Port Land Adventures: Wrap-Up Edition

Wellz, I am back in Tucson and surprisingly glad of that. I think I actually kind of missed it here. Portland is delightful and all with its charming houses and kickin' cafes, but I never realized how much Tucson is my home. As someone who always feels very temporary, this is a big deal. So I don't resent being back. I do find myself recovering from all the danged walking--my variegated bodily segments are sore.

I have learned wisdoms about the magical kingdom of Portland which I will now impart unto thee:

-Portland is a locus sans pigeons.
-There are lots of homeless peoples but few buskers. There are dark haired ladies outside of Powell's who offers a song in exchange for change.
-Zoos, no matter what state they happen to be in, are totally kickass fo' rizzle.
-McDonald's is shamed by the awesomeness of local cafes and restaurants. They hardly show their face. I only saw the one. Starbucks is similarly put to shame.

And I am starting to get more settled into my arrangement. I am bringing more stuff out of boxes, and I even bought a piece of furniture. It's a pretty keen desk. There is still a lot to do, but I am allowing myself to become a little less temporary-minded about my living situation.

Now all that is left is for me to find a job. I am frequenting Craigslist, but if anyone hears about any opportunities, please let me know.

Port Land Adventures: Day Two Point One. Non-Self-Pitying Edition.

So here is what I did today that didn't involve being way sad and introspective. My wacky sleep schedule strikes again! Woke up at several time but forced myself to stay in bed until 8:30. I started my day by going to Powell's. I am in hearts with that store now. I bought two books! Huzzah!

Then I bought a TriMet pass for ze public transportation. After that I ate lunch at this totally kicking Japanese/Korean place. They had nummy nums. From there I headed over to investigate the Vintage Clothing Descriptionist job. Unfortunately, they already filled the post. *sad faces*

Because I am lame and out of shape, I was pretty pooped at this point. I went back to the hostel to look more on the webbertubes for jobs and apartments. That was the point where I really started questioning what I was doing with life and all that nonsence.

Dinner time! I had a wonderful bacon cheeseburglar at Blue Moon. More Powell's! I bought presents for peoples. Prepare for that.

It is now nine o'clock, and I am lame and tired, so it is bedtime. My plan for tomorrow includes the Japanese Garden and the Oregon Zoo. Woo for zoo!

Port Land Adventures: Day Two. Tail Between the Legs Edition.

I crashed today. I crashed hard. In all my fetishizing my move to Portland, it has now occurred to me that I never asked myself some very important questions. Namely:

1) Do I actually want to leave Tucson?
2) Why Portland, honestly? What's with the romanticizing?
3) What is it that I actually want to do? Can I only do that something outside of Tucson?

I've changed a lot since high school, and I don't like all of those changes. Portland became for me something of a talisman. It became my magic bullet.

There are no magic bullets.

Portland looks like a wonderful town from what I've seen of it, but I think the time has come for me to be more realistic. Portland was an escape. At this point in my life, I need to grapple with reality. I have too many questions I didn't know existed. I probably should add the need to integrate myself into a new environment to that. I have a hard enough time making friends as it is.

So, the moral of the story is, I'll probably be coming back to Tucson earlier than expected, maybe Thursday. Though I might stick around for some vacationing without all the stress of job hunting and the like. I mean, I might as well, as long as I'm up here. Still, another four days of puttering around town might be a little much.

Everything is wonderful!

Port Land Adventures: Day One

The flights went off without a hitch. I got into PDX around 2:00ish. (Another shout-out to Amanda and Jake who are totally killer) From there, I took the MAX train into town. It wiggled. It wiggled a lot. My suitcase fell down once. I checked in at the hostel after a 15-minute walk or so from the train stop. It was green and not flat.

I loafed for a bit but got into doing to some more job searching. When I got sick of that, I decided to take a walk around the area. I estimate it must have been around two or three miles, all told. I kept an eye out for ‘Now Hiring’ signs and apartment complexes that were currently leasing. Plenty of apartments, but the only ‘Hiring’ sign I saw was in the window of Hollywood Video. I have not ruled it out.

I came back to the hostel and drafted an email for a potential job that wasn't entirely molded from bullshit. We’ll see what happens with that. At this point I got hungry, so I sojourned for vittles. As it turned out, I accidentally ate pretentious pasta. I poked into this Italian place, and before I realized my mistake, I was seated. It had menu items at full dollar values. By then, I was too uncomfortable to admit my mistake and leave to get a burger or something, so I wound up getting a spaghetti and meatball appetizer and a disarmingly potent lemon drop. That thing was beastly.

Then I went to bed around nine because I am apparently an old man. Stay tuned for more wacky adventures! Day two shall hold, at the very least, applying at Hollywood video, a car wash, and checking out the vintage clothing job. Yowzers!

My Sleep Schedule Has Become Wack

I repeat: wack. And not in the way usual for me. Earlier in the summer, I was able to avoiding going nocturnal again, Thor be praised. I've been going to bed by or before midnight and have been waking up around 5:00 am for the past few days. I wake up rested and ready to go with no desire to lounge around in bed until ten or eleven o'clock. I get out of bed, maybe do a little writing, catch up on my RSS feeds, eat some breakfast, and then carry on with my day.

So I ask: what is wrong with me? This isn't something I sought; it just happened. I'm starting to think this is another sign that I am *lowers voice* ...maturing. You know, like as an adult. I've also been drinking more water, reading more, cutting way back on junk food and soda, and been more financially responsible. The heck? And I didn't even say to myself, 'I should start doing these things.' It was a shift in instincts. I wanted to start doing these things.

Anyone else a little freaked out?

It's not as though I am overly upset by these new developments, they just snuck up on me. It's almost as though I care about things now and am growing up.

lolbutts

Hostel

I booked my reservation for my scouting trip to Portland. I'm staying in a hostel in the northwest part of town which a short distance from downtown and west of the Pearl District. So we're clear, that actually means very little to me; I just thought I'd mention it. I'm booked for six days starting the twenty-fifth and ending the thirty-first. I'll be coming home that Saturday.

On this adventure I am hoping to secure both employment and housing. Succeeding that, I will fly back, shoot around some farewells, pack up the auto, and drive the auto up to my new place of residence. If all goes well, I'll be living in Portland in little more than two weeks.

Without going too much into it, I am very excited. I've been on this up-and-down cycle of anxiety over this since I found out I'd be losing my job at the end of July. I'm still a little jittery and rightly so. We're talking a major life change on the order which I have never before experienced or initiated. And for a moment of back patting and horn tooting: I am proud of myself for doing something that isn't just me floating into something new. Proactive! Motivated!

Is this what it feels like to be an adult? I'm thinking I might like it. Of course, there's every likelihood I'll wind up in some nothing job just to make rent and bills, but adults do that too.