A New Home

I'm sitting here on the front porch at our new home, taking in some sun. I don't understand how people can complain about the Oregon winter. I'm in my t-shirt in the sun and it feels good. Maybe they complain about the rain here just to keep the crowds away. But they haven't fooled me.

We spent all day Saturday cleaning up our old place and brought our carload of stuff over here. Then on Sunday we visited with an old friend from Juneau and went across the river to see the Super Bowl with Jessica's sister's family. So we really haven't had time to settle in yet. Some of our stuff is still in bags, as we've gradually unpacked over the last few evenings. We're still waiting for the rest of our belongings to come from the movers. Hopefully it will all arrive tomorrow.


Our new house reminds me of New Orleans. It's an older home with wood floors, a front porch the width of the house, and a layout that stretches towards the back of the house. It's in the Hawthorne neighborhood, which has lots of coffee shops, a Powell's Books, and a movie theater that sells pizza and beer, called the Baghdad Theater. I don't think I've ever lived in any place so hip before. What's especially nice is how easy it is to walk around here. Another cool thing about this place is that it comes with a cat. We're catsitting the folks we're subletting from for the next three months. Miner is an affectionate cat and seems to put up with little kids quite well. It's been a joy to see Celia and Ferguson light up every time they see him.

Yesterday, I even walked the three miles to work. It was good to get a sense of the neighborhood topography on foot. I'm looking forward to having my bike here and commuting to campus that way. On my walk yesterday I was amazed at all the bikes I saw. It felt like being in China. At the Hawthorne Bridge, there was a steady stream of bikes proceeding across the river in a continuous line. It should only take me 15 minutes to get to the office once my bike gets here.

The second move has set me back a bit in my work, but I'm continuing to absorb as much as I can through my reading. Later today I'll have statistics class and my class on research methods. I have to turn in my second homework for statistics today. For research methods, we have to perform eight observations using a rapid assessment tool. I've chosen to assess my daughter Celia using the Behavior Rating Index for Children, by Stiffman, et al. I'll measure her every Friday and Monday evening. It'll be interesting to see if there's much variation from week to week.

Using this assessment tool really shows me how subjective these tools can be. It's an admirable effort to try to capture human behavior using questionnaires and assessment forms and five point scales. But as I use this assessment tool from day to day, I find myself interpreting the questions a little differently every time. If I can change in how I approach the questions from day to day, then how must they change when used by others. It also strikes me how complex human behavior is. We are strange and mysterious creatures, aren't we?