I know what's different

It's taken me a while to figure this out. Portland has felt fundamentally different from the Bay Area in some way. It's still and calm... and that's it: there's no wind here. There's wind right next to the rivers and up in the Gorge and a couple of hours from here is the country's largest collections of turbines. But just out the window and on the street, the trees don't move.

Accidentally walked by this last week, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy5oN7fv8aw , happens every night for a couple of weeks each September. People sit out on lawn chairs in the park at sunset to watch. When I stumbled upon it I first thought they were waiting for an outdoor movie to begin after dark.

Karmicly strange: the best job opportunities so far are NOT in Portland and one in Portland at a company with the unfortunate acronym, 'UTI'.

Sublet ends on Tuesday midday and still haven't arranged next place.

Shana Tova

Hiking and still being unemployed

This is a trick of perspective. I'm not actually getting any side-boob action here on Natalya. The pic is next to the shelter on the way to McNeil Point on Mt Hood.

Resumes still being bounced back by Applicant Tracking Systems about as fast as I send them out. The minor tweaks aren't working. Might have to go full SEO and embedd keywords in white. Or volunteer for 6 months, again. Or return to the Bay Area and grift.

Too far

Multiple places have Gluten-Free bagels here. WTF?

Just go without! That's a little like the places in Scotland that had vegetarian haggis.

I thought of another way to act like I'm home

Eat the seasonal offerings at the local chain. Didn't go all that well.
Review is here

Went hiking out in the gorge this weekend. Very, very nice waterfalls and a calf-killing climb to a cliff.

Still no heat on jobs. Still staring at my resume trying to figure out how to tear it apart and put it back together.{John Stewart voice ON} "Damn you ATS's!" {John Stewart voice OFF}

Tomorrow, will start looking for another short term sublet for post Sep 25

Bears! (not wild)

I went to the coolest park today. It was called "Portland Zoo" Park I think.
As soon as I started from the 'trailhead', bam! bears on the left of me climbing up a tree.

Portland t-shirts and bumper stickers

Read 1984
I listen to bands that don't even exist yet.
Keep Portland Weird {Imported the slogan from Austin,TX}
Keep Portland Beered
Weird isn't Working! {I like this one because it works on multiple levels}
Portlyn

Jobs I could totally fake

So Milo and I have spent a gloriously warm and clear Portland Labor day inside seeking Labor opportunities. Let's skip the fact that I'm not sure I've spent an entire day inside since April and get right to the hottest prospects:

• Synchronized Swimming Coach  - this job is located in the nearby burb of Beaverton, Oregon (I kid you not. Milo is deadly serious about these things)

• Field Artillery Tactical Data System Specialist - "What do you have here, an 8 -week program? which is *perfect* for me." Actually it says 10 weeks now and I'm excluded because of age. For some reason, this one appeared while I searched a 'green' jobs site. Maybe they refer to the uniform color.

• Python Django Developer - I hear this is going to be an awesome Tarantino movie. Not sure whether my role would be in front or behind the camera.

We all know I'm going to end up in either sales or crime or both. The only question is how low the bank balance must go before I entertain those options.