Off to Oak Vale

Welcome to Oak Vale! This blog is a place to write about my experience in the Pacific Northwest. I move tomorrow, so now seems like a good time to set the scene.

Corvallis, Oregon is a small (pop: 55,000) city about 20 minutes off the I-5 between Eugene and Portland. It is the home to Oregon State (Go Beavers?), and about 26,000 students during the school year. Corvallis is Latin for "Heart of the Valley." Which valley? The Willamette, damnit!  

My fellowship will take me to Corvallis and its surrounding three-county area for the next two years. I'm about to become a real public health professional! It's an exciting time. Don't expect to hear too much about work. 

As a caveat, I am a fan of Welcome to Night Vale, thus the name. When I make a silly reference to anything Night Valian, I'll let you know. For instance, here is a picture of my housing development!

I even found a realtor on the property!

Oak Vale is a woodsy little place approximately one mile away from my office. We visited and found a deer and cat friend! I'll be moving in on September 27th. 

The WtNV reference above is in purple. If you click the link you'll find some Night Valian deer info. See? Easy peasy. Also, WtNV is a pretty amazing podcast. Check it out. But I'll try to make this a blog accessible to all. 

So, yeah. There's that. 

Today is a day of packing. I've picked up my trusty U-Haul, and will shortly be filling it. 

Pricey, but the camels came free.

That's all for now. See you on the other side!