Peter and I decided to head back early from our road trip-- for several reasons, but most of all, the car. The poor Jetta wagon was breaking down from Canon Beach all the way down the coast, and on our ascent through New Mexico and Colorado, we must have stopped every half hour or so... Needless to say, it was stressful, and now I have maybe an unfair amount of hatred for the state of New Mexico. I made a map of our breakdowns when we got back from the trip:
(all of the red dots are where we broke down...)
After the trip ended early, I set out on finding a way to move down to Portland...I mean, I wasn't doing anything else, so...why not?
Three weeks, four trips down, and 35 resumes later, I finally found a job and an apartment at about the same time.
I live in SE Portland, which proudly boasts some of the best restaurants in town, and I can definitely attest to that. My apartment building is from the 1920's, so my floors are 1920's creaky, but the rest of the apartment is great. I even have french glass doors leading to my kitchen...!
I work downtown in the Pearl district at Lovejoy Bakers. It is very different from the mom-and-pop style places I am used to working at, but I am learning a lot. Actually, I scored an internship with the head pastry chef, and am now learning how to make some of the specialty desserts at Lovejoy. (My internship day is on Mondays from 9pm to 5:30am....no, that's not a typo....it's crazy!)
I also got a job at a coffee shop that is literally two blocks from my apartment. It's called Cooper's Coffee, and I love it-- it has a neighborhood feel that balances out the rich-yuppy-ness of Lovejoy....oops, did I say that out loud?
To top off my busy schedule, I started going to Portalnd State University, the school in downtown Portland. I am only taking one class (thank goodness), but it's keeping me busy-- it's a 400-level Sociology of Women class. I don't have the chutzpah to talk about it online, but go ahead and give me a call-- I have many things to say about that class...
Other than all of those things, I have been working on a few projects on the side:
1- Adventure Cycling- I want to do it. Next summer trip, even. I will say no more, but let this clue you in:
2- Self-Sufficiency- I have been reading a ton of really interesting books on self-sufficiency lately. Anyone interested in crafting and cooking your way to being self-reliant should check out the following books:
The last book I have my eye on but can't afford at the moment is The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It. Seriously, it's like the bible of living by your own means. Awesome! 3- Self-Education- Since this is the third college I have attended, I have begun to really understand the way that universities and colleges work. Unfortunately, none of my comments on the way they run their business (because it is exactly that) could be considered very positive. And so, I have decided to start writing a piece (I call it a "piece" because the word "manifesto" has too many negative connotations) on the value of self-education (autodidact-ism) versus the value of college education. What would my life be like if I taught myself everything I am learning in school? It is my humble opinion that with the right books and a group of willing people to discuss topics with, my life wouldn't be much different. The simple fact is that students from my generation graduating with Bachelor's degrees are getting coffee-shop jobs, where many students of my parents' generation with the same education got jobs with six-figure incomes. It seems like the only way to stand out is with a Master's degree (and even those are a dime-a-dozen nowadays) or P.h.D-- So, you gotta spend money (A LOT of money. Like, be-in-debt-for-the-rest-of-your-life money.) to even get a chance to make money.
But, I digress. That is the simplified inspiration for the research and writing I am doing on self-education.
I wanted to post a video about it, which I'm pretty sure I have posted before, but I thought everyone should watch RIGHT NOW. It's a talk by Sir Ken Robinson, whose book (The Element) I'm reading right now. Enjoy... (I suggest pushing the "full-screen" button for this one)
Lastly, I have been thinking about these a lot: (click on picture)
More updates coming up...many exciting things going on in my brain right now!!
