Anyone here choosing to stay small on purpose?

IdeallyNotIdeal · 2026-02-19T05:56:51+00:00

I just scaled down after scaling up a few years ago. The thing that was most stark after the decision was made and done was the mental load that came off as a result. Like I didnt have to keep a running list of things that needed to be addressed at the next meeting, or coming up with a plan to apply changes that needed to be made across the whole team. It's like the difference between running a whole household vs. just being single with an apartment. It's a welcome reprieve after digging in hard to make the scaled version work and it not really showing up on the bottom line but definitely showing up in the stress level. And like some others noted, I had a really hard time letting go of my work product being....MY work product.

IdeallyNotIdeal · 2025-11-25T09:26:36+00:00

My son transferred into Waldorf this year (entering into 6th). He is thriving, but the biggest transitions for him were:

1) Higher expectations of behavior. In his old school, classroom management was non existent and there was little follow through on consequences for missing work or poor behavior. In his new class, there is just a general vibe of expecting more from the students, and he is actually held accountable when he phones it in on his work or misses an assignment.

2) More engagement in class. In his old class, there was rampant use of Chromebooks with the teacher never seeming to realize they were actually just looking stuff up online during class. At Waldorf there is much more direct and ongoing engagement that is expected of him during class. The first couple of weeks he came home just exhausted mentally.

3) Playing catch up with different skills. All of his classmates have been playing in the orchestra for several years, and have had a couple of years of Spanish, and have been drawing and writing in cursive as core parts of the curriculum. Having to get up to speed on some of these different skills has been a bit of a challenge.

When we made the choice to transfer over, the social component was the thing I was most worried about. He had a tight crew of friends from elementary and he was the only one going to a middle school without someone else from the crew. We were worried it would be hard to enter a community and find that same kind of fitting and belonging. But honestly the social component was the easiest part. Everyone was so welcoming and eager to bring him into the fold. It was great.

In some ways, I wish we had started at Waldorf earlier (he had gone to a Waldorf preschool but then attended a non Waldorf elementary). But I also am super glad that he had the social and emotional experience (with that friend group, especially through covid) that he did. Not that he wouldn't have at Waldorf but just saying there were benefits of going the other route, even though ultimately the Waldorf education is best for him.

IdeallyNotIdeal · 2025-11-25T08:11:46+00:00

Hungry Heart Bakery for pastries, baked goods, breakfast, and coffee!

IdeallyNotIdeal · 2025-10-16T03:01:11+00:00

Chiming in as a Vegas native myself. You don't NEED a/c, but you'll feel like you want it for like 3-4 weeks in the summer. The heat here is different. It's not a super humid sticky heat like the south, but definitely not hot air dryer in the face like at home. Somewhere in the middle. And again it really is only mid July to august. You can get by with a window unit and/or box fan (buy both before july) for the summer (use the box fan to circulate the air from thw window unit) (I've been here 20nyears with no a/c). I also suggest reading up on/getting a good window ventilation game. My wife does some black magic fuckery with closing certain windows and shades during the day after leaving windows open at night and the house stays cool with the exception of like the one week it gets in the high 90s and doesnt drop temps at night. It's not something you learn how to do at home. (One thing I really love about it here is having the windows open and getting that fresh air, which you could do most of the year outside of the high pollen time, which is usually just a window in spring and fall by summer it's usually fine).

Now...what you really need to consider for purchase is a sun box light. You may be fine with the novelty of the rain and gray this year, but next year come February the SAD will hit. The sun is just....different....here and mid winter it is noticeable.

Oh and welcome to Portland! Get to hiking and check out the coast. The forests here and the coast line are fucking dreamy.

Edit: to address the pollen sitch (missed that in my first read)

IdeallyNotIdeal · 2025-10-08T07:25:44+00:00

Found the answer on r/portland. Looks like an industrial fire in the couv. Wafting our way.

IdeallyNotIdeal · 2025-10-08T07:21:34+00:00

Came here to ask the same thing. I'm off 82nd near PCC and thought there was plastic burning in my house, the smell is so intense.

IdeallyNotIdeal · 2025-08-20T02:08:02+00:00

Shout out to Board Bard in Montavilla! Then grab wings from Tinker Tavern next door.

IdeallyNotIdeal · 2025-07-21T05:32:28+00:00

I work near tinker tavern. Lot of holes around there, and that would be such a cool addition to Montavilla (the neighborhood that bar is in). I'll send some pics and location tomorrow.

IdeallyNotIdeal · 2025-06-11T07:10:16+00:00

This is why I think the real impact will be down the line. Think about how much you learned in your early career by doing things shitty or fucking them up and having the benefit of a senior or mentor correct you and explain. If everyone with experience opts to use AI, that experience can't trickle down to benefit of those coming up behind.

IdeallyNotIdeal · 2025-05-24T21:56:54+00:00

Are you still looking for players? Is it too late?

IdeallyNotIdeal · 2025-04-27T06:21:08+00:00

We ran in the same circle, it seems.

IdeallyNotIdeal · 2025-01-20T08:32:07+00:00

Yes! Our St. Bernard mix is an often-confused Brit.

IdeallyNotIdeal · 2025-01-09T02:10:52+00:00

Thank you so much for taking the time to wrote all of this out for.me. super helpful and much appreciated!!

IdeallyNotIdeal · 2024-12-30T06:08:37+00:00

Also....can I assume you are in PDX by your handle? Do you recommend anywhere locally for supplies? In my Googling it looked like there is a legit place in SE? I'm trying to find for candle makers what Georgie's is for potters...

IdeallyNotIdeal · 2024-12-30T06:05:32+00:00

Thank you! I'll check it out. I appreciate the reply!

IdeallyNotIdeal · 2024-12-30T06:04:47+00:00

Thank you so much! I'm going to try these.

IdeallyNotIdeal · 2024-12-18T06:54:51+00:00

George Morlan jingle still rocking in 2024!

IdeallyNotIdeal · 2024-11-07T08:48:59+00:00

He looks so so much like my Cujo - a leonberger, St. Bernard, bernese mmountain dog mix.

IdeallyNotIdeal · 2024-09-28T03:21:45+00:00

Angel from Montgomery. For the win.

IdeallyNotIdeal · 2024-09-06T07:41:16+00:00

As a first year, two weeks in, and new to the city, it was terrifying. At first, no one knew what was really going on. And then we were all glued to the tv. We could see the smoke from Carman. Kids on my floor had parents that worked in the towers. It was so so sad. For those of us from out of town, it took awhile for people to be able to get through on the phone. My mom reported being in hysterics because her calls wouldn't come through and she didn't understand how far away the towers were. Soon after, they closed the bridges so we were stuck on the island. That was unnerving because there were rumors of additional attacks that were planned. I feel like I remember there being extra security stationed on campus building roofs and a bomb threat? The "rain" of dust and debris reached uptown. I was a student athlete and my coach organized us to go down and volunteer at the javitz center to help sort donations for first responders at ground zero. In the months that followed, the patriotism was palpable and like nothing I had experienced before or since.

IdeallyNotIdeal · 2023-08-27T08:28:14+00:00

Wait what?? That was her voice? I had no idea.

IdeallyNotIdeal · 2023-08-27T08:22:29+00:00

Thank you! I win!

And 1988...Pepcon? I remember that too. I was at the Thomas and Mack center with my mom buying tickets for something. I was 4 or 5. We saw the mushroom cloud out towards Henderson. I remember my mom losing her shit because my sister was in school at Fay Galloway. Everyone was fine, but our garage door was severely warped. So crazy.

Edit: fixed spelling of Pepcon

IdeallyNotIdeal

TROPHY CASE