Lovin is what i got
Today is Wednesday, March 16, 2005. The following is a record or maybe more appropriately a memoir of the last week of my life.
March 5-9, 2005: San Diego, California.
Where to begin. The more I travel, the less I feel I know, yet the more open to new ideas my mind becomes. Travel can really open up quite a complex system of thought for me. Ally and I decided to go to SD to visit Rob Deeb, Jacek’s best friend and one of our newer friends since he was here over the New Year. SD is beautiful. It is fresh, funky, crisp, alive, and the people are in full bloom. Walking down the street, everyone smiles, waves hello, and often shares some wisdom they possess with anyone ready to listen. SD reminded me a lot of the North Shore of Hawaii. Friendly, healthy, happy people. It seems to me like the people I encountered shared this joy for life, this exuberance for living each day. In Boca Raton it seems like life is a chore to so many people. Here, a smile from a stranger is much more rare and fear and corporate brainwashing seem to permeate the obvious images I see each day. However, I am learning more and more to look beyond all of this. It was so refreshing to share happiness with strangers there. This is what the big differences between here and there really seem to come down to.
We watched the sunset every evening. Sunsets are something that I really miss from living in Ozona. Ozona is such a nice word, it brings to mind the tree by the docks overlooking the Dunedin causeway and the Gulf of Mexico. In California, we walked from Rob’s house to the boardwalk that encircled Mission Bay and ran down the length of the beach. So many people were out every day doing any activity imaginable- from skateboarding, to beach cruiser biking, to rollerblading (“Slow Moe” skating to classical music in slow motion), to running, to drinking beers with friends on the beach to surfing the killer waves or sitting on an outdoor couch and listening to some Jack Johnson or strumming an acoustic tune on a beat up guitar. This connection with the outdoors, this communal gathering of strangers and neighbors to meet and share such an amazing energy and passion for life every day, took place along the boardwalk. Then there were the surf shops, the vegan clothing stores, the health food stores, the vegan and vegetarian restaurants, the hookah bars, the tea shops, the music. The knowledge.
People in SD seemed to have a much better grasp on life, dreams, reality, call it what you will. Anti-Bush stickers slapped onto every stop sign and wall, environmental awareness evident in so many places, recycling, and educated people. I don’t necessarily mean book smart or college graduates at all. I mean real, live, thinking, independent, virtuous, unique people. To capture a small example, Ally and I met two very interesting San Diegans on the plane ride home. The first man was sitting by the window next to Ally and offered some advice: 1) Never use your common sense unless it’s for safety, 2) A thing does what it knows before it knows what it does, 3) You have to set your mind before you can lose it. Now, coming from a random traveler, this man was quite interesting and enlightening, even in the brief minutes that we spoke with him. He seemed amazed at the open-mindedness that two nineteen year olds could possess. I also met a guy named Kent on the plane. What was so special about him was his truth and love. I really can’t pinpoint anything in particular that he said or did, but I can remember that his words were very nurturing and genuinely caring. Just talking to him made me happy. This trend in the nature of the people I met in SD must be greater than a coincidence. If not, then an extremely lucky streak of meeting and communication with random passer-by’s.
While I could go on about San Diego for quite sometime, I will move on to Langerado, an amazing music festival.
March 12-13, 2005: Langerado!!
After San Diego, Ally and I were feeling a little bummed that we had to leave such a beautiful and amazing place. After 5 days of non-stop smiling in SD, Langerado had a lot to live up to. To begin, it was perfect. The most fun I have crammed into two days. The most dancing I have ever done in my life (3 days later my calf muscles still ache from dancing, probably about 20 hours total no joke). The most dreadlocks I’ve ever seen in one place. The most pot I’ve seen smoked in a given area. The most smiles I’ve seen on people’s faces. The most kindness between humans. The most beautiful music and dancing. In short, the way all concerts should be. Barefeet, under the sun and the moon, laughing and sharing. A lot of artists played but my definite favorites were Michael Franti and Spearhead (obviously), Toots and the Maytals, Donavon, and Mofro. I discovered a lot of new and absolutely mind blowing artists too who were relatively new to me or I saw live for the first time. Kaki King who is just a young girl but can fingerpick much too insanely to describe, String Cheese Incident, Keller Williams, Karl Denson, and many more I can’t remember them all now. Being at Langerado just brought about such a feeling of unity between nature, myself, and so many other people all tied together by music.
All together, the synergistic effect of my spring break 2005 makes for a very happy Tanya. It gave me new outlooks and insight, hope, and more even more love. It is great to feel all of this growth right now. It is even greater to feel like there is no end to this growth any time soon.
March 5-9, 2005: San Diego, California.
Where to begin. The more I travel, the less I feel I know, yet the more open to new ideas my mind becomes. Travel can really open up quite a complex system of thought for me. Ally and I decided to go to SD to visit Rob Deeb, Jacek’s best friend and one of our newer friends since he was here over the New Year. SD is beautiful. It is fresh, funky, crisp, alive, and the people are in full bloom. Walking down the street, everyone smiles, waves hello, and often shares some wisdom they possess with anyone ready to listen. SD reminded me a lot of the North Shore of Hawaii. Friendly, healthy, happy people. It seems to me like the people I encountered shared this joy for life, this exuberance for living each day. In Boca Raton it seems like life is a chore to so many people. Here, a smile from a stranger is much more rare and fear and corporate brainwashing seem to permeate the obvious images I see each day. However, I am learning more and more to look beyond all of this. It was so refreshing to share happiness with strangers there. This is what the big differences between here and there really seem to come down to.
We watched the sunset every evening. Sunsets are something that I really miss from living in Ozona. Ozona is such a nice word, it brings to mind the tree by the docks overlooking the Dunedin causeway and the Gulf of Mexico. In California, we walked from Rob’s house to the boardwalk that encircled Mission Bay and ran down the length of the beach. So many people were out every day doing any activity imaginable- from skateboarding, to beach cruiser biking, to rollerblading (“Slow Moe” skating to classical music in slow motion), to running, to drinking beers with friends on the beach to surfing the killer waves or sitting on an outdoor couch and listening to some Jack Johnson or strumming an acoustic tune on a beat up guitar. This connection with the outdoors, this communal gathering of strangers and neighbors to meet and share such an amazing energy and passion for life every day, took place along the boardwalk. Then there were the surf shops, the vegan clothing stores, the health food stores, the vegan and vegetarian restaurants, the hookah bars, the tea shops, the music. The knowledge.
People in SD seemed to have a much better grasp on life, dreams, reality, call it what you will. Anti-Bush stickers slapped onto every stop sign and wall, environmental awareness evident in so many places, recycling, and educated people. I don’t necessarily mean book smart or college graduates at all. I mean real, live, thinking, independent, virtuous, unique people. To capture a small example, Ally and I met two very interesting San Diegans on the plane ride home. The first man was sitting by the window next to Ally and offered some advice: 1) Never use your common sense unless it’s for safety, 2) A thing does what it knows before it knows what it does, 3) You have to set your mind before you can lose it. Now, coming from a random traveler, this man was quite interesting and enlightening, even in the brief minutes that we spoke with him. He seemed amazed at the open-mindedness that two nineteen year olds could possess. I also met a guy named Kent on the plane. What was so special about him was his truth and love. I really can’t pinpoint anything in particular that he said or did, but I can remember that his words were very nurturing and genuinely caring. Just talking to him made me happy. This trend in the nature of the people I met in SD must be greater than a coincidence. If not, then an extremely lucky streak of meeting and communication with random passer-by’s.
While I could go on about San Diego for quite sometime, I will move on to Langerado, an amazing music festival.
March 12-13, 2005: Langerado!!
After San Diego, Ally and I were feeling a little bummed that we had to leave such a beautiful and amazing place. After 5 days of non-stop smiling in SD, Langerado had a lot to live up to. To begin, it was perfect. The most fun I have crammed into two days. The most dancing I have ever done in my life (3 days later my calf muscles still ache from dancing, probably about 20 hours total no joke). The most dreadlocks I’ve ever seen in one place. The most pot I’ve seen smoked in a given area. The most smiles I’ve seen on people’s faces. The most kindness between humans. The most beautiful music and dancing. In short, the way all concerts should be. Barefeet, under the sun and the moon, laughing and sharing. A lot of artists played but my definite favorites were Michael Franti and Spearhead (obviously), Toots and the Maytals, Donavon, and Mofro. I discovered a lot of new and absolutely mind blowing artists too who were relatively new to me or I saw live for the first time. Kaki King who is just a young girl but can fingerpick much too insanely to describe, String Cheese Incident, Keller Williams, Karl Denson, and many more I can’t remember them all now. Being at Langerado just brought about such a feeling of unity between nature, myself, and so many other people all tied together by music.
All together, the synergistic effect of my spring break 2005 makes for a very happy Tanya. It gave me new outlooks and insight, hope, and more even more love. It is great to feel all of this growth right now. It is even greater to feel like there is no end to this growth any time soon.