I think I got a job because of this

I’m starting a new job tomorrow- same company, different job. It’s basically a writing job. I’ll be creating content and copy for my company’s website and social media channels. This is exactly the kind of step I have wanted to take for years, and I’ve tried to find every little extra thing I could do outside of my regular job responsibilities to put on my resume while trying to convince a anyone that would give me an interview that what I don’t know, I will learn quickly. It’s pretty incredible to have someone finally believe you and give you a shot.

The first step in the interview process was a writing test. Part of it was a sample blog that would go on the website and a sample e-mail that would go to prospective clients. The final piece was just to write about the last trip I took, and I think this is what got me the job based on comments I received in interviews.

So…here it is. Approximately 600 words about the last trip I took.

For the last nine years, my partner and I have gone to New York to visit his family for Christmas. When I tell people that my partner grew up about an hour from New York City, and that I have spent Christmas there for so many years, the typical reaction is, “You are so lucky!” It’s true. I am lucky to have a reason to go to the greatest city in the world during the most wonderful time of year.

It probably surprises no one that the most wonderful time of the year is also the most crowded time of the year in New York City. Sometime around my seventh New York Christmas, the novelty had worn off. I was tired of the holiday traveling and the crowded city.

Still, I begrudgingly packed my bags for my ninth New York Christmas last December. This was a bit of a special Christmas for my partner’s family. His sister had recently gotten engaged, and his brother had returned to the United States after spending several years teaching English in Turkey, where he also met a girl and got married. It would be her first Christmas in the states after receiving her Green Card.  

My partner and I always try to sneak away from family to spend a few days in the city, avoiding the areas overrun with tourists if we can. On our first train ride into the city, we had yet to establish any plan for when we arrived at Grand Central Station. Being musical theater fans on a budget, Broadway can be a challenge. We are both skeptics of secondary ticketing services, but we decided to give it a try. Much to our surprise, we found tickets to Moulin Rouge for a steal. Moulin Rouge happens to be one of my favorite movies and was recently turned into a Broadway show. My attitude about our trip shifted immediately. We arrived to the theater just in time after a mad dash through Times Square.

The last night of our trip, we visited a cat café near Chinatown after eating some delicious vegan food and visiting a chemistry inspired tea shop. While we were trying to lure some kittens out of a cave in the wall with a toy, we decided to check the ticket app one more time. Tickets to Hadestown were available for a fraction of what they would normally cost. We were elated. How was it possible that we would see two of most acclaimed shows of the year within just a few days? Again, we weaved through the crowds of mid-town Manhattan and arrived at the theater just in time.

I left New York on an emotional high and with a cold I picked up somewhere along the way. From vegan food to cat cafes to Broadway shows, we made that city uniquely ours for a few days. That’s what makes New York City special.

Broadway went dark just a few months later as New York City became the biggest COVID-19 hotspot in the country. The cat café we visited had to place all of their cats in fosters and began selling cloth face masks to survive. Knowing now how quickly things can change, I treasure that trip. It’s likely we will not be traveling at all this year, New York or otherwise. It will truly be an extraordinary thing when we can get back to the experiences connect us and bring us joy.

Under different circumstances

This weekend, I embarked on what has become an annual pilgrimage to hipster Mecca – Portland, Oregon. But this time felt so starkly different from previous visits. If you’ve read this blog, you may be aware that I have a love for the city of Portland. It has served as a place for me to find my sense of independence when I was unsure of whether my future would include a partner, it has been a place for me and that partner to celebrate that we had made it through very rough waters, and it has been a place to reunite with a friend I had not seen in a long time. And of course, Powell’s is in Portland.

(If I’m granted access to a heaven that may or may not exist, I hope it’s just a giant bookstore. Powell’s basically.)

Portland is the one place outside of Denver I’ve visited and felt like I could live.

This time, I was supposed to meet Harrison in the middle of his own adventure. He went on the road with another comic for a week, and Portland was a scheduled stop. The plan was that I would arrive on Saturday, have a day to do some of my favorite things, and then he would get there on Sunday and perform in two comedy shows in the city.

If you’ve seen the news at all, you may have seen that the Pacific Northwest got some snow. Seattle and other parts of Washington mostly. Portland didn’t really, at least not by the standards of a Colorado native or any person who has seen actual snow accumulation.

Before the trip, I was religiously checking the forecast, like the nervous traveler I am, and it was changing about as often as I was checking it. While the forecast for Portland seemed to be improving, Washington’s was not, and Harrison was scheduled to be in Yakima Saturday night.

While he was traveling through the snowy mountain passes between Bozeman, Montana and Yakima, Washington, I was going through my own sort of rollercoaster of a day.

I made it to Portland without even a delay, and the air travel gods apparently were satisfied with the number of middle seats I’ve occupied over the years and granted me a flight with 70 empty seats. I had an entire row to myself. When I arrived, I decided to go to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) because I had never been there. I don’t know that anything will ever counter the awkwardness of seeing bunch of a children aged about 7 to 10 running around multitudes of displays of male and female genitalia, models of fetuses at different stages of pregnancy, AND what childbirth looks like including the weird way babies’ heads get all misshapen as they’re squeezed through a hole far too small for it to remain a normal shape.  Portland does not mess around with science-based sex education, which I can get behind.

Then Cascade. Whoever decided to make a Kriek to be served hot is a damn genius, and I need a Denver brewery to make this happen. By next winter, please. Thanks.

I walked over the Burnside Bridge, which I love doing for some reason, even though I have a bit of a fear of heights and looking down makes my stomach leap. Not far over the bridge is Powell’s. I. HAD. ARRIVED. This would be a great weekend, I thought. Maybe Harrison would want to come back the next day.

While I was at Powell’s, I realized I hadn’t heard from Harrison in quite a while. I called him, and his phone was going straight to voicemail. I tried not to panic because I know that cell service in the mountains can sometimes be spotty. I made my way to where I planned to get dinner. I walked up on a street that is typically full of people eating and drinking, and I found it empty. Many businesses had closed in anticipation of snow. There was no snow accumulation on the ground, and the most I had seen was about an inch when I landed at the airport. Coupled with my worry about where Harrison might be because at that point, I had seen a post on Facebook from the venue saying their Yakima show was cancelled because the comics were stuck in a snow bank “somewhere in bumfuck Egypt,” the city started to feel very cold and lonely.

I finally heard from him. He was safe. He and the comic he was traveling with had slid off the road into a ditch and had to dig out. The road to their destination was closed, so they were stuck in some small town. They found a gas station and a motel and would figure out their next move and if they would even be able to make it to Portland. One of their Portland shows had already been cancelled because of “snow.”

He didn’t make it to Portland. I know that he feels bad, and that he did what was best for his safety. But the disappointment in this change of plans changed everything I felt about the weekend heading into it.

For the first time in all the times I’ve visited, I suddenly couldn’t wait to go home. For the first time, the city felt cold and empty and lonely and nothing that I needed it to be. Sure, it was quite literally cold, but it seemed like everything started to shift when plans changed. Everything that I love about the city became tiresome and cold, even the people. I heard a man yell at a streetcar operator and call him an asshole. I had never encountered a rude person in the Pacific Northwest. Ever. While the city’s transit system is truly the best I’ve ever seen, even that started to exhaust me. I sunk into a weird funk that I had a hard time fully pulling myself out of, and I was suddenly just kind of killing time before my flight home.

I tried to make the best of it. I ate at some of my favorite restaurants and drank some of my favorite beer. I tried to do something new and learned that Portland has an excellent art museum. But still, I ended up changing my flight to leave earlier on Monday morning rather than trying to enjoy one last Portland breakfast. I even splurged on a Lyft to the airport instead of using the city’s great public transit options, because the thought of dragging my belongings to the train and then switching to another train was utterly exhausting to me.

As all of this took shape this weekend, I was struck at how this very different set of circumstances and frame of mind so drastically changed my experience with the same city I’ve visited and only ever loved. I don’t really know what conclusion to draw from this experience except that I definitely don’t respond to change as well as I had hoped. I like a plan, even a loose plan, and no location in the world is likely to change the person I’ve been for 32 years of life. Sure, I’ve become better at responding to a change in plans with practice and copious amounts of yoga and breathing exercises. But deep down, I live with a set of expectations of how things will happen, and there will always be an uneasiness when things don’t happen that way. It influences my perception of my overall sense of well-being. Also, I can do alone like a champ, but lonely is another story. With Harrison being away as much as he has been lately between work and this excursion, I was really excited to be able to be with him for even a few hours. Missing Harrison and encountering a city that became so empty in places because of LIKE AN INCH OF SNOW was lonely and frustrating, and it made me sad.

I still love Portland, and I’m sure I’ll be back. However, maybe not when there’s a chance of snow. IMG_1504

Caffeinate. Eat. Drink. PDX.

If you’ve followed this blog, you may know that Portland, Oregon has a very special place in my heart. I went there for the first time at one of my lowest points, and it held me. I love going back. I was there last weekend meeting a friend who moved to Hawaii a while ago. Each time, I find new places to drink coffee, eat good food, and drink beer. I hope these suggestions make someone’s trip to the City of Roses the best ever.

CAFFEINATE

Stumptown

Duh. Stumptown might be the most well-known coffee roaster in Portland, and there are many locations around the city. My favorite thing about Stumptown are all of their creative cold brew varieties. When Harrison and I went to Portland last year, I had a sarsaparilla cold brew that was delicious.

Barista

Barista has several locations in Portland. I have personally visited the Nob Hill location on NW 23rd Ave. The vibe inside the shop is great, and they serve great coffees from roasters all over the world.

EAT

Seastar Bakery

This place is a gem! At first glance, the menu appears to simply be a bunch of toast. We know Millennials love their toast. There is a fancy toast option for everyone on this menu. There are sweet options, savory options, and plenty of vegan and gluten-free bakery items. Don’t forget to look around at the fun décor.

No Bones Beach Club (vegan)

Best tempeh bacon I’ve ever had. End of discussion. This place has a really great menu complete with some fun cocktails. It’s also right on Mississippi Ave, so you really can’t go wrong here.

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Vita Café (vegetarian)

Vita Café reminds me of one of my favorite vegetarian spots in Denver. Their menu has options for everyone, and again with the tempeh! This was the first I’ve had tempeh that was battered and fried, but it was good. And of course, peanut sauce makes everything better.

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Screen Door

GO THERE. I’ve only eaten at Screen Door for breakfast/brunch. I imagine going there for dinner would be just as good or better. The food is southern comfort style food. Try the cheddar grits! If you’re a vegetarian, the veggie sausage is really good. Yummy cocktails, too! Try the blood orange mimosa or Ginger 75.

BEER

Portland is known for beer. There are great breweries all over the place. Here are a few of my favorites from my latest visit.

Great Notion Brewing

Breakside Brewery

Stormbreaker Brewing

Ecliptic Brewing

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Cascade  Brewing Barrel House If you’re a sour beer lover like I am, Cascade is a must!

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BONUS- Stuff to do

Powell’s City of Books

This is probably pretty obvious. I love to read, and I love walking the aisles of big book stores. Powell’s takes up an entire block. You could seriously spend hours here. It’s a reader’s paradise. There are a couple of smaller locations in the city, but the big store is really something to experience.

Cannon Beach/Haystack rock

HEY YOU GUUUUYYYS!!

I hope someone got that reference. This is where you can find the rock that appears in The Goonies. I don’t know about you guys, but that movie was a huge part of my childhood. Cannon Beach is about an hour and a half from Portland, so it’s an easy day trip. It’s beautiful. The pictures really don’t do it justice.

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North Portland Yoga

I am so grateful that yoga is portable, and that I was able to practice in Portland. I really wish I had taken a better picture of this space.  Harrison gives me a hard time about being so particular about where I practice and who I practice with. I don’t like studios that are so polished. It feels inauthentic. This studio was perfection. I highly recommend it for traveling yogis.

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Meat free in NYC

I gave up meat in August. Okay, I’m flexible with fish, because I might murder people if I can’t eat sushi every once in a while. I’m trying to keep the seafood to a minimum, though.

Harrison and I have gone to New York for Christmas to visit his family for the last 7 years, and this year I was a little concerned because of my new dietary choices. There are already a lot of dietary needs in Harrison’s family, most of which involve the Paleo diet, which is very heavy on the meat, and they hold strong opinions about a meat-free diet. On Thanksgiving, we called his parents, and Harrison planted the seed that I had recently given up meat entirely, so there would be no surprises over Christmas. His dad’s response was, “No protein!?!?!!?!?” I rolled my eyes.

Yeah…it’s like that.

The first day we were in New York, Harrison’s dad grabbed a handful of bacon and crumbled it into everything he made for breakfast. In an effort to not be rude or a pain in the ass, I spent breakfast trying to eat around the tiny pieces of bacon that had been added to my food. Harrison’s mom also made a pasta sauce that included chicken bouillon cubes. I know that none of this was malicious. They’ve never had to think about these things. They had made a lot of accommodations for me, which I greatly appreciated. They just missed a few details.

When Harrison and I went into the city for a couple of days, I was fairly adamant that we ate at vegetarian and vegan restaurants whenever possible. That ended up being pretty easy, and we ate some great food, so I thought I would share for my vegetarian and vegan friends.

Day 1

Candle Café

I stumbled upon this place semi-accidentally after we spent a few hours at The Met. I got on Yelp to see what was nearby and saw this place described as Vegan/Vegetarian. Hooray! Harrison and I shared the Cajun Seitan Sandwich. Delicious! They also serve fresh juices (“Elixirs”) that are packed with nutrition and very tasty. I drank the Berry Harvest elixir, and Harrison drank the Flu Fighter elixir.

It was definitely a great find!

Beyond Sushi

Vegan sushi. Who knew? Oh my goodness. I loved this place so much. I think Harrison and I got a little too excited when we were ordering because everything looked so good. We had to reign ourselves in a bit. I highly recommend the Nutty Buddy and the Spicy Mang roll.

 

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Vegan everything!

Day 2

Superiority Burger

Who doesn’t love a good burger? I have had some garbage veggie burgers since I stopped eating meat. This place is so great, and it’s really easy on the wallet. Only $6 for a burger, and they are super tasty. They can also make it vegan upon request. The Broccoli Rabe was also delicious.

Modern Love

This was our splurge meal. Whenever Harrison and I travel, we are fairly frugal when it comes to meals, but we might find one nice place and spend a little more on one nice meal. Modern Love was recommended by a friend who has been a vegetarian for about 12 years. We got the Tempeh Stuffed Avocado as an app. Harrison had the Bacon Cheeseburger complete with tempeh bacon, cashew cheese, and a seitan patty. I had the Mac ‘n Shews- vegan mac ‘n cheese with tasty cashew cheese, breaded tofu on the top, and some kale and cauliflower included in the dish. I think Harrison was a little skeptical, but we both left very full and very happy.

 

BONUS!

Other Half Brewing

Harrison and I stopped into Other Half last year when we were visiting over Christmas on a recommendation from a co-worker. Last year, it was a tiny but very impressive place. Excellent beer. This year, we were happy to see they had taken over the space next door. They had way more space and they were PACKED. And the beer is still just as good!

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Peekskill Brewery

Harrison and I go to the Peekskill Brewery every time we’re in New York visiting his family. We LOVE this place. Their beer is some of the best we’ve had outside of Colorado, and they also have great food. If you’re visiting the city, you’ll have to take a train ride up to Peekskill to try this place, but it’s definitely worth the trip.

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This is the Pinky Up.

I am BAD at vacation pictures

If you follow me on Instagram, you’re aware that I basically only posted pictures of food while I was in Austin because food is the best part of vacations. I did actually take pictures of other things that were almost as cool as the food. Photography is not a talent I possess, and Harrison doesn’t care about having pictures. We are doomed for a life of either no pictures or just shitty ones.

Enjoy my shitty vacation pictures of a super cool town!

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Brunch. My favorite meal of the day.

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Crossing the Congress Bridge

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It took a minute, but we finally found some good beer.

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Turtles!

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Oh hey there…

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We so pretty.

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Water at sunset. Perfection.

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See the bats?!

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More bats!!

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This is a sign telling people not to bring their guns inside. Austin is not down with the open carry business. I appreciate that, Austin.

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Moody Theater tour.

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Inside the Moody Theater

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Backstage at the Moody Theater. Those are undies on a weird bird thing.

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Lots of live music history here.

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Oh hey there, Willie. This is where artists go to smoke.

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Control Room

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Cool shit.

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I bet shows here are ridic.

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The obligatory Austin picture. In all seriousness, I think this is pretty rad.

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Me!

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Such a happy place.

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Mexican Martini

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Mmm… salsa.

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BBQ. So. Freakin. Good.

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I don’t understand this, but I like it.

If you have the chance to go to Austin, do it. It’s a really cool place.