Alex Pendell

Nostrana

Which is the best restaurant in your city? Every city has a restaurant people argue about. Portland’s isn’t much of an argument. If you ask around long enough, you’ll hear the same name more than any other: Nostrana. It sits on a corner in Buckman, on Southeast Morrison, in a building that used to beContinue reading “Nostrana”

No One Is Coming

What’s a moment when you realized you were officially an adult? There’s a moment everyone remembers differently but recognizes instantly. Mine happened staring at a bank balance that didn’t have enough zeros in it to cover what was about to come out. I did the math three times. Not because I didn’t trust the firstContinue reading “No One Is Coming”

The One Message I’d Send My Past Self

If you had a time machine and could send just one message to your past self, what would it say? Someone asked me a question recently that I couldn’t shake: if you had a time machine and could send one message to your past self, what would it say? I expected to reach for somethingContinue reading “The One Message I’d Send My Past Self”

One Text From My Future Self

If your future self could send you one sentence, what do you hope it would say? If your future self could send you exactly one text — no context, no explanation, just one line — what would stop you mid-scroll? I’ve been sitting with that question for a few weeks now. And I keep landingContinue reading “One Text From My Future Self”

Molly Doesn’t Need to Prove Anything

Share a photo of your pet and tell us one thing that makes them uniquely them. My dog Molly is a golden retriever/Maremma mix, and she might be the most mellow creature I’ve ever met. Not lazy — mellow. There’s a difference. She’s got energy when it counts. But her default setting is calm, andContinue reading “Molly Doesn’t Need to Prove Anything”

The Man Who Passed Me at Mile 14 (And What He Said Before He Disappeared)

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? Mile fourteen is where the wheels usually come off for me. Not because of my lungs — my lungs are fine. It’s my shins. Old stress fracture territory. Every long run past the two-hour mark, some part of my brain starts running a different race: theContinue reading “The Man Who Passed Me at Mile 14 (And What He Said Before He Disappeared)”

Faith Is Taking the First Step

What’s a quote that perfectly describes your outlook on life? “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” — Martin Luther King Jr. I’ve probably read a hundred quotes about faith. Most of them slide right off me. This one didn’t, and it took me a while to figureContinue reading “Faith Is Taking the First Step”

11 Places I Can’t Rank (But Can’t Stop Thinking About)

What are your top 10 travel destinations? I sat down to write “my top 10 travel destinations” and got exactly as far as you’d expect: eleven places, zero willingness to cut one. So here’s the honest version. Not ranked. Not a listicle promising you “hidden gems.” Just the places that rearranged something in me, inContinue reading “11 Places I Can’t Rank (But Can’t Stop Thinking About)”

Does Everything Happen for a Reason? Yes and No.

Do you think everything happens for a reason? I used to hate this question. Mostly because I hated the answer people gave me — that soft, well-meaning “everything happens for a reason” they’d offer up like it explained anything. It doesn’t. Not on its own. So here’s my actual answer, the one that took meContinue reading “Does Everything Happen for a Reason? Yes and No.”

Why My Apartment Looks Almost Empty (On Purpose)

What’s your home decoration style? People walk into my place and their first reaction is usually the same: “Wait, did you just move in?” Nope. I’ve lived here a while. This is just how I like it. Less Stuff, More Room to Think I didn’t set out to become a minimalist. It happened more likeContinue reading “Why My Apartment Looks Almost Empty (On Purpose)”