win a few dollars! Laura and I have been to downtown at night, and the lights are nearly blinding, especially during the nightly light show on what is billed as "the world's largest LED screen."

So that was exhausting.

Since we're past the halfway point of our time in Las Vegas, Laura had been working with her rep to determine where we'll be going next. Our top choice is the Bay Area of California; we have friends there, and there's a little more culture (and coffee shops) than in Vegas. Laura had been told that applying for her California license could take weeks by mail, so we decided to take a road trip to Sacramento so Laura could apply in person, which we were assured was much faster. Since Sacramento is about an hour from our friends in Berkeley/Oakland , we stopped in to see them and crash for the night before going to the Board of Nursing in the morning. It was great to see my old roommate Tim, his wife Becky, and my friends Stephanie and Erin. The lack of familiar faces is one of the hardest things about living in Vegas, so even the few hours we had with them were great.

Visiting the Board of Nursing was about 90% effective. Because the state of Nevada hadn't yet sent confirmation of Laura's NV nursing license, we weren't able to walk out with license in hand, but we were assured that as soon as the confirmation arrived, the license would be issued.

So that was February. March will be just as crazy, and (hopefully) better documented.

-Matt

Red Rock - Four Days Off!

I got four days off in a row this week so we headed over to Red Rock National Conservation Area to check it out (mainly because one of Dave Matthews Band's best live concerts took place there) and it was amazing! It is a gorgeous area of mountains and fun place to hike. On Thursday we hiked a trail full of rock climbing and scrambling and got a wonderful view at the top of mountains and the city. It was odd to be immersed in nature and mountains and see Las Vegas when we got to the top. We also met a few native mid-westerners on the hike and talked for a while about the birds of Michigan. We had to go back since it's only a half hour drive from our hotel (and I had to test out my new hiking boots - there are 2 REI stores in vegas!) so on Saturday we headed out again. Being immersed in people, lights, city, and noise at all times it is odd to find yourself in the middle of nature and quiet - totally worth the drive. Our second hike was even more amazing being surrounded by large trees and green plants that I've never seen before; we're definitely not in Michigan anymore. Seeing cacti surrounded by snow is an interesting sight. We found a great spring with lots of rocks and waterfalls and forged our own trail (along with another thrill-seeking hiker) along the creek. I felt completely at peace and could go there every day. We found a perfect rock jutting out over the creek to sit on for lunch and we played a round of chess (which Matt is teaching me and I haven't won a game yet). I don't think I could handle vegas for more than 3 months but I think I could live in red rock if I had to.

~L

p.s. thanks for the hiking shirts mom and dad Hall, I felt like a professional in my comfy yet functional outfit - we match too!

I have a night off!!!!

I haven't thought much about anything besides work, sleeping, and work related requirements in the last two weeks, but I finally have tow nights off in a row! To fill everyone in, I was offered a 6 week contract at the hospital Centennial Hills which is great because I actually get to know the floor and the way things work instead of hopping from one floor/hospital to the next every day I work. The hard part is that it is a 30-60 minute commute depending on traffic and number of accidents on the way. The commute did spur the purchase of a GPS (fun new toy) because of the hour and a half it took me to get home one day due to unmoving traffic on the highway, which led into me (with poor directional sense and very little knowledge of Las Vegas roads) exiting and trying to take the streets home. I'm pretty sure that I did a full circle around city before finding the right end of the street I was looking for. I came home a very exhausted and frustrated Las Vegas nurse. Matt went out that day and bought a GPS for our car (which was on sale) and I LOVE IT!! It is so wonderful for finding anything we need here and it will be great with all of our uprooting and moving for the next few years.

Anyway, that's been the excitement for me unless you want to hear some fun stories and gory details of nursing, but I'll have to call deb or emily for that. I am liking the paycheck since I've been working overtime every week and I get paid double time for any overtime. I think it's worth living in a small hotel room for a few months.

Beginner's Luck

So...I wasn't going to gamble.

So many good reasons not to gamble. The odds are absurd, and I can do basic math. I don't see the fun in carpal-tunnel inducing repetitive pulling of a handle. I'm not Rain Man. The casinos are full of tobacco smoke and pickpockets. And to top it off, I have that great story about how I beat the house the one time I went to a casino in Michigan, and actually made a few bucks on the slots. I was going to walk away and be ahead of the casinos for life.

Cut to today- I was on the strip to buy tickets for The Lion King (I'll post my review of it Sunday). I parked in the MGM Grand parking garage, and walked through the gaming floor to get to the ticket counter on the strip. On my way back to the car I got turned around, as one tends to do in a casino. I had nowhere specific to go at the time, so I decided to find a penny slot machine and burn a dollar. I found my machine, put in my buck, and proceeded to play about 7 cents before becoming thoroughly bored with the process. The machine I picked didn't even have a lever; I was just pushing a button and watching my bet disappear a penny at a time. Really, how do people find that entertaining? I decided I was done, and hit the button to just bet the rest of my money all at once, figuring it wasn't worth the trouble to print out a slip and get it cashed out.

As soon as I pushed the button, the bells started ringing and the lights started flashing. I still don't fully understand how slot machines decide whether or not you win; the symbols that came up didn't match, so it must have been some special sequence. Regardless, I won. Not a lot ($3.80), but I did roughly quadruple my money and extend my winning streak against the casinos of the world. So that was fun.

(Expletive Deleted) Las Vegas

My bike was stolen from the rack outside the hotel. Someone cut the lock, and took my bike. I'm sick of this. Three times in a month, Laura and I have been the victims of theft, in three different cities, and three times we've gotten a polite "We''ll take a report, but you're out of luck" from the police. We went out and bought a bike rack for our car, drove 2200 miles with a bike obscuring the view out the back window, and within the first two weeks, some ne'er-do-well steals my bike. And the cherry on top of the theft sundae is that our insurance won't cover anything, because no individual theft was over the $500 deductible.

The worst part of being stolen from isn't the actual cost of what's stolen. It's the feeling of violation, of impotence, of vulnerability. I'm sick of it.

So I'm a little grumpy right now.

On the upside, we found a great coffee shop that serves vegan food and has lots of quirky artwork, and it's a reasonable bike ride away...oh.

But on a brighter note, Laura's family will be coming to visit in a month!

Also, classicist Robert Fagles has come out with a new translation of the Aeneid. While this may not sound terribly exciting to anyone else, it's a source of great excitement for me and my geeky ilk. "Wars and a man I sing-an exile driven on by Fate..."

What to do in Vegas?

Is it a bad sign that I'm already bored with Las Vegas?

I'm sure Las Vegas is thrilling if you're into gambling, bars, and strippers, but not being a fan of any of the above leaves me searching for interesting things to do. This is made a pressing concern by the fact that I need to be out of our hotel room during the days when Laura is asleep after work.

I'm interested in many of the shows in town, but the prices are insane.

Most of my hobbies require either people (D&D, board games) or equipment currently in storage in GR (computer games, painting minis). Of the two, I can more easily remedy the lack of people. Or rather, a person with properly developed social skills could more easily remedy the lack of people. How does one go about finding friends? All my existing friends are either very assertive, pushy people who found me, or are passive people connected to me through the aforementioned pushy people. ( I say "pushy" with love, pushy people.) So how do I find people without passively waiting for new pushy people to find me?

I made a sign. I backed it with cardboard and made a stand for it. I'm going to set it up next to me in coffee shops as friend-bait. It says:

Talk To Me

My name is Matthew

My wife and I are new in town

I'd like to meet new and interesting people, but am far too introverted to approach random strangers. Hence, this sign.

If you'd like to talk, please sit down and join me. I'm shy, but nice, and actually rather talkative if you get me started. I'm a bit nerdy, but mostly normal, this sign not withstanding.

Thank you for taking the time to read my strange sign.

Whether or not you sit down to talk, have a great day!

I'm still not starting conversations proactively, but I'm increasing the odds someone else will talk to me. Hopefully. Maybe I'm just establishing myself as one of the many crazies who wander the streets of Las Vegas. The first test run this afternoon was less than successful, but I'm going to blame that on location. I was in a Starbucks near our hotel, and the other customers were mostly Japanese businessmen and retired tourists. Nobody under 40. Once I find a good coffee shop, I'm optimistic that someone will take the bait.

Until then, I'm getting a lot of reading done, and making progress on outlining my book.

-Matthew

My First Night - The Next Hurdle

Well, I thought I'd add to the news now that my 3 foot stack of paperwork inquired here is done (yay!!) and I just finished my first night of work. It was quite an interesting experience. My first night was at Centennial Hills Hospital (one of 8 hospitals I am eligible to work at in this area). I walked in, they gave me a badge and threw 3 patients and 3 new admissions at me within the first 2 hours!! That may mean nothing to anyone not in the nursing field, but that's a lot of work! Even with all the craziness, a new charting system, trying to read paper orders (which I'm not used to, we do it all by computer in Michigan) it went well; the nursing staff was very helpful, I loved the charge nurse, and I'm making money again!! It feels good to know all the work/paperwork was worth it.

Plus, all the miscommunication through separate parties and the agency I'm working for, it was a bumpy start when I got here. I was told incorrect dates and times for orientation, and did not have anyone to contact to schedule me for actual work while I was here - it's difficult to work if no one can tell me where to go. But it was all figured out (with more phone calls and paperwork) and just as I was getting very frustrated with the whole system I was called by the vice-president of staffing with a full apology and statements that she wanted to do whatever she could to keep me with the company. That was a great boost in spirit before my first night of work, so all is going well on this end. They also told me I can work as many days as I want because they are in a great need for nurses - hello overtime! We'll see how much energy I have with all of the new and exciting situations. I do want to enjoy the area to some extent. That's all for now thanks for all the calls, comments, and support!

~L

p.s. Matt got his cell phone charger back so he's contactable again! Thanks mom and dad.

Address

Our address is:

Matthew & Laura Hall

Candlewood Suites Room 247

4034 S. Paradise Road

Las Vegas, NV 89169

We'll be living here until April 2.

-Matthew

Evening coffee

Laura and I decided to go out and find a coffee shop to hang out at tonight; since our living space is so small, getting out regularly sounds like a good idea. After a bit of research, though, we found that the part of Vegas we're living in suffers from a severe shortage of coffee shops that don't feature mermaids on their cups.

We did find a listing for one promising looking shop that had lots of favorable reviews and was just down the street from us. We grabbed books and games and set out to settle in for an evening of relaxing and sipping coffee. Unfortunately, when we got there, we discovered that they closed at 6. Coming from a neighborhood where there were several coffee shops within walking distance, and several 24 hour shops within a short drive, the idea that there are no open coffee shops is astounding.

Rather than just wander back to our room right away, we decided to swallow our pride and find a Starbucks. We passed one that was closed before finding an open one. A few minutes after getting our drinks and sitting down, one of the workers came to our table to tell us they were closing for the night. 8pm, and they're done. Does nobody in this town need a latte after dinner? Is our only option for a place to hang out the casinos? We're vaguely near UNLV; I intend to find out if they have a decent coffee shop on campus.

PS- I forgot my cell phone charger in GR, so until it arrives by mail, calling me will not be effective.

-Matthew

A long post to get things started

Let me start out by saying that I've never been good at keeping a diary or keeping in touch with people, which doesn't bode well for my ability to keep up with a blog. Laura and I will try our best to post regularly, but there are no guarantees.

That being said, let me fill you in on what led up to our current situation. (Writing about the past - I have a degree in this!)

Laura and I decided a while ago that we would like to leave Grand Rapids for a while before we had anything (children) that would hold us in place for a couple decades. Since being laid off from the Public Museum in July, I've been a bit aimless and underemployed, and Laura has been frustrated with the work situation on her floor at St. Mary's, so we were both ready to go somewhere, anywhere, soon. We looked at several options for adventure, and ended up deciding on travel nursing.

While travel nursing, Laura will be working for a different hospital in a different city every three months. We'll get to see a lot of new places, and Laura will get to experience a wide variety of hospital environments. Housing is included, and the company helps pay the travel costs, so this is the most cost-effective way imaginable to see the country, one three-month block at a time.

We got the call at the beginning of December, just before flying to Alaska to visit my parents. The travel nursing company overnighted a book of paperwork to Anchorage, and Laura filled out several dozen forms. We had a few snafus with paperwork, but everything got sent and processed eventually. We hastily packed up our apartment, put most of our possessions in storage, and only took with us what we could fit in or on our battered blue Ford Taurus. Fully packed, the back of the car rode about six inches lower than the front, and we were a little worried about whether or not the car would die an untimely death in the middle of Arizona, but it came through okay. (Special thanks are due to cousin Peter Wiersma, whose prayer at the family Christmas party we credit with responsibility for our safe journey.)

We had a few bumps before setting out; while packing, we discovered that some of our camping gear had been stolen from our basement, and while we were in Chicago with Laura's family, her wallet was stolen, giving us a new mountain of paperwork to deal with two days before we were supposed to head out to Las Vegas. Additionally, the Streelman Christmas party seems to have been a nexus for the transmission of some sort of stomach virus, and Laura, Paul, and Abby were all ill while we were in Chicago.

Because of the last-second wallet-replacement paperwork, we didn't leave GR until about 2:30 last Thursday. We made it a little past St. Louis on the first day of driving. On Friday, we made it across Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and half of New Mexico before stopping in Albuquerque. We drove across the Hoover Dam on Saturday and drove into Las Vegas around sunset. I'd throw in more interesting details, but really, all we did is drive for about 10 hours a day. I will suggest that you avoid the Budget Host Inn in Albuquerque. Compile every stereotype of a dirty motel into one poorly-cleaned composite, and you have the Budget Host Inn. Ick.

So now we're in Las Vegas. Laura starts orientation tomorrow, and I'm taking care of the remaining loose ends and setting up house before I look for gainful employment. The most common question I've been asked regarding this whole adventure, and the one for which I have the least definitive answer, is "So what will you be doing?" I will be keeping house, working on Grad School applications, writing a novel (something in the fantasy adventure genre), and looking for some sort of job. We're right down the street from a casino hiring center, so I'll start there.

We're living in a extended-stay hotel about a mile off the strip, in a tiny studio room. Having gotten used to our palatial apartment in GR, this will be interesting. We're going to need to be more diligent about keeping everything in its place, or chaos will erupt.

As I said above, we'll try to keep everyone up to date. Oh, and no, we weren't in the Las Vegas courthouse this morning.

-Matthew