So much for daily posts

It was definitely my intention to get back into the daily posting habit. But, alas, that's not going to happen. Lots going on here in Stumptown. First things first: I found a job! Well, at least for the short term. I'm working with the Oregon Bus Project (www.busproject.org). It's a grassroots non-partisan political organization that functions as a "vehicle" for democracy and focuses on young voter mobilization and policy education. I think. (Anyone from the Bus should feel free to correct my description). My job is to coordinate volunteers and other bits and pieces for a function we have coming up in a week called Candidates Gone Wild. It's an irreverent variety show featuring local political candidates. The Bus Project stresses local politics, from canvassing for State reps to beating bad ballot measures. And, yes, they have a bus.

Other fun happenings besides job searching: Went camping at Silver Falls, the largest park in the State of Oregon; went hiking at Coyote Wall, on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge (if you think Ithaca is gorges, you should come to the NW); volunteered with my uncle, Dennis, at the Portland Marathon this past weekend; watched a swift migration; went to a lecture about how geckos stick and why we should care; and became the proud owner of a pair of Obama knee socks. If you are not jealous of at least one of the aforementioned activities/acquisitions, then you might find this blog generally boring from here on out. Maybe you'd be more interested in this blog, started by my good friend and future doctor, Jake Rosenberg. Less reading, more visual stimulus: http://thedesktopexperiment.blogspot.com/

People keep asking me why I love Portland so much. My brother, Chris, seemed to want to get into some kind of competition about why Somerville, MA was better than Portland, OR. Yeah, it's okay...I laughed a little too. Just kidding, Chris. We <3 Somerville. But I <3 Portland more. That's all. It's a city about the size of Rochester, NY in population, but with a much better personality. It's surrounded by evergreens and hiking trails, and an easy day trip to the coast, the mountains, the Gorge, and Washington State. I work in a building that is actually the home to the Tazo Tea factory, which means free Tazo Tea all day! And it's sunny all the time. Okay, I lied about the last one. But who needs sun? It's bad for your skin. I think that's why everyone here looks so young.