Monday, November 23, 2015

Job/Housing Search: What A Hoot ....that's sarcasm

I'm not sure if anyone has told you this before, but moving to a new city--finding a place to live, and then finding work to fund that living...takes time. Before I left for Portland, I knew getting myself out there and getting established would take effort. But I was fairly lax in my attitude. It'll work out. And it is working out, but maybe not as quickly as I thought it would.

I have a place to live! It's in a neighborhood called Sellwood, and it's with a family: journalist, professor, thirteen-year-old daughter, dog named Olga, and cat (name to be learned). Their house is full of books. Done deal, really.

On the work front, so far I have a part-time nannying position. I'm also tutoring two international students--one needs help with his composition class, and the other needs conversation practice. Powell's, the bookstore, isn't hiring at the moment, but I'm keeping an eye out (read: refreshing the application page several times a day).

Meanwhile, I've been exploring the city. Emma and Aaron are going through the same thing as me, so when we're not all worrying and stressing and scouring Craig's List, we hang out. Tyler and Laura have been most welcoming--they've showed us some of their best beer haunts, including the splendid Mississippi Pizza, which has pub quiz on Wednesdays. And Emily has just been the best, opening her home to us.

Outside Mississippi Pizza

Kate, Laura, Emma, Aaron at Green Dragon Pub

Sunset from Mt. Tabor Park

The next step is mostly to keep doing this step: find reliable work. Keep exploring this new city. Additionally, I'd like to make friends with some Portlanders. "Find my people," more or less. You know.

Wish me luck!

Sunday, November 8, 2015

I Like Portland

This city is totally Angelica-friendly. There is excellent coffee everywhere. As a standard. It's amazing. The city welcomes bikers! Bike lanes abound and there's even a bike/pedestrian specific bridge. The whole food truck thing is ridiculous. I can't get over how much good food this city has. And the craft beer. Jesus, the craft beer! I don't know if I'm just with friends who have good taste, or if every bottle/tap in Portland is genuinely delicious. It certainly seems that way.

And the books. Thanks to Powell's, bookstore Mecca, this city really likes to read. Yesterday, I went to a literature festival for crying out loud. The art museum seems cool, too. And there are so many used bookstores scattered throughout the city. Bookstores I want to explore--I'm glad Powell's is here, but also that it can co-exist with so many unique, smaller shops. Record stores! Thrift stores!

People recycle here. The environment is respected and appreciated. People want to go skiing and hiking and general adventuring.

Everyone is young and smart and interested in stuff. At least, from what I can see. It's pretty cool.

These are my first impressions.

Buzzfeed's personality quiz wasn't wrong when it said I'd fit in here. Buzzfeed knew.

 First view of bookstore Mecca

 Polish food truck food

 The Willamette river

 Turkish coffee

Tart Berry toppings