Portland

Sorry to disappoint but since we've been in Portland (two weeks), I'm not impressed. I'm definitely not a city person so perhaps I'm judging too quickly or just too old but either way I have to keep reminding myself that I'm here for my son. The first night here we stayed in SE Portland near the trendy Hawthorne district. We walked around and Clay loved it. His "hipster radar" was off the charts but it wasn't my taste. However we did discover the historic Bagdad Theater from 1927 and saw the original Japanese version of Godzilla from the balcony. It was pretty cool although I was a bit disappointed that there were subtitles instead of the English voice over that I grew up with where the lips keep moving even after the voice has stopped--haha! You know what I'm talking about. :-)

We spent the next several days looking for a place to live. I was surprised by how many people did not return emails or phone calls. Our requirements were cheap (because my son has to be able to afford it, with a roommate, after I leave) and takes large dogs. In all it was four nights in a motel with a king size bed because two beds are more expensive and at $85 a night I was pinching every penny. At least it came with breakfast. We signed a lease at the first place we looked at because it fit our needs, was within walking distance of a Safeway where my son was a shoe in for a job, and a four miles from the community college. So far it seems to be the biggest mistake I could have made. Here is why: 1) the management team are idiots, and I'm not saying that from a property managers perspective. I'm saying it because the dim wit that showed us the apartment gave me the wrong address. Of course I didn't learn this until the next day after is spent literally hours on the phone (mostly on hold) giving my 'new' address to at least a half dozen companies. It was especially problematic with Comcast which I had signed up for an internet only deal. I won't bore you with the details but take my word for it. 2) They refused to block off three parking spaces for the delivery of the pod and showed me the place to have it delivered, in the parking lot, lined with a red curb. Of course on the day of delivery the driver says he cannot put it in a fire lane. And the city of Tigard will not allow it in the street--and all the streets in the complex are city streets! So, there were three spots in the parking lot across the street where it ended up going. Now normally a pod only takes up one space but needs three to place it and pick it up. And since there were all sorts of problems with not knowing which car belongs to who, he wisely placed it in the middle of two spots. We emptied about half the pod and decided to take a break because we were hot and tired and hungry. Well, before it got too dark out my son went to the pod to get out the mattresses. He came back with only a blue piece of construction paper on which "You are an asshole =)" was written in purple marker. It had been attached to a combination lock to our pod through flower shaped holes punched in it. Needless to say I was livid and the maintenance team claimed to not have any bolt cutters to help us. So I had a terrible nights sleep in the lazy boy, waking up with a sore back and crick in my neck that gave me a ferocious headache all day, and my son slept on the cold hard ground for the second night in a row. Eventually he broke down and bought bolt cutters and we spent the next two days emptying the pod. I let it sit there an extra few days while empty just to piss off the b**ch that tampered with our belongings and verbally assaulted us (on paper). 3) the wifi box I picked up from Comcast didn't work 4) on our way down to Safeway to get some dinner another apartment complex had some water running out of a tree bed (apparently it was a natural spring that just popped up) and I didn't notice the mud on the sidewalk and slipped like it was a banana peel onto my backside. My left foot and ankle were all scraped and bleeding, my entire backside was filthy and my pants ripped. The only good part was that the property manager witnessed the whole thing so when I went back after I'd changed it was no surprise to her. However a week later and there still is no resolution. :-/ 5) TWICE I've walked through the screen door to the balcony, the second time I busted the glass on the outside light. Ugh!

Perhaps my expectations were too high or maybe we just haven't been to the right places yet. I was told the people are super friendly, I was led to believe it is cheaper here and beautiful. Well, haven't encountered ANY friendly people so far, the $4.00/gal gas and my $600 grocery bill-and still empty cabinets-tells me it ain't cheap and although the side streets are beautiful and there is a lot of plant life everywhere, when you are on the main roads it's easy to forget that. They are noisy, crowded, dirty-not so much from litter, more so just black from car exhaust, in disrepair, a fright to cycle on and lined with junky looking stores and rundown restaurants. Of course I'm not referring to downtown Portland proper, just most everywhere outside of it that I've been. Portland proper, from what little I've seen of it, is nice. We went to the Japanese Gardens which are the most authentic outside of Japan. Five acres of serenity and breathtaking beauty in the middle of-and hidden from-the hustle and bustle of a major city. We also had a scrumptious meal at a Lebanese restaurant afterwards and enjoyed browsing through a vintage store with all sorts of goods and clothing from the 1920's-1940's.

Sorry if this post is a downer. I guess it can't always be roses. I'm not going to let it get the better of me either. I've signed up for some meetup groups and I'm looking forward to meeting like-minded people and exploring the rest of Oregon as I think the state as a whole is beautiful. So I will end on a positive note and list 5 good things about living here. 5) the lawns are not perfectly manicured with big mulch rings around every tree in front of cookie cutter homes, but controlled wild, incredible plant life and beautiful, unique homes 4) my kitchen is bigger than the one I had in Maryland 3) the green-ness. Evergreens of all types are everywhere along with giant rhododendrons, the fullest Japanese lace maples I've ever seen and numerous other flora and fauna I have never seen before. And everything seems to grow bigger and healthier than I've ever seen in such a natural yet controlled habitat 2) Tillamook. It is a farmer owned dairy co-op in Tillamook, OR that make a wide variety of delicious, reasonably priced, high quality products. They have a vanilla bean yogurt that is out of this world! 1) I'm on the West coast!