Will Crutch for Scholarships

The morning of March 5th I awoke to a hangover of birthday proportions. Yes, although there was no official drinking challenge this year, I still managed to knock back a substantial amount. Bottles of wine at Julianne were followed by numerous tequila shots with The Boss, otherwise known as Blake, at the Blue Agave. The best part: I was scheduled to teach “we don’t give a fuck” low level english at SBHS - not my favorite class. Anyways, after surviving the 6 hours of classroom warfare I got home and flipped open my computer only to find a slightly belated birthday present in my mailbox.

“Dear Micah, I am delighted to admit you to the Oregon MBA and its Innovation/Entrepreneurship track for this fall. In recognition of your outstanding qualifications moreover, I would like to offer you a $9,000 scholarship for the first year....”

So now I find myself somewhere in Portland plopped on a modern couch sipping a cappuccino with almond croissant crumbs all over my laptop keys. Actually, the crumbs are quickly disappearing into my mouth as I’m typing with one hand at the moment. Anyways, Portland State sent an acceptance letter a few weeks prior as well and both schools would prefer to hear back from me sometime soon, so I decided to a jump on a plane and haul my ass around western Oregon for a few days to check out the scene.

I got in around eight last night and after what seemed like a short adventure race at the airport, found my way to a shitty little motel near the university. Had I been in Santa Barbara after nine on a Monday, the rest of the evening would’ve been spent watching 24 and drinking Modelos by myself, but in a real city, like Portland, I had options.

A short drive got me to the heart of the Cultural District just down the street from the famous Powell Books. Crutching down the streets on the look out for a place to warm my belly and hands (note to self: bring gloves for cold weather crutching because 40 degree aluminum numbs out the hands quick), I noticed a place called Clyde Common was packed, so I gave it a go.

Roasted quail, blood sausage, tasty little green salad, and a gin and house made tonic later and the cold didn’t seem so bad. Scanning the restaurant I couldn’t help but laugh to myself as tattooed hipsters all wearing different tones of grey sipped rosé and neon orange cocktails. I kept waiting for someone to ride their fixy through the restaurant, but soon discovered that the adjacent lobby had a half dozen propped against the furniture. I chatted with a few people, paid my tax free bill and headed home to get some rest.

In about an hour I’ve got a meeting set with the admissions staff at Portland State. They’ve got quite a task ahead of themselves if they expect to convince me that their school’s price tag which is more than twice that of Oregon (before scholarship) is worthwhile.