i feel so absolutely alive right now! i want to just suck the world into my lungs so that i can know it intimately then breate it all back out to share with everyone. wouldn't that be amazing?
i'm also feeling the desire to write something new. something that i can turn into the story of my life so far. it really not very hard. but i need to add a layer of meaning beyond the words and that's a hard thing. the rhythm and meter are easily seen within the language itself but to make it plod along or spring forth from the page is a challenge that must not be underestimated.
what would the story of your life have to include? long comments are more than welcome. i'll read every word because you are my friend and mean a lot to me.

alright, so i just got some bad news at work: they did not approve my vacation time. this is something that i stipulated when i was hired. i let them know that i might not be there at all in december so that i could visit home. they said it was ok but now they don't. it's really not cool at all.
past that i'm doing alright. just working my way along. i haven't slept more than six hours at all in the past week so i'm feeling a little bit tired but it's really not that bad. i think i'm getting used to it. but i might shoot for 7-8 tonight because i don't really have to be up late for anything. we'll see how that goes.
and i'm waiting for my marmot helium bag. it's really light and really nice and this means that when sara and i go camping we have enough sleeping bags. so it's a really good thing. and it's rated to 15 degrees F. so it's a good bag for winter, too.
and it is really deeply into the winter right now. it's awesome. there is a lot of snow everywhere in the mountains and yet it's still mild down here in seattle because of the water. we've had fog every day this week and over the weekend, too. but it isn't really raining yet. that's later on. the winter hasn't been as bad as i've been expecting but we've got a month until it's at the very shortest days of the year here so we'll see how it goes. it's already dark now by 5:30 so i can't imagine how much shorter the days are going to get.
i've also been knitting an ear-flap hat. it's super sweet. it's kelly green with brown and a yellowy khaki color spun together and it's alpaca so it's super soft and comfy feeling. it'll be a 1-to-1 rib so it'll fit close and i think it's going to be one of my favorite hats. i just need to add a little peruvian pattern in white or black or ruddy brown and it'll be a great looking hat. i'll post pictures when i have them. it'll make me look like the supreme gaylord of the block.
also, i scored the highest in my motorcycle safety class. and i got the compliment of looking like a fish in water when i got onto the bike. my chest practically just puffed out a foot when i got that one. because i worked really hard to make myself that relaxed on a bike.
more on all of that later on, homies.
i don't actually say that in real life so don't be alarmed.
that is all.

i now officially have a gear-head problem.
it's been building for a few months now but i can't stop talking about how great MSR denali snowshoes are for their light weight and durable frame with modular float tails in a variety of lengths to match weight and conditions nor can i stop looking at gear. like the marmot ski pack...their newest one...it's light, has a horseshoe frame with a plastic back form to support you and can take skis any which way but sunday. it has a rope stash on top and is made to attach crampons and snowshoes to. it is made for winter ascents with randonee ski setups. so i want it but don't need it. i have an ascent pack already but it's not made for it. it's a technical daypack and it rocks for summer backpacks when you can go without much gear. it's rated to 29 lb. and will take a 3L hydration resivoir. it's a great little pack. but i want a pack for ski touring. i want it big and i want it with features. so i'm looking for it. it's taking a while. not many big companies have these types of packs, surprisingly. they're gearing toward mountaineers and not alpine tourers.
but that's alright.
i've just got a bad habit of finding the most awesome gear and loving it too much.

in other news i'm doing quite well.
i just made another $100 today and i'm happy for it.
plus i get to work at REI all day starting at 1p. it's gonna be great.

i've found myself yearning to get outside so i'm trying to plan a climbing trip on friday. we'll see how i go with that. it should be good fun. i haven't been in a few years so i'm going to blow but it'll be great fun even so. i'll get pictures, i'm sure. it'll be great. more stuff to put up on the wall at work.
that is all for now.

This is something to keep in mind in the bad times

Written by an Australian Dentist...
To Kill an American

You probably missed it in the rush of news last week, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American. So an Australian dentist wrote an editorial the following day to let everyone know what an American is . so they would know when they found one. (Good one, mate!!!!)

"An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Canadian, Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani or Afghan.

An American may also be a Comanche, Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, Seminole or one of the many other tribes known as native Americans.

An American is Christian, or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan. The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses.

An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God.

An American lives in the most prosperous land in the history of the world. The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes the God given right of each person to the pursuit of happiness.

An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need, never asking a thing in return. When Afghanistan was over-run by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country! As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan.

Americans welcome the best of everything...the best products, the best books, the best music, the best food, the best services. But they also welcome the least.

The national symbol of America, The Statue of Liberty, welcomes your tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless, tempest tossed. These in fact are the people who built America. Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning of September 11, 2001 earning a better life for their families. It's been told that the World Trade Center victims were from at least 30 different countries, cultures, and first languages, including those that aided and abetted the terrorists. So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did General Tojo, and Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung, and other blood-thirsty tyrants in the world. But, in doing so you would just be killing yourself. Because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American.

a preacher from the East expects me to know the least

hey all, sorry about not posting for a while. i've been busy working, working on the bike, visiting sara at school and getting outside.
i went on a trip into the mountains with the intention of climbing a number of peaks. so i set off with a fully loaded 50+ lb. pack to points unknown. got snowed on all day and night- about a foot and a half to be exact- and came back down without bagging a single peak. i still had a great time with my co-workers, though, and had some great, quiet time in the pristine outdoors that i'm just starting to get to know here in washington. we've got three ski areas open here now! it's the earliest that they've opened ever!! guess that my little snowball of prayer on my vest at work is working. i'm happy.
i'm working on making a carrying box for my bike that is appropriately quirky. i've got two wine crates that i'm modifying to fit together like a clam shell. i've got some fancy latches and a locking mechanism for the other side. it's going to look stupendous. i'll post pictures. i'll also find pictures of the trip...that link is to a site of one of the guys i went with. just click on the last link for vesper peak- it's number 12. i'm the front one in the fifth picture. it was great!
let me know how you all have been, too.
that is all.