Introducing: New Guy In Town

Finally the question can be answered, what will become of Some Dude From California?

I proudly announce my new project, New Guy In Town.

Moving to and adjusting to Portland is going to entail lots of new discoveries and adventures and I want to invite you all along for the ride. This will be both a blog and a podcast following my first year in Portland. All the new places I discover; places to eat, play and see. I’ll share it all. It’s my take on Portland from a newcomers and ex-California perspective.

Come along as I introduce you in text, sound and pictures to my new home town, Portland OR.

On the web at http://www.newguypdx.com

Hello Portland!

Hello glorious Portland, we are home at last. We did finally make it to Portland and what a long strange trip it has been. The movers broke plenty of stuff and misplaced 16 of our boxes along with several chairs. Also, I have two boxes that were meant for someone else moving to Seattle.

Other than that, it’s been an adventure a minute. Our furniture, which was bought when we had a very large house, doesn’t fit the same in this smaller house. I knew we were going to face this kind of a problem but it’s another thing to see it first hand. The headboard for our bed still isn’t in our room because it’s too large to get up the stairs. Now we are having to literally saw it apart and then put it back together once it’s in the room. We love that bed and we’re not going to spend more money buying a new one, so whatever it takes, that bed is going in.

After the first week we all got killer colds. Maybe part stress and all the effort of unpacking, but Lisa, Virginia and I were all laid out. Only Capella came through without a scratch. Now we are finally healthy again and are making decent progress bringing the house together. It’s feels a lot less like a disaster area and more like an actual comfortable home.

In the middle of all this, through in a heat wave of 93 degree plus temperatures. I expected many things in Portland but never heat like this. The house has no air conditioning and has been brutal, especially at night when trying to get to sleep. Of course, the worst room is the kids room.

In general, I love being here though. Portland is just great. Our neighbors have been very nice and welcoming. Plenty of great, fun places to eat and a nice mellow vibe. Lots and lots of bikes, per the legend. One of the things I like most about this house, every window I look out of I see green.

The Hectic Good Life

San ClementeIt’s hard to complain with a view like this. We are officially in limbo as we have sold our old house and are waiting for the Portland house to become available for us to move into.

We’ve been bouncing around, spending a few weeks at my mom’s house in Newport Beach and now at a timeshare we got access to in San Clemente. It looks like there is light at the end of the tunnel though as we do have a date the second week in June when we will be able to get our new house. Until then, we live out of a few suitcases of clothes and the very basics of out stuff.

All this and Connected World Media goes on, getting Virginia to and from school goes on and a large personal event that I won’t specify is added to the mix.

Again, I won’t complain too much though as we go to sleep to the sound of the ocean and enjoy the cool fresh air. If there is anything about California that I will miss, it’s this; the beaches are magnificent here.

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Portland by Train

Coast Starlight

The Southern Califronia house is on the market and it’s all systems go for a Portland move this summer. We are going up to Portland this week for another visit. We need to take a closer look at neighborhoods and schools. Since Lisa does not like to fly and driving would take two full days, we decided to take the train. Amtrak gets you there in just over a day and costs about the same as gas. Not having to drive is a big plus as well.

I have always liked train travel. Even though the state of the rail system in the US is pretty bad, especially in the west, I still connect with the romance of the train. I am excited to see the government finally putting some money into improving trains, even the promise of modern high speed rail in some places. The military seems to have an infinate amount of money to spend on Iraq and Afganistan, not that it’s not important, but an investment in rail is an infrastructure investment that would pay off for generations.

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Some Dude From Cali: Sell That House

Hello 2010. Getting the house ready to go on the market and a rant on customer service and loyalty.

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Dead Dog Tired

My body hurts in so many places and I’m tired as tired can be. We’ve been working like crazy to get this house ready to put on the market for sale soon. Moving furniture, taking out trash and Goodwill, and generally moving nonstop for three days. My lower back is the real problem area and I have always had problems with the lower back. We are still not done, another few days of this and hopefully Monday we will be ready for photos. This is the first real concrete step on our mission to get to Portland next summer.

With all the physical activity you would think my weight would be doing well but we have not been able to do the Lindora thing very well at all. It’s just not even close to our regular routine and I am so wore out and busted, I have nothing left to fight the late night munchies, my ultimate downfall. I haven’t gained much, but I’m suck at 201. I really wanted to get below 200 with some room to spare and we only have one week left of weight loss. We need so badly to finish this house prep project and get back to as much of a normal life as possible.

I’ve never been to a chiropractor but I am seriously considering it when this is done. My body is wrecked. It makes me feel old. The body just does not take punishment as well when you’re over 40.

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Some Dude From Cali: The Beatles Ride Again

The Beatles are back, but not digitally. My house is falling apart. The Mackenzie Phillips story gets me pissed off and Portland is a go.

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Back Home

It’s been a long month of August as we spent our last month of summer in Portland, Or. Portland had it’s share of highs and lows but overall it was a good experience. That being said, it’s so good to be home. So good to be back in my own home, in my own bed. We have alot of work ahead of us to make the transition to Oregon real next year, but for now, I just want to sit back and relax for a moment. I need to get back into the flow of working Connected World Media as well. School is starting next week and we need to get Virginia ready for that.

Thank go0dness for the publc Internet . At this moment I am writing this blog at a car wash while waiting for the Chevy to be cleaned. After a month on the road, it’s a mess. They have a nice Internet terminal here curtesy of Cox and Dell.

I have lots of podcasting to get back to as well. Tonight I need to start thinkng about all new episodes of Rock and Roll Jew Show, Connected World Podcast and Some Dude From California. I also need to drop 15 lbs, but that’s another story.

Last Week in Portland

It feels like it’s been a long while now and we have reached our last week in Portland, Or. I would say the trip has been a success. We have seen and experienced a good part of the city, although by no means all of it. We like it here and things look good for a move next summer.

Everyone got sick this week though. The baby started it with a runny nose and quickly gave it to Virginia and Lisa. Virginia bounced back pretty quickly, not so much for Lisa who is still quick sick. I have flirted with the edges of sickness, taking just enough Tylenol cold to hold off full blown symptoms.

The condo has been nice, but I’m looking forward to getting back to my full house and a regular course of life.

Portland – Impressions

I think we’ve become pretty enamored with the more close in to downtown areas to live now. We’ve always lived in the suburbs and the city has a real energy that I love. There are so many cool and funky nooks and crannies to explore. Portland is also a town that has not been overrun by gentrification, so there’s lots of local flair. There is a Starbucks on virtually every corner, but what can you do? It’s a very different experience from where we are now, but it’s great. The business environment looks good too, especially for entrepreneurs and the social media scene is very good. A couple of other observations.

I notice a lot of people smoking downtown. This struck me a little strange for a city that prides itself on being green. The clean air and all the bike riding, a higher level of fitness no doubt, but the smoking. I did not expect that. Secondly, something less surprising, lots of tattoos. For some reason, it does seem apropos for the pacific north west somehow but what was more surprising was the number of women who are tattooed. I’ve also seen lots of not very good tattoos on women. I recently read a great book on the Tattoo industry by a Portland tattoo artist, Jeff Johnson. Tattoo Machine is the book. Jeff works at the Sea Tramp Tattoo Company. I haven’t been by the shop yet. I don’t have any tattoos myself and don’t think I ever will but it’s an interesting art form and a great read of you want a real behind the scenes look at things.

The kids and I went to a park in north Portland this afternoon because we found a good water park there and it was over 90 degrees today. But we also found a concert in the park which was a neat surprise. By the time we were ready to go quite a crowd had gathered. A person selling shaved ice had setup shop there and another person was selling pizza. The neighborhood rep was out with t-shirts and information. All that and the band was pretty good too. What made me most happy, though, was the number of kids and families there. A kid friendly city is very important to us and Portland seems to have some good things going for it in that regard. The zoo was one of the nicest zoos I have seen. I’m also very impressed with the light rail transportation system.