Places: The Portland Spirit, Anchors Away!

If you're reading this then you are reading the second installment of my new blog  People, Places, Things. Just To refresh your memory, or if this is your first visit to my blog I'll give you a quick synopsis. Every Wednesday I will be writing a new blog post dedicated to people, places, or things. I'm also open to suggestions. If you want me to write about one of your favorite people, places or things I'd be more than happy! Just let me know :)

So, now that your memories have all been jogged, let's begin!

Portland Spirit

Portland Spirit

This past weekend my Aunt and Uncle visited Mom and I in  Portland, OR. It had been years since the last time they visited so we made sure to pack their trip full of sight seeing. While we did quite a bit of adventuring, the one excursion that really stuck with me was our night out on the Portland Spirit. Although I've lived in Portland my whole life, this was the first time I had been on the Portland Spirit and it is definitely something that I would encourage all current Portlanders and any visitors to do at least once!

Salmon Street Fountain

While there are a number of various cruises you can do, we decided to partake in the Dinner Cruise . Although I'm sure the cruise would be great no matter what the weather, we were fortunate enough to do the cruise on a beautiful, warm evening. We met on the Portland Waterfront; in front of the Salmon Street Fountain where the Portland Spirit was docked. Boarding the boat (ship?) at 6:30, we were lucky enough to get window seats!!!

From left to right: Mom, Me, Aunt, Uncle

At 7:00pm, the Spirit pulled away from the dock and we were off! The Spirit has various routes, but the one we were on goes South along the Willamette River. Once it reaches the end of Lake Oswego (a suburb of Portland) it turns around and comes back to dock at Salmon Street. All together the cruise takes about 2.5 hours. 

Captain Morgan Lime Bite & Strawberry Mojito

Anyway, it's not all about the cruise, but also about the dinner! The Portland Spirit has a full bar. You can really get anything you want, but for each cruise the bartender  creates a special drink. The special cocktail for the night was a Captain Morgan Lime Bite and  Strawberry Mojito, and let me tell you, it was delicious. It was so delicious that I treated myself to two! It was not that strong (probably why I could have two without even a buzz).

After our drinks it was time to order. The Spirit has an option of two appetizers. This night it was prawns and mushrooms. They also have a house salad and you can choose from four entrees, either Chicken, Beef, Seafood or Vegetarian. We decided to start off with appetizers, ordering the mushrooms. I ordered the Beef option since, what can I say, I'm a meat eater!

Mushroom Appetizer

I'm going to be honest, initially I wasn't thrilled with the appetizer options. I hate seafood and I probably like mushrooms even less, but my family wanted to order them anyway. I was blown away. The mushrooms were soooo  good! I don't know what kind they were or what sauce they were in, but I had quite a few! Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised that the Portland Spirit got me to not only enjoy, but eat multiple mushrooms.

Beef entree

Our entrees were great too! Sometimes when you do these cruises you're paying for the experience and not so much for the food, but in this case the food was just as good as the view! My beef option, which ended up being medallions with potatoes and vegetables was very good. It was some of the most tender and flavorful beef I have ever had! The service was exceptional as well. Our server and busser were very friendly and informative. It was great talking with them. Also, the servers sing! You can inform them of any special reason why you're there (anniversary, birthday etc.) and they will serenade you with piano
accompaniment. The cherry on top of this great experience were the beautiful views throughout our meal.

View of Waterfront from window

After dinner came my favorite part of any meal...dessert! They had an option of three different desserts; cheesecake, Snicker's pie and Bailey's Irish Creme pie. My Aunt and Mom chose the cheesecake, my Uncle chose the Snicker's pie and I chose the Bailey's Irish Creme pie. I had a bite of the cheesecake and the Snicker's pie and they were delicious, but I think I made the right choice. My Bailey's Irish Creme pie was to die for. I still find myself thinking about it, wishing I had a slice in my fridge! If you still haven't been  convinced to go on the Portland Spirit, just do it for the Bailey's Irish Creme pie...it will be the best decision of your life. I promise. 

Bailey's Irish Creme pie

Once we were pleasantly fat and happy after our dinner, we decided to go to the top deck and really take in the views and fresh air. By the time we were done eating we had reached Lake Oswego and the boat (ship?!) was turning around to head back. The beautiful evening was turning into a beautiful night and the sunset was gorgeous. Although it was a little chilly on the deck it wasn't unbearable (but I do recommend bringing a sweater, no matter how warm it is on land, it's always a little cooler on the deck of a ship!).

Me steering the ship. The Captain is behind me.

What's really cool about the Portland Spirit is that you have the chance to meet with the Captain and steer the boat (ship?!) yourself! With encouragement from my Uncle I took the helm! Even though the Captain is there the whole time watching and guiding you, it's still a little nerve racking since the lives of over 300 are in your hands (although the chances of anything happening are slim.) It's worth it though. And if you go on the Portland Spirit I recommend doing it, it's pretty fun. You also get a fun certificate signed by the Captain too!

Once my time steering the Portland Spirit was up it was time to walk around the deck and take in the views.

  

View of the deck. Notice the two women who dressed up for the occasion!

Lake Oswego Rail Road Bridge

View of Sellwood Bridge 

Helm of Portland Spirit

Portland City Skyline

Portland Waterfront

Hawthorne Bridge

All in all the night was one that I'll always remember. Having lived in Portland my whole life, it was cool seeing the city and river from a different perspective.  I found a short video that tells a little bit more about the cruise. You can watch it to see the Portland Spirit in action!

If the Portland Spirit seems like something you want to do you can visit their website www.portlandspirit.com. There you can find cruise information, make group or event reservations, look at the event calendar and many other things!

Hope that convinced all of you to check out the Portland Spirit! 

Song of the week: The Hood Internet--Comfortable Up Here (Lil Wayne vs. Royksopp)

Until next time, this is Cassandra McCann for People, Places, Things. See you on the Sea!

People: Malcolm McCann, Happy Father's Day!

So, this is the first post of my People, Places, Things blog, but before I begin let me explain what the deal is.

After blogging for the last 6 months I found that I was struggling to find my niche. For awhile I blogged about social media marketing which is something that I am interested in. Then for awhile I blogged about life after college since I'm a recent graduate of Clark University! Still, as much as I was passionate about these things, something just wasn't working. I knew that I didn't want to just blog about my day, having an online diary just isn't my thing (not that there is anything wrong with that). I love crafts and baking, so having a craft blog seemed interesting but I don't have the time or money to bake or craft something unique every week (although I wish I could!) Then it came to me...People, Places, Things. Bam! That's it.

Here's the plan: Every Wednesday I will blog about people, places or things that are of interest. Sounds lame? Well...it's not. I'm also open to suggestions, if you have a person, place or thing you'd like me to research and blog about it'd be my pleasure!

Now that that's out of the way, let's begin!

Malcolm McCann

Although he isn't famous, Malcolm McCann is a person to know. He is one of the kindest, funniest most genuine people I know and I am proud to call him my Dad. In honor of this past Father's Day I'd like to tell you a little bit about my own Father. 

McCann clan, Malcolm is the little one on his Dad's lap

Born on July 21, 1944 in Montreal, Canada, Malcolm was the baby of eleven! As one can imagine, with such a large family there was always something going on. Since Malcolm was the baby, he knew many of his younger siblings a little better than the older ones since many of the older ones were married and out of the house. The 10th child was David. David and Malcolm were incredibly close, however, being the baby Malcolm took his orders from David. As Malcolm tells it, David had a knack for finding trouble.

There is one story from my Dad's childhood that has stuck with me. Although he's not exactly proud of it, I find it absolutely hilarious and it gives a pretty good idea what Malcolm's childhood was like. Malcolm can tell this story much better than I can, but for this post I'll give it my best shot! 

When Malcolm was about 8 years old and his brother David was about 10 David and Malcolm decided it would be cool to build a clubhouse. Being the ring leader, David summoned the neighborhood kids and told them of their plan to build a boys only club house. Everyone was extremely excited, but being kids, and being from a poor neighborhood no one had any money for supplies. They had hammers but no wood so the boys set out to find some. After wandering the neighborhood they came across wooden crates behind a convent. Making sure no one was looking, the boys took the crates and ran to someones house to disassemble the crates in order to build their clubhouse. Finally, after lots of hard work the clubhouse was finished. For the next few days the boys would hold meetings.  One day there was a knock on the door of the McCann household. Malcolm's Mother Theresa opened the door and there stood a nun. The nun informed her that there wooden crates had recently gone missing and that they had received word that Malcolm and David were the culprits and that they would not get the boys in trouble as long as they returned the wood within the next day. That night David called a final meeting in the clubhouse. Before the meeting started, David told Malcolm something very ominous. David told Malcolm to sit right next to the door and that as soon as he blew the candle out to immediately run and don't stop until he got home. Malcolm knew something was up, but he just didn't know what. Later that night, once all the boys were in the clubhouse David began the meeting. He informed them that this would be there last meeting and that the next morning they would have to take the clubhouse apart and return  the wood. As the meeting began to wind down, David spontaneously blew out the candle, and on cue Malcolm jumped up and bolted out, all the way home hearing screams and protests emanating from the club house. 

The next day as Malcolm and David were taking apart the clubhouse, Malcolm asked his brother what had happened the night before. Apparently David suspected that one of the neighborhood boys had told his parents about the club house and the stolen wood and that is how the nuns found out. Furious, but not knowing who the snitch was, David decided to get back at all the boys. The reason he had wanted Malcolm to run away was because as soon as he blew out the candle he had then proceeded to pull down his pants and pee on everyone! 

Good ol' fashioned fun...you gotta love it!

When Malcolm was 14 his family moved to Santa Monica, California. Malcolm immediately discovered that sunny California was for him, submerging himself in the culture. The Beach Boys  could be described as the soundtrack to his life. A surfer by day and drummer by night (his stage name was Flash too...) Malcolm has always known how to have a good time and not to take anything too seriously. 

This blog is going on longer than expected, but with 67 years under his belt, there's quite a bit to say! If you are still reading this I'll cut this short by saying that Malcolm McCann

Dad and I

Happy Father's Day Dad! I love you!

Song of the week: The Beach Boys--Wouldn't It Be Nice (The Girls Can Hear Us Remix)

The Unexpected

For those that don't know, film is my passion. I have always had a penitent for the arts and have always tried to be involved with the creative in anyway I can. This past spring I took an Independent Producer class at Clark University. Although I have made short films before, this class really was an eye opener.

Our professor encouraged us to each make a documentary. Not because it was an Independent Documentary Producer class but because in a college setting, making a documentary is a little "easier" than a short narrative film. While I enjoy documentaries, and I have made a few myself, I wanted to challenge myself with a narrative film.

Loving to write and having taken a playwrighting class in high school and a screenwriting class in college, I set out to write my own screenplay. The only problem was that I had no idea what kind of film I wanted to make! After much brainstorming I finally had an idea and I set to work.

With the script written, now it was time to cast the film, the only problem was that Clark is not exactly known for its great actors. Through auditions as well as some negotiation and persuasion I cast my 7 actors. Now came the hard part--scheduling and retention.

With 7 college students, it's hard to find a time when everyone can meet, and once you finally do find a time, it's usually only a 20 minute window of availability. As stated, I was under a time crunch, needing to film and edit my movie within a matter of two months, which seems like a long time for a 10 minute film, but when the actors can't meet and when the editing suites are only open a few hours everyday...it's not very long at all!

My actors were great, although acting isn't their passion they dove in head first and showed amazing dedication--willing to try anything for the sake of art.

I'm quite pleased with the end result. However, if I could go back and do it again I'd definitely film in HD, as well as use a boom mic in addition to lavalieres.  Although I've made films before, I'm especially pleased with The Unexpected and can't wait to finish the script I'm working on now so I can delve into filming again!

Tips for finding a job

As I'm sure one can tell from my blog, I'm currently on the hunt for a job. One of my Mom's friends use to be a recruiter and was kind enough to write up a list of tips to make the search for employment a little more manageable as well a more successful! So, with out further adeu here it is:

Surviving the Job Search and Making the most of new opportunities

Treat the job search like a job. 

·         Have a fixed routine combination of networking

o        Example:

o        Morning.   Job applications

o        Afternoon.  Networking (informational discussions). 

o        Exercise!

o        Later Afternoon.  Follow up letters.

·         Informational interviews,

·         Formal resume submissions

·         Meetings w/ recruiters (if applicable)

·         Take time to assess what you want to do, what jobs and where are in out and what is timeframe.

·         Take the time to develop a plan

o        Example:  These are the types of jobs I would be interested in Portland, but by xx date will look outside the area, based on xx criteria.  OR, I would move but on these conditions, etc.  Have a timeframe and back up plans.  Only compromise as a very last resort, or you will compound you problem.  This is harder than you think

Maintain a contact management system. 

·         After a contact, put a placeholder in the calendar for the follow up.  I used a simple calendar program, and set out a date a few weeks from the first call.

·         Start building a list of contacts you never know what a oppty that doesn’t exist today could exist tomorrow.  Great opportunities come to those who make the most of small ones

·         Reach out to your Network.  Use them liberally.  Use LinkedIn

·         Ask everyone you meet to suggest someone else to talk to.

Looking for new opportunities

·         Indeed.com as one-stop-shop aggregator

·         Yes, Craig’s list

·         Job data banks for project mgt

·         Univ resources

·         Set up profiles for auto contacts.

Create your own jobs

·         Suggest interim solutions e.g. internships

·         Look for transferable skills e.g. project mgt.. 

·         Consider volunteering but only if it doesn’t interfere with the search and has a possible job outcome

·         Don’t volunteer as a way to avoid looking

Ride the emotional wave

·         The only decision that matters is the next decision, past is past

·         Anxiety is normal. 

·         Ignore what you read about job search challenges

·         Accept waiting game. For everyone working one week = one day.  Read this frequently

·         Know that this too will pass and that change is good.

Resume

·         Focus on what you’ve accomplished, not what you’ve done

·         Make the accomplishments specific

·         Tailor for each specific job and have decoder ring

Interviews

·         Be well prepared with practice questions and answers

Well I hope that helps any of you out there trying to find a job. I've definitely found these tips to be useful. Sometimes it's easy for us to forget things that otherwise seem like common sense. Until next time...good luck on the job hunt!

Graduation Day

It seems that the older we get the faster time goes by. A year seemed forever when I was little but now four years seems like yesterday! This past weekend I graduated from Clark University alongside about 600 other graduates. Although it was a long day, the Clark administration made it quite nice.

Shirley Brice Heath

The day started off with the Convocation ceremony for those undergraduates being recognized. I was recognized as being a member of the Fiat Lux Honor Society. At this ceremony, one of the most memorable speakers was Shirley Brice Heath. In her speech, Professor Heath spoke about the difference between the word  LOVE and CARE. As she explained, the word love is grossly over used. On a daily basis we catch ourselves saying "I LOVE chocolate!" "I LOVE those shoes!" "I LOVE you!" By tossing this word around so much we've lost its true meaning. According to Professor Heath, what we really should be saying is CARE. Do you really CARE about chocolate? Probably not. Do you really CARE about those shoes? Not in the least. Do you really CARE about that person? Yes. When we really care about something or someone love will naturally follow. Professor Heath's message was a simple yet powerful one: the next time we go to say we LOVE something or someone stop and think, do we just like it a lot or do we really CARE about it?

Alan Khazei

Following Convocation was the actual Commencement Ceremony. Although the ceremony was long, the key note speaker Alan Khazei truly captured our attention. In his speech he spoke about a Chinese proverb that addresses blessings in disguise. The question that is continually asked within this proverb is "how do you know it's such a bad thing?" The heart of the proverb addresses situations that seem hopeless and bad. When things seem to be going poorly and it seems that the situation is terrible, how do we really know it is such a bad thing? Perhaps it is not a bad thing at all. Perhaps we are exactly where we're suppose to be and in fact this bad event is actually a door to something better that on our own we would never have discovered. Although we've always heard the saying "There's a reason for everything," sometimes these reasons don't seem good enough. However the saying "how do you know it is such a bad thing," seems to be much more apt. While things may seem bad at the time, they always get better. Without these bad things, there can be no good. It is important to not give up hope and to stay on the positive side of things, because as the Chinese proverb says, how do we know that what we're going through really is a bad thing?

Now that I've graduated it's hard to believe. I poured my heart and soul into four years of college, holding down two jobs, founding and co-chairing Relay For Life for 3 out of the 4 years, a member of an active honor society and coming out a Cum Laude. After all of that it's crazy to believe that I'm done. But with the knowledge and experiences that I've gained alongside these simple but powerful message Professor Heath and Khazei bestowed upon our graduating class I'm ready for the next big thing--whatever that may be!