Announcement!

Announcement: There are no jobs in Portland. There are no jobs here. There are no jobs anywhere. Not in a hat or in a mat, not in a house or with a mouse. There are no jobs here. What jobs there are are all taken by highly over qualified college graduates who are still working at Coffee shops because they love this town so much, which is kinda cool but kinda sad at the same time. Last night my cousin Trevor and his wife Sara had some friends over and we were talking about the current job situation. They are all yuppies with college degrees and still work at Starbucks. I never realized how shitty it was to find a job. I have spent the last three days filling out countless applications and walking miles (my bike is in the shop and the bus is expensive) to try to find some openings. All places say the same thing “We are not hiring, but we are accepting resumes.” “
“Oh good,” I respond. “I’m glad I didn’t walk halfway across town just to find out that you might actually be hiring.”
But otherwise life is good. Portland is steadily getting better, last night was fun. I met some chill people who came over to my cousins and we had a few beers and chillaxed. Everyone in this town is superchill. I met Dave, he writes grants for a non-profit; and I met Johnnie who has a screen printer and cool tattoos. I met Jamie who was the old boss of my only other friend here, Sara; while she worked at, guess where? Starbucks. Where I will most likely be working because I guess to get a decent job in this town you need what they call “connections.” My only other hope is a pizza joint downtown. Here I handed my resume to this kid with a Bob Marley t-shirt and dreadlocks that came down to his waist, to which he replied “Were not hiring, but it looks like your really qualified, man.” As he looked at my three page resume. Here was the only place where I felt overqualified and slightly embarrassed to be applying to. I applied at restaurants, and coffee shops, pizza places and book stores. All gave very little hope. At the worst I will be working at Starbucks with my cousin and maybe I can infiltrate it from the inside and bring down the man. Tomorrow I will spend my day filling out more applications, maybe in the Hawthorne or Belmont areas. At first I was really picky about what job I wanted but know I could give a crap. Hopefully I can get a job at this coffee shop called Grendel’s which is right across from the Imago Dei offices so that way I can make an impression on those people and start an internship as soon as possible.
This morning was my first Sunday at Imago. A woman named Heather spoke. She is the Women’s pastor and is from England so she has an English accent which makes me 10 times more interested in what she is saying than if just some normal American bloke was preaching. I plan on getting connected with one of the home communities here as well as with some homeless outreaches. I also might help with the jr. high group cause I forgot how much I miss working with overly hormonal, puberty going through, acne filled teenagers. It is weird not doing ministry full time but I plan on volunteering so much that the staff literally has to tell me to not show up. There are a thousand ways to get plugged in so that’s nice. But I do not have internet so it is frustrating trying to stay connected and get involved.
I really love this city but I also know that it is just a stage of my life. I want to be here for a year or two, learn as much as I can and enjoy life, but one day I will head east and join my friends as they storm the city of Denver.