Two weeks ago was my very first time in a voting booth. Until last year I had always been an Oregonian, and in Oregon you vote by mail. My own personal bias is that this is a better system—research generally shows all-state voting-by-mail increases voter turnout, as it is very convenient, and I think it …
Tag: oregon

Wild Wild Documentary: Six Glorious Episodes (p. 2)
Growing up, the Rajneeshees seemed almost like legend. Until recently they weren’t widely known, despite the fact that when the cult poisoned ten restaurants in 1984, it resulted in over 750 people getting sick and 45 getting hospitalized. And though the fact that Oregon’s high desert was the site of America’s largest biological weapons attack …
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Wild Wild Documentary: Growing Up in Eastern Oregon (p. 1)
“Wild Wild Country” is a pretty darn good documentary. It’s on Netflix, and you might have heard reviewers, bloggers, or fellow teachers at your school recommend it. Leah and I finished it recently, and it is very much worth the time—six, one-hour episodes, which honestly you’ll probably just binge in a day; it’s that engaging. …
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Dating My (Future) Wife in New Mexico
New Mexico has some glorious sights: White Sands National Monument is probably my favorite, where the landscape looks snow-covered (and which allows for “sledding”), and Carlsbad Caverns National Park is the best cave system I’ve ever been to. And I love cave systems. New Mexico was “the end of the line” for the great Jeff-and-Leah …

Dating My (Future) Wife in Idaho
Here’s something interesting I heard: if you ironed Idaho flat, it would be the largest of all the lower forty-eight states. I spent far too long on the internet trying to verify that “fact,” and though I can’t be completely sure, it seems true. From personal experience I can tell you that Idaho is very …

Dating My (Future) Wife in Washington
After picking up Leah in Portland we drove east. This is part dos of how we started dating, which is the partial result of a big road trip we took. Just like I’ll tell my future kids to study abroad (it’s the best way to meet a spouse), I’ll also tell them that when they …

Dating My (Future) Wife in Oregon
So how do you ensure that you keep talking to the woman of your dreams, after reestablishing contact, after you haven’t talked for almost twelve years? Well clearly you call, text, Skype, and email, and then you invite the woman of your dreams to move your car with you. Or at least that’s what I …