Latitude and Longitude: Bridgeport Village

For the all the spontaneous, free-range travel that I do, I often feel very much like a creature of habit. Yes, my lifestyle allows me to go where I please, as much my resources, conscience, and commitments allow me to do,  even on a daily basis, but as appealing as that is as an ideal, in practice I find myself easily falling into a pattern of doing the same thing day after day.

Variety, it turns out, only takes you so far, in a psychological and spiritual sense. At least for me.

For example, it took me only a few days here in this part of the Portland area to establish a daily cycle of work, with my epicenter here at Bridgeport Village, the high-end lifestyle center here in the suburb Tualatin that I find so appealing.

At one point in my life, having the freedom to travel as I do would have been an end in itself that I would have exploited as much as possible. Certainly I've gotten plenty out of it. But life is about more than going from point A to point B.  To actually get anything tangible done, routine can be a great advantage. 

Bridgeport Village is certainly "my kind of place," as far as working and living go, based upon my past habits. The Starbucks here at the corner of SW Hazelfern Road is perfect for me as a morning workplace. I passed three other decent-looking Starbucks on the way here this morning driving through Lake Oswego from my hotel. Any of them probably would make a good work "office" for me. But I chose to come back to this one, because I am already comfortable here, and walking in the door brings me instantly into the mode of getting certain work things done. I quickly scan for my favorite table, and if it isn't available, I'll set up shop (as I did this morning) at a nearby table and wait for my favorite one to open up.

Certainly there is an element of purposeful repetition in coming to a place like Bridgeport Village that is in the spirit of my exploration of "placeness" while I travel. I sacrificed a fleeting experience elsewhere this morning for a further deepening of my understanding of a place that interests me. That's the kind of trade off I can live with.

But the most important reason is simply that I need and want to get certain thing done, both the work I do for money, and the projects I do for my own creative purposes in my free time (yes, I have ones other than this blog).

This morning was my fourth time coming here to BPV. Already I am parking in exactly the same spot,  on the west edge of the parking lot by the trees near the Container Store. Anyone looking for me in this big wide metro area could probably easily find me. They'd just have to wait until they saw the old black Bimmer with Colorado plates exactly in that spot. I'd either be at this Starbucks working, or making my rounds in REI (didn't even see it until yesterday) perusing camping equipment (which I find relaxing), or wandering through Barnes and Noble, or eating a Joe's double cheeseburger in the plaza next to that "Spring Eternal" sculpture that looks like Olivia Newton John at the end of Xanadu. And I don't mind that.

Of course this principle would go the other way too. Anyone looking to avoid me altogether would just have to check that parking spot to know if the coast is clear. But I can't imagine anyone around here would want to do that. My company is simply too interesting.