Baptized into 2005

For 5 1/2 days we camped in torrential downpours and unseasonably cold temps.
To the uninitiated this would sound like a really stupid thing to do.

But, let me tell you - it was glorious and to those of you out there who've done it - you know what I mean.
To be so out of ones element and so close to the elements is transcendent.

Once I gave in to the wet and cold, I felt as though all the sins and sadness of 2004 were just washing away. I was molting; shedding baggage and badness. Pretense - be gone!

I fell asleep at 10pm on New Year's Eve, shivering in my tent. At 11:58, my friends woke me up and handed me a glass of soggy champagne. I danced around the barely there fire in my long johns and enjoyed every drop of that cheap champagne as big drops of rain plunked into my plastic cup.

The next afternoon we packed up our mud-caked belongings and headed for our home in the built environment. We hadn't gotten too far before the skies opened up and the sun shone for a few minutes - just long enough for us to be greeted by a double-sided rainbow.