The view from inside. (Trail Angel Ted's house)
After a lengthy spell of computer repair and photo retrieval, I've begun to amass some "Super Albums" of the journey, consisting mostly of my photos via the interweb, my iPhone and my camera, but bolstered with those of others here and there (I will give credit in these cases ya'll).
The rainy season here is Portland certainly lends itself to sitting in front of my computer and harvesting and organizing these Pics, which I'm happy to have after the Great Hard Drive Crash-scare of '09; three days after I'd gotten back and downloaded all of my pictures to my computer I began editing and organizing them when my
harddrive died. Not just started to go but strait up kicked the proverbial bucket with no warning. Even though my trip pictures (about 1100) were the only things not backed up, Recovery Service places quoted be $800-$1000 to retrieve them! &^%$! Luckily, new best friend and Mac whiz Jeremy was able to set me strait, get most pictures back, and hook me up with a fixed computer with fancy new stuff on it for about $300 less than a simple repair (not even photo recovery!) would have cost me at Apple. IF ANYONE NEEDS MAC REPAIRS, Go to this guy! He's the shit.
Readjustment to the "everyday" hasn't been so bad here in Portland. People here just kinda get it, both in the broader and narrower senses. Its been really nice to run into fellow '09 Hikers that I had the pleasure to walk with: Viewfinder knitting in a coffee shop, Fixit on his bicycle at a Cyclocross race. Lint on his tallbike and Miss Info going to work just to name a few. Its also been really nice to eat lots of Waffles from the Waffle cart, rent movies, drag huge logs and plants into my bedroom so I feel a little more "at home", cook huge dinners, see a bunch of music and overall waddle in all things Fat Kid. But it ain't the same as the trail, where you were reminded of the real necessities in life, and stresses, even over these primal needs (i.e. water, kinships, donuts), were few.
These first million or so steps are but the first. I've meet and hit stride with far too many too inspirational folk in between to not keep going. While my next adventure may be a bit smaller (I can only take 5 months off from the same job and still have it so many times! Thanks Matt!), the mode won't be too different.
So, keep posted to my Picasa page as it'll be growing with bacterial speed over the next few days. There're pictures of you and you in there, and yes, even you. I love you all, and no matter how you walk it, best of luck to you and hope to run into you all again along this great camino.
