ACL and Becoming a Local Native (to Austin)

Well, we arrived a day before the festival, and then it was all festival all the time. Well, we did go to First Thursdays on South Congress--a monthly freakout in the streets. We ate some pizza, saw some boobs, drank beer, marveled at the city, and saw some live music while playing ping pong. That night, and the days of the festival, we road our bikes about 6.2mi each way, and that was when we went directly and didn't meander through down town streets, and haunts and bars.

DAY 1 - Late arrival--walked in on the opening of Spoon--I love them but I needed a bratwurst and a beer. So we skedaddled to the food court. Then we jived and gyrated our way over to meet Joey's cousin, and saw some dude, who was discovered playing electric slide guitar in a church--he was good, but not great. We then pushed off to the Strokes, and I tell you what--THEY WERE AWESOME! The intoxicated front man was dropping quips an ad-libs amidst stumbling here and there, with his one leg in a walking cast. "A lot of attractive women come out of the wood work, when you start getting a little famous...I'm just sayin'...I calls it likes I sees it...I shoot from the hip," he drooled over the mic while sloshing around the stage. They played a lot of hits, which I had forgotten I knew. They rocked and Phish stunk--it was so frumpy dump dump, and Coombya My Lord, that we promptly headed out into the night. We ventured into down town Austin, and hit a bar called Kung-Fu: a great little place with board games, and arcade games from my youth. You may remember such titles as: Street Fighter II or Mortal Combat. I mean there was NBA JAM and Pacman and Donkey Kong, consequently Joe is phenomenal at video games, Gorlick and I, both noted this fact, but I digress. We also learned that ski-ball was free, but no one else knew that, so we got a ton of quarters for free. On our way home we got some tacos, I spoke some Spanish, and we watched some guy throw ice/snow balls at another friend across the street. It was all good--then biked it back and got philosophical about life.

DAY 2 - Early arrival and we locked in for a great spread including, DeadMau5, a little LCD Soundsystem, The XX, Monsters of Folk, Local Natives, and Muse. Local Natives were indeed the highlight for me, for I realized this: I had been listening to their album, Gorilla Manor, since February, and truly they had been the score to so many adventures over the last year, that to see them live, singing those songs, was sort of a phenomenal culmination of the several preceding months, and in my eyes, the perfect greeting to a new city. Then the next big thing was Muse. This was Joey's big band. He had the shirt, had already seen their concert in San Diego, and was enthusiastic to say the least. Although I did not know the songs that well, I respected the musicianship, the caliber of the performance, and the over the top theatrical rock (think a modern day Queen, with a little Radiohead esque vocal vibratto). Their laser show was also down right amazing, and it was, as Joe had promised, a fuckin' spectacle to behold. The show was good, and coupled with Joey's enthusiasm, it was awesome.

Day 3 - I hung around the house until later in the afternoon, and arrived just in time to see The Flaming Lips do their thing--they are gurus of the live show; they are mystical sage like rockers; they are awesome--I didn't know all the songs, but I didn't care, it rocked hard. I then saw The National after meeting up with my bud, Loren and his friend Dory. We jibber-jabbered, and then I headed off to food. We left the park for the last time, as The Eagles finished up, Hotel California.

Now, life has set in, and I am getting on it. Although, I have been inside a lot, I have been computer hunting for jobs, and amidst a lot of no replies from labor jobs, dog walking positions, writing jobs, and so forth, a diamond in the rough has presented itself: Tecolote Farms of Austin, TX. I got their info after looking at a Local Harvest page for their farm, which I was directed to by Greenling: an organic food delivery service which I applied to earlier that day. Well turns out that Katie and David, the proprietors of Tecolote, are UCSC graduates. It is freaking amazing to me, how Santa Cruz, although I am away, has found a way to dig itself into my life in the most beautiful of circumstances. I was fortunate enough to have the Mendozas down in Mexico City, frolicked with the infamous Bus Lady, while back in LA, and hopefully now, a job which will provide knowledge, hard work, income, and beautiful relationships (with earth and humans), will again be birthed from the beauty that is Santa Cruz, Ca. On that note, I have been reading my friend Mr. Free's blog, Glimpses of Freedem, and after a year abroad in Japan, he has come back to the gifts of Santa Cruz, and he is now fronting a live hip-hop ensemble. It is all very exciting stuff to watch someone harness their creative energy in such dynamic ways. In his blog, he spoke about how Native Americans, would navigate around Santa Cruz, when traveling the California coast line, in order to go around the known magnetic fields that resided there--perchance that magnetism is what allows us to find each other, even when we are in far away lands.

Took Flow to the vet today, and the prognosis is looking good--we are doing some blood work, and we are going to do some more blood work at the end of the month, and see how her electrolytes are being balanced. I have whittled her down to 2.5mg of Prednisone every other day, and she seems to be much more vibrant. The mantra I am repeating is: "There is as much to learn on the way out, as there is on the way in". How I apply this phrase here, which appeared to me during my Equinox labyrinth walk, is that I have learned a lot from Flow in my years, prior to this situation, and although I could try and rush to a conclusion (she has to have these pills at these doses, or she put be put down), I am taking my time to explore, learn, and understand what this new course is all about, and it feels good not to be hasty.

I have pictures...but I think they will have to wait. I am tired now, and I wrote much more than I was anticipating.

Update!

Well, it has been a few days of events.

Namely, since last I wrote I was struck with a difficult situation: After a day of hot hiking, Flow collapsed and went into a critical situation known as an Addisonian Crisis, which is associated with Addison's Disease. Addison's, in effect is a failure in the adrenal glands to produce the needed Corticosteroids in the system. Well, after nearly dying Flow pulled through, and $1600 later, she was diagnosed with this rare disease and told that she will need a shot a month and a pill a day for the rest of her life. My general skepticism of the Western Medical Institution, my dislike of pharmaceuticals, and my faith in the human body and the natural condition, leave me fighting tooth and nail this negative prognosis--the prognosis, with this regimen of pumping my dog with steroids, is actually good, and would allow her to live a normal life for many years, and then eventually the pills would kill her.

In any event, I am heading to Austin t find a new vet, and hopefully get a second opinion. The 10mg a day of prednisone they prescribed her has her twitchy, panting, and aggressive, so I am slowly weaning down her dose as we speak. I am going to wean her off them and hve her blood retested, along with the ATCH Addison's test they performed, which was done before she was fully stable from the crisis, and could lead to a false positive.

I am practicing worrying less about it all, and simply being positive and attentive to Flow. My mom was super invaluable in the whole process, and she offered me not only wisdom and perspective, but the venue to simply speak my emotions and concerns. Her and my dad helped with the bill, which will allow me to spend some money on a second opinion and further testing. I am going to be going to a doctor who runs a small practice, and whom started out as a military veterinarian back in the 60's--I am done with big business vet clinics!

Aside from that, I am on the road to Austin. The car is packed and the wheels are rolling. I am caravanning with my friend Joe who just graduated from the Navy SEALS, and who is moving out to Virginia Beach to meet up with his platoon. In any event, he is driving a big moving van, I am in the faithful 4Runner, and our respective dogs are riding with their respective owners. We are using walkie talkies to coordinate our driving efforts, and to talk about random shit from time to time. Today was a long haul from LA to Tuscon, AZ. Tomorrow, who knows where we will end, but it will most likely be a La Quinta Inn, as they charge $60 a night and no pet deposit for three dogs.

GOOD NIGHT!