Flashback

So it's 11pm on a weeknight. I'm working and listening to Guster's Portland: Live on Ice. I haven't done this in a while -- not since I wrote the book. My routine then was to work all day, eat dinner, make coffee, come back upstairs, and work until about midnight. When I was done writing, I'd get a beer, come back upstairs and answer work emails, using Guster to pull me through.

But this time I'm up late signing and mailing copies of that finished book to family and friends. I'm starting to get feedback, too -- mostly of the "I can't even imagine how much work this took." I have a shelf full of research materials stuffed into folders and rough drafts full of edit marks to show how much went into the book, but I don't think I'll ever be able to get my head around how much time is poured into those 262 pages.

It's hard to believe that this book will be out and available for sale in less than a month, let alone that I have a stack of copies on my desk. I worked on it for far over a year. It's a wow moment.

My dad asked me tonight if I'd ever do another travel guide. I don't know if I care about any other part of the country enough to put that kind of blood, sweat and tears into a similar project (yes, blood -- I cut myself on a shell). But never say never!