No, I'm not dead. Yes, I have been living out of a duffle bag (thanks Kalyn!;) and a backpack for the last three weeks. But no, that does not mean I'm homeless.

Huh. I wish I could say that and confuse all you fools, but I guess most of you know that I've been off backpacking and otherwise gallavanting about California and the greater northwest. Anyway, I just got back from my last excursion, this time to the Sawtooth mountains in Idaho, and am once more showered and internetified and within reception range for my cell phone--back to life as known by much of the civilized western world.

God damn though. Can I mention how beautiful the stars have been? The stars in the Sawtooths are like nothing I have ever seen--last night I just lay on the ground staring at the sky and felt that at any minute I would start crying. It was a mixture of nostalgia, of the fact that looking along at the immensity of stars is always somewhat saddening, of the fact that it was so beautiful I couldn't believe that what I was seeing actually existed nor could I look without feeling like I was going to explode, the fact that I was overwhelmed by how huge and just..beautiful it all was. I don't know. I wish you all could see it (though at the same time I hope no one, ever, goes to the Sawtooths again. Because if too many people realize how beautiful it is then EVERYone will go, then people will start building houses in an effort to capture it, permanently, for themselves, and then the stars will be light pollutioned out of existence. So ignore my last few statements;)

Anyway. I'll be back in Portland on sunday and looking to reaquaint myself with Oregon life--and that means that all you fools that live near me will be playing a prominent role! I'm also ridiculously motivated right now to go out and do a lot of burly things, so should any of you want to help me reaquaint with Oregon by, say, taking a ridiculously long bike ride or canoe trip or hike or something, then hit me up! It'll be awesome, I promise:)