I found this picture the other day, taken at my favorite coffeehouse in Port Townsend, WA, a place I'd escape to every once in a while post-tour. My life at the time was changing frenetically, and I hadn't yet embraced the universe as a generally agreeable referee, so you'd often find me ruminating in a corner somewhere, yearning for erstwhile comforts or at least something that made sense.

I'm less emo these days, but I do spend an hour or so each day just thinking - sitting, still and quiet, giving my imagination free rein. I enjoy looking within my mind. It's how I recharge, and I like all the whacky crap rummaging around in there. I'm gloriously bereft of answers - that kinda thing's way above my paygrade - and savoring silence before boarding the pirate ship again seems like the right thing.