Starting Over Six Year Later – Community Service

6 Years. That is the amount of time I have invested in this rebirth, coming from the streets and working my way step by step, and over the posts. Just over half a decade to change your life, and it has not been easy, but it has been moving in the right direction. Since starting Portland state my time volunteering has been tracked with a couple outliers due to me not understanding the system or not caring to in the first couple months. I didn’t think it would amount to much then. I started my journey coming back 6 years ago and here are all the committees I have or currently been on.

PCC

Educational Advisory committee 09/22-24 (student representative 2 terms)

            Academic Policies and Standards (2 terms)

            Curriculum Committee (2 Terms)

            Degrees and Certificates Committee (2 Terms)

            Membership committee (2 Terms)

            Student Development committee (2 Terms)

ASPCC Executive Committee (23-24) (1 Term)

            Finance subcommittee (22-23) (1 Term) (Chair)

PCC Live to Drive Committee (23-24) (1 Term)

Earth Day Committee (22-24) (2 Terms)

Sustainability Committee (24-25) (1 Term)

            ADEC (25-26) Current 1 term

            CACC (25-26) Current 1 term

Washington County

Metzger Park Local Improvement District Advisory Board (22-24) (1 Term)            

Multnomah County

Disability Services Advisory Council (24-Current) (1 Term)

Council for Economic Dignity (24- Current) (1 term)

Department of County Assets Cbac (24-25) Changes in calculation merged these two

Department of County Management Cbac (24-25) (1 Term each)

DCA/DCM CBAC (25-current)                              

Central CBAC (2025) (1 Term) Co-Chair

Goose Hollow Foothills League

Elections Subcommittee (2024) (1 Term)

Trimet

Committee for Accessible Transportation (23-Current) (1 term)

                 Lift subcommittee (23-Current) Co-chair (1 Term)

SAGE

Leaders Action Board (2024-Current) (1 Term)

CHNW

Goose Hollow Tenant Council (2024) (Facilitator/Chair) (1 Term)

PSU

Student Legal Service Action Board (2024-2025) (Chair) (1 Term)

Student Media Service Action Board (2025) Stepped down to try for Editor

Legislative Scholar (2024-25) (1 Term)

District 4 Coalition

Land Use and Transportation (2025 – Current) (1 Term)

State of Oregon

Oregon Dsac – Multnomah County DSAC Rep (2025 – current) (1 term)

Now granted there is some funny paperwork, the cbacs actually had not been merged so I am by the paperwork in for both of them separately and the merged version. County code. 10 different groups. 30 Committees and sub committees for 37 terms and chairing 5 times

All of this shows up save for the PCC is seen in my work volunteering where since the start of the school year last year (September 24) I am looking at about 290 volunteer hours on top of being a double bachelor student.

I have helped make decisions in the school, advocate for handling business ourselves, got programs started and kept some under budget. Allowed people opportunities because of good decision making and all of this has been in six very seemingly short years.

I have competed in finance competitions; I have made the thousand-pound club in weightlifting with bum knees. I have written books, that people have read, not many obviously, but some have, and they enjoyed it. Looking back sometimes it’s odd how far you see the path behind you stretch and realize things may be in range if you give yourself some credit.

Just a thought.

Senate, Slimming and School

There ain’t no rest for the wicked.

Budgeting in a senate for a school of 50000, that’s right fifty thousand students. Their student government has had some issues with budgeting coming into our new form. I am proud as peach pie right out of the oven for the issues we had to climb over, for the obstacles that we come across, and that there is some damn fine work done. A team despite cut down and split for the needs of the other senate groups there is no better then those who had worked with me in my subcommittee. Making sure we did not ask for more money and even saved money for the future. Against the backdrop when it seems the state and the country wants to burn all they can with nothing in return.

My team, went from eight and because of everything had been cut and cut and cut again but even then we managed everything we could. We stood our ground where other finance people may sit in the back we were as much in the thick of events as everyone else and even more so when it comes to meetings with the faculty and the admins of the school. It made me think that there was something there and as my team is part of people returning there will be even more growth now that my spot in leadership is open. We showed ourselves well in events and this year will be fun because there is even more to do.

There has been more done then ever and that has meant my body has been getting leaner. It has not been changes so big, but smaller ones that had been where the value has been found because when one is used to it then one does not feel the need of older larger meals, they can move more like they used to and despite my body still creaking, now it is doing more and while there is still the battle with time it would be a laugh riot if when getting older there is something of better health. One hops this trend continues and it should for all that is coming to help me with it.

Next is the studies, projects that has been troublesome had more time spent to learning the ins and outs of the skills needed. No, I did not forget the music one, lots of time studying how to do it and to build in different ways. One thing has come up about what one would sing about because over my time as a senator and even listening to some other musicians especially in rap the criminal lifestyle is painted so rosy when so many people seem to fall into the traps of it. Now we have to make lyrics that does not deal with the same things that so many use in almost every song. Problems still exist, but there is still progress to make.

School is going well, still doing enough that my name is on the president’s list and there has been some efforts to make my transfer to university easier, meanwhile part of me wonders how the next part of my education for this will be getting harder still. Take the positives where they stand, I find life is easier that way. Tried to actually bring my father into it, some people had said how they ( my family should be here for when I make such progress. Being honest, they never cared about such laurels and awards unless it made me into a better trading chip for getting things for my sister. If it does not help her then my parents would rather drink at the bar then deal with me.

Which goes to the next thing is there has been somethings that I have found some therapy for. I am not going to hide about issues, and while it did take a while for someone that was trustworthy enough to help me, it did start uncovering some things that always hurt, and now it can start hurting a little less. Socially, it is taboo to talk about the mental injuries. We need to be open to make progress with the least amount of difficulty and there are more people about there who need to look into it thinking they can’t. No, you can. It is okay. When you learn you are a poker chip, a value to be played and bet, and not looked as a child but as a tool. It tends to make you unhappy, but now, after starting this therapy there has been great effects, at great pain to work through traumas. Some will never be able to completely worked through, although there has been contact with some of my oldest friends to realize that each of us has been broken in different ways. Hoping we can all get to do something soon, we had a lot of differences but to know all us still have our problems, makes me want to be the guy who would cackle and throw myself into the battle, trying to make it better. My goodness, already almost a thousand words, I will not keep you all. Stay strong, and keep bettering yourselves.

Never Ask the Stupid Question

You ever just get into a thing where you do and keep doing until you get to the point you are exhausted and on autopilot and look back to wonder what you were doing to that point. That is EXACTLY how the past two weeks has been for me. Running for chair of the school senate committee on Government operations and finance, homework, nerve attacks, passing out, taping myself back together. Sometimes though, things work out in a way where you are just happy to have.

Despite being exhausted that running for the chair, well it is something more then that now. The problem is that a lot of things going on I am finding needs more then someone to help good ideas, they need someone willing to take the field as well. Always something to be done, and despite it my body is not the font of energy it once was and sometimes, especially since my nerve damage there are limits that have to be respected physically or there will be more problems then whatever good is done in those few moments.

The fraility of existence unfortunately is not something that can be mentally broken sometimes. It must be dealt with, in that dealing though new answers arise. Moments of thought sometime occur here, I like to call them sigma moments, not because of things like sigma grind set, but because it would be something Sigma the character (overwatch) would most likely think of.

So ya, a lot of things are happening here, which is why I went radio silence, things have gotten so hectic I have to actually use a calendar like a responsible adult. You know what I hadn’t looked at what has been happening in Portland since trying to help the students I represent. Hopefully it was a slow news week….

Ever ask yourself why you should ever ask a question that seems to be the start to disaster?

We are starting off with the Willamette Week, who did some interesting journalism this time. Some progress in some areas, but this article is about the value of money.

I am just going to save some pain and just go to the numbers. 82 units, refurbishing a building from 1911 and the refurbishment will cost 36.15 million dollars. Which is about 480,000 per unit or just about 13,00 per sq foot for units that have no bathroom or kitchens. I do not know about you, but this so expensive that anyone tries to explain this as a good value needs their head examined because the only reason this money is of some value is if it’s in someone savingsd account because you aren ot getting that value or even half of it on the work.

https://www.wweek.com/news/2023/02/01/the-fairfield-apartments-will-cost-1300-per-square-foot-when-renovated/

I would fire the people who okay-ed it, the people who accepted the contract, the company, anyone who thought this was a good idea. There would be mass firings of the failure that allowed this to stand. Why would all this be important, why would the value of things be needed especially now?

https://katu.com/news/local/portland-public-schools-announces-hiring-freeze-amid-budget-issues-education-school-academic-standardized-testing-teachers-teaching-enrollment#

Portland Public Schools and …

https://www.koin.com/news/portland/memo-portland-fire-and-rescue-to-freeze-spending-hiring/

Portland fire and rescue have to freeze spending both of them are within the range of the project or even could be heavily aided by the half that could be cut by the building if someone with a calculator worked in Portland politics.

Get some progress done, bask in the bright light if this stupidity and then try to make your day a little better

Stay Strong