I forgot to note in the last post about the other birthday festivities that went down.

On my actual birthday, my boss greeted me with a huge hug and later took me out to lunch. She NEVER leaves the office so it was a big deal. She took me to a very swanky little bakery called Little T Bakery.

They had all kinds of delicious looking things in their case like whole wheat croissants (which I've heard are the best in Portland), lemon curd drop biscuits, and macaroons in the shape of little pyramids. Much to my surprise they also had sandwiches. My boss ordered ahead of me and got "ham and cheese on pretzel bread." I glanced up at the chalkboard menu and saw that it was only $4.25 (so I wouldn't set her back much) and ordered the same thing. It was phenomenal. Few people are aware of my food philosophy but it is essentially that I love extraordinary quality ordinary things. This sandwich confirmed it. It was absolutely lovely.

I raced home after work because I knew I had the first session of St. Henry's Youth Group. It was a far bigger group of kids than I was expecting but they were all really kind and had a lot of good energy which I'm excited about. I'm helping with the 7th grade class. 7th graders have never looked so young! At youth group, Crunchy (support person extraordinaire) put a candle in an old-fasioned maple doughnut and everyone sang which was quite adorable. Afterwards, I went home to a fantastic meal of salad and chicken pot pie as well as a copy of a book I've been wanting to break into (Reading Lolita in Tehran) from Powells. Soon after dinner I headed over to 4th Street Brewery for birthday beers with Crunchy, Margaret (other support person extraordinaire/Crunch's wife/SU Alum), and Laurie (their friend and a helper with youth group). I got more than I bargained for. The bartender made me a great (read: big) birthday shot and Crunch and Margaret bought me a beer. After we got home, Crunchy went over to his house, made a huge margarita and brought it over too. Needless to say I was slightly (as my spiritual director has euphemistically said before) overserved on my birthday.

I ventured home this weekend to see my family and celebrate with them. It was great but also very strange. It was lovely to see all of them and to be caught up to speed on how everyone is doing and what they're up to. It was jarring, however, to return to a place where I have so many memories and difficulties. I felt so...different. I am realizing that my JVC experience is changing how I feel about people, relationships, my own hardships and, really, the world in general. Returning to a place where I usually spend a lot of money and shop felt bizarre. It is no longer an important part of my life. Even so, I was shell-shocked a bit by how much of my life was spent consuming. I also found it difficult to describe all the nuances of what I've been learning and feeling over the past few months. It's hard to talk to people about how much this is changing me. I suppose this might come with some careful reflection. In any event, it was good to go home just to kind of take my new self onto dry land. I don't realize that my way of life is so different than most because I live with 7 others who are living the same way.

Any how, a lot of rambling. I hope you are all well. Love, so much love to you!

Blessed Birthday

This year has undoubtedly been the best birthday yet. I have never been more aware of how blessed I am to have such wonderful friends, family, coworkers, clients, and roommates in my life.

The festivities started last Friday when my roommates and I decided to celebrate my birthday, as I would be out of town for the weekend after. I came home to a pumpkin cake with maple buttercream frosting from scratch.


We played some games and then ventured over to our local watering hole, 4th Street Brewery, where I received a free drink. We then headed home. However, roommates Daniel and Jill are just as festive as I am and were soon ready to try out a local dive bar called M&M Lounge. We sang karaoke and drank a tequila sunrise then came back and had a dance party in our dining room, miraculously not rousing the rest of our house at 3 am.

Now I am home and will be celebrating my birthday with my family who I miss a lot. It feels strange to have unlimited internet and not have to travel to a library or a coffee shop. I also don't really remember how to watch TV :)

The 7.

I really love my roommates. I still have a lot to learn about community and my own spirituality but I have an incredibly supportive group of 7 people who I'm sure will continue to challenge me and care for me (and, I hope, I for them).

My job is also wonderful. I received adorable birthday gifts from a lot of the kids in the homework club that I started running last week for 1st-12th graders. I'm shaking in my boots though because my boss is about to embark on a trip to Switzerland to bury her mother who passed away. I'm so glad she is taking time for herself but pretty terrified to be there by myself. I will need prayers for the coming two weeks!

I want to hear about how you are doing (few readers:) Send me a letter: 451 NW 1st St Gresham, OR 97030

Changes

My time here is certainly, unequivocally changing me. At the same time, things around me are changing. As my roommates and I settle in and get to know each other better, we are new people. Different idiosyncrasies, challenges, and treasures are discovered as we continue to grow together. I am uncovering the bits of myself, covered in damp earth, that I have long ignored but long to mend so that, thrown together, I can make one loving, whole person. My strong and wildly passionate boss lost her mother early Monday morning. Her world is changing and moving, becoming simultaneously more difficult and less painful in a strange, paradoxical dance. My heart has been with her for the past week. Relationships at home and with old friends are forming into new creations as I am away and don't stay in the same kind of contact. One of the girls at work has changed her mind about me. If you've been following this blog, you may have heard from her, the one who said a myriad of kind things such as "The new Bonnie's [Bonnie being the volunteer in the position before me] ugly" or the famous quote up on the quote wall in our house "The new Bonnie's boring." Now she loves me. She draws me pictures, she makes me tin foil flowers, and talks about how much she likes me. I'm not trusting this too much because I'm sure she'll change her mind any day now and then change her mind back. She's a 5th grader after all. I find parts of myself softening deeply. I care so deeply for the people I serve. They are wiggling their way into my heart, one by one. Even when they yell, complain, get frustrated, and are sassy and obnoxious (this title specially reserved for a scrappy squad of 4-5th grade girls) they somehow change me every day. I wish I had a stronger word than humbling.

Missing and loving all from afar. Be well.

Oh dear...and lists

This is from quite a few days ago (Sept 8th I think?)
Well yesterday was only a small disaster. Tons of kids being crazy and out of control. Babies screaming in my office. Little kids breaking things everywhere while I helped their parents set up phone lines, fill out school paperwork, and make doctors' appointments. I let four 4-5th grade girls do homework in the library and they trashed it and I really didn't have time to clean up after them (I worked 8.5 hours straight, no breaks, no food) so the preschool teacher came back to a pig sty in the morning.

But I survived. This job is making me realize that I am stronger than I think I am.

Also, I've been meaning for a while to make a list of things I like and don't like about Portland. Because I have lived in Seattle, many people insist on asking me which I like better. These are my feelings on Portland so far.

Like:
-public transportation
-Mt. Hood
-no sales tax
-my job
-roommates
-Winco
-the Northwest Weather
-POWELLS
-the 9 bus driver in the morning
-Stumptown
-4th Street brewery ($2-$3 beers)

Dislike:
-the weird speed limit signs
-the fact that every single highway has ungodly traffic during any time I am driving most hours
-there is no ocean in close proximity (it's about 1.5 hours away)
-the drivers...no really, most people in Oregon suck at driving.
-there are fewer places to get a good coffee

I'm sure I'll add and subtract form this list but for now...this is where it stands

Hope all are well!

Long delay

I just spent a good deal of time uploading photos on Facebook so do enjoy those!

Work is still awesome. There are some days that are really hard but in general I really love my job. I'll post a day in the life sometime so you all can see the craziness that is working here! (I also ask for prayers/good thoughts/warm energy/whatever you want that's good for a family I am case managing who has a very ill 1 year old. It's really hard on them as you could imagine)

Housemates are great. We are kooky and silly and fun together which is great. Our house seems to be a rather strange anomally...we all get along and we all hang out together. This is not always the case for every JV house. A lot of people have been asking me how we divide up meals. Not sure why this question comes up so often but people want to know. Monday through Thursday we have a pair assigned to cook. It's absolutely lovely because 3 out of those 4 nights I come home to a delicious meal made by my housemates. We also rotate dishes too. We sign up at the beginning of the week and everyone takes a day with a partner. The rest of the days we generally (and I use that term loosely, but hey, we are trying) just try to clean up after ourselves.

(Right now I can hear all of our cute preschoolers yelling the names of colors they're learning. It's adorable)

Lately, my outings have included:
-Trip to the Saturday market (kind of like a temporary Pike Place Market). I bought a really cool print of Mt. Hood (though Mt. Rainier is still better in my book, like most things Washingtonian)
-Trip to Canon Beach. It was beautiful.
-Trip to Tilamook Factory. The factory wasn't up and running because it was a Sunday (which was sad, I was ready to see some mass-produced dairy) but that did not mean that free and bountiful cheese samples were not available nor did it mean we couldn't get huge scoops of delicious ice cream.
-SEATTLE! The roommates and I (minus 1, Lindsay's boyfriend was visiting and he will soon be taking off for Peru so she opted to stay home to show him around her new digs) trekked up to Seattle for Labor Day weekend. I got to see some Seattle friends (Allison, Matt, Shea, Kat, Clara, Katie). Allison spoiled me with some Paseo which was the best meal I've eaten in a while and Shea spoiled me with some vitamin R (Rainier Beer). We also ventured over to Bainbridge where Daniel (aka The Boy, The Rooster) is from. It was quite a relaxing experience!

More later....I wish you could all be here with me. I miss you all terribly.

(It's taken me approximately five hours to complete this post because work has been crazy as usual today, except for today I am holding down the fort alone...God help us)

So many waterfalls

Updates...and it hasn't even been a week!

I had quite an eventful weekend. Friday most of our house went in Portland. We went to a couple places on 21st and then headed over to meet some of the Mac and Morris houses (two of the Portland JVC houses). We went to a bar called Bar Bar (one of my favorite bar names) that was really similar to Cap Hill's Oddfellows. I had a drink a wonderful drink at a pub called O'Brien's that was attached to a trendy bar called Wimpy's (owned by the same people). It was a basil lemonade made with Seattle's own Dry Fly Vodka. It was fantastic though admittedly probably a bit too spendy for my JVC stipend.

Cool window display in Portland

Housemate Jill with some pigs

A Portland biker-friendly sign


After getting home around 2am-ish from Portland the night before, I got my butt out of bed the next morning at 8am and I'm so glad I did. Jim and MaryAnn (our support people in Gresham) told us about these work parties that are held every third Saturday at an old Italian-style villa which now serves as a house for Franciscan nuns. They have goats, chickens, dogs, cats and absolutely beautiful grounds (complete with a private waterfall). Amanda, Jill and I attended with the Bucks and their friend Jim who hauled us out east-84 a little before Multnomah Falls. I can now say that I've 1) cleaned a goat barn 2) dissembled a tiny goat house and 3) fixed up a new goat house. It was totally awesome and I loved working outside. Needless to say, I'll be back every third Saturday that I can manage! Amanda, Jill and I also went on a walk through this forest that looks like it's out of a movie. There's a path with trees lining and hanging over it. We went on a short but steep walk up to the waterfall which was absolutely beautiful. Then the MaryAnn took us on the old (and scenic) highway home, stopping at Vista House which gives you a panoramic view of the Gorge and both Washington and Oregon. All in all a very aesthetically pleasing day!

The waterfall on the nuns' property

The Columbia River Gorge

Washington!


Sunday I also got up at 8am (which is so unlike me) and did a 14 mile hike (also unlike me) with all 7 of my housemates and a bunch of people from the other Portland area houses. It was incredibly beautiful. The hike takes you past about 4 waterfalls until you get to Tunnell Falls which is a huge waterfall that you actually hike under. It was so cool! After the hike we wobbled toward the car and went home. After showers and naps we headed out our back door to Crunchy and Margaret's (our support people/neighbors). We tie-dyed together and then had brats and beers. It was heavenly to not have to cook after a long day of hiking.

Tunnel Falls after about 7 miles. It was so huge.

The housemates stopping for lunch about 1/2 mile from Tunnel Falls


My house gets randomly and fiercely into painting. Here is some painting that Lindsay did in our kitchen. Each line is from a poem. I should have overseen the J.Alfred Prufrock reference considering the line is actually "Do I dare eat a peach?" But it's still cool. The tomato reference is from Neruda, the plum from William Carlos Williams and the peach from T.S. Eliot. We have quite the literary house.

The breakfast nook table we all have been working on


Beautiful Sky in Gresham

Oh Hey Week 2

As I write this, I am in downtown Gresham's Cafe Delirium (Cafe D). There's a Indian man singing a broken English version of "The Way You Look Tonight" and playing guitar very well. It's pretty rad.

Things have been busy around here lately. Still lots of humming energy all the time because everything is so new.

Saturday night was a little get together with Mac, Morris, and Hillsboro. It was quite eventful and I got to go up on the roof of the JVC office via a sketchy ladder.

Sunday a few of my roommates and I went to OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) which for you Washingtonians is very similar to Pacific Science Center. It was pretty cool but there were kids EVERYWHERE. It was a free day so everybody was out in full swing to enjoy the a/c because it was in the 90s. The 6 of us came back and passed out for a little while and then I painted a little bit which was fun. When my roommates saw that the paints were out we all decided to paint our breakfast nook table. It's awesome. Photos to come soon!

On Monday I played a lot at work with the kids and treated myself to a Burgerville lunch which was fantastic. The things I have started to appreciate are strange.

Tuesday was a very good and very different day. It was art class at work and my boss encouraged me to go visit the kids who were in there. They're just across the way from my office so I could tell they were being pretty rambunctious because of all the noise. I went in and introduced myself to one of the girls who was probably around 11. I told her I was the new JV and she screamed and said "The new Bonnie's ugly." Then this same girl was in my office later and she asked me if I had a mom and I said my mom had died. She laughed. It was very jarring. It gives you a feel of the rough kids I will be working with. Some of them are very sweet but some have no boundaries. It didn't phase me too much but it was a little discouraging.

Wednesday was quite an eventful day. First of all, I love riding the bus. I've said it before but I'll say it again. I am just struck with what people's life stories must be and their strength and beauty. It sounds kind of silly but it's amazing. I also love the bus because the bus driver at my stop in the morning makes me feel like a local. He says "There she is!" when I get on the bus and always tells me to have a wonderful day when I exit. Everyone is pretty friendly on the bus in Portland, passengers and driver. Everyone says thank you when they exit. Sara Dorsch (or Dorsch face), my confirmation sponsor/high-school Spanish teacher, stopped by to take me to lunch on Wednesday as well. We went to a swanky pub and I had an amazing burger. It was really good to see her even if it was a bit of a whirlwind trip for her. I also got attacked at my bus stop (don't worry) by my friend Brittney Harris who saw me as she was on the way to a rehearsal. It was incredible and so good to see her. Wednesday was also mine and Colleen's night to make dinner. She made chicken pot pie (AMAZING pictures to come) and I made roast broccoli (a la Kipp Gallagher) and Aaron and Erin Riggio salad! The roommates loved it. We have a house of good cooks!

Basically my heart is opening and breaking on a regular basis. The other day one of the little girls (she's probably 3) at work who is from Guatemala stuck her head in my office and said "You come afuera [outside in Spanish]?" The kids at my work are incredible and I love helping them cross the monkey bars (the most popular request they make of me) and spinning them till I'm incredibly dizzy. So far work fires me up! My heart breaks for what people have to go through everyday and the pain some of them are in. But I want to be there with a full heart and open hands and so far that's what I'm doing. I know the difficulty will escalate but hopefully I will grow and be ready.

I miss all of you a lot. I will post pictures next time I have internet. I have Monday off so I might get time. Love love love