PROGRESS

Another long day. From our hotel in Everette, we made the drive north to Bellingham. We looked around, explored WWU's campus, I interviewed and Jessica wandered, then we had a couple of beers, a coffee, and a strange chat with a local, then took off for Vancouver.

The interview did not go very well. I have a habit of becoming very nervous and fumbling around with my words. They're a competitive program and I felt like I probably won't make the cut. That's alright with me, though. If Portland State can come up with an assistantship, I wouldn't think twice.

However, I have discovered something that I see myself growing very fond of. Vancouver. What a gem of a city, an amazing place. I'm going to have to scheme up a way to live in this city someday. Tonight Jessica and I grabbed a glass of wine and wandered downtown. Tomorrow will be much more intensive with a visit to University of British Columbia and the "sights".

Random roadtrip quotes:
"It really did feel like we were in the Starship Enterprise and being chased by the Borg or something" - NOT me
"OH SHIT did the cheese fall out of the window?"
"I'm from up north... further than Canada... a little place called 'Alaska'"

 Seconds before I locked my keys in the car and minutes before I had to pay $50 to get them out.

Our new Alaskan friend Adam in Bellingham

 Boundary Bay Brewery in Bellingham

Vancouver hotel. A bargain at $40 a night!

ROAD TRIP / BETTER NEWS

I'm typing this post tonight from a Travelodge hotel in Everette so I will be brief.

Events of the day:

• Now Red Cross certified in CPR/First Aid/AED after 7 hours of training.
• Drove over Stevens Pass through near-whiteout snow conditions in my $700 station wagon. She performed beautifully.
• Received a call from the Graduate Director of the Sociology Department at Portland State University during the drive. Accepted. I'll find out about assistantships in two weeks.
• Decided to crash in Everette after the slow-going over the pass. Waking up early tomorrow to head north towards Bellingham. My interview starts at noon.
• Images from the drive (taken with Jessica's Nikon D80):

PREPARATION

I'm currently hauling butt to get packed and ready for a weekend trip to Bellingham and Vancouver. I haven't done my dishes in about... mmm, three weeks or so. It's proven to be quite a chore.

I have an interview with Western Washington University's School Counseling program and Jessica and I are checking out University of British Columbia, where Jessica applied. I've never seen this corner of the northwest, but I've always wanted to visit. I just hope ol' Creaky can survive the pass.

Long day at work, but it all went pretty well. I'm finally starting to feel like I'm competent at my job after six months of fumbling around.

Tomorrow is going to be a long day, but soon I'll be off to Belingham and my first graduate school interview. Wish me luck!

NEWS

Didn't get into University of Oregon's Sociology MA/PhD program.

Samuel Adams' Noble Pils: C+

SLEEP DEPRAVATION

I slept for 3 hours last night. Went to bed early and couldn't make it through the night. I had a dream a one-eyed spider was after me and woke up, of course I couldn't fall back asleep. This is the last stand against my bizarre sleep schedule.... I will starve myself of sleep and I will fall into a natural pattern that includes going to bed at 11pm and waking up for work. That sounds swell and all, but right now I am dog tired.

Sleepy, not stoned.

The work week is picking up. I'm already having to juggle a thousand things I wouldn't normally be able to remember without my Android phone organizer. The focus right now is on the following: mentor catch-up, food bank preparations, senior citizen laborers, state office scurrying, fulfilling unnecessary and overdue training requirements, red crossing and first aiding. Also a trip to Bellingham is on the docket for Thursday.

I'm very sleepy. Next time I have some pep, I'd like to write a bit about educational reform and Waiting for Superman. I'm now going to keep moving until I can allow myself to collapse into a pile of pillows and blankets.

I went to Taco Time today. Boring post.

POLITICS

Day One after I made my blogging declaration, and I almost forgot my blog existed. They say it takes two weeks of consistency to form a habit, so I'll have to power through the next 12 days.

Today was an interesting day, Jessica and I volunteered to help our friend and supervisor Ben with his political campaign and we met with him this evening along with his political advisory board. He's planning to run for City Council Supervisor of Spokane, which is a significant political post for a mid-sized city and I think he'll do a superb job. It seems likely Jessica and I will coordinate social media, photography, and videography, though I'm sure we'll get a chance to see a little bit of everything through this campaign process. This is my first inside view of the politics, and I'm very excited to get started.

In other political news, I've been shocked to read that the Republicans in the House have passed a bill which would completely eliminate AmeriCorps, Habitat for Humanity, Teach for America, and many other crucial programs that support community health, public education, and the impoverished neighborhoods of America. One Republican Senator from Minnesota goes so far to declare AmeriCorps and similar programs to be "re-education camps" (which her son promptly decided to join -- oh teenage rebellion). Apparently caring about our communities is something only liberals do, which is inherently evil. I get that Republicans are trying to focus on trimming eliminating Obama's budget, but have they so quickly forgotten that we are in a recession? This bill would result in thousands of people out of work (80,000 in AmeriCorps alone), a chilling job outlook for recent college graduates, and a vacuum of educational and not-for-profit services that our strained social infrastructure desperately needs. The cost of this bill is far greater than the savings in budget -- Goldman Sachs estimates that these eliminated services would reduce our economic growth (in GDP) by 1.5 to 2 percentage points, when it's already estimated at only 3.4% - 3.9% - possibly reducing our economic growth rate in half. Luckily this bill has yet to get past the Senate, and would likely be vetoed by President Obama if it somehow survived the Democrats. While it's likely this is merely a superficial show of force by the Republicans, opportunistic due to their nearly undisputed control of the House, it's frightening how radical their party politics have become. I propose liberals respond with proportionate radicalism.

Unrelated, this is my view right now.

DECLARATION

Hello internets

I will update this blog. One picture for every day. Promise. I will use this as a reminder to myself for how life was like in AmeriCorps, living far below the poverty line, and spending my time in the extravagant city of Spokane.

My service is just about halfway complete, as is my time in this particular corner of the Pacific Northwest. Graduate school interviews are coming up fast, and I will know my future in just a few short months. This is an exciting time, and I'd be happy to share it with those who are interested.

Today's post: a few random images from the past week. We had a foot of snow fall on Thursday, sending our hopeful spring transition into the depths of winter, with 6 more inches expected tomorrow; Jessica was caught being Jessica; and I did some laundry at Susie's before the storm.