Missing the idea of the bike commute?

Explosions of color everywhere. 3 Nov 2022 Olympus Pen EES-2/Kodak Portra 160 I've hinted at this before, and it still sounds weird, but I miss the idea of a bike commute. I commuted to work by bike from 2001 to 2019. Since then, I've mostly worked from home, so the need to get on a...

Hawthorne Hostel 1984-2020

I got word that the HI-Portland Hawthorne Hostel is closing for good. The pandemic has shut the hostel down since late March, yet there was some hope that things would "get back to somewhat normal" and the hostel could re-open. This of course is not the case. The parent company (Hostelling International-USA) has decided to...

Goodbye, hostel.

It's official: Friday November 16 marked my last day at the hostel. If you've been following along, you know that I transitioned out of full time employment in August, and have been working part-time since then. But that was never a permanent plan, it was a temporary source of guaranteed cash until I figured out...

A time for transition

It's about time for some shaking up in my life. And the best way to stir up the dust is to force my hand. It's been a long time coming, but I've finally decided to cut back my hours at the hostel. I've been working a full-time, five day a week schedule for five years....

The bike tourists return

As those of you who have been following this blog for awhile, you know my day job for eleven years and counting is working the desk at a hostel. (Which hostel? Look at my photostreams and you can figure it out.) Now working a hostel has its ups (getting comped bookings elsewhere) and downs (it's...

Do what you love?

I've worked my job at the hostel off and on for nine years. Nine years! That's double as much as any other job I've ever worked. Much like how "maybe a few years" in Portland has turned into 14, I didn't really think I'd be here this long. The job has its ups and downs,...

A Quick Life Update

Hello friends and fiends. It was a busy and eventful October here at Urban Adventure League HQ, with its shares of ups and downs. And November promises to be even busier, and hopefully with more highs and lows. What's happening round these parts? I regained full-time status at "the hostel". Those of you who read...

Back.

So there's some good news 'round the Urban Adventure League HQ. I've found myself gainfully employed, sort of.Remember the HI-Portland Hawthorne Hostel, the place I worked at for over five years before we departed for our Cross-Con tour? I'm back. Mostly.Alright, enough obtuseness.  I have been "on the payroll" of the hostel ever since I...