TOW…oh no!! and a random act of kindness

Posted by random olio

So yesterday I was in Portland with the hat of jewelry representative. After venturing to a few boutiques I stopped to see my sister to pick up a book from her. I did not realize it when I was parking (I read the arrows on the sign wrong) and I ended up parking in a “no parking 4-6 PM” area. Ugh. I get back to my car as the tow truck is starting to put my front wheels on the tow truck.

I was flabbergasted. I thought I had read the signs correctly. I run to the tow truck and ask the driver why he is towing my car! He yells at me: “Look at the signs, you are not to park here between 4-6 PM.” I am obviously confused. I know how to read. I know how to look at arrows, but like we all do (or maybe it is just me) I read it wrong. Bummer. I must have had the most confused look on my face.

He yells at me, “Here is your ticket…get the @#$@#$!%$ in your car and drive away now, and I will not charge you for the tow.” Wow. That was the random act of kindness for me yesterday. Thank you, Mr. Tow Truck Driver. I appreciate your rather gruff affection and your walking away from taking more money out of my bank account.

Blindness, or misreading a sign = $90 for a parking ticket. Bummer. Gratefully, I only walked away with a $90 ticket instead of a $90 ticket AND towing fees. Yowsers.

the tow notice on my windshield

Happy day to all,

Paying more attention in Portland.

Authenticity

Posted by random olio

Authenticity. It is something I believe we are losing more and more of in our society. At times, I am not sure we are even present in our conversations due to the instant gratification of checking our smart phones to log onto Facebook, Twitter, emails, texts, LinkedIn, the list goes on. (I am just as much to blame, so do not feel I am on a soap box). So if we are not present and in the moment in our conversations, how are we being authentic? Are you focused on what your significant other, partner, friend, sibling is saying, or are you thinking about the work your boss just added onto your plate? Or the latest gossip from your friend? If we cannot focus, how can we truly be ourselves?

On top of our distraction, our focus tends to be about when we are going to get the next greatest job, or the next best car, or the newest iPhone or iPad (we are a Mac house, so I only talk in “i’s”). I am grateful to live in a community that does not focus so much on material wealth. One that cares about relationships and connections. I have been networking these past few weeks, and one thing I have learned about Portland is that we are a very connected town. I knew that in certain ways, but I did not know it was so important in finding a job. Most everyone I have talked to speaks to how forming relationships and connections is really the only way to get something done in Portland.

part of sign in Amsterdam

We need to be more authentic with each other. Are you being authentic in your daily life? With your spouse, partner, friends, family? By taking a stand for what you believe in, and acting in those ways, are you impacting those around you? Do you inspire them to embrace their own authenticity? If so, I can assure you – you will be happier.

Creative Green Idea: Go Box PDX

Posted by random olio

Recently I came across a company in Portland that might be just one more step in keeping Portland “green.” It is called GO Box and is meant to be a sustainable option for Portland Food Cart eaters. The PDX Food Cart Community is continuing to grow substantially. Individual carts and pods are popping up in neighborhoods all over the city. While I cannot say I am truly knowledgeable about which food carts are the best, I am a fan of the success of food carts here in Portland. Many have become so successful that they eventually opened brick and mortar food establishments.

The way GO Box works: you pay $8.50 to become a GO Box subscriber. Purchase a meal at a food cart, return your GO Box at the end of your meal and receive a token to be used the next time you purchase food at a food cart. The site states that Portland uses 60,000 disposable containers EVERY month. That’s crazy!

I wonder if this type of program could be used as a model for schools. I know we had a similar type of plastic container in college, however, you had to purchase it and then remember to bring it each time. Which many times folks forgot. Maybe Go Box will find a way to give the token electronically (as I would forget to bring it).

This is a convenient and sustainable company that Portland food cart users should subscribe to right away! If you are not in Portland, check online to see if your city has something similar.

Thanks Again!

Posted by random olio

It is about 11:30 p.m. this past Monday night and my husband and I are the only ones on the airport shuttle taking us to the long term parking lot. I am wiped out. We had a wonderful weekend with amazing friends and just need to pick up our car, drive home, and slide into bed. I am leaning up against my husband with my head back and I look up to see those signs they have on shuttle buses. I rarely look at them, but the one I read caught my eye. The “thanks again!” part of the sign made me curious. It said something about receiving points on airlines for purchases made at the airport, so I made a note to look into it further.

While my husband is not George Clooney (sorry babe), he has tendencies to Ryan, George’s character, in Up in the Air. No, not the ones where you sleep with married women, just the ones that make you a bit addicted to track the miles you gain from flights, hotels, rental cars, etc. (It has also rubbed off on me). He travels for work, and we track it all, and because of his miles we have been able to take some free trips that would have had expensive airfare had we not been diligent about tracking our airline miles.

To think that we could obtain airline miles while our car sits at the airport when we are gone for a day or a week at a time, well it is sort of a no brainer. I am not sure how long the company has been around, but thanks again is a company you should check out. The sign in our shuttle bus gave a Portland specific link, but after a bit of research I learned that it is not a Portland only program. Which is great because it means we can receive miles at other airports we travel to and from. The site is not the easiest to navigate. It took me a bit of time to find the information I wanted, but they did immediately prompt me with an offer to answer my questions via online chat. There is no complete list of all participating airports, instead you have to search by the airport code. When you do a search by airport code you receive search results for all the companies (parking, food, shopping) at that airport that participate in the program. I think it would be helpful for the site to have a link to a list of participating airports, and then if you want to search and see the list of companies you could then do so. Just my two cents. Be sure to read the FAQ link on their site.

stuck in Detroit: view from Westin hotel inside airport

We all travel, we all fly, we all park our cars, dine before flying, purchase a snack, coffee, earbuds, a travel pillow, etc. We might as well also accrue miles for the purchases we make before we fly the friendly skies.

Portlandia

Posted by random olio

I remember friends in college that would say that they would only live in Seattle or New York or Los Angeles or (insert town of choice) after graduation. They would then list all the reasons the city they loved was so amazing. I, however, never grew up with an affinity for a specific city. Nothing led me to one over the other. Until Portland. My husband and I basically closed our eyes and put a pin on a map and landed on Portland. We wanted a change of pace from Boston, and wanted to start new and fresh somewhere as newlyweds. Portland won the map/pin contest, and as far as I am concerned it has won my heart. We often joke that I should work for the Portland Chamber of Commerce because of how much I talk about Portland, and try to encourage folks to move here.

So, if you are not from Portland, or do not know much about it, then be sure to check out: Portlandia on IFC (airs on Friday nights). The second season has just started and it just gets better and better. Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen are hilarious. Maybe it is because I have become a die-hard Portlander, maybe it is because I think this is one of the best cities in the US, or maybe because it is just well written and clever comedy. Yes, just like Saturday Night Live not every sketch is funny, not every sketch resonates with me, but so many of them are just SO Portland.

When you live in a city where there is street where you can find a man riding a unicyle, playing an accordian (yes true story), you get used to just about anything. We have a Mustache and Beard Club, Voodoo doughnut where the line will go for blocks for quite an interesting doughnut (be sure to check our their menu here), Zombie walks, Pub Crawls on a Portland BrewCycle, the list goes on. Be sure to check out the “Put a bird on it” sketch from Season 1. I have even heard that someone is marketing a ‘Put a bird on it’ bumper sticker.