Things I love about Portland

Striving for %100 positivity here

• I have a west facing high window and can watch the sunset every clear night
• Vegetarianism coexists next to a "Let's eat that entire pig or better yet a goat" culture
• Fred Myers , the local hyper-market that backstops every other shop (if they don't have it at X, I can always get it or something like it at Freddie's)
• They put hazelnuts in everything where it makes sense.
• In addition to the OPEN/SHUT signs that are ubiquitous on business doors, I saw one where the "N" was cut off an extra "OPEN" sign and appended to the front to read "NOPE"
• The cyclists aren't as aggressive as the SF area
• Now that it's Spring I can see that there are a lot of cherry trees.
• Everyone likes that they're here but no one says stuff like "It's the best place on Earth" like I've heard in SF and NYC
• Sophie Soong doing the weather.,and interviewing
• Most street parking is unmetered and that portion that is is only $1.60/hr (takes coins and cards)
• No sales tax. I like this more for not having to do math on a full stomach than for saving the 9.75% to 10.5%
• It's seems equally acceptable to be a hipster, to make fun of hipsters, or to make fun of people making fun of hipsters
• Every place that sells food seems like it will sell it to you on a house made biscuit as well.
• Damian Lillard, gonna be NBA Rook of the year
• There is a place not to far from me with Skee-ball

More Weather stuff that only I care about

So how much is good weather worth? about $600/month it seems (at least in terms of rent). Blue is where I used to live. Purple is where I live now.

Weather Comps

I guess I really wasn't prepared for how much worse the weather is here than in the Bay Area

From NOAA, Nov 2012

8.23 inches of rain here vs 4.06 at SFO
11 degrees cooler (on avg) for a high and 8 degrees cooler for a low

                    PDX  SFO

CLEAR  (SCALE 0-3)   0    10
PTCLDY (SCALE 4-7)   9    15
CLOUDY (SCALE 8-10) 21     5

Still better than Troy or Rensselaer, NY without a car!

Portlandisms to adopt

In the same vein as "open/shut" signs, food service personal sometimes ask if you are "Staying or Going?" , I am used to the question being asked about my order, "For here or To Go?". The Portland way seems more personal. Though I admit that if it's a woman doing the asking I feel like I'm at the start of country music duet and want to croon a reply, "I'ma stayin' darlin. I'll always be by your side. 'least till this buttermilk scone is nothin' but crumbs and good memories"

First hail today.

Sunday was the first time I "came home" to Portland after being away overnight.

Update: ok, now it's hailed two days in a row. WTF did I sign up for here??

Update: 3rd hail on Dec 17

I wonder if there are uniforms

"Develop a cheese packaging organization capable of producing desired business results"

This may be may favorite job ad snippet so far. It's real and for the Tilamook creamery out by the coast. In 2006 on a road trip to a wedding in the Seattle area I stopped in for the tour and an an ice cream cone.

If I were to have this job, I would repeatedly speed dial "Wait, wait, don't tell me" every week.

As usual, confidence is 180 degrees out of phase with capabilities

Double thumbs!... then I proceeded to come in 10th out of 10. In general I think I can do something and find I'm woefully unprepared OR I think something is impossible and then I ace it. There very little middle ground when I evaluate a project/obstacle for the necessary skills/preparation, do the work, and fulfill expectations exactly.

As some past girlfriends have said: I'm all black and white. She said I needed to find my shades of gray... oh , I think I now know why she was tightening my tie so hard when she leveled that constructive criticism.

Loop de loop

Walked around inner Portland today
16 miles, one muffin, one bagel, one 12" pizza