04 August 2014

Hi, I am at Portland

It has been about a month since I left the East Coast and I wanted to update my blog about the move.

1. I do not have my PhD... yet. I am still trying to decide if I am going to defend, but for right now, I am pleased with my conciliatory Master's. The jobs I am applying for do not require a PhD and it might be better if I just stick with my MS. I do need to make a decision one way or another soon, though, because tuition billz for the fall semester are arriving soon as well as student loan repayment billz if I am not in school.

2. The cat survived the move mostly unscathed. Our vet in Dover prescribed her Xanax for the flight and shortly after I gave her the smallest dose possible, her back legs became paralysed. It was terrifying to watch her pull herself around by sliding against the wall. She was really Zen about the whole experience as if she was thinking "Okay, this is what is happening now, how do I best go about the situation" and not showing any agitation or anxiety. Although, that might just be due to her having some Xanax. We took her to the emergency vet clinic a few hours before my flight and thankfully, the paralysis had already started to wear off. She was the best cat on the airplane!



3. I am currently looking for a job doing.... something. I am applying to a variety of positions (QA engineer, physics instructor at the community college, data analyst for an education research company) and the common thing that sparks my interest seems to be if it is something meaningful (environmental! education!) and technical. I want to find a job where my technical skills are used and what I do contributes in some way to making this world a better place.

4. Sometime in the last five years, there has been an explosion of cider makers in the PNW and I couldn't be happier. While Farnum Hill ciders were delicious, it is very fun to have a wide, WIDE array of ciders to choose from.



5. I visited my parents last week and was able to shop Mom's House of Fabric once again. It has the best prices around! Part of my fabric haul included some yardage to make some sort of garment for Mom. It is interesting to sew for people other than myself and think about how they like clothes to fit and the things they like to wear.

6. Matthew and I started working out with a friend and we are getting great pleasure in poking each other's muscles the day after a session.

7. It has been so so fantastic to be able to have such a wide array of vegan food at my disposal at both the grocery store and in restaurants. I went to the Vegan Grocery Store and I didn't have to check any of the labels for dairy (or hidden meat)! Regarding the hidden (or not so hidden meat), when I was in Colorado, my dad I went to the grocery store to pick up some food. I selected a broccoli salad from the deli area to have around as a quick veggie type snack and dutifully checked the ingredient label for any mention of dairy. When I opened up the container, I realized that while it didn't have any dairy, there were bits of bacon in it. Ha. And that was on the label.

Goodbye, New England!



Hello, to my new home!

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