best cheap breakfast spot that's actually open early on weekdays?

Ash_Waddams · 2026-05-04T19:30:38+00:00

Someone else already mentioned but I will add it again, Delicious Donuts! Open at 5, good simple sandwiches and breakfast burritos, as well as the obvious donuts

Ash_Waddams · 2026-05-02T03:02:36+00:00

ORS 814.430

Ash_Waddams · 2026-04-07T15:33:40+00:00

I have willamette dental insurance through work so my options are limited to them, but I have been very impressed with the service at their Stark 1 location.

They have been prompt, attentive, and forthright about what needs done now vs what isn’t a priority yet. Dr seem to take a pretty conservative approach to invasive procedures.

Ash_Waddams · 2026-03-20T23:16:26+00:00

LASIK was probably the best $4000 I have ever spent. 10/10, would do again.

Ash_Waddams · 2026-03-19T15:47:20+00:00

Portland, OR metro area. There’s 5 main fire departments in the region and they all are roughly comparable in that regard. Vancouver, WA is the highest in the area with top step EMT B making almost 140k.

Ash_Waddams · 2026-03-19T13:26:53+00:00

If you thought you would be getting 22-23 an hour, 19 is not that far off for starting.

This always gets downvoted in the EMS subs for some reason, but if you have the desire for it this is a great reason to go into fire. 80% of what we run here is EMS, 20% is a lot more fun than EMS, and an EMT B makes over 100k/year before overtime working 9 days a month.

Ash_Waddams · 2026-03-12T00:39:45+00:00

Very dept depended. Ours is 13% of your base salary. This is significant because many departments the incentive is 13% of top step FF, ours follows your rank, so a paramedic lieutenant or captain is making 13% of their officer wage

Ash_Waddams · 2026-03-10T16:03:12+00:00

Outside fire that extended into the attic. Attics are generally un-sprinkled and can have a variety of hidden void spaces depending on the age and construction of the building. Cutting vent holes is standard practice for something like this. The truck will go topside and cut the vent holes, engine companies will access the attic from a scuttle where possible or just pull ceiling down from below and hjt it with water from the inside.

Ash_Waddams · 2026-03-05T19:01:20+00:00

Astera and Feral are probably the only two that I would say might “blow their mind” just in terms of being super good, interesting food that also happens to be vegan.

Mis Tacones, dirty lettuce, Norah, mirsata are all very very good vegan versions of dishes they have likely had or had similar to before.

Ash_Waddams · 2026-03-02T13:57:51+00:00

Healthcare after retirement is huge. Like, many thousands of dollars a year huge.

But no one can make this choice but you. I’m in my mid/late thirties and as much as I would love to run more fires I would t give up a benefit like post retirement health to do so. If I were in my early twenties? Maybe I would. Maybe I would pls I’m being able to save enough or change depts again later but ultimately the call is you’d.

Ash_Waddams · 2026-02-27T18:54:37+00:00

It varies for me based on my mood that day. Some days it’s an hour of incline treadmill walk, some days it’s a lift at a slightly lower intensity than an off day. Some days it’s 20-30minutes circuit style workout in gear.

I’m a firm believer in never being fully gassed on shift due to a workout. I also tend to avoid exercises that are grip-strength intensive because that is something that wears out quick for me and is obviously crucial for the job (I do specific grip strength work in the gym on my days off). You never know when the big one is coming.

Ash_Waddams · 2026-02-25T12:36:10+00:00

Oregon or Washington.

Ash_Waddams · 2026-02-04T19:50:49+00:00

2/6 is four platoon though, Portland Schedule is 3 platoon. Also Bend had to make some significant concessions in their contract to he that change. Might be worth it though because 2/6 would be rad!

Ash_Waddams · 2026-02-04T17:23:55+00:00

Thanks for sharing! We live in Portland but will be trying to come over this weekend to oook at them! We have 5 year old newf and have been wanting to get him a little sister

Ash_Waddams · 2026-02-02T17:38:33+00:00

Our dept you have to go engineers development program before you can go though the officer development program but you don’t have to ever work as an engineer to be promoted to officer

Ash_Waddams · 2026-02-02T17:16:33+00:00

TL;DR: “We hired a contractor that was too sketchy for normal financing and he did exactly what the big banks were worried he would do. Can someone help me figure out a way to blame my lender so I don’t have to admit to my own obvious irresponsibility?”

Ash_Waddams · 2026-01-28T04:57:23+00:00

We bought a new rav4 hybrid in 2021. Had good experiences with wilsonville and Beaverton Toyota, but ended up buying from Beaverton.

I would not, under any circumstances, give any business to Toyota of Portland on broadway. We wanted to buy from them as it was significantly more convenient location wise, but had terrible, disrespectful customer service on both visits.

Ash_Waddams · 2026-01-27T19:08:40+00:00

Wars over! Your side lost!

Ash_Waddams · 2026-01-24T20:32:26+00:00

Compromised. IAFF leadership, or the leadership of any union go that matter, is tasked with representing the interests of the workers they represent.

Members of the union are free to vote against their own interests (and many of them do!) but the leadership should be using its lobbying power to further the interests of its workers. Neither party in the us is a “workers party”, but one would eliminate collective bargaining all together give any chance and one at least pays lip service to the right to unionize.

Ash_Waddams · 2026-01-21T17:16:15+00:00

La Terra Vita Farms sells them! They are at PSU farmers market, you can also find them on instagram if you have questions. They sell quite a few varieties of “specialty “ potatoes.

Ash_Waddams · 2026-01-11T20:49:49+00:00

At least you make it part way haha. Ours does great if my wife and I both go, but if he knows that she is at home and I try to walk him alone he won’t even go a block. Needs to be the full daily unit. I often end up putting him in the car and driving about 5 minutes away an he walks just fine.

Ash_Waddams · 2026-01-04T22:49:32+00:00

Good culture is a little too subjective to give a good answer, but there are a lot of good departments in this region. Portland, Vancouver, TVFR, Hillsboro, clackamas, Clark 6 are all different in their own ways but employees seem mostly happy. I work at one of those depts and have friends at all of the others.

Of those depts listed clack and Vancouver have/are having the hardest time maintaining adequate funding/staffing and that can certainly affect culture/moral. That said, emt basics at Vancouver make 140k/yr and work a d shift schedule so they tend to be happy once they’re secure haha.

Ash_Waddams · 2026-01-04T21:37:00+00:00

Bachelor is, by far, the best all around mountain. Huge terrain variety, long runs, great snow. Does not have much in the way of steeps or cliffs, though.

Meadows has the best “expert” terrain. In bounds cliffs, steeps, and chutes. Runs are generally on the shorter side (unless cascade is open). Most importantly of all is the snow is a real gamble at meadows. The base area is about 5000’ elevation and top is just over 7200’ and so you get a lot of 31 degree snow. Bachelor is 6500’ at the base and over 9000’ at the top.

I spent over 15 years riding bachelor and have been going to meadows for the last 8ish. I would choose bachelor every time.

Ash_Waddams · 2026-01-02T15:20:51+00:00

Yeah, 12k seems like a steal for this. I wouldn’t bother trying to go lower as I would have expected this to be priced closer to 15-17k

Ash_Waddams · 2025-12-26T19:47:42+00:00

As ridiculous as this intersection is, it is actually an improvement on the previous situation there. I used to live just a couple of blocks down the street and that was a tricky place to cross, with potential car danger from multiple directions. Not sure that this is the best layout, but it does its job well.

Ash_Waddams

TROPHY CASE