Oregon, Land of Fog .

I don't get to write as often as I would like anymore. Time is something that becomes precious and you have many internal quarrels as you try to prioritize things and yet at the same time give them all equal attention. Thankfully I have been able to read others' posts often and keep up with what's going on here in the blogosphere.

The winter season in Oregon is long, cold, and wet. It rains a lot. It mists a lot. And a lot of times there is so much moisture in the air that you just feel wet all the time even if it's not actually raining. Picture walking through a cloud that actually is the density of about 10 clouds.

The weird thing is, you can get up and see the world before the fog rolls in. Around 530am, which is the time I normally roll out of bed, if you look out the window the world is still. The traffic ceases to exist. Sometimes the rain patters against the window and the street, and the world is distorted through the streaks that form on the glass.

Several times a week I go to the gym with a friend and when we wake up, it's totally still outside. You can almost always see your breath, and our voices pierce stagnant air, disturbing it from its peace. By the time we get out of the gym, despite it still being dark, you can't see. The fog is so thick you could cut it with a knife. It's truly unlike anything I have ever seen. I'd take a picture, but it probably wouldn't even look like anything.

The coolest part is when you are driving through and it's like you come into bubbles of clear air. It's like swimming out of the ocean for a moment and then diving right back in. But when the sun does finally come up and clear out the fog, damn the days are gorgeous. Makes you remember how beautiful the weather really can be.