I'm Employed!

I am finally employed full-time! I started my job at Lines for Life today as a Development Associate. I will help raise funds, plan events, maintain the donor database, and more. It is very similar to my previous work at Exploration Place.

So what exactly is this place that I'm working for? Lines for Life (formerly the Oregon Partnership) is a non-profit dedicated to preventing substance abuse and suicide. They have crisis lines for people to call in and they act as an advocate in the community/state. The advocacy includes lobbying and visiting schools. Their crisis lines receive approximately 35,000 calls per year. There are lines for substance abuse, suicide, military, and youth. Most of the people answering calls are highly trained volunteers and there are treatment  professionals helping as well. They are able to deescalate 98% of the 13,000 suicide calls they receive each year. Quite a great number!

One aspect I like is that people calling the youth and military lines can speak with peers. I know it can be reassuring and much easier to talk to someone who knows where you're coming from. Both of these lines aren't exclusively about substance abuse and suicide either. They are available for any issue these people may be having. The youth line also includes texting! You know how those kids are always texting... including me. Another aspect I like is that family and friends of people suffering from these issues are welcome to call and receive support.

I started my career in museums because I love learning. I wanted to help educate others and share my passion. I'm taking a new path with this position and helping the community. I've always wanted to make a difference with my life and in my career. I loved advocating science education (especially in young girls!!) and knowledge in general. Museums don't necessarily have a huge impact on individuals' lives,however, but Lines for Life does. I'll miss hearing crazy science facts or teaching kids about dinosaurs but I'm looking forward to this new direction and where it can take me.

I'm an Official Oregonian!

I went to the DMV and got my driver's license today. It was different than my first time, when I was 16 and went to the one at Strother Field. My test was on a touch screen computer rather than paper and pencil. It's been more than a decade so that didn't surprise me. The wait was longer as well but not terrible. All in all, it was quite uneventful.

The lady that helped me was born in KC and lived I'm Wichita for a while. She was so excited when she saw the address on my KS licence. We chatted about the differences between living in each place and she was super cheery. I didn't exactly expect a DMV employee to be in such a wonderful mood. It definitely made the experience better.

Now I'm working on getting my car registered here, plates (Oregon requires front and back), etc. I'll update with that saga once I've survived. It's a pretty penny to do all of this!

Brandt is a much better citizen than I, and did all of this last summer. Hopefully mine will go better than his experience (KS was quite confused on what to do with his electronic title). More on that later.

A Vegan Adventure

On a boring afternoon, a friend and I went out for a walk through one of the neighborhoods in Portland. We had Salt and Straw ice cream and she attempted to get me to join the vegan lifestyle. I was hesitant, especially since there was a Kansas City BBQ food cart nearby and I'd been craving pulled pork. However, we'd visited the spot for her favorite vegan food cart and I was going to give it a try.


Sampling the Food: The vegan food cart was barbecue but I still wasn't convinced. My friend got the Smoke Temphe Platter, which looked like the vegan take on ribs. I got the Slosmomofo Sandwich: Smoked Soy Curls on a grilled bun with Maple-Bourbon BBQ sauce and Chipotle Slaw. The sandwich and fries looked and smelled good. My friend assured me that the soy they used felt like meat when you ate it. She was correct but it definitely didn't taste the same. Nothing tastes quite like real beef/pork/chicken/insert delicious animal goodness here. I ate most of it since I was hungry, spent money on it, and don't like to waste food.

I got an Arnold Palmer to drink but that tasted funny. I think they used some organic lemonade or weird tea. I'd hoped at least the drink would be familiar. Good news though: the fries were delicious!

The Aftermath: Before I went to bed, my belly started rumbling. I could tell that my body had no idea what to do with the fake pork and not-so-tasty Arnold Palmer. I woke up in the middle of the night with terrible acid reflux. I used to have the same problem in high school but it was so bad I ate tums like candy. It made for an unpleasant night but I was able to get some sleep.

Conclusion: I gave vegan food a chance and it went as suspected. I don't like the taste and my body doesn't know how to process it. I've agreed to go to the vegan bar with my friend but I'm going to stick to real food such as veggies, nuts, and the like instead of soy masquerading as something else.

Moving Forward: I understand the vegan/vegetarian lifestyle. At the same time, I know that peoples' livelihoods depend on raising the animals. Farmers and ranchers are great people who work hard. I'm thankful for what they do because I couldn't eat a steak if I had to kill the cow or prepare the cut myself. There have been times I've considered becoming a vegetarian. I can't eat my food thinking about it having once been alive, which is why I stick to burgers or chicken breast. The real thing keeping me from changing to vegetarian/vegan lifestyle: I love eating meat! It's delicious, it helps farmers, I need the iron, and did I mention that it's delicious?

Some Selfie Time

I was talking with my mom and she made a comment about how she missed seeing me. She said she wanted more pictures of me on the blog, so I took some selfies after my interview today! I don't have any great ones of Brandt but I'll throw in the most recent one I have and a few extras of me. Enjoy!

It's a Wonderful Day for Pi

This year was the Pi Day of the century so we decided to celebrate! Brandt is a great cook and made plans to make pie. He enjoyed looking up creative and ridiculous pi themed pie recipes. I got home from work while the pie was cooling. It was one of the best pies I've ever had!!

Brandt didn't know of my secret love for monster cookies, so it was a doubly good surprise. He said it was difficult to make because he had to make the monster cookie mix, the cheesecake filling, and then he also decided to make pizza from scratch so he made dough too.

The pizza was, of course, pi themed as well. The crust was a little too fluffy but it still tasted good. I thought the pepperoni was a cute touch. Brandt made enough dough for a second pizza, which we ate tonight. This time he made the crust flatter and the dough had time to age. It was delicious!

Today is my only day off this week, so I'm making this post quick so we can celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a glass of Guinness and another of Baileys. A delicious way to celebrate another great March holiday!

Uprooting Isn't Easy

I used to garden with my parents when I was younger. When pulling weeds, I was taught it was important to pull it from the base of the stem to ensure the roots came out too. If you don't pull out enough of the plant, the roots can grow a new weed. Among my favorite plants are trees. I'm fascinated by their roots. They slowly force through sidewalks. They burrow deep for nourishment. Roots act as anchors during windstorms, keeping trees firmly in place. I love that some large trees have roots that seem to roll like waves in and out of the ground as the stretch out in search of water.

Picking up and leaving friends and family isn't easy. There's a reason they call it uprooting. I hadn't lived anywhere but Kansas and my entire root system was there. Everyone I loved lives there (or had at one point). When I moved I severed my physical ties to those people. Technology keeps us in touch but there are times I feel extremely homesick.

Last March, we made the decision to follow our dreams and move across the country. The last month has been full of reminders that I can't just drive a few hours to see my friends and family. Two of my nephews had birthdays. Two of my friends got engaged. One of my closest friends is pregnant with her first child and just posted her first belly picture. The annual fundraiser, of which I was an integral part, took place this weekend. I'm happy that life moves forward but I'm torn apart that I can't be there.

It's not just the life changing moments or the milestones, I miss being a part of the little things too. As the weather warmed up here, I had a sudden flash of going to Silver Creek on a lazy afternoon: Sitting in folding chairs with my toes in the creek, enjoying the sun with my friends. I also won't get to sit under the awning in my parents' backyard as the sun sets. No weekend trips to my friends' farm to shoot guns and eat Donut Whole deliciousness.

I'm happy living in Oregon and I know it was the right choice for me. The anniversary of our decision seems to have brought on more nostalgia for home. Even though we're having fun on our new adventures and we're slowly regrowing our lives here, we still have our loved ones on our minds. Brandt and I may have uprooted but we left the majority of our root system intact. Unlike the weeds in my parents' garden, we still have our support system of loved ones. Our anchors.

Image from "The Fountain" one of my top three favorite movies.

Riding the MAX

A wonderful aspect of Portland is the public transportation system. The TriMet offers three options: buses, the MAX Light Rail, and the WES Commuter Rail. Many people that I work with don't have cars and ride the buses to work. Being from a small town with absolutely no public transportation, this was one of the many culture shocks I knew I'd experience out here. Everyone thinks I'm crazy when I say I've never ridden on a bus (other than school buses). Even in college, there wasn't public transportation (that I was aware of). They did have Safe Ride that picked up people and drove them home from the bar district, aka Aggieville for you Wildcats out there. I lived nearby so we usually walked unless it was unbearably cold or raining. In Wichita, the bus system was extremely lacking in most aspects and I never really considered riding. A friend living in Dallas posted Facebook pictures recently of entertaining Kansas family members by taking them on public transportation. It's just such a fascinating concept for us!

Back home, everyone has a car, even if it's a beat up old clunker. If you don't have a car, you have to rely on the small town kindness of your friends and family to get around. I put my old Geo Prism through a lot and every once in a while it needed some work. I either had to hitch rides from friends or drive my dad's truck: a gold behemoth that sounded like a diesel. I had a terrible time shifting because, unlike the Geo's compact gear shifter, this thing had one half the size of my body.

Last month, I met up with some friends for Japanese food. To my surprise, it was in downtown Portland and we were going to take the MAX. After the usual stares of utter shock when I explained I didn't know "how" to ride nor had I really used public transportation, my friends were quite helpful in teaching me the ways of the big city.  *Disclaimer: I've used taxis in Chicago, San Antonio, and Mexico. I've also ridden the subway in Washington D.C. but that was in a large group with someone telling us what to do and where to get off.* We then drove to the Park and Ride station, which also has parking for bikes. Purchasing a ticket was simple. I inserted my debit card, selected that I wanted a day pass (smallest increment is 2 hours and we didn't know how long dinner would take), and I got my ticket. Then we waited underneath a canopy in the typical Portland drizzle and made jokes.

My first MAX ticket.

The ride was uneventful. It was dark and I couldn't see anything outside of the windows. I'm looking forward to riding again during the day so I can see the lovely Portland landscape. The MAX passes through a tunnel through the huge hills between Beaverton and Portland. During that time, it's hard to hear so we could only talk loudly to the person next to us. Once we entered Portland the MAX's automated voice told us what stop we were at and to exit to the right. Then it gave directions again in Spanish. One of the guys even spoke with the announcement in both languages. It wasn't his first trip. Google Maps was also helpful in determining our stop but we still checked a large map that told us where each stop was. It was located right next to the bike racks. (So awesome!)

The sushi bar.

We exited and walked to the restaurant. It was an amazing traditional Japanese place. Patrons sat around tables, traditional Japanese style. The tables were regular height but situated as if you were sitting on the ground (you had to step up to get to the seating). Our party was large so we could sit at the bar top or a table in the bar section was opening soon. I was sad that we sat at an "American" table and plan to go back to sit at a traditional table next time. I tried new foods, some of which were delicious and others I won't be sampling again.

The ride back was the same as the ride into town. I was a little sad that no one checked my ticket either time. Apparently, there are people that check tickets and year-long passes but they're not on every train. I made jokes about getting caught without one and being thrown off the train, Indiana Jones style. My Portland friends informed me that you get taken somewhere (police station, TriMet depot, I can't remember) and receive a $250 fine. You can also be arrested and/or banned from riding. That is a gamble I'm not going to take.