Adam and I have officially entered escrow on a home! The search was a little long but we knew what we wanted when we found it! I have to say that home buying in a state and town where you don't have much family or influence on where exactly to live is very hard! I feel that if you're living near family you choose a home near them. We were really working with a clean slate here! The whole Portland Metro area was at our feet. The first question to answer was, "West side vs. East side". We have received strong advice from many friends giving good advice on which side to live on. We spent a long time driving around every area and decided that the West side was best for us. We particularly liked Southwest Portland because we could enjoy suburban life and still be close enough to the City for entertainment. The first thing that sold us on our house is that it is in SW Portland and borders the suburbs of Tigard and Beaverton. It's perfect! We'll be close to everything! The only other question we had to answer was "Old house vs. New House". Originally, my answer to this was, "NEW! NEW! NEW!". I think most of my life I've wanted to live in a new home. But after seeing some of the great architecture of the homes built between the 1920's and 1940's I had a change of heart! However, we still chose a newer home. The neighborhood is close and a little unconventional but I think we'll be happy there!
The negotiations went well and we got a great price! The main reason we got such a great deal was because the home was in foreclosure and the bank is more interested in unloading the property versus a home owner who has sentimental value in the home. We had a little excitement with getting the paperwork done and starting our 10-day inspection period. We're going on a mini vacation and won't return till day 10! Luckily, the contract from the bank actually states that we have 12 days. The other piece is that the bank will most likely not repair anything unless it's something that will severely cause the property from not selling such as a broken sewer line. Anyway, I've been holding down the fort because Adam has been at work for two days. I had to work out with our realtor when to get our inspection done which resulted in shortening our trip to CA. I'm sure it will be well worth it! Below is a link to the listing for our home, you can check out all the details and pictures!
http://www.redfin.com/OR/Tigard/8955-SW-Nordic-Dr-97223/home/26671522
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Pleasantville
I think God new that today was going to be laundry day because it's the perfect temperature outside to be running my dryer. A little cloud cover makes a huge difference!
I've found myself repeating a line from this movie that came out in 1998 called "Pleasantville" with Reese Witherspoon and Tobey McGuire. Most of you may know what I'm talking about but for those who don't it's about two teenagers from the 1990's who travel through their television and end up on a 1950's sitcom called, "Pleasantville". It's very stereotypical 1950's, black and white, wife vacuum's in pearls and husband comes home from work with dinner waiting for him. The town is really small and quaint and reminds me a lot of where we live in Wilsonville! The city of Pleasantville has two streets and Wilsonville has about 5 main streets. The line that makes the connection for me is when Reese Witherspoon is in a geography class and the teacher is giving a lesson on Elm Street, the dialogue is:
Miss Peters: Last week, class, we discussed the geography of Main Street. This week we're going to be talking about Elm Street. Now, can anyone tell me the difference between Elm Street and Main Street? Tommy. Tommy: It's not as long? Miss Peters: That's right, Tommy, it's not as long. Also, it only has houses, so the geography of Main Street is different than the geography of Elm Street. [Jennifer is frowning in bewilderment. She raises her hand] Miss Peters: Mary Sue! Jennifer: Yeah. What's outside of Pleasantville? [the entire class turns to look at her] Miss Peters: I don't understand. Jennifer: Outside of Pleasantville? Like, what's at the end of Main Street? Miss Peters: [chuckles and shakes her head] Mary Sue. You should know the answer to that! The end of Main Street is just the beginning again.
The reason this is so hilarious to me is because there are streets in Wilsonville that ultimately start and end at the same street. That's how small our town is!!! Adam and I agree that this was a nice place to start in Oregon but we're a little tired of this small town!
Friday, July 1, 2011
Catching up
Well, I haven't posted for a while because I had a sneaky suspicion that no one was really taking interest in my random banter but I've decided I don't care, I just feel like writing! I don't have much to update because things are almost the same as they were the last time I posted. I still don't have a job. I'm probably rounding application number 50 or 75 and still nothing! Not even a phone call. Although I have gotten e-mails saying the position I applied for has been filled. When was my interview? Oh right, I didn't get one. The only logical explanation that Adam and I have come up with is my lack of connections. The people getting hired are probably people who had connections. To remedy this factor I have decided to volunteer with a social welfare agency that helps families in need in the Portland area. I'm looking forward to this because I get to mentor a young female. This will be hard. I've volunteered in similar atmospheres and one thing I know is that at-risk youth are tough to get through to. But I'm up for the challenge! I would also like to volunteer at a local hospital but I'm holding out for a job a little longer before I put too much on my plate. I have extended my job search to restaurants and retail stores.
I had an interesting encounter a few weeks ago with a prospective connection. Adam and I signed up to do a stress study at the College of Natural Medicine in Portland in exchange for $20 gift cards to Fred Meyer. Desperate for a break much? I got to the school early and ended up poking my head into the office of one of the faculty members while searching for the study administrator. She let me sit in her office while I waited for the guy to get there and we chatted about jobs and my current job outlook. She mentioned that they would be having a position opening up in July for an administrative assistant and if I'm interested I should apply and e-mail her my resume and a cover letter and she would make sure that my application at least makes it to the top of the pile and is seen by the hiring manager. Yay! At least I will know that my application is seen. However, I haven't seen the job posting yet.
Aside from the job outlook, the only other note worthy observation I've made lately was at church. Earlier I mentioned that Adam and I have been attending a church close by called, Athey Creek Christian Fellowship. One of my first observations at ACCF was that they don't use screens to project the lyrics of the worship songs on. Instead, they hand you a small piece of paper with the lyrics on it as you enter the building. At first I thought, "Not very Portland-like, they're not saving trees!" but I also thought that maybe they can't afford screens and a projector yet because they are in a new building. I admit this question came across my mind every single time we went to church because I don't really care for holding that little piece of paper while I'm trying to worship. Finally, at last Wednesday night's service the pastor brought up the subject! Yes, finally!!! I was kind of disappointed with the answer. Not to say it's a bad answer though! He explained that he (and some other pastors) feel that the screen thing is too "churchy". Wait... What? With my upbringing "churchy" is an organ, a choir, and a hymnal! Screens and projectors are new and contemporary! He was explaining how the church strives to keep things as simple as possible so that's why they don't do any announcements and the service is strictly worship, a message, and communion. That sort of makes sense to me, I don't really agree with the "churchy" concept mentioned earlier, but that's merely my perspective on church. The point he made that I really agreed with was that it helps people actually learn the songs. The purpose of the little piece of paper is for new comers or visitors who don't know the songs. But they play a lot of the same songs, rotating in new songs, so people can actually use their brains and memorize the songs. This way they can fully be consumed in worship, hands free and eyes free. What a concept... For the record, the band doesn't use any sheet music either. A cool concept but I'm still not completely for it. This brings up the generational difference of the church goers who insist on keeping their organs and hymnals and now us who insist on having our screens and projectors! Very sociological! Haha... I could go on and on about this but I'm afraid I may have already lost my viewers. If there are any!
I had an interesting encounter a few weeks ago with a prospective connection. Adam and I signed up to do a stress study at the College of Natural Medicine in Portland in exchange for $20 gift cards to Fred Meyer. Desperate for a break much? I got to the school early and ended up poking my head into the office of one of the faculty members while searching for the study administrator. She let me sit in her office while I waited for the guy to get there and we chatted about jobs and my current job outlook. She mentioned that they would be having a position opening up in July for an administrative assistant and if I'm interested I should apply and e-mail her my resume and a cover letter and she would make sure that my application at least makes it to the top of the pile and is seen by the hiring manager. Yay! At least I will know that my application is seen. However, I haven't seen the job posting yet.
Aside from the job outlook, the only other note worthy observation I've made lately was at church. Earlier I mentioned that Adam and I have been attending a church close by called, Athey Creek Christian Fellowship. One of my first observations at ACCF was that they don't use screens to project the lyrics of the worship songs on. Instead, they hand you a small piece of paper with the lyrics on it as you enter the building. At first I thought, "Not very Portland-like, they're not saving trees!" but I also thought that maybe they can't afford screens and a projector yet because they are in a new building. I admit this question came across my mind every single time we went to church because I don't really care for holding that little piece of paper while I'm trying to worship. Finally, at last Wednesday night's service the pastor brought up the subject! Yes, finally!!! I was kind of disappointed with the answer. Not to say it's a bad answer though! He explained that he (and some other pastors) feel that the screen thing is too "churchy". Wait... What? With my upbringing "churchy" is an organ, a choir, and a hymnal! Screens and projectors are new and contemporary! He was explaining how the church strives to keep things as simple as possible so that's why they don't do any announcements and the service is strictly worship, a message, and communion. That sort of makes sense to me, I don't really agree with the "churchy" concept mentioned earlier, but that's merely my perspective on church. The point he made that I really agreed with was that it helps people actually learn the songs. The purpose of the little piece of paper is for new comers or visitors who don't know the songs. But they play a lot of the same songs, rotating in new songs, so people can actually use their brains and memorize the songs. This way they can fully be consumed in worship, hands free and eyes free. What a concept... For the record, the band doesn't use any sheet music either. A cool concept but I'm still not completely for it. This brings up the generational difference of the church goers who insist on keeping their organs and hymnals and now us who insist on having our screens and projectors! Very sociological! Haha... I could go on and on about this but I'm afraid I may have already lost my viewers. If there are any!
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