Portland and a Fall Weekend

It’s been a long time….again. I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m not really. I don’t much like the blogging thing, but I do miss you all so here is an update.

I’ve been in Portland for about 5 1/2 weeks. Still no job, but I have about 10-15 applications in and have gotten only two rejections that I know of….though it appears that most employers just never respond around here. Anyhow, the quick update on that is that I have an application in with Habitat for Humanity and I’m really excited about that possibility, I have several applications for therapist positions in and will turn in another today. I also have several for research and grant jobs and couple for child welfare jobs, oh and one for a nursing home. Right,  that’s enough about that. It’s a depressing process.

Anyhow, Ali and I wanted to go do something fun this weekend because she is starting to see counseling clients at her internship this week and life is about to get even more busy. Beth, Ali’s roomate, recommended a place called Sylvia Beach that is all about books, reading and relaxing by the beach. It’s really really cool, they have “dorms” which is essentially hostel-like living arrangements in addition to many rooms named after authors. Ali walked around and took pictures of alot of the rooms which you will eventually see on her blog, I’m sure. Anyhow, it was a great place to hang out and read and we met some cool people. However, the drive up and down the coast was also incredible. We intentionally took as many back roads as we could and it was totally worth it. So here’s a photo tour.

Starting with my decision to try to get closer to the 12 foot waves of the day.

I haven't looked up from the camera so I did not see the crazy large anomalous wave.

Yep, it's going to hit me.

Guess I better run.

The wave did in fact hit me…but I ran fast enough that it was more like a heavy misting than a “slam you into the rocks and crush you” kind-of-a-hit. Ali did not get pictures because she was convinced I was going to die. I would like to point out that she though this was a dumb idea to begin with and I have proven that in fact it was not a dumb idea because we got cool pictures out of it.

The waves were seriously huge though.

We even jumped a fence to see a cave, this cave goes far back underneath where I am standing when I took this, but I couldn’t capture the depth without getting in the cave….which would have killed me. So I passed.

Here is a view from the Sylvia Beach Hotel. Even on rainy days, it’s beautiful.

It’s also sometimes just really pretty. This is the view from 300 foot cliffs.

So that’s it. It is so beautiful along the coast. I love this state at least aesthetically.

I’m going to watch a movie now. See you in a couple months or so!

Hello Ohio

The past two weeks have really been a whirlwind. I’ve never socialized so much before. Two Thursdays ago (that’s right I’m so lazy I’m not even going to look up the date) Ali flew in to Columbus. We then proceeded to visit 44 people in the next 14 days. We saw all of my immediate family and some of my extended family. We saw all of Ali’s immediate family. We saw best friends, old friends, new friends, roomates and significant others related to all of the above. We ate out almost every night. Ouch. But it was worth it. It was worth it to see each person that we saw and to spend some time with all the people we care about because last Friday the 19th of September we started heading toward Portland with everything I own in my car. We saw my sisters and brothers and their kids on the way and we saw Ali’s sister and brother in Colorado Springs. We also saw Mark and Tyler in Chicago and Denver respectively. We experienced the feeling of sitting in a car for a 19 hour trip between Wisconsin and Colorado springs in a single day and I could definitely go the rest of my life without driving that much straight again. Mostly I think we learned and realized just how much we are loved. I think everyone is loved just like we are but it’s not often that you see such a physical representation of it. I’m thankful that we had 44 people who care enough about us to actually want to see us as we left.

Anyhow, I already miss Ohio but I also miss Wisconsin, Indiana and Colorado Springs where I found new incredible people. Ok, I’m not going to dwell on that it will make me homesick.

Now I’m in Portland and I am staying at Elena’s (Elena is one of Ali’s best friends). I’m going to get a place with Bethany, a new friend inherited through Ali. We found a place out on the NE side. It’s pretty far out but it’s also in a more diverse neighborhood which is pretty important to me. Portland’s minority population appears to be very small (possibly 10% total compared to 40-50% in Columbus). It’s weird being in a city that is supposedly so liberal and freespirited and yet there is a significant amount of expressed racial prejudice. It’s little things, not white hats and dance parties around burning crosses, but it’s there and it bugs me.

I need a job. I’m pretty set on getting one soon and I’m pretty set on not accepting a social work job for less than $15 per hour. Unfortunately that might mean that I am not going to be working in the social work field. I am also looking at other options. I’m actually really excited though to check out a couple other social work possibilities in the near future. I’m going to look into elder care and gerontological social work. I dont particularly like nursing homes, but they exist and they need social workers so I am going to look at that. I’m also going to look in to community based gerontological social work. I think it’s definitely time for me to switch social work gears away from child abuse and neglect but I don’t know if that will actually work out.

This morning I’m going to go to Imago. I’m very excited about this. I love the fact that there is church out there who adopts and puts into practice the principles of social justice that Jesus lived by.

I’m going to give you all a brief pictorial presentation of the last several weeks with captions. Good luck. We start with our visit to Cincinnati to see Ali’s Sister-in-Law, brother, dad and nephews. It was a lot of fun.

Matthew really wanted to scuba dive this is the first known attempt at land scuba diving. Matthew is a pioneer. I’m pretty proud of him.

Andrew is pioneering the art of back yard water luging.

After our visit to Cincinnati we returned to Westerville to hang with my parents and go boating.

Ali’s glamor shot of sorts.

My dad decided he wanted to water ski and I unfortunately had told him that if he went I would go too. Here are a couple shots. I think we’re pretty studly… but I’m trying to learn to be more humble.

The old man is rocking it out.

Uh huh.

Ali also went water skiing. I was in the water during that event, however, so there are no pictures. She did very well for her first time. I think with a couple more attempts she would have been a pro.

In westerville we also so other folks, refer to Ali’s blog for pictures and explanation. After Westerville we went to Indianapolis to see my sister, brother and the 47 children.

This is some of the 47 children. Aren’t they cute?

It’s probably not a good idea to allow me to take care of the children.

Almost the whole crew eating breakfast.

What a lovely baby.

There’s Mikey!

There’s Carmen!

After this visit we went to Fond Du Lac Wisconsin to see Joey, Derek and the kids.

Joey and Vita at the lighthouse.

Derek and Manny at the lighthouse.

Derek is looking very hip.

Ali and me at the lighthouse.

After Wisconsin we took off for Colorado Springs to see Ali’s sister, brother-in-law and Java Dog. We drove there straight. It was 19 hours of driving, singing, dancing in the car, celebrating life, you know, it was a good time…Ali disagrees, but I thought it was fun. We arrived at midnight and passed out. The next day we got lunch with Ali’s sister Cris. Cris is really nice and I think I’d like to adopt her as another sister.

We went to Garden of the Gods. This is Ali honing her climbing skills.

I also worked on my climbing skills.

Here is an artsier look at Ali’s climbing skills.

Java Dog playing in the park.

These are some climbers doing what they do.

That pretty much covers the trip. I didn’t take any pictures in Denver when we were with Tyler and Sharisse. The drive accross Idaho was crazy dark and long. Ali was sick. It was rough. We recovered at a truck stop where I got Spaghetti which sucked…but boosted my energy and Ali started feeling better. We arived ofn Friday evening and relaxed saturday. On Sunday we help Sarah, Ali’s roomate move. It was fun actually, as far as moving goes. Today I’m going to talk to a landlord about a place. I’m hoping they will push our application through quickly as I have no place to live and am staying with people for the time being. Anyhow, this is the rare and ridiculously long post. I miss you all….unless you are among those I still see everyday…in that case see you soon.

New Orleans

I’m in New Orleans. For the past 9 months I have been so sure that this is where I wanted to be. Now that I am here, I’m thinking otherwise. I went and talked to Pastor Jose tonight. He and I discussed my current situation…the details of which are not relevant and you would know if I wanted you to…and he told me something I will never forget as I struggle about the possibility of leaving lowernine after just two days with the organization. He said that God gave us free will and he will honor our choice. I feel very guilty for even considering leaving but when he said this I realized something…maybe being here wasn’t the point…maybe getting here was the point. Coming back here after Portland was terribly difficult and, honestly, felt wrong in almost every way. I could not wrap my head around why I was returning. Since I have been here I’ve met some young people who desperately want to change the world and impact it for good. They are searching, searching for meaning, for who they are, for who they’ll become. What’s funny is that when I first planned to come here…that’s what I was searching for too. But I found my answers. I know who I am. I don’t need to find myself….and instead I’ve found myself here terribly out of place, uncomfortable and largely unnecessary. I don’t feel particularly welcomed or wanted. No one even remembered that I was coming. I found my bed in the pitch black dark and dirty room with 7 other people in it. I tried to lay a sheet out and couldn’t get it on the bed. Instead I tried to sleep roughly on the sheet and failed…I was up all night. The next day I met Eric. He is the bomb. I really enjoy working with him. He is 20 and has a big heart with little direction. I think he’ll figure it out though. I worked hard and got alot done. I worked hard today too and got little done. But by the end of the day…partially due to alot of crap that is happening, partially due to whatever is wrong with this situation…I was just done. Sometimes you just know. You know that something isn’t right and you have to find the solution before it will be ok again. I know that I’m not alright here. Pastor Jose told me that after I make a decision I will know that it’s right because I will have peace. I have no peace here. Everything is a hot mess and honestly it feels like a horrendous repeat of 6th grade summer camp. I think I felt like I was supposed to do this at one time…but I know that I don’t feel that way any longer.

I have a life. I have people I love. I have a goal. I have a vision. I know who I am and what I stand for. There may be something for me to contribute here…but there is far more for me to lose. So I am going to leave. I’ve only quit a handful of things in my life. So this is going to probably suck. I wish that I could stay, that I was in a place in life where I could be of use here and help out longer…but I cannot. I’m afraid I have to leave. I’m afraid that this is not my home any longer.

I have confidence now that this is going to be ok. I don’t have confidence that what I am doing is right. Mostly, I feel guilty for abandoning something I feel I have committed to. But there’s no use in feeling guilt, Yes, I am abandoning them. For that I’m sorry…But like Vanessa said, “you can’t even worry about that, you have to do what the Lord leads you to do.” I love her faith and her confidence. I don’t know if God is leading me to leave this place, but I am going to use my free will. The plan set in Jello is to go to Columbus, Work with Doc for a couple weeks and then move to Portland in early September. I have made no commitment to anything yet, though I’m guessing that by this time tomorrow it will all be decided, right or wrong.

I feel I’m trading in my perception of the adventurous life for a chance at something far better, that’s both adventurous and right. This feels like I’m taking a chance and making the hard decision. I’ve done that alot this year. I’m going to probably keep doing it.

To the loyal readers

Dear loyal readers and fans,

I’m writing to apologize for the notable absence of updates to this here blog. You have not been forgotten and you are still appreciated.

In the past several weeks I packed up what I own, gave away what I don’t need (and some what I do) and moved to New Orleans for the next three months. So not much is really happening here…pretty much the same old same old.

A group of 13 of us left for New Orleans on Thursday and Friday of last week. The Andersons home is the first part of why I am in New Orleans. That is what we went to work on during the first week. My cousin, Matt, my friend Kelly and her friend Sonya drove down Thursday and we left at 5:30AM. Which, for me, is insane.

On the way down, Matt ate a giant potato.

Unfortunately when we arrived Matt felt very sick, possibly due to said giant potato.

So we decided that a day of relaxation would be ok…..actually we just had a miscommunication on what we were supposed to be doing all day….anyhow, this is the extent of what we did:

Then Matt started feeling better so we cooked dinner:

I forgot to mention there were tons of teenagers on a trip down here that were staying the same rooms as us. They were nice, but loud. Here’s a picture of matt feeling better and on the “girls side” of the room. We are such rule breakers….though it was a little uncomfortable that they would rather have us sleep in the same room with the creepy youth leaders than with the “girls.”

Anyhow, that night, my uncle, mom, dad and Josh arrived. We hung out a bit, went to sleep and got up the next day to try to be productive…which we sort of were. Then on Sunday, we went to church and then to the house on Andry St. (The Anderson’s house) and we spent the day cleaning and organizing so we could get work done starting Monday…we also cut out sections of drywall to secure the forgotten joist hangers. This was an unfortunate job, but had to be done. The next five days we worked and even though there were times with less to do…we remained mostly busy and productive during our time working on the house. Here is a series of pictures:

Here’s my uncle doing what he do.

Brenda, my mom and Vanessa:

Sorry…dont have the picture right now, will get it later. Instead this is Dan and my mom. My mom is the bomb and Dan is the man. Word?

Dan decided to get a haircut to help him adjust to the temperature here…Factoring humidity it is averaging 103 degrees. This is Dan, psyched about the haircut:

This is Kelly terrified that she has agreed to take the hair of an 11 year old into her reckless hands:

Man that guy is looking sharp with his haircut. Good decision Dan, the ladies are going to love it.

Back to working pictures:

Whoops, you weren’t supposed to see that. Matt did actually do real work sometimes.

That’s right I’m so hardcore:

What a team:

Seriously, we are so hardcore, you can’t even flex to this, wut?

In the above picture is left to right: Pastor Jose, Matt, Me and Josh. Ya’ll cant front.

That’s sort of a brief synopsis. I know what you are thinking: that didn’t feel brief. I’m in Portland now hanging with Ali until Monday, the 11th. Portland is a fantastic city and the fact that there are beaches and mountains a little over an hour away is huge. I will write a real post about Portland soon…but it took me nearly a week to complete this post…so don’t hold your breath. Just check back occasionally.

West…The End

We are home. Officially. Though I suppose I use the word somewhat loosely. I feel like I should update you on how the trip concluded. So I will.

We went to Joey and Derek’s house. For those who don’t know “Joey” is my sister Rebecca, I think she looks like Joey from Dawson’s Creek…well I did when she was 17. Quit judging me. Anyhow, I posted about Joey’s earlier but I haven’t had a chance to put up my own pictures from day. The last pictures were Joey’s…which is why I was in some of them, obviously.

Ok, here are Joey and Derek. They’re very clever I suppose.

Or at least they’re cute.

Here’s some pictures of the kids at the beach and at the house.

Pretty cute kids, eh? Yeah, you should talk to them. They are stinking HILARIOUS. Vita says these really complex jokes and usually they are somewhat abstract and violent. I know it’s not right, but I really want to encourage her. She has a dark gift, I think.

We went from Wisconsin to Indy and stayed the night at Kristin and Mike’s and saw their 47 children again. Then, for whatever reason, Kristin and the 47 kids followed us to Westerville.

Jaala and Jordan:

There’s something terribly wrong with my mom:

Josh always has a positive, can-do attitude:

Kieran is still kicking:

Notice the band aid and scars. I freaking love this kid:

I believe Carmen is posing as a shark:

My Aunt Laura, Ellen and Mom are facinated by Andre’s toes.

My sister and I are sometimes just too much to handle. We had to turn up the A/C. Word?

It’s so good to see nearly everyone in my family right before I am going to move farther away. I’m really glad we got back today so that we could do this.

So that is the whole trip. I feel like the end of this part of the journey was a little anti-climactic. Part of the reason for the anti-climax might be that I keep falling asleep while typing this…who knows. It’s been good having you all along on the trip.

Next I’m packing up my life in smaller possessions, getting rid of the larger ones, and heading for New Orleans. I will continue to update, but probably much less frequently. I hope that we were able to provide some humor or at least put a faint grin on your faces. It’s been real.

On to The Big Cheese

On Saturday night we stayed in Moorhead, as previously posted, and had the worst Mexican food ever. We got up at the crack of 8:30 and took off for Wisconsin to see Joey and the kids. It was a long drive. I drove most of the day which I don’t mind because I’m a power-hungry-egomaniac. The drive was uneventful, but with the promise of a hot meal at Joey’s house, we pressed on at a remarkable clip.

Anyhow, we got to Joey and Derek’s humble hollywood style Wisconsin oasis around 6:09pm and dinner was delicious. We watched “Why Did I Get Married?” Don’t watch this movie. It’s awful. Ok, not awful, there’s just alot of bad acting and crying. We also went to Starbucks. It was really nice to be in civilization again…as much as Fond Du Lac counts as “civilization.” Anyhow, I got very little sleep, but it was good sleep and we woke up today to go to lake Michigan.

Vita, Manny and I constructed a pond of sorts on the beach:

It was alot of fun. I think my pasty white skin might have gotten some color too. Even if it’s red.

We came home, had lunch, ate rootbeard floats and are now sitting in front of the TV writing this here blog.

That is all.

The other Badlands

I took the day off yesterday and left you at the mercy of the old man. Sorry about that. Here’s a brief update on the day yesterday,

We took off not-so-early at 8:30am or so. I got very little sleep due to an uncomfortable bed and the itch of a migraine in the back of my head. When we finally got moving my head was pounding. Naturally I was pretty unpleasant–because it was morning–but with the added head pain, I was pretty unlovable. We got some coffee and hit the road. We were headed for Roosevelt National Park, otherwise known as the North Dakota Badlands. I drove the whole way. Headphones on most of the time, absolutely jamming out to The Amazing Road Trip CD 1. It’s on sale at the local stop-n-shop. No, it isn’t, don’t go wasting your gas looking for it. You can’t have it.

Anyhow, we were cruising through Montana on highway 2 and it occurred to me that Travel Magazine might have been wrong. US 2 through Northern Montana is sort of like the sunset. It’s not something that can or should be described. I feel this way about most of the Canadian Rockies as well. Even the greatest of poets would struggle to define that part of the world. You see that even now I’m jumping around the issue because I am not, afterall, a poet. Look, you’ve seen some of the pictures, so all you really need to know is that they don’t do it justice.

Ok, so we took US 2 over to13 and down to the Teddy Roosevelt National Park (104miles without a gas station). Here’s a picture of the Badlands.

Nevermind, this is on the way into the park, with a massive headache, does this guy look like he just killed a man or what? Maybe I did. Maybe that’s where the bodies are Kim, who knows.

Look at this studly man.

Or how about these two.

And check out these feet. What’s up with the feet anyhow. This guy has issues.

After we finished up there we realized that there is nothing east of Roosevelt that we wanted to see. I then came up with the ingenious idea that we should try to put down 6-7 hour of driving so we could make it to Joey’s house on Sunday night. See Joey works on Tuesday, so we were going to delay our arrival until Tues night, but she has no work on Monday and we have no where to go really, so we decided to pick em up and lay em down. Right. We stayed the night in Moorhead, Minnesota in a nasty, but 45 dollar per night, hotel. It was damp, smelled funny and now I have an itch, but still beautiful. We ate Panchero’s Mexican something-or-other for dinner. When we walked up to the door I observed only white people working. Now one thing you have to understand about any type of Mexican food, or frankly any non-American food, is that it’s all about the seasoning. For what ever reason an anomaly exists that dictates “no white man can properly season Mexican food.” For this reason I refuse to eat at Chipotle if there are only white people working. Now I know, this is a sensitive issue that relies primarily on stereotypes, but if you are honest with yourself you will see that I might just be right. Anyhow, we went in and bought food against our better judgment and it was fine, but it was not right. It was fake Chipotle with a distinctly Caucasian flare. I was bummed. It was expensive. Chipotle would weep at how bad of a knock-off this place really was.

Anyhow, we had fantastic cell service, which was great finally and I slept really well after the wheezing guy beside me stopped rumbling the room. Too harsh. Sorry Dad.

Anyhow, we got up this morning and are now back on the road, 294 miles form Joey’s house and moving at 65mph. We’ll arrive in 5.5 hours. I will attempt another update tonight with pictures of the kids! I’m so excited to see them. Anyhow, adios.

A post from “the old man”

Our northwestern photostudy vacation is drawing to a close and I finally get my own post. I have spent this entire vacation in a support position performing logistical and organizational tasks along with financial support. However, my most important role was as photographer to the mighty photoblogster, Rob (also known as ‘boy’).

Camera set-up is a major part of our day.

Although Rob is really the center of attention, the scenery occasionally gets in the way.

Another large part of our time is spent in checking some of the 500 images that Rob takes on a daily basis. I think the theory is that if you take enough pictures, a few are bound to look good.

Personally, I think he is making up all of that stuff about F-stops and HDR. Who ever heard of fill flash or graduated neutral density filters anyway? I told him he should just stick with a point-and-shoot camera… KIDS…

Honestly, this has been fun and a learning experience too. Time hiking in the mountains, up to a lake, or to see a waterfall is well spent. Hours on the highways and back roads of America are an investment in the lives of one another. We have seen many wonderful sights in the US and some breathtaking scenery in the Canadian Rockies. Everywhere we look, we see the hand of God and His invisible qualities. As Paul wrote, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

Thanks for indulging me.

The ‘old’ man.

Another short day on an iceberg

We survived the night last night, but barely. There was a 40mph wind most of the night and the rain was pouring almost all night. We stayed dry in our beds, but the tent was pretty wet when we got up. There was as small lake below us. It was about 40 degrees when we got up this morning and the wind was still blowing pretty steady. It was the roughest night in a tent so far. We got moving slowly and we did not get out of the campground until about 9:30am. It was a two coffee morning which means my stomach hurt a bit today. The coffee was good, but we spent $9.50 for 4 cups of non-coffee house coffee and that seems a bit ridiculous. Anyhow, we went out to East Glacier this morning to hike and find a waterfall. We chose St. Mary’s Waterfall which is on the St. Mary River. Anyhow, these are shots of the valley before we went up the mountain:

Artsy huh?

Anyhow, we took off up the mountain and made a couple stops…because I couldn’t help myself. Glacier is thebombDOTcom. Here’s one of the stops.

Then I needed a nice place to recline so I sat in this rock crevasse that was perfect for reclining:

Here’s another of the stop, it had some pretty awesome cliffs, which I considered diving off of ever so briefly. I had to de-escalate myself using CIT tactics, reframing and sheer luck.

We got to the trail and took the obligatory group photo:

Look, no mud!:

But the waterfall was very cool. Check it out:

After this we ran up the hill back to the truck. It was a pretty good workout and we were feeling less wimpy than we had the previous several days. I drove the first shift out into the open fields of Montana. I love the trains.

We are staying in a hotel tonight. The first time in 11 days. I was pushing for the tent tonight, but the old man really wussed out. Something about not wanting to blow away. There are 40mph winds. So now we’re sitting in our hotel and getting ready to sleep. I’m looking forward to sleeping in a bed. I don’t have much else to say. Maybe I will have something clever for you in the morning. Goodnight.

Back from the 51st State

July 10

We woke up early today. There was so much rain last night and it pounded on the tent. It was about 40 degrees when we got up and with windchill probably in the mid thirties. We intended to hike around Lake Louise this morning and then head south, but being the complete pansies we are, we instead decided to run up and see the lake real quick because it was raining and then start driving south to warmer weather and cell phone service. I was guaranteed by a certain individual, with whom I am traveling but who shall remain nameless, that there would be cell service in St. Mary Montana. Already defeated, we went to the coffee place, paid five dollars for lousy coffee and ran (literally) through the rain to Lake Louise. It was very overcast

Oh and I forgot, the campground we stayed in had an electric fence around it. Yeah, that’s right, we are so hardcore that we couldn’t risk even the slightest possibility that a bear would kill us so we surrounded ourselves with 20,000 volts of mammoth protection. What now bears? What now?

Anyhow, we headed down the highway towards “the Homeland.” Look at this place, seriously, it’s the freaking arctic up here:

But seriously, once we left the mountains, it was perfect. Canada really is a pretty nice country…even the French parts.

Who is that stud?:

Finally back in the country I find out that a certain someone lied about cell phone service at St. Mary, Montana. We aren’t speaking currently due to this fib and it makes dinner preparation a bit more difficult. Anyhow, here is our site for the night. You can’t see the wind, obviously, but it is a-blowing. That’s how we do up here on the range.

As we started cooking dinner, the storm clouds rolled in and we are now having a pretty ridiculous storm. I’m sitting in the truck right now, it’s late and I’m working on the blog. The rain is pouring, its pitch black outside, I have to pee and the internet is slower than billy. I’m off to bed, this will get posted tomorrow.