Portland is amazing. We walk down the streets and pick fruit to eat along the way. My friends are fabulous, we make food, create music, dance and ride bikes. They remind me what kind of people I need to stick with. People aren't worth your time if they make you feel like shit or don't have your back.

We play charades and have poetry nights. They encourage the ridiculous songs I make up. They let me draw them their future girlfriends late at night and pick me up off the bathroom floor when I've fallen asleep on it. They offer respect, not cruelty. Its what everyone needs in friendships.

We listen to our myriad collections of records, from Louis Armstrong to The Pixies to Crime in Stereo to John Prine. We're all individuals yet all connected. I love it here.

Osit left on Wednesday so now its just Mel and me visiting. A friend of theirs is staying where Osit was so I've created a little nest for myself in the breakfast nook. I sleep on a smooshed air mattress and write haikus. I'm reading a comic called The Walking Dead about Zombies. Its amazing.

Later on this week we'll be camping up in Olympia national park. Its supposed to be absolutely beautiful and I can't wait. I got very used to never using my wallet, and its getting thinner the longer I'm here in Portland.

I've begun looking into organic farming apprenticeships in New York and New England. I can feel that I'm on the wrong coast here. It doesn't feel quite right. Every day I feel like I'm carrying the distance in my torso. I know my family is far away, I'm in a completely different time zone and I don't understand a damn thing about the local geography. Tornadoes happen here. The Pacific is far away, and you can't just jump right into it. Its too cold. Salmon is fresh here, but Lobster isn't even heard of. It just feels strange.

These guys are all into the idea of me starting my own farm. Building our own buildings and sustaining ourselves. Creating a community for the local area to come and experience and work with. That's another thing I miss being here- lack of farming. I miss working with my body, with the ground. Having a set schedule which my body loves and thrives in. I miss waking up with the sun and setting along side it. I'll be able to do that soon enough.

If you want to hear a new song I wrote, go to the tinysheep myspace:

If you want to see a few photos of the boys and their house, you can read Mel's blog: