Life In Boston March 17, 2009

Our first day in Portland was a fun one.  Still no jobs, or place to live but we’re taking baby steps here.  

We took a jog in the rain and explored a bit of SE around us.  Then Darcie and I headed over the river to meet one of her really close classmates from BIOLA who is coincidentally here in Portland interviewing at George Fox University for acceptance into their grad program.  We mingled downtown and hit up Portland Coffee House (the first coffee house I went to back in August and fell in love with their coffee.  I’m not even sure if its considered a notable coffee house around here), and then actually found a little cupcake bakery in the Pearl.  It was fun.

We headed back over to the east side and just drove and drove all over SE.  I’m sure there is a ton of ground that went uncovered, but it felt like we saw a lot.  We were looking for places to rent.  There are a lot of houses, but just not enough that are being rented.  Pray for us.  Pray we find a house that is privately owned, that we can afford and make our own.  Pray.  A lot of that has been happening.

We met back up with Everett and Adam at the Tanker where they were watching the Blazers play (not my high school basketball team) and hanging out with some of their friends.  It was nice to finally meet people.  Sweet people.  

Andrew:  Blonde kid from Eugene who spent some time in San Luis Obispo.

Eric: A pastor in Lake Oswego who used to live in Costa Mesa and graduated from Vanguard.

Peter:  Sweet kid with a mustache, but was playing Magic (the card game) the whole time so I didn’t learn much about him.

And Other Kid Playing Magic: Who was so enamored with his game I didn’t remember his name.

Yeah.  Magic.  It made me laugh.

They all went next door to play in their Shuffle Board tournament.  Nothing special, just a grassroots organization that I believe Peter assembled, but they are all very dedicated in their craft.  Darcie and I didn’t attend, but went home instead to call it a day.

Day 2, St. Patricks Day.  Another jog maybe?  Taking Danielle, the coincidental friend, to her interview at George Fox.  Look for houses again?  Pick up Danielle?  Drink a green Beer?  Maybe 2?

Who knows.  

Something you will need to know if you are ever on Cash Cab:

Did you know that Portland was originally going to be named Boston, but was decided otherwise in a best-out-of-three coin toss?

So Much To Think About, Not A Lot To Write March 16, 2009

We’ve arrived.

After a night spent in Shafter in celebration of our friend Jake’s birthday (a night spent eating, conversing, and playing Dangle) we woke up this morning early and hit the rode.  We made amazing time.  Amazing!  We arrived in Portland after a 14 hour drive, including 4 stops made for food and gas.  I helmed the car for the entire drive.  Nuts!

I can’t tell you how excited I am right now.  Adam and Everett, our hosts, have made us feel so welcome in the brief few hours that we’ve been here.  We arrived to a cleaned out bedroom with an explanation from Everett that he “loves” the couch and insists that we take over his bedroom for as long as necessary.  We ordered pizza, drank a beer, and hung out in the kitchen.

Currently, Adam, Darcie and I are on lap tops tapping away looking for jobs and homes.  Well, I’m typing this.  Adam and Darcie are looking for work and a home for us.  Everett is watching the local news.  It feels like we’ve lived here for awhile.

Things are very good.  Tomorrow it seems the four of us are going to hit the streets and scour the city for jobs that Darcie and I could enjoy.

That’s all.