Today Ruthie Bones and I made a trip to Chico to visit my paternal grandparents, aunt and a few cousins.
Our two hour drive from Sacramento was filled with some great bird watching; starting out simple enough, we saw egrets all over amidst the Central California rice paddies. Red Tail and Red Shoulder Hawks perched on posts and flying in search of a meal. Then, we saw a giant bird fly overhead, chased by two small black birds. The big one was stunning, dark plumage accented with a bright white tail and head... Whoa! It's an Eagle!
So cool, I'd only seen a small handful of wild Bald Eagles. This one brought a wide smile to my face. A few minutes later, off to the left, there's two more, sitting amidst the rice paddy. One had a kill in it's claws and was pecking away at it in between these two sat another very large bird, this one without the dark head or tail... possibly a Golden? In any case, they were stunning. Within minutes, we saw a fourth Eagle, doubling in one day the number I'd ever seen.
We made a couple quick wrong turns but ended up at the retirement home where my grandparents currently live. We had a quick visit, caught a lecture on shaping my life up, and shared a few stories of what we've been up to. After about an hour and a half my grandparents said they had to go to a party that their friends were throwing for them in the retirement home. I was a bit confused, when we'd made the plans to drive two hours each way to visit them, they said they had the day free, but now they had plans. I was a bit shocked and felt this was quite a rude change of plans, but there was nothing I could do, so we made our way back to the car and headed out.
We made our way to my Aunt's business and spent some time catching up with her and her two sons, my older cousins. It was a good visit with the folks I consider to be my closest family on my dad's side. They wanted to make sure I realized my grandparents are just old and ornery, the rudeness had nothing to do with me, it was comforting.
Finally back in the car and on our way home, with one small pit stop. Cilantro's is a small restaurant in Yuba City specializing in fine Mexican cuisine at affordable prices. I had met the owner/head chef a few months prior, he is a fun, friendly and knowledgeable restaurateur. He had years of experience, cooking at The French Laundry and decided to start his own business. Excellent food, relaxed atmosphere and good value always add up to a great dining experience.
"whoa, I feel... complete" remarked Ruthie Bones after our meal. Something about wholesome, fresh ingredients, prepared expertly and with care that makes everything right in the world.
We made our move back to the car and continued on our way to our dogs and a night chilling at home. perfect.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Monday, September 12, 2011
Wedding at the graveyard.
Yesterday, one of my oldest friends got married. I have known Eric for about 13 years, we're not always in close contact, but I look forward to our chances to catch up.
Eric was a mortician for a few years. One year, at a funeral industry convention, met a lovely lady, Alicia, also a mortician (funeral director?) and, well, you know how it goes from there.
Their wedding, on 9/10/11, was amazing. It all started a few months ago, when I got an invitation in the mail. It was adorable, the two of them, holding hands, lying atop a couple of graves - blissful, eternal and loving. I instantly knew the wedding would be equally awesome.
Finally, the day arrived. Ruth and I got dressed up in black and headed to the mortuary where the service would be. Besides being an old friend's wedding, it would be a day where I was sure to run into old friends whom I hadn't seen in around 10 years.
We got to the location about 45 minutes before the ceremony, and walked into the chapel we assumed would be used. A few ladies in dark clothing looked up at us with confusion. Afraid we had interrupted a funeral, we quickly turned around and walked to another building where we found Eric taking photos with the wedding party. He assured us we were originally in the right place and we went back to wait a short while before being seated in the chapel.
The place was decorated in red and black, a few flowers, not many. Severed hands and feet decorated the pews, adding to the graveyard ambiance. Soon, the assembly got quiet, Eric came out, swaggered down the aisle, and broke the tension with a quick "wassup y'all, welcome to the wedding" as he made his way to the front. A few flower girls, then the glowing bride.
As her father handed Alicia off to Eric, I noticed the person officiating the wedding was one of Eric's favorite types of people; he was, without a doubt, a midget. I should have expected nothing... more(?). Eric had written the ceremony and did a fantastic job making it personal, sweet, and catered to who they were as individuals. It eschewed the typical boring religious and traditional ceremonies and invoked laughter, and heart-warming "awww" moments, culminating in the midget declaring: "By the power of Greyskull, I pronounce you Man and Wife".
The deed was done. Beautifully. The new couple walked out of the chapel, followed by the wedding party, then the guests.
After the ceremony, I caught up with a few faces from my past, and before long got in the car to go to the reception. When we got to the community center, we found toe-tags with our names that gave us our table assignment. I was glad to find we had been seated with the couples co-workers. We got an earful of hilarious mortician stories; gruesome, dark and twisted, I love the sense of humor that people in their field develop.
The midget pastor had now changed outfits. He was dressed as a young Elvis, giving us quick shakes of his hips and a kingly sneer. He was onto his second act, DJing. Eric explained to me, "the midget is great, he does twice the work for half the pay!"
Midget Elvis DJ (oh, and karaoke singer) this wedding had everything!!
Some delicious eats from The House of Chicken and Ribs, a quick speech from Eric's brother Jason, as best man, and a fast but sweet 1st dance. The whole of the wedding was quick, painless and to the point. There was a fun table with weird costumes set out, people were dressing up and having the wedding photogs take their picture. All in all it was a fun, memorable, lovely wedding. I had a great time, was glad both to see some old friends and to be able to be there for the union of a great couple. I wish Eric and Alicia the best in the future and look forward to their return from the honeymoon, and our next round of catching up.
Eric was a mortician for a few years. One year, at a funeral industry convention, met a lovely lady, Alicia, also a mortician (funeral director?) and, well, you know how it goes from there.
Their wedding, on 9/10/11, was amazing. It all started a few months ago, when I got an invitation in the mail. It was adorable, the two of them, holding hands, lying atop a couple of graves - blissful, eternal and loving. I instantly knew the wedding would be equally awesome.
We got to the location about 45 minutes before the ceremony, and walked into the chapel we assumed would be used. A few ladies in dark clothing looked up at us with confusion. Afraid we had interrupted a funeral, we quickly turned around and walked to another building where we found Eric taking photos with the wedding party. He assured us we were originally in the right place and we went back to wait a short while before being seated in the chapel.
As her father handed Alicia off to Eric, I noticed the person officiating the wedding was one of Eric's favorite types of people; he was, without a doubt, a midget. I should have expected nothing... more(?). Eric had written the ceremony and did a fantastic job making it personal, sweet, and catered to who they were as individuals. It eschewed the typical boring religious and traditional ceremonies and invoked laughter, and heart-warming "awww" moments, culminating in the midget declaring: "By the power of Greyskull, I pronounce you Man and Wife".
After the ceremony, I caught up with a few faces from my past, and before long got in the car to go to the reception. When we got to the community center, we found toe-tags with our names that gave us our table assignment. I was glad to find we had been seated with the couples co-workers. We got an earful of hilarious mortician stories; gruesome, dark and twisted, I love the sense of humor that people in their field develop.
The midget pastor had now changed outfits. He was dressed as a young Elvis, giving us quick shakes of his hips and a kingly sneer. He was onto his second act, DJing. Eric explained to me, "the midget is great, he does twice the work for half the pay!"
Midget Elvis DJ (oh, and karaoke singer) this wedding had everything!!
Some delicious eats from The House of Chicken and Ribs, a quick speech from Eric's brother Jason, as best man, and a fast but sweet 1st dance. The whole of the wedding was quick, painless and to the point. There was a fun table with weird costumes set out, people were dressing up and having the wedding photogs take their picture. All in all it was a fun, memorable, lovely wedding. I had a great time, was glad both to see some old friends and to be able to be there for the union of a great couple. I wish Eric and Alicia the best in the future and look forward to their return from the honeymoon, and our next round of catching up.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
trying to remember last week: Burning Man 2011
For years I'd heard stories of post-apocalyptic desert punks, dancing around fire, driving vehicles right out of Mad Max, burning intricate art works, engaging in every sex act and drug known to man for 7 days in the summer, just outside of Reno, Nevada. This yearly festival was known as Burning Man.
I put off going time and again, until this year.
But Burning Man is a bit different. I was correct, kind of, not entirely. That's what Burning Man had been, years ago; but now, it's different. The festival is created by the attendees, everyone is a participant. And the people who make up attendees have changed.
It seemed to me that the desert punks were replaced by spring break frat boys, the fire had been replaced by LEDs and glow sticks, the art was still pretty good, but the drugs and sex had been run out in the name of 'family fun'. The annual event had grown into a massive business, striving to always bring more people; forgetting the basic wisdom of Ed Abbey: "Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell".
The cartoon South Park ran a three part special involving Burning Man this year, which led to an unprecedented selling of 53,000 tickets (10,000 more than 2010), maxing out the BLM lease agreement for the first time ever. The freaks and weirdos had long since stopped attending the Burn, there was a new crowd now. Half of this years Burners were first timers, with no idea of the culture, rituals and lifestyle that had been associated with the event. They were looking for a party, they were looking for spring break.
The art was, like most art exhibitions, a mix of amazing and horrid. Art Cars, drove around the dried lake bed known as The Playa, playing the newest in electronic music, and decorated in all sorts of ways. The Death Star, numerous unicorns, and a Giant Fire-spewing ocotpus made their way around the camp.
There was enough good art to keep me busy and intrigued. A few fire-shooting statues and some mechanical pieces scattered around the giant campgrounds, each controlled by anyone who wanted to step to the cockpit.
Daily workshops and events were marked in the calendar; they ranged the spectrum of interests, from simple Bloody Mary parties, to teaching men to "Reclaim and Regrow their Foreskin" - for men regretful that their parents had them circumcised.
Theme camps were everywhere. The Period Bar served tomato soup and bloody marys. Cafe's served coffee, bars had beers and hard drinks, there was something for everyone, and all of it, free. BM used to be based around trade, but it became to large. Now it is a gift economy - it is expected that everyone who comes will have something to contribute and give of themselves.
There were good times, fun sights, and a different atmosphere than most people are used to. The event had changed from what I had originally heard about and expected, and while it at times seemed more like a pro football game than a freaky art, music, drug and sex festival, I still had a good time.
I'll have more pictures up soon, originally I had hoped to blog live from the Burn, but the wifi access is spotty and it didn't work out, now i'm stuck trying to remember 9 days of partying and new sights.
I put off going time and again, until this year.
But Burning Man is a bit different. I was correct, kind of, not entirely. That's what Burning Man had been, years ago; but now, it's different. The festival is created by the attendees, everyone is a participant. And the people who make up attendees have changed.
It seemed to me that the desert punks were replaced by spring break frat boys, the fire had been replaced by LEDs and glow sticks, the art was still pretty good, but the drugs and sex had been run out in the name of 'family fun'. The annual event had grown into a massive business, striving to always bring more people; forgetting the basic wisdom of Ed Abbey: "Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell".
The cartoon South Park ran a three part special involving Burning Man this year, which led to an unprecedented selling of 53,000 tickets (10,000 more than 2010), maxing out the BLM lease agreement for the first time ever. The freaks and weirdos had long since stopped attending the Burn, there was a new crowd now. Half of this years Burners were first timers, with no idea of the culture, rituals and lifestyle that had been associated with the event. They were looking for a party, they were looking for spring break.
The art was, like most art exhibitions, a mix of amazing and horrid. Art Cars, drove around the dried lake bed known as The Playa, playing the newest in electronic music, and decorated in all sorts of ways. The Death Star, numerous unicorns, and a Giant Fire-spewing ocotpus made their way around the camp.
There was enough good art to keep me busy and intrigued. A few fire-shooting statues and some mechanical pieces scattered around the giant campgrounds, each controlled by anyone who wanted to step to the cockpit.
Daily workshops and events were marked in the calendar; they ranged the spectrum of interests, from simple Bloody Mary parties, to teaching men to "Reclaim and Regrow their Foreskin" - for men regretful that their parents had them circumcised.
Theme camps were everywhere. The Period Bar served tomato soup and bloody marys. Cafe's served coffee, bars had beers and hard drinks, there was something for everyone, and all of it, free. BM used to be based around trade, but it became to large. Now it is a gift economy - it is expected that everyone who comes will have something to contribute and give of themselves.
There were good times, fun sights, and a different atmosphere than most people are used to. The event had changed from what I had originally heard about and expected, and while it at times seemed more like a pro football game than a freaky art, music, drug and sex festival, I still had a good time.
I'll have more pictures up soon, originally I had hoped to blog live from the Burn, but the wifi access is spotty and it didn't work out, now i'm stuck trying to remember 9 days of partying and new sights.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Made it out alive. Lot wifi and couldn't update. Bigger post coming soon.
Made it out alive. Lot wifi and couldn't update. Bigger post coming soon.
Sent from iFritz
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
After dinner & day 2
We went out biking around the playa last night, checking out some popular camps and staged as well as 'the man'- the effigy that will be burnt at the end of the week. Music thumped, there were blinking lights everywhere and a handful of flamethrowers shot periodic bursts of fire into the sky. Art cars roamed the open desert; they were busses transformed into pirate ships, flying saucers, even a giant flame shooting octopus.
We roamed for a couple hours then headed back to camp to turn in early after a log day.
Day 2 :
We woke up and got dressed, filled our daypacks: water, goggles, dust masks, sun screen, and a compass jut in case. It's common to have whiteouts, dust storms so thick that you can't see your hand in front of your face.
We spent a little time checking our schedules- 180 page books with all the weeks various workshops and preplanned activities laid out at an easy glance.
We figured we'd roam a bit and got on our bikes for another tour. With 60,000 people, there's more to see than the week would allow...
After a half hour or so, we thought we'd meet our Aussies friends for coffee at a camp near our homebase. But not more than 2 minutes into our attempt to find them, did a wandering topless lady with a tray of filled coffee cups offer us some Joe. Not an offer to be missed, we parked our bikes and sat down at a nearby table to grab our morning caffeine. There was a dice game laid out, which we leanerd and played two games of while having a couple cups each of java.
Back to homebase, a henna workshop was starting out and Ruth began drawing on people. I took the time to help out with the camps greywater cleanup after drinking a delicious young Thai coconut.
The afternoon was a scorcher, so we made some lunch, took a brief walk, checking on the nearby camp "slut garden" then laid down to write this entry and nap.
Monday, August 29, 2011
My first day
Finally, we hit standstill traffic. The mob of cars made a slow turn off into the dessert, we had made it! Along with 60,000 other people. The traffic was atrocious. 8 lanes of traffic, inching along. After a few minutes, there was a man outside the cars, walking along.... Soon another then another. The traffic was so bad that people were getting out and walking around. Before long there were people riding bikes, topless ladies and naked men. People were climbing on top of their RVs which moved about one car length every 5-10 minutes. This lasted for 7 hours until we finally hit the main entrance gate.
Our tickets were checked, bent, and the embossment felt, to ensure no one was counterfitting and getting in for free. They searched our car pretty extensively, checking every compartment for stowaways, making us unpack a bit so they could see around the car better.
We passed the inspection and went on our way- into more traffic. Another hour or so, and finally we had a straight away, with a 10mph speed limit, to make our way to camp.
Mutant bikes and mad max cars everywhere.
We pulled into camp, setup our sleeping area in abou 20 minutes and jumped right into our duty making dinner in the kitchen.
Burritos for 65. Meat, Spanish rice, guacamole, mango salsa, beans, marinated onions and peppers, cheese, sour cream, olives and hot sauce. Yum.
I go my belly full, wrote out this entry, and am about to go explore.
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