Colorado and Oregon Running

Thought I'd start this post with this sign:

According to Bolder Boulder swag, "Sea level is for sissies." I certainly took pride in running more than a mile above sea level while living in the CO. I feel like Colorado runners are hard core because they train at altitude every. single. day.

And I remember running in Vegas or San Diego or LA and thinking it was easier than running in Colorado.

But you'll never hear me say running in Portland is easier than Colorado.

In fact, I'm going to come right out and say it: it's harder.

It's harder for two reasons:

1. It's unbelievably hilly. And not just for short stints. I'm talking hills that go on for miles. Steep hills that feel no need to level out just so you can catch your breath. These hills are beasts. But the reward of running them is the strength you develop. Not sure if I have become a better runner since moving here, but I am certainly a stronger runner thanks to these hills.

2. It's humid. You don't notice it when you are walking to work or to the store. But you do notice it when you finish running a 10k and your shirt is heavier than you are.

Both Oregon and Colorado offer beautiful scenery for runs. I loved looking at the Rocky Mountains when I ran in Colorado, loved running by big farms with horses and cows grazing in the fields. But I also love running in Oregon, with its incredible deep greens and trees that seem 1,000 feet tall.

Bottom line is I love running in both places. But I have a much deeper history of running in CO. Looking forward to my next phase of my running: the Oregon years.

Side note: be careful when you run by bushes in Oregon. Most are harmless, but a couple have caught hold of me.

Saying Goodbye To Portland

Strange post title. Makes it sound like I'm leaving W+K and Oregon. I'm definitely not. I'm just saying goodbye to living in Portland. This dawned on me as I looked out my apartment window as the sun was setting on a quiet and peaceful Sunday.

Three days from now I'll be out of The Wyatt, out of the Pearl District, and living for a week with a friend from Gates who lives near Beaverton. Then our family will be living in Sherwood, a suburb 30 minutes south of Portland. 

I decided I'd better get outside and walk around the neighborhood, as my time is running out.

I walked over to the Fields Park, a park I looked at often from my apartment. Just this morning there was a huge group Yoga class. At least 100 people. It was cool to see them all move around in unison.

I have those indescribable feelings you get when things are changing. That feeling of wanting time to just stand still a minute. I felt like this time would never come, I've wanted my family here so bad. Now I can't believe this time has come. I'll miss this apartment and its free cable and washer and dryer, but I'll be so much happier with my family. I never want to be apart from them for this long again.

Here are some random shots from my last Sunday in the Pearl. I really should have taken a photo of Portland's first doggie gym, just to prove that such a thing exists.

Multnomah Public Library

When I was in my mid-twenties I had a goal of getting a library card in every city that I visited.

So glad I outgrew that crazy goal.

But I still like getting a library card every time I move. Yesterday I decided to visit the Multnomah Public Library downtown and get my Portland library card.

I wasn't sure they'd let me get a library card since I wasn't technically a resident of Portland or even Multnomah County. When I lived in Colorado and wanted a Denver library card I was living in Castle Rock. They made me provide a credit card. But in typical, laid-back Portland style I was told I wouldn't need to provide anything but a photo ID. No credit card. No proof of residency. Just my out-of-state drivers license. That is so Portland. Rules are a drag, man!

The library is huge and has just about every book known to man. Seriously, the catalog is impressive. And I love libraries that are multiple stories tall.

I checked out a book about the former CEO of Coke, Neville Isdell. I want to learn as much about our clients as possible, just as David Ogilvy taught me.

Time's Almost Up

I was walking home from the office and I realized that my time is almost up at the Wyatt. I have to move out a week from tomorrow. Thankfully my old friend from Gates, Jerry Burn, offered to let me stay at his house in Beaverton for the few days between my eviction and my flight to meet up with my family.

It seems like such a long time ago that I landed at PDX. I remember arriving at the Wyatt in my rental car and having absolutely no idea how to get into the garage. I circled the building a few times before I happened to see someone pulling into the garage, and then I followed them. Then it took me a while to find my parking space. But by the end of the two weeks of having the rental car I knew how to get around easily.

That's the big lesson: things are always scary and confusing when they are new, but you do eventually learn how to do things, and they actually become easy.

I'm going to miss this nice, cable tv-equipped apartment. It has been great to not have to worry about where I am living all this time. Instead I was free to focus on where our family will live when they join me.

It's a very nice apartment, in a very nice apartment building, in a very nice part of town. I especially enjoy looking out the big windows and seeing the immense I-5 bridge.

In eight days I'll leave the apartment for good. And 10 days after that I'll board a plane for SLC and meet the family! We are driving to Oregon instead of flying.

Today was the Producer offsite day, a day dedicated to celebrating, having a good time, and not working. Except Lori and I did have to work. We had a client call at 1pm, smack dab in the middle of all the festivities. But, as Pierre said, the work comes first. Lori and I joined the group later on for dinner at a great Thai restaurant. Here's Pierre giving his evening speech.

After dinner I walked the 1.5 miles home, rather than catching a cab. I walked over the Burnside Bridge and snapped this photo of a famous sign. The lighting is terrible.

Market Street Branch

Forward: This post incorporates a lot of LDS lingo, including:

Ward: A congregation defined by geographical boundaries. LDS people are assigned to wards based on where they live.

Branch: Similar to a ward, but the total membership of a branch is usually much smaller than a ward. Branches are formed in areas where the LDS population isn't dense enough to warrant a ward. 

Stake: A grouping of 10-12 wards or branches. Like a state that is comprised of several cities.

Institute: A place of spiritual education. Think Sunday school for people during the week. Institutes are typically close to universities.

I attended church at the Market Street Branch, which meets in the institute building across the street from Portland State University. I'm glad I had the experience of riding my bike downtown to get to church. I always love meeting with branches. True, I've only done it one other time (Long Island), and only for one week, but I really enjoy the eclectic people I get to meet. I can only speak for myself, but I think I get caught up in the traditions of family wards, and I get used to the homogeneous atmosphere. For some reason meeting with branches reminds me what the gospel is all about. It could be because the two branches I have attended both had newer members, so they were just learning things we take for granted, like how to sing hymns, and how meetings begin and end with prayers.

The branch president lives several miles away in Tigard, which I assume is an entirely different stake. I asked a senior missionary why the branch president lives so far away. He did an excellent job explaining the Market Street Branch:

Most wards and branches have boundaries. The Market Street Branch has no boundaries. Instead, it has a definition, and that definition is that we are the place people go when they don't feel comfortable in other wards. We have no young men or young women program, we do not have primary or a nursery. People attend this branch because they feel comfortable coming here.

The Market Street Branch is awesome. I really like the people. I was invited to attend a special barbecue at the branch president's house tomorrow night. Of course I am attending...there will be free food. It's either that, or come home to the bachelor pad and have pasta again. I need some protein!

I'll be sure to post from the Family Home Evening party tomorrow night. 

Decisions, We Think

Yesterday afternoon we learned the people who are buying our house in Colorado wanted us to replace a garage door panel and paint it to match the rest of the garage door. This is because we accidentally backed into it a few years ago when it was halfway up. It was dented. When it happened we had a repairman come out and realign the door. It has worked ever since.

The repair would be about $300. Not much when you consider the big picture, and that is the fact our house would sell and we'd be able to proceed with buying the house in Sherwood.

But we said no. We didn't want to fix something that was working properly. We understood they could back out because of this, but we held our ground thanks almost entirely to Chanel. 

It was stressful to wait for them to respond. Would we lose the sale? Would we lose the house in Sherwood? Then, after a while, it became un-stressful. In fact, we hoped they would back out so we could back out of the Sherwood house and instead rent in Beaverton. 

Later in the evening they said they weren't happy, but they would sign the contract anyway. So we saved about $300.

But we still contemplated backing out of the Sherwood home, thinking that it'd be easier and cheaper to rent in Beaverton. I went to bed shortly after doing research and finding a handful of houses for Chanel to look at online.

Then I woke up this morning thinking the Sherwood home would be the best option for us. Chanel and I discussed it for quite a while this morning, and decided to check out the rental homes in Beaverton we found. Turns out none of the landlords or rental management companies got back to me. Some of the companies aren't even open on the weekends! We decided to go with the Sherwood home, and we feel good about the decision. 

I'm hoping this is a repeat of the Firestone home. When I asked Chanel if we should get it she said in a very unenthusiastic manner, "I guess."  We didn't love it at all. And now it makes us sad to leave it. 

I bet we fall in love with this home, too. Because it ain't the house that matters, it's what happens inside it with your family and friends.

Bike Repair

My bike needs a tune-up. I am cheap, and I've been searching for a free bike tune-up event. Should be easy to find in Portland, right? Like trying to find a free dog vaccination clinic. Everyone in Portland has a bike and a dog.

Anyway, I found a free bike clinic earlier this week that was part of a Levi's special event, but the line was too long so I left. I found another group that offered what I thought was free bike tune-ups Saturday mornings, so I went this morning to Bikes for Humanity PDX. Turns out they don't offer free repairs per se, rather, they have you volunteer at their bike restoration shop, and in return for every two hours of volunteer work you get one hour to work on your bike in the shop.

I really like this concept. I know nothing about bike repair, so I decided to volunteer and earn some personal repair time. Steve gave me an excellent overview of the shop's workflow, then put me to work cleaning an old-school Schwinn cruiser. I had a great time, and learned a little about brake systems in the process.

When my two hours were up Steve let me put my bike up on a stand and we tackled the gear shifting system. Turns out it was a hot mess, but Steve fixed it! He explained every step to me in hopes that I'd retain the info and help others. I must admit...not much stuck. I don't know why, but I have a hard time retaining mechanical information. 

I was so happy I earned my bike's repair. It feels good to work. I certainly got more out of the experience than a free repair. And I got much more than I would have if I simply dropped the bike off at a shop and returned a few days later with my credit card. 

You can check out the group's site here.