I've been back and forth to Vancouver and various points throughout Canada this summer. Not as often as previous summers. This was the first year in a long time that I got to see California in July. T.O.F.U. is going well and we're all getting along pretty swell. The festivals we've done (Calgary, Yellowknife, and North Country) have all been grand in their own ways.

I'd had one hell of an emotional spring this year. Losing Maiya was difficult, and seeing her in May while I was in Canada made it even harder. I hadn't anticipated that. I thought it was going to be the best for us, however, it was so much more complicated than either of us needed. The connection between us was there, but the distance and the time away was murder. It also caused a lot of flip flopping, confusion, and concern over whether we'd ever be together even if we wanted to, due to my schedule. I've learned a lot from that relationship and tried to make the changes necessary to keep her in my life, but now I can see that these discoveries are going to benefit me and whoever I stick with down the road. I had never tried a long distance relationship before, or dating while on the road, or, at least, not very seriously until Maiya.

She changed her mind about us several times after May, leading me to believe we'd have another chance. There were a lot of phone conversations that lead to heartbreak and ultimately I cut off contact to spare us both anymore pain. That was early June and we haven't talked since. I am certainly always one compelled to rebuild a friendship with an ex, but this one is going to have to wait much longer than usual. Time and trust have changed who we are, and I don't know that we're right for each other anymore. But I do miss her friendship quite a bit.

Over the last few years, I'd been considering relocating to the Bellingham/Seattle areas in Washington. I had been for a sometime. It puts me closer to Vancouver. I have family and friends here, and I've grown to really love the people at Poetry Night in Bellingham and those involved with the Seattle Poetry Slam. This past July, my friend Art moved into a three-bedroom outside of Seattle. After seeing the place, I thought it could be cool to take the extra room, but I wasn't ready to bring it up just yet.

Lo and behold, two weeks ago I was hanging out at the Seattle Slam when I met a lovely lady name Jodie. She co-hosts the show from time to time. We hit it off and I asked her out on a real date, which is a rarity for me, especially when I'm on tour. The next day she had to reschedule and I thought for sure she was backing out, which was okay by me, but sad. Turns out, she was actually very excited to go on a date with me. Sweet!

A couple of days later we went out and had a great time. Amazing, really. It was so easy and we understood so much about each other so immediately. She's beautiful and funny and has a very bubbly, outgoing persona. Things have progressed sooner than I could have ever expected and I'm floored by how close I feel to her. It's all very natural and lovely. And much needed by both of us.

Last week, I went to the National Poetry Slam in Austin to volunteer and reunite with poets and friends. The heat was stupid-silly, but the events were awesome. There were only a handful of newer poets that really blew my mind, such as Shira Erlichman and , but I was stoked to see Alvin Lau, Danny Sherrard, Ed Mabrey and Robbie Q make into the top ten individual finalists. I haven't seen a Team Final competition at Nationals since 2003, because it's certainly not the best part of the National Poetry Slam by any stretch of the word. As far as I'm concerned, the real competition and slam fun is over after the Individual Finals the night before. Thanks to the extreme heat and humidity in Austin throughout the week, and my lack of consistent sleep, I suffered heat exhaustion on Saturday evening and sat in the hotel lobby being monitored by javabill and Oz of Boston Lizard Lounge.

I found myself missing Jodie while I was away. She had wanted and intended to go, but had committed herself to helping run a bachelorette party the same weekend. Had she gone, I can only imagine she would have added to the good times. In retrospect, I am glad she didn't, because I got to experience missing her, and we may have jumped way to fast into relationship well before we were ready.

I like her so much and it feels like we've known each other for a very long time. Last night we went to the Seattle Slam, which was also new National Poetry Slam Indie Champ Danny Sherrard's homecoming night, and I told Daemond Arrindell, Buddy Wakefield, Roberto Ascalon, Matt Gano and the crew down at ToST that I will be making the Seattle area my home base for a while.

I've finally decided to make a jump and settle a bit. It doesn't change any of my touring, it just gives me my first bedroom in over two years – a bit of much needed privacy. I will have a nice central place to keep my stuff, and traveling between Vancouver will be much easier on me. Flights out of Seattle are priced pretty fairly and I'm two hours from San José by plane.

I called my mother and asked her for her opinion on relocating to the Seattle area, and she believed it was a good idea. I had to check with her first. Even when I considered residing in the cities of Omaha, Vancouver, Chicago and L.A., I never really checked with her first, so I must really want to be here. She gave her blessing and followed it with a "but you're a grown man and don't need me to tell you what to do." She's kind of right about that.

It's strange, all these changes in two weeks. I've bonded so much more with Buddy and the crew around Seattle, along with Bob Huston, Nathan "Meat Friend" Dodge, and Ryler Dustin in Bellingham. They were my family-team at Nationals and made sure I kept my head on straight. Dan Leamen and Anis Mojgani were also very pivotal in my manic fun at NPS, when I wasn't bout managing or hosting or checking on venues or watching poets during day events. It was good for Dan, Buddy, Baz, Anis and I to get together since we're embarking on a sizable tour together in September. You can check out said tour at ElectricWhale.com

I adore Austin, Texas with great umph, and recommend seeing as much of it as one can, just not during a heat wave. Nasty-sticky-groiny-fumes!

I've certainly never been so busy at a National Poetry Slam. This one was excellent in how it ran, but the Austin crew, helmed by Mike Henry, Phil West and Sonya Feher, is a brilliant one at that. Plus, hanging out with Deb Marsh and Erik Daniel is always a joy. I am quite fond of them, as I am with twosnoos, Robbie Q, Joel Chmara, Sully, Tim Stafford and all of the Chicago crew(s). I was inbriated one night and was taken care of by Angela Martinez and Lindsay Stone, my angels of NPS, who ensured I reached my hotel room safely. I also spent a good chunk of time with Team Oakland's Dahled, Nazelah, and Aaron Gardner at the hotel patio. I hadn't hung out with Aaron in a good long few years, and we went to our first NPS in Seattle in 2001 on Team San José together.

I also got to see Rob C of Denver brilliantly tear up the audience in their semi-final bout against New York's LouderArts team, along with a stellar group piece by the Denver team called "God Box." I had loads of fun anytime I was in the same room with Wammo, but that has never changed. I also got to work with Paradox all week, which was a long time coming. It was good to reconnect with him in person, and to have some responsibilities together in order to help NPS run smoothly. Seeing Gabrielle Bouliane is always nice. However, I did miss me some Tony Brown. This was the first year I hadn't seen him at an NPS. I don't blame him, I just hoped to see him. I am also very pleased to have had a bit of time to thank Big Poppa E for all he did in early days to establish a touring route and method for solo poets. He's one helluvan emcee and he put up my hometown San José Team at his place, which I thought that was very generous.

In all, NPS this year was a blast, but not exactly with regard to the poetry. The best work I usually hear is during day events, open mics and in hotel room poetry tags with handfuls of variously intoxicated people, and this year was no exception. NPS is a great place to meet other people doing what we do. It's a nice respite from the day to day grind. Volunteering showed me that the spotlight I am under on an almost daily basis is in a lot of ways thanks to NPS. I've gotten a lot out of slam and it now seems strange for me to want to keep taking and taking from it. I think it would serve a lot of poets to volunteer every other year, whether they compete in between. I cannot say I will ever go out for another team, but I see no reason ever to retire from poetry slam. It saved my life and I am so grateful for it's place in it. This year has taught me that chasing more titles and taking stages away from new poets doesn't serve anyone but myself. I also got to see the inner workings of a major poetry event and it gave me a better understanding of what goes into making "champions" and "losers" and that most losers in slam aren't made in competition. Dasha Kelly will be taking on the NPS next year in Madison, WI, and considering how lovely and focused she is as a person, I imagine it will be a good time as well.

I returned to Seattle on Sunday and have since been hanging out with Jodie and my friend Art. It's been very relaxing to be...home. Now we're going to see a movie or something. This weekend I will be with T.O.F.U. at the Salmon Arm Roots & Blues Festival in B.C., performing with Spearhead and...The Pointer Sisters!

Jump!
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Word to the nerd.
2007: Go for it!