I'm writing from Troy & Shauna Wagner's home in Portland, OR! Yesterday I attended the Oregon Professional Educator Fair at the Oregon Convention Center. There were over 220 school districts there and probably over 2500 teacher applicants. I was able to talk to many districts that are looking for music teachers and gave my resume (& Lani's) to about 15 of them that seemed most interested. I was "interviewed" (to some extent anyway) by four districts, while several others took down notes about me and said they'd follow up later.
Interesting note: I was originally only thinking of talking to Oregon districts (or maybe ones right across in Vancouver, WA), but at lunch yesterday, two administrators were sitting by me from Walla Walla, WA and after we talked awhile they showed interest in me as a music teacher and encouraged me to come by their booth. When I did so that afternoon, they were excited and immediately had me sit down and be interviewed by a grade school principal. Another interesting thing happened when I was walking past a booth for Nyssa, OR (a small town near where I grew up in Eastern Oregon). One of the three guys there caught my eye and he said, "Randy?", then stepped toward me and said, "or, Dan?" Turns out it was Geno Bates, a guy who'd gone to school with us in Ontario (in Randy's class, I believe). He didn't have any openings to fit us (and I wouldn't have wanted to go there anyway!), but he recommended I talk to the folks from Nampa, ID. When I stopped there, they were very interested right away and asked to interview me right then. So, two districts that I wouldn't have even talked to ended up being the most interested in me. Interesting! I also did interviews with Estacada, OR and the David Douglas district in Portland.
So, now to the title for this post. Here are some signs that one is in Portland:
First sign, when Troy was driving me home from the airport Monday and we were turning onto his street, we stopped at the corner for a jogger -- at 11:38 at night!
You see lots of women with little or no make-up on (and it's just a normal thing).
There are big mountains nearby.
There is lots of snow on the big mountains.
People at a restaurant picked up your plastic bottles separate from the trash to recycle them.
I suppose I could list a lot more, but these were some things I noticed right away.
Final notes: I got to eat last night at Chevy's with Troy & Shauna & kids, and my good friends Paul & Linda McDonald.
Then we went to see Makinna and all the 3rd grade class at Glencoe Elementary do a musical intitled: "Portland, a Musical".
After that, my good friend Jeff Beachy joined us back at the house for a couple hours of visiting.
Today, I'm hoping to have lunch with Ike Graul (WorshipForum.com founder, PUMP minister, Take 6 lover, and good friend). Tonight I'll go see Randy & Charlene at their new home. I also hope to go for a run through Laurelhurst Park; it's a beautiful day and the park should be full of runners, walkers, children playing, people feeding birds. . .
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3 comments:
Well, where ever ya'll end up, it sounds like it will be somehwerewe have never been so we can expand our list of places we have visited in the USA. I think I would rather go to Oregon that Idaho but I guess I just don't know much about Idaho (potatos?)
Don't forget a visit to Flying Pie. Nina and I each made visits there on our recent trips to Portland, where we were looking over the rental house we just bought.
Of course, I've been reading "Blue Like Jazz" lately, and that's made me wish I could either run up there for a visit to Horse Brass, or find a similar place around here!
I am SO excited for y'all! God is going to put you where He wants you and that just may be back home. Now that I've seen Washington during a different time of the year I can almost see what other folks see in the Pacific Northwest area. How fantastic to wake up and see mountains instead of, well, instead of flat. Praying that your job suspense will be over soon.
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