Ain’t nothin better than the snow-covered ground / Where the rain never lets to the snow in this town

Castle

I wasn’t supposed to tour this house because it was out of my budget, let alone buy it. But something mysterious happened when I stood in front of it for the first time on a rainy winter day in 2013 (actually my second day ever in Portland, OR).

I got out of my realtor’s car, looked up at that maple tree in the front yard, noticed the width of the streets, and this very modest house with an almost unreasonable setback from the sidewalk.

Then suddenly, a flash of an out-of-body experience hit me. It felt like a thousand good memories from my future found me in that moment, reassuring me that the choice had already been made.

I knew then that this would be my home for many years to come.

Now almost a decade later, with arguably more time spent away from my house than me being in it, Portland has become my preferred place for creativity and personal development.

The energy is great here and I can count on a good night’s sleep.

Music

Stories of journeys and places, stories of personal growth, stories of poetic love, and stories told from the outside perspective. These are my stories.

I ended up recording my own music because I had some stories to tell that I thought were worthwhile—and no one was going to tell them but me.

I’m not very good at music (hence why it’s not my career), so I had to become ok at it in order for people to give my stories a chance. I figured if I could make something listenable that’s 4-5 minutes long, it wouldn’t be too much to ask.

You can find my work on Spotify and Apple Music. The early stuff is raw and everything is pretty hobby level. I made my first album in 2013 in 60 days knowing nothing about anything (seriously). Yet it gave me a glimpse of what could be if I put in my 10,000 hours.

So for the last few years, I’ve been working on an album called “B-Sides From My Twenties” that I think will (finally) be good.

I expect it to come out at the end of 2024, a decade after my first attempt, and probably some 5,000 hours later spent on the craft.

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Photoroll

Recent photos from Portland, by year.

2024

Earlier this year, a friend and I did a daytrip out to Astoria to see the shipwreck of Peter Iredale:

2023