Jason is HERE!

Jason got to Portland last Friday and we are still unpacking and trying to get settled in our new place. I can't wait to get everything set up- the clutter is driving me batty. It feels like the more we take out of boxes the messier it gets... Here's what the livingroom looks like:



In job news, I had an interview on Monday which went well and I have a second interview with them on Friday so keep your fingers crossed. I was suppossed to have an interview yesterday in Vancouver, WA but the company called to cancel because they decided to hire someone who had worked there before. Resume count is up to 35 but that doesn't include temp jobs. If I add those it's up to 48. Looking for a job is so much more work than having a job!

Changes

It's the start of week 8 here in PDX. Some changes happened last week- my temp job ended, I had a strange "interview", and Jason started driving cross country. I didn't know the temp job was ending so it was a little bit of a surprise. The agency did set me up with a one day assignment the day they told me the other assignment was over but I still have not received a replacement check for the one lost in the mail. My "interview" was with about 8 other people and I had to take a math test for an Administrative Assistant position. All they asked was when we could start. Doesn't seem too promising...

BUT Jason is on his way to Portland and I am so excited! He should be here by Friday and I can't wait to get all settled in together.

If anyone is keeping track, the resume count is up to 25 and I've now had 3 interviews. To put it in perspective, I read on NPR's Planet Money blog that it is taking people an average of 24.9 weeks to find a job. I'm on week 8.

It's a numbers game

It's the end of week six and my resume count is up to 23. I have three more to send out by the end of the weekend. No new interviews and two more rejection letters. And my paycheck from my temp job got lost in the mail last week...

It could be worse I guess.

And the search continues...

I've now been in Portland for 4 weeks, I've sent out 16 resumes, and had 2 interviews. But still no job... I did get a temporary part-time job working for the Muscular Dystrophy Association though so all hope is not lost! Plus I found a very cheap but still clean apartment for me and Jason.

Other than the lack of jobs, Portland has been great so far. Everyone I've met has been awesome and I'm so excited to try all of the delicious looking restaurants as soon as I have some disposable income. I bought a toothbrush at Trader Joe's made of recycled yogurt cups that you can send back when you're done with it to be recycled again. And Portland has a huge amount of vintage/thrift stores so it is easy for me to be green and save money at the same time.

Hopefully the next post will be to let you know that I found a permanent full time job!

Well I made it to Oregon!

And now the intense job search begins. Oregon has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country right now; 12.1% while the national average is at 9.7%; but I'm trying not to focus on that. Since I started searching Monday morning, I've applied to two jobs and two temp agencies and I'm working on another cover letter to send out this afternoon. Not too bad for only 2 1/2 days of really looking. A lot of people I met this weekend said that they also moved to Portland without a job and it only took them a few weeks to find something. Hopefully I will be just as lucky!

In non-job news, it is HOT here. Not humid and unbearable but in the 90's and this weekend they are forecasting temps into the 100's! Definitely not like a Vermont summer... Also, I have not noticed one drug store/ pharmacy (like a Rite-Aid or CVS) since I've been here. In New York they're on every corner and even in Vermont there are a lot of drug stores. Maybe I just need to look harder. And, Jess told me you can't buy cold or allergy medicine with pseudoephedrine over the counter. You need a prescription! Good thing Jess has one and I can just steal pills from her if I need to.

It's also taking a little bit to adjust to the fact that all of my friends and family are on the east coast and three hours ahead of me. I'm sure I'll get used to it!

Back to the hunt...

Procrastination

I really should be packing right now but recently I have found so many amazing items on Etsy that I can't help but share them with you:

White Bottoni Eco-Earrings made by FrucciDesign are made of magazine paper, are moisture resistant and only $20 ~

Peacock Headband made by sweetgrassmill. I really don't want to spend $38 on a headband but it's so adorable I may have to ~

These Lines Shirt made by Replicca. I could wear it to the office (if I had a job...) or for a night out on the town ~

Shirt Dress by lemonstorynyc. I love this kind of dress because you can wear it year round; as is in the summer and with some leggings and a long sleeve shirt for winter ~



Alright back to packing...

Big Update

I know it's been a while since my last post but lots of changes were happening and I didn't want to post until I knew for certain what was going on.

First of all, I bought some great water based nail polish while I was visiting Jason in Vermont. It's a nice color and goes on well although it doesn't seem to last as long as conventional nail polish. But then again I didn't put a top coat on so that may be why.

Second, I finally saw Jason! After 5 months of being apart we spent a week and a half at his parents house in the Northeast Kingdom of VT. It was so great; like we never left each other.



Unfortunately, he's now in the Ukraine for five weeks so we are once again many time zones apart.

Third, that awesome ESL teaching job I told you about a few weeks ago fell through. They didn't have as many students as they thought they would so they didn't need as many teachers. At first I have to admit that I was really upset- but I decided to move to Oregon now instead of waiting until August like I had originally planned. I leave on July 18th and will be frantically packing and applying for jobs until then. Am I crazy to go out there with no job?

The good news is that Jason will be joining me in Oregon once his classes start in the fall and we will FINALLY be reunited for good. Or at least reunited until one of us decides we need to go abroad again...