Travel blog + foodie adventures + Portland living + listomania
About
Hello, Ni hao (Mandarin), Konnichiwa (Japanese), G’Day (Australian), Kia Ora (Maori), Sawa dee-ka (Thai), Selamat (Malay), xin chào (Vietnamese), Suor sdei (Khmer), szia (Hungarian), Salut (Romanian), zdrasti (Buglarian), merhaba (Turkish), gia sou (Greek), Hola (Spanish), Salam lekum (Moroccan Arabic), olá (Portuguese), buenas (Costa Rica)! I’m Olivia and thanks for stopping by my blog!
I’m a twenty-something almost 30 Portlander (Oregon, not Maine) with an overwhelming amount of interests. I originally created this blog as an outlet for all things food, apartment dwelling, Portland roaming, and MBA pursuing. It then morphed into a way to keep track of my 101 Things in 1,001 Days Project list. So when I decided to quit my job to spend a year traveling around the world, I thought it would be fun to just continue the adventure here. Here are a few things that make me happy.
My RTW etc etc etc:
I started my round the world trip in Beijing, China in late February of 2008. From there I traveled to Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, back to Thailand and back through China to come home to Portland. I spent two months in Portland (we have amazing summers), before heading to Eastern Europe. From Budapest, Hungary, I travelled to Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Spain, Morocco, and then back to Spain before taking the slow boat (a transatlantic) back to the States (via Portugal & Bahamas). After spending the holidays in Portland, I finished up my travels in Costa Rica and came back to Oregon to officially start my job search.
I’m a strong believer in living consciously (purposefully, deliberately, or whatever it is the kids are calling it these days), which is what got me interested in the 101 Things in 1,001 Days Project. I love the idea that you’re working on specific, verbalized goals, and while after 2 1/2 years you may not care about 1/2 the things on the list, you’ll still have a lot of really cool things accomplished.
So what does Powered by Tofu mean? Well I’ve been a vegetarian all my life, so it’s always been a running joke that I’m “powered by tofu.” We even made t-shirts in high school that said “powered by tofu” with a tofu block on them. Alas, I swear that PETA stole my line for their Powered by Tofu shirt. Great minds think alike. :) Anyway, while I still cook vegetarian, I consider myself a “pescatarian” now, since I eat fish – but only when I’m taking time out from eating tarantulas.
Stay tuned for more travel adventures, job hunting tales, and a look at my rehabilitation back into daily life.
Thanks, Xie Xie, Domo Arigato, Thanks mate, Ta, Khop khun kha, Terima kasih, Kam ouen, Sourm orkun, Köszi, Multumesc, Merci, tesekkürler, efharistó, Gracias, Shukran, and Obrigado for dropping by!
I like email — and you should follow me on twitter here!
12 Responses to “About”
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About
Hey remember that time I had a quarter-life crisis, quit my job, and traveled around the world for a year? Hey remember that other time the economy tanked and I spent almost a year looking for a new job? Hey remember that time I made banana and Nutella crepes for breakfast?I probably blogged about it yeah?
on Twitter...
- Birthday surprise! (unless my mom is Twitter-stalking me this am, in which case: "I made you cupcakes!") http://yfrog.com/18mchfj
- New blog post: #10: Do Yoga 6 Days/Week for 1 Month - 30 Before 30 List http://bit.ly/beYdeV
- Day 21 of my yoga project. zzzzzzen #fb
30 Before Thirty List
1.2. Visit Iceland
3. Run a half-marathon
4. Attend a cooking class
5. Carve out a stellar mini home office
6. Go raw for 1 week or do a cleanse
7. Start strength training
8. Learn to ride my bike outside with my cycling
shoes [without falling over]
9. Go to 1 new restaurant (or coffee shop) per week 52 in total
10.
11. Learn the Pincha Mayurasana yoga pose
12.
13. Go actual backpacking
14. Take a silver jewelry class
15. Road trip Hwy 101 southbound
16. Try a new class that isn't 'my style': belly dancing or zumba
17. Ask 12 people their favorite book and read it
18. Try kiteboarding
19. Volunteer again
20. Get a car, scooter or new bicycle
21. Visit a spa for a whole day or do a yoga/spa vacay
22. Eat [hyper] local for one week
23. Cook a 5-course meal, have a dinner party
24. Buy awesome matching lingerie
25. Start a grown-up alcohol collection/declare a signature drink
26. Buy a little black dress
27. Visit all 30 breweries in Portland
28. Ask a guy out
29. --- add later
30. --- add later
Daniel
June 9th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
Hey just saw your link off the site lifehacker.com.au and thought i’d give you some props for what you’ve done, I really like the idea of having specific goals to work towards, good idea having the checklist on the right hand side
Veronica
June 11th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Hi, I LOVE your blog :) I’m also having a quarter life crisis and about to embark on my 7 months trip around the world and found ur articles really helpful. Thanks!
Jess
June 24th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Hi fellow wanderluster! I read your remark to the NYT piece on solo women travelers – good thoughts all around. I checked out your blog as well. Coming from Boston you SHOULD definitely visit New England in the fall. I’m a west coaster my self, but it’s quite different out here. Also, your garden would be great friends with my roommates garden. Check out her blog! http://www.seedsandstring.com/
I’ll yell hello in your direction when i’m home in OR this summer!
Caren
June 24th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
I just found your blog, after reading the NYT article about women traveling solo. What an inspiration. Just wondering since you seem so motivated… what ever stops or slows you? How do you maintain a healthy esteem to do so many things?
megan v
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:13 am
How Amazing! My biggest question is (as what you did is my DREAM!!!!) how can one reasonably be able to afford to do this? What’s the secret?
poweredbytofu
July 30th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
@megan Thanks, I have a blog post in the works in answer to your question! The short answer is saving like crazy, living on the cheap, and then traveling on the cheap. :)
Wu
September 6th, 2009 at 6:15 am
Love the blog! keep it up!
Michela
October 17th, 2009 at 6:22 am
Like your blog! keep it and let’s share our travelling experience!
Marlies
January 6th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
Hey Olivia! I wanted to say thank you for inspiring me! I have started my own list now :)
Keep up the good work!!
Rebecca
January 14th, 2010 at 10:12 pm
I just found your blog and LOVE it!! I look forward to reading more!!
Nicole
February 3rd, 2010 at 11:29 am
Hi Olivia!
I just discovered your blog while perusing the internet for information about Costa Rica. I really enjoy reading it and am intrigued by all the commonalities we have.
I am a twenty-something from “the other Portland,” powered by tofu, a compulsive list-maker, and have recently been bit by the travel bug. After spending 10 glorious days in Costa Rica last month, it’s all I can think about. I really envy your decision to take a year-long trip around the world and hope that I can do something like that one day, too. I’m sure you’re right that “the hardest part is just deciding to do it!”
I really look forward to reading your archives about the trip, and seeing how you’re transitioning now that you’re back.
I included a link to my blog, but it’s been inactive for a long time.
Thanks for a great resource!
easterngal
August 1st, 2010 at 3:31 am
Hi gal!
I’m from the other side of the globe.
I found your blog while searching for travel blogs a few months back.
Love your travelling stories and the title of your blog (i’m a tofu lover).
Since then, i’ve been tuning in to your blog every now and then. Your blog is really inspirational and i enjoy reading the things you blogged about.
Will there be an entry on travelling again anytime soon? lol