Working from Home

When I moved to the West Coast, I was immediately introduced to a delightful concept called "working from home." It is amazing how many people do this on a regular basis. Some people work from their house, while others go to coffee shops, libraries, the park, etc. More and more co-working spaces are sprouting up all over San Francisco as people want an office environment closer to home.

When I got my job (29 mile commute across the Bay Bridge to the East Bay), I negotiated with them the ability to work from home from time to time. Working from home has taught me the following things:

* More time. To drive to Contra Costa County and back takes a minimum of 2 hours a day and can take up to 3 hours depending on traffic. Yes, it is only 29 miles, but I have to cross the Bay Bridge and go through Caldecott Tunnel.

* Saves money. On top of gas (Toyota Tundra), I also have to pay $6 each day to get across the Bay Bridge and back into the city. I figure I save around $18 a day by working from home.

* Efficient. I get more work done when I work from home. Every day a portion of my day is spent socializing with volunteers and staff. This is actually part of my job. When I work from home, I can just focus on paperwork, stats, mailings, returning phone calls, etc.

* Relaxing. At the end of the day when I shut my laptop, I do not face a grueling commute home. It is a stress free day.

* Contact. I do stay in close contact with the office. They can call me, text me, e-mail me, etc. I have several different ways that they can get in touch with me in an emergency. Recently, I was working from home and they needed something done quickly. With the help of my trusty laptop, the phone, and a good Internet connection, I got the task done with time to spare. Who needs an office?

* Work Space. My favorite work spaces are coffee shops like Sugar Lump Coffee Lounge in Outer Mission or Jumpin Java in Castro. One space that I frequent a lot is Panera Bread in SOMA.

Working from home is a wonderful gift that employers can give to their employees. It doesn't have to be all the time, but it feels great to do it occasionally. I think it makes for a happier and more productive work force.

Now if you would excuse me, I have a report to work on that I will present at a meeting next week. Before I start, I should probably order another Panera Bread bagel and refill my tea.

The Oregon Coast Aquarium Trip, July 10, 2009

Things to do in Portland (July 10th - 12th)

I scoured the Internet and put together the following list of interesting things to do in Portland this weekend.

Events: Friday, July 10

• 4p – 6p Beer & Blog - PDX Green Dragon

• 6p - 7p What the Sh*t - PDX Green Dragon. Experience the poetry of Twitter. Rules of What the Sh*t: * Readers will sign up at Beer and Blog fifteen minutes prior to start time and readers will read in order of signing up. * What the Sh*t will last for 40 minutes. * Each reader reads a maximum of six tweets in his/her best dramatic tone and/or poetry voice. * All emoticons must be spelled out. LOL can be pronounced. * Hashtags are to be read, hashtag: [text]. * The author of the post must be credited. * All posts are fair game. * Repeats of tweets are fine and, in certain cases, encouraged. * Be mindful of the narrative arc of your reading. * If one of your tweets is read, this is a compliment. Remember, there's no crying in Twitter dramatic readings. Chest beating and keening are okay. * You must have an active Twitter presence to take part in What the Sh*t.
  

• 8p The Producers, (Opening Weekend), Lakewood Theatre Company, 368 S. State Street, Lake Oswego, 503-635-3901

• 9p Half Shark, Half Jesus - Red Room, 2530 NE 82^nd Ave. (Indie Rock Band from Eugene, OR)

• 9p Marie Black – The Hawthorne Theatre - $3.00 (Folk rock singer in Portland)

Events: Saturday, July 11^th

• 9a – 6p Electric Vehicle Day @ Pioneer Square. The Oregon Electric Vehicle Association will return to the Square this year to educate the public about the benefits of electric vehicles. A variety of electric and hybrid vehicles will be on display during this event.

• 9a Portland Expo Center. The Portland Expo Antique & Collectible Show with more than 1400 booths filled with everything from estate jewelry, vintage toys, furniture from early American oak to European, Americana, china, etc.

• 10a – 9p Mississippi Ave. Street Fair. Interesting arts & crafts vendors plus community service displays, & food vendors. Tupello Alley Reusable Art Fair & Water features, bingo, sustainability fair at the Mississippi Ave. Lofts (4138 N. Miss Ave.), salted ice cream outside at The Meadow (3731 N. Mississippi Ave.) and rose wine tasting at The Meadow. Organized by www.mississippiave.com
  

• 10a Guided Nature Tours, Tyron Creek State Park. Join a park naturalist for a free, guided nature hike to explore the forest and stream ecosystems and natural history at the park.

• 10a Guided Nature Walk, Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, Sherwood. Join a volunteer naturalist for an easy paced nature stroll.

• 11a Alcohol-based Fuel at home, Powell’s City of Books, Bright Neighbor University: Tom Dywer and Randy White. Join Tom Dwyer and Randy White as they discuss sustainable fueling and offer techniques for producing alcohol-based fuel at home. This event is part of a series co-sponsored by Bright Neighbor, a Portland-based organization dedicated to local living and neighborhood building.

• 4pPhilosophy Café, Powell’s City of Books. Join philosophers and PCC instructors Brian Elliott and John Farnum as we discuss topical issues from a philosophical perspective. This month we will address the topic of secrets and lies.

• 6p – 9p Summer Music on the pond at St. Josef’s Winery, Canby, OR. Jawbone Flats - NW Roots Rock. “Funk meets Flannel.” $5.00

• 8p The Producers (Opening Weekend). Lakewood Theatre Company, 368 S. State Street, Lake Oswego, 503-635-3901

• 9p Half Shark, Half Jesus - Red Room, 2530 NE 82^nd Ave. (Indie Rock Band from Eugene, OR)

• 9p Pterodactyl - East End, 203 SE Grand Ave. Pterodactyl fuses clear, melodic vocals -- sometimes in three-part harmony - to repetitive punky riffs and drum-god splatter. $5 - $10

• 9p – 12pThe Night Ride, Union Station, 800 NW 6th Avenue. The Night Ride is a fantastically fun (and easy!) 15-mile bicycle ride. The route, starting and ending at the Portland train station, features fire dancers, an outdoor screening of movies from the wildly popular Filmed by Bike festival, a disco party rest stop, mysteries at every turn and well-marked routes with glowing signs. The Last Regiment of Syncopated Drummers kicks off the ride, and Zimba Marimba brings it to a close at the finish line ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT DOUGHNUT FEAST! There are prizes for the best costumes and decorated bikes. All 3,000 riders will receive free glow necklaces to ward off vampires along the way.This great event is a benefit for the Bicycle Transportation Alliance. $25.00 in store,$30.00 online, $40.00 day of ride

Events: Sunday, July 12th

• 2p The Producers (Opening Weekend). Lakewood Theatre Company, 368 S. State Street, Lake Oswego, 503-635-3901

• 2p Tour of Magness Memorial Tree Farm, World Forestry Center, 4033 SW Canyon Road. Join our staff and volunteers for a fun and informative tour of the Magness Property. You'll learn the history of Magness, some tree identification, as well as why sustainable forestry is so important. No reservations are necessary. We go rain or shine. Wear comfortable shoes and meet in the parking lot. Allow 90 minutes.

• 7p The Producers (Opening Weekend). Lakewood Theatre Company, 368 S. State Street, Lake Oswego, 503-635-3901

• 7p Diabolical Experiments, Brody Theater, 16 NW Broadway. Features an improv jam with Brody Theater veterans and special guest performers from other groups. $5.00

• 8p Amy Blue – The Hawthorne Theatre. An acoustic, alternative singer

• 9p Half Shark Half Jesus – Red Room. Indie rock band

I used the following sites:

• Yahoo Upcoming, http://upcoming.yahoo.com/

• Portland Neighborhood, http://community.portlandneighborhood.com/events?page=2

• Powell's Books, http://www.powells.com/calendar.html

Big Steel Bridge, Portland

Portland has some incredible bridges. The most beautiful is probably the St. John's Bridge, and the highest ones I think are the Interestate 5 Bridges. In places, they appear to be as high as a 30 story building.

100th Post - 50 Things I love About Portland and Oregon

This is my 100th post to this blog, and I have decided to use it by listing 50 things I love about Portland or Oregon. Here goes:

1. Chinese Gardens and Tao of Tea
2. Multnomah Falls
3. Cannon Beach (Cranky Sue's Restaurant) & Seaside
4. Salt Water Taffy on the Boardwalk
5. Bridges (Especially Hawthorne and St. Johns)
6. Willamette River
7. Columbia River Gorge
8. Fresh Water
9. Wine Country
10. Washington Park
11. Mt. Tabor Park
12. Farmers Market at Portland State University
13. Coffee Shops (Palio, Vivace)
14. Ladd's Addition
15. Hippies
16. Micro-Breweries
17. Clinton Corner Cafe
18. Bailey's Downtown
19. Live Music
20. Shoebox Theater and The Northwest Classical Theatre Company (Shakespeare)
21. Victorian Houses
22. Naito Parkway
23. Keller Fountain Park
24. Bagdad Theatre
25. Ignite Portland
26. Beer & Blog
27. Powell's Bookstore
28. Independent Publishing Resource Center (IPRC)
29. Oregon Historical Society Museum ("Oregon My Oregon")
30. Green Living (Recycling)
31. Bicycle Riding
32. Portland Spirit River Cruise Dining
33. Fat Straw (Bubble Tea)
34. Mt. Hood
35. Mt. St. Helens
36. McMenamin's Kennedy School
37. Northwest 23rd ("Trendy Third")
38. Village Merchant's Resale Shop
39. People's Coop
40. Thai Food (Lots & Lots of Thai Food)
41. Public Transportation (Max, Bus, Street Car)
42. Pioneer Square and Pioneer Square Mall
43. Oregon Zoo
44. Central Library Downtown
45. Portland City Grill (Awesome Views & Incredible Mojitos)
46. Briggitine Monk's Gourmet Confections (Fudge)
47. Pittock Mansion
48. Urban Iditarod
49. Clear Skies (No Smog or Ozone Alerts)
50. Utopia Cafe (Potato Cakes)

Here is a list of things that I can't wait to see or participate in:
- Zombie Walk
- Pirate Festival
- Portland Rose Festival
- Sasquatch Music Festival
- Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Ashland)
- Japanese Gardens
- Forest Park
- Skiing (Mt. Hood)
- Crater Lake
- Tillamook (Cheese Factories)
- Back Fence PDX (storytelling)
- Kayaking
- Hiking
- Camping
- Santacon

Weekend Visitors

Recently my mom and niece visited from Western Kansas for a short weekend. We took them all over including Cannon Beach where we ate at Cranky Sue's http://www.cannon-beach.net/crankysues/. The food there is fantastic. We then visited Multnomah Falls http://www.multnomahfalls.org/ and checked out Powell's Books http://www.powells.com/ . Finally, we went to Pittock Mansion http://pittockmansion.org/ . It is incredible and a must see when you visit Portland. I have posted some pictures below:

Multnomah Falls Hike

My boyfriend and I went on a great adventure yesterday. We drove out of town on an old historic Oregon highway to Multnomah Falls, and then we proceeded to hike one mile up a mountain trail to the top. It was incredible. Once again, I think Oregon is one of the most beautiful places in the United States. The pictures of our trip are posted below:



Mike and Ben (Yep, we made it to the top.)


Scenery from the trail


Ben at the top of the falls



Looking down from the top.



The beginning of the falls

Sunset Highway (West to Seaside and Cannon Beach)

Oregon landscape
Originally uploaded by myredtie

This is one of my favorite photos that I have taken of the Oregon landscape. On the East side of Portland we have the Columbia River Gorge
( http://www.crgva.org/ ) which I blogged about earlier, and to the West we have landscape like this all the way to the beach.

December Blossom

December Blossom
Originally uploaded by myredtie

This December blossom is caught in the first snow of the season. Today when I drew back the curtains I saw snow flakes beginning to fall. On the walk to church I whistled "favorite things" and tried to catch snow flakes on my tongue. On my way back from church I was surprised to see a bicyclist speeding down the snowy and slick road. Now as I write this entry, I hear the neighborhood children laughing, playing, and throwing snow balls at each other. I love snow.

Oregon Voting

At the risk of being a hyper cheerleader for Oregon, I need to write about what a great experience voting is here. About three weeks before the election we received handbooks on how to fill out the ballots. Two weeks before the election our ballots arrived with a brochure that described each measure in detail. My boyfriend and I walked over to our favorite coffee shop in Ladd's Addition, www.palio-in-ladds.com, and spent the next two hours looking up the measures and candidates on our laptop and smart phones. I have never had a voting experience where I was this informed about all of the decisions. After we finished up our butter pecan steamer and Italian vanilla soda, we then signed the envelopes and put them in the mail. Presto, voting is done.

Oregon Wine Country

Last weekend my boyfriend and I headed out to the wine country of Oregon. It was his birthday, and we wanted to have a weekend getaway. We were amazed at how many wineries there were within 60 miles of Portland in the Willamette Valley Region. All we had to do was drive down 99 South and we found the winery signs everywhere, especially around McMinnville.

Saturday night we stayed at Harrison House, http://www.corvallis-lodging.com/ , a bed and breakfast in Corvallis. From the common areas stocked with complimentary red and white wine to the cute little cottage overlooking the herb garden that we were able to stay in, it was all very nice and comfortable. The breakfast was very, very, very good. Did I mention the breakfast was good?

We celebrated my boyfriend's birthday Saturday night with a meal at Aqua's http://www.aquacorvallis.com/Aqua%20Seafood%20Corvallis.html in Corvallis. We both thought we had died and gone to seafood heaven. If you ever find yourself heading though Corvallis and looking for a nice seafood restaurant, then this place is a must.

We toured four vineyards during our quest for wine. They are listed below:

Firesteed, http://www.firesteed.com/
Tyee, http://www.tyeewine.com/
Left Coast Cellars, http://www.leftcoastcellars.com/
Mystic, http://www.mysticwine.com/

All of them were very educational because they really took the time to tell us about the different types of wines and how wine is made. Tyee was particularly wonderful because they let us walk in the vineyard. There is something very special and almost biblical about walking among the old grapevines heavy with grapes. Tyee also had a plate of grapes that they let us sample, and then they used those grapes to educate us about the wines we were about to taste.

During our journey, I saw a sign that said Brigittine Monastery http://www.brigittine.org/ this way. So we went that way and found a wonderful, out of the way monastery where they sell incredible fudge. They gave us samples of all of the varieties. We particularly liked the pecan praline fudge royale and had to buy a box of it to take home. Their prices were very good, and you can buy their confectionaries on the web. Oh those high tech monks think of everything.

Finally, we stopped in McMinnville at the Bistro Maison http://www.bistromaison.com/ OMG. Yep, that just about covers the incredible experience of eating at Bistro Maison. The food was awsome, but the dessert was beyond words. What that chef does with dessert is just short of a miracle.

Whew! We had a full and fun packed weekend. Here are some of the things that I learned:

1. I love Pinot Gris and Riesling wines. My fondness for Pinot Noir depends on how much of the oak barrel taste is actually in the wine.

2. I tend to go for the white wines because they are a little sweeter.

3. The color of wine depends on the length of time the grape is in the skin between the picking and the actually pressing of the juice.

4. It is definitely ok to use those cans at the counter to toss in the wine. If you are the driver and heading to several vineyards, you will need to just take a swallow and dump the rest into the can.

5. Sometimes the best moments are the ones that are unplanned.