So, I'm Moving To Portland...

On Tuesday, November 3, I'm spreading my wings (last minutes packing) and flying (taking a plane) to a city I've never been before, but according to Buzzfeed, I'm quite compatible with. I don't have a job, or a clue, really. Luckily, I have generous friends who have offered to keep a roof over my head until I find one of my own. I plan to drink amazing coffee. That's my primary goal. Then, go to the bookstore Mecca, Powell's.

Over the past months, when I've told people where I'm going, the most common reaction question is: "Why?" Which makes sense. I haven't mentioned Portland before. I don't have any particular connection to it. There's no professional reason to go out there. On a basic level, I'm going because I can. I'm a leaf in the wind! Not all those who wander are lost and all that.

There are dissenters. Some have told me about all the people with MA's who are making tacos. In a city full of educated young people, good jobs are hard to come by. Housing is pricey and the cost of living is just going to keep getting higher and higher. I'm sure all this is true, and yet I don't know how acutely the statistics will affect me. Will I become a statistic?

If it doesn't work out, I can always go someplace else.

For now, I'm busying myself with work, packing, and goodbyes. Cooperstown has been a lovely home, The Farmers' Museum has been a unique and fun place to work, and my hiatus in upstate New York before embarking on this next adventure has afforded me the time and space to reflect on what I want, where I want to go, and who I'd like to become. I don't have any definitive answers. But that's okay. I have an idea, and from ideas great things spring forth.

I'll keep you all posted.

The Farmers' Museum

It's October and I've Been Doing Stuff

Time is passing at a weird rate. I'm super aware of the weather--it is autumn. The leaves are changing. It is getting colder. This, in addition to the fact that I finally bought a ticket for my flight, has made me hyper aware of the time I have left before I leave for Portland.

I have several books I want to read before departure (so I can leave them behind...I really can't carry everything with me) and I don't spend enough time reading. I've started re-watching The Office. It is the single most comforting thing in my life right now, especially when so much is uncertain. I know that Michael Scott will always be inappropriate. I know that Jim will always gaze lovingly at Pam. And I know Creed will always be inexplicably weird in an old guy with one hell of a back story kind of way. Crawling into my collapsed futon bed with my laptop and, frankly, too many snacks, is, at the moment, my definition of solace. I'm gearing up for the changes ahead.

Other things I've been up to:

-Reapplying for my student loan payment plan
-"Saving" money to move
-Developing my interpreting style at work
-Thinking about writing poetry
-Freezing my hands while walking to work
-Getting tickets for Glastonbury Festival
-Falling in love
-Learning how to work the wood stove in the print shop
-Doing the dishes
-Cuddling hardcore with Kristofferson the cat
-Dancing at Sam & Kyle's wedding
-Chatting with a co-worker about whether or not women should be in the military
-Listening to "Dolphin's Cry" by Live
-Respecting Miles Davis

If you want to hang out before I leave the east coast, tell me so we can figure something out. However, I might say no, as The Office is perpetually calling my name. Just kidding. Sort of.