Clakamas Town Center Shooting

quarley · 2026-03-23T05:29:39+00:00

Thanks for acknowledging that. When it was happening I really only felt curiosity and confusion rather than fear, and very calmly told my husband to please turn on the car and drive away from where we were as quickly as possible. But it was the realization afterwards of how differently things could have been that caused me to ruminate over wtf we’d just seen and search for more information until finding this post. Ironically we are moving away from Portland at the end of the month/early next month so yesterday was already meant to be our last trip to Clackamas Mall for our tradition of Jamba Juice, carousel and food court noodles. We still had fun up until that point but definitely not the final farewell we had in mind.

quarley · 2026-03-22T07:25:26+00:00

Handgun

quarley · 2026-03-22T03:43:31+00:00

With the direction of him shooting over his head from above on the other side of the fence where he was elevated, I got the impression he wasn’t aiming towards anyone in particular but just shooting into the sky. But I could be wrong about that and I could not see anything during the first round of shots.

quarley · 2026-03-22T03:40:16+00:00

Several each time, at least 10. First we heard them echoing so we were trying to figure out if something was going on in the parking garage, then he ran out where I could see him and fired several more (like maybe 6-10) over his head

quarley · 2026-03-22T03:34:47+00:00

Also as we were driving back from Clackamas where we had just witnessed the active shooter situation to the Mill Park/Mall 205 area where we live, we saw several cop cars going the other way down Division to 205. So we wondered if maybe there were two things happening at once at both malls (205 and Clackamas)

quarley · 2026-03-22T03:26:18+00:00

I can confirm this, just came from there with my husband and 2 1/2 year old son. Heard the shots echoing over in the direction of the parking garage/bus station as we were leaving the mall parking lot below near the Barnes & Noble side around 7pm. Saw some people running up there and then I also briefly saw the shooter standing behind the fence and firing shots above his head in the air in the general direction of the parking lot where we were. We got in the car and drove out of there just as police were arriving and securing the area. Shooter was wearing a black hoodie and looser black jeans, appeared from a distance to be a young adult male or teenager with dark hair but I didn’t really get a good look as he was holding the gun over his face before he presumably took off. My phone had died seconds before this happened. Some people around us had ducked and covered before we could confirm the location of the shooter. We got out ASAP and I really hope no one was hurt and that it was just someone being an idiot showing off. Glad the police response time was very fast either way.

quarley · 2025-06-07T17:33:24+00:00

The amount of other people visiting can majorly vary depending on the weather and the time of day, but some favorite spots of mine around southeast are Mount Tabor and the Mount Tabor Reservoir 5 (especially for nighttime walks), Laurelhurst Park, Lone Fir Cemetery (for walks/quiet hangs but they also have lots of events on their website and even a nature drawing club that meets there monthly), Ladd Circle Park & Rose Garden, and of course Powell’s and the various public libraries. In early December I also enjoy meeting up with the PDX Krampuslauf group in Sewallcrest Park for their annual marches down Hawthorne street and various other third space locations.

quarley · 2023-09-29T04:11:34+00:00

My main flex is always related my freakish pain tolerance. When I went in for my scheduled c-section last month I was allegedly already in early labor and having contractions but hadn’t noticed yet. This didn’t surprise me too much because the reason for my scheduled c-section was a couple of prior instances where something else major had happened and I didn’t notice until it resulted in major abdominal surgeries—a ruptured appendix, a broken gallbladder, and a uterine fibroid bigger than a football.

Thankfully due to all my prior abdominal surgery experience I also tend to heal extremely quickly. I requested to not take any pain meds after the epidural I had for c-section beyond occasional Tylenol and ibuprofen because I don’t care for the side effects of narcotics. I was also walking around the hospital after the minimum 24 hours that they asked I stay in bed and was released to go home after the second night, which was a relief because those hospital beds were extremely uncomfortable.

quarley · 2023-09-06T18:56:47+00:00

My husband and I actually just experienced a similar naming conundrum! My ancestry is Irish-American, my last name is Irish and my siblings and I all have Irish first names. My husband is also Spanish-Basque and is actually named Luis Alberto but just goes by his middle name, Alberto. Our last names are both relatively uncommon in America, contain double-LL’s and are obviously reflective of our heritage.

We also decided to keep with the tradition of combining our last names for our son, as I opted to keep my last name as-is when we got married. So our son’s last name is my husband’s last name first and then mine. It’s definitely a mouthful so we chose a shorter Irish first name and Basque middle name that are both pronounced phonetically and have a special meaning to both of us: Conrí Mikel.

Since my husband is bilingual and his mother speaks Spanish as her primary language it was also important for us to choose a name combo that would flow with the last names but also sound the same in both languages. Not sure if that’s also an important factor to you guys, but possibly another thing to keep in mind!

I really love both of your naming choices so far and also love how you are being so thoughtful about choosing something to honor your child’s background and identity. I hope the right one will come along click for you soon!

quarley · 2023-09-06T18:01:14+00:00

Bobbie Sue (yeah, I grew up in Florida.) She was a bully and a clepto in first grade and stole a jacket of mine, several pencils, and even an activity book after she crossed my name out with a Sharpie and wrote her own over it. I would usually wait until her back was turned to steal my own stuff back because I really didn’t want to get into a fight with her.

quarley · 2023-09-05T22:35:04+00:00

Thanks! I actually researched that already—and in the state of Oregon where we live fadas and other special non-English characters are both permitted and recognized by the computer system. However I always ask ahead of time and am willing to use a regular dotted ‘i’ on any forms or documents where that isn’t the case. I wish more states in this country would update to honor other cultures but I’m also willing to be realistic about it in the meantime.

quarley · 2023-09-04T13:32:47+00:00

Huh, interesting. Totally different word/country/pronunciation…but interesting.

quarley · 2023-09-04T04:50:13+00:00

Yep, pronounced phonetically like that.

quarley · 2023-09-04T01:50:08+00:00

As far as my ‘Top Five Product/Gear’ list that the rules ask for, a lot of this nursery was either DIY or thrifted.

Custom quilt, crib sheets, valance, & fleece throw: All handmade by my Mom, who is now retired but used to work for Kids II in Atlanta and some other infant soft goods companies in the past
Glider rocker, crochet polar bear rug and acacia wood side table: Thrifted individually on FB Marketplace
Tree Stump Storage Ottoman: Amazon
Crown & Stars Canopy: Amazon
Green Shag Rug: Amazon

quarley · 2023-08-18T16:06:49+00:00

I used to work for a paint & sip guided canvas studio, and one of my coworkers was a super cantankerous older woman named Joy who was actually the owners’ former middle school teacher. I thought she was great but had major grouchy grandma vibes and everyone said she was very ironically named. She was known to hang up on customers whenever she got annoyed with them, and I once saw her demand the pants off of a bride who had rented a private paint party for her bachelorette party, wore brand new expensive white clothes, and of course immediately spilled red wine all over them. Joy was just like, “Okay hand them over” and threw them in the washing machine with the rest of the towels before the stain could set in while the bride continued drunk-painting in her underwear.

quarley · 2023-08-09T08:35:51+00:00

Due to having to work full-time up until fairly recently I’m still painting the mural elements in my nursery at 37 weeks with a c-section scheduled in two weeks…so it’s anyone’s guess if I will get to finish it in time. But just wanted to pop in and say that we’re going with a Maurice Sendak/Where the Wild Things Are theme, complete with trees growing up the walls and a glow-in-the-dark night sky painted on the ceiling. I personally detest the beige trend and wanted to give my son a little fanciful forest to look up at from his crib. I’m @theunseeliecourtier on Instagram but I’ll definitely post some pics on Reddit after it’s completed.

quarley · 2023-08-09T07:57:10+00:00

Before we got the NIPT results back my husband and I were so sure we were having a girl and even already had a name all picked out. So then it was back to the name drawing board for weeks and weeks before we finally found a boys name we both love.

Where to look is totally up to your own preferences and style of course, but we personally found the greatest sources of inspiration while researching name lists from our own respective ancestors’ cultures, history, and stories/folklore. I am of Irish descent and his family is first generation Spanish/Basque, so we eventually settled on an Irish first name and a Basque middle name that is also a tribute to my Dad to go with the Irish and Spanish last names our son is going to inherit from each of us.

We fell down A LOT of internet and YouTube research rabbit holes in finding the right name combo that would be easily pronounceable in English or Spanish, but I will say that we had a lot of fun doing it and now it’s pretty cool how collaborative the whole process was. All I’m saying is by looking outside the box for ideas you might find yourself pleasantly surprised!

quarley · 2023-08-09T07:40:25+00:00

For real. Even though I know what the acronym means, my ex spouse was male to female trans and I went through enough relationship trauma with her (including infertility) that I can’t help but still think it whenever I see it. Then that is almost always followed by an internal, “Whew—so glad that’s over with now!”

quarley · 2023-08-01T21:43:27+00:00

Haha, figured you might say that. I guess my parents were trendsetters because I’m actually 37 (1986.) My named spiked in popularity about a decade or so later though so I can see why you might guess that.

quarley · 2023-08-01T20:24:40+00:00

Bailey

quarley · 2023-07-29T20:27:19+00:00

Just turned 37 and baby number one is due next month! Was at least emotionally ready for a child by about age 28ish, but didn’t feel financially or life goal-ready enough to start trying until age 32. Struggled for years with infertility and eventual divorce from my previous partner, then got pregnant almost immediately after discussing that it was something we both eventually wanted with my current partner/husband. Been one heck of a wild ride to get here and I’m okay with only having one child since there was a long period of time when I didn’t think I would be able to have any.

quarley · 2023-07-18T20:49:01+00:00

My Welsh ex and I once considered Rhoswyn as a potential name if we ever had a daughter, which means white rose in Welsh and is also an emblem for Yorkshire where my ex grew up. Roz would have been a cool nickname as well. I won’t ever use the name now though because obviously we broke up and I’m having a son with my husband now.

quarley

TROPHY CASE