Global Warming Alert!

Global warming is affecting our everyday lives. Most people are willing to admit that, I think. This winter has been either harsh, mild, weird, or whatever, depending upon where you live. The experts warned us about that; we have expected some changes in the weather. They also warned us about some more serious (well, I guess the seriousness of one vs. the other is debatable) effects of warming, one of which is the rising of the ocean waters, which will ultimately lead to the destruction of an overwhelming majority of the world's major cities/population centers. That would be really bad, and luckily, there are scientists out there that seem to think that we are not necessarily doomed to this fate. I, however, have some bad news. This morning when I woke up, I saw a terrible scene outside my window. A gang of angry seagulls was attacking and driving away our usual gang of obnoxious crows. This is troubling on so many levels. 1) We now have seagulls here where before we had none. Evidence of rising sea levels? I think so. 2) We have bird fights going on outside the window between the two loudest and most obnoxious bird species I have ever known. 3) I can't decide who to root for. I am against crows because of the terrible experiences I had dealing with them at UofM (they took over the campus, blackened the sky, pooped everywhere to stink up the place, and motivated the city to set off sound grenades right outside my window in order to drive them away). I am against seagulls because I have been pooped on by one and because they seem to have no fear of humans (they will dive bomb you!). This is a lose-lose situation as far as I can see.

Employed!

I am employed now! Yay!

I got a job offer from the Humane Society on Thursday night, which was the night before my interview at Sokol Blosser Winery. I decided to accept the job with the Humane Society and go to the interview anyway. I now see that this was probably a silly thing to do.
The job at the winery (tasting room sales) would be a much better match for me, I think. It involves chatting with tourists and weekenders about wine and wine stories on a beautiful vineyard in the Dundee Hills. The company is small, family owned and operated, and eco-conscious. Wine is one of those things you can learn new things about forever, which appeals. At the interview, I discovered a laid-back atmosphere with people who were quick to smile and laugh and generally seemed happy. Problem: no-hitches commute time is one hour each way. Eeeeew. Expensive, time-consuming, stressful. A deal-breaker. Though the interview went well, I think, I hope they don't offer me the job, because it would just be easier mentally for me that way. It's pretty sweet; take a look for yourself: Sokol Blosser Winery.
So far, I am making this sound like a bad thing, which is not right. I am happy and excited about the Humane Society gig! I am going to be an adoptions counselor, which means I am the one who gets to send the pets happily off with their new families. I am also the one who has to break the news if the family/person and the pet don't quite match or if the landlord says "no". At the interview, people seemed upbeat and fun, so hopefully this will be reflected in the job. Oh yeah, there is another perk to this one: doggies and kitties (and rats and rabbits)! It is the kind of job that I had in mind when I said in an earlier post that I wanted something that would give me time to think my future career over more. I am going to start on Tuesday, hopefully. This depends upon the new home situation. Did you know there are less than five days left in the month!?

tick, Tick, TICK, TICK!!!

This is my first post in the new version of blogger. I must admit that I resisted the change strongly at first (for quite a while), but in the end, I switched over... because 'they' forced me to. When, initially, my whole blog disappeared and 'they' made me create a new one without allowing me access to my old URL, I was not happy. At all - except for the glorious knowledge that I had been right all along to think that switching was poison. Now that my blog has "magically" reappeared (computer is a black box, right?), I am less annoyed. And now that I see I am able to to use my most loved font, Georgia, in the new blogger, I am actually kinda happy. We'll see how it goes from here...

Anyway, now for the real post. It has come to my attention that the clock is ticking down toward the end of February. What's the big deal? Well, I need to find a place to live! Having a job would be nice, too, and that's why I've been putting off the move. Now, though, it is time to switch priorities and seek shelter. Why is February so short, anyway? I know, I know! The calendar is formatted nicely to align with planetary motion and all, but seriously - it cuts my room search a little short and messes up the billing cycle for utilities and whatnot. Yes, so since I still haven't convinced Caita and Herb to move out here and form a little community with me, I need to figure something out on my own. I have a few leads - I hope one will turn out perfectly (or at least suitably).
As for the job search, it continues to be just that: a search. I have had a few nibbles, as the fishermen say, but nothing concrete so far. The whole process is somewhat frustrating since I lack focus, but for that I have no one to blame but myself, of course. So, I'm trying not to complain too much. I would like to find something that will pay the bills while allowing me ample low-stress time away while I figure out what I would like to be doing more long term. Ideally, I would discover that I fell into the perfect match for me, but that seems... less than likely. I'm keeping a lookout.

Motel 6 - just what you would think

On our trip to Portland, Slav and I stayed in a Motel 6. I'm not entirely sure why we keep staying there, but they are inexpensive and the kitties are welcome. That's good, right? Oh wait! I said inexpensive when what I should have said was cheap. The way they save money is... troublesome and odd. And that's just what I know as a guest; I can't imagine (and don't want to imagine) the sacrifices made in other areas (like soap is more expensive to use for cleaning than plain water is, so...).
Here is the problem: Motel 6 claims proudly that, "Motel 6 offers a low price and great value without sacrificing comfort..." in their media releases and advertising (emphasis mine). I beg to differ.

Motel 6 shortcomings:
1) toiletries - They do not offer shampoo, conditioner, lotion, etc. This is not such and big deal, and they do have soap. But where other hotels have a sign pleasantly explaining that you need trouble yourself with as little as a phone call to the front desk if you forgot your toothpaste or shaving razor Motel 6 has nada.

2) towels - They provide tiny, scratchy and translucent towels. Less material, more money saved, I suppose. Also, they only provide a minimal number of towels, say half of a "normal" establishment standard. I hope you don't value your modesty if you want to wrap yourself in one of their towels after showing.

3) shower heads - The shower heads are low - very low. As a tall person, this is a normal hotel shower complaint for me, but it is still ridiculous. I didn't see right away how this could be thrifty, but Slav did: they use less pipe because the water is not transported as far. Four inches of pipe multiplied by however many rooms nationwide equals more than most people make in a few years, I would venture to guess.

4) toilet lids - The toilets in a Motel 6 do not have lids. "What's the big deal?" you ask? Well, they claim to be ultra pet-friendly. This wonderful corner-cutting taught my little babies to play in the toilet. Now, I have to keep the thing under lock and key to prevent potty-water-soaked cats from bounding throughout the house.

5) ashtray - This one is... strange. In the "no smoking" rooms they don't use a normal sign on the door to indicate that the room is smoke-free. Instead, they have the "no smoking" symbol printed on the bottom of an ASHTRAY. Yes, you read that correctly. They provide ashtrays to tell you not to smoke. I have to assume that the ashtrays are cheaper than the signs (some consequence of buying bulk or something?). Best case scenario: weird corporate joke, which is actually rather funny. Worst case scenario: people smoke in the room and I have to smell it and when I wake up in the morning all my stuff smells like smoke.

6) facial tissues - No Kleenex. No Puffs. No itchy, awful knock-off hotel brand. Nothing. I hope you don't get a stuffy nose from the cigarette smoke odor.

7) blankets - The "blankets" provided are pathetic. You can see through them, and they provide NO warmth. Brrrr! Our recommendation: bring your own.

8) clocks - this is the one that really makes me crazy. I don't know why, because it certainly isn't the worst of the offenses. I guess that makes it a pet peeve or something. At Motel 6, there is no clock. This is an outrage! Why do people stay at Motel 6? I can tell you it isn't for the relaxing comfort, delicious room service breakfast and in-room spa services. They stay there to go to sleep, get up in the morning and LEAVE. However, when you get up, you will have no idea what time it is because the room contains no timepiece. You're at a motel, so perhaps you are traveling and not in your normal routine. You may want to know what time it is when you wake up in the morning. You might have a meeting. You might want to make it out for some touristy day of fun that hinges on catching a tour bus or something. Oh well, too bad.

Motel 6 management, I ask you to please revise your outrageous claim that you do not sacrifice comfort for price. This is ludicrous. Just tell the truth: Motel 6 is your cheapest option that isn't pay-by-the-hour.

Question

So, is the reason that government jobs are so secure that they feel it's the only fair reward for filling out the arduous day-long application (and essay quesitions)?

Quinoa Everywhere!

Today was a fun one. Slav and I started it out in the best possible way: eating cookies for breakfast. But these were not just any cookies; they were fortune cookies! I think that if you eat more than one (say one dozen+), the fortunes don’t count anymore, but we were more in it for the sugar, so fortune negation doesn’t really matter.
After breakfast, we went to the World Forestry Center in Washington Park, which is here in Portland. Today was the last day of an Ansel Adams show, and I was glad that we caught it. They had the Las Cruces, New Mexico photo, which was amazing. It seemed like it drew a lot of different people in just in the short time I was standing there watching. We also had time to look around at the rest of the center. I was surprised at the pro-logging tone. I was expecting pro-forest... They had a ~650 yr old tree’s cross section on display, and the exhibit said that the tree was cut just for display purposes! Near there, they had a HUGE logging tractor and a “chop down a tree” simulation video game type of thing. It was disappointing to see the way they used all that money (the center was lovely) to show such a one-sided picture of forest management. Lots of funding came from tree product companies. Go figure.
Later, we were hanging out with the kitties, when Lincoln decided it would be fun to pull a rather large (I’m guessing two gallon) container filled with quinoa down onto himself from the top of the fridge. Two problems. One: freaked out cat goes flying through the house. I’m not sure if he will ever be the same. I’ve never seen him act so timid. No real judgments until tomorrow. Two: quinoa EVERYWHERE.

Back Into the World

I'll take this time to issue a public THANK YOU to Dre for knitting this fabulous kitty garment, modeled here by Indy!

Yes, I am back from another unplanned blog sabbatical. I was... busy sorting things out for myself, and now, I am an ex-grad student! I had been tormented by my decision to go to grad school since about the time I was accepted. Things started to get bad in late summer when I was in Corvallis, and I felt progressively more terrible since school started. It was becoming more and more clear that I was headed in a direction (econ) that was not going to fulfill me. But, now I have escaped! Life is SO CLOSE to being right again. I am happy, so all I need now is a job A) for the money and B) so I don’t get bored out of my head. The sooner the better.
I am also moving. Corvallis is good, but too connected to grad school and bad vibes. There’s nothing there for me now. I thought about going back to Colorado. I love that place, and it really feels like home to me. Truly, I moved away too soon; there was a lot more I could have gotten out of living there. The joys of summer in the Colorado Rockies! More time with new friends. But moving when I did had lots of advantages, and now is not the right time for going back. Instead, I’m going to Portland. Slav is there (yay!), and through visiting him I’ve seen that it’s a pretty sweet place. Full of weird people and their dreadlocks, coffee shops, tasty eats, and all kinds of city-type stuff. Intriguing. A little bit scary, but more exciting.
So yeah, now I am on the job hunt and the apartment hunt. Craigslist is a major part of my daily life. I fear the day that I will have to move my huge, awkward mattress. I love that thing, but now wonder, “Why didn’t I get the futon?”