PDX

I have now been shacked up in the (503) for five months now.  Learning, living, basically just trying to get by.  Taking on a new city, blindly may I add, can be overwhelming and exhausting and downright lonely at times, but it has also challenged me to be brave.  I have also been forced to create relationships and break out of my (at times) introverted ways.  Of course I am friendly, I know that, but I also get freaked out by change and feeling left out of my comfort zone.  

I want to share a couple lessons (anywhere between trivial to life-changing) that I have learned over the past few months - 

1.  Portland people wear fabulous boots.  I'm not sure if there is some secret boot society that I have not broken into or discovered yet but wherever I look (and whenever I can!) there are colorful cowboy boots, quirky rain boots, sleek knee-highs, fashionable ankle boots, and everything in between.  Must. Find. The Boot-Store.

2. Loose yourself in getting lost!  GPS or Mapquest would never have allowed me to discover the hidden gems that I stumble upon when I'm turned around and off-track.  Whether it be parks, restaurants, bars, coffee-shops, or simply getting to know my way around, I find that I am often late for work or getting home because I purposely take a wrong turn.  Comparitively, rounding a corner in Portland is a lot like finding pieces of Narnia behind the closet doors. 

3. "Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver and the other is gold." Self-explanitory.  They taught us this song in scouts for a reason...

4. Enjoy the moment.   I often find that I stress about the "life" things: finances, schedules, not getting enough sleep, etc.   Learning to Instantly flip the switch in my mind from frazzle-brain-freak-out-mode to "woosa" has been a life changer over the past half-year.  "Life happens when your busy making plans" has never rung more true.  I would have missed so many incredible opportunities and memories if I was hung up on being a worry-wart than just letting go and letting life run it's course... and enjoying the journey no matter what it brings... even if I'm broke or tired.

5. Take a risk.  I have dared myself to do a lot of things while living down here that I wouldn't have necessarily done before.  One major risk was letting the restaurant industry take a rest for a while and focusing on my education/childcare career path.  It's not that I will never go back, I just needed to move forward at this point.  Another risk? Turning my home/yard into an urban homestead.  This chicken-extravaganza is something I have never been able to pursue until now.  (I was going to write "egg-stravaganza" but I decided to save my dignity...)  And just wait until you hear about my garden plans!  I am now continually looking for challenges or risks, not to make my life more hectic, but to fulfill certain areas in my life that I haven't explored before.

"There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something.  You certainly usually find something if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after."

J.R.R. Tolkein