When I first moved to southern Oregon, I went to a wine tasting party with my sister and a group of her friends. I hadn’t been out of college for more than a few months, which meant I was still in that phase of my life where “expensive” beer was

I’ve always been an above average student. A solid B- was my general GPA from High School through College. This fact has only been exaggerated now that I’m above the legal drinking limit and can walk to a bar at any time of the day and order a beer. I

It’s a bit of irony that as a child I never liked writing. I have very vivid memories of myself throwing a tantrum on the floor, pleading to my mother to help me write my three (yes, three) sentence synopsis of a news article. I’d do everything in my power

I spend a lot of time drinking. This would sound very worrying to someone like my psychologist father who spends his time listening to alcoholics and people with anxiety problems, but drinking is very much a social part of our world. Book clubs, dates, writing clubs, social hangouts, everything centers

When I was in college, my friends used to do this thing where they’d all go out and each buy a 5th of Gordon’s vodka and a chaser of choice. They’d all come over my place and I’d switch on the music and invite everyone we knew over for a

I got my degree in History. This does a few things for me. 1. It makes me really excited at parties when people bring up things like the Holy Roman Empire (and consequentially I rapidly kill any conversation). 2. Everyone thinks I’m great at trivia since, apparently, a history degree

I’ve lived in Ashland for seven years now, and I’ve worked in the service industry for just as long. I get a lot of questions about the area: “Is it always so hot here?” and “Why are there so many people with dreadlocks?” and “Are you an actor at the

My parents were big fans of Mel Brooks, which meant I grew up watching a lot of Gene Wilder. The VHS cases of Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles were well worn. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was a staple in our collection as well. Not quite the sardonic satire

Class is something that’s hard to come by. Certainly, in some of the older parts of Medford, it’s difficult to tell which building is a business, and which is an old rundown set of walls and windows. That’s the nature of our Southern Oregon town. But there are glimmers of

Osmo’s Alehouse is a simple tap house. One-story. One bar. One bartender. Upon first glance, it doesn’t look flashy. And yet, it gets its name from a character from a Finnish poem. Far from simple, right? When you enter, you’re greeted with some long tables, community style, looked to be