Oh Oregon, how I love thee... let me count the ways...

Reasons I love Portland, Oregon:

Farmer's Markets
Yoga every day
Biking to yoga
Compost bins in the convention center
Free public transport in the city
More microbreweries than air molecules (okay, slight exaggeration)
1.5 hours to the craggy, wonderful coast
1.5 hours to the 14,000 foot awesomeness that is Mount Hood
Wine Country. Pinot Noir. 'Nuff said.
People re-use ziploc bags and they sell bamboo racks on which to dry them.
Foodies abound.
It's a city of hippies, but motivated hippies who get things done!
The growing film industry.
The can-do attitude
The unique artist shops
Classic cinemas
POWELL'S
The Kennedy School
New Seasons
Food, road trips, beer, wine, active lifestyle... LOVE.

Okay, so obviously I'm glad to be back in Portland, Oregon and am thrilled to be here doing some work for my university (I'm meeting with college counselors about Bangor's programs, advertising to high schools for undergraduate applications, and attending college fairs), and I'm seriously beginning to contemplate the feasibility of moving here. It's doable, and with the film tax breaks being what they are here, it's a wonderful place to bring some new work, get some more experience, and widen my professional net :) Fun.

So just to update, today I ran my first 10k ever (I've been running for about two years, but certainly not competitively. It's a good day if I put the clothes on and get out of the flat, let alone break a sweat), so a 5k was a big deal, and a 10k awesome. It was SUCH fun. There were 5,000 runners, it's a beautiful day in Portland, everyone was friendly, happy, and enthusiastic about being up at 6am to run 3.2, 6.4, or 13.1 miles (depending on their race). It was really a blast, and I feel great for having done it. I think I may need to find another one to do!

I came back after that and cooked a lovely meal (cooking has been a major stress reliever for me) of a poached egg on asparagus with sweet salami, parmesan, and homemade cornbread. Yum! Now I think I"m going to head to yoga for a little stretching, and then definitely having a beer or three. Nice.

I also watched the documentary on Forks today that came with my New Moon DVD and it kind of blew my mind. Of course I know the impact Twilight has had on the world, possibly better than some considering the breadth and scope of my research, but it still continues to amaze me. This blog first took off when I went on a tour around the actual sites in Washington from the Twilight books, and since then, things have changed! I can't believe how much it has changed with new stores, tours, merchandise, and I appreciated that the DVD emphasized the focus of the events on the books (therefore things could look different than things in the films), although there were reference to the movies, and the interviews on the DVD with the fans, managers, and members of the fandom pulled in really gave some depth and credibility to the statements of the impassioned ones.

It certainly makes me want to go up there again and see for myself how it has changed in just two years. I think that may be a project for this summer. I'll see if I can wrangle together some of the Twilight posse and re-analyze Forks.

But until then... I'm working on my thesis, I'm hopefully going to be producing shortly with Elfin Productions (more news on that coming soon, I hope), publishing the anthology of Twilight criticism (so exciting; there are some brilliant articles), and living life to the fullest! I'm thinking about either a work day at Edgefield tomorrow, or a drive to the coast. Hmm...

Next stop on the University tour is San Francisco, then New York City, Boston, and finally Pennsylvania before heading back to Wales. Whoosh!