Update: Apartment plus The Coast!

Apartment:

To start, I got an apartment! After calling around to a few places, we learned that a full time student faces a hard time getting a place with cheap rent. So leaving a few places without even looking at the apartments left me a little sad. I had made an appointment to view a place and decided to go through with it anyway, just hoping that they wouldn't bump my rent up $200 since I'm a student. I walk in, ask the lady and she says "No" and that the rent advertised would be my rent regardless of going to school or not. Woo hoo! I see the place, it's great, I applied, and got it! The building is an old, vintage building split up into apartments. I have a studio on the lower level, plenty of room and counter space. It's excellent, right near the river and about 15 minutes from downtown PDX. I move in Monday! What luck!



The Coast, etc.:

My brother and his girlfriend Denise have been in town the past couple of days. It's been great. We took them around downtown Portland yesterday, ate a place called Ringlers (owned by McMenamins, the excellent Portland brewery) and just chilled out. And then that night I took them to this absolutely fabulous Thai restaurant called Thai Noon. The food is so amazing there; it's similar to Bangkok, but slightly more authentic and not everything is designed to just burn your mouth out. After that, since we were in the Alberta neighborhood, we went by the Kennedy School (also a McMenamins' joint) for some beers and desserts. It was awesome. The place is an old high school and we sat out in the courtyard. So great. We all got hammered though. I think Scott and Denise are getting married! Woo!

This morning, hang over wore off quick and we hit the road for the coast! First traveling up through Washington to catch the sights, we then rode down to Astoria, Oregon. Astoria was nice, a small ocean town, really pretty. Then it was off to Cannon Beach!

Cannon Beach is gorgeous! The water was cold and I stupidly wore jeans to the beach, but I ran into the water regardless. Cannon Beach is home to Haystack Rock (as pictured above) and it's like any other touristy town by the ocean. Everyplace sells kitchy souvenirs and salt water taffy and everything is super expensive. We stayed for a couple hours and then high tailed it back to Portland.

The beach was just so amazing. I loved it. If and when friends visit, we will have to go there.

I took pictures with my camera phone, so they aren't that great, my brother's girlfriend took some with her digital camera, so once I get those I'll post them.

Other shots:


I wish I could say that the camera made my feet look so pastey.

Take care everyone!

m

Alive Alive.

I'm in Portland!

I arrived around 2 pm my time (5 at home) and I've been holed up in our Extended Stay America ever since looking for apartments and eating horrid Chinese food, I can't wait to get into PDX proper and eat some real food. Road food has made me a road lard. To be honest, I am actually in Gresham, OR, about 20 minutes outside of Portland. The planes fly directly overhead and from a spot right outside, you get an amazing view of Mt. Hood.

I spent last night in the very eastern Oregonian town of Baker City. The drive from Wyoming was pretty great. Utah was amazing! Loved it. I propose to my friends that we plan a meet up in Utah. It'll be great! Imagine it, log cabin, bear skin rug, a fire going, I'll break my neck skiing, what could be better? Idaho was bleh, once again I don't think I got nearly the correct taste (much like Wyoming), but I was glad to edge into Oregon for the night.

The weather made me want to cry, breezy, jacket weather; just excellent.

On the road this morning, we booked it into Portland only stopping for gas. The drive here was majestic. We drove along the river for over 2 hours going in and out of valleys. It was gorgeous. This part of the country is just amazing. Missouri is beautiful, but it is night and day to the nature up here.

So here I am. I'm pretty fucking excited, once I get an apartment I'll be even more excited. So far I have one appointment lined up at a place about 14 minutes (bus ride) from downtown and right next to the Williamette River. It's the same place that the Ai rents out for student housing. Could be a winner, maybe not. The suckiest part is a lot of the places I was interested in, I'm not allowed to rent from. Why you might be asking? I'm a full time student and there's a law that states that full time students can't rent from what is considered section 8 housing (which is vastly different than the section 8 in Columbia). I just don't want to be stuck 50 minutes away from the school (bus ride) but I also don't want to be (even further) in the broke house.

Tomorrow is go go go go go. I need to hit the hay soon. I miss everyone!

m

Road Dawgin' or God Made Hell on Earth, Its Name is Wyoming.

Hello from the road!

Here I am, day two on my illustrious trip to Portland. Here I am, in Wyoming. I've never been to this state and while pretty (sort of), the wind here is incredible, the sun is beating down and it's just god damn dusty. The towns are 100 miles apart and there's really nothing to see; you've seen one cliff, you've seen them all. I did however see an antelope and a praire dog! The sun is awful though, so awful that I was forced to get a pair of sunglasses. Since I wear glasses and I didn't want to suffer from headaches I opted for one of two options for a man in my case (three if you count not being a pussy and suffering through it), I opted for the Robo Cop Old Lady Over-the-glasses Sunglasses. Let me tell you. I. Look. Fabulous.

So here I am at a La Quinta Inn in Rock Spring, typing in my blog bored out of my mind. Last night was spent in Grand Island, NE, a place almost as desolate and sad as Wyoming. I'm doing this trip with my mom, who is nice enough to not only tow a trailer on the back of her SUV, but also foot the bill for, well.. just about everything. We ate at thee worst Mexican restuarant ever and stayed a Regency Inn that was possibly infested with bed bugs. So far, the trip has been okay. I know I'm sounding uber negative about all of this, but it's still fresh with me. I miss my bed and the comfortable surroundings of Columbia; my car, my friends, my life. It's very different and this trip is just an extended limbo with poor shower pressure and a lack of leg room (not to mention a yappy but well behaved terrier).

Tomorrow we head into parts of Utah and probably Idaho before we will probably bed down and then head to Portland the day after tomorrow. From there it's mega-apartment search and a visit from my brother and his girlfriend. We plan to see either Mt. Hood or drive to the coast while they are here. I'll take either, but I'm really hoping for the coast, I just want to see the ocean again.

*

Saying goodbye to people is the pits.


*
I'm not sure I've felt as much sadness and stress as I have the past week. It all started Wednesday really, that was the real beginning of the goodbyes. First with the goodbye of a new friend and ending with the goodbye of a great friend. Saying goodbye to Lisa was heart-wrenching. I'll be honest. Saying goodbye to her was like saying goodbye to Columbia all together. It made it all feel so final. I was insanely sad. I spent the rest of the week drunk as ever weaving in and out of awkward to touching goodbyes. My friends did their best at getting me wasted (also the Eastside Bar Staff), I just wish they would have assumed the duties of packing my stuff and the trailer as well.

Giving away my cats was the worst. I miss them so much it's insane. Ethan may have been a little shit, but he was my little shit for 3 years. When my mom took him to the Humane Society, I was balling my eyes out. I felt awful, a bad parent, a horrid person. Charlie found a home with LeAnn down the street. She will be in good hands (I hope). My top person couldn't take her and I really didn't want to leave Charlie with my old crazy neighbor. Apparently Charlie is still showing up at the house (according to Jon). Hopefully she will begin to stay with LeAnn more often. I miss her too.

Goodbyes to my group of friends was hard. They made it easy and there weren't any hysterics. A simple handshake/hug and a good luck. I know I'll see them soon, we'll remain in touch as often as possible. I really hope they can all come up sometime and I can't wait to see them again ASAP.

Next post will be from Portland. I got an 'A' in Sociology, so give me a high-five if you ever see me.

m

PORTLAND LUNGS

As I make the move from my hometown of Columbia, MO, a town I have spent all 25 years of my life residing in, I decided I would create this blog to document things not only for myself, but my beloved friends back home. I am moving to Portland, Oregon in order to attend The Art Institute of Portland in order to persue Graphic Design. Really I'm going there for the scenery, rain, McMenamin's beer and Stumptown coffee, but don't tell my loan officers that.

Enjoy my blog, as I get a little more saavy with this stuff I'll be posting as many pictures as I can for everyone back home and the lame minutia of my life.

m