Quick Trip to Southern Oregon

I made a quick run down to Southern Oregon to visit my offices in Florence, Coos Bay, Brookings, and Roseburg. I put over 700 miles on the state car during the two day trip, and visited the furthest SW corner of the state. In fact to get to Roseburg from Brookings you have to go into California, and through part of the Redwood Forest. Below are a few pictures I took along the way. First one is the Smith River just before the Oregon border, and the last two are of the Rocky Southern Oregon Coast between Gold Beach and Brookings.

San Francisco Trip

I got back yesterday from a two day trip to San Francisco. I was there for a Dept. of Labor Regional meeting. Below is the new San Francisco federal office building where the meetings were held. It's got to be one of the ugliest buildings I have ever seen. It looks like it's under construction, but it's not.

I was lucky to be there while they were having their first real good weather of the year. It was in the 80's for both days I was there, and a fantastic break from the constant rain we've been having in Oregon for the last many months. Below is the iconic TransAmerica Tower.

I hadn't been to San Francisco in over 20 years, so on the evening before I went back home I did some walking up Nob Hill, and down to Fisherman's Wharf.

The hill's are incredibly steep, especially when you are walking them. The picture below, gives a little bit of the feel for that.

I had dinner at Aliotos Restaurant, right on Fisherman's Wharf. The Restaurant has been at the same location for over 100 years. I had a mixed sea food saute. In keeping with the Burrow's tradition of photographing our meals, I took the picture below

A view of the moorage with Alioto's in the background.

And of course you can't go to San Francisco without getting some of their famous Sour Dough Bread. This is a view in the window of Boudins Sourdough bakery. Another long time San Francisco establishment, which has been in continuous operation since 1849

And why settle for a plain loaf of bread when you can get one shaped like an alligator, teddy bear or a turtle.

Alcatraz Island as seen from Fisherman's Wharf

Still one of the best ways to get around San Francisco, the cable cars.

Quick Trip to Miami

I had a quick trip to Miami Florida this week for a business meeting (National Association of State Workforce Agencies) I represent Oregon on the Employment and Training Committee of this organization so end up travelling out of state three or four times a year for meetings. I was looking forward to a little warm sunshine for a break from Oregon Winter weather...I got the sunshine but not the warm...it was unseasonable cold there this week. Not cold by Oregon/Washington standards (low 60's) but very cold by theirs. I didn't have much time to see anything except for one evening walk towards the South Beach area.

The picture above is the beach right behind the hotel the meeting was in. Below is the lobby of the hotel...yes they do celebrate Christmas in Florida.
One view out my Hotel window of the canal on one side of Miami Beach
The Ocean side from the other side of my room window.
Below, the outside of the Hotel I was in.
And across the canal one of the little houses on the shore.
Lots of interesting architecture around South beach. Mostly small hotels and condos

It was a quick trip- left Monday Morning, and got back home Wed. night. Now back to the regular grind.

Another Hard Day At The Office

Well another hard day at the office for me today....except that my office today is at the Beach.
I'm in Newport Oregon for a Veterans Conference. I will be here tomorrow and tomorrow night as well for an awards banquet, and then back to the real office on friday....for a half day, and then a dentists appointment in the PM. That half day will turn out to be the only time I spend in my "real" office this week. During the first two days of this week I was at another conference, this time in Portland on ex-offender re-entry.

A couple shots are bleow of the beach today. So far, amazingly there has been no rain, just the typical overcast and wind. Both beach shots were taken from my room and the middle one is the room its self. I've tried to talk Marlene in coming down and joining me, but she has a class to teach she doesn't think she can skip out of..darn. I miss her, and our big dogs....oh yeah, Guido too....

The weekend is here

Glad that the three day weekend is here. Both Marlene and I need it, even though we've only been back to work for two weeks.

This week I unveiled a major reorganization to my Division at an all managers meeting. It was not a good message for everyone, because it results in reclassification of several managers positions...some up, but several down. The planning for this has been going on for almost two years. All in all it went well, however I still have fallout to deal with, and probably will for several weeks.

A couple of the photos they took at the meeting actually came out not bad for a change, so I thought I would share.....

Paul Hill, one of my program managers and Laurie Warner, my boss, and Agency Director...and me...

Eastern Oregon Trip

This week I took a three day business trip to Eastern Oregon. I visited offices in Pendleton, LaGande, Enterprise and The Dalles. Since Mom lives in Enterprise I was able to spend an evening with her, Josh and Ray as well.

This is a shot from a distance of "Barking Mad Farm" in Enterprise, where Marlene, Molly, me and the dogs spent a couple days last Fall. You can see the 8 acre field where the dogs got to run, across the road from the farm. We hope to go back there some time this year as well.

An early morning shot of the Wallowa's with a fresh June snow on the lower slopes.

Me and Mom

Josh in front of the house they recently moved into in Enterprise. Josh will be a Junior next year..hard to believe.

On the way to Enterprise I had to stop and take a shot of this train along the Wallowa River

A Quick Trip to Atlanta

I took a quick business trip to Atlanta Georgia this week. Left at 5:30 AM Wednesday morning, and got home about 11:00pm Friday night. This is for a national organization that I am a part of through my work, and they have 3 or 4 meetings a year around the country. Can't say I saw much of Atlanta on this trip. The meeting was actually on the outskirts of Atlanta in an area know as Buckhead. The top picture is of that area...mostly newer modern buildings, and as I passed through the greater Atlanta area, that is also what dominated the view. I think it might be an interesting place to come back to if you had more time to explore and find some of the old part of the city. The Organization is NASWA http://www.workforceatm.org/ the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, and I am part of the Workforce, Employment and Training Committee, (WET committee) which is made up of my counterparts in similar positions from most states in the country. Lots of good information as usual, but it is always good to be home. The dogs went bonkers when I got in last night...could barely get in the door.

A Trip to Bend

I've had two quick business trips during the last couple weeks. Last week it was a one day trip to Phoenix Arizona. I didn't see anything at all except the airport, the inside of a taxi, and the hotel that the conference was in. The only reason I knew I was in Phoenix was that it was 93 degrees! Nothing to see on that trip so no pictures.

Early this week I took another quick trip, this time to Bend Oregon. A much more pleasant journey, and a beautiful fall day while I was there, however quite brisk in the AM. The conference was at Mt. Bachelor Village, over looking the Dechutes River. I managed to work in one short walk down to the River. The pictures, above were taken on that walk.

Retreat

My management team had a successful retreat today at Silver Falls State Park. We had some good protected time to have some in depth conversations about goals and priorities, did some team building and had some fun too. The weather cooperated very well, and it is beautiful location to get away from everything, and no cell phone or Blackberry service, which was a definite plus. We ended the day with a pot luck barbecue...Everyone brought different items to put on shishkabob, and a side dish. We had tons of food.

The top picture is the group. Next to me is Adalberto, Tom, Craig, Kristin, Bev, deDrae, Julie, and Judy...Paul was taking this photo. The bottom photo is the cabin where we had our discussions.

Tomorrow back to the real job....

Field Trip

Well, I have been encouraged to get back to blogging again, so here I am. I just downloaded the two photos above in a fraction of the time it would have taken with dial up. Now the photos are a little strange I will admit, but they relate to what I did today. I didn't go into Salem today, and worked at home for some of the day, but in the afternoon I met with one of my Regional Managers and a representative from the Portland Development Commission (PDC) to look at some property that PDC has purchased over in the Foster Road (Lents) area. They would like to see an Employment office or OneStop center at the location, so we went over to check it out.

On the plus side it is in a great location, transportation-wise: Right next to a light rail stop on the new light rail line to Clackamas Town Center and right next to I-205 and bus lines. On the negative side, it's a rather old seedy building in a not so desirable part of town. But PDC would remodel and part of the reason they do this is for re-development purposes. We have a lot of analysis to do before we make any decision, one way or the other.

So that's what I did today.... I will try to be a more regular contributor to this blog

It Has Been Months

It has been months since either Mushbigdog or myself have been on the blog. It is the dial up blues. It takes so long for us to do anything on line with a dial up modem. Verizon came through the neighborhood in the fall and put in the DSL, but still hasn't offered us the VIOs or whatever it is called for our neighborhood, so stay tuned. We are well, we had a great fall and holiday season. We had a wedding at our house on Pearl Harbor Day and a wedding reception for Mush's oldest daughter in January. We continue to be very busy, but miss the blogging and hope to get back to it. Mush is testifying at the Ways and Means Committee in the Oregon Legislature today and I am hoping to watch him testify. The dogs are great and thriving, at last weigh in Heartman was 180# and Sailor was 176#. They are about the same height at the shoulder and make a striking pair. More to come....

A little trip, and getting ready for another

I took an overnight journey to Bend this week. Specifically to Sun River, a Bend Resort where there was a conference I needed to attend, to present an award. These two photos were taken on the way, off the Santiam Highway at Detroit Lake and Dam. It was a very rainy and cold day, but still beautiful.

The day after Memorial day, Marlene and I leave again for a four day trip to Las Vegas..Today is a day of rest and shopping......

We're Back!

Yes we are still here! We humbly apologize to everyone (both of you) who have faithfully checked this blog for some new item. We had a spurt of entry's a month or so ago, and then they just dried up. It's kind of hard to say why - real busy is what comes to mind, but then isn't everyone? So that doesn't seem to be too adequate. Maybe it's more of a change in the way we've been busy.

Both Marlene and I continue to fill our acting positions (mine for more than 6 months now - Marlene's for almost the same amount of time. Before I assumed this role, it seems like I had a little more time to do this, (bogging) during the work day - like lunch, and sometimes before work, but now I seem to be using every free minute at work to....well, work. I think for Marlene it's is the same situation. On top of that I seem to be getting out of work later than usual. I used to try to leave by 4:00 (I usually get there around 7:00) , but now it's not unusual to be there till 5:00, 6:00 or sometimes later. Since it takes at least an hour and a half to drive home (usually closer to 2 hours), and then cook dinner - by the time that's done and we've let the dogs in and out a hundred times - well you get the idea.

But were going to try to be more regular. Wow I just noticed I missed the whole month of March.

So what happened in March? Well there was Saint Patrick's day... we participated with the Wolfhounds in the annual parade in Portland. There was Easter... went to Seattle for that, and then had another Easter Dinner the next weekend for Molly, Rob & the Kids. Had some Vets visits....Sailor is up to 150 lbs! Heartman - 175!

I know there must be a lot of other things that have happened, but for the life of me I can't remember...I am getting close to 60 you know.

Well, let this be the start of more regular postings....don't give up on us, keep checking back. I promise they will get better.

Work Stuff

I don't write much about work on this blog, so thought I would share a bit about a couple things that have been going on.

I just got back today from a three day DOL conference in Seattle that was called a Transformational Forum. The full title was, "Driving Transformation: Innovations Fueling Tomorrow's Workforce System. " It was one of two National Transformational Forums, the other one was held in Chicago. But even though this one was on the West Coast, we had teams from the East Coast in Seattle with us, including as far away as the Virgin Islands.

Of course I was part of the Oregon delegation, a group of about 10 people representing different parts of Oregon's Workforce System. Only two of us from the State Employment Department; myself and one of my Regional Managers went, and most of the others from Oregon were from CCWD (Community Colleges and Workforce Development) the other major player in Oregon's Workforce System.

I have to admit that it sounded like a typical DOL extravagant production, complete with Orwellian sounding handlers called "Thought Leaders" The DOL conference I attended this summer in Kansas City was like a Broadway Production complete with theme music (It's a Beautiful Day) for the Secretary of Labor, every time she came on stage. This one was not near as elaborate, and where the Kansas City meeting had over 3000 people in attendance this one in Seattle, probably only had two or three hundred.

And somewhat surprisingly this one was quite productive. Mainly because we had many hours together as a State Team to plan and strategize. Even though we are all from the same state, being from different organizations, we seldom have this kind of opportunity.

We will be continuing this type of thing during the next few months and this meeting will probably be the springboard for some significant changes in Oregon's Workforce system. It coincides with several change initiatives that we already had in progress.

At the end of the conference, as a reward each state team got a toy "Transformer"....your Federal tax dollars at work.

Seattle was very pretty during this time of year with much of the downtown area decorated. I didn't have much time to explore much but we did all go out to dinner one night at an "Asian Fusion" restaurant. I asked WHW, what the term "fusion" meant when part of a restaurant title, and she said that it meant "that it was expensive" ....she was right.

Well I was also going to mention that I had breakfast last week with the Governor, well me and about 40 other people. I've been appointed to a Steering Committee to The Governor's new "Re-Entry Congress", a group of Agency Directors, and others who will be looking at a variety of ways to eliminate multiple bureaucratic barriers put in the way of ex-offenders when leaving the many state prisons. In Oregon, in the last 10 years the prison population has increased by over 90%, yet almost all of the rehabilitative services that prisons used to provide have been eliminated, and the funds put into the construction of new institutions. Nationally the pendulum is now swinging back a bit toward rehabilitation, some of the impetus towards that direction is actually being provided by some conservative Christian groups, that and the realization that we are pumping out thousands and thousands of inmates back on the street every year, usually in much worse condition than when they entered, and often with no resources other than $25, and no address, no skills, and many other barriers. A condition that the system has created, and that many of us with full cognitive abilities, would probably have a hard time being successful in.

Oh, the breakfast was good too.

Well that's enough work stuff for one time....I'll get back to dog news soon.