Milk Chocolate, Turned Pudding

So much has happened lately I'll try to condense it without sounding too much like an itinerary.

First things first; I bought a ticket to Maui to begin my WWOOFing journey. YES!! There's no turning back now. The ticket is activated September through February, but if need be I could arrange a different date, sans charge, as long as the flight parameters are the same. Maybe I'm taken by it's beauty and I don't come back for quite some time, or hate it altogether and come back immediately (doubtful, but you never know). This is a portion of the Greenleaf's property.

I used some frequent flyer miles from United, which totally cushioned the transaction considering my "un"employed situation, and while not the most environmentally conscious form of transportation, I was left with no alternative because my kayak is out of commission. I'm very happy with my choice of air travel provider. They even comp'd me drinks cause their video was out. I find that an adult beverage or two helps me get over the unease of flying.

Up until the moment I clicked "Submit" to purchasing the plane ticket, my plans had all been tentative. A passionate desire cooked in a half-baked plan tied to a nomad's bindle. But now its real. I have a solid date to base something (my life?!) around. What was once a liquid milk chocolatey plan is turning into a solid, rich and creamy layer of pudding that forms at the top of the pot, the kind that mom used to make... where was I, pudding? Oh right, solid plans. That's not to say some unforeseen event could occur to prevent me from getting on that plane and traveling to the pineapple state, but all efforts on my part are proceeding with vigor and zeal. Could really go for some organic pudding...is that an oxymoron?

Freelance is coming in with perfect timing, and some rather large clients, so I've stepped up my approach and reformulated my portfolio. Here it is if you'd like to view. Next is the website. Baby steps, but getting there.

I got a new bike! A Surly Long Haul Trucker which will carry me and all my gear wherever I need to go. It came with a Surly Nice Rack and I got two waterproof panniers, a waterproof pouch for the front, fenders, a new pump, and put my Brooks saddle and SPD pedals on it. I also outfitted it to hold my mini solar panel, so while I'm riding (and the sun is shining) I can power my iPhone for music and directions. I intend on riding it to Santa Cruz and/or San Diego, and I'll be shipping it to Maui when I go out there. Very excited to ride this more, but coming from a fixed gear, it's a huge mental hurdle to overcome not having to pedal and using multiple gears with brakes. I don't get to the destination as fast, but my body feels better after a ride, and I can carry everything I need. I've also discovered this is not a daily commuter, nor a bar bike. Far too much trouble to deal with locking it up. I'd just as soon scoop up my KHS and whip out the house.


I finally made it out to my uncle's property in Mississippi. A two hour drive north from New Orleans across Lake Ponchartrain, through vast countryside, and a political dispute later (my uncle, despite our similarities, is vehemently pro-corporation), we rolled up to a one room studio house aptly dubbed Ed's Shed–my other uncle was involved in building it. Anyway, I spent the next 4 days Huck-Finning it around the property and surrounding areas. It was a sweaty and thought provoking adventure of tossing around gnarled cut-outs on a 4WD ATV, shooting beer cans with a Daisy bb rifle I bought from Wal Mart, writing and thinking, basking in southern sunsets, wrasslin with a beagle puppy that showed up on the property, picking blueberries and blackberries, laying floorboard, meeting the local hospitality, smoking copious thai sticks, and concepting on The Shire. The freedom and lack of restriction is unparalleled to anywhere else I've been. Lots of property to pretty much do what you want with it. My uncle is in the midst of finishing a two bedroom house:

and without inspection or permit necessities, he can finish quicker and less expensively. I forgot to mention he's a licenced contractor, so it's not like shanty town status. He found a shack that had been on the property for over a hundred years, and we used it as floorboards for the upstairs landing. Really nice reclaimed wood.

And it dawned on me, that more than a human female companion, I want a dog. I had such an amazing time connecting with this puppy, "H" I called him, and I really felt sad leaving. With a little training, he'd be an amazing hunting dog. Very smart, this one. I'd really like a dog friend.

Adventure, a la Huckleberry Finn. My uncle and I would talk extensively into the night about possibilities for The Shire. Building technique, methods, time frames, costs...



I was also in New Orleans to attend my cousin's wedding, which was lovely. Great selection of catered food, open bar, and one of those photo booths.
Family, the blood, my tribe. Never before have I felt such a kinship with my heritage. Not just the relations I'm developing with my immediate family, but the historical and cultural significance I've concluded of the south in a grander scale. It feels old. Heavy French influences wet my palate in art, food, and drink. The century-old oaks with hanging moss in City Park, the countryside and open pastures, the slavery. My dad did some family tree research, and apparently my lineage will trail back to reveal I'm a descendant of an enslaved southern plantation worker seduced by her master.

This may or may not be completely accurate based on spotty records, but even the idea of it makes me understand a bit of the enslavement myself. I just made a connection to something I wrote while in New Orleans:

The "civilized" world has taken us away from true harmony. It is a facade. A game set up with the sole purpose of self perpetuation through slavery for financial gain. The free world we call America was built on slave hands; from the plantation south, to the trains out west, and the rape of native lands at it's not so humble beginnings. "Slavery" has been re-interpreted for our contemporary consumption. We are slaves to industry. Livelihood, food, education, spirituality, ethics, and entertainment. Its even harder to get out of slavery now. Historically, a slave master was an actual person - you could see them, running away from a physical human. Now, the slave master is a shadowy thought. An unquantifiable, omni-connected bureaucratic web. You can't run away from this slave master, because it is everywhere, all the time.

So that is the system. Pretty shitty when I think about it. But its presented with a sugar coating for easy swallow. I taste the kool-aid every now and then, but the more I realize what it truly is by peeling back the veils of deception, the more I find solace in the fresh-squeezed OJ.

What is beyond the facade of tangible acquisition? I intend to get closer to it.

For me its not about battling the system, but more focused on not engaging in a broken system at all. I want to opt out. I'm not interested. I'm just gunna do my own thing over here.

Organic pudding and Fresh Squeezed OJ.

Active Shire Searchings

Pieces of inspiration and resource.

Untethered & Oppor-tuned

Five days ago I was laid off. Not fired. Laid off. A very important distinction.

May 7th, 2010 was the greatest day ever. A thrust in the right direction. A defining decision handed to me. The catalyst to my upcoming adventure which was already taking shape in planning and research. I can't help but give thanks to the alignment of space-time. Is there a reason? Am I fulfilling my destiny? Is this all meant to happen? This, I certainly know not... and from a philosophical standpoint, interesting to ponder, but ultimately I conclude, questions can be asked all day. I must act and walk my path with intention rather than question.

I am completely untethered in an endless sea of liberation and opportunity. Life opens itself to me like a lotus blossom, and I remind myself of Kerouac in some ways.

Without sounding entirely hedonistic, I do what I want, when I want. For me. I dance when and where I please, drink in the middle of the day, smoke reefer, garden, write, read, take naps, go swimming or ride to the beach, take care of stuff around the house and have no bedtime, nor a time to be up unless I give myself one. Which lends itself to an interesting phenomena... I actually like being up in the morning! I like the freshness of the air, the opportunity of the whole day in store, and the clarity of mind to enjoy it. The necessity of going to work is really a bummer on one's psyche. The chaotic rush of the morning commute, stressful workload and consistently late nights, all but shy of impossible deadlines and a lingering fear of getting canned at any moment, "which makes someone work just hard enough to not get fired." (Peter Gibbons, Office Space) It's no wonder how easy it is to keep the people fixed like sheep - apathetic, ignorant, and numb. But it's not their fault. A bit from the ole sketch:

The system, at large, exploits the earth, and in turn, exploits humanity. Controlling natural resources, and creating fake worth. In the end, what purpose does this hoarding serve? Respect for the Earth and harmony are more important than this. We are connected to growth of the planet, and it to the solar system, and beyond, which is infinitely more connected and closer to a "reality" of the cosmos than our human and temporal monetary woes. This incredible dance of cosmic wonder and arrangement is mind boggling. Perhaps the pursuit of tangible acquisition and wealth only serves to blind us from stretching to spiritually heightened kinetic possibilities.

But money is not the root of all evil. It is merely a physical incarnation of our finite comprehension of the concept of true evil. Which by all accounts, isn't really inherent evil at all, so much as it is the antithesis of everything... the yin and yang, if you will. So in the end, I question, is oppression and exploitation hand in hand with harmony and love in the grander picture? If I quell oppression in one area will love be extinguished elsewhere?

After copious research, and deciding whether to go vintage or recent (relatively), I was set to buy a 1984 Westfalia, but pulled back, deciding it would not serve my purposes right now, rather sustaining myself longer with fiduciary reserves than blow it all on the Westy. Perhaps I was living too far into the future and not being fully within the present. This blog inspired me and I had found an amazing deal on a restored Westy in Colorado. While the bus will eventually serve me very well, my imminent (and thusly larger) focus, I had almost forgotten, is going off the grid to work on the Greenleaf's farm on Maui. Some friends who are there now (and coincidentally enough stopped by the farm to talk to Bill Greenleaf and drop a good word for me) sent me a care package with "Things to Do While on Maui" magazines and pamphlets. I'm considering seeking part time work as a zip line adventure tour guide - cash of course.

I'll be purchasing a one way ticket next week, with indefinite return plans.

Based in full reality, I have stepped up my edible garden. Three different tomato varieties, a bell pepper (red/green), 6 yellow onions, strawberry (which are already showing cute red lil treats), cilantro, and basil. The apple, peach and grapefruit trees are blooming, and I've been using oranges and lemons for a couple weeks now. Having the leisure to be home during the day time is absolutely wholesome. Each decision and move I make gets me a step closer to sustainability.






Here in LA, full freedom can be dangerous, but I'm focusing and have set goals. Unless I give myself something to do, I have nothing to do, which is not saying much, because I'm always doing something! haha. Some project, art piece, freelance design, idea, destination, social event or adventure being planned, and most of them in many stages. Some half finished in production, some flushed out in concept, and others on the back burner until there's time. Nevertheless, I find that I absolutely love keeping myself busy, and without a job to enslave my time, I have plenty of energy and resource to devote to true passions - being close to the earth through gardening and appreciation of nature, researching consciously alternative lifestyle methods, riding my bike, traveling, and art direction. Currently in the queue:

1. San Francisco 5/15 - 5/18 for Bay to Breakers and visit with some good friends. Bringing my bike and will have to assemble it at the airport when I land to get into SF from the airport. I love adventure.
2. Buy a new inverter - I blew the last one I had by accidentally attaching the wrong ends to the battery. Luckily it didn't damage the battery, but I definitely learned my lesson. Plus to plus, minus to minus.
3. New Orleans 6/3 - 6/12 - a cousin's wedding, but my ulterior motive to go will be to check out the property my uncle has in Mississippi and look at topo maps. 200 acres of tree farm that I'll get to live on in complete solitude, hunt for my own food, channel a river, build a greenhouse, plan out The Shire... a modern Thoreau, I like to think. Next spring I'll be there for numerous weeks.
   
4. Danny Dichotomy - finish a blog website for a good friend and musician
5. My own website - I just have to do it... I seem to shelve this item frequently with bits of progress here and there. I need to complete this before I go to Hawaii if I want to take in new design clientele and therefore more savings.
   
6. AdLadco.com - a web design company I'm working on building with a Mr. Ladny.
7. Who Rulez - the golf start-up that my friend Joel and I began working on multiple years ago is starting to gather steam. He, as a pro tour golfer, is approaching some big name golf companies for advertising, and schools and universities want our services integrated into their curriculum. This is my golden goose. I must treat it will time and love.
8. Get my fuckin solar guy to come to the house. I just need to know what kind of readings I'm looking at. The numbers are all over the place, and I have no reference to anything. I have power, and it's all good, but I want to know my limits and how to make it more efficient.
   
9. CLEAN THE HOUSE - my parents will be back in mid August and it needs to be immaculate. I've taken to living here over the last 6 months, and have gotten to be comfortable with the way that I live in it. My shit is sprawled, and its my home. Needless to say, my generous and loving parents don't live the same way I do.
   
10. Yard Sale: "I'M GOING OFF THE GRID; come buy my shit, & YARD SALE/BBQ/PARTY" - I need to get rid of things, sell things, and go through things to minimize my necessities. Fortunately, I don't have much, and my bro will be taking most of my furniture up to SJSU for next semester.
11. Buy a new bike. While my fixed gear has provided me with countless hours of enjoyment and adventure, my knees are starting to talk to me, and I'm interested in doing lengthier cycling journeys. With all the hills in Hawaii, I'll be glad I got a geared bike. I'm looking for a Surly Long Haul Trucker for its durability and trustworthiness of craftsmanship. It's reported as being a little heavy, but for the money, its worth it, and reviewed highly in every other department.
    
12. Work on my geodome and solar box - my friend Mike and I are quilting a cap to go over the 8.5ft metal structure to resist rain and dust storms. I also need to stain and coat my wood solar box.
    
13. Drive to New Orleans, stopping in Austin? Work in the restaurant in Covington? Since I'm not working, this seems like a good option for some extra cash under the table, but I'm wondering if it will wear me out driving so much in a short period of time. Tentatively July-Early August.
    
14. Trimming ganja for a friend in LA for another revenue stream
    
15. Drive up north to the Lost Coast for some coastal backpacking and sea foraging. August 10th-15th
16. BURNING MAN 2010! Preparations are already in play, and this year I will not be staying with Midnight Ridazz camp, but just doing my own thing in the first come first serve section. We'll probably get there early to set up the dome, so we'll have first pick. It will be a nice departure from ordinarily being involved in a theme camp.
    

Each situation that I navigate through continues to point me in the right direction, and I'm very excited to see what is next. I don't think I've quite realized exactly how free I am yet. It will be interesting to review the progression with retrospect in a few months.

Until that time, FUNemployment serves me well. I think I could get used to not working in a cube. Furthermore, I'm beginning to see I should be viewing this time off as an early installment of retirement. I'm young, have money saved away, fully capable faculties and the energy and zest to enjoy it all.

Living in the now with a dash of anticipation.

I write far too seldom, but make up for it in content... I think. This is a bit from my sketchbook that I contribute to more frequently. It's easier to access and pleasurably tactile. "The overwhelming feedback I've been getting has been that people are amazed and inspired by my ideas, but even more importantly my actions. I see myself stepping into the role, and their energy of being inspired perpetuates me. So I will continue to spread words of love, acts of kindness, and inspire and amaze. Consciousness is coming. Liberation is necessary."

There are a few definitions in the English language for the word fuel. Here are two that relate more appropriately to how I am feeling.

• a thing that sustains or inflames passion, argument, or other emotion or activity
• cause (a fire) to burn more intensely.

I'm fueled everyday, by everything, but particularly in the last few weeks. It's as if I've reached an exponential boost of perpetual decisive life explosions, one connection leading to another and seeding into new ideas of equal if not greater perpetuity. So...

I've been reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, a book that is fueling my passion for getting back to the land and cultivating my own food through time and harmony with my earth. Michael Pollan follows the chain of food process from rural farms to urban tables. He actually purchased a specific cow, aptly named by a dated number, and visited it at locations it was transported and precessed. Peppered with enlightening facts (7 pounds of corn fed to a beef cow will only yield 1 pound of meat) and ghastly statistics (1 in 3 American children eat fast food everyday), this book fuels Atom Farm. Everything, I mean, literally everything (batteries, gasoline, "food", packaging, beauty products) is derived, then heavily processed, from corn in some way. And not the Zea Mays of our native ancestors, but a genetically modified and industrialized clone system of overabundance turning ecologically diverse, family farms into monocropped wastelands of capitalism. High fructose corn syrup is the devil. Seeds are genetically modified so they will not reproduce naturally, and farmers must go back to the dealer like an addled junkie each season.

But I digress. This is not a book report. I have been fueled by this composition and it inspires me to continue seeking a heightened consciousness and research avenues to making Atom Farm a reality. True consciousness, it seems, is not easy.

I was recently in New Orleans visiting family, eating seafood, and drinking; all in excess.



Its exhausting visiting the whole family, but hearty none the less. Always something to do, somewhere to go, out late drinking with cousins, a relative who'd have a one way conversation with me and fielding similar, "what have you been up to in the last 5 years," and "what are you doing with your life," questions. But I oblige my kin with pleasure, change it up a little or omit details, and if anything, it gives me the opportunity to hear myself repeat it for my own absolute clarity. "Yes, grandma, I'm quitting my cushy job to go travel and work on farms," and as bad as this could be for conservative types to hear, the response I get is quite the contrary, in being supportive to follow the path that is presenting itself before me. I also have been recruiting, in some sense. Two of my cousins are interested in helping build the Shire in Mississippi (my uncle Paul has 200 acres of tree farm in MS, and we'll be developing hillside hobbit style homes with garden/sustainability practices). I'll be going back to New Orleans in early June, for my cousin's wedding, but also to get a better idea of the land setup in MS. I haven't actually been there yet, so seeing it first hand will be helpful in conceptualizing layouts until I return the following spring to actually build.

Each day brings new experiences and avenues. I've upgraded my solar system to 4 panels totaling 55 watts of energy, now two deep cycle batteries, and a hand crafted box my friend Michael and I built a few weeks ago. He will also be journeying to Burning Man this year, and we've been getting nutty with projects and artsy stuff. I think there is a bromance underway. More on artsy-platonic-homo-relations later. With my solar system now, I have taken myself off the electrical grid for the most part. My Macbook Pro and my iPhone are charged exclusively with solar energy, and I can also run a mini fridge, some speakers, and lights. I unplugged almost all of the electric appliances in the house, and the usage bill for my parent's medium sized home was $15 one month. I get excited for the adventure of sustainability. I haven't had the opportunity to experiment with water management, but I anticipate this will be something I learn on Maui at the Greenleaf's farm (their name is Greenleaf, no fooling). Pictured above, (I love how they sent me one with double rainbow).

My solar setup: One cycle is charging a battery from solar, and one cycle is usable power from the other battery. Each are portable independently.









Last weekend, the new girlfriend, Caiti, and I went up to my family cabin in Arrowhead. What an amazing weekend. I tested out the portability of my solar setup, and it totally rocked! It's heavy, but still portable, and the wiring is flawlessly simple. The entire weekend, we didn't use a single watt of electricity. At night time, we sat next to the hearth and were warmed by each other and a tended fire, we played cards (betting dates, cakes, and massages) and drank some classy bottled beers, (to which I now have a new non-plastic water receptacle). For light we used some CFL lamps I can plug in, charged our laptops for movies, listened to music, and sincerely enjoyed each others company and sanctuary from the howling wind. Very magical, if i do say so myself. More on her later, as the tentative plan is to take a major road trip with her this summer to New Orleans.

The road trip. I've been on some hearty driving experiences; LA to Austin, Northern Montana, Mississippi, Burning Man. This one is sure to set some milestones. Beyond a mere driving expedition, I have been developing this road trip into "Sponsor My Sustainability Tour," where I'll strap my panels to the roof of my car, bring mini fridge, laptops, music, and batteries for the voyage that will lead from LA to Vegas, Grand Canyon, Austin, New Orleans, Mississippi, Northern California, back to LA, and then up to Burning Man, all within the next 6 months before departing in late September to WWOOF on Maui. I'll be logging video in my blog (hehe, log-vid-blog), tweeting, and updating facebook from the road. Subject matter will change from day to day, as it will be a semi documentary visual diary project, but the umbrella idea is to travel to places where I can field test sustainability and learn about new techniques. Additionally, I have invited Caiti to come along (she is graduating UCLA in June, her lease is up then too, and possibly wwoofing in Alaska post road trip), and we will both be documenting the expedition. I anticipate camping, the possibility of couch surfing, non-life threatening disaster, the unexpected, and maybe some drama. She's applying to grad school at USC for Visual Anthropology (film making and playing with bones, hurrah!), so this trip could be an excellent admittance piece to show her potential professors and program administers. Some sponsors I'm approaching include Whole Foods, Clif Bar, Thule, Nat Geo/Travel Channel, Lonely Planet, Flip (camera), AT&T, Newcastle, and Naked Juice, among others. Any suggestions?

I mentioned earlier that new things pop up all the time. I'm learning to feel the vibrations of the universe and harmonize my goals. Just yesterday, I was telling my friend Rodney about this idea, and immediately he wanted to be involved. Rodney and I lived in the same building in Koreatown and is a professional filmmaker, albeit commercials and music videos, but he aspires to greater projects. In any case, his role would be pivotal. He'd meet us in certain locations, and drive along with way for a period of time, but as Caiti and I kept pressing on and filming candidly, we could send him disks of footage to cut and edit with material he'd directed and shot as well, turning this into the possibility of an actual full length documentary. To deepen the project, I suggested it not end with just the road trip, because directly afterward I'll be in Maui really getting into the dirt and literal roots of sustainability on the farm, building a geo-dome, hiking, freelanceing remotely, going to farmers markets, and being off the grid. He said he'd be down to come out to Hawaii, but that's still many months away. I haven't even purchased my plane ticket out there, which I foresee being one of those moments, when I think, "Wow. Okay, here we go." ::click::

So much has been going on - and the weekend is absolutely just not long enough to complete all the things I want to do. I'm very excited to see the days progressing with increased excitement. I know it's not just a pipe dream. It's a goal. I have the tools, capabilities, and desire.

PS. Check out Banksy - I just saw a film he directed. Sheer brilliance.