... has always been one of my favorite Christmas songs ever since middle school chorus class. And ever since I've moved to the west coast and have had little availablity to make it home this song has an even deeper meaning for me.
I flew from Portland to Charleston for the second year in a row to spend the Christmas holiday with my Mom and Dad. The trip went smoothly with the flights being on time; a perk of flying through Houston rather than Chicago, or some other winter wonderland airport. Observation of the day: airports = amazing people watching.
Christmas in South Carolina is a little different than the ones we used to have in Ohio. We are basically redefining what Christmas is for our family. We used to spend the day at home making breakfast, opening presents, watching movies, playing games, eating dinner, and snacking on cookies, pretzels and other goodies. This is only the second year that I've been back to spend Christmas with them, so we are still figuring out our new family traditions; although they are sans my brother, it's a work in progress.
Last year, I decided to hide the presents I brought for them till after they went to bed on Christmas eve, a little reverse Santa action. I mean isn't it time the tables got turned on the parents who spent so many years surprising us kids with presents that magically appeared under the tree by christmas morning by "Santa Clause" who devoured the cookies, and emptied glasses of milk? Well, I at least get a kick out of it even if there were no cookies.
In case I don't post an entry before, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to each and everyone.
All the best,
Greg
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
From My Portfolio:
"Sunset at Strawberry Hill, Oregon Coast"
When I was in graduate school at the University of Oregon I used to escape to the coast when I needed to leave work, school, and everything else behind. I would spend the entire day driving up and down the coast. Back in those days my cell phone only sporadically got reception, so I was practically unreachable; just a man and his thoughts. One day I came across the Strawberry Hill wayside. This wayside just north of the Heceta Lighthouse became my go to spot when I needed to think. I contemplated a lot of things sitting there overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the group of seals that decided to nestle themselves up on the rock formations barely offshore. On this day I decided to stay till the sun went down and got this shot. It is still one of my favorites and eventually turned into a wedding present for Heather and Zeb; as well as, a Christmas present for my Mom and Dad.
As always comments are more than welcomed!
Take care,
Greg
Testing 1,2...
... is this thing still on? Haha! Oops! I kind of left you all in the dark for quite awhile. Well, I've decided that I need to get back into "blogging it out" as Heather would say. I'll try to fill in the details of my mundane life of the past six months at another time. Seriously, not a lot happened, though there are a few funny work moments that will be entertaining to share.
As for this blog entry? I'm going to channel an old installment called " Before I die..." This was a blog idea inspired by "The Bucket List"; a movie I still have yet to see, but that's just a minor detail. With this entry I am going to give you an idea of what you can look forward to reading about in the coming year. As a lot of you know I am a moderately to severely private person, so these blog posts will give you a peek into who I am. I hope that you find it interesting. And if you don't? Well I'm not forcing you to read, so go surf over to TMZ or Perezhilton.
So here's the list:
Places I want to visit (Before I die...) in no particular order:
Australia, Spain, Alaska, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, Germany, Denmark, Brazil, Argentina, Hawaii, Portugal, Egypt, Redwood National Forest, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Peru, South Africa, Mexico, China, Nepal, Tibet, Turkey, and New Zealand.
I jotted this list down almost two months ago and as I was transcribing it I noticed that I wrote down Alaska twice. Apparently I either really really want to go to Alaska or I had a blackout in the middle of writing. This is by no means an exhaustive list. I mean there are some pretty awesome things to go see and places to visit. In other words the list is a work in progress.
The goal is to write about one of the places on this list and what I want to see and do while I'm there once a week.
I plan to add some other things to the blog as well. I've found myself in a very reflective mood over the past few weeks and I think it's a good idea to type it out.
Hope you are all doing well and that you find the direction of my blog engaging, entertaining, and informative.
Sincerely,
Greg
As for this blog entry? I'm going to channel an old installment called " Before I die..." This was a blog idea inspired by "The Bucket List"; a movie I still have yet to see, but that's just a minor detail. With this entry I am going to give you an idea of what you can look forward to reading about in the coming year. As a lot of you know I am a moderately to severely private person, so these blog posts will give you a peek into who I am. I hope that you find it interesting. And if you don't? Well I'm not forcing you to read, so go surf over to TMZ or Perezhilton.
So here's the list:
Places I want to visit (Before I die...) in no particular order:
Australia, Spain, Alaska, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, Germany, Denmark, Brazil, Argentina, Hawaii, Portugal, Egypt, Redwood National Forest, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Peru, South Africa, Mexico, China, Nepal, Tibet, Turkey, and New Zealand.
I jotted this list down almost two months ago and as I was transcribing it I noticed that I wrote down Alaska twice. Apparently I either really really want to go to Alaska or I had a blackout in the middle of writing. This is by no means an exhaustive list. I mean there are some pretty awesome things to go see and places to visit. In other words the list is a work in progress.
The goal is to write about one of the places on this list and what I want to see and do while I'm there once a week.
I plan to add some other things to the blog as well. I've found myself in a very reflective mood over the past few weeks and I think it's a good idea to type it out.
Hope you are all doing well and that you find the direction of my blog engaging, entertaining, and informative.
Sincerely,
Greg
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
Another Amazing Week on the Road
The AIDS Lifecycle finished in Los Angeles, CA on Saturday afternoon after traveling south from San Francisco for seven days. As many of you know this was my second year volunteering on the Sports Medicine Roadie team. Last year, I had no clue what I was getting myself into and was kind of nervous about everything, but by the end of the ride I had fully embraced what the ride is all about. I came back to Santa Barbara following my experience on the ride a changed man with a stronger sense of confidence in who I am as a person and in what I do with my life. The AIDS Lifecycle is by far one of the most rewarding experiences of my life thus far.
So, you are probably wondering how year two went. Well, let me tell you. Year two was just as an amazing an experience for me as year one was. After being away from the ALC community for a year one almost forgets how much love and acceptance there is on the ride for everyone. My friend Jason asked me when we were in camp in Santa Maria on day 4 whether I had a moment on the ride yet. I told him I was not sure if I had. He then asked me about last year and whether I had a moment on that ride. Last years moment was the Candlelight vigil on the beach in Ventura on day 6. The vigil is a hard thing to explain and is better experienced in person, but it is extremely moving and is an emotional evening. The vigil was just as emotional and moving for me this year as well.
My moment this year? Well, there was definitely a special connection made with a particular rider, but that's a story for another time, and in reality is yet to be written. This is a hard one to answer because I feel that my experience as a Roadie is very different from that of a rider, but I would say that getting to know each every rider who ended up on my treatment table looking for help to complete the ride was my moment. I am so amazed each and every year by the riders who make this trek from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise money and awareness about HIV and AIDS. I feel honored and privileged to be able to use my skills as a medical professional to help them along this journey. The relationships that have been built on the past two ALC rides is purely magical and ones that I will always treasure.
To all my ALC friends and the people who have touched my life so profoundly I love you all and miss you so very much! I'm looking forward to sharing this experience with all of you again next year! This week on the Lifecycle continues to be the most rewarding and enriching experience of my life.
Whenever I write about the Lifecycle, it is so difficult to put all the thoughts in my head into coherent sentences and to convey just how powerful the event is. So, I guess I should leave it at this; the AIDS Lifecycle is something that is better experienced than explained!
To see photos and videos check out the Link on the Left of the page to AIDS Lifecycle.
Much love,
Greg
So, you are probably wondering how year two went. Well, let me tell you. Year two was just as an amazing an experience for me as year one was. After being away from the ALC community for a year one almost forgets how much love and acceptance there is on the ride for everyone. My friend Jason asked me when we were in camp in Santa Maria on day 4 whether I had a moment on the ride yet. I told him I was not sure if I had. He then asked me about last year and whether I had a moment on that ride. Last years moment was the Candlelight vigil on the beach in Ventura on day 6. The vigil is a hard thing to explain and is better experienced in person, but it is extremely moving and is an emotional evening. The vigil was just as emotional and moving for me this year as well.
My moment this year? Well, there was definitely a special connection made with a particular rider, but that's a story for another time, and in reality is yet to be written. This is a hard one to answer because I feel that my experience as a Roadie is very different from that of a rider, but I would say that getting to know each every rider who ended up on my treatment table looking for help to complete the ride was my moment. I am so amazed each and every year by the riders who make this trek from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise money and awareness about HIV and AIDS. I feel honored and privileged to be able to use my skills as a medical professional to help them along this journey. The relationships that have been built on the past two ALC rides is purely magical and ones that I will always treasure.
To all my ALC friends and the people who have touched my life so profoundly I love you all and miss you so very much! I'm looking forward to sharing this experience with all of you again next year! This week on the Lifecycle continues to be the most rewarding and enriching experience of my life.
Whenever I write about the Lifecycle, it is so difficult to put all the thoughts in my head into coherent sentences and to convey just how powerful the event is. So, I guess I should leave it at this; the AIDS Lifecycle is something that is better experienced than explained!
To see photos and videos check out the Link on the Left of the page to AIDS Lifecycle.
Much love,
Greg
Thursday, June 3, 2010
AIDS Life/Cycle 9
I've made the trek back to San Francisco to volunteer for the AIDS Lifecycle event. This marks my second year volunteering for this absolutely amazing event. I had an amazing experience last year and am looking forward to having an equalling amazing experience again this year.
I flew into San Francisco this afternoon and am staying with David's brother Jason tonight and tomorrow before Orientation day on Saturday and the start to this amazing journey to Los Angeles on Sunday morning. I managed to navigate myself from the airport into the city with only one misstep on the MUNI; I ended up going one stop the wrong direction. Luckily i figured it out and made the appropriate course correction and arrived at Jason's apartment. We went for a nice walk through the Mission and had dinner in the Haight. Tomorrow I'm sure we'll be going to get all our last minute supplies for the ride.
To find out more information about the ride check out aidslifecycle.org
I flew into San Francisco this afternoon and am staying with David's brother Jason tonight and tomorrow before Orientation day on Saturday and the start to this amazing journey to Los Angeles on Sunday morning. I managed to navigate myself from the airport into the city with only one misstep on the MUNI; I ended up going one stop the wrong direction. Luckily i figured it out and made the appropriate course correction and arrived at Jason's apartment. We went for a nice walk through the Mission and had dinner in the Haight. Tomorrow I'm sure we'll be going to get all our last minute supplies for the ride.
To find out more information about the ride check out aidslifecycle.org
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Portland Saturday Market
David and I went to the Portland Saturday Market this morning before the heavy rain showers hit the area. Allison, if you can believe it the weather this week has been worse than for the week you visited. We saw some really great things. David picked himself up a blown glass vase and I discovered a new and local artist that I am now going to share with you. She was displaying her "Fractal" artwork. Her artwork caught David and my eyes immediately. We both found pieces that we really liked. I picked up her business card and then David and I continued through to see the rest of the booths. On our way back to the car we swung back by her stand and I purchased the following piece of work:
"Black Thorn" by Sara McCormick
Check out her website Infinitecreature
"Black Thorn" by Sara McCormick
Check out her website Infinitecreature
Vancouver, British Columbia
Last Thursday I made the trek from Portland up to Vancouver, BC for a little get away and some continuing education units. The drive to the great white north was longer than I had first anticipated. It didn't that I had completely miscalculated how close to the border Seattle was, so much for midwesterners knowing their geography huh? Once I got into Vancouver I made my way to Stanley Park and the Vancouver Aquarium. The aquarium was one of my favorites things that I saw when I went to Vancouver with the UCSB Men's Basketball team a couple years ago. After touring the Aquarium I wandered through part of the park snapping pictures of the city skyline and Lions Gate Bridge.
After I meandered through the park I checked into my hotel and set off to find some dinner. I managed to come across this little Thai restaurant called "Thai Basil". This may have been the best Thai food I have ever had. It was absolutely delicious, so if you ever find yourself in Vancouver be sure to head to Thai Basil on the corner of Davies and Thurlow.
I began my seminar on Friday and it ran through Sunday beginning at 8am and ending at 5pm with a lunch break from 12-1pm. The seminar was very informative. I am looking forward to being able to utilize what I learned at work. On Friday night I headed down to English Bay with Mikey a Vancouver resident that I met to walk along the waterfront and to catch the sunset. Unfortunately, I did not take my camera with me, so no pictures.
I got up early on Monday morning to make sure that I got back to Portland in enough time to pick up David from the airport. I definitely gave myself enough time to get back with a few pit stops. David's flight was also a little delayed from San Francisco, so that helped out as well.
After I meandered through the park I checked into my hotel and set off to find some dinner. I managed to come across this little Thai restaurant called "Thai Basil". This may have been the best Thai food I have ever had. It was absolutely delicious, so if you ever find yourself in Vancouver be sure to head to Thai Basil on the corner of Davies and Thurlow.I began my seminar on Friday and it ran through Sunday beginning at 8am and ending at 5pm with a lunch break from 12-1pm. The seminar was very informative. I am looking forward to being able to utilize what I learned at work. On Friday night I headed down to English Bay with Mikey a Vancouver resident that I met to walk along the waterfront and to catch the sunset. Unfortunately, I did not take my camera with me, so no pictures.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Out to the Coast with Allison
WIth the weather finally cooperating Allison and I headed out to the coast on Friday. Our first mission of the day however was getting a view of Mount Hood. Luckily the clouds had cleared enough to be able to see Mount Hood from the Rose Gardens at Washington Park.
We then hit the Sunset Highway (Hwy 26) and headed west for the coast. After a minor detour in the wrong direction we made it to Ecola State Park just north of Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock. It was a beautiful day to be on the coast. While we were eating lunch a Crow decided that he wanted to join us and kept eyeing my peanut butter sandwich.
We then made our way South down the 101 through Tillamook and onto the Three Capes Scenic Bypass where we stopped at Cape Meares to see the Lighthouse, ocean vistas, and the Octopus Tree.
Saturday morning Allison and I headed to Kenny and Zuke's downtown for a good breakfast before dropping Allison off at the airport. Breakfast was delicious, so thank you Brandon for the suggestion. It was great having Allison out for a visit and I enjoyed spending a week with a really great and incredible friend!
We then hit the Sunset Highway (Hwy 26) and headed west for the coast. After a minor detour in the wrong direction we made it to Ecola State Park just north of Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock. It was a beautiful day to be on the coast. While we were eating lunch a Crow decided that he wanted to join us and kept eyeing my peanut butter sandwich.
We then made our way South down the 101 through Tillamook and onto the Three Capes Scenic Bypass where we stopped at Cape Meares to see the Lighthouse, ocean vistas, and the Octopus Tree.
As we headed along the Three Capes Scenic By-pass we stopped for dinner at the Pelican Pub in Pacific City. The restaurant sits right on the beach at Cape Kiwanda and is world famous for their micro-brewed beers. After dinner we kept heading South racing the slowly setting sun trying to get down to the Heceta Lighthouse before sunset. With a quick stop at Strawberry Hill wayside to get a glimpse of the Harbor seals lounging on the offshore rocks we finally made it to Heceta. Unfortunately, on this part of the coast the sun had begun setting behind the clouds and marine layer lurking off shore. We did manage to get a few pictures though.
Saturday morning Allison and I headed to Kenny and Zuke's downtown for a good breakfast before dropping Allison off at the airport. Breakfast was delicious, so thank you Brandon for the suggestion. It was great having Allison out for a visit and I enjoyed spending a week with a really great and incredible friend!
Multnomah Falls with Allison
After a rainy Wednesday that I had to go into work for a department meeting, a staff meeting, and a meeting with my soccer coach Allison and I headed out to Multnomah Falls for a morning hike. The day started out a little cloudy and cool as we started our hike to the top of the falls. The weather worked out well for us as there were not a lot of people there. As we started to descend back to the bottom the sun started to peak through the clouds and we got some great shots. The hike to the top may have only been a little over a mile but it was primarily uphill, so it made for a good workout.
After Multnomah we headed to the Vista House to check out the scenic views of the Columbia River Gorge.
We finished our day by heading down to the McCormick and Schmicks at the Harborside for a delicious dinner and then seeing Cirque du Soleil "Kooza". The show was breathtaking, awe inspiring, and hilarious. I'm looking forward to seeing it again with David when he comes to visit in a little over a week!
After Multnomah we headed to the Vista House to check out the scenic views of the Columbia River Gorge.
We finished our day by heading down to the McCormick and Schmicks at the Harborside for a delicious dinner and then seeing Cirque du Soleil "Kooza". The show was breathtaking, awe inspiring, and hilarious. I'm looking forward to seeing it again with David when he comes to visit in a little over a week!
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