San Diego Fires

Hello Everyone. I'm sure you have heard the news of the California fires. Roben, Nicky (my sister), and I are safe. The air quality is poor but we are not in immediate danger. The closest area that is being evacuated is about 5 miles from us. On my way to work this morning I stopped just around the corner from our house and took this picture of the smoke. The orange in the picture is NOT the glow of the fire, it is the sunrise. However, the black smoke is from the Harris fire. We will continue to keep you posted if anything changes, but I repeat we are not in immediate danger.



Bye for now,

Roben and Adrienne

No more "house fiancee"

Well, after weeks of spending my days ironing, cleaning, cooking, and doggysitting, my "house fiancee" days are over. Yes, I landed a job. Some may wonder if it was the right time or if I needed to extend my days unemployed just a little longer. Though there are many signs that it was time for me to get a job, I think this picture is the only sign I need to point out.....yes, I was making Roben breakfast everyday before he went to work. And as the days..err weeks...went on, each breakfast became more creative than the last. This "Sunshine Breakfast" as I ike to call it was not only delicious and nutritious, it was darn pretty too!...but also a strong sign it was time to stepup the job hunting!!

Sooo....on Tuesday, September 25th I started working as a data analyst for a small company with some rather large clients (Hitachi, Samsung, Brother, etc). So far, so good. I am using some things I learned in my previous job as a research analyst but also learning many new things everyday (SQL, Crystal Reports, etc.). My hours are 7-4 but I have been working 7-6 most days while trying to get myself up to speed as quickly as possible.

Although I am sure Roben misses having his clothes ironed everyday and a Sunshine Breakfast waiting for him before he heads out the door, he continues to enjoy his job at the charter school. The kids and parents love him and the one-on-one teaching style really lets him positively impact the lives of his students.

The only ones who are not truly happy that we are both working are Mattie and Saada (the dogs) because they have to stay home alone. Maybe we will buy them some new toys or doggie beds now that we have 2 incomes again. :)

Bye for now!!
Adrienne

Engagement

Well, it seems some of you have not heard....WE ARE ENGAGED!! (and have been now for almost 2 months...sorry!). And even some who did know the news, have not heard the story...so if you are interested....read below:

Well, it was 7-11-07...I would say Roben planned for such a cool date...but if he had, he probably would have taken me to 7-11 for slurpies instead of Luigis for tiramisu. :)

It was a Wednesday evening and our last night alone in our little town of Mt. Clemens before the craziness of the weekend packing (we were planning on moving the next Monday and mom and Emily were coming to help the following evening). I certainly didn't suspect a proposal...even though we had reservations on a Wednesday evening (one barely needs reservaions on a Friday or Saturday in Mt. Clemens),..even though Roben opened a bottle of wine,...even though Roben put on a suit jacket in the middle of summer,..even though I saw him out the window photographing the wine bottle on the front porch (see pic)!!....I had no suspicions of a proposal.

Looking back, perhaps I should have expected it. But it was, after all, our last date night in the little town we fell in love in...so proposal or not, it was a special evening...the proposal was unsuspected and a wonderful, wonderful surprise!!

The walk downtown was perfect. It was much warmer than the first night we walked to Luigis over a year and a half earlier. At that time, we were bundled in winter hats and coats and walking through snow, 7-11-07 was one of the warm summer nights people write about.

So I learned later that Roben had planned on proposing with the tiramisu but I guess he couldn't wait...who can blame him right!? I don't even think I had a chance to pickup my menu and he told me he had a present for me. He said it was something to go along with our upcoming trip cross-country to Cali. I remember thinking, "You can't fit road flares in a jacket pocket." So he then handed me an envelope. So, then I was thinking it's a good luck driving card with maybe a couple gas gift cards or something useful for the drive. But once I saw the beautiful stationery with the hadwritten letter, my stomach tightened. The last page said, "Will you marry me (check yes or no)". I think I made Roben a little nervous because I didn't say anything at first. One reason is because just as I turned to the last page, the waitress brought some bread over so I was waiting for her to leave. The other reason is because I didn't have a pen to check an answer, so I wasn't sure what to do or say. After a slight pause, I said, "Well, do you have a pen?" He didn't....so I said yes and promised to check the box later.

I was then handed another letter describing the ring which I had just greatfully accepted! Roben thoughtfully designed the ring himself keeping in mind many aspects of our relationship and personalities. He then hired a jeweler in Colorado to make the ring. As you can see from the picture, it includes our 2 birthstones. The design around the band is made using a traditional Japanese technique called "mokume gane" which gives a woodgrain look to the metal. Roben and I later learned that his parents' rings are also made using the mokume gane technique....what a pleasant surprise!!

Roben would like me to add that to this date, I have not checked the yes box....despite the many pens he has offered......OOPS!!! I'm wearing the ring...what more do I need to say!! :)

Bye for now!

Roben and Adrienne

Little Italy

Well, Roben and I have not posted in awhile....so, as usual, we have some catching up to do. This post is about our first date night in our new home city...

It was back on Wednesday, August 1st. For those of you who do not know, my sister Nicky has lived in San Diego for over 3 years...and is VERY proud of that. She LOVES suggesting places for us to dine and visit. She has all kinds of "osusume"...("osusume" is the Japanese word for recommendation. It is often used on restaurant signs for the chef's recommended lunch special)...anyway....back to my story...my sister seems to have an osusume for everything we want to do or eat... So naturally when she heard we wanted to celebrate Roben's second interview and go out to eat she was quick to whip out her pen and paper and give us directions to one of her favorite restaurants.

So, we were on our way to Nicky's restaurant and we passed a cute little street downtown illuminated with white lights...what a cute area we said...and continued to Nicky's place. We arrived, got out of my car (Chester is his name for future reference), locked the doors, stopped in the street,...and got back in the car headed back to the illuminated street. We knew we would be in trouble with Nicky later, but hey, the lights were beckoning us!

We discovered it was fate after all, because the lights calling our name were Little Italy!! Roben is half Italian, our first dinner date was at an Italian restaurant, and Roben proposed at that same Italian restaurant...so it only seemed fitting that our first date in San Diego was in the heart of Little Italy.

So halfway through our meal, I get a text message from Nicky,...and I quote...well, maybe I shouldn't quote because I don't have the text anymore because I broke my phone by dropping it in a glass of sweet tea....but that's another story...anyway, her text was something like..."I'm trying really hard not to call you, but how do you like my little place!!??" We knew we were in trouble when we got back in the car in the parking lot of Nicky's "little place"....but man, I didn't know she was THAT excited about sharing this osusume with us!!

We had an awesome time that night and Nicky has only held this grudge for...well, we are going on over a month now...but I am sure she will get over it soon!!

Charter School

Well, finally...the news many have perhaps been waiting for...I got a job! This is definitely a big stepping stone on this little adventure. I start tomorrow and though a little nervous, I'm very excited.

The school is a charter school. I'll try to keep this short as not to bore you but just a quick summary...

I'll be working in a very non-traditional setting with 6th-12th graders. The school offers an independent learning program for children that either don't fit into a traditional setting or are just seeking something different. Each student has his/her own individualized curriculum plan taking one course at a time until they've achieved enough credits for promotion and eventually either graduation or re-admittance into a traditional setting. Now, I know what many of you are thinking...and its true that I'll work with a lot of at-risk kids, but I have to be honest, this place seems like its taking a really solid approach to education. I feel like they've addressed a lot of the frustrations I've faced in a traditional public school. For example, having to teach a classroom full of students while "teaching" little Billy up front who is demanding every minute and more with his behavior. This program allows the teacher to really focus on each "Billy". Not to mention...they have RESOURCES! In my experience, many of the frustrations have often come from a lack of resources and support. It appears, we have both where I'll be going.

I know the grass is always greener and truthfully I haven't started yet, but if nothing else, this new opportunity will be a great change of pace and a mode of survival to reduce the stresses of the bill collectors.

Hope everyone is well!

Take care and talk soon...

roben

A Little Support...Pleeeeeeease!

Hey everyone...this will be a quick one...just for those of you who don't know yet, I found a job teaching for Audeo Charter School. I haven't started yet but will in the next week or two. I'll let you know how it goes.

This blog is to invite you to check out a couple of sites that my pictures are on. I'm trying to add at least one a day on the flickr page. While you're there, you may want to take a meander. There are a lot of great photographs at both. As always, we appreciate your support and will send a more entertaining update soon. Don't forget to call and write!

http://www.flickr.com/people/robenbellomo/

http://www.jpgmag.com/people/rbellomo

Take Care,

roben

Trip to LA

Our buddy Randy was kind enough to buy us a couple of tickets to see the LA Galaxy play as our welcome to California/Happy Engagement gift. For those of you who aren't keeping up with the soccer scene, the LA Galaxy is Los Angeles' Professional MLS Soccer Team (yes, we have a professional soccer league in the states). Hard to believe its been around for several years now to be noticed finally with the introduction of the one guy known for soccer that most of you have heard of, David Beckham. Either you've heard of him through his recent multi-million dollar deal with the Galaxy or through the drooling lips of some young female acquaintance...and if you hadn't heard of him prior to now, consider yourself informed.

Anyhow, just a week after arriving, we mounted up in the Mazda for an easy drive to LA (yeah right!). We left early to have lunch with a friend of mine from teaching, Ksymena, who is visiting a friend for the summer. We had a nice visit, a bite to eat, and with our destination to the field only 10 short miles away, figured we'd have to leave a good half hour before gametime (and again...yeah right!) An hour and ten minutes later, a little blood pressure, and a touch of fear for our lives later, we found the Colisseum. Unable to find (afraid) other parking, we reluctantly paid our $25 parking fee and rolled into friendly territory...so we thought. This is a home game so we should have mostly home fans...right? Well, yeah...right....when they aren't playing Chivas perhaps. About 90% of the fans were Mexican and much more ready than we were. We were feeling very white. Of course this isn't a big problem for us, so we grabbed ourselves a beer, popped ourselves in our seats, and enjoyed watching Chivas toy with LA for the first half...waiting for Beckham and unable to decide who we should cheer for. So, we were relaxed and having fun...finally......well.....until a roudy group in the nosebleeds dedided it was time to light the fireworks. Yes, fireworks...oh, and the banner that could have covered at least two football fields. There were smoke bombs and streamers on the field and a lot of loud tooting horns...oh and Chivas had now scored. We were patiently awaiting to see Beckham, but I'm afraid the closest we got was to see him across the field sitting on the bench...supposedly a bum ankle...but, he did his job and brought in a couple more fans and left us disappointed surely to return to see him the next time...maybe.

Anyway, this is getting long, but suffice it to say, we had a really fun time despite the overdramatization and the only real bad part was having to drive home afterward.

Cheers Randy for the great gift and giving us another great adventure (and my first to LA)!

that's all for now....take care everyone...

talk soon,

roben