If you’ve been following me on Twitter or Facebook, you probably already know this, but I have decided to go back to school…again.  I guess the two bachelor degrees I already have just aren’t enough.  I’m attending the Art Institute of Portland where I’ll be working towards a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Visual Effects and Motion Graphics.  Basically, I’ll be learning how to create video special effects and 2D/3D animations.  Here’s my class schedule for the first quarter:

I get a four day weekend every week.  Sweet! :)  Classes start this Monday and run until the end of September.

I moved to Portland two and half weeks ago.  Initially, I stayed in an extend stay hotel out in Hillsboro while I applied for school and figured out where I would live.  I decided to give downtown living a try and signed up for student housing.  The school has two apartment complexes that they use for student housing.  I’m in the building called “The Arthur”.  There are single and double rooms with shared baths.  I applied for a single, but they were all full.  I am currently in a double with a roommate.  However, upon check-in, I was told a single room would be opening up in a week or two and that I was first on the waiting list.  So, it looks like I’ll be moving down the hall soon.  So much for unpacking and getting settled before classes begin.

The screen shot below was taken in Google Earth and shows downtown Portland looking southeast.  You can see the Art Institute’s location in the lower left.  The Arthur, where I live, is located in the middle to upper right by the yellow pushpin (the white building).  It’s about six blocks from school and very close to the heart of downtown Portland.  So far, I love living here.  I can walk to everywhere I need to go and there’s a MAX station just a block away if I need to go farther.  The only downside to living here is that there is no place to park my car.  I couldn’t find any long-term parking nearby.  I ended up putting my car in storage out in Beaverton.  I have to ride the MAX, take a bus, and then walk a few blocks to get to it…definitely not convenient.  I may just sell it soon and rely on public transportation, Zipcar, or car rentals in the future.

By the way, Portland is pretty amazing to look at in Google Earth.  As you can see, almost every building in the downtown and surrounding areas has been modeled in 3D.  It’s worth a look.

Be Sociable, Share!

•