Kuhn: this world, and all of its inhabitants, are an amazing blend of of energy. I am continually amazed by the paradoxical nature of how infinitely big we all are, and how amazingly small we seem to be at the same time--we are like ants with incredible strength.I feel as if Los Angeles has blosomed into an amazing chapter. I arrived here sketchy and unsure. My homestead was different, and I entered in at a nervous transitional time. Similarly, the gravity of leaving Mexico seemed to sink in once I arrived back home. A nervous beginning has continued to grow into a deeper and deeper adventure.
Bike riding the great Southern California Streets, commiserating with old friends, taking on new projects, connecting with family, savoring the outdoors--it has been a blast. I am on the cusp of heading north, and to that tune, I tip my hat with great excitement and anticipation. The north brings more family and friends, and the baby steps to Burning Man. My money is flowing incredibly quickly, to such an extent that I think I may get back to Austin with a cloud dust gasping from my wallet, however, I can't stop--WON'T STOP! MUST LIVE AND LIVE WELL!
Projects:
After some expensive quotes and some desire to dive in, my faithful friend Curt and I took on the challenge of Changing all four ball joints and the shocks on my 4Runner. After some internet mishaps with ordering parts, Curt and I hunkered down. As per usual, the job was not as easy as it appeared to be. Curt and I are novice mechanics, and this lack of general mechanical knowledge creates a large learning curve. What took us 6 hours the first side, most of which was spent sitting, staring, and wondering, only took us 3 hours the second side, including installing the front shocks. In the end, after finishing the rear shocks at my dad's house, I have an improved 20 year old suspension, some good memories, new knowledge, and pride in a job well done.- I have a bike cart with my dad's neighbor Bob, which I will be welding together under his tutelage.
- I have recently inherited a small portable solar setup from my buddy Atom. Need to put some final touches on for Burning Man. But the intent is to charge all my electrical devices and run small appliances off of this setup.
- I will be making a hammock tarp (hopefully, god willing, with the help of Mrs. Maggie Kline).
- Burning Man car modifications and protections will also be fleshed out soon.
- Hit up a little mountain biking and early afternoon Thai with Shaggy over on the other side of the hill. A friend told him about Sullivan Canyon and Westridge Back Canyon. This is a sweet gem up off of Mandeville Canyon, which starts at the intersection with Sunset Blvd and heads up the hill. The place was tucked at the end of a wealthy residential street. The trails were plenty and it was exciting to find a great location in the city, that also boasted practical and sensible dog policy--GO TEAM!
- Met up with the good old crew: Played some golf with Kevin Elms and his pops, along with my dad. Kevin is an old high school friend, who's father inadvertently has also done my father's taxes for the last 5 or so years. We discovered the connection, after Kev Kev was working for his dad, and came into work, only to find my name sitting on his desk as the first client of the morning. Anyway, we played out at Camarillo Springs, and it was a great day. Also, hung out with Kev's roommate, and also former fellow Robinhood's regular, Matt Schneider. As always, the man, the myth, the legend is just a delight. We came up with the notion of SchneidFaq.com...a modern man's take on the world--questions, quotes, and considerations for your everyday life. Keep an eye out for the birth of that dream. At Schneider's new pad I also had the opportunity to catch up with the best of the best, my best friend, Joseph Ryan Harper. We spent the better part of an hour sorting out life on the sidewalk outside Matt's place--with a truly great friend, no matter how long it has been, there is always the ability to get right to the good stuff in life, without the awkward ego shit. We dove in. The conversations were real and powerful, and a testament to a fellow journeyer. And last but not least, today, I spent a great evening of food, conversation and playing music with two Kindred souls: Mr. Atom Junod and Mr. Michael O'Palko. We jammed for about 2 hours and it was all the right rhythms, chords and melodies--I LOVE LIFE!
- Last night took me up to Angeles National Forest with my mom. Since I have been home, and perhaps even before that, my mother has made it explicit that her intention was to go camping for a night, while I was home. With some minor research, the purchase of a National Forest Adventure pass from Big 5 Sports, and various camping supplies, the decision was made to camp at Guffy Campground (8200ft (2500m)) in the Angeles National Forest, along the border of the San Bernadino National Forest, and directly in the path of the Pacific Crest Trail. We took a midday hike after setting up camp. We enjoyed an early evening dinner of filet mignon and potatoes, and a bottle of wine (man if I had been on a date, I would have gotten brownie points).
- We were piled in for bed by 8:30. The wind howled all night, and the heavy moon sailed through branches. Chops anti barking collar was not functional, and he spent most of the night barking the one group of campers who arrived late at night (morning would show a pile of beer cans littered their campsite). The night was my first run in my Warbonnet Blackbird. It was a process of finding the right and angle and the right hang. I have decided that I like a nice high hang; I like my thermarest fairly taught, for a nice cold barrier and stability; I like to lay on a side angle and make use of my footbox. We arose with the sun, had some instant coffee, and wound our way through the Angeles Crest Highway listening to Dave Matthews Band and talking life. We were home around midday, and it was 100% awesome from start to finish. What a beautiful way to spend a night, and it is so freaking close, who would believe it.
- Next we come to all things cosmic. Over the last few weeks my mind has been swirling. Some of you, may recall many years ago that I had a radio show, that I was in grad school, and that I lived in Santa Cruz, Ca. Well when those three things made up my life, I had an incident with a beautiful young lady on a bus. We had a chance encounter, where the bus driver hit the gas, she fell in my lap, we had a moment, mutually let it pass and regretted it, and so forth. Long story short, I found her again by placing a picture of myself at all the bus stops on the UCSC campus, she called me, and we have remained in contact since then. When we met, the timing was a bit off (it was her first year at UCSC, I was teaching, yada yada yada) and we agreed to let the romantic implications sit on the sidelines for the time being. Well, the Bus Lady is back here in LA; a native to Chatsworth, we have had the opportunity to reconnect in a non digital form (although a lot of narcissistic photos
have been snapped while in each other's company). Regardless, an initial stiff conversation, very formal and surface level, gave way to a deluge of wild and exciting honesty. As if our minds have been and are, zip lining thoughts, we conversed on everything from similar life philosophies and music, to Earthships, the outdoors, and synchronous situations--the shere amount of similarities are too abundant to be written off as an anomaly of chance--or at least we have decided to elevate the status of these aptly dubbed, "cosmic connections" (a million hippies just got their dreadlocks, at the utterance of that phrase). Anywho, plans to hang out one evening have blossomed into several evenings of conversation, good food, urban exploring, and mounting attraction. The synchronicity is undeniable although the timing is still a little off. Regardless, it is truly amazing to meet someone, and have the type of connection and interest that you dream of, or at least are told to dream of. Perhaps we have both mutually hallucinated the perfection and intrigue we see in the other person; perhaps we are just projections of our sub conscious desires (HELLO INCEPTION!). However, I would like to believe that I have the freedom to trust the accuracy of my intuition. I do trust that this stunning, articulate, intelligent, goofy, visionary, and exciting lady, has been placed in my life for a reason, and hence, embracing the lunacy of the present moment, is an absolute must--in this land there are only yes's to be dealt with. There is simply nothing insidious about it.
