The Big Sur Experience

Big Sur was incredible. Both Torn and Em have written about this trip. It was everything they said and photographed and much more. My kids both enjoyed this trip as well.

Son isn't wild about camping. After the Monache Meadows trip, which he described as "O.K.," "sometimes boring," but "really great occasionally," he wasn't exactly looking forward to camping yet again. That is until we looked up the campsite on the web and found out it overlooked the ocean. Now we were talking. Son loves the ocean. As he told Em "It's in my blood." To clarify this a bit he loves being near the ocean not actually in it. He gets chilled easily so he's very content to sit and gaze. On trips to Hawaii and Costa Rica, where the water is warmer, he was in the sea often so it's really just a temperature thing. He really enjoyed our camp spot next to the stream and 30 seconds from the beach.

Daughter likes camping anyway and loves both the beach and the forest so, as she put it, this was perfect because we had both of these at the same place. "This", she proclaimed "is a place I would love to live."

I just love getting away occasionally. Big Sur is a place I have passed through several times and camped there half a day and night about three years ago. I was looking forward to sticking around for a bit. I was also glad to get to spend time with Torn and Spouse and get to know them better.

The extra added bonus for me was the "Gary Adventure." I missed out on the fun on Wednesday but had a great time taking all the kids to Cannery Row and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

I have, since I was about 11 or so, had a facination with the 60's; or to be more precise the counterculture movement. You know "Hippies," "Woodstock," the "back to the land movement" etc. It wasn't the drugs or free love part of it that enticed me, it was that feeling of community, of connecting to people without regard for the whole staus quo thing, of relating on more than just a superficial level and maybe the idea that if everyone come together we can change the world for the better. I have known for a long time that I can be pretty pollyanna about things but it has always felt like I just missed the boat. I was born in 1961 so technically was here during this time but was not at an age when I could really appreciate/participate.

I know it is really just a state of mind and not really related to any particular time. You can find groups and individuals who embrace some of those same qualities. This vibe still exists and we found it or something similar to it while searching for Gary in Big Sur. The freeform way we randomly went up to people asking pretty open ended questions without a bunch of information to go on. That feeling of being driven by intuition and not in some completely rational cerebral way. Stumbing onto really interesting people who seemed to want to share stories with you and are excited about your quest and are really hoping for the best outcome for you. The best part was realizing that the journey was more important than the destination. Yes, I was disappointed that we didn't find Gary, but if we had found him right off the bat we wouldn't have had this wonderful quest.

We laughed so hard at some of these adventures and were charmed to pieces by some of the people that we met. It felt like there was a purpose that we were a part of and didn't quite know how we fit in except in one place when Em was able to give a healing jade stone given to her by the other Gary to a woman who needed healing. This seemed to be just one place and time where we danced this cosmic dance with other human beings enhanced by the magic of Big Sur. We touchd each other lives and felt a connection.

I'd love it if the Gary that was the focus of this quest would get in contact with Em soon. It would also be great if this came as a result of all the time and energy we/she put in while in this incredible place.

I'm gald to have gotten caught up in this experience that made a really great trip even better.

Anime Convention

What do most red blooded Americans do over the 4th of July Holiday? Watch fireworks? Picnic? Hit the shoreline? I suppose these are good choices, most of which I have elected to do at one time or another. But really, what says hooray for the good ol' USA better than four, count them, four days at the Anime Convention! Well, I'll qualify this bit and say that I bought a ticket for the entire four days but mostly drove my kids there. I joined them occasionally.

Anime is Japanese animation that is getting quite popular stateside. Anime cartoons are pretty interesting as the story lines are, at times, somewhat complex and sophisticated. One interesting dynamic that I have noticed, in the few shows I have watched with my kids, is that it is often hard to tell the gender of the characters. The male characters are often very feminine looking. I say to the kids, "That's a girl right?" They'll laugh and tell me no, thats a guy, usually followed by me asking "Are you sure." There is also an element of not knowing their sexual preferences.

One of the series I've seen is about a family with a curse. The characters lead fairly normal lives but if they are hugged by a person of the opposite sex, or are really stressed they turn into one of the animals of the zodiac. I've enjoyed this one cause the characters are way out there. The angry guy is over the top, drop of the hat, furious. The sweet, caring girl is so co-dependent that I laugh out loud at the things she says.

Getting back to the convention. Many people attendeing come dressed as their favorite character. Both my kids dressed up. Son put in a lot of time on his costume and learned to roller blade just for this event. His character is a mysterious fellow who skates up to people who feel emotionally cornered, whack them on the head knocking them out, and when they wake up have somehow resolved some of their troubles.

Son's costume was so good that he got his picture taken well over 100 times. At one point we were walking to meet some other people and he kept getting stoped for pictures so I told him to stay put while I met the others and I'd swing back back by and save him from his adoring fans.

What I liked about this event is that it had that "Rocky Horror Picture Show" vibe. These people were having such a great time, free to sink into this unusual world, not worrying what the "normal" people would think about them.

We did end the last day, July 4th, with a bar-b-q at em and eduardo's place. This was a nice ending to a fun weekend which also included me ditching the kids to play Laser tag for the first time. That's another post though.

Random thoughts on Energy

Energy, What is it? How does it work? Is it all them same, manifested in a myriad of ways?
How does one compare the energy of love with that of hate, with sitting still or rapid movement?
How does the energy of sexual build-up and the energy of release through orgasm differ?
Physical and mental energy, when expended, can produce a similar sense of fatigue.
Einstein states that E=mc2, energy is equal to mass times the constant squared (The constant being the speed of light in a vacuume) but does that help much here? These are just numbers after all. What about quantum physics?

How can one play with energy? I think we do it all the time, usually without knowing it and sometimes knowing full well the nuances and intricacies of such play.
What do kinnetic energy, atomic energy, speed, friction, and gravity have in common? Probably a whole lot.

A song can be sung that is beautiful and perfectly in tune but the energy behind it, that comes from the singers and, or instrumentalists, plays a significant role in how it translates to the listener. The energy exchange between a performer and the audience can make a huge difference in the dynamic of a performance.

O.K. I guess I'm done. Just got to thinking about this in an abstact way and wanted to capture the thread of my thoughts to play with some other time. It doesn't have to make sense.

magic with melissa

Last Thursday Eduardo, Em and I went together to the Melissa Etheridge concert here in town. It was kind of a celebration of Eduardo's 50th Birthday. I had been getting more amped about it all week. I'd seen Melissa perform on TV broadcasted concerts and thought her energy was really amazing. I've been wanting to experience her live for quite a long time. Also, it's been awhile since I've gone to a rock concert. I was ready!

It was interesting going on a date as a threesome. Here we are at a concert filled with lesbians and feeling like the odd ones there as it was obvious we were a "thruple." It amused me to wonder what these people might think about us. Not that it mattered cause Melissa wove this magic spell of energy, passion, humor and, with her incredible band, had the whole crowd in the palm of her hand. Her voice is so strong and powerful, she just pulls you in. She's there with you, not just singing to you.

At one point a song started that I knew very well as it was one of the songs from her "Lucky" CD. "Kiss Me" is the type of song with a strong hook, great beat,and sexy lyrics that I crank up in the car when I'm driving alone, groovin' and singing along to. The three of us ended up all wrapped up together, probably making a spectacle of ourselves, but I didn't care. It was so much fun and incredibly sexy!

It was a great evening. The three of us had such an amazing time together and it was so nice to be out without the kids, publicly a thruple, without reseravations.

More please!