Every once in awhile something happens in your life that completely throws off everything you know to be true.  Before I left for Europe after my college graduation, I absolutely knew that I had to have 35 pounds worth of crap to make it across the European countryside (oh to be a first time backpacker).  Well a three weeks and four countries later, everything I thought I knew to be true ended up being completely, entirely, 100% wrong.
What are the odds that on your first trip out of the country, …

Wow, so my first month as a blogger has officially come to a close.  At the end of every month I am going to try and recap everything that I have discussed, as well as give you an idea of what to look for in the future.
I have been surprised at how much I really do enjoy writing and working on this blog.  I have met a ton of great people through the process, and I continue to meet more every day.  Obviously this whole project is still a work …

This is part two of three in a series of guest posts from Ryan Martin.  In this post he will discuss his first few days adjusting to island life. If you haven’t read part one, you can find it here.
Flying fish, humpback whales, spinner dolphins, shipwrecks…this definitely ain’t (insert the state you currently reside in here) anymore! This is how I spent my first full day in Hawaii. I am quickly learning that on Maui, it is not what you know, but WHO you know. Fortunately for me, my roommate …

 Bartleby: You could spend eighty thousand dollars or I could make eighty thousand dollars.
Dad: So you’re saying you don’t want to go to college?
Bartleby: No, I am saying it would be fiscally irresponsible for me to go to college.
This is a quote from the movie Accepted, in which a high school graduate sets out to create his own college education.  Sparked by his inability to be accepted to a real school, he ends up starting his own.  He develops a place where students can learn about whatever it is they …

While I usually try not to feature bigger chain restaurants, the happy hour at McCormick and Schmicks is too good to pass up.  McCormick and Schmicks isn’t your typical chain restaurant though, as there are multiple locations around Portland, each with a different feel, and in some cases a different name.
Whether it is patio seating on the banks of the Willamette River at McCormick and Schmick’s “Harborside  at the Marina” or relaxing at Jake’s Grill, one of the most historical restaurants in town, you won’t see the happy hour menu …