the perfect beginning to my summer of freedom

Wow. I just woke up on a Monday morning and did not have to drag myself out of bed before 6am, force myself to shower, eat a hasty breakfast, and speedwalk to the MAX to get to work… because I’m DONE!! My last day was last Thursday, and since then Brian and I have been packing, hauling, cleaning (we had to clean our apartment from head to toe (proverbially, of course… apartments don’t have heads, or toes! Silly!) because we want our full security deposit back), unpacking, and spending hours and hours deciding between the cute, $16 embroidered lampshade or not as cute but still kinda cute, $8 printed lampshade at IKEA… okay, that was just me. Brian just stood there and looked bored out of his mind.

Anyway, we love the new place. It’s only about 10 blocks from our old place, but is all hardwood flooring and pet-free. It’s also larger (700-750 sq feet, not quite sure), with higher ceilings, and lots of windows. And it has a built-in wardrobe/dressing area!! It’s still kind of a mess right now with the remaining boxes and stuff to unpack, but once it’s all put away and slightly decorating, I’ll post some pics. PROMISE.

The building is a bit older than our previous place – I like to joke that it has ‘vintage charm,’ since that’s a favorite phrase among almost all landlords/property managers when they’re really trying to say – look, this building is old, we’ve tried to fix it up, but it’s still old, but look! Old is charming! Why else are there so many vintage/antique stores in business? Anyway, we’ve found a few… idiosyncrasies about the place already, such as the fact that the kitchen cabinets are kinda stained and musty, the faucets need to be squeezed tight with gargantuan strength so they don’t leak, and there is a severe lack of electrical outlets. (Power strips can only do so much. Well, what can you do.)

My favorite, though, is one that I had the fortune to discover this morning as I was about to leave for a leisurely breakfast at the coffee place down the street. I unlocked both locks at the door, and went to pull it open… and it was stuck! I locked and unlocked them again. Still stuck. I peeked in the crack between the door and the trim… there was ANOTHER bolt in there… a bolt that can only be locked/unlocked with a key… FROM THE OUTSIDE. AHHH!! Brian must have locked both doors on his way out to work in the morning, and since we’d always come and left together until this morning, we didn’t know that there is NO WAY TO UNLOCK THAT LOCK FROM THE INSIDE.

I WAS TRAPPED IN OUR NEW APARTMENT!!!

I called Brian. ‘Where are you?’

‘Uh… somewhere far, far away.’

‘Oh. Crap.’

‘Why?’

‘I’m locked inside the apartment.’

‘What?!’

After it was determined that if he were to come back and open the door for me, it wouldn’t be for a long, long, time, I told him that I would find a way out, then headed to the kitchen, where there is a large window leading out to the fire escape. Convenient, eh? The fire escape happens to lead to another window, which leads into the hallway outside our apartment door. So I climbed out there and discovered that the window, though open, is held shut with a chain latch. GREAT! It looked like my only option was to climb DOWN the fire escape… only the ladder to the ground was pulled up, so unless I could figure out a way to unlatch it, I was going to have to jump from the second story.

It was barely 9am at this point, and I just wasn’t sure that I was capable of such feats of adventure before I’d even had my coffee.

I had to try, though… so I climbed back into the apartment and put sneakers on (no way I’m foolhardy enough to attempt this all in flip flops!), then hauled myself back out onto the fire escape. When I reached the ladder, it seemed to be on some sort of spring system and not a latch, so as I put my weight on the lower half of the ladder, it just swung down and I thankfully did not have to do any sort of crazy jumping. I then quickly headed back into the building with my keys, lest any spectators think that I was breaking and entering (or, having broken and entered, now on my way out…) and let myself back into my own apartment.

Then I called Brian and told him that I was going to lock him into the apartment sometime to get him back. Ha!!

I can see this becoming an ongoing prank that we play on each other. Except he would have way more fun climbing down the fire escape, and probably wouldn’t even use the damn ladder.

also, they would totally hate it here

So, we’re in the home stretch now. Next Thursday is my last day here at work before I’m off for summer break – but I won’t be returning this fall. I gave notice of my resignation to my boss about two months ago and told him that I would do what I could to help find my replacement – this included posting the job, sourcing resumes, screening applicants, and training my replacement at the end of the school year.

Of course, there has been next to no movement on filling this position. It’s June 9th and they haven’t even so much as posted the job on the Portland Public Schools website, let alone anywhere else. Word has gotten out that the position is open for the fall, though, mostly through the Chinese and ESL communities here.

Which is actually kind of a problem. This job demands more of an English fluency than Mandarin Chinese, and the people who are interested in the program are all Chinese native speakers. I don’t really think they would know how to navigate the frustration involved in dealing with various aspects of the job, nor would they be able to manage up to the administrators with whom they’d be working. Not to mention the parents…!

Apparently, the Chinese way of inquiring about a job is to walk straight into the place and talk to anyone who will listen about how much you want to work there and then listing in three different (or not so different!) ways all of the qualifications you have for the position. Even if the person (AKA me!!) is telling you that she doesn’t make hiring decisions, you keep telling them that you’d really like to work here for a variety of reasons and could you arrange a meeting with the principal?

Okay. Maybe it’s a cultural thing – maybe these people don’t have the resources to learn proper job search protocol and etiquette. But if you have someone telling you to your face that they don’t make hiring decisions, to submit a resume, and that someone will contact them for next steps… can’t you just… accept that?

Apparently not. Apparently, some people are so anxious/overzealous/whatever that not only will they come back to submit a resume, but they’ll also mail one in, and then email one, and then call me to follow up and ask me to arrange an interview with the principal.

Are you serious?! Is this how people recruit and hire in China? Do they have to deal with people badgering them day in and day out… like a normal occurrence? How do they even deal?!

The funniest part about all of this, is that I have these resumes sitting around and people calling me almost every day to check in, and we’re not even actively hiring for the position yet.

a post about buses that really isn’t about buses at all

Hey, remember this? My first foray into the frightening and confusing world of public bus transportation. My energy must have petered out by the end of the post, though, because it wasn’t really resolved that easily at all. I was still very confused for a long time, even after we moved here. In fact, I was afraid to take the bus for several weeks, and even then it took months before I was really getting out there and riding different lines.

These days, though, I’m a bus pro. Trimet.org is interminably helpful – well, actually, maybe it isn’t. Sometimes it gives me bus routes that are really not the fastest because they assume that I walk at a snail’s pace. But it’s good enough.

Riding the bus is a completely different beast than riding the subway, though. First of all, it’s WAY slower, because of the traffic and all of the stops. Sometimes the stops are two blocks apart! Second of all, you can only fit so many people on a bus, and it is very susceptible to the weather (meaning… it is HOT if the A/C is broken and some of the windows don’t open). Third of all, you are always within eyesight and earshot of the driver, and sometimes the drivers are very… involved in the goings-on of their passengers.

For example. A few days ago I was on a VERY crowded and stinky bus (it was close to 90 degrees out and it seems that there are a lot of stinky people in Portland) when suddenly it did not pull away from a stop like it was supposed to. I was sitting the back, almost delirious from the heat and stench, so I wasn’t really paying attention to what was going on, but suddenly I noticed that everyone was staring at one guy who was standing by the back door, huddled away from their eyes.

The bus driver was yelling, ‘Did you steal something! I saw you steal that tape! Give it back!’

The guy just stood, motionless.

‘You did!’ the bus driver continued. ‘Give it back! I’m not moving this bus until you give it back!’

This went on for a few minutes, and then suddenly the guy just busted out the back door and bolted.

‘Somebody chase him!!’ the driver screamed. ‘Please, somebody!’

And so a guy who had been standing next to the thief ran out of the bus, too. Everyone (except me, I guess… I was still in shock) craned their necks to watch the action, and for some reason the crowd decided that Hero #1 needed backup, so another guy ran out to help. About 30 seconds later, Hero #1 and Hero #2 got back on the bus with the stolen loot, and everyone cheered and applauded.

Seriously.

I was amused. And I thought about how nice some of the bus drivers I’ve met have been – they routinely help people on and off the bus, stop short or wait for latecomers (SOMETIMES… or SOMETIMES THEY JUST DRIVE AWAY), and offer to let passengers off before the intersection if they’re at a stoplight. They like to make conversation with passengers, and sometimes make funny announcements. It’s a nice, personable atmosphere, which I never really felt in NYC, even during the rare occasions I rode the bus.

I think I’ve started to forget the kind of awe I felt when we first arrived here – the awe that people were just so nice. Maybe it’s because I work with some pretty bitter people, and encounter some equally bitter parents at school… or maybe it’s because I don’t get out enough. Who knows. But this funny and somewhat random incident on the hot, stinky bus reminded me of the fact that there are nice people here. Maybe I just haven’t been paying attention.

big changes. i mean, BIG!

Looks like it’s time for a monthly update! Ha! Seriously, I don’t want to give up blogging but I don’t think I’ve ever felt this overextended in my grown up life. I really hope that once I’m done with my job, I’ll at least feel less stressed out because I won’t be dealing with it emotionally and mentally, and my blog will once again becoming interesting. Actually, I have an interesting plan for it. We shall see.

Meanwhile, here’s what’s been going on…

Remember this post about my failing body? Well, the adrenal gland problem has been fixed – I’ve been taking the supplements that my lovely boyfriend bought me and am feeling a HUGE difference. As for the eyes and skin… that basically continued, on and off (but mostly on), until like… oh, it’s still happening. But last week I finally went to see an allergist (again, at the insistent urging of my lovely boyfriend) and did a skin scratch test, which diagnosed me with severe allergies to cat dander, dust mites, and grass pollen, along with other milder allergies to trees, pollens, and some fruits. The cat dander and dust mites meant that to live peacefully ever after, I’ll have to find somewhere to live that is not carpeted and does not have pets (or their hair lingering in the floor and air and common areas).

So the allergist wrote a note for our landlord saying that it is medically necessary for me to move elsewhere. And we presented the note to our landlord and we are being let out of our lease with no penalties. And so… the search is on for Portland residence #3. In some ways, I feel a bit ridiculous because we haven’t even lived here a year and we’ve already burned our way through two neighborhoods/places, but I’m trying to remind myself that it’s out of necessity. I need my eyes and my skin and my livelihood back. (Dramatic enough? Hehe)

ANYWAY, in the past week or so, we’ve seen enough places that I can’t even remember all of them right now. I’ve made Brian sit down and list his priorities in apartment features/amenities, as well as neighborhoods, multiple times. We’ve re-evaluated multiple times. We’re negotiating with ourselves and each other on our price range. I am really worried that we are going to make another hasty and not well thought out decision and end up in a place that does not work out for us for the duration of our lease term.

These things have interfered with my work, my social life, and my sleep lately, because I’m just so worked up about it, turning it over and over in my head, and thinking about how this move is going to affect all of my summer plans. Oh, right!

So on top of this whole we’re-moving-in-the-next-few-weeks business, I have decided that I need a car. And not just borrowing Brian’s truck (if I ever master stick shift), but my own wheels under my own registration and insurance. I didn’t think I would need one, and my stubborn New York City-ness kept insisting that I could get by on public transit alone, but Portland is a completely different kind of city. It’s much more spread out, much more neighborhood-y, and much less underground. Buses take a lot longer to get places than the subway because of a little something called traffic. And stoplights. And the sheer number of stops. Currently, I spend eight and a half hours a day in one place, then usually just go home, or somewhere close to home and stay in that area for the evening. The bus and light rail get me by okay. But come summer and fall, I will need to be gallavanting all over the city on a regular basis. Nannying, classes, errands. Once I start school full time, I’ll be doing at least one placement a week at a school somewhere in the Portland district, or maybe even a suburban district, and depending on my employment situation I may be nannying, babysitting, or tutoring in people’s homes. If I’m doing these things, especially in the evening and far away from home (wherever that may be!), having my own vehicle will be a huge benefit, and possibly open up a lot of options for me.

I’ve been checking out used car listings on Craigslist, and luckily for me it seems like about 300 people a day in the Portland metro area try to sell their late 90s model cars for under $2,000. Sweet! Brian knows cars inside and out and will be able to help me find a a vehicle that won’t kill me. I’m hoping to be able to make this purchase sometime in July… maybe even earlier if I can. What a relief it will be!

So there you have it. New place, new ‘hood (possibly), new (used) car, new life. All happening within the next month!! No wonder I can’t sleep, or breathe!!

cause for celebration

Boys and girls, a month from today will be my official first day of freedom. Yahoo! Then, three days later, I will start class and babysitting and homework and jewelry marketing and neighborhood exploring and FUN SUMMER FUN!!!

I won’t be working full-time in the traditional sense, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be working full-time. Here’s what my schedule is looking like so far:

Weeks of June 22nd – July 13:
Mondays: Nanny 9:00-3:00, class 4:45-8:00 (Abnormal Personality. Sounds fun, huh??)
Tuesdays: Babysit 1:00-6:00
Wednesdays: Nanny 9:00-3:00 class 4:45-8:00
Thursdays: Class 11:45-2:50 (Intro to Counseling), Babysit 3:30-5:00, Babysit 6:00-10:00ish
Fridays: OFF AS OF NOW but probably spent marketing jewelry and doing all that fun stuff

Weeks of July 20 – August 17:
Mondays: Nanny 9:00-3:00
Tuesdays: Babysit 1:00-6:00
Wednesdays: Nanny 9:00-3:00
Thursdays: Babysit 1:00-5:00, Babysit 6:00-10:00ish
Fridays: OFF

Now, in addition to my educational and childcare commitments, I also want to delve into several creative projects and generally do the sorts of summery city things that I did not really get to do last summer while I was here. If you remember (and it’s okay if you don’t), I got here July 28th and was promptly offered a job the morning of the 29th. Then, because of paperwork and red tape and people generally taking their sweet, sweet time to get things off the ground, I did not start working until August 27th. So I had a month in which I practically did nothing. I mean… nothing. I woke up around noon, padded around the house, and chatted online. Sometimes I braved the bus, but I was so intimidated by the bus system that I rarely went anywhere unless Brian was available to drive me. Ah, those were the days.

Anyway, my jewelry business is obviously one huge endeavor that I have – but I also need to get back to into other things I used to do, like writing. It’s high time for a new ‘zine, as it’s been… like almost three years! I had a great idea yesterday for a Portland-themed ‘zine, and summertime will be the perfect time to research it.

Oh yeah! And I hope to have enough money to go visit Lisa in Edmonton. Last time I checked, flights were about $300. Not bad, eh? (See? I’m practicing my Canadian. Hahaha) She’s moving into her brand new house TODAY! and I’m so excited to see it and hang with her in her hometown.

Yay yay yay!! Summer!!!

karel = blog fail

Well, I’ve just got entirely too many projects going on lately, as well as a general lack of enthusiasm for writing about myself, I guess. Work has been chugging along – this week I’m in the computer lab about half the day each day, proctoring some online assessments for the kiddies. At some point I think I might have to head to the middle school and do the same there, although all efforts I’ve made to find out if I’m needed have been met with silence, so who knows. Ha. Can you tell I’m slightly frustrated?

Anyway, I’m really excited about this coming summer and fall, which is maybe why I haven’t been writing either… everything I think about is projected to the future. Although I’m starting to feel like that’s been my typical course of action for the past couple years or so… maybe I need to work on enjoying my present life as well.

This past weekend I got my first professional haircut in about eight years. Yes, eight (8)!! The last time I paid for a haircut was, I believe, the end of my freshman year in college, spring of 2001. Since then it’s been a self-done hack job every time, although I did hone my skills pretty well by the end. I guess I was just feeling like now that I’m in the latter half of my 20s, maybe I should be mature and established enough to get my hair done and have it look decently shaped and layered. And maybe I just wanted to be pampered

Anyway, I chose Tiger Tiger which is in the Alberta neighborhood. The reason I chose it is because it got pretty good reviews on Yelp, and it’s in a more edgy and artistic neighborhood. I wanted a less polished and luxurious feel (because let’s face it, I am neither polished nor luxurious – and I’m okay with that) and the prices seemed pretty reasonable. My stylist was very friendly, for which I was thankful, but I was so nervous that I felt like I might faint, or puke, or both. She’s new to Portland, which is a recurring pattern in my new acquaintances lately, and we had a great time chatting about the city and what brought us here, and how the heck I’d managed to cut and dye my own hair for eight years and not totally muck it up.

In the end, it was shorter than I’d intended for it to be, but I do love it. It’s a drastic change that I’ve definitely been needing!!

You like??

I’ve also been finally, FINALLY working on some new jewelry for Sunshower Design. I kind of put it on the back burner for a while, what with our move and work getting crazy and me generally just feeling out of it and not very creative for a few months. But I’ve got a new collection in the works, and am in the process of revamping the website and preparing for a spring/summer push. Want a preview? I thought you might.

In addition to that, my summer is going to be full of excitement. I’ll be taking a couple classes in preparation for my foray into grad school, and nannying for at least one of my favorite families from school. (Hopefully two!) I also met a really awesome woman last week through a babysitting site and am planning to sit for her kids (8 months and 2 1/2 years) on a regular basis. Also, Brian and I are planning a couple trips to the Oregon coast, which I hear is amazing in the summertime. Yay!!! Then at the end of August, we’ll be heading back east for a two weeks to spend some time with our dearly missed friends and family.

I just need to get through another month or so of work until then

this article really spoke to me

I’m kind of at a point where I’m trying to figure out how to help Brian understand the delicacy of being in an interracial relationship, especially because living together has brought out some conflicting habits that I find are somewhat cultural. (Or maybe my mom has just passed on way too many of her anal retentive tendencies to me. Who knows.)

As we continue to grow closer and my thoughts inevitably drift toward our future, I think about the marriage not only of the two of us, but of our families and cultures. It’s already very evident to me that we were both heavily influenced by our mothers, and that the way we raise our children will reflect that. But there is one pretty significant difference: my mother never raised a white child, and his mother never raised an Asian child.

And our children will be both white and Asian, yet neither white nor Asian. Not only will we need to find a way to bring both of our cultures together into one household, we will also need to understand, to the best of our ability, how to support our children as they experience life through a biracial and bicultural lens. We will also need to help the rest of our families navigate this as well.

In the past, when I’ve fantasized about having mixed-race children, my motivations have been purely superficial. They have unique features and are usually gorgeous. They have that light brown hair that is neither Asian black nor Caucasian blond. The list goes on. (In my more socially aware and self-accepted adult life, I came to appreciate the beauty of full-blooded Asian children as well, but that’s besides the point.) Never once did I consider the emotional package that comes with monoracial parents raising multiracial children.

Now that it’s likely that my life partner and the father of my children will be white, I am realizing that we should probably start addressing this all now, lest it go unexplored and totally blow up in our faces.

So anyway, when I came across this article, From a Mixed Race Child: Tips for a White Parent, my eyes were opened even further and I was moved. I’m sharing it with you all now, and I plan to share it with Brian at some point – right now I’m focusing more on having him learn how to navigate the relationship. We’ll wait a bit before we introduce any third parties.

the sun has arrived in portland… kinda

First of all, thanks to everyone for your input regarding my rain jacket situation. I actually ended up deciding I didn’t like either of them, and returned them both! Haha. I decided that if I’m going to get a rain jacket, I should get a good one that has a lifetime guarantee and from a trusted brand.

So I went the L.L. Bean route. I actually don’t own too much of their stuff (although, who didn’t own an L.L. Bean backpack back in the day? Monogrammed, even?) but I do have a very nice fleece that was an anniversary gift from Brian last fall, and Brian owns several of their items – including the ubiquitous backpack! – and swears by them. Also, they have a lifetime guarantee.

Anyway, this is the rain jacket I want. Now the only question is: what color? I’m deciding between red, navy, and yellow. Part of me is leaning toward the yellow because of the cute little anchors on the lining, but then I wonder if yellow is good for my complexion.

Leave your suggestions in the comments please!

Rain jacket quandaries aside, I am totally bugging to get out and do something lately. It’s been warming up in little teasers, then raining, then warming up again and now it’s raining even though the forecast says it’ll be sunny this afternoon. What is it that I want to do, you ask?

Well, I want to:

1. make more jewelry – new designs, new feel, new everything (??!!)
2. visit street fairs and/or farmer’s market every weekend
3. cook healthier yet more interesting meals
4. ride my bike more often
5. learn to use a sewing machine
6. redesign this horribly neglected site
7. decorate our apartment

Okay, I think that’s all for now. I have been thinking about my jewelry a lot lately, and having been inspired by Amy Olson, a local jewelry designer, I am considering kind of ’starting over’ and refocusing my work a little bit, and reworking the look and feel of my whole presentation. Right now I feel pretty scattered in terms of my work and I need a more central theme. Or maybe I am just indecisive. Either way!! My brain gears are turning.

Tomorrow I’m going to ride my bike up to a Spring Greening event not far from my place. I’m excited – with the sun and warmth everyone being outside and live music, it’s going to be so awesome and reminiscent of other street fairs I frequented in Brooklyn. This is the kinda stuff I love to experience and do and after this horribly long and strange winter, I am so ready for it.

ahahahhahahhahhahhahhha

I am perhaps more amused than I should be at this joke, but give me a break. I’m at work and I’m bored silly.

I stole this from my new favorite blog o’ the moment, MetroDad:

—–

A woman gets on a bus holding a baby.
The bus driver says: “Holy shit. That’s the ugliest baby I’ve ever seen!”
In a huff, the woman slams her fare into the box and takes a seat near the rear of the bus.
The man seated next to her senses that she is agitated and asks her what’s wrong.
“The bus driver insulted me,” she fumes.
The man sympathizes and says: “Why, he’s a public servant and shouldn’t say things to insult passengers.”
“You’re right,” she says, “I think I’ll go back up there and give him a piece of my mind.”
“That’s a great idea,” the man says. “Here, let me hold your monkey.”

—–

Don’t lie… you notice ugly babies too. And it’s sad, because they’re babies, but some babies are just ugly and that’s the honest truth.

my future is in your hands

Hi everyone! April is just around the corner and true to Portland style, the rain is NOT EVER GOING AWAY. Some days the weather will tease us with a blindingly bright sun, only to whisk that sun away in an instant and pelt us with hail. (No joke, this really happened this past Sunday.)

Anyway, I do own one rain jacket, but it’s a shortie and pretty thin, and… uh… a little snug right now. Winter, hibernation, hot chocolate, blah blah = not as svelte as I was this time last year. So I’ve decided it’s high time to splurge a little and get a new rain jacket – one that will keep my butt dry, and can also be worn over a few layers in case it comes to that.

Now that we live mere blocks away from a mall, I decided that I would head on over this evening after work to see what I could find.

And, well, in classic me fashion I found two. I got a second opinion from Brian, but also in classic me fashion I need a third, fourth, fifth, tenth opinion before I can make a decision on my own. Luckily, I have a blog! With readers! So now I present to you…

The Fabulous Rain Jacket Debate – Spring 2009 Edition

RAIN JACKET #1

Specs

1. by Calvin Klein
2. Cotton/nylon outer, polyester lining
3. Double zipper pulls (can unzip from bottom)
4. Zippered chest pocket
5. Pork chop pockets
6. Detachable hood
7. Snap buttons
8. Optional roll-up sleeves

Pros

1. Longer length = more coverage
2. Duh… it’s CALVIN KLEIN
3. Larger hood (for my huge head)
4. Provides a tad more warmth… I think
5. More professional-looking

Cons

1. $10 more than Rain Jacket #2
2. Maybe not as versatile
3. Not as many pockets
4. No breathable lining

 

RAIN JACKET #2

Specs

1. by Lands’ End
2. 100% nylon outer, polyester mesh lining
3. Inner zipper pocket
4. Snap pockets w/ addt’l side pockets
5. Stowaway hood
6. Bungee cord waist
7. Adjustable cuffs

Pros

1. $10 cheaper than Rain Jacket #1
2. More versatile, for casual and more professional wear (again… maybe)
3. Um… Lands’ End guarantee.
4. More secure pockets
5. Breathable mesh lining

Cons

1. Not as long – not as much coverage
2. Feels thinner
3. Um… not Calvin Klein?
4. White could get dirty more easily

Now… Rain Jacket #2 also comes in other colors. At the store, I only saw True Navy, Fresh Green, and Turquoise Blue other than White, and I tried the Fresh Green and Turquoise Blue on several times before deciding on the White. But now that I’m at home, I’m not sure if maybe I’d rather go for another color. Decisions, decisions!!

Okay so this is where you come in. Vote, vote! Which one do you like better, and why? Or is there another brand/type of rain jacket you’d recommend over both of these?