My Latest Favorite Bumpersticker...

I'm not a big fan of bumper stickers in general, although that wasn't always the case. I went through a rather lengthy car-adorned bumper sticker phase....the melange of worthy causes and then one-by-one, the stickers came off of my car. I had grown tired of the in-your-face quality that bumper stickers seem to naturally take on. And I was particularly disallusioned by the negative ones, "anti_____" and "no _____." What about "pro peace" instead of "anti-violence" and "one more bike" instead of "one less car?"

I wanted to experiment with the idea of not wearing my beliefs on "my sleeve" so to speak. I wanted to be the hybrid driver without the vegan sticker, the vegan without the Farm Sanctuary sticker, etc. It was hard for me not to cave to the notion that I was selling out on my core values, but the gesture was symbolic of an internal shift and I wanted to honor that.

That being said, there's one in my car, a "Begin Anew" sticker and that resonates with my path, especially my spiritual path, moreso than the ones that used to decorate my car. And admittedly two bumper stickers caught my eye - one was an Obama sticker, "Old, White Men for Obama" and one was on a car in my neighborhood, "Kiss Me, I'm Organic" ...both strong statements said in a playful way. Now those are my kind of bumper stickers.

My Neck of the Woods

October 20, 2008

In 1843, a man named William Overton saw great commercial potential for what is now Portland but lacked the funds required to file a land claim. He struck a bargain with his partner Asa Lovejoy of Boston, Massachusetts: for 25¢, Overton would share his claim to the 640 acre site. Overton later sold his half of the claim to Francis W. Pettygrove of Portland, Maine. Pettygrove and Lovejoy each wished to name the new city after his respective home town; this was decided with a coin toss, which Pettygrove won in a series of two out of three tosses. The coin used for this decision, now known as the Portland Penny, is on display in the headquarters of the Oregon Historical Society.

This is one of the tidbits I've learned about Portland since I've moved here.

I live in what has to be one of the most unique parts of the city. I live at the intersection of Vaughn and 29th in the NW section of the city where the streets are numerical and alphabetical, making it difficult to get lost (I actually live quite close to Lovejoy, Overton and Pettygrove. My complex, Macleay Gardens neighbors I'm walking distance to several bus lines, a street car, a mile from my co-op, Food Front, blocks from my credit union (never a line), a 10-minute walk to Wallace Park, and steps a 5,000 acre forest (Forest Park).

I live right next to the NW Industrial area....I frequently hear trains in the late afternoon here and over the summer, I could smell yeast from one of the industrial breweries. Yum. Apparently, this area was swamp land in the 19th century when an early settler received it as a donation land claim in 1848. In the 1880s the Northern Pacific Railroad built the Guild's Lake Rail Yard, and rail switching facilities have ever since played an integral role in the area's development (along with US Highway 30, which runs alongside te tracks here). A drive through this part of Portland gives me a real feel for the historical influences of this city. I eat this stuff up.

#59 - A Number with a Magical Ring

The moons are amazing here in Portland....admittedly, just as great as they were in San Diego, but the combined warm fall air and a full moon....a moon with an orange hue is just astounding.

I treated myself to what has become known as #59 at Thai E-San but made the mistake of running into the restaurant at 8:35p! They stop taking eat-in orders at 8:30p. I was salivating thinking about my dish - fried rice, tofu, crushed peanuts, cilantro in a chili lime sauce in lettuce cups.

I said that what I was about to share may sound wild but that I had committed to living plastic-free for 3 months as part of an art collective (surprisingly, she didn't look at me as though I had three heads. So, I asked if there was any way she could wrap my food up in foil. She retorted that my food would spill everywhere and I said I didn't care what form it came in if it wasn't in plastic.

What also stood out this week was creating a list serve in my Macleay Gardens community. I placed an announcement up by the mailboxes and some people responded and we now exchange postings that contain questions, information about local events and gatherings in the community. It seemed a natural outgrowth of many conversations I was having with neighbors in the courtyard.

Full Circle

October 13, 2008

For the first 6 months of my life in Portland, I was washing dishes and doing food prep for a catering company, cashiering at the farmer's market and unloading the farm's truck at 5:30a on Saturday mornings, cleaning homes, and also doing the occasional dog walking and animal sitting. I got my hands into "anything" I could find to make ends meet. The low hit when I applied for and was grant unemployment benefits. Did I have to let go of my ego at that time and surrender to life's unfolding. I can say that this was probably one of one of the most humbling periods of my life.

At some point, I picked up a book at Powell's bookstore about landing positions in Portland's sustainability sector. This is the third publication that I would pick up that would play a pivotal role in my life.

Then, on a whim, I made a list of all of the people I knew in Portland, even if loosely. I went out with one of these colleagues, Pam Frasch, an animal attorney who works with the Animal Legal Defense Fund. She treated me to lunch and we had a heart-to-heart about where I saw myself heading. She asked me what I would want in a dream position. I told her that while I would likely switch career paths in the next couple of years, that I envisioned aligning myself with my values, doing something that could sustain me and working in a place where there was a sense of community. I was surprised by my vagueness, but those were the pearls I was hanging onto. She told me that she used to sit on the board of a local non-profit organization called Northwest Earth Institute. I was familiar with their work and it helped to have a personal connection.

I started interning at the NW Earth Institute in July, helping their curriculum team and that turned out to be one of the best choices I could have made. One thing led to the next and the intern turned into a PT position and the PT then turned into a FT position. The manager of the outreach team encouraged me to apply for the position THREE times. I interviewed for the position on October 3 and was offered the position 45 minutes later. Deb, the woman who encouraged me to apply called me at home to relieve my anxiety and give me the good news (they were going to let me know on Monday). That was a good Friday. I am now the Director of Organizational and Higher Education Partnerships.

The staff is small, there's a great sense of community (we did yoga during one of our breaks), we have great benefits, including a transportation subsidy for biking and taking the bus (it takes me 20 minutes to ride to work and perhaps 15 when the rain and cold really hit!) and there's so much potential for growth in this role.

The view out of my office window is Mt. Hood. It feels SO good to have an office space outside of my home. I just took the last shred of humane education-related anything to the office! I take great pleasure in answering the office phone, lunching with co-workers and having a work space to decorate. I've gone to town on decorating as you can imagine. Candles and peppermint essential oil permeate my area.

Background: NWEI offers discussion courses on global warming, food and sustainability issues, healthy children, sense of place, deep ecology and voluntary simplicity. The discussion circles are participant- led and designed to get participants to examine personal values, attitudes and habits in a group setting. I love the support network component of these discussions.

What I am doing is building partnerships with colleges, universities and organizations across the country. I'm also providing support and training to their sister network (about 22 affiliate organizations across the country). I have already met so many people. Yesterday, I attended a green technology event that hosted a speaker from IBM. On Monday, I speak to a group of engineers. It's a wonderful feeling to engage those who want to be part of the conversation. It is truly invigorating to see change happening in places where the energy has been stagnant. The consciousness is shifting.

To say that I learned a lot about myself during this time is a severe understatement! to trust my intuition....that I have the courage to stick around when the going gets tough rather than running for the hills, not to expect any one thing, that practicing patience is a choice (endless unanswered questions)... seemingly, to maintain humor, that I have chutzpah (twice I made the case for why I should be granted a second interview when I was turned down after the first), to kick the victim mentality (i.e. 'someone show me some mercy!') to the curb. There were times I felt invisible....unseen and unheard....my cup runneth over with the awareness that I am seen and heard and that the staff recognized what I had to offer. They greeted me with a sunflower and vegan donuts on my first day in the office. What literal and figurative sweetness.

On the Wing

Last weekend, I saw "On The Wing," a new documentary which tells the story of Portland, Oregon’s Chapman Vaux Swifts (see previous posting about the swifts).

If you don't prefer to see the old posting, here's a little background: each fall these birds roost in the chimney of a Portland elementary school and put on an amazing nightly aerial display to the delight of hundreds and thousands of observers.

The event has become a cult phenomenon over the past 15 years and is a shining example of people choosing to coexist with nature rather than smoking it out.

On The Wing captures the community, energy and excitement of the entire Swifts phenomenon.

I saw this movie at Cinema 21, a really neat little theatre on 21st street and was so happy to support a local artist. He got up before the curtains opened (like old time curtains used to do) and introduced himself. The theatre was packed and that made me equally happy.