The 45th parallel

I crossed the 45th parallel yesterday as I headed into Oregon for the week. I came up to spend some time with my sister, Katie, and her little family because hey, I could and I can. Well, and I also came up to take a look around. If a move is in my future, Oregon is where it’s at.

I’m actually sitting by some of my co-workers at the Jones Farm campus in Hillsboro right this very second. It’s strange to actually walk in a building and see scads of people milling around — and I don’t know their names right off the bat. It’s baffling to actually have food on site —and with so many choices! I went immediately to the PC guys to have my laptop fixed because at our Utah site, they give you an Etch-a-Sketch or Speak-n-Spell as a loaner  if yours breaks and you have to ship it off.

It’s weird. I’m actually at a fully functioning, totally filled to capacity site. It reminds me that I do work for a large multi-national company that isn’t going out of business. It’s just leaving the business of Utah behind.

The 45th parallel is an appropriate symbol for what I seem to be going through right now. It’s the line halfway between the equator and the North Pole. And I am halfway between two monumental decisions. There’s my Utah life potential and my Oregon life potential running in parallel to each other, both offering great opportunities. But it seems that no intersection point exists. It’s one or the other. Sigh…I’d like to have both for differing reasons.

But for now this week brings lots of fun and good times with the Demcaks. Farmers markets, Powells books. Burgerville, Papa Haydn’s, Lincoln City, outlet shopping, coastal driving and so much more. And lucky me, fantastic weather all week long!