I'll be heading down to the coast today, likely in around 4-5 hours from now, and coming back before it gets dark. Orion will come along to keep me company, Cate's going to stay home and work, I believe. The purpose of the visit? I miss salt air. I have a present for Angel. I want to drive. I should spend time with my parents. The shop Angel works at sells glass pens at a good price. Oh, and I have another present for her. Hehehehehehe...

It's nearly 5:30 as I write this, and once again I'm up all night. Gods...

...if you could only see the world I see. The city is so beautiful right now, the air is cold and clear and there are lights everywhere. No smog, no fog, no rain, no clouds, a full moon and a well-lit view of downtown Portland. Gorgeous. I could sit and stare at it for hours, and have done so, in fact. This... this is the city, to me. This is HOME. This is where I belong.

My childhood was spent wishing I was in a city, dreaming of a Perfect City where I could get coffee and cake and comic books at all hours of the night, where artists roamed the streets, where stores sold everything you could ever want, where everyone was welcome, where there were always people awake, aware, alive. And here it is, Portland, the city of my dreams. VooDoo Donuts. Powell's. Sparticus. Hawthorne street. Belmont. The park blocks. Saturday market. The Maxx. The waterfront. Sandy. 82nd. Gresham. Beaverton. PORTLAND.

This is where I belong. I have the lifeblood of this city in my veins, to leave it would be to die. Here is where the next great musician, or artist, or writer, or inventor, will arise. I'm on the edge of my seat every day, drinking in all the wonderful things this city offers. So much, so beautiful, so glorious, and I get to LIVE HERE, how cool is that?!

So yeah. Got art on your mind, a strange way of dressing, interested in becoming something? Want to see the one city where you will be welcome, whoever you are? Interested in a place where your talents can flourish, your skills can be honed, your wits sharpened? Would you like a city that you can truly call home?

Come to Portland, folks. We're waiting for you. The city is ready.