Living in a Parallel Universe...
This was something I really, really, needed to do...

Wow, 25 days since my last posting! I knew I was "in for it". After all, I'd made plans to move. And not just across town...I moved over 600 miles away. I first came to the Oregon Coast in September 2002. And it absolutely wrecked me. How? I couldn't get this place off my mind. I feel as if I were led here for some reason. I'd been back every year between then and now. And I decided, "I want to be part of this place for a while". So I'm here.

As the crow (or seagull, in this case) flies, I am approximately two miles away from the ocean. And if I drive north or south for 5 miles, I am ON the ocean. And, it's scary being somewhere else; after all, I'd lived in my previous location most all my life. But, whenever I've had the nerve to venture out down here, I've met nice people, and also have had soothing solitude, gazing at the vast expanse of ocean or watching the waves crash into the rocky cliffs that skirt the Oregon Coastline.

But, I knew I was "in for it", because of all the activity I knew I was going to undergo, in a move so far away. First, the pain of selling my old house. The crazy world of Real Estate just about drove me bonkers. Potential buyers, representatives, agents, and home inspectors all circling my property like vultures. But I sold it for quite a bit more than I paid for it, and bought a place down here. It took me 2 months to sell, but I 'spose that's par for the course. So all of the real-estate aggression was well worth it. I was able to buy a house down here and STILL put money in the bank. So I did good, I think.

So, I moved in on December 13th. And I'm still trying to get everything organized. On New Years' Eve, the day was bright and sunny, so I went to a beautiful park, located next to the ocean. The visitors' center is on a rocky cliff 75 feet above the ocean. Visibility is over 20 miles. The sky and ocean were deep blue. The waves crashed into the cliffs with so much force that the mist would shoot up into the sky, sometimes higher than the cliff I was standing on. And I can't get enough of it. I look at the endless horizon, where the ocean melts into the sky, and I knew I was supposed to come here, at least for a while, if not forever.

There's a little harbor town about 3 miles south of my house; a couple times a week, I just "hang" there, sometimes walking on the docks for closeup views of all the commercial fishing boats. Sometimes seals swim into the harbor, looking for fish scraps from the local processing plant, or they hang around the fishing boats, hoping the fishermen will throw 'em a piece of cold, dead fish. Other times, I walk on a little 2-mile stretch of beach just over the hill from the harbor.

At the south end of that little beach, on a HUGE rock offshore, sits a lighthouse. To the north of the beach, a rock wall ("Jetty") that was built between 1924 and 1929. The channel between that jetty and the jetty just across the inlet, to the north, provides big ships and small boats alike with a means of leaving the ocean to secure safety in inland waters, before continuing their respective journeys upon the turbulent waters of the Pacific Ocean.

The area I live in has about 30,000 people. I do not actually live in a city; I live on county land on a small dead-end highway, and there are residences all up and down the highway, so it's not like I'm out in the sticks or anything. So I'm not alone. But I can get alone in a hurry. I can have all the ocean beach I want; it's out there waiting for me. There are two small towns north of me, with shopping centers, grocery stores, even a Wal-Mart (which I try to stay away from), a multiplex theatre, etc., so all the amenities are here. Not that I need them all that much, for I don't. I did miss my computer, which was outta commission for a while, though.

I came here to meet new people, be a part of a new area, and try to find a new way to live this life. The "natives" here are folksy, conversational, and just plain nice. I stood in line at the Post Office, and the guy in front of me turned around and began talking to me, and I thot, "how cool". But, I can be alone here, and that is nice. Sitting in the city park of the town I recently left, I had people poking their noses into my business all the time. It's not that way here.

And, I've found some like-minded musicians who like to play, but don't do so with the typical "inflated ego" so many musicians seem to possess. I'm no great shakes as a guitarist or drummer, and neither are the people I'm jamming with. But, in a good jam, the creative process runs rampant. I found myself actually playing BASS the other night. Too much fun. (I don't wanna grow up, I'm a "Toys 'R Us" kid!!!) I am SO glad I came here, for very many reasons.
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The future of this blogsite: In my many previous postings, I did a lot of "photoshop" things. Well, I now have a different computer without all those fancy photo programs. That's okay, though. I love to "photo-satire", but it's an excruciatingly time-consuming process. I'll comment on things, though, preferring to paint word-pictures. Instead of a picture, you'll get a thousand words, ha ha. So, while I may be far away, but I'm right here inside your computer monitor.
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In closing, I know the perfect cure for homesickness, at least for me: A heapin' helpin' of HUCKLEBERRIES. (www.spokesmanreview.com/blogs/hbo) I'm hungry all of a sudden!