Dead End(s)

Officially heard from all 3 of employers with whom I had leads. All dead ends. Guess I just don't make the cut. The funds are drying up quicker than I could have ever imaged. I was turned down for unemployment, which of course only makes things worse.
It's not the end of the world. But soon it will be the end of our bank account.
That's all for tonight.

Working? What's that?

EEK! This whole "not working" stuff is more stressful than actually working! As some of you may know, I was lucky enough to find a job within a month or so of being here. The job consisted of employment training and placing for individuals with special needs. Talk about a fantastic fit! Since I would be visiting various job sites throughout my work day I was in need of a vehicle to travel throughout the greater Portland area. And since Eric and I had been using simpler modes of transportation (our legs, bikes, zip cars, and public transit), this meant we had to purchase a vehicle. 

Really quickly...Have you ever used zip cars? The whole concept is so innovative to me. You can do all your reserving online or through the phone. You select a type of vehicle you need (hatchback, van, sports car, BMW, hybrid, etc.) You then search for the vehicle near your area and reserve it in half hour increments. Once reserved, you walk or bike to where the vehicle is parked (usually within a few blocks) and use what looks like a credit card key fab to enter the vehicle. There is a gas card in the car, so gas is free. You just have to make sure to never leave the car with less than 1/4 tank. (Which isn't hard for me, because that was always dad's rule growing up) :) Zip car saved us when we first moved out here. We rented vans to go craigslist and store shopping for multiple new items for our home (like dressers and a couch). It proved to be very convenient since we of course don't know anyone in town that would let us borrow a truck. 

But I digress. Where was I? Oh!- So I had a job (YAY!) that needed a car. So Eric and I went out and did the annoying used car search thing. After MUCH searching and turning down dealers trying to sell us cars we weren't even remotely interested in, we ended up with a fantastic find! We got an '07 Subaru Forester with a hatchback, moon roof, 6 disc changer, and heated seats. We were so pumped about our new purchase because now we were able to really get out there and explore! So I started work the next day and worked for a whole 2 days more. (Yes, you read that right. I said TWO days). Then I got the call. The company received word from the state that an amendment regarding funding was to be implemented in December, thus causing the company to go out of business. It didn't make sense for them to train me and keep me on, only to let me go in December- so they let me go. What does this mean for me??? Well, I now have this awesome car payment, and this awesome car insurance bill each month...but no job or funding to pay for it! Bleh! 

But, we've been managing and budgeting like there's no tomorrow. Eric's really been a great sport about it, and I appreciate that so much. But let me tell you- being in a new city without spending money is like trying to stop going downhill with roller blades on. It's possible, but not very probable! 

This has been going on for a few months though, and we've gotten used to the routine. We spend a lot of time at the gym (where we found a great deal!), and a lot of time cooking dinners together at home. And no, I'm not getting ANY skinnier, in case you were wondering. It's quite frustrating actually. I'm eating right, exercising, sleeping enough, but now change in my body. (But that's a whole different conversation). Oh, I almost forgot. I spend the MOST time searching and applying for jobs. And in case you were wondering...I don't hear back from most of them. :( It's almost as if they don't know how amazing I am ; ) haha. 

But this week a bit of light was shed on the situation. I was offered a substitute teacher assistant job as the Washington School for the Blind, which is about 20 minutes from here, just over the bridge in Vancouver, WA. Since it's a sub job, the hours aren't guaranteed and there are no health benefits offered, but hey- at least it's something! And the HR rep let me know that as soon as my transfer of teaching license goes through I can also sub for teachers as well. So I guess it's a start and a foot in the door. I also landed a phone interview for a full time marketing job. That will take place this Friday. It's a bit of a stretch and they're considering a ton of applicants, so I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high. Feel free to send me good vibes :)

Cape lookout

THIS is why I moved to Portland!!!! Well, it's ONE of the reasons :)  This weekend Eric is back in Detroit so I decided to keep myself nice and busy so as not to dwell too much on how much I miss my friends and family. Although I still miss everyone and wish I could be there to squeeze and smooch my Godson and celebrate my Nanny's birthday, I did a pretty good job of distracting myself. 

Cape Lookout Trail

Pat and I set out on for a hike on Friday morning. We drove to the Oregon coast in under 2 hours and were lucky enough to have an incredibly gorgeous day! The sun was shining and it was so warm I didn't need a coat. I still can't believe December is being so nice to us. We accomplished about 8 miles of hiking throughout the day, and yes- my legs are feelin it a bit today :) We did roughly 5 miles out to the lookout and back, and then another 3 or so down to the ocean. 

Cape lookout point

If I close my eyes I can still picture the beauty and hear the loud crashing ocean waves. I was in awe of it all...the giant trees, singing birds, gorgeous drop offs, porkupine crossing our path, and over a hundred sea lions swimming in the waters below.  There is something so incredibly peaceful about nature. It calms me and brings a joy to my heart that I can't seem to find anywhere else. It's the type of thing I sometimes forget or let go of until I experience 
                                                                         it again.

After the hike we headed to the Tillamook cheese factory with Jess and Curtis (Pat's good friends whom we met up with on the trails). There we got to see where the cheese was made, but more importantly, we got to eat LOTS of free cheese! Pat and I headed back to Portland and chowed down on some delicious nachos and burritos for dinner. Yum. After dropping him off I finished my night off with a hot silky bath, jammin tunes, candles, and a good book. Talk about a spectacular day! 

You can check out more photos here or on facebook. 

Portland or bust!

Wow. If I can set up a blog anyone can! haha. Can you believe it? I'm here, typing away on my laptop in Portland, Oregon. I'm in a quaint little apartment picked out by my new husband. Things have happened so quickly over the past few months. Sometimes I do little reality checks to make sure I'm not dreaming it all up. 

I suppose this first blog might be a long one. I have much catching up to do. I guess I'll start with the first transition into my "new" life. The exact date was June 25, 2011- the day I married the most amazing partner a gal could ever hope for. I say partner because Eric and I partner in everything we do. Whether it be monotonous chores around the house, cooking dinner, building campfires, uplifting each other spirits, celebrating the joys and sorrows of life...we do it together in a way I never thought possible. For him I am eternally grateful and I know my life would not be what it is today without his positive attitude, motivation, partnership, and love. 

Our honeymoon was an exotic adventure with two stops in Guatemala and two stops in Belize. I won't go into too much about it here, but it involved Mayan ruins, historic towns, cave tubing, spelunking, hiking through the jungle, getting sick :(, peaceful kayaking, zip lining, canoeing, snorkeling, swimming with sharks and sting rays, lobster spearing, fishing, and lots and lots of delicious food and drink!

In fact, it was on our honeymoon that the Portland plan began to take effect. Actually, I can pin down the exact moment. Eric and I were sitting outside at the hotel beach bar trying to make a final decision regarding whether or not to move to Portland. I guess it would be a good idea to pause and explain:

Eric and I had been toying with the idea of moving to Portland for a couple years. We visited and fell in love with the city. The city life offers the best ranked public transit system in the nation with its trains, busses, and street cars with free rail zones. We've always wanted to limit ourselves to one car at the most, utilizing our feet, bikes, and transit system instead of a car. The city is split up into quadrants: Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, and Southeast. The Willamette River is the landmark that splits the city and helps divide the quadrants. To add to the city's attractions are 8 magnificent bridges that connect the east and west sides. On a clear day you can see 3 mountain ranges from St. Johns bridge entering North Portland on the west side. Talk about breathtaking! When visiting the city we were amazed with the farmers markets, restaurants, shops, bars, parks, etc! But even more than the city life, we were in awe of the respect many of the Oregonians have for mother nature (demonstrated by progressive recycling processes, within politics, and expressed by the communities). Urban sprawl is contained here, which allows for much of the natural habitat to be left as it was originally intended- in its natural state. You won't find houses and businesses sprawling out and cutting down what nature provides for miles and miles. That is all contained. What you will find though, are multiple waterfalls, trails, and lookout areas just minutes outside the city. But, I can rave about the area for days. Instead I'll let out all my passion for Portland in bits and pieces rather than go on and on about it in this blog. (But I thought it might be important to explain why Portland was on our minds.)

So let's go back to that hotel beach bar in Belize. I believe my statement to Eric was something like "So babe, we have to figure this out. Are we really going to move to Portland or not?" And I kid you not, at that exact moment (far away from the U.S. in the country of Belize) a man about my age walked up to the bar wearing an Oregon T-shirt. I couldn't help but laugh and say "well, if this isn't a sign from God, then I don't know what is!" So we of course introduced ourselves and explained our story. Turns out the guy's name was Tim and his new wife's name was Rachel. They too were on their honeymoon. And it just so happens that the two of them got married on the exact same date as Eric and I. I can't think of a better catalyst for our move!

Sometimes I wish I were the type of person that would say, "The decision is made! It's as simple as that!" But I would be lying. I'm an over-analyst. I like to think big things though to the very end, speculating the best, but more importantly, the WORST case scenario in each situation. (It's important to me to think of the worst case scenario because I hate to be blindsided with crappy situations. If I see them coming I can try to plan around them, change things, prepare, or just plain old expect it to happen. But if I hadn't even though it could happen, and then it does? Well, let's just say I don't do so well with that) 

So we hemmed and hawed. We both have amazing families and friends that we didn't want to leave or let down. That was the hardest part of it all. I was afraid that the people I love would think I was choosing Portland over them or something to that effect. When in fact, Eric and I just wanted to start a life together with a bit of adventure, change, and exploration. Nothing against anyone in our lives. We both agreed that Portland had all the aspects of a place where we could each grow to be the person we wanted to be. For me, that meant being more aware, recycling and simplifying, being more active, camping and hiking more, getting rid of my judgments or preconceived notions about things/people, gaining more confidence, etc. Eric had some things in mind too, many of which matched up with my goals. But- we knew we both had good jobs. And we knew we're way to responsible to just head west without a paycheck in site. 

So it took a couple months, but Eric's job let him transfer to work remotely in Portland. We decided that if one of us had a job lined up, then it was reason enough to make the move. So we took the leap! We packed up all of our stuff and put it in an ABF truck with a complete stranger and crossed our fingers that it would all be there shortly after our arrival. About a week later the two of us boarded a plane, each with a one way ticket to Portland, Oregon. Part of me felt like we were just boarding a plane for another vacation. But the other part of me had a full grasp on what a turning point this was in our lives. It was quite the emotional realization. Tears built up in my eyes as the plane started to vibrate and get ready for take off. Eric and I looked at each other, and without even saying it aloud; we knew what the other was thinking. "We're doing it! Together we're making our dream come true!"