I’ve been in Portland for a week. So far, it’s amazing. I really don’t want to blather on about how great it is because, to be honest, I’m afraid of boyish optimism. This town, like college, will probably give back whatever I put into it. So I’m pacing myself. I think it will be good though.

Our house is completely empty while we wait for our movers to arrive and that’s ok. I’ve been getting a lot done without all the distractions. One of my favorite pictures of Steve Jobs is where he is sitting in an almost empty room with nothing but books. I’m not trying to be Steve Jobs but I appreciate the minimalism because my house looks very similar to this picture right now.

I went downtown and got through most of the angular.js tutorial. The commute to an amazing spot downtown was universally less painful than doing the equivalent in DC. I’m floored and excited.

I’ve converted my blog from wordpress to jekyll and github pages (sorry for any weird problems). I went to a TechFest event downtown to meet people in the tech scene. It was really great. Puppet Labs folks seem really nice (others as well). The three ruby shops I talked to are desperate for senior ruby people. I’m not really looking right now but it’s good to know that nice places are local.

We’ve just been settling in. I just wanted to post something positive since my last DC rant. I’m far too negative about my past geographical location. I need to get over it and not dwell on it or make it part of my identity. You get back what you put in. Any city can be nice, it’s positive thinking and attitude that determines what your experience is. Sorry if that’s corny but I’m not giving in to my typical cynicism this time.