I'LL BE BACK.

Last night, I was sitting in my apartment after final dress rehearsal for One Dancing (<<shameless self-promotion) with a cup o’ tea and a book, and in mid-sentence I stopped in my tracks and stared at a point on my wall for a solid two minutes.

Earlier in the day I was taking breaks at work to empty my soul-writhing-frustration by writing stream-of-consciousness-rants in between hours of data entry while staring out at a steely-gray-icy-rainy-day and daydreaming about being in sunny Los Angeles doing nothing but acting and training for the next three years.  I yearned for August 27^th and the sunshine and University of Southern California.

But then that night, staring dumbfounded at my wall in my cozy apartment, I had the overwhelming realization that I am moving away from Portland in a few months, and I don’t know when I’ll be back.  And it kind of broke my heart.  I fucking love this city.  I love the people, I love the culture, I love the mindset, I love the consciousness, I love the connection with the countryside and the earth and the food and the outdoors, I love the beer, I love the coffee, I love the forward thinking.  For all its little quirks and the little ways that Portland nurtures its residents throughout the 9 months/year of rain, For all of the countercultures and counter-countercultures and small ways that Portland resists the tide of American foibles, For all its hypocrisies and contradictions and passions and hipsterdoms.  I fucking love this city. 

Don't get me wrong, I am STOKED to start grad school and I've known in my gut for a long time that I've got to go get more acting training, go to a different city, yada yada yada.  I am also head over heels in love with the program I'm about to start at USC.  But I've spent the last 5 years of my life here and I only get a few more months of Portland lovin'!!

So after the initial panic I started making a list of things I’ve gotta do before I leave.  Here are a few:

·         See all my Portland homies

·         Ride my bike more

·         Read all the books on my bookshelf and then buy more at Powell’s

·         Enjoy the forests/trees/Forest Park/The Gorge

·         See lots of Portland art

And now, dear friends, I open it up to you!  What are some quintessential Portland things I MUST do before leaving this city?? (Besides you know, the obvious things that all of your out-of-town friends make you do when they first come here.)

Oh.  And mark my words.  I’LL BE BACK.**

**Bonus points if you heard Schwarzenegger’s voice in your head when you read that. Extra bonus points if you saw a little video of his voice coming out of my mouth.