Portland, OR

It has been twelve, count’ em, twelve days since I got my first email asking me to volunteer for a democratic candidate for President, and that first call came from Barack Obama. Why has it taken Hillary Clinton almost two weeks before she started stumping for volunteers here in Portland? And allow me to mention that the email informs me that tonight is the “grand opening” of her Portland-based statewide office. Way to give people some advance warning there, Hil.**

**Please do not construe my good-natured ribbing of Ms. Clinton as an endorsement for Barack Obama. I am woefully undecided between the two candidates, as I see very little differentiation between them. I am resigned to the fact that I will be voting for one of them come November, whether I like them or not. I am resigned to the fact that I will not be voting for someone, but rather against someone.

Oh, that is sad, isn’t it? I am voting against someone. I really do want to vote for someone. I have since I was a young idealistic kid watching Reagan’s long-winded speeches and seemingly constant television addresses. But alas, not in my lifetime as of yet. I wish I could believe the hype of Obama, or think that Hillary Clinton is the answer to my lifelong quest to vote for a woman for president.

Ah, another day for me and all the little girls who want to believe that we can be equal with men. But before I start getting too serious, check out what I found. This picture is AWESOME. I found it on Snarkybehaviour.com. Don’t know where they found it, but it’s freakin’ sweet.

Anyhoo, Hillary Clinton is opening her office at NW 5th and Burnside, in case you feel like stopping by tonight for the opening ceremonies (for a campaign office — anything to attract volunteers, I guess). Congresswoman Darlene Hooley (OR-District 5, which includes Multnomah, but just a little) will be in attendance. Hmm, I wonder where Earl Blumenauer will be?

Hillary was in Eugene and Hillsboro over the weekend, and I expect we will be seeing more of her, but not too much yet, as she is campaigning heavily in Pennsylvania and its 158 delegates, whereas Oregon only has 52. Although Clinton opening an Oregon office is rather hopeful on her part that she will do well in Pennsylvania. If she doesn’t, she will most likely have to concede the nomination, but I am sure there will be the caveat that delegates can always change their minds at the democratic convention. Ah, politics, even elected delegates can flip-flop.

You can rsvp for tonight by visiting the Hillary for President website here. Not that I am urging you to, but I do like a good fight, so I would like to see Hillary stay in the race a bit longer. At least until the Oregon Primary.

democratic, candidates, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, volunteer, campaign, Oregon, Portland, Pennsylvania, Darlene Hooley, Earl Blumenauer

Bill Clinton has come to Oregon, stumping for Hillary. My question is, Where’s Hillary? I’d rather see her at this point, but then again, Bill has always been entertaining to say the least.

According to MSNBC via the AP:

Campaign spokesman Isaac Baker said Hillary Clinton “will be campaigning aggressively all over Oregon, including campaigning aggressively in Southern Oregon.” No dates have been announced.

Nice tie, Bill.

According to Bill’s published schedule, he was in Medford yesterday, and spent this morning having way too much fun at Mary’s, I mean OSHU for a “Solutions for the Economy” event (at a hospital?). He then followed that good time up with a short stint listening to the old folks in SE Portland. Right about now, he is probably en route from Salem to Bend, which is a very pretty drive, where he will be speaking at Bend Senior High, where he will be holding a “Solutions for America” event. Oh, I see the pattern now.

Still, I am awaiting an email requesting me to make good on my checked box indicating that I am willing to volunteer.

If I were to volunteer for Hillary Clinton (and as of today, I have no real inclination other than out of curiosity or maybe that whole underdog thing), it would be the second time volunteering for a Clinton. I also worked on Bill’s campaign way back in high school, before I could actually vote. I was so young and idealistic back then…memories. Anyway, it was a lame experience with a bunch of older douchebags telling me what to do, like phoning people during dinner and making posters for a rally I was then denied entrance to, but hey, I could be part of the group of losers who couldn’t get inside the rally that stood outside and “welcomed” the candidate. And then Bill showed up, and made his way down the line of welcomers, including a snooty little me, who asked him as she shook his hand why she could not attend the rally despite the fact she had spent three hours the night before calling people in support of said candidate. Oh, and Slick Willy, he had a response. “If it were up to me, you’d all be inside.” Nice. Nice.

Bill, Hillary, Clinton, campaigning, Portland, Medford, Salem, Bend, Oregon

I received an email today specifically asking for me to post about this subject. I think that it is for a worthy cause and do believe that we should help this woman out.

Today I’d like you to meet Erin. Erin is a 29-year-old single woman has Chiari malformations and cranial lesions. She is currently being treated at Oregon Health & Science University here in Portland, and she is struggling to pay her hospital bills due to being unemployed and therefore uninsured. Thanks to Oregon’s strict laws, because Erin has no children and is not pregnant, she doesn’t qualify for Medicaid. After a recent surgery consultation, Erin was told that she should have her first brain surgery as soon as she can, but she’s required to put down a deposit on her surgery of anywhere between $1,500 and $5000. Due to her illness, she has been unable to work for a year now and obviously doesn’t have this kind of money.

“Living with a Chiari malformation is painful and exhausting. Living with cranial lesions in addition to the Chiari? Is beyond any kind of description.”

Erin didn’t want to ask for handouts, she’s even hesitating to give away her PayPal information as solicitation for donations, but stumbled upon a MegaUpload reward program in which 5 million downloads from her account will earn her $10,000. There are a few stipulations to this download, including: only one download per original IP address per day, only downloads made from qualifying countries count, and no attempts can be made to manipulate or fraud MegaUpload for more points.

So, Erin has uploaded many word documents to her MegaUpload file in hopes of getting 5 million downloads. Then, to help her out, Cleolinda has uploaded the controversial book; The Golden Compass as a virus-free text file to MegaUpload. The book will be posted in four separate sections and you can download each section as they are uploaded. These clicks are being counted for Project Download - the pet name for Erin’s download project. I’ve had friends download the book and assure me that it is virus-free and a perfectly readable book.

DOWNLOAD The Golden Compass to help save a woman’s life!

About Portland OR, Portland OR, Portland, Erin, The Golden Compass, Project Download, Cleolinda, cranial lesions, Chiari malformations

Continuing the earlier post, I asked Ben & Sarah, of Enko Photography to describe their photography business with five words, I received some great insight into their style and own personalities.

1. Creativity: Enko Photography knows the rules of photography, but chooses to break them. These “rules” keep them up-to-date with styles and trends, but by breaking the rules and doing new things, their photographs are edgier, unique and innovative. Once you’ve learned the rules, “then you get to start having fun.”

2. Lifestyle: Ben and Sarah like to take pictures. They weren’t worried that by making it their job they’d ever dislike it, either. In order to keep themselves far from burnout, they balance the fun (probably the actual photographing) and the tedious work (probably the lovely digital cleanup). They’ve had “no shortage of inspiration, and only shortages of time.”

3. Perspective: Enko Photography doesn’t shoot pictures that have already been taken. They know that “there is merit to exploring established styles and improving on them.” They like to make their photographs different – turning a literal slant on things, turning things upside down – and have promised me that we’ll see more of this soon!

4. Adaptability: Sarah understands that there are endless possibilities behind a camera, and that Enko Photography needs to be ready to shoot anything. These unexpected moments and changes they didn’t prepare for don’t throw them – they know anything can happen. They look at one-on-one work with clients in the same way, tweaking ideas to fit each client as well as collaborating with clients when needed.

5. Spirit: “We went into business in photography because, well, we want to do what we enjoy and what comes naturally to us.” Photography makes Sarah and Ben happy, and it shows in their pictures. They work hard to capture the spirit of their client as well as what naturally comes to each person. “If we can get past the first impressions and cheesy facades, and capture something unique that comes [from] within, I figure that’s a win.”

Once again, to get in touch with Enko Photography, you can check out their web page, or drop Sarah and Ben an email. Feel free to call as well – 503-616-2677; and be sure to call before stopping by their studio (1121 North Loring Stress, Suite 101, Portland) as their office hours vary!

Portland, I’d like to introduce you to a couple more Portlanders – Ben and Sarah – owners of and photographers for Enko Photography. I got a lot of good stuff from Sarah & Ben, so this will be a series of posts for ya’ll!

Photographers Ben & Sarah moved from Eugene to Portland in May of 2007 after contemplating other West Coast cities. Ben was enthusiastic about Portland’s vision for change and Sarah recognized the balance of “liveliness and leisure” in our fair city. Portlanders are able to always be active & doing stuff, but not let it take over their lives. I absolutely agree with Sarah on that. Ben told me that he was impressed with the renovation in Portland and the fact that there is “energy and growth all around.” Like Allison of Amai Unmei, Ben appreciates the small business support that Portland offers. Ben does miss the wonderful “miles and miles of serene bike paths” that Eugene offers, but he loves the fact that you can go to The Mission or the Aladdin Theater and “drink beer, eat real food, and pay LESS” for it all!

Ben and Sarah, like your author, shoot with Canon equipment. They don’t evangelize on their choice, but in my opinion, they have wonderful taste.

When I asked Ben about his favorite Portland subjects, his answer was Portland at night. The gorgeous Portland skyline and some amazing night-time photographs are featured on Enko Photography’s Night and Light gallery. They have some “favorite little secret places” they like to take their photography subjects as well. Looking through their portfolio, I recognize a few places. There is actually one photograph in their Portraits Portfolio that makes me jealous – I know right where it was taken but I’ve never been able to convince anyone that it’s a great photography spot! Ben & Sarah have proven that it is!

To get in touch with Enko Photography, you can check out their web page, or drop Sarah and Ben an email. Feel free to call as well – 503-616-2677; and be sure to call before stopping by their studio (1121 North Loring Stress, Suite 101, Portland) as their office hours vary!

I am a member at Flickr, a photo hosting & photography networking site (if you want to know who I am, leave me a comment and we’ll be Flickr friends! *insert “awwwwww” here*). I was struggling to come up with something to write about tonight, so I randomly did a “tag” search for “Portland” while surfing Flickr. I found some intense and amazing photographs that I thought I would share with you. Don’t mind (and feel free to skip) my own responses to the pictures … I’m feeling chatty and so I’m just going on and on.

picture courtesy of bnzaij
This picture is just amazing to me. I love Portland at night, the bridges all about town and the Hawthorne bridge is so pretty in this photograph. I’ve walked over this bridge a million times but never at night, and now I want to, just to experience the lights. I also really want to go down on the water now!

picture courtesy of carolOnline
I’ve never actually been to the Japanese Gardens, and the more photographs I see of it, the more I realize that I’m absolutely missing out on something. This fall picture is so gorgeous that I’d like to go there tomorrow. Too bad I have to go to class, then work, then more class and then STILL have plans.

picture courtesy of Zeb Andrews
Here we go back to Portland at night. This picture has a great description on it - so you should definitely check out Zeb’s photographs and read how he did it all. He has an entire set dedicated to Portland and I could probably spend all night staring at his photographs!

picture courtesy of manyfires
Look at the colors! Seriously!?!?! This happens in Portland! Right where we live! Do you appreciate this photograph as much as I do? Good.

Other favorites I stumbled across tonight:

these pictures both courtesy of thespeak

Please note that there has been a correction on carolOnline’s photograph. It was linked incorrectly before.

About Portland OR, Portland OR, Portland, photographs, flickr

Oh, wait, that’s me! Yeah, me. I was featured at VanPortlander today and was pretty pleased to see my fun picture up there. “Living in Vancouver; working in Portland. I have some thoughts.” The guys thoughts are pretty funny sometimes, too. He talks more than I do!

So yeah, since I’m waiting on a few interviews to come back to me for future Meet ‘em Monday editions, I figure it’s time to formally meet me!

Hi, I’m Sarah! I’m 25. I write here and I also write for Mental & Emotional Health. I also have a personal blog that I try to keep separate from here.

I am currently a full-time student at Portland State University as a post-bacc student studying public health education. I want to save the world from HIV/AIDS doing education & prevention in either an international or a rural setting. I’ll probably eventually seek to do a rural and international health education. I have a German degree from Oregon State University and it was a good base for international education needs, but not quite what I need for an MPh school!

In my free time, when I’m not studying & writing for my blogs, I love to snap photographs of both people and things in Portland (there is a beautiful brick wall in the Pearl that I SO want to take photographs of). The picture up there is not just one I took, it has me in it. I hate wearing shoes & socks, and so I’m the one mid-winter in my flip flops with my brightly painted toenails. My favorite part of Portland is all the people. I love to people-watch, and Portland is the best place I’ve ever been for people-watching. My least favorite part of Portland would have to be the cost of living. Rent is atrocious in Portland (proper) and it sucks.

While I don’t plan on staying in Portland for my entire life, I will probably always consider Portland my home. I love being here!

About Portland OR, Portland OR, Portland, Sarah Gould, writing, photography

In less than two weeks, Portland Fashion Week will invade our beautiful city. Yes, like New York City, Portland, Oregon has a fashion week - too bad we’re not featured on Project Runway, right? Guess we’re not quite as cool yet!

On October 19th, Allison Covington, owner of Amai Unmei - a local apparel design business - will be featured in Portland’s 2007 Fashion Week. Allison has lived in Portland since 1989 when she moved here to attend Reed College. As it does with new-comers, Portland drew her in and she hasn’t left since.

When Allison isn’t creating clean-lined, feminine dresses and coats, her alter-ego is a typical Portlander - spending her time outside “either climbing at Smith Rock or skiing on Mt. Hood, enjoying the Oregon landscape!” Designing in Portland has allowed her to express her creativity alongside other fashion designers. Contrary to what many in Los Angeles & New York think, Portland designers aren’t only creating sportswear! Despite the fact that Portland isn’t considered a “main hub” on the fashion map, and sourcing isn’t always readily available, Allison loves that Portland appreciates small businesses. It seems to have given her the perfect opportunity for Amai Unmei to flourish. Her line provides Portland women with wearable apparel that has a “modern twist.” Clothing-wise, Portland’s motto is probably “anything goes,” but Allison designs & provides special occasion clothes for women who want to look wonderful and feel comfortable. Amai Unmei allows women to buy incredibly fashionable clothes without emptying their pocketbooks as well!

Allison Covington will be featured on the evening of October 19th at Portland’s Fashion Week, but you don’t have to wait until then to see her timeless and classic designs. You can view the full Fall 2007 Collection immediately, and as of Monday, October 8th, you can visit the extensive e-boutique on her website as well. If you would like to see her line in person before splurging on a beautiful piece, purchase tickets to Portland’s Fashion Week and enjoy your evening. (If you do choose to purchase tickets, let me know, I’m probably going to do the same and enjoy Allison Covington’s Amai Unmei Fall 2007 line in person!)

“The Amai Unmei woman is confident, sassy, and assured with a feminine grace that is as unmistakable as it is unforgettable. She is the part of us that is refined; the part of us that is elegant; the part of us that shines. She is savvy and sensible. She is discerning and distinguished. The Amai Unmei woman is contemporary in her love for clean lines, meticulous fit, and impeccable style.

She disregards fads and furor. Distinctive, she knows herself and her needs and always stands out in any crowd. The woman who wears Amai Unmei is a woman of fresh initiative and inventive capacity: a confident woman that follows her own sweet destiny. Her wardrobe is meticulous and up-to date with a luxurious flair. In Amai Unmei, a woman sustains her most valuable distinction – her inimitable allure and individual spirit of identity.”

About Portland OR, Portland OR, Portland, Portland fashion designer, Amai Unmei, Allison Covington, Portland Fashion Week, fashion shows, new fashion lines