World of Spokes

Portland, OR

Its been a little over a month since I arrived in Portland, and what a whirl wind of changes have taken place. My first mission once in town was to find a place to sleep. For the first week Chris (Hip Hop) and some friends from Atlanta let me crash on their collective couches. And it was good, but a man needs a place of his own. So, i hit craigslist with a vengence. I must have emailed a dozen people and seen 4-5 places. But it was this great old house with two folks and a dog, that I decided to call home. I'm renting a huge room, with two walk-in closets, one of which I'm using as an office. At first I was taken back with Portland. It wasn't what I was expecting,and I'm not sure I was ready for a big city, after being alone in the country for so long. But, after a week or so I adjusted to city life. The people here are very laid back and at first I took that as not caring. To a degree this is true, but upon further review I've found most people to be very nice, they just tend to stay out of your way. The next thing I needed to do was find a job. Now, I was willing to settle for anything, but when I got a phone call on Thursday and asked to come in on friday for an interview I was shocked. I hadn't even sent resumes or filled out applications and here I was already getting a call back. Turns out Chris made some phone calls to some folks, and next thing you know I'm working at a company. They fabricate and design mechandise booths & store fronts, and were in desperate need of a replacement 3d modeler. So I picked up the job without even showing a bit of my work, just Chris' word (thanks HipHop ;-). Now all this has happened in just the first 2weeks, so you can imagine my head is spinning. But I wasn't done yet, another friend had told me about a coffee shop that just opened. They needed baristas stat. Low and behold, I was working for another company without so much as a referance. Now my plate is full, I went from having nothing to do but ride a bike day in and out, to having two jobs in less than a month. Its truely been mind boggling going from one extreme to the other. Its like I woke up one day and had a completely different life. With so much excitement I haven't gotten out and explored the city fully yet. I've got to get on it soon though, cause once the rain hits, it won't let up until spring. So, before that happens, Im going to get out, take some photos and post them here for your enjoyment. Thanks again everyboby for your comments and emails. Everytime I read a new one I smile. I still miss my ATL crew, but all ya'll should know Im in a better place, not just physically, but mentally as well (no Im not dead or in heaven).