Tag: Oregon

Stories from Oregon

Back in the U.S. of A

Published on by An Accidental VagabondLeave a comment

Even upon returning home I’m still an Accidental Vagabond.

A view of the Sawtooth Mountain range, and a green and golden valley in Idaho taken from the highway
A view of the Sawtooth Mountain range in Idaho

We left South Korea in July, and I have been struggling with what it is that I want to do here. I don’t mean in the U.S., but here on this page, on this post. On future posts. The future of this hit or miss blog.

Still a Travel Blog?

Is it still travel if you are in your home country? Considering the size of the U.S. I would say yes, but to be honest it was never much of a travel blog. This is more a blog of reflections on travels of the past.

How to Approach Future Posts

Nothing Stays The Same

There are so many things I have wanted to tell about the places I have visited, but then days pass, and turn to months then years. Life changes, I age, friends age, wars begin, fires rage, waters dry up, rivers flood, plagues ravage, and places once visited are no longer the same or no longer open.

Instant Gratification

How do I write in a world that is instant? I have tried to be instant, and I just can’t keep up with the pace. Even my instagram photos are months out of date, and “instant” is in the name. I know, I am behind. I have always been behind, and as the world turns faster and more aggressively, I see myself falling further and further away, like the image of a person standing on the road as seen from the reflection of the sideview mirror visible until swallowed by the horizon. There is nothing I can do to slow things down or to catch up. Isn’t that life, though? Isn’t that aging?

Take a Picture. It Lasts Longer.

However, I can wander back into the past here on the page and slow things down to the point of freezing. This is possible, yet, I’m not sure how I want to do it.

The Writer’s Conundrum

My Voice

I once had a writing instructor tell me that it is a writers job to solve a problem of writing. My problem is my voice and my presentation. I can’t write about travels as if they are in the present or as an advertisement of place one should visit. So, what are they, stories?

My Stories

They must be stories. Yet, how do I present them? In chronological order? In the order of place? In a historical context? How much research is needed? This is the conundrum. In a world full of conundrums mine is rather mild, but mine all the same. My writer’s conundrum.

A photograph of the Seoul Tower at night lit up with blue light. Taken at Namsan Park in Seoul, South Korea.
Seoul’s Namsan Tower, South Korea
A photo of a Korean man in glasses and his white female partner taken at night at Namsan Park, Seoul, South Korea.
Our last blurry night photo taken in Namsan Park under the Seoul Tower

Travel History for Context

A Decade Overseas

I left the United States in 2013, and I returned in September of 2015 for about 9 months as I waited for my visa, and then I left again in June of 2016. All totaled up, I was living outside of the U.S. for nearly 10 years. I spent my entire 40’s overseas. Aside from the 9 months. I didn’t intend to be away for so long, but being that I am an Accidental Vagabond, I suppose it’s fitting.

Back in the U.S. of A

I returned to the U.S. in July of 2023 (which as of writing this post, was 4 months ago). It has been a whirlwind. My partner, Eun, and I flew into Seattle, with our dog Penny, where we stayed for a few days, then we drove with a friend to Port Angeles in Washington, to visit my aunt. We then drove to Portland, Oregon, where we stayed for a few weeks, and we bought a car. Then we drove down the Oregon coast to California, and then southeast toward San Ramon, California to see my father. Afterward, we drove north again, back towards Oregon to visit a friend of Eun’s in La Pine. The next leg of the trip took us to Eastern Oregon to pay respects to my friend Sue Vanschoonhoven, who passed away in 2008. We stayed in Cove a lovely tiny town in the Blue Mountains. Leaving Cove we headed east toward Idaho, and trip continued on from Idaho to Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, New York and southern Maine. Once in Maine we headed to a region called Downeast Maine, and that is where we have settled, for now.

Some Photos from Our Road Trip

A black and blonde lab/Chow-chow mix dog sitting on a stone slab outside.
Penny enjoying Gyeongju, South Korea
A welcome sign carved in both English and S'Klallam. An eagle carved in traditional Pacific Northwest Native tribal art.
A Welcome sign from the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe in Sequim, Washington
A wolf or a fox carved in traditional Pacific Northwest Native tribal art.
A wolf or a fox?
Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe in Sequim, Washington
Couple with there dog posing in front of a white subaru.
Portland, Oregon with our new car
A view of giant rocks in the ocean off the coast of Oregon.
On the Oregon coast
Golden hills viewed from the HWY in Northern California.
On the road in Northern California
A middle aged white woman and a white elderly woman pose smiling in front of green bushes. They are family.
My Aunt Mary and me in Port Angeles, WA
A white middle age man, an elderly white man, and a bearded middle aged Korean man posing in front of a train station. They are a family.
My dad, Eun, and I in Niles, California
White woman and Korean man with a beard driving in a car. The man is holding a dunkin' coffee cup.
Looking rough after camping out in Ohio
A grey tent in an RV park.
Camping in La Pine, OR
A bearded Korean man in a tan hat, a white woman with tattoos and their dog posing in front of a tent.
Camping at Starved Rock in Oglesby, IL
A blue tent set up at a campsite.
Camping at Eagle Creek Campground in Custer Gallatin National Forest, MT
A shining river under a blue sky with a gravel trail to the right. Lush green trees line the left side of the river and tall marsh grasses and yellow flowers line the right side next to the gravel path. A man and his dog are walking on the path.
East Machais, Maine
A middle age Korean man with round glasses and a beard, wearing a black hat with the image of a fish is posing next to a middle age white woman in braids and wearing an orange hat that says, "Moxie".
Lubec, Maine

DownEast Maine

We are here until June or July. After that… well, hopefully we’ll know soon, but until those summer days arrive, I will be here east of Stephen King and joing him in this little thing we call writing.

Expect reflections on travels of the past and life in rural Maine. Write ya’ll soon.

How to Fundraise Using Performance and Art

Published on by An Accidental Vagabond2 Comments

Why am I Raising Funds?

I was accepted into The Attic’s Antheneum program, but I don’t have the money to pay for it. It is an alternative to a MFA. It is still not an easy program to get accepted into, but it is a lot more affordable than a MFA program. However, I still don’t have the money to pay for it. After speaking with a friend, she suggested that I have a fundraiser. I felt a little uncomfortable at first asking people to give me money for a program that would only benefit me. It seemed too selfish a request, but my friend convinced me that I could do a fundraiser for myself. That it wasn’t an extraordinary thing to do. She also offered to help.

What Kind of Fundraiser

I am producing a variety show. A real vaudevillian callback. I have an opera singer, a burlesque dancer, some music, a comedian, and I will be performing three readings. I will be reading one spoken word, one monologue and a bit from my novel. I put together the program, the schedule, and found people to donate their talent and time. I also found a place that was willing to offer up their space.

Promoting When You Feel You are an Imposter

Promoting is a huge part of the process and I am not the best at self promoting. Yet, I have to promote in order to get people to come to my fundraiser. How else do people know what you are doing ,and what it is they have the opportunity to see.

I have terrible imposter syndrome, so having this fundraiser and promoting it is one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. If I wasn’t the main star and the subject and the needy, I could do it no problem. Since I am the star and it is about me, its more difficult for me to promote, because, and I’m sorry to admit this because it reveals the depths of my vulnerability, I just don’t think I’m worth much. I know, terrible to say, but I have a near zero level of self-esteem when it comes to my writing, art, photography– anything I create. Which I suppose is the definition of imposter syndrome. I’m trying though. I’m posting it all right here.

This is the first time I have ever done anything like this. A show about me for me. However, I have a lot of talented friends who will also be performing. Through all my insecurities, I believe the audiences is going to get a good show. For the promotion, I did a bunch of tongue in cheek promo pictures for my invite.

A woman in her early 30's with blonde shoulder length hair is sitting on a chair in the middle of a road. She wears glasses and is dressed in a bright red sweater, a brown knee length skirt, and brown leggings. Her small heel shoes are black and white houndstooth. She is laughing as she holds a notebook, a pen and an umbrella over her shoulder.
A woman in her early 30's with blonde shoulder length hair is sitting on a chair in next to a garden. She wears glasses and is dressed in a bright red sweater, a brown knee length skirt, and brown leggings. Her small heel shoes are black and white houndstooth. She looks away from the camera smiling at someone out of the frame. She holds a notebook and a pen.
A woman in her early 30's with blonde shoulder length hair is sitting on a chair in next to a garden. She wears glasses and is dressed in a bright red sweater, a brown knee length skirt, and brown leggings. Her small heel shoes are black and white houndstooth. She looks away from the camera speaking to someone out of the frame. She holds a notebook and a pen.
A medium close up of a woman in profile. She is in her early 30's with blonde shoulder length hair, brown framed glasses and she is holding a clear umbrella with a koi fish print. She is dressed in a bright red sweater. She is looking at a notebook.
A woman in her early 30's with blonde shoulder length hair is sitting on a chair in the middle of a road. She wears glasses and is dressed in a bright red sweater, a brown knee length skirt, and brown leggings. Her small heel shoes are black and white houndstooth. She looks at the camera as she holds a notebook, a pen and an umbrella over her shoulder.
A woman in her early 30's with blonde shoulder length hair is sitting on a chair in the middle of a road. She wears glasses and is dressed in a bright red sweater, a brown knee length skirt, and brown leggings. Her small heel shoes are black and white houndstooth. She is writing in a black notebook as she holds an umbrella over her shoulder.
A woman in her early 30's with blonde shoulder length hair is sitting on a chair in the middle of a road. She wears glasses and is dressed in a bright red sweater, a brown knee length skirt, and brown leggings. Her small heel shoes are black and white houndstooth. She holds a pen to her lips as she looks off in contemplation. She has a notebook, and an umbrella over her shoulder.
The writer
A woman in her early 30's with blonde shoulder length hair is sitting on a chair in the middle of a road. She wears glasses and is dressed in a bright red sweater, a brown knee length skirt, and brown leggings. Her small heel shoes are black and white houndstooth. She is writing in a black notebook as she holds an umbrella over her shoulder.
A woman in her early 30's with blonde shoulder length hair is sitting on a chair in the middle of a road. She wears glasses and is dressed in a bright red sweater, a brown knee length skirt, and brown leggings. Her small heel shoes are black and white houndstooth. She looks at the camera as she holds a notebook, a pen and an umbrella over her shoulder.
What does a writer look like? A photo shoot for the Fundraiser invite

Don’t Short Change the Muse

The name of the show is, Don’t Short Change the Muse. It comes from something William Burroughs once said. It is on the 22nd of June and will be happening here in Portland. I’m not sure how many Portland people read this post, but if you want to come you are invited. The info is at the bottom of this post.

A woman in her early 30's with blonde shoulder length hair is sitting on a chair in the middle of a road. She wears glasses and is dressed in a bright red sweater, a brown knee length skirt, and brown leggings. Her small heel shoes are black and white houndstooth. She holds a pen to her lips as she looks off in contemplation. She has a notebook, and an umbrella over her shoulder.
The writer
A woman in her early 30's with blonde shoulder length hair is sitting on a chair in the middle of a road. She wears glasses and is dressed in a bright red sweater, a brown knee length skirt, and brown leggings. Her small heel shoes are black and white houndstooth. She is writing in a black notebook as she holds an umbrella over her shoulder.
A woman in her early 30's with blonde shoulder length hair is sitting on a chair in the middle of a road. She wears glasses and is dressed in a bright red sweater, a brown knee length skirt, and brown leggings. Her small heel shoes are black and white houndstooth. She looks at the camera as she holds a notebook, a pen and an umbrella over her shoulder.
A woman in her early 30's with blonde shoulder length hair is sitting on a chair in the middle of a road. She wears glasses and is dressed in a bright red sweater, a brown knee length skirt, and brown leggings. Her small heel shoes are black and white houndstooth. She is laughing as she holds a notebook, a pen and an umbrella over her shoulder.
We narrowed it down to these four.

The Final Invitation

In the end we decided to scrap the profile pictures and go with something else.

Don’t Short Change the Muse

Come join me and guests for one night at Bar Carlo for a variety show of readings, poetry, music, vaudeville, a couple loose cannons, opera and burlesque.
Help Adrienna raise tuition money for the Attic’s The Atheneum.
There will be a silent auction with donations from the following artists: and businesses:

Lucy’s Table, Presents of Mind, Tasi, Seasons K. Designs, From the Reliquary, SmashCuts, Artist Jen Smith, Jesse Jacob Young Photographer, Silk Rose Acupuncture, Technology is Real, Luscious Jewelry and more…

All funds go to Adrienna’s tuition.

A Sliding Scale Entrance fee of $5 to $15 dollars (no one will be turned away).

Doors open at 7:00p.m. show starts at 8:00 p.m.

A special thank you to Bar Carlo for the space.

Help make a great writer and help support a craftsperson. Writing like all other arts is a craft to be cultivated and nurtured. Writing done well is about community, it is about life.

An antique typewriter on a desk with worn books and written letters.