Me: "It's so strange that you can dream about doing something for years and then when you make it happen it just comes down to all of these mundane details. One day you find that you're actually buying the plane ticket to Spain. That you actually have to decide on the clothes you're going to bring and how you're going to get to one specific apartment in Barcelona among thousands of other apartments. You have to make that transition. It just becomes real all of a sudden when you say goodbye to friends and family. And all you see are the beautiful things you're going to leave behind."

Him: "Yeah, I know."

Me: "And in five years or ten years, I'll say to some acquaintance at a party, 'I lived in Spain for a while,' and that's all we'll say about it. They'll never know about the moments that led up to it, or all the adventures I had while I was there. It will just be a passing moment in conversation..."

Him: "It is strange."

Me: "I'm so lucky. Thank you. I love you a million times."

Him: "I love you a million times. You have to do this. It's going to bring you to the next level... It'll be great."

Me: "Eeoo bui gwate!"

giggle giggle giggle...

Nigel Hall recording tracks for my next album!

Mom: It sucks to get old

Me: I know.

Mom: You just kind of fall apart. It gets pretty grotesque. I mean, I remember watching my Mom...

Me: Oh, I know. I'll take care of you.

Mom: I can't tell you how comforting that is. I hate that I was far away from my mother when she as she got older.

Me: Well, we'll make it work. No matter where I go in the world, I'll stay rooted to where you are.

Mom: Or I'll come to you...

Me: Yeah.

Mom: It's hard when your mother dies.

Me: Oooh, I know. Agh. I don't want to think about it.

Mom: Okay, yes. Cancel, cancel.

Me: You still have a lot of life in you.

Mom: It's true.

Me: We're lucky.

Mom: Yes, we are.

Her: What do you want to bring into 2007?

Me: Well ... I know I want abundance and simplicity.

Her: What do you mean by abundance?

Me: Money. Opportunity. Abundant rest. And abundance in terms of the kinds of people I spend time with. I want to be surrounded by a community of weird, funny, warm, passionate, intelligent, disciplined artists.

Her: That's clear.

Me: Yeah. That's what I intend to find in Spain.

Her: Good.

Me: You know, I just realized that I have that community here in Portland. And I know there is so much more here to discover. But the truth is, I'm surrounded by people like that right where I am. And I appreciate it a lot. So ... I want more of that.