A Book to Read: Of Walking in Rain by Matt Love

Dark clouds pushed from the south creating a shadow over the Puget Sound. While some grabbed their repellent coats and umbrellas, I didn't even lift my hood. The rain fell, and I walked calmly to the bus stop. After boarding the bus and selectively finding a seat, I pulled out my new book. A new piece of Oregon literature, my eyes settle in to an author's collection of essays describing his experiences love affair with...rain.

After turning a few pages, an over-sized man who before boarding the bus used his backpack as some makeshift umbrella leaned toward me and said,

"Well that's a little ironic isn't it?"

I must have given him a look he interpreted as a prompt to elaborate. He continued,

"Well, you're dripping wet with rain and you're reading a book called, Of Walking in Rain."

I grinned and said, "Guess so," and continued reading. 

An Even BIGGER Surprise!

Even though I am back in the groove of a lot of work, and no play... My mind and heart are still at the beach. Noah went above and beyond this birthday. Not only did he surprise me with a beach house getaway, but he coordinated with my two best friends to plan the ultimate surprise!

Right before Noah and I headed to dinner Friday night, my two best friends pulled up the drive! What?! They came to stay the weekend with us! AMAZING! A birthday weekend away with my guy AND my two besties? 

Bravo, guys. Bravo! We enjoyed the beach, several glasses...err...bottles of wine, homemade (by Melinda) pizza, dirty Scrabble, 90's radio, and wonderful conversation.

Thank you for a wonderful birthday... I couldn't have asked for a better one. :)

This is my really confused face after spotting Melinda and Karylin.... 
I had no idea what was happening.

For more photos of the trip....

A Beach House Getaway

Just a short post about where we're spending our weekend! We packed the car up and headed out yesterday. We drove for 4 hours before I had any idea of where we were going! Either Noah is really good at surprises, or I'm really oblivious.

Our destination? A gorgeous beach house on the Oregon Coast! Oh the romance!

Cheers to a wonderful weekend!

If you listened to my heart, you would hear the ocean...

The ocean is on my mind. Next week we'll be leaving the city, and making a (oh so) brief visit to the Pacific - the ocean that raised me. Lately, nothing seems more important.

Gonna cruise out of this city
Head down to the sea
Gonna shout out at the ocean
Hey it’s me!
-ML

And other words on the sea...

Walt WhitmanYou sea! I resign myself to you also — I guess what you mean / I behold from the beach your crooked inviting fingers…

Henry David Thoreau
Creeping along the endless beach amid the sun-squall and the foam, it occurs to us that we, too, are the product of sea-slime.

Lord Byron
Roll on, thou deep and dark blue Ocean — roll!

John Keats
Oh ye! who have your eyeballs vexed and tired / feast them upon the wideness of the sea.

Richard Hugo
The Ocean has the last word on
possession.

William Stafford
That instant, that clear space, that bright room inside a wave

Led Zeppelin
Singing to an ocean, I can hear the ocean’s roar. Play for free, play for me and play a whole lot more!

Edna St. Vincent Millay
That I am weary of words and people / sick of the city, wanting the sea.

Rachel Carson
There is no drop of water in the ocean, not even in the deepest parts of the abyss, that does not know and respond to the mysterious forces that create the tide.

D.H. Lawrence
I am the sea, I am the sea

E.B. White
The sea answers all questions, and always in the same way.

Richard Hugo
On this dishonored, this perverted globe / we go back to the sea and the sea opens for us.

Neil Young
The ocean, the drug that makes you dream.

Jim Harrison
I sat on numerous beaches and stared at the ocean until it was an ocean inside my head. The experience was a world away from the American idea of God as someone who drove around in a dump truck full of figurative candy to toss to deserving people if you beckoned him properly. The ocean was a god unknown, galactic, and in her own quiet way maybe enjoyed the moon as much as we did, what with the way the ocean gets pushed around by the moon and her tidal energies.

Steve Miller
Jungle love in the surf and the pouring rain, everything’s better when wet.

Nostalgia

Refreshed. Rejuvenated. Connected. Inspired.

 These are my feelings after spending the past 4 days in Oregon. 

I drove down my parents' driveway and felt my eyes well up with tears, "I'm home". Emotions came over me as I saw the house that built me. My room isn't my room anymore, but the house smells the same. There's just something comforting about walking into the kitchen and the spoons are still in the same spot. However, I did get a little frustrated when I didn't know how to operate the new refrigerator. 

While I didn't want to have an itinerary, there were a few things that I did want to do while visiting home: eat at Kyllos, eat at Cafe' Mundo, Red Cock, sit on the coast.

Lunch at Kyllos

Walk the beach with Mom.

Before making my way North, I grabbed coffee and headed towards the sand. Again, I got emotional. The ocean means so much to me. It's the one thing that I could always depend on. The one constant. Throughout all the emotional drama a teenage girl can endure, the ocean was where I would run to. While sitting with my back on a piece of driftwood, I stared at the sea. I made a conscious effort to remain present. I did not want my mind to wander to thoughts of traffic, class, bills or how I forgot to change my voice message to 'out of office'. 

I don't know when I will be back to my hometown. I sat in the sand and allowed all my senses to work their magic. I was recording that moment in my mind. The smell of the salt, the grainy but soft feel of the sand, the sound of gulls squawking and the waves crashing, I watched the tide come in. I was even aware of my disappointment with the bitter taste of my coffee.  

After about an hour of meditation, I pulled myself away and said "see ya later" to the ocean. I began the trek up to Portland. I didn't get too far. For nostalgic purposes I had to make a pit-stop at WOU (old stomping ground). The campus has been altered, and the students walking the streets are unfamiliar. Why does everything have to change? I heard someone shout my name, and to my surprise it was an old friend. A familiar face!! 

Before committing to the drive to Portland, I make one last stop at the best place to induce a carbohydrate coma, my old work: Great Harvest. I've missed you Apple Crunch, Cranberry Almond Oatmeal, and Groovy Granola! 

To top off a fabulous mini-vacation,I have someone to celebrate! Happy Birthday Melinda!!!

My long-extended-long-overdue weekend was amazing and consisted of everything I needed. I am so grateful for my family, friends, the ocean, the tires that got me to where I needed to be, laughter, and even the tears. 

Home Sick

This is the world we live in 

Water we pass without a glance

Locals don't look twice

The tourists get out and dance

This is the world we live in

The rusting of our cars

Sand that ends up everywhere

Those midnight coastal stars

This is the world we live in

The beachcombers up at dawn

Creatures fill the tide pools 

Just listen to the ocean's song 

(Me, 2005)

It's almost been a year since I have been home. My favorite place to be: in the presence of the land, sea and sky. My feet in the sand, listening to the ocean and watching the sun dip into the horizon. My heart aches for the ocean. My ocean. My spot. The spot that was always there when I needed it to be. The spot where bonfires would gather crowds,the spot to skip class or have lunch. The spot that warmed my soul that July night, made me laugh that April morning…that spot where I cried over a broken heart. 


The ocean has been my one constant. The one thing I could always depend on. When my life gets crazy… I need the smell of salt to ease my mind. I knew how lucky I was when I would pass by it every day - but I didn't know how much I depended on it. Us kids who grew up together - we are somehow united by the ocean…. coastal soldiers. It's an odd thing we share; we all need the ocean.


I'll be visiting home next month. I'll be there for about 24 hours. Though it's not nearly enough time - it's everything I want right now. Home. Through all the chaos in the world, the ocean keeps me grounded. Sitting on a piece of driftwood, memorized by the rolling waves… re-energizes me. 

Smelling the salt air

Hearing the crashing of waves

Needing to be home