Here it is, May 2014! To start, I 'd like to acknowledge the really really out of character weather for Arcata, CA. Today and the day before it was 80 F or above. This may sound amazing and nice, but the truth is that this is not the historic climate pattern of this area. We are supposed to be cool, humid and partly sunny. The thermal regime shift has truly begun. Warmer temperatures are moving North. This means more pests (fleas, mosquitoes, wasps, etc), less water, and poorer air quality. This is the new world. Am I surprised? No. Just bringing it up.
My Spring has gone by steadily and actively. I worked at a cafe as a dishwasher. Yep, I was a degree havin dishwasher. It was an interesting experience doing this (the job itself was not interesting but, what it did for my patience and ambition was interesting). I was waiting to be moved to prep-cook then line cook then cook cook so I can have a stable job during Winter and one that I could use anywhere. I'll probably pursue up that ladder again in Winter. It was good to have a job that made me have to deal with my ego when it came to how dishwashers are perceived by society. It was very hard work, not mentally. It was a good mental practice of "doing the dishes to do the dishes". This is from Thich Nhat Hanh:
. . . There are two ways to wash the dishes. The first is to wash the dishes in order to have clean dishes and the second is to wash the dishes in order to wash the dishes. . . .
If while washing the dishes, we think only of the cup of tea that awaits us, thus hurrying to get the dishes out of the way as if they were a nuisance, then we are not “washing the dishes to wash the dishes.” What’s more, we are not alive during the time we are washing the dishes.
In fact we are completely incapable of realizing the miracle of life while standing at the sink. If we can’t wash the dishes, the chances are we won’t be able to drink our tea either. While drinking the cup of tea, we will only be thinking of other things, barely aware of the cup in our hands. Thus we are sucked away into the future – and we are incapable of actually living one minute of life.
So it was good in many aspects. Not to mention the fact that it structured my time and gave me enough money (almost) to cover rent each month. Also it gave me insight on how ridiculous $8.50/ hr (minimum wage) is for someone to survive on. I already knew it my mind that it was absurd, but experiencing it was different than just knowing it.
With that, I had my last day of work last week. I gave my two-weeks notice because I got offered an amazingly awesome job this Summer. I had given into the fact that this Summer was not my time to go away. I had a few plans for little building projects around here and possibly starting 2 small businesses based in Arcata, but about 3 Sundays ago I got a call from one of the most influential persons' in my life, Sandy who is the Executive Director of the Lopez Community Land Trust (LCLT). I have worked with LCLT for the past two summers of my life. Each time has gotten me closer to my building ambitions and dreams in more ways than one. Sandy called to ask me if I wanted to be the lead (after receiving training from a Univ. of BC PhD Prof.) on a lime plastering project. I will have the opportunity to teach others, possibly interns, about lime plastering and how to do it properly with the lime that is available to us in North America. For those of you who arent sure what lime plastering is, here is a picture from Greece:
So what all of this means is that I'm going back to Lopez this Summer for the 3rd summer in a row. I have a lot of luck and graciousness for the life I am leading. I figured out it's all about creating "holes" in life for the right things to just fall in to. If there are no holes nothing can ever fall in to place. If things are always planned and hermetically sealed the thing which truly enriches a person will never have the opportunity to even be considered.
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| Sarah, Karalyn, Me |
In the beginning of the year my house got 2 new roommates, Nina and Sarah. Both are great. Sarah and I have been making music. She has an amazing voice and a real talent for song writing. We kept on saying thst we needed to find a female kit drummer in the area so we can start our Riot Grrl band, but there was no one.......until we met Karalyn. Here is a photo of our first night hanging out and going to a local queer drag dance party ---->
I had them put lotsa make-up on me to make my face hyper feminine. This leads me to my next bit of news: I am highly interested in being a drag queen and cultivating a hyper feminine character. As I don't feel hyper feminine ever I thought this would be a great outlet to explore that in a performance setting. Because dressing in drag (as a dude) for me isn't really drag because I'm super comfortable and it's just me with facial hair. But being a female impersonator impersonator or a female female impersonator takes me out of my comfort zone (in a good way).
Our first band practice was amazing. We worked so well together. We're thinking of the name Two Sided Mystery.
A Note: Sometimes in comments on here or on FB people will use my old name (i.e. Happy Birthday, insert old name here). Please don't refer to me as that name especially on internet places and also in nonline places (but this is harder, I understand). But especially online. Thank you.
I got to spend Easter on the banks of the Mad River with a bunch a friends and an impromptu picnic. What a wonderful time.
I'm still going hard at Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. learning more every day. It's really great to feel dedicated to an art such as this.
Here's a photo tour of the last bit of time:
I leave you with the cutest most ferocious cat of all time, Badgeit!
Sprout Out!
A throw back.....
