Writing, writing, writing...right now particularly because I've decided to devote the next two years to it. I could get caught up in my word origin dictionary for an hour and not realize it (yes, it's sitting on my desk next to me). Naturally, travel seeps into much of my writing, both directly and conceptually. Hiking definitely makes me a happy person, and I can't get enough of the Bay Area's rolling hills and expansive views. Obviously, travel makes my pulse quicken, but some of the nitty gritty particulars that thrill me (or just make me laugh): zorro sandal tan, the ever expanding uses of bungee cords, crumpled, well-worn maps, all modes of foreign transporation, carrying your belongings on your back for a time, and getting shamelessly lost. That's where the real story always begins.