Protension: the online journal of Tom Elgin

This is part 1 because I feel that more will come… Actually this is maybe the third or fourth major trend of goodness that has met me in Portland, but it’s what’s on my mind now so it’s part 1…

The People that Live Here. In my search for housing for the rest of this semester I visited four places tonight and at three of them I ended up meeting really interesting people and hanging out for over an hour… in fact that’s all I did from 6 to 11pm. First was this guy Chuck who’s sharing a two bedroom duplex down south by the railroad tracks. He’s 62 and really chill… grew up in SoCal and dropped out of school to start a car painting business. At it’s peak he was specializing in Corvettes and pulling in 80 grand a year (in the 60’s) and owned three houses and more cars. The paint fucked up his lungs and now he’s getting by as a truck driver doing deliveries near Portland. He loves Nascar and his sister chides him for picking up southern slang through that, which he kind of does. For the first half hour or so we were also chatting with his landlord, who seems pretty cool but not as talkative.

Then there was this lady named Kaffka. If you know Sierra Ferguson, this is who I imagine Sierra’s mom to be. Or maybe her aunt. She’s a 40-something single mother living with two of her daughters (15 and 9) who both seem really calm and well-behaved. (I really like all the families I’ve met in the northwest, I’m guessing I relate well because my mom grew up here.) She made sure to ask me my sign and mentions that she’s into “alternative” parenting. I’m not sure what that means but most of her life seems “alternative,” and like I said her daughters seem to be growing up well so she’s not doing too bad. Next week she’s driving to SoCal for a couple days of yoga instruction with this guy who’s apparently amazing… she wants to find someone to stay in the house (with her kids) before then. There’s also a hella energetic Pug mutt who likes me, and this lazy cat. I am not doing this woman a bit of justice in my description, but anyway she’s really chill and positive and talkative. I’m seriously considering living here because it seems like a great family, would keep me uber-responsible (uber is the household word of the week apparently because one of the daughters picked up in some class), and it’s in the perfect location by Hawthorne & 37th.

Finally I spent like an hour and half talking to Jeff, who really really loves his Cheap Trick. If you went to school at Rochester think “Jared but not as smart, and obsessed with old rock bands instead of obsessed with being a corporate tool.” OK that probably didn’t help most of you but anyway he would drive me crazy in about another hour. Also, he has no broadband internet which is weak. But the apartment’s in a great location. Umm, I was saying the people here are cool. He is in a band. Well this guy’s not that cool but I had an interesting conversation with him… he spent about 10 minutes explaining why he thinks The Who were better than Led Zeppelin (if he had to pick). And y’know, he was a part of my evening experience and it wouldn’t have been the same without him. Yeah.

I’ve discovered some things looking for housing in SE Portland. Compared to Claremont: it’s easier to find places (many more 20-somethings, many more online postings, etc.) but many of the places are downright sketchy (the ones I mention above are the least sketchy). It’s cheaper and everyone has more space. Lots of people here have no jobs or crappy jobs. Several people here have had to kick out a housemate for developing a cocaine addiction (I think one place I visited was undergoing this process… “we’re still figuring out if that other guy is going to be living here or not… yeah he’s here but no we won’t talk to him right now”).

So I have at least two more places to check out, and a good chance of more if I get more responses (I’ve made 16 phone calls, sent 14 emails, and checked out 6 possible places now). The first two I saw were a little scary but some of the others are looking pretty good so I’m feeling encouraged. Now if only I can get them to pay me at my job… or get part time EMT work… we’ll see.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 24th, 2005 at 1:21 AM and is filed under Personal, Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.