Yesterday on a walk I saw a man on the trail shaving himself with an electric razor in front of a tree. He looked utterly content humming a tune under his breath. Keep Portland weird indeed.
I have been living here for 6 years. I thought it was less until someone asked me the question. I hardly believe it. Time sure flies. After 6 years of being homesick for Alaska, I finally came to terms, got used to the noise and tons of people constantly rushing somewhere and never being alone on hiking trails and started enjoying life. Nowadays I cannot fall asleep unless there is a noise from passing cars on the road across my townhouse. People are resilient (although not as resilient as dogs) and can get used to anything.
I like my life here once I simplified it to resemble the simplicity of living in Alaska and making life outside of work a priority number one. For the first few years work was all I knew. I was brand new at Pacific University and I guess had something to prove. Don’t we all in new situations. However, it paid off and now I can relax a bit more. Not opening my computer after 5 pm and on weekends does wonder. My dog sure appreciates it as the time free of constantly checking my email resulted in longer walks, running and making art (although not as often as I should). Currently, I am working on a piece that is weird and not utterly making sense to me yet and I find it difficult to finish because I don’t believe in it yet. I have been putting it off for tomorrow for a month now. But I seem to be unable to just toss it and start anew. The obsessive-compulsive in me is not allowing it.
I also picked up the “Share something beautiful” project on Facebook. I try to post what is beautiful to me but find that my sometimes off-bit taste does not often speak to my followers. I find that in general people prefer the conventional shots of pretty or foggy forests and mountains. Not that my taste is more refined, it’s just weird at times like the man shaving on the trail.
