Two weeks back in Portland, and still no job offers dropping on my doorstep. I should mention though that I did get some responses back from job listings I applied to since I've been back, so, the job market isn't completely frozen in Portland yet.
My Tom Joad trip was successful in the fact that I reconnected with family members long lost, but unsuccessful generating job offers, oh well...
One major difference in this trip compared to my previous motorcycle trips is that I was kept to a semi-rigid travel schedule, trying to meet both family and interview commitments along the way. Trying to keep these commitments frequently meant pushing both physical and mental limitations to get to the next waypoint, so I didn't have a lot of time to take in my surroundings, listen to the locals, or stop to smell the roses, for a lack of better terms.
Complete freedom while traveling either makes or breaks a memorable trip. As with my Baja trip, I had a very loose schedule on being anywhere along my route, and I let the route set my pace. Anybody whose read any of the Jack Kerouac books would immediately recognize this as the optimum approach to traveling. Jack was also somewhat notorious for overstaying his welcome in many of the places he decided to flop. I didn't hang around long enough to find out...
Back to the present... Still waiting for job calls, but planning lots more bike trips in the future. Portland is finally seeing some 60-degree days, so I'm considering a camping trip, on the bike, of course, out to the Eastern Oregon desert. Later in the Spring, possibly a trip up to Glacier National Park in Montana, and I do still want to see Moab, Utah in the early Summer.
Maybe this unemployment thing isn't so bad after all...
Thursday, March 19, 2009
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