PDX > LAS > SFO

I'm currently sitting in PDX airport, on my way to San Francisco.

Tomorrow I have a interview @ the OH for SkyWest.

I'm crazy nervous and excited.

Everyone cross their fingers!

Take Offs & Landings

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Originally uploaded by Mermaid Hair

Winter is upon me here, and let me just say I am not prepared.
I've learned over the years that there is no such thing as bad weather.
--Only bad wardrobe. And right now I am suffering from bad wardrobe.

I remember the day I had to pack all my shorts into a box and put them under my bed to make room in my dresser for more winter-y things. What a sad day, to come to terms with the fact that I do in-fact now live where that's a practical thing to do. Boo. haha

It's not a particualry wonderful time of year to have a shattered driver-side window, I talked to my insurance company about it, and I have a $500 deductible. (LAME) and would have to pay $174 to have it replaced. I talked to a girl at work, her father repairs car windows/windshields for a living. He said he'd do it for me for the price of the glass...$55. Thank goodness, this seems like a way better option for me right now.

I talked to Ethan about my moving. It went okay. I haven't quite figured out how this is all going to pan out in the upcoming month. It's a difficult time of year to move, with the holidays coming and the winter weather, and being swamped at work because of those two things.

A friend, Katie, and I have talked about moving downtown together.
I think it would be fun to submerge myself in an environment like that, I've never lived in a city-city before. The lights can be inspiring...

I'm currently trying my damnedest to crank out some homemade holiday gifts, but shipping them is the annoying part, as I'm broke as a joke. But, that's okay. I'm hoping to find a cheap tree in the next few days, I could use some holiday spirits--it's good for morale, dontcha think?

Photobooth @ The Florida Room

Photobooth 1
Originally uploaded by Mermaid Hair

Met a boy. His name is James and we're uuber cheesy.

You'd just hate it I'm sure. haha

My car window got smashed last week, awesome.

I'm so, so, so, so freaking broke and terrified.

Jan 13th San Francisco for a flight attendant interview.

Thank the heavens for a Southwest air credit.

I'm so excited about this I could pop, being a flight attendant is one of my dreams. As cheesy as it may be, it is what it is. Let's face it anyways-I'm made for that job.

I'm reaching the point of exhaustion with my current apartment. It's difficult because I love my room mate, Ethan and the apartment itself is a awesome location and my stuff fits well here. But I'm starting to feel like I'd be happier on my own, and there is just bad juju here after my assault. It's tainted I guess you could say.

I have to get out of here if I want to stay in Portland.

I'm looking for cheap studios, as for the same amount of money as I pay now I could live alone and be happier. Much happier. I'm nervous to tell Ethan about my desire to go. I know it'll be disappointing but I have to do what I need to do for me.

Please donate to my cause by sending good vibes to the west coast for me. :)

I want to start classes in January but time is sneaking up on me so damn fast, ugh.

I feel like I have other things to update on, but I forgot already...

Check out the Flickr.

Oh, Portland is expecting flurries this weekend. HOLY CRAP.

Seasons!

FALL

in Portland, OR

10/22/09

SUMMER

in Portland, OR.

08/20/09

Dyed my hair.

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Originally uploaded by Mermaid Hair

This is one of the before shots. Go to my Flickr to see the After.
Not a significant change, don't be worried.
First hair dying to take place is almost 10 months!

Downtown.

See why I adore this place? How cute is this?!

...I uploaded some new photos to the flickr.

POOKAH-ZILLA

No playing in the play zone.

...Not on Pookah's watch.

HAHA

Potted Plant Garden & Such

I finally scraped together enough money this paycheck to buy a couple flowers for out on our steps. It makes everything feel much cozier. And lord knows I need the comfort. Here's a mosaic of the photos, but check out my Flickr for the individual shots.

My friend, Jak, is coming from St Augustine for the weekend. It'll be so nice to see a familiar face here in Portland. Especially since the room mate is gone with his family on a vacation for his birthday in Washington on the coast somewhere. Jak has a website called St Augustine Pics that I visit daily because it's not only purrrty to look at but gives me my St Augustine-fix. You should check it out too.

A few months ago I was in one of the shots he posted.

And so was the yard sale at Loose Screws...

That's all for now.

How to sprout an avocado.

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Originally uploaded by Mermaid Hair

Buy an avocado and make something delicious to eat with it.
Rinse off seed, and sit by your sink for 2 days. (48 hrs)
Peel brown skin off pit and place 3 toothpicks/skewers around pit.
Place this inside of a jar of warm water, covering 2/3 of the pit.
Each day replenish with warm water.
When roots start to sprout place jar/seed in a window sill.
Voila!

I have successfully grown avocado sprouts and plants, including the one that still lives in St Augustine that's now...over 2 years old.

Most folks don't peel the skin off or know to use/replenish with warm water, and that's where they go wrong. I think those are the key tricks.

I do have a recommendation for what delicious meal to make with the avocado...add it to your grilled cheese sammich, and if you're super fancy add feta cheese too. YUM.

Lewis & Clark State Park

We also went to the Lewis & Clark State Park while out on the coast last week.

Demi and I snuck off and found a cool trail out in the woods.

But to our surprise a lot of stuff was in disarray, trees were knocked over and it just seemed, un-natural for a state park to have a trail that walks by so much devastation? Maybe it was an unfinished trail or something. But even still, why would trees need to be knocked over for a pathway that already exists? Hmmm how curious.

& The Rest~

Astoria

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Originally uploaded by Mermaid Hair

It was sweet.

--uploaded some pictures to my Flickr

from my recent escape to the coast.

She's Crafty.

So I've been spending a bunch of time crafting lately as I don't have much $ to be going out, so I just sit in and listen to Pandora radio and paint and craft and dance around my room like an idiot. Also I've become a huge fan of whiskey. Does this mean I have cowboy in my blood? God, that would be awesome. haha.

So a couple months ago, actually in May on the same day I left for Texas adventure I bought a trunk at a thrift store (in St Augustine) with the intentions of painting it upon return of the trip. But as we all remember I came back and decided to move! So it got put on the back burner, and I even paid to have it moved here because I didn't want to pass up on the opportunity to paint a piece of furniture. It had so much potential! Well now, in September, 4 months and 3700 miles later I finally got to the revamp. Check out my awesomeness...

It started as a white with pink and purple sides and the lid was mutilated with some kind of terrible paper mache with what looked like brown paper bag? I sold my electric sander at the yard sale before I moved (why did I do that?!) so I couldn't paint over that crap. I instead opted to cover it in red velvet fabric that I inherited from my friend Ana a few months ago when I was still home. My friend Demi helped me prep it and then I took over the front. At the end of the slideshow there is 3 or 4 pictures of a apron I also saved from a Portland Free/Loot Box which had some kinda generic sauce advertisement on the front, I made a yoke of felt to cover it and voila! Purrdy apron to add to my ever-growing new obsession for aprons.

It's Friday night and I don't have to work tomorrow until eleven, so I should go be more productive.

New wheels.

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Originally uploaded by Mermaid Hair

I got myself a sweet new set of wheels. I love it, love it, love it.It's a vintage ROSS bicycle that I found on craigslist, for only $130!
I can't believe I got so lucky, haha. Also I purchased it from a licensed and insured bicycle mechanic and it's got a 30-day warranty.
I need someone to take a shot of me sitting up on top of it because it's so adorable. haha I need a little rack on the back for sure, and a light.
But I spent the last of my money on the bike (I know, I know). So I'm broke as a joke until I get paid next Tuesday. Boooo.

28th & Burnside

"SUBMIT!"

"THE NAMES OF IMAGINARY PLACES"

Submission:

(tehehe)

See all the other pictures from the area @ the Flickr.

Meow

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Originally uploaded by Mermaid Hair

Somebody is settlin' in!

Nearly a month

So on Thursday will mark a month since I arrived here in Portland. Holy crap!

What an adventure that has been so far, aside from the obvious physical adventures of traveling and existing in a new place, but an emotional adventure as well.

I sometimes wonder if I sub-consciously did this just to prove something to myself, because I genuinely miss the Cat Clinic, and my Purls and my clients. Ugh, I miss my clients!

I don't wish this any different, but I do see now what I had in Saint Augustine. And how much I miss it. But that's okay. It's not like it burnt down to the ground the moment I drove away.

I'm contemplating skipping my trip to TX in October, because I'm pretty sure Nature will let me redeem my work exchange anytime, even though I really wanna go and do the work on the house, and see Nikki and be tourist in Austin again but in the same breath it's money I have to spend on a plane ticket and then supporting myself one I get there for the two weeks.

Well a client of mine offered me a job sitting their two dogs for two weeks in November, right before Thanksgiving, and part of me would rather hold off on the October trip and go to

St. Augustine in November for two weeks instead and get paid to be there, and have a place to stay and get to see all my pals and all the other perks of being there. I'm not set in stone yet.

My new job is cool, I like it a lot thus far. But it is exhausting working with those dogs, and I happen to start on the busiest week in like 10 years. It's so busy because it's so hot outside and people don't want to leave their pets outside in over 105 degree weather. Because most people that live here don't have a/c because it's never needed, so this last week of intense heat was pretty crazy to the locals, and hell even to me it was miserable a night or two.

I don't even own a fan at this apartment! haha

Tuesdays & Wednesdays are my days off from work, so today feels like Saturday to me.

And I went out with Demi today, and we went out for lunch at this cool place.

We parked about a block behind the restaurant and around the corner. On this adorable little street with a huge painting in the middle of the street and neat planters and all the houses were so crafty and painted in bright colors, oh it was great! Portland is full of little neighborhoods like this, especially in the SE where I live. I adore the artsy fartsy feel.

So, I posted some other pictures to my Flickr.

I'm off to make something delicious for dinner and start doing something with all this laundry I finally did today. I was spoiled by having my own washer & dryer,

but now that I have to pay 1.25 a load it's easy to let the dirty laundry pile up. (ugh)

Plus I worked 6 days in a row, so I just didn't feel like it when I got home. haha

Arrrgh!

Run from the heat to the Coast!

Monday I went to the coast~ It was gorgeous!

I posted the pictures to my Flickr

& It was about 15-20 degrees cooler than it is here right now.

I've decided that I want to learn another language.

I just don't know which one!

There are so many to choose from!

I've always wanted to visit Sweden, or live in Sweden~

But it turns out most Swedes speak English.

Italian.

That'd be cool.

My first day of work at the new place was awesome!

I totally fit right in, my boss even said it felt like I had been there longer.

Now, I don't know if thats just silly flattery but I did step up to the plate to restrain a very angry cat and save her skin yesterday when she was trying to cut his toe nails, hahaha.

I have the scratches to prove it!

But anyways, I like it. I'm concerned that I wont get my first paycheck until the 15th though because it's one of those jobs that get paid on the 1st and the 15th. Ugh. I do hate that.

But I should be okay. Oh! and my new cards were in the mailbox when I got home, which is suhhhweet, they're adorable! I took them to a few spots yesterday and because they made an error the first time they sent me 500 instead of the initial 250 I ordered. So yay!

I'm off today but work the next few days in a row. So I'm staying home and organizing my closet, I found a awesome book shelf on the side of the street the other day.

Portland is known for it's free boxes and loot piles on the side of the street. I have never seen so many free 'yard sales' at all days of the week in my life, it's a thrifter's dream! haha :)

Oh, and in case you were wondering.

YES it's true Portland is having a very un-typical heat wave.

YES it's been 105 for the past 3 days.

NO I do not have a fan or a A/C.

Whew! I've been surviving on frozen (fresh) blueberries, mmm refreshing!

Multnomah Falls

So on Wednesday I went on a 10-mile hike at Multnomah Falls. It was very beautiful!

I took quite a few pictures, including the one I shared in my last post, which was probably my favorite. I mean, did you see that waterfall?! It's intense!

I ended my employment with Greenpeace on Monday, after a couple of days of in my opinion, retarded-ness on their part for hiring me for a position that is no longer available and then sticking me in canvassing. Which isn't what I was hired to do. Over the weekend I unpacked a box that contained my paperwork from my interview, and the print out from their website that I used to build my resume, with the job details. I took that in there as a "see?!" but it didn't do much...obviously. So, I no longer work for them.

I was so terrified after making that decision.

I mean, I'm supposed to stick it out, swallow my pride and get paid the $10/hr to pitch memberships to people on the sidewalk. -At least until I find other work.

But I'm sorry, I just don't want to do that.

What I am/was most upset about is the amount of energy I put into getting that position and how it all just kinda crumpled. But eh, it wasn't wasted at all. Was it? I mean, the most impressive part is that I did infact get the job.

And I even though the "unemployment rate is so high in Portland" -I've had 5 interviews this week alone! And I'll have you know the job that I wanted out of those 5, I got.

I start my first full day on Tuesday @ 7 am.

It's for Kennel Manager at a Boarding & Grooming place.

I started thinking a little more like my crazy free-spirited self over the weekend leading up to my final day at Greenpeace. I started feeling like you know, maybe this job was just the ploy to get me out here, because let's face it I wanted to make the leap, but the job did put a little momentum behind me. And so what, it didn't work out. I'll be happier doing what I know anyways. And I love working with animals and their owners, call me crazy.

+Plus what better way to plug into my business?

Speaking of which, Caitlin updated my business cards for me ♥

And I had them printed once, but they made an error and I had to call and get it fixed, and they were shipped out yesterday so they should be in my mailbox this week. YAY!

Which will be great, because I'm trying to get back into that soon.

So in just a few minutes I'm leaving for the coast. It's going to be in the 90's here today so it'll be a good 15-20 degrees cooler on the coast, which = perfect. And I certainly doubt I'll be doing any type of swimming, the water is just so cold! But I packed a suit just in case I get crazy.

Don't worry, I had my camera on the charger all night so I'll take plenty of pictures I'm sure.

I'm heading to Seaside, which is a cute little town about an hour and a half or so from here.

But I need some coffee first, and maybe some kind of breakfast.

I made sure that my new job knew about my plans for October, to go back to Texas. And they don't mind, I need to write down the exact dates for her and I really should start pricing plane tickets. I'm looking much forward to this trip. I know it's trouble though. Everytime someone puts me in a tent in the woods for days on end with good people I get all crazy in my head.

I mean we all know what happened last time I went there.

--It's when I first got the itch to move.

Fortunately I cannot drop everything and move again like I did this last time, I have to stay here long enough to save enough money to take off again, haha.

I've been throwing that flight attendant thing around my cranium a lot more lately.

10 mile hike

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Originally uploaded by Mermaid Hair

Yesterday I went on a ten mile hike up into the mountains.
It was phenomenal.
See the rest of the shots @ my Flickr, the details will be posted later.
I have to get ready for a interview!
♥