# 2 Relocate to the West Coast – Done and DONE. Read about my journey, here.

View of Portland (and Mt. Hood) from the Pittock Mansion

#4 Learn to swing dance – A few months ago I took a swing dancing class with two of my favorite girls in the whole wide world. Actually, I only took about 2 classes because the series was canceled.  I learned some basic steps and had a few laughs, but am far from a flipping, twirling, hep cat. Does that count?

#7 Become self employed – I am technically self employed at the moment, working exclusively on freelance. I’m going to try to do this for as long as I can, and hopefully establish a company that will do something amazing for the world.   Now for some paid writing jobs and circus gigs. Anyone?

#12 Get rid of my car and travel via bike - I sold my car the day before I left for Portland. Now that the weather is warming up I’m really excited to get a bike. My mission is to get the biggest shit bomber I can on Craigslist. My budget is $20.

#16 Read some Ayn Rand - I’m currently reading The Fountainhead and will be reading Atlas Shrugged soon after. So far I’m just trying to get used to her writing style, and letting my eyes adjust to the awful font used in the print I have. I never thought I would be interested in an 800 page novel about dysfunctional architects, but so far it is fascinating. Oh and Howard Roark? Love him!

#18 Eat at Horizons - Did I ever! This place has hands-down the best food (vegan or not) I have ever consumed. If you are from Philly or will be in the area at one point in your life – eat here!

Nommy Nom Noms From Horizons, Philly

#24 Save 5k in a real savings account - I made sure I saved a copious amount of money before moving across the country without a job. I just don’t know how long that money is going to stay there!

#28 Sprout - A few months ago I successfully sprouted some mung beans and also successfully ruined some chickpeas. My mission to make raw hummus failed in a mushy, smelly catastrophe. I will try again soon, though!

8 things done…. 22 to go!  Come on New Zealand and Dolphins!

Oh hey! Guess what? I live in Portland, Oregon now.  During my last visit to the City of Roses I decided that I had to live there, and I had to do it as soon as possible or else it was never going to happen. I rationalized this with the fact that I’m still relatively young, and I don’t have anything tying me down. Why live in the ugliest and most crowded state in the country (NJ) and work a job that leaves me in a stagnant pool of unfulfillment?  So, Doodlebug (who had the same thoughts as me) and I packed up and headed West. We were completely relocated in less than 60 days after we made our decision. Here is how we did it.

Sell  Everything

Well, maybe not EVERYTHING. We sold or donated all of our furniture, anything breakable (that wasn’t sentimental) , and anything that had been sitting in storage for over a year.  We sold everything on Craigslist, and although it was a lot of work rustling through incoherent emails and dealing with shady characters showing up at the house, we got a pretty penny for most of our stuff.  We were left with clothes, books, a dehydrator,  juicer, and random other important/sentimental things.

Ship Everything

We were lucky enough to have access to some phenomenal bulk shipping rates.  So we packed everything up, stuck it on a few pallets, shrink wrapped it and then sent them on their merry way to Portlandtown. We fit our whole entire life onto 3 pallets!  It took about 4-5 days for them to arrive, at which point Doodles was already there. Surprisingly enough, nothing arrived damaged!

Sell or Ship the Car

Portland is known for it’s sensational public transit system and bike friendly streets, so a car is really not needed. However there are tons of things to do in Oregon and Washington states, (One of those things is to just drive around with your mouth agape admiring the beautiful landscape.) so if you are into outdoorsy type stuff a car would be needed. I decided to get rid of my car because it was over 8 years old, and also because I am way past my expiration date to be driving around in a bright yellow vehicle. Doodlebug kept his truck although it is kind of impractical for city living. He shipped it for around $1,000. It took about 2 weeks past the initial pick-up date to actually get picked up, and then took 12 days to make it here.  But it is here and will soon be traded in for a Subaru Outback (crossing my fingers!).

SaveSaveSave!

We pinched and saved every penny we could. On top of my full time job, I started working part time at the restaurant I worked at in college. We put away every cent we made from selling our stuff. All of the saved money is going to new furniture and to supporting our lame asses since we are both unemployed!

Split Up

Doodlebug went out a week before I did to set up the apartment and get essential things like a mattress and toilet paper. I stayed in Jersey and finished up things at the house. It was a lonely week but it saved time and also insured that if one of us forgot something we would have it covered.

Why?

Most people assume that I relocated due to a job, as if that is the only reason people ever move a great distance. Truth is.. I don’t have a job. I don’t even really want a job, at least not one where I sit in a dingy office for 8 hours a day. This is not because I’m lazy or unmotivated. I simply don’t want to live a typical existence. I don’t want to punch the time-clock and count down the days until retirement (or death).  I want to go out and explore and be creative and meet new people – and I wasn’t going to do that in Philly. Me and Philadelphia had fun, but we were over each other.  I didn’t move to Portland to escape anything. I moved here to FIND something. Sometimes you need a totally fresh environment to get yourself thinking differently and exploring new options. I’ve found, in the short time that I’ve been living here, that I have a better idea of what I really want from life and what kind of person I want to be. Get ready new city, I’m gonna rock your world!

In 3 years and 3 months I will be the dreaded 3-0. I understand that 30 is far from old, and definitely not even halfway to the end of my life. However, there are so many things that I want to do in my lifetime.  I know that if I don’t start being more proactive now I will die depressed, unfulfilled and full of regrets.  Dramatic? Probably. But that’s how I roll.

While writing this list I realized I have accomplished a good number of things.  Nothing big and impressive, but I feel that I have done my best to live my own life as uniquely as possible with the resources I have.  But there is still a long way to go.

Many of the things on this list are currently in the works.  Some are distant dreams.  All are very important to me.

1. Travel to New Zealand
2. Relocate to the West Coast
3. Sky dive
4. Learn to swing dance
5. Dye my hair very blonde
6. Learn to sew and make my own clothes
7. Become self employed
8. Eat an entirely raw diet for 30 days
9. Do 15 consecutive pull-ups
10. Perform as an aerialist for pay
11. Touch my butt to my head
12. Get rid of my car and travel via bike
13. Go to Burning Man
14. Write a (short) novel
15. Spend a week doing nothing but yoga and meditation
16. Read some Ayn Rand
17. Get a puppy
18. Eat at Horizons
19. Redesign my portfolio site
20. Throw a party
21. Visit and volunteer at the Watkins Glen Farm Sanctuary
22. Write and mail a postsecret
23. Race for the Cure
24. Save 5k in a real savings account
25. Create a painting
26. Spend a day in the park barefoot.. by myself
27. Write an e-book
28. Sprout
29. Swim with dolphins
30. Hold a handstand for 1 minute.

*Photo by Pink Sherbert