Hair Post

As of late, many of my posts have been about what's going on during my weekend adventures. While those are fun, you may be wondering what's happening the other 3 out of 7 days during the week when I am busy with my classes...If you're not wondering about it, well you are off the hook for reading this...

My class has been extremely fun. I have been loving what I am learning! To give a quick breakdown of the structure of my school, my Part Time program is broken up into 5 main segments, each about 18 weeks long...

• Part Time 1: Haircutting - This course is alllll haircutting. Each week we learn a new haircut, practice it multiple times on our mannequin head, then we are required to have a 'model' (aka friend, family, or random person on the street) come in for us to complete the haircut for a grade. Once this 18 weeks is up we can take any haircut at any time in the evenings, but during this initial 18 weeks we are not taking random guests with random haircuts, everything is specific.

• Part Time 2: Chemicals - Now, for our first part of the day we are in classroom learning about and practicing hair color, highlighting, perms (yes, people still get perms), and relaxers. After dinner, we are then 'on the floor' for the remainder of our evening taking any haircut requests or walk-ins of any haircutting style. I START THIS CLASS NEXT WEEK!! So excited.

• Part Time 3: Esthiology/Nails - Once we start learning about spa services, our books are now open to take both haircut AND hair color/chemical guests. The first part of our day we will be learning massage, facials, waxing, make-up, manicures, and pedicures. We are all very excited about this portion too. My class rocks, and we are all happy to be learning everything there is to know about cosmetology. 

• Part Time 4: Advanced Styling, Coloring, and Business Development - This is when it get's really fun. It's the last segment of our program. Here we will be learning fancy up-dos, intense color tricks, and amazing photoshoot techniques if we have not already come across these tips during our experience taking guests in our first three segments. Not only can we take any person at any time for any service, we are learning advanced skills not only in our technical ability, but there are full classes on how to manage your business.

• Salon Life: Always on the floor, hopefully booked out solid 7hrs a day with all of the requests that we have built over the months and months of our experience :) 

So there you have it! It's an intense program, and I've been enjoying it all so far. I am so happy that next week marks a new venture into hair coloring!! I will leave you with pictures from this weeks roller sets and finger waves :) Please check out and 'Like' https://www.facebook.com/AjDiehlAvedaInstitutePortland to keep up on what's happening in my classes!

This was a rough first-go, but already feeling better about it. 

Perfect for the event. 

French braid? Maybe?

Roaring 20's...

...Finger Waves

Girl Talk

This past weekend was incredibly fun! It was filled with lots of friend time and lots of work time.

Currently, my schedule consists of going to school for 7.5 hrs per day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. And then working an average 7hrs per day Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. My work is split between both Macy's and Aveda, each at two different malls in Portland. Pretty wild stuff! I am loving my schedule though because it still leaves me with time for myself and time for others :)

Many amazing events happened between Thursday and Monday of last week. Thursday night was my classmate Amanda's birthday (drinks and karaoke were had). Then Friday I went dancing. Then Saturday I went to MusicFest Northwest to see the DJ/artist Girl Talk perform OUTSIDE at this super cute venue in the heart of downtown PDX (Pioneer Square). Sunday and Monday were days of rest, but most importantly I was promoted at Aveda!!!!!!! Hollerback! So happy to be part of such a great team at that place :)

Have a great day everyone!
-AJ :)

"Too windy for a fire", but a great day for a wedding :)

Visiting home was one of the greatest happenings of August. I was in Michigan from a Wednesday until the following Monday and I couldn't have been more fulfilling, and filled :)

My cousin's wedding came at the perfect time of the year for me. Since moving to Portland (aka 'PDX', nicknamed after the airport's acronym) May 1st, I had not been home to visit family or family! Luckily, I was able to keep busy May through August, and by the time of the wedding I finally had my apartment, schooling, and job(s) in order.

The Wedding was, of course, gorgeous, and I was happy to be a part of the coordinating on the day of! Seeing my friends prior to the wedding was the best, and thanks to the Ferndale household my get-together was a great success. Finally, I was so happy to get to spend time with my entire immediate family, too, all of which I have been desperately missing again as of late.

See you all again around the holidays! Love you miss you,
-AJ :)

cLips of Faith

The end of July/beginning of August marked the another great happenstance on my Portland-Life Timeline...my cousin Kristine officially moved to Portland!!

She is currently living downtown in the Pearl District, which is right near me :) We are within walking distance of each other which, even when we were both in Michigan, has never happened in our lives. I should preface though that, when I say 'we' are within distance, I really mean 'I' am within walking distance since Kristine's leg is still not fully healed from her funny-but-not-so-funny slip-and-fall accident last New Years Eve...she won't be walking very far very often :-p Good thing both she and the rest of Portland love to bike!

We kicked things off with a dinner at Deschutes Brewery; an amazing brew pub right downtown with award winning beer (especially their World Class IPA) and incredible food and service to back it up. The interior of the bar is fairly laid back, though still nice since it has beautiful woodwork everywhere you look, all with extremely intricate design and 3-dimensional sculptures protruding from the pillars and arches throughout the place.

Before she went on a vacation around the US and before I left for my long weekend in Michigan, we managed to squeeze in one more time of seeing each other. We went to the cLips of Faith! It was an event hosted right on the waterfront and it included wild games, great local beer, with a focus on raising funds for a local charity (hence the Faith) and watching short films from local, independent filmmakers. The event was a riot. Between the random videos playing on the big screen outside, we enjoyed making our own flavored beer using the 'Blend-o-Matic', riding stationary bikes to produce electricity, and playing with a life-size game of Connect Four. Kristine and I decided to take on some of her friends in some team-based battles and of course we dominated! I guess all of those years of game-playing in the Midwest have finally paid off...

Come Alive

I cannot believe what an amazing weekend I have had here in Portland. I have never felt so proud, and felt so many 'warm fuzzies' all at once!!!

For starters, the weekend kicked off with a great bang by some time spent with my cousin, Kristine. You may find yourself in amazement that I was able to see some family while out here in the Pacific Northwest. The thing that makes it even better than me simply spending time with her Friday night...she just moved permanently!!! That's right, not only do I have great friends here on top of making more great friends, I now have a family member that lives here. I couldn't be more happy! Having family close-by is such a calming experience. We ended up meeting at an amazing Portland Festival called 'Clips of Faith'. It was hosted outside, right along the waterfront, and included some amazing local brews (of course); but it's focus was on showing independent short films. The funds raised went to local charities (hence the 'faith' portion - putting faith in humanity and charity) and we got to experience the great short films *and great games, in addition to the great beer. I had my first sour beer and it was delicious. As far as the games went, they included a life-size beer maker, life-size Checkers, and life-size Connect Four. Kristine and I teamed up against her friends for a few rounds of Connect Four...naturally, we were the winners each time :)

Saturday turned out to be pretty incredible. I was invited to model and perform a hip-hop dance routine for the fashion show - Come Alive Tour -hosted at the gorgeous Jupiter Hotel!! The designer is local to Seattle and is definitely getting bigger each year. This year she is taking her line on tour down the West Coast. The thing that makes it even bigger is that she partnered with an up-and-coming hip-hop artist to perform during her show. I turned out to be much more involved than I initially thought. I was one of the lead models and dancers to showcase her Fall 2012 Collection! The designer label is Rene Ropas, and she creates some amazing Eco-Chic clothing. The green street-wear vest that I was wearing I definitely wanted to take home. Instead of your traditional runway of models walking up and down and aisle, her models (me and a few others) learned a dance routine to the hip hop artist, DeLon, singing his hit single, Come Alive. Our dance troupe performed right alongside DeLon in our Rene Ropas clothing and the production was spectacular. I hope they get an even bigger turn-out in San Francisco!

Today (Sunday), was another proud day. I was invited to be a part of my friend's Engagement Photos around the city! Not only was I helping with styling during the photoshoot, but I also was a hairstylist for the bride-to-be. Her hair looked fabulous with an extremely thorough blowout to help her hair have movement and some volume (she has looooong, black hair with extensions). Her hair was exactly what she was looking for and, even though I was nervous as ever, it held up through her photos. I cant wait to see the finished product from the photographer. I feel so thankful and privileged that I was able to help and be a part of their special day!!!

Also, it became official that my great friend, Janna (in Michigan), will be visiting me for 5 days in October!!! I cannot wait for her and her camera to get here :)

I have another big week ahead of me as I start my new job with Aveda this coming Friday. This is where I am meant to be. Right here, right now.

The Good Life

"A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life."

-Charles Darwin

Wow. All I can say to describe my last two months is 'Wow." I have not posted anything since the beginning of June, and it's for very good reason. The things I have accomplished in the last month have been incredible! I am so proud of myself, and so happy I took this absolutely wild, crazy step to get to the Pacific Northwest. 

"Let us be grateful to people who  make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."
-Marcel Proust

All within the month of June and July I went on many interviews, apartment shopped, studied my as* off, got an amazingly perfect second job, found and moved into my own studio apartment, received amazing grades, busted out some incredible haircuts on very happy models/guests, and now I am going to be a model/dancer in an incredible fashion show tomorrow, Saturday. Who would have thought all of that could happen in such a short time. Thank you to my family and friends who have been able to help and support!

So let's get to it, as descriptive yet as brief as I can...

"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."

-Confucius

First of all, my new job...I can't even believe it! I am now a Retail Advisor for a corporately owned Aveda Experience Center in downtown Portland!! It is an incredible opportunity for me. I am now an employee with Estee Lauder (they own Aveda), and this position can open so many doors for me. Estee Lauder is a huge company, worldwide. Specifically, this position will call on my Sales Skills as I will be working on the sales floor helping guests find the perfect products. I now have access to so many classes (both business and technical) that will further my experience in the Cosmetology industry. I can't wait to send updates on how everything is going :)

"I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself."

-Maya Angelou

Next, my apartment...holy cow it could not have worked out any better. It turned out to be a very random day that I went to visit this affordable efficiency studio in the heart of the Alphabet District (more to come on districts later, for now, just know that it's an amazing district). It was a miracle that I acted on it when I did, because by the time I turned in my application, the Leasing Manager told me that immediately after he promised me the space, 3 other people walked in with their applications to try and get the space!! I will post pics up later, but I just had to mention how incredible it is and how perfect my space is for me right now.

"Education is the not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."

-William Butler Yeats

Finally, school...school is going so well. I am incredibly happy doing what I am doing. I am having a ton of fun learning the craft of Cosmetology. I know I still have a ton to learn, but so far everything has been great! I have now given 7 haircuts completely different haircuts and each one has turned out to fabulously. To make things even better, I followed up with all my guests that I have performed hair services on and EVERY single person said they are SO happy with their hair, and a few of them even mentioned that they have never received so many compliments on such a great haircut!! It feels great to know that I was able to make such a great impact on these people's lives even though I hardly know them. I will be posting pictures and more updates soon! 

"I have found that if you love life, life will love you back."

-Arthur Rubinstein

And what? A modelling/dancing opportunity? That's right. Rene Ropas is a fashion start-up that creates Chic/Eco-Friendly clothing, and they are going on a US tour! From my Model Mayhem profile I was recruited to be part of their production. Can't wait to show you more :) For now, you can see some of the designs and previous shows online at www.reneropas.com.

So, there you have, the crazy update for my 'July' of Portland living. More exciting things to come. Just keep living :)

"Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally."
-David Frost

New Adventure Week: Part 2

As a continuation from my previous post, Eric's family came into town, and they had a very busy weekend. I was only able to join them in their festivities on Saturday, but it was still a fun filled day.

We woke up in the morning and Eric made some delicious chocolate chip pancakes. As I was eating them I had the strangest revelation...I don't think I've ever had chocolate chip pancakes! Maybe when I was a child, but I literally can't remember a time that it happened. How sad is that? I was pretty happy that I finally had them because they were incredibly delicious.

Immediately after breakfast we made our way to the beautiful Multnomah Falls. To get there we had to drive through the Columbian River Gorge which, if you remember from one of my very first blog posts about the drive from Michigan to Oregon, is what we had to drive through to get to Portland. It's basically one of the most beautiful strips to drive through in Oregon. The parking area of the Falls consists of a large building that is a restaurant, lodge, and gift shop. Behind this is miles and miles of hiking trails with hidden waterfalls and beautiful viewpoints overlooking the Columbian River. Let me just take you through a stroll of our 5.4 mile hike, and up the 1600ft gain in elevation that we achieved...

This is what you see walking from the parking lot.

Multnomah Falls

The first part of the hike is paved since most people just go to the top of the falls and back down. The real hikers (aka our group) keep going past the paved portion on a dirt, rock, and mud trail through Larch Mountain.

A view from the bridge seen in the second photo, halfway up the Multnomah Falls.

Oops, landslide! Can't take this path.

 

Almost cave-like. 

Some random waterfall along the path.

Looks like somebody got his first pair of hiking boots and got to break them in!! (Me, first hiking boots ever)

We could not believe the fog that existed in places throughout the mountain.

Super cool photo spot, just don't look down. 

We went off the beaten path to find this secret spot.

The secret viewpoint of the Columbian River Gorge :)

Holding up these huge trees.

Columbian River Gorge

Wahkeena Falls. Smaller, and still gorgeous.

At the bottom of Wahkeena. Greeeeen.

 The Wahkeena Falls were very close to the end of our destination. At this point, we were still a half-mile up the mountain so we started our trek down. We essentially went down in the way that we went up the mountain - going back and forth down a winding path along the mountain side. We finally made it back to the car, came home, and were cashed out for the next couple of hours. I applied for two more jobs, Shannon and Connie napped, and Eric, John, and Evan were on their technologies then eventually played a card game. At the end of the night, we watched Shannon and Evan run in a race called the Starlight Run (just a 5k race = 3.1 miles...more on that later) then had amazing dinner and delicious beer at Deschutes Brewery (more on this later too). This morning they left, so now Shannon, Eric and I are all sitting on their large couch and catching up on our laptops from the busy week. The singer/artist David Grey is helping us get through on the speakers :)

Have a great week everyone!