This is the end, my friends, the end

The time with my Montana family was short, but sweet. I spent my time out here riding, roping, conversing, Scrabbling and, of course, eating. And snacking.

I'm about to board an airplane home to Seattle, so this will be the end of the travel blog. Thanks for following, dear readers. From now on, if you want to know what I'm up to, you'll have to call or email. I will even accept snailmail, once I have an address. Anyone who wants to visit me in Seattle is welcome. I can't guarantee a fancy guest room or anything, but if I have a roof over my head and food in my belly, you will, too.

It bears repeating...

Don't waste your time. We don't get that much. Make heaven here on earth. Grab life by the balls and wrench every last ounce of worth out of it that you can, whatever that may mean to you. Don't wait around for anyone else's permission or approval when you find something you want to do. (But, of course, DBAD.)

I'm still here

Wyoming and my family here are the best.  It's been a mellow time of hanging out, talking, reading, drinking beer, playing fetch with the relentless dog, cooking, playing scrabble... There's even been a bit of jacuzzi time, hiking, wakeboarding and hanging around a backyard fire.  I also got to drive two forklifts, one large and one small.

Tomorrow I'm going to my aunt's house in southern Montana, where, if my past experience is any indicator of future occurrences, I will have even worse cell reception than I have here.  Thanks, AT&T!

I'm planning to come home on the 26th, and am starting to stress a bit.  I've never before been in the situation where I haven't had a job or a place to live in a year and a half, so I'm a little worried about the logistics (and the reality!) of re-entering real life.  I really need to quit thinking about, you know, stuff...

I gotta get a bracelet

DBAD

Adorable puppy upstages sixteen performers

I went out on my last evening in Nashville. There were four bands playing, who were supposed to be pretty good, but I have no idea, since they were all trumped by the adorable cuddly puppy that some train-hopping, hitchhiking travelling kids had brought to the club. I ended up sitting outside all night, puppy-sitting while they watched the show. I couldn't help myself.

I'm now on my way to Sheridan, WY to visit my uncle. It's my first step toward home. I should be back before the weather turns nasty...

More nothing.

On Friday night, I had the urge to go out, so I went down to the club to see what was going on.  It was a sadly dead Friday night-- I think there was a lot of competition around town that night.  I ended up finding myself in the uncomfortable position of really liking all of the musicians who played that night as people, but not really being into any of them as artists.  Kinda weird.

I watched a fascinating documentary last week called "Iron City Blues," about this crazy town in southern Tennessee where there is no law.  None.  There used to be a single police officer, but after he quit, they never found a replacement.  A Nashville blues singer went down there to make this documentary and write a blues song about the town, which is, of course, included in the film.  If you have 53 spare minutes, this is a decent way to spend them.

Still more show reviews

Last week I caught Nashville's own Spinal Tap, Rowena of the Glen. She was so cute and sweet, I thought of her as the Dolly Parton of magickmetal. At the beginning of her show, she walked around the room with incense, blessing everyone. Even though it wasn't my kind of music, how could I leave the room? I stayed for the whole set.

On Saturday I got into the sweaty hot sold out Gogol Bordello show, which I've been looking forward to for at least a month and a half. Those guys did not disappoint. They brought all their energy and played two sets rather than have an opening band. Afterward, I went across the street to check out some fresh meat. They were pretty good for high school kids. Better than a lot of the twenty-somethings I've seen lately.

I swear, soon I'll move along and stop doing show reviews.

Hey...

Maybe some of you beer-loving scientists can tell me why any other beer consumed post Fat Tire tastes like bananas. I've noticed it particularly with Black Butte Porter and Yuengling Lager, but that observation has been limited by personal experience.

I've been too heavy on the show reviews, so all I'm gonna say about last Saturday's show was that I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you like experiprogpostrock, check out Gunslinger and Pushy Lips. I know, I know, I chose to attend based on the name alone...

Oh, and Seattle? Don't think I didn't notice that your weather has actually been nicer than Nashville's a couple of times recently. You're on my list, pal, so just watch your back.

I saw a saw!

On Monday night we went to a show in a super divey bar with terrible sound, but some friends were playing and a 22 ounce bottle of Fat Tire was only $4. The first band, who I think is split up and reformed and possibly changing their name, but here's the singer, was quiet and pretty, but I wasn't really picking up what they were putting down until the drummer traded in his sticks for a saw. A saw! I've never seen anyone play a saw before. It was amazing how he could get such precise pitch just from bending it. The sound was hauntingly lovely, and he played... at least three or four other instruments during the show, including a violin, a harmonica, and something that looked like a giant harmonica. I found out it was called a bass harmonica. Wacky. The third band, Bankrupt and the Borrowers-- whose myspace page doesn't really do them justice-- are some guys we met in Austin. Easily the best band of the night. Check them out if they make it to a town near you, although I think they might be (out of money) just about done touring for a while.

Tuesday night we went to see the Jesus Lizard, who are touring again after something like ten years of disbandedness. They were really good, but I am not a fanatic, and they weren't good enough for me to stay in the crowded hot sweaty smelly sold-out room, getting jostled by every sweaty loser in the room every two seconds (okay, maybe I woke up a little cranky that day), so I took off after three or four songs. But it was reportedly a great show, and those guys can rock pretty hard for their age, or any age.

So much for this week's show review...

I thought nothing was worse than those skinny hipster jeans

Then I was subjected to skinny hipster jean shorts. On guys. I didn't get any pictures, but I don't think you would thank me if I did.

So far, things have been fairly mellow in Nashville. I've seen a couple of local bands play. Sound and Shape stood out. I got some ethiopian food that wasn't as good as my fave places in Seattle, Chicago and Austin, but it's not the only game in town. On the Fourth of July, despite the apocalyptic combo of thunderstorms and a celebrity shooting, we managed to go out to catch the "last show" from The Pink Spiders, which was tight and energetic. Those guys know how to put on a show.

Even I am bored reading this blog post, but it has been a couple weeks, and I felt the need to reassert my presence on the planet, so sorry, and check out the cool bands...

Later, gators!

Did you know that Gainesville is the home of Gatorade?  Now the name finally makes sense.

We managed to ditch the kids during my last week in Gainesville, so we had some nice relaxed grown-up time of doing whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted.  I will spare you the details, but I assure you, there was shopping, swimming, tanning, beer drinking, grown-up food eating, beach going, and the assembling of many many puzzles.  So with a heavy heart I bid farewell to my Gainesville family, because tomorrow I am headed, once again, back to Nashville.  I just gotta try to get something out of my system...

My day, in two short acts

Auntie:  Who took a poop and didn't wipe or flush?!
Boys:  Not me!
Auntie and Me:  Uh-huuuhhh....
Me:  Well, you're both taking a bath tonight, and I'm not hearing anything about "But I'm not dirty!"

Later...

Me:  Alright, it's bathtime.  Be sure you both wash out your bums really well.
Seven-year-old:  What's a bum?!
Me:  What do you think I WANT you to wash?!
Seven-year-old:  Our butts...

And scene.

This trip continues to surprise me

I never ever ever ever never thought I would be lounging by a pool in Florida, COMPLETELY.  JEALOUS.  of the weather in Seattle.

I also never thought I would be a party to the perpetuation of the tooth fairy conspiracy.

Kanapaha

Last weekend my aunt, uncle and I went to the Kanapaha Botanical Garden. I've kinda been going to a lot of those over the last year, and they weren't all in season, but even if they had been in season, I don't think any would have been as good as this one. My first indication that it was a good place was the presence of a bottle of Off! insect repellent in the entrance building, available for everyone to use. Good idea! The place is huge-- 62 acres total-- and seems to have been carved out of a large forested area. There is a loop path that meanders through the forest, connecting the separate gardens, and is lined with those little signs describing the native flora. The herb garden is huge, with separate sides for edible herbs and scented herbs, and guests are invited to touch the scented herb plants to get all of the scentiness. I could go on and on, but it might get boring, and the gist of it all is that this place is really well designed, and if you are at all interested in botanical gardens, and find yourself near Gainesville, FL, you should most definitely check it out, giving yourself at the very least three hours.

The nannying continues to improve as the boys and I get more used to each other. If anyone reading this is considering getting work in the field of home childcare, I would suggest getting a job that pays in beer and has a pool. I dread the days in which bad behavior forces me to take away pool priveledges, because I suspect I value that time even more than they do, so that is always the last resort. It's so hot and humid down here, you can't just send the kids outside to play, because they can only tolerate about ten or twenty minutes before they turn bright red and sticky...

Hot and lazy...

Being a nanny is just about as easy as I thought it would be, which is to say not really at all.  But we're learning who lays down the law (what has two thumbs and is the boss?  This girl!) and it goes more smoothly every day.  Other than that, Florida is awesome.  We go swimming almost daily, and my aunt and I philosophize the evening away out on the patio, listening to the chorus of birds, frogs and gators.  The gators make a gentle piggy grunting noise quite often, and it is a lot less worrisome than the bellowing.

I have also been back in the kitchen, and you may notice I've added a new recipe blog to my links, as making another blog seemed to me to be the simplest (laziest?) way to share.  So if I've cooked for any of you, and you are missing the food, the recipe will probably show up there eventually, and of course there will be new things as I discover them.  If you are looking for a particular recipe, drop me a line.

Brr. I'm heading back to Florida.

The Minnesota trip was a whirlwind of driving (1538 miles total!), family time and very little sleep, except for the day I got to nap twice at my aunt's house near Bemidji.  I very nearly accomplished everything I had hoped to, so it was a good trip.  It was nice to get back and see people I just saw last July, and didn't think I would see again so soon.  It would have been nice to spend a little longer, but circumstances made that difficult.

So now I'm back in Gainesville, fully ready to chill with my aunt and nanny my cousins.  Wish me luck with the humidity and the, you know, children...

Taciturn Update of Nothingness

Unexpected family business has brought me back to Minnesota for a week, then I'm headed back to Gainesville, FL, because one week wasn't enough.

Tucson was Tucson.  It's still not my favorite city, but I like it more than I did before.  I wish I had gotten more of a chance to check out the city and scene, but maybe next time.  I spent the majority of my time split between hanging out in the retirement park with my grandparents, and relaxing at my cousin's house out in the desert outside the city.  The stars were out in full force there.

It was around 100F every day, so outdoor time was limited to early morning walks and pool time.  Toward the end, my aunt and uncle came down from their place in Bullhead City.  The plan was to return to their place with them, but the aforementioned family business threw a monkeywrench in that plan.  It's okay, I'm going to try to get back there in the winter when it's cooler, since it's in the Mojave desert and all...

I went out!

To celebrate my road-iversary, I went downtown to the Solar Culture Gallery, to check out the Joe Lally (who is a tiny little man!) show. I took the bus (sadly, Tucson is no Austin), so I got there a bit early, but it was okay, because the venue is also an art gallery. I spent a bunch of time checking out the paintings and listening to the trains go by the back door while I waited and waited for other people to trickle in. Not only was it Cinco de Mayo, but it was apparently also finals week, and they were competing with another show.

The audience ended up being me and a dozen or so other music dorks. The opening guy had to cancel, so Joe and crew played two sets, which was fine by me. Their style was... I dunno... I suck at describing music... Jazz, punk and blues influenced mellowish trippy hard rock? In the same basic vein as Fugazi, but differently interesting. If anyone knows some kind of music geek terminology to describe this, please share, because I always just want to sum up this type of music as "adult punk." It has the same sensibility as punk, but with a greater range of style and talent. Joe Lally was solid on bass, and although I don't feel he's the strongest vocalist, I was digging the lyrics. The drummer, Ricardo Lagomasino, was heavily jazz influenced, and proved that it's not the size of the kit, but how you use it. He had his eyes closed for most of the time, and when they were open he was kinda staring blankly into space. I wondered where he went, but it must have been somewhere good. The guitarist, Elisa Abela, was tight, ranging from bluesy to controlled noise with plenty of stops in between. The crowd was subdued and respectful. I wished, and thought others were with me on this, that we could have been more people for them. We stood up close and clapped a lot, but it still felt kinda sad. Maybe it was just my mood and extreme lack of energy, due to me being on the retiree schedule, and the show starting after my bedtime. Also, this is an art gallery, not a bar. A beer or two might have upped my energy levels a tidge.

Between sets I chatted with Elisa about tattoos and travel, and she told me about some women she had met on the Isle of Lesbos. She also said it didn't bother them that it was such a small crowd, that they just loved to play. It showed.

Sorry about the super detailed show review. After five or six days as a retiree, all of the stimulation kinda got to me...

365 days of loafing like a bum

Yup.  Today is my one year road-iversary.

I wanted to write something all contemplative and meaningful to mark the occasion, but I got nothing.  I've just been chillin' here in Tucson with my grandparents, enjoying two more members of my family with whom I have not spent enough time.  It's interesting how this trip started out with a desire to travel and see the parts of the country that I had never seen, and talk to people from all over, but every time I stopped at a relative's house, it became more about that.  When people ask me what the best thing has been about this trip, sometimes I say something about having time alone to think and discovering my mental and physical limits, but I always end up talking about how great it has been to have extended one on one time with family members.  In families as scattered as both sides of mine are, it can be difficult enough just to get at least half of us together for a family reunion, and when that happens, most of the focus is on large group activities, so there's not a lot of time to have real conversations with people.  I don't know how everyone else feels, but I feel like I grew up so far away from my family, and then spent so much time depressed and lazy, not even trying to form relationships with them, that in a group setting I feel like a bit of an outsider.  This year has been good for my soul in that it has brought me a lot closer to people I probably should never have felt so far from.  It is only natural that even though I am burnt out on the other aspects of travel, I still have a list of people I want to spend time with.  And cook for.

I'm excited about the coming months.

Oh, Biden!

What will he say next?

I woke up this morning and checked the headlines on MSN before packing up and heading to the airport for my trip to Tucson. The first headline I saw was about Joe Biden saying he recommends avoiding all crowded places like planes and buses. Sadly, avoiding crowded areas won't help him, since he is already infected with a terminal case of foot-in-mouth disease. Within an hour or two, his office was already backpedaling, trying to soften his words and placate the already flagging travel industry.

That guy. I'm going to risk it and fly anyway.