Writing you now, the life chaser and death dodger, from something like a home - that is Washington State. I'm on the cusp of the Watson year. The whole scenery speaks to me of the inevitability of beginnings. Sure, that begets the other side of the dicohtomy. But I'm done with those.

To the more concrete, Buck, please! :)

The first of many flights touched down at SeaTac Airport last Tuesday, and I've just ended my first week in Tacoma, Washington and its surroundings. My track record of updating during this time is admittedly very poor. I hope that I keep better vigil during the year ahead. In any case, here's the catch up game:

• I'm staying with my friend Keith and together remarking at the post-collegiate syndrome.
  
• Took a couple days to visit Bryan at his bastion on Bainbridge Island. As always, our conversations made me feel not old nor young but something both at once. Before I was allowed to leave, I was instructed on how to shift thought from financial debts to the jellyfish around the canoe. Rightly so, mate. The best is yet ahead.
  
• Rendezvous' with Julie, Emily, Ross, Josh, Scott. Good friends, the lot.
  
• An odyssey to Whidbey Island, for a walk around Edey's Landing. Garter snakes and pale blue lizards ran between our legs on the way to the lookout. Keith, Mary, and I moved along the spine of the hill, taking glimpses west at the majesty of the Olympic Mountains. A fire crawled across the horizon near Tacoma.
  
• Caught up with Justin and Brandon, an inspiring talk of travels and faith.
  

Well there it is, summary like a scorecard. On another level:

I'm pleased that Mary surprised me with a Moleskine journal. Thank you! It reminds me of the complicated endeavor ahead: when to write and when to type? I will certainly make the effort to keep my handwriting in shape, despite the new convenience of the Tungsten for keeping you all updated here.

Bought a pair of tearaway water-resistant pants with good pockets. They fill the void of my new cargoes, which I rediscovered having gaping holes in each front pocket. I might not have mentioned that I'm packing ridiculously light (about 2 of everything clotheswise) I'm relying on the likelihood that I'll buy clothes as I go along, so it would be silly to bring a plethora at the start, only to toss away clothing when the pack gets heavy. However, the understanding that this is all I will bring from home and it all fits easily in my pack... it does inspire some reflection.

Tonight's a relatively slow night, the first since I arrived. I make the most of it by perusing LP British Columbia and checking my voltages so I don't fry my electronics abroad. Yikes!

Found a nice stone on Edey's Landing. Special but not too special. Everyone I meet says they gather stones. And why not I say.

Schedule change: I won't be leaving for Kelowna tomorrow. Pursuing a few ideas before departure. I'll either leave Thursday or Monday, to spend some time in Vancouver to see what I can dig up about Caddy. More on that later.