It's all working out for the best!

Suddenly, opportunities abound! What a difference a few weeks can make, especially when you have the right people in your corner.
I’d had a fairly productive run as a contract writer and editor. The highlight was writing web articles in the wiki format this summer for a local start-up, AboutUs.org. But I was longing to get back into a fulltime job where I could throw everything I had into one organization’s mission.
Then within a few weeks, the way was paved for that to happen. An editor at The Columbian in Vancouver, WA, asked me to write a feature on a local Special Olympics coach. The story grew into a terrific feel-good section front for the paper’s Living section. A week later, I pitched a story to Reuters News Service, another of my clients. That story turned into the “most read” article among Reuters clients for three days running.
Suddenly, I had momentum—and I was getting emails and phone calls from friends and strangers in the journalism community. In the middle of all this excitement, the editor at AboutUs.org contacted me to say that a local tech start-up, Ontier, was looking for someone who could research, write and manage content. She recommended me highly, and the next thing I knew, I had a job offer with “dream job” written all over it.

The prospect of landing a job like this in Portland was a huge relief to my family. We were considering relocating as my job hunt intensified. I've included a view of Mt. Hood from the Ramona Falls-Timberline Lodge section of the Timberline Trail to underscore the fact that the Ontier Pixetell job means we can continue to enjoy this splendid view for years to come. Here, the Timberline Trail follows the Pacific Crest Trail, and I don't think you can find a more scenic section of the PCT.