Back In The 417

I started my training as a Mister Manager at the Student Union on Monday with a team building activity at a place called Medieval Fortress. In short, we helped by building a wall out of hay, sheep poop, mud, and water.

Good experience. Not at all what I was expecting.

Throughout the week we have been learing about the goings on of the Union and what our role is in it all. It has been good, but very long. After today I will have put in 38 hours this week! Wowzers.

Work isn't worth blogging about. Here is what has happened this week that is fun and hopefully more exciting to read about.

Rewind to Saturday. Midnight bike ride with my best friends through the beautiful Kansas City. A tradition that must be upheld. Such a good time of reuniting and reflecting on what God has been doing. Sounds like things at YouthFront were amazing (as usual). My brother got to TeenStaff quite a bit this summer, something I wish I would have done. The people that run that place are incredible.

Sunday Chase and I went to Jacob's Well to hear the Word get BROUGHT! It was awesome. 50% of the appeal of Kansas City, I would say. That community is beautiful, and it has always been something I have been on the outside of because of my location. We'll see where I am this time next year, but I hope there is opportunities to build community that is intended. Something that was said at JW was a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer that went something along the lines of "don't let your dreams for community get in the way of the community you are in now."

That hit pretty hard because for the past year or so I have had ideas of how I want to live after I graduate and not focusing on the community I am in now that is an incredible God-fearing, loving and accepting one. I hope that this year can bring me to realize that and I do not discount where I am now.

Later Sunday afternoon we celebrated Grammy's 70th birthday! She does not seem 70. It was good to see the whole family and lay some smackdown on them in ping-pong. Yes, you are reading the blog of the current family champion (formerly held by Grammy herself). We then headed back to Springfield for the beginning of training and getting settled down.

Last night (Wednesday) we had some people over for a little dinner party. Hosting is probably my favorite thing to do. I'm not the best cook, but last night's meal wasn't anything to sneer at. We also played some Killer Uno, thanks to David. That game is insane.

Now, I'm rockin' my first Building Manager shift on my own listening to some Michael Gungor Band. Pretty good stuff. "Beautiful Things" is by far the best track I have heard thus far, but I will have to listen to the rest of it a few more times. Things are super slow around the Union tonight, but it is a good first shift. I think I am getting the hang of things around here.

Sleeping in tomorrow for the first time in a while, but not too late... Sufjan Stevens tickets go on sale at 10! This is monumental.

Portland and Such

The 23 day journey ends today.

Our last night in Leadville ended at the Leadville Hostel where we slept in a real bed for the first time in a while. For about $25 a person we got a bed, an option for a shower (I'll let you decide if I took advantage of that option or not.), unlimited hot breakfast, and WIFI. Not a bad deal, I guess. It was nice to stay somewhere that wasn't the ground.

The day of the 29th we drove into Denver where Zach insisted on going to REI to pick up this baby, which I found in the woods a few days earlier. Ballersauce.

We also checked out Denver and went to the original Chipotle. Nomfactory*. Hung out with his aunt and her grandchildren, Axel and Thor. Real names. Cute kids.

Friday I flew to Portland and couldn't stop smiling the entire time. I was so anxious for this trip, I can't even explain it. I landed at 8ish and got to my hosts house at 10:15 or so.

Dennis was the best possible host I could ask for. Friday night we rode bikes around town and he showed me some of his favorite places to go that were relatively close to his house. In the end, these ended up being some of my favorite places in Portland.

Saturday, we woke up late and he let me take his bike downtown to see what all was going on there. It turns out there was a festival called PDX POP NOW! going on that was pretty cool. It was a super hipster scene, but the crowd was scattered with families and old guys as well. I somewhat regret not staying for the last couple bands, but I was getting really tired so left after a band called Hosannas. There were a couple good bands playing throughout the night, though. My favorite being Brainstorm. They were a pop duo with great vocal melodies. I probably should have bought their CD or something.

The festival told me a little about Portland's music scene, and it is basically the opposite of anything you have seen in the Midwest. If you are wondering what it is like, check Pitchfork's highest rated music. Filter through what they've got and it is the stuff that you can't really listen to more than a song or two of before switching back to the comfort zone of BSS or The National.

This being said, Monday night we went to a place called Doug Fir, for a show featuring Nathaniel Rateliff, Pearly Gates Music, and another guy but we missed him. This was a more typical show that you would see anywhere else. Fleet Foxes Bon Iver style tunes and a pretty typical crowd. The only Portland factor was the venue. It was swanky. Lit floors, microbrews in spades, and a kind of log cabin feel. It was very cool.

While we were in Portland we checked out places to live, work (haha, turns out they don't exist), and "where it's all going on".

Living- there are cool houses all over the place for similar prices, so it doesn't really matter where you live. You sleep there. That's all there is to it, in my opinion.

Working- I would love to work in Portland. So would everyone else living in Portland. We'll see how that plays out in the future.

Where it's at- I admit. Everywhere you go in Portland is not where it's at. While there are some very cool parts of the city, there are just as many parts that don't really have much going on. Where at any given time of day you may have to walk half a mile to find a coffee shop, and it's a Starbucks in a Safeway. There are however some awesome parts that are like all of the best parts of Kansas City on every street. Some of which being...

• Most anything on Belmont, Burnside, Hawthorne, and Stark between 39th and 23rd.
• Thai Food! The best meal we had all week, for a pretty reasonable price. (14 bones.)
• The Pied Cow. While we didn't go here, it looked to be a pretty awesome Hookah bar in an old Victorian style house.
• Breakfast places. They are everywhere. 95% of them are really good and usually under 10 dolla.
• Foodcarts. Again, nomfactory.
• Bike friendly streets. EVERYWHERE! I was never yelled at or called names (sometimes very original) for promoting the one less car movement.
• Public transit. Usually great. Not having known the city, there were times where we missed our stop or got on the wrong bus. Oops.
• Imago Dei. The church I checked out Sunday. It was essentially Jacob's Well in Portland. It probably would have been more like it had I gone to the later service.
• My personal favorite. Parks! Specifically Laurelhurst park. Located right in the thick of all the "cool streets" aforementioned, this place has got it going on. Redwoods, pond, leash-free area, music, and enough trails for a greedy walker.
• Generally speaking the green-ness of the city. Not so much the recycling friendly atmosphere, but the color green was everywhere. People's front and backyards were covered in gardens and trees. Truly beautiful.

Overall, it was a great trip. I would absolutely love living in Portland! There are a ton of things about it I could definitely get used to.

The trip did help me realize that there are more places to live than just Portland, though. I really think that where ever I end up has the same potential as anywhere else for a great life. A good city is made up of good community. Good community is created by surrounding yourself with those that you love being around. People you know you can live with for a long time. Right now, I am in good community. I plan on being in good community as long as I possibly can. Portland would definitely be a great place for good community to take place. So would a thousand other places. I don't care where I live, as long as the community continues to grow. More on this later.

Also, be looking out for Club is a Place.

*Nomfactory is a food cart I plan on opening sometime in the near future.