Christmas...

I arrived back to Brooklyn from my Christmas vacation in Seattle just a few hours ago. It's nice to be back, sure, but being back home was splendid, and I will miss it and all the trimmings -- family, friends, food, conversation, sitting in the hot tub, and the rural environment of my parent's house way up near the San Juan islands.

During my trip home I traveled down to Portland for the Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks concert -- it was excellent. The material from his forthcoming record, 'Real Emotional Trash,' is pretty awesome, and a total departure. Most songs push the 9-10 minute mark but oddly still retain pop qualities -- still humable, still catchy, still groovy, and naturally, still hilarious in lyrical content. The show was at the Doug Fir Lounge, which is attached to the Jupiter Hotel. My friends and I stayed at the hotel, and the next morning walked around the city, hit a lot of record and clothing shops for a little Christmas shopping.

Today as been an exhausting day in terms of travel. At 3:45 AM PST, I boarded a shuttle bus way up in the Puget Sound, on Whidbey Island, where my parents live. It was snowing and the little shuttle rolled down the highway with a sleeping crew of passengers. With a blinking red light inside, it felt like a submarine. We then boarded the ferry boat and crossed the ocean. Every time I ride one of these huge boats I'm reminded of how much I love the ocean. I have many fond memories of riding the ferry boat, sometimes boarding on foot, others while driving my car. This morning, the Puget Sound was engulfed in a thick misty haze, and a sleet/snow fell all the way to the airport, where I boarded a plane bound for Newark at 8 AM. Now I'm in Brooklyn, sitting in my freshly cleaned apartment, once again part of the bustling city. I miss the leisure of Washington, the highways, and traveling large distances even to accomplish the most mundane of tasks -- the closest grocery store to my parent's place is at least fifteen miles. Needless to say, but between Portland, Whidbey Island, and all the bouncing around in Seattle, I traveled many miles. It felt great in contrast of the intricate, yet short-in-distance movements in NYC. From my bed to work, is not much more than two miles -- the most traveling I do in an average day.

But I arrive back fresh, and ready to dip right back into city life, with new mindset, and looking forward to the New Year. Plus I had my teeth cleaned, they're all ready too!