Our News (All Entries)

07.30.04 -- For those of you who read our previous update and figure surely Nels must have adjusted by now, you are correct. It took him about two weeks to get his longest stretch of sleep in while the rest of Germany sleeps. He has gradually improved since then.

We are really enjoying life here in the big city. I do a lot of walking with Nels in the stroller and take the strassenbahn (street train) anywhere too far to walk. Nels is quite popular with the people of Cologne. German grandmothers smile at him and say "coo-koo" and Turkish shopkeepers give him suckers wherever we go. One butcher even gave him a piece of bologna, which, to my mortification, he chastised me for eating. I didn't know how to say, "He has no teeth! I haven't introduced meat into his diet yet!" in German.

How do Nels and I spend our days? We play for a while in the apartment. We may go to the local market held two mornings a week where one can buy produce, flowers, clothes, meat, cheese, toys, fabric, baked goods, and TERRIFIC potato/egg/onion pancakes. We may go to the nearby "wildpark" and look at the free-range (tame) deer and the (penned) goats and the swans on the lake and all the other children. On Tuesday afternoons we go to a mom & babies group with the American Women's Club of Cologne, which meets in the members' homes every week and on Wednesdays I meet some of the members for coffee at the outdoor café in the aforementioned wildpark.

[The American Women's Club of Cologne deserves a word or two. It is a fascinating group of people. The name is a misnomer...the members are not necessarily American, just English-speaking. There are several members my age, most of whom have married Germans. They are all so accomplished…they've lived all over the world. One woman I met speaks Russian, German, Italian, and English. It's been really great getting to know everyone there. The people who have been in Germany longer have lots of helpful tips on where to find things. And everyone likes to talk about the foods they miss from home and share their gripes about the German "system", which I always find interesting.]

We have to go to the grocery store pretty much every day, as all I can bring home with me is what I can fit in the bag I hang off the back of Nels' umbrella stroller. Alas, I've been a bit of a slacker when it comes to cooking. I find grocery shopping pretty interesting. Perhaps I'll do a separate update and tell you what that's like for anyone who cares :)

Suffice it to say that we really like it here (we're still in the "honeymoon" phase, I think) and we wish everyone we know could come visit and experience it with us.

06.18.04 -- Germany Update 3 -- Us: Nels has not yet adjusted to the new time zone. He went to sleep for the night at 6am the first 5 or so nights we were here, and therefore so did Gypsy. As you can imagine, staying up all night with an irritable, whining/screaming baby and sleeping odd hours for an entire week is difficult, to understate it. We've tried keeping him up during the day, antihistamines, etc and nothing has worked. Only in the last day or so have we begun to see change. The evening naps are longer and the day sleep a little shorter -- progress, we hope. We've recently tried taking him outside more during the day. Apparently sunlight has some biological effect on one's sleep pattern. Anyway, we hope we're through the worst of it and that it doesn't continue too much longer.

06.18.04 -- Germany Update 2 -- Our apartment: very nice -- it's a two-bedroom on the second floor over a medical book store, across the street from Cologne University. It's decorated sort of modern (especially compared to our house in Bend) -- nearly all of its furnishings came from IKEA. The owners are perfectly friendly and have helped us with many things such as transferring the utilities into our name, explaining how the strange European appliances work, etc. A street parallel to ours, a block away, is well populated with good restaurants (Italian, Greek, Turkish, pubs) and all the necessary stores: groceries, pharmacies, bakeries. I get on the train for work on said street right in front of said bakery.

The owners left all sorts of audio equipment along with 100+ records (Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, classical, to name a few) and turntable, laser discs (Abyss, Terminator, Starship Troopers, etc) although I haven't found the laser disc player, and they left their widescreen TV.

06.18.04 -- Germany Update 1 -- The trip: We flew from Redmond to Portland to Detroit to Frankfurt with a night in each Portland and Detroit, then took 3 trains to our apartment (flat) in Cologne. The flight to Portland was the only one that went according to plan and much of the family met us for a farewell dinner at a nearby restaurant. The Portland-Detroit flight was delayed 2 hours for FAA-required crew rest, and we missed our connection to Frankfurt so were put up by the airline in lovely (rather, not) Romulus, a subsection of Detroit, in a Best Western that reminded me of one of Saddam's palaces (like the ones you see on TV, now inhabited by the US military) -- strange design and decor.

Our flight to Frankfurt the next day left two hours late due to a faulty computer in the plane that required replacing. To make up time, I think the pilots flew a little faster (and therefore used more fuel) en route to Frankfurt where we, as we approached, learned that the airport was a tad backed up. After flying circles over Frankfurt for nearly half an hour, the pilot warned us he may need to divert to Cologne due to a "fuel situation". The Frankfurt airport soon cleared up and we landed.

We cut it a little close getting to our first train -- Gypsy held it by throwing a carryon between the doors as they were closing, and we hurried on. That type of train goes 300km/hr (186 mph).

My coworker Dylan met us in the train station in Cologne where we would have been helpless without him. The trains are significantly less straightforward than we found them to be in France or Italy. A week later, I can get to work consistently, but we're still far from figuring them out.

Nels did great the whole way.

05.05.04 -- AAAAAH! This is an update just to have one, since it's been SIX MONTHS since the last. We shouldn't be allowed to have a Web site if we don't update it. Sorry.

10.24.03 -- Many of you know that Nels underwent surgery this past Sunday and we wanted to mention that he has done very well in his recovery. He's eating, sleeping and pooping well, and he's happy, which we're extremely grateful for. The surgery was an attempt to remedy what we thought was a blocked intestine, but now consider to be a combination of a couple of things. I won't elaborate here -- if you want all the details please email us. All of this excitement (and ensuing exhaustion) is also my excuse for not returning emails from several of you and for failing to have any pictures posted by now. Sorry, sorry sorry! OK, that's it for now.

10.09.03 -- Well, sorry to all you who are waiting for pictures... I haven't been able to squeeze any scanning time into the schedule yet. Free time is still pretty scarce, but I'm STILL gonna try to get some photos posted soon!

09.22.03 -- Mom and baby (and dad) are all doing great -- dad just came home for a little bit to get some more clothes and to post a photo (click above). More later.

09.02.03 -- Well, we're now within 3 weeks of parenthood, more or less. A suprising amount of baby-related equipment has accumulated in our house, thanks to many of our generous friends and family (several of whom have quite a brood of their own and were more than happy to see the baby equipment go).

We've both had a number of projects recently -- one of Gypsy's was a nicely-done scrapbook of our 'early' days, dating and so on. Much of the family has seen it and been thoroughly impressed. She's also been busy prep-ing the little guy's room as well as scouring the baby-name books in search of a name we will both tolerate at the same time. We have a few name-combos that would work but our favorites don't yet line up.

This summer has been a summer of yard work for me, and I've enjoyed it very much. It started with the front lawn, just to make the yard bearable, then on to sprinklers, the back lawn and now to some patio furniture and the driveway. I've got a cedar picnic table mostly built, which will be followed by a couple of benches. Ten to twelve cubic yards of 'clean' 3/4-inch crushed rock should be dumped on our driveway tomorrow and it'll be my job to shovel-and-wheel-barrow it around -- I really don't know if one can 'shovel-and-wheel-barrow' 12 yards of gravel (that's a whole dump truck load, like 12 tons), but that's the plan for now. If I have to, I hear you can rent a Bobcat for $100/day.

My parents and my aunt and uncle (Mark and Marsha) will likely be out here this weekend for a night or two. My parents are mostly just coming to visit, but Mark and Marsha are bringing our 'new' car. Yep, they're getting rid of a '98 silver Ford Escort wagon and at a price we could handle, so we went for it. We were looking to have a 4-door vehicle before the baby arrived (neither of us could bear the thought of having to lean into the back seat of our 2-door Honda Civic on a daily basis for 2 years (or however long)). It's in really nice shape, 100k miles, and we discovered that it's a Consumer Reports favorite. And besides, Mark and Marsha bought it new, so we know it's been cared for all its life. We were first thinking that we'd sell the Honda, but since it's been such a good car we're now thinking that I'll drive it and park my truck except for specifically truck-necessary tasks (hauling, off-roading, etc).

Oh, and today after I loaded a large pile of yard debris into my truck (to take to the dump), in the ground where the pile had been, I discovered what we're 99.9% sure are truffles! Strange. Considering that they go for something like $500/lb, I sure wish I could find a buyer, but alas they'll probably just go bad on our kitchen counter...

08.29.03 -- Hello IdaTechies! I'll soon be 'spotlighted' in our company's internal newsletter, so I thought I should post an update.

(I actually deleted the last news entry by accident -- oops).

03.16.03 -- Top 10 Things You'll See Plenty of in Central Oregon But Not Much in LA County

10. Back-yard llamas.

9. Landscaping schemes based on lava rock and wagon wheels.

8. Double-wides and triple-wides.

7. Natural blondes.

6. Horses up for adoption at the local pound.

5. Nighttime winter temperatures below 30°.

4. Rodeo standings reported on the sports segment of the local news broadcast.

3. "FREE BEEF" promotion at your local Les Schwab Tire Center (straight from the freezer or the handy party pack!)

2. Pick-up trucks with conspicuous gun racks.

1. The Martin family: Shaun, Gypsy and baby-on-the-way.

03.16.03 -- Gasp!! An update!!

11.15.02 -- We're in BEND! And we're waiting for Nov. 25, when our Internet connection is supposed to be set up, grrr. SO, if any of you out there would like to contact us, you can email or call us -- just email me for our phone number. I'm sure Gypsy would enjoy hearing from you.

The short story is this: I'm enjoying learning about fuel cell technology, and things here at IdaTech are a lot more hands-on than I expected.

Bend is BEAUTIFUL. My drive to work is 12 minutes long (one end of the town to the other) and the scenery as I drive is a half-dozen snow-covered peaks (Mt. Bachelor, The Sisters, etc).

The temps have been 40's in the day and around 30 at night.

Our new home is great and Gypsy's been hard at work making it feel even more like our home. We're in a quiet, wooded subdivision, and the only vehicular noise we get there is the occasional train -- the tracks are about 100 yards away. Lemme tell ya, the sound of a train is like music after enduring 2 years of stupid Harleys and boomin' stereos in front of the Greenleaf place. The train is actually kinda fun to watch too. I STILL hate those Harleys.

Gypsy has yet to make a mediocre meal :). A non-working Gypsy means fine dining at the Martins'.

Well, now I've gone on longer that I meant to, but since I have, I can't leave out a moving summary. My parents came down to LA from Portland to help us move (my mom was already in LA for other stuff), and they helped a HUGE amount (as did several others of you). My dad and I pulled my pickup on a trailer behind the 24-foot Ryder moving truck, which was quite an adventure. No mishaps, but I have a whole new respect for the driving truckers do, and a whole new perspective on them after fueling at truck stops several times on our trip... DIFFerent breed. My mom and Gypsy drove our Honda up, carrying a heavily sedated cat. Once we arrived an unloaded our stuff, my grandparents (Jensen) came over from Portland to retrieve my parents.

Ok, end of summary. Email or call us anytime!

10.07.02 -- Shaun got no hair.

10.01.02 -- Our friends Meg and Murray put on a piece of performance-installation art a week ago, and I (Shaun) had the privilege of being a helper around the construction, performance and clean-up. Not having had any installation art exposure it was a new and thoroughly enjoyable experience to see that sort of thing close-up. Several friends participated in the performance, including the Shackelfords (Dave was a performer, Heather catered the event) and Murray, himself. I'm sure Murray will put together a great online photo gallery and, hopefully, I'll have my photos thrown together soon as well.

09.02.02 -- [our portland trip] well, we started our journey monday. the engine was billowing out white smoke due to oil that was seeping out a loose gasket all over everything. every time we stopped people would point. the burning smell was awful, but nothing seemed seriously wrong...shaun replaced the part the next day with great success.

we stayed that night at a CRAZY place...samoa airport bed and breakfast, right off the water from eureka. there's an airstrip there from WWII...blimp patrols went out looking for japanese subs. a couple bought the place and turned the old barracks into a b&b. there are three guest rooms and they live in the other half of the building. they're both pilots and have their own planes. about 50% of the guests are pilots and fly in. the proprietor was a TALKER. he fixed us a yummy breakfast (arranged the fresh fruit in a flower pattern, cracked me up!) and ate his in the kitchen and then came in and sat down at the table to talk with us while we ate. we were the only guests. he had been an airline mechanic for 40 years...his job was to be flown out to fix planes wherever they broke down. he said that in australia the airline had to hire a helicopter to throw spears out to keep the natives away. he had many other tales to tell...it's anyone's guess as to how much truth was in em.

the next day we could see the fires burning in the mountains as we drove through oregon. we drove past all these really touching homemade signs as we drove through the tiny towns..."thank you, firefighters! God bless you!" etc. we were fortunate that they had just reopened the highway we needed to take.

wednesday we went into portland (about 35 miles from shaun's grandparents' place.) we went to our hotel first--the Mallory--it was awesome...only $115 for a suite, 2 blocks from downtown, a swanky place in the days of the "rat-pack" and now faded but grand. super fun. we drove around and checked out neighborhoods i'd read up on. most of them were chock full of houses just like the ones in uptown whittier. it turns out to be pretty expensive still in the city, but not out of reach. we felt a little overwhelmed and discouraged, being in an unfamiliar city. we drove out of town for dinner, to a brewery chain that's like the spaghetti factory in that they buy historic buildings. it was really beautiful...old school grounds...and they have a lodge, a restaurant, and a pub all in these great old buildings, and they also show movies!

on the way back to our hotel, the car STOPPED on the freeway. we made it to the shoulder. surrounded by ramps and train tracks and without a phone we could do nothing. our angel took the form of a very competent woman towtruck driver who drove by us 3 times, stopped to pick us up, dropped us off at our hotel, and dropped the car off at a garage she knew of. she was amazing. from how the car was behaving, we feared we were looking at the worst--a new engine--and so what with all the stress and how we were feeling i broke down and SOBBED for about an hour. i felt like the city of portland was trying to do me in. but i'm over it now and ready to move.

the next morning we had to call the shop. $65 for an estimate. call us back in two hours. oh, sorry, the guy working on your car left for a doctor's appointment. call back in an hour. at 12:30 we called. "your car is done." DONE? turned out to be a part costing $9.73 (distributor rotor). that plus the $65 was all we owed and the car runs fine and we had the entire afternoon to drive around some more.

07.11.02 -- Gypsy got new hair.

07.11.02 -- Ok, time to catch up on some news.

Gypsy's play ended -- she was a star (of course) despite horrible, faulty microphones. Lots of people came to see it, which was fun, and hopefully I (Shaun) can put together a little photo set for the world to see. Regan, a Whittier Community Theatre regular with whom Gypsy had worked in the past, manned the ticket booth an allowed me to sit front and center a couple of times (much to Gypsy's distraction), so I got some good pictures.

Eric and I went to a Dodgers-Angels game (6.14.02) at Dodger Stadium, where Eric caught a foul ball after it bounced off a little girl's head. She was fine, and Eric gave her the ball. Also have photos of that, don't know if they'll make it to the site though...

The Shackelfords(4), Macks(2), Martins(2) and Eric went to another Dodgers-Angels game (6.28.02), this time at Edison Field (Angel Stadium). Wow, what a great game -- it was like being at a high school football game. Usually the announcers and the people who run the PA system try to get people excited by starting little cheers, etc, but this crowd didn't need any help. It was lots of fun -- and we had a nice fireworks show afterward.

My parents finally moved. We helped them load up a giant moving truck on July first and they left July second. For those who don't know, this has been a LONG time coming. They're moving to Vernonia, Oregon -- actually more out in the woods than in any particular town. It's been their long-term goal to build a log house on my grandparents' land there. I also learned that Norm Oldenburg is a packing guru. He should charge money.

On 6.23.02, I went for a quick, 2-night jaunt up to Sequoia National Park -- Gypsy had a couple days off and wanted to just stay home and read a book and relax, so it worked out. I went to Mineral King, specifically, a place I'd started a backpacking trip about 8 years ago. The place is gorgeous -- we're definitely going back. I saw 28 deer, and a bear cub walked by about 30 yards from my campsite. Lots of photos, and again, I'll try to post 'em.

We had a most enjoyable Fourth of July at Camp Pendleton with the Knights. They fed us well (as usual), and I brought along surfing gear, just in case we felt like using it the following morning. We did, so Travis and I went up to San Onofre, where Travis caught on like no one I've ever seen before. He rode his third wave all the way in, on what was essentially his first time out on a surfboard.

I must update this news thingy more frequently!

06.04.02 -- Gypsy's play has started! Actually, two performances have past already, so if you're planning to see it, reservations are a good idea. If you haven't heard, it's Whittier Community Theater's production of 1940's Radio Hour, in which Gypsy plays Ginger.

05.18.02 -- Too busy to update the news column!!! Several simultaneous projects and GRADUATION have commandeered every last bit of my time... Will provide a thorough report in about a week.

05.06.02 -- It's our 2nd anniversary! And Saturday was my (Shaun's) birthday. For birthday-related fun, on Friday we went to Philippe's (a legendary L.A. restaurant about a mile from Dodger Stadium) for dinner, then went and watched the Cubs trounce the Dodgers 8 to 3 or something like that. It was pretty bad. Still, there's nothing like going to the ballpark, win or lose -- the sights and sounds are unparalleled.

Saturday my parents hosted a BBQ for the birthdays of my sister (May 2), Cory's brother, Kyle (May 1) and myself (May 4) -- delicious polish sausages and chicken, and a nice time despite the 3+ hour power outage. Thankfully, my parents are master-campers and are well equipped with a large number of alternate light-sources.

Sunday we enjoyed a Cinco de Mayo/birthday celebration at Steve and Danica's (Danica's b-day is May 1).

As you can see, our weekend was quite full, and that's why we're postponing our anniversary celebration a week. Next weekend we'll stay a night at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego and visit a spanish restaurant that Gypsy has been to and says is one of the best ever. We're both very much looking forward to that.

04.18.02 -- Hooray for Hollywood! I won the role of Ginger in Whittier Community Theater's production of 1940's Radio Hour. (Aren't you all relieved that this is Gypsy and not Shaun writing?) Yup, auditions are always an adventure and this one was no exception. Did you know that there's a ballad from a television miniseries production of East of Eden so sweet it'll bring tears to your eyes? Neither did I before April 16. I apparently wowed 'em with my wacky dumb blond version of "Turn Back, Oh Man" from Godspell and my reading of about five lines from the script. I imagine we'll give you the link for the ticket info some day closer to opening (May 31-June 16.)

04.15.02 -- Did you know we're moving? Yep. This summer after Shaun graduates. So, depending on how the job hunt goes, we could be in Portland as early as mid-June. Why? Well, we'd eventually like to live in the Pacific Northwest sometime in the future, and since we've got a big transition time just around the corner, we figure we might as well make the big move. We've both got family we'd like to be closer to in either Oregon or Washington, so that's the major factor. And Shaun will need a job... So, we'd be indebted to anyone who can help us in this regard, just email shaun or point an interested party to shaunmartin.com. Anyway, just thought this little news column should contain something about the big upcoming move...

04.05.02 -- On Wednesday, Matthew Weathers invited me to go with him and his roommate Ken to Ensenada, Mexico for dinner. Yes, to Ensenada for dinner. It's about a 4-hour drive, but was well worth it. When my pictures are finished being developed, they'll appear as a photo set on the main page...

04.05.02 -- HEY!!! New Site!!! Finally. Still a bunch of stuff to do: see the ToDo list... Thanks for stoppin' in!