damn

Finally; the weekend.

Inspiration

Fleeing the terrifying "whomp whomp" of the dubstep circus that is my job, I chanced upon this when I got home:  Jojo Mayer in Frankfurt.  Yes! I think this solo is musical and Jojo gets a lot out of his relatively modest kit.  His cymbal selection is unique, and allows him to create trashy, ambient, washy sounds that are complimented by his articulate sticking and practiced dynamic range.

So now I want to practice, but it's 11:55 PM on Sunday evening and it'd be nice to get some sleep too.  I'll be at it early tomorrow though, at least until my Atoma 220 diamond plate shows up and I try to get some of these knives into shape...  I've been reluctant to put imperfect edges on the knives with stones that aren't flat.  None of my stones are flat.  I've been putting a fairly decent edge on my gyuto with them, but I haven't tried to touch up my yanagi-ba since it was professionally straightened and sharpened.  It needs to be run on the 8k at least, but possibly on the 1200.  I'll figure it out once my stones are flat.  I'm going to use the diamond on a cheap knife for practice too.

Yes!

the torture never stops

Or so the Zappa song goes.  I've been playing drums every day, and doing the Tai Ji and Gung Fu.  I've professed quite often that these occupations are all I need out of life, but I'm always doing something else too so I'm probably full of shit.

The version of this song on DVD 2 of ZPZ is excellent.  Dweezil plays his most original solo of the show, pulling some radical screams out of his guitar.

I can't wait to be in school again.  It might ruin my life too.

sushi spot

My work throws the best parties.

And everyone came, except a couple kids who are under-age.  Robert Goodman's was a good spot, small and intimate, but the music sucked.  The dubstep at the end got everyone dancing...

everyone except the dudes.  DUDE.

Hieroglyphics

It was refreshing to see a hip-hop collective that really enjoyed rapping that night.  Just saw these guys live here in Humboldt.  Super sweet show!  Independent emcees who really had a great attitude.  I could tell they were beyond stoked to be here.  The crew were running around on stage, full of energy and stoked at the welcome they received.  The pound or so of pot thrown onstage in the form of joints and blunts might have fueled their enthusiasm as well...if there's one thing Arcata has plenty of, it's weed.

Having listened to Obama's address this morning on the tax cut package he just signed, I'm slightly more inclined to push into current events and pull a blindfold off my eyes.  For quite a while now I've been immersed in history and ignoring the present.  It seems a prudent student would focus at least a chunk of ones time on the present.  Regardless, Obama wants us to be bold and courageous, so I'll attempt to make him happy from without the political spectrum.

Been working on my drums a lot, much more on my hands though.  They're doing alright; Paul seems fairly content with my recovery from surgery and pushes me as always in the workout.  Tai Ji has been enlightening, as usual.  I'm slightly frustrated but ready to jump back in the game now that I'm no longer sick.  Illness is very frustrating when you're a 22 year old who feels he should be invincible.  Nothing like sitting on a toilet for a few hours a day to help that fantasy crumble.  Finally got my toe operated on as well, so maybe that won't irritate me as it has in the past and the poor thing is no longer so infected.

Paid off my bills, still have some savings; if I survive the holidays intact then I'll be well enough off to buy books for college in the Spring.  My Dad just reminded me that I have to buy my own phone this month, gradually weaning me off the teat.  Well, I've been spoiled long enough...

Lots of people want to play music with me lately.  This should be refreshing.  I've been making noise all by myself for a long time now.  I wish I could say that I used all the free time I've had to do plenty of serious wood shedding and improved a lot.  Perhaps I have, somewhat, but it's never enough.

sweet!

Just got home.  Woooooooooooh.  Now to unpack and do laundry.  My 275mm Yanagi is coming back perfectly flat and sharper than most razors, it should arrive in a couple days.  The repair ended up costing 85.00 after shipping, but who cares? It's still cheaper than a new knife and in better condition.  In the future hopefully I'll be doing that myself though...

Boston was sick, can't get enough of it.  The weather would get old though.  I want to go through the fine art museum there a dozen more times, the budhist section was awesome, and I saw Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh...!!!  All sorts of neat stuff from the pyramids in Cairo too.  Stepped into a hole in the wall jazz club and watched some Berklee kids cruise through a bunch of straight ahead stuff.  It was fun.  Brandy and Tiven took Hannah and I out to the Italian district for some dope food and good wine.  The pumpkin ravioli and truffle foam were awesome, but I liked the dessert best.

Florida was much warmer.  Swimming in the ocean with just swim trunks and some perfect waves in the middle of a rainstorm is surreal.  I've never been in ocean water much warmer than 50 degrees F.  Went out to some excellent sea food with the 'rents and learned how to surf (well, I suck at it so far, but it is fun).  I met a bunch of crazy relatives and had a good time with lots of food and family, hot weather and all that.  Spent the last few days visiting my Niece and Nephew in Cocoa at my sister Kristin's place.  Her and Davin took us out to sea world and we had a blast surfing.  Lots of good pictures for posterity and all...

sooo close

Leaving for Boston in 11 days... !  I can't wait.  In between I'm still finishing cleaning up my drum kit, tuning all the new heads (they settle over time and warp back out of tune, see...) and working out on my new practice pad.  I've been doing hand drills in front of my computer with headphones on listening to Jojo Mayer lecture on technique.  My fingers are all sore.  My whole body is sore, actually.  I've been working out officially for about three weeks now, 2-3 hours a day at Paul's gym doing Gung Fu and Tai Ji.  It's a big change from just stretching and working and eating and living.

My knife is still getting worked on, I guess.  I had no idea it would take so long.  Next time this happens (cross my fingers that it doesn't) I'll just try and fix it myself and pay the hundred bucks for a new knife if I mess up.  There's a new sushi chef at work but he's an old hand from Tomo so he mostly knows what's up.  The guy wants to be a cop...crazy...

I have to fix my bike tomorrow, the damn brakes are all wonky and they're grabbing the tires all the time.  Should just take a hex wrench and some elbow grease.  I just got off work and I'm dead tired, Hannah's home now so I guess I'll call it a night.

gardening

I need to put some pics up of this amazing house I live in.  Most recently: the Outside.  Chris, Hannah, Stephanie and I just did hours of work on the garden, and it is transformed.  We've started laying landscaping fabric down after pulling up mountains of weeds, rocks, and old dead plants.  We need to finish that, build raised beds, condition our soil with hay and compost and all that jazz, but it's looking so sweet already.

Besides that I've been jamming on the drums, and working out 2-3 hours a day at Pauls gym.  I just soaked my feet for half an hour in epsom salt and scalding water, feeling gooooooooood.

My weekends over tonight, but I kicked a ton of ass these last three days.  I have to sharpen my knife tomorrow, and all the other usual crap.  Weeeeeeeeee.

hmmmmmm

Life continues.  I have been working out at Paul's.  I have reconciled some childish issues I used to have with the man.  I'm supremely happy for him in his new life; although the schedule and his dedication to his students has morphed in different ways, He still provides an amazing and wonderful environment to learn in.  Hearing about his travels and his new passions lifts my heart.  The man remains an inspiration and I know I can still learn much from him.

Seeing Les Nubians and Beats Antique was super fun, but I'm taking a break to be more of a homebody while I work on my drumming.  I'm drilling with JoJo Mayer's "Secret Weapons of the Modern Drummer" dvd because his technique and musicality are inspiring.  I want monster hands like his.  Besides the monotonous hours working on my pinky fingers, I'm stretching my thumb and trying hard to make it work like new.  Paul says that when people injure themselves, energy tends to become blocked at that point, no longer flowing freely.  He says I've already fixed that, so now it's just flexibility and strength I need to work on.  It still hurts like a mother fucker after a shift at the Spot, however.  Oh well, here's looking forward...

My yanagi-ba is being worked on by a pro, which is comforting.  He's taking his time straightening the knife and putting a mirror finish on the blade.  I can't wait to cut some fish up with that thing! On the other hand, my gyuto has started chipping; I think the included angle has become too steep, leaving the edge brittle.  I'm afraid the next step is a total regrind of the knife...oh well, gotta learn some time.  Our house is making foccaccia pizza tonight, I can't wait to eat it! YUM.

what's up? what's up!

Hannah and I hit up Sacramento, San Francisco, and San Jose last weekend.  Good trip, saw family and brought back a couple surfboards! Now I just have to buy a wetsuit and actually learn how to surf...

Been hittin' the drums real hard lately, working on my chops and trying to fix my hand up; working out like crazy too, especially after I survived an hour with Paul and realized how out of shape I was.  Probably all the smoking isn't helping, but it does feel nice.  Tickets for Boston and Florida are bought and paid for now, I can't wait! I'm spending Halloween in Salem this year, should be a party!  I hope the trip blows my mind like I want it too.  Been going through Paul Stammets' Mycelium Running.  It's a good book but low on the entertainment value so far.  I finally slogged my way through Bucky Fuller a few weeks back and it felt amazing to finish that book.  The implications of what I've read are still making my head spin.

Still doing work on the house, took some pictures today, worked out and stretched out, hit up the community forest on my bike and went for a two hour hike through the woods.  I can't wait til' it rains again and I can go mushroom hunting.  I've got a couple good guide books now just for fun.  Saturday I'm seeing Beats Antique at the ATL with a bunch of friends.  Honestly I'm going more to see them than Beats, but it should be fun.

Been busy busy busy, that's about it.  My yanagi should be coming back to me soonish, I can't wait to see how well it works when its not all bent and useless.  That should make my work life easier, and more fun.  It's easier to see Sushi as a hobbey the better I get at it.  Making people's jaws drop over a few pieces of fish is wonderful.

All in all life is still amazing, getting better all the time.  I can still only do four handstand push-ups, but I'm getting better at that too.

tansition

Everything always changes.  Everything always gets better, too.  Today I woke up early enough to bike to Paul's and arrived only a few minutes late.  I did the gung fu, and some tai ji too.  It was hard.

I had a prophetic dream of sorts the other day, it involved Paul, and then he visited me that afternoon.  It was the first time I'd seen him in over half a year.  He ordered chef's choice, as usual.

I'm more neurotic than usual today.

ephemeralization

Zappa's Stairway to Heaven is pretty excellent.  It made me laugh, anyways.  I'm about to head to the pool for a few laps, it'll be the first time I've worked out hard in a month or so.  Assuming I work hard, that is.  I opted out of the once a week drive to the CR torture session this semester; I could list excuses but for now let's just say I need to play my drums more than a few times a week before I'll be comfortable in that setting again.

Moving in to a new pad must take some practice.  I hope I do better next time.  This isn't to say that I've done much wrong, but damn it's the 23rd and I moved in on the second, I should be done by now, right?

Jeff says not to sweat it, it'll all come together over many months and gel.  Sounds fine, right now I'm focused on getting the garage cleaned up and then moving my kit in.  Gotta go buy hinges for the gates around the property today too, remember.

So it's just work and play for at least another semester! I make enough money to pay rent and travel, not to mention living like a king.  Life is good, etc.

yes

Life is wonderful, as usual.  I just read all about my big Sister's trip to Croatia; so far this year she's been to Belize, Rome, Copenhagen, Brussels, Bruges, Antwerp, Ghent, Switzerland, Belgium, and a hundred other places I'm sure.  She's a traveler, my inspiration.  Hannah and I decided we are going to spend Halloween in Boston/New York this year, so that trip is finally in the works.  We'll purchase plane tickets in the next couple days, after I tell me Sister and see what's up.

So! Boston, New York, maybe Montreal and definitely Florida.  I'll see my big Sister's pad, hang out with her husband I haven't seen in days, visit my little Niece for the first time (she's almost two?), see my little Sis in the meantime with her partner, and try and get the hang of flying and traveling.  After that we're gonna hit up other countries!

I'll post pics of my new home soon.  It's blowing me away every day, I get off work and within five minutes I'm home relaxing and stoked to be in this vibrant healing space.  My new room mates are old souls I think, wise and wonderful.  We all have this feeling that this step in our journey is synchronistic.  The art in this space is a continuously evolving nurtured project that seems to be growing organically, fluidly.  I'm so happy, I spend time every morning in the park a one minute walk from my home with our dog who understands that every day is another wonderful beginning.  Bliss.

Empathy

The only way to communicate without noise scrambling transmission is to be genuinely empathetic.

conciousness

Bucky Fuller writes that every individual living with the intent to better Universe has a positive impact on the whole system as an additional weight on the balance.

Paul argues that living authentically produces the same effect.

All esoteric-philosophic analogies are talking about the same thing.

Bucky mentioned that the ancients written language was mostly pictographic-ideogramatic.  People communicated whole ideas with symbolic imagery rather than broken syllabic drudgery.

Maybe this enlightenment shit was mass consumable and has been hidden through the purposeful over-complication of information transmission.

Maybe movies and stories and Internet are moving us back to that future.

still...

Watching the second dvd of Zappa Plays Zappa.  It's amazing.  Check it out as soon as you can.

And yeah, all that stuff seemed pretty heavy; but life is fucking fantastic! I get to move into a new home tomorrow, I don't work again until Wednesday, I got the rest of today off, and all I have to do is stretch and work out until my lady shows up for some beach time.

the anorexic space between love and hate

Am I spread too thin? I want to do everything.  Maybe being the jack of all trades and master of none is more than just a comfortable conjecture.  I don't really mind, I'd like to take my hobbies as far as my potential allows me too, but right now I feel like it's my lack of free time keeping me from fulfilling my dreams.  On the one hand, working five nights a week is giving me the opportunity to fulfill some of these; but the totally opposite schedules worked by Hannah and I is making us nuts at present.  I see her about two hours a day followed by sleep, she wakes up and goes to work, I do shit for a few hours and go to work, I get home and we hang for an hour or two and go to sleep.

Then I have two days off a week, while she works.  These are the days we see eachother the most, with the vice versa being true also.  Besides that, how do I play enough piano, drum set, sharpen my knives, read my books, practice chi gung, tai ji chuan, gung fu, stretch, study sushi books, prepare to enter school again, pack up my crap to move to a new house and then move to a new house, make breakfast, lunch, and dinner for myself, shop for food, play frisbee golf so I can see my friends once a week or month, complete errands like getting new tires or an oil change for Hannah's car, reformatting a computer or building one for a customer, clean house, do laundry, smoke a bong, take a leisurely bath, go camping, hiking, biking, surfing, rock climbing, walk on a beach, play video games, etc.

how's that for a run-on sentence? All of this and more (ever more) is squished into two impossibly slim days off a week of which much of my time is monopolized (albeit gladly!) by activities in which my partner may also participate so that we may actually see each other more than a couple hours during the week.

I bitch more often than I'd like to, as far as my ideal self is concerned.  Plenty of philosophical and/or esoteric systems of knowledge explain that I am too hard on myself, my idealized perception of what I'd like my reality to be is in fact a story I tell myself to passively frustrate and torture me.  With another Sushi Chef out the door, one leaving for three weeks, another for two, I'm feeling slightly trapped.  I know it's a dream, but in my dream, I'm stuck.

Chapel Perilous remains a paradox.

turns

Revisiting an old theme, this is my focus:
-play tai ji, gung fu
-play music
-write

so, besides that, I spend tremendous energy reading, making sushi, biking, swimming, hiking, bla bla bla.

Lately, I've spent almost no time doing the first two things on that list.  Over the last few years I've written clearly about how those are the most important parts of my life.  So?

Anyways, a good meditation, to think on that, and remember those things that are so important to me.  I'm moving to a new place on Monday, hopefully the new space and the extra time not spent looking for a place to live and thinking about moving (my last five months or so) will afford me the energy to refocus.

lies

heavy.  heavy.

quote

"In the present critical unrest of our world, where we find the greatest ideologically warring powers on our planet puppeting, through Vietnam, the dissensions into warrings of Cambodians, Laotians, Thais, and Burmese, it is clearly seen that the only differences between those Southeast Asian peoples are the rivers by which they go inland and upland -- to the same source of life-supporting water.  It is easy to understand why the Dalai Lama was located in Tibet, at the source of all their water.  That source epitomized God as the physical life-giver and -taker."

-Bucky Fuller, Speculative Prehistory of Humanity

Bucky Fuller

Critical Path is better and better.  In order to comprehend as much as possible, I've let up reading other books.  It got to the point where trying to read four or five books at once was crowding my brain.  A good experiment, though...

I get to move into my new house in Arcata in less than two weeks! Stoked on that, it's been a long time coming.  Recently the Sushi Spot crew went on a big rafting trip to the Trinity.  We spent a few nights at a nice campground with beautiful weather at ~100 degrees F.  The river was a blast to cruise down on a raft, I rode through rapids with just a life jacket and jumped off many rocks.  Got a little sunburned too.

Still struggling to sharpen my knives.  Well, knife.  I have finally figured out (perhaps) the whole development of the burr and all that leading to a fairly wicked sharp edge on my gyuto.  For some reason though I can't get the back third of my yanagi to sharpen; maybe I'm trying too hard.  I'm down to sharpen my knives every day, but I wonder also that my gyuto's edge begins to soften after about 10 hours of heavy use.  This might have to do with the fairly steep included angle of the edge, or I just have a lot more to learn about sharpening.  I'm still just using the one stone, a 1200x Bester.

I find that I'm missing the company of some few old friends who live far away now.  Perhaps a selfish apprehension, I wish to share my love of life with them at this moment.

beach days

Hit Trinidad beach this afternoon, it was beautiful as the fog lifted.  All the surfers and my inability to enter the waves due to cold left me wishing for a wetsuit and a board.  Since I have that money now, I'm going to do it.  All reports are that learning to surf in Humboldt County requires some serious cajones and a lot of dedication.  Whatever, everything else does too.  I just want to be out in all that water...

I'm headed back out, my girl had to run and do some shopping with a friend, so I'm taking my uncle's all steel Miyato road bike out to Clam Beach for some chill time and head space.  I love the Summer.

multiplicity

The staggering variety and wonder of life on this spaceship inspires me.

Masters of Rowdy Bliss

I'm listening to Miles Davis - Blue Miles - "'Round Midnight."  NOPE! Scratch that, distracted by Ron Carter and Herbie Hancock playing "Agitation" in Stockholm, Sweden, in '67 on YouTube.  What an amazing time I live in.  I am showered with blessings :D

Hannah bought a book for us called Pronoia.  It took me a few days to pick it up, really, as I'm attempting to read the books I listed earlier at the same time.  The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz, and The Morning of the Magicians by Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier.  Just to make things easy I'm listening to Wayne Shorter solo on "Footprints" from the same concert. I'm also reading the latest Modern Drummer which features Paul Gilbert's drummer and amazing hand-made artisan cymbals from Turkey, a book my coworker Jake offered me titled The Japanese Kitchen by Kimiko Barber, which is excellent although I've only read through the introductory history and ways to use old rice to make fabulous food.  I've recently read and viewed many books dealing with my current Profession, sushi crafting (including The Story of Sushi once titled The Zen of Fish.) and been overwhelmed with new things to study and learn.  I'm attempting to mold myself into a virtuoso pianist and multi-percussionist, an erudite multi-instrumentalist of inspirational artistry.  I've brainstormed purchasing software, hardware, and books on recording myself so that I can broadcast my multifaceted beauty over YouTube, Facebook, and the internet in general.  Maybe this blog too.

It doesn't even look like Miles is working hard for this show.  Playing the trumpet is like breathing for him.  I have to achieve this for myself as well.  The channel just changed to John Coltrane playing Alabama with his quartet: McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, Elvin Jones and Himself in 1963.

This feels slightly similar to previous late night interludes extruding text for papers to win glorious A grades from adoring teachers without all the pressure and stress, but plenty of boundless developing joyful exuberance.

I love my life, and life, and all of this THIS.

mind blown

Went to harmony fest, that was a learning experience.  Good memories and some silly mistakes that I won't have to make again.  Since then Hannah and I went camping out on the Smith river, amongst beautiful coastal redwoods.  I've read and learned a lot about sushi, and have been working out and practicing my instruments again.  Life is fucking amazing.  Clay has a girlfriend for the first time since I've known him, and Jeff is getting laid too.  Excellent.  I've been taking lots of pictures; I'm considering buying a nice camera.  Who knows where yet one more hobby will take me.  Recently I've wanted to surf, so I'm looking for a wetsuit.  The search for a house in Arcata is picking up, but it remains frustrating.

Seeing Frank Zappa's Son at Harmony was a great moment, his vibes player was inspiring.  I'm reading Quantum Psychology, The Four Agreements, and Pronoia simultaneously as an experiment.

music

I had another music lesson with Bill today; he is impressive.  I feel fairly humbled and genuinely thankful for his tutelage, I think he can push me into new worlds.  Feeling apprehensive, I awoke early, considering my partying.  Dub-step dance parties usually lead to late "mornings."  I cleaned my music room today and moved a piano my parents never use.  I'm going to attempt to take if from them, I hope I learn rapidly.  I will try to play vibes this semester, if I am able.  I I I I I I I I, and I again. Lots of Me in there.

I need to sharpen my knives again tomorrow, as usual, I'm getting to the point where I just really need to sharpen them every day.  It makes my night at the sushi bar something much easier to look forward to, everything looks prettier.  Maybe I can nerve myself up to go see Paul again soon.  I hear he's leaving for Hawaii for a week or so... perhaps when he returns I will also.

I do very well when there is an instructor pushing me.  Paul always said that I need to grow up and get over this... I agree, but in the short term I would love to take advantage of any opportunity to train with a skilled student.

Shiitake

Shiitake mushrooms! Mmmmmm.. these are wonderful to cook with, they remind me of the fresh mushrooms available at the farmer's markets in Santa Cruz.  I helped grow these ones, which makes eating them even better.  It's become a yearly tradition now to head to my friend Bill's house, and pound mushroom spawn into fresh cut alder logs, cover them in wax and then let them sit.  He does permaculture around his place, he says the mushroom logs help hold moisture in the soil and keep things vibrant.  Come the right time of year, the logs start popping shiitake out like crazy, big fat ones and little juicy ones.  We also grow reishi and oysters at his place.

 

distance

Biking from McKinleyville to Arcata is sheer joy.  The quiet of the bottoms and the view over the mad river make the 20 minute ride cathartic. One notes, with some glee, that taking a car or bus to Arcata is itself a 15 minute trip, at far greater expense.

Yesterday I started telling more people in my life about this trip I'm planning.  The more people I tell, the more real it seems.

Here's some pictures of the knives I bring to work.  These were taken before sharpening, they need some serious work! I also need some serious practice.

daze

Took some pictures of my pre-sharpened knives.  I'm super happy with the result of my yanagi, it pulls through fish like they aren't even there.  I've never had a knife this sharp, but it is queer to think that the blade has yet to reach its potential through my imperfect practice.  My gyuto is sharp, and capable, but I managed to smudge its shinogi line and I can't get the tip to sharpen, it is going to take time and energy.

My sister is back in Santa Cruz, I have a strong desire to visit her, maybe by Greyhound if that is the means I can find.  It would be good to spend some days in their weather.  I still feel that energy to go, to disappear somewhere I have never been except in my mind.  My job traps me here, and Humboldt, but I know that the only real cage is in my mind.  The Chinese healers say that it is our fear which hunches us over and destroys our body, crushed beneath the weight of our bones and terror.  Siddhartha merely pleads with us to wake up.

plans

Cool.  I've got a plan.  Hard as it is, I'm gunna hook it up so that I'm paying less than 300 dollars rent every month, which should allow me to save like crazy.  After Summer ends I'm out of here, traveling everywhere I want to go until I'm out of money.  First on the list is the aforementioned Boston, and I probably need to see my sisters kid in Florida too.  I hope they need sushi chefs in Europe, in case I run out of dough over there.

Meanwhile, Harmony Fest is going to be sick!  I'll try and post some pics of my knives later.  Its my day off, so I need to get some swimming, kung fu, tai chi, and drumming done.  Apparently I have to play some piano now, too.

Drums, knives..

I had my first lesson with Bill Allison yesterday, he has some different ideas about learning that I think will help me take my drumming to the next level.  Meanwhile this morning an email from Modern Drummer perked my interest with a tidbit about drum workshops going on in late August, in New York.  I'd have to live there for two weeks and its fairly expensive, but it would give me a damn good reason to visit my sister and her husband in Boston!

Today I'd like to sharpen my knives, I have to call Eric and see if I can use his stone fixer or it's a no-go.  I need to order one of those... maybe later I'll put up some pics of my babies.   It's not knife porn like this guy has, but we all have to start somewhere!  Gotta jump on that piano, bump some tunes and workout today; I can't wait til' this overcast sky turns blue again.

GO

I was feeling sorta down from lack of sleep and foods/waters today so I took a nap.  I've got to go to work in 30 minutes which is making me crazy.  Right now I'm scheduled to work every day but Monday and Thursday.  My two days off are so far apart it makes me nuts, it can't happen anymore.  Besides bitching about that tonight and trying to get it changed I woke up with three to five words bouncing around in my skull: "I need to go!" Followed closely by "I need to go now!" and other variations on that theme.  Part of me thinks its the rainy day blues or SADS or something but the rest of me is aware of the truth.  I need to go, NOW.

energy

I need to travel.  My plan is to set off for Boston via airplane and spend a couple weeks between there and New York, visiting my sister and her husband who will hopefully show me the ropes.  A quick trip into Alberta should let me visit my multi-lingual buddy Eric Ep, and then I'll take a plane (from somewhere) to Ireland.  I'm going to travel from here through Scotland and then backpack across Norway, visiting relatives.  From Norway I should be able to hit up Sweden and see my friend Patch Hof, if he's still living there.  I haven't gone much further with this fantasy yet, but I'd like to experience places that I've read about.  I believe that traveling will make me smarter.

I've been reading about Bucky Fuller lately; I was introduced conceptually through one or two of Robert Wilson's books, probably the Cosmic Trigger series.  I've just purchased a copy of his dymaxion world map.  It should be fun to study when I plot my future travels around the world.  I've picked up a copy of his book Critical Path, too: this should prove educational.

I woke up this morning with tremendous energy, I have to roll sushi at three, I need to do some tai-chi, kung-fu, and some drumming before then.  I have a music lesson with Bill Allison this tuesday, we're going to work on my reading.  I've been listening to Derek Sherinian's discography all day, fitting thematic music for my mind state.

more later...