up the road a piece

I saw a proof of the magazine today, and this time I didn't feel like vomiting, which I think is a step in the right direction.

I'm not entirely proud of this project I'm in charge of--it's really not the kind of publication I want to be doing--but still, when I see it printed up, even just in its proof form, I can't help but get all excited about it. I mean, I made that. It's kind of hard to explain.

That being said, it's not exactly what I want to be remembered for. For now, it pays the bills, which are mounting, so I guess I can't really complain. At least I'm not working retail. I know what that's like this time of year.

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To look at the proofs, we had to drive up to this mountain town. It was foggy as fuck down here in the valley, but as we went up in elevation, the fog broke, and up in the mountain town it was a beautiful sunny day, and pretty warm too.

I've only been up to this place a few times, and it looks pretty dead. It's got that old, worn down look and seems to have one of those local hardware stores on every corner. It's the kind of place that looks like you can walk into a store and buy a glass bottle of Coke for a nickel or something. You can picture the paper boy riding his old bike down the streets and tossing rolled up newspapers on doorsteps, which is both serene and slightly disturbing. After the printing press, we ate at this cafe / deli kinda place that served big sandwiches and salads for cheap and was nestled in among tall evergreen trees. Sometimes I wonder what'd be like to live in a place like that. I think the quiet would kill me.

On the way back down the windy highway, you could actually still see the fog settling in the valley and trying to work its way into the canyon on my right. California can really be like a postcard sometimes. Sometimes, I just want to say, "enough, you're gorgeous, I get it. Just put the sun down for a minute. Please."