Nata

Not just an event but an experience!!!

2005-10-31T07:22:04Z

I meant to go visit my cousin Tony this weekend, which for one reason or another just didn't pan out, for this I am really and truly apologetic.
Instead Matt, Dan and myself went to San Francisco to a tribute for Chet Helms. Actually, I didn't know squat about him until mention of this free concert in the Bay bridge park. The drive there was at times difficult and afterwards we were unable to find fisherman's wharf or China town so we ended up just picking up some fast food on our way home. Steep hills and a manual transmission car ended up being a horrible combination. After the first steep hill I kind of got a hang...or at least felt a little more assured of what I can do thanks to Matt's encouragement.
The concert itself took place at the perfect time of year. We are straddling between summer and autumn, transitioning from one season to the next. Helms passed away on June 25th and I'm not sure if it took this long to arrange a concert of this magnitude or if this was intentional. But I think it was a beautiful tribute marked between two seasons, his soul journeying onward...remembering him for all he was, all he did and all he gave the world.
The concert was phenomenal. It took place in a large clearing surrounded by tall trees and hills. For whatever reason the scene made me remember passionate religious revivals in the South. It felt like sinners have returned to be recommitted to their values and faith. Maybe this was people returning to their musical roots...remembering a simpler time. If anything could compare to Woodstock I think this would be it. There were lots of very friendly, mostly uninhibited people. The dynamic of the group in attendance ended up being rather unique: there were people there who were probably Helms earliest followers, yuppies, Rastafarians, and of course youngsters who love music and feel life is purposeful. It was like people from many different walks of life came together to honor a man who was in many regards influential. As I came to understand he was a music promoter for most of the '60s and '70s.
The music was moving and we ended up having one of the best seats in the house. There ended up being a log halfway up the hill looking out over the stage and crowd. Connected to nature, to the people, to the music. It was wonderful to watch people flow to the music and appreciate it. The musicians were very passionate and made the music as alive and moving as imaginable.
There were a lot of little craft booths set up along one side of the clearing. On the other side there were food vendors, didn't really end up venturing over there. The craft vendors offered many alluring products, some had hand crafted jewelery, one of a kind works of art, peasant tops from India, flowing tie dyed robes and shirts, stickers oozing with satire, books on Eastern thought and a chain of peace. The chain of peace ended up being the most poignant. We all criticize how our society, our nation and world, completely disappointed by its too numerous to count failures. We expect a better life for our fellow citizens, yet we are so caught up in our assessment that we do little to bring about change. This artist crafted over three hundred thousand medallions with the word peace on it in different languages. Each piece was unique, yet it felt universal and completely familiar. His contribution was completely his, what he could share with the world in order to transform it and make it more beautiful.
The concert ended up feeling rather lucid and surreal. The smell of patchouli mingled with the fragrance of pine and eucalyptus tress. There were people letting loose and dancing to their hearts content. The movement seemed almost primal and tribal. People seemed to be completely invigorated, there movements supple and in-sync with something larger. There ended up being lots of old hippies who through this concert were probably reliving their idealistic youth. There was this feeling of connectedness through the music and the movement of the people. Everything was one.

Halloween Fun!

2005-10-29T06:31:15Z

Today I got the opportunity to do something every American kid over ten has probably partook in at least once. I got to carve a pumpkin. Dan and I bought some medium sized pumpkins at this pumpkin patch out in Orangevale. Upon getting back to his place we started to work on them. I was completely astounded by how easy the entire process was and how absolutely amazing the results were. Since we had a limited number of tools we really had to be fairly innovative and patient with the process.
We used an exacto knife to cut around the top of the pumpkin. I was struggling with the top so Dan helped me yank it off. Then we scooped out the inside of the pumpkin with our hands. The insides felt stringy, slimy and kind of like a gel. We pulled the inerts as well as the seeds out. Then we used a spoon to scoop any remaining pulp as well as parts of the meaty fleshy pumpkin. We then used a sharpie to create a blue print right on the pumpkin and then used small kitchen knives to carve out the face upon the pumpkin. It took some practice but for the most part the pumpkin is fairly forgiving. I ended up making the face of a zombie girl, Dan made a face that closely resembles Doug (cartoon character) and Matt having probably the most artistic talent ended up carving some stars and planets. His was particularly artistic and went beyond the typical jack-o-lantern. Actually overall I think Matt is really great with art projects and craft work. I really enjoyed this project a lot and can't believe it took me this long to carve a pumpkin. I've only been in the US for twelve years now.

Senility is starting to set in... Oh wait its just my birthday

2005-10-22T07:50:11Z

Happy Birthday to me!!! Guess I just turned 23...I'm sort of having mixed feelings about getting older.It feels like I had set out to accomplish more then has actually materialized, and in some regards I am regretful of the opportunities that I've missed, lost, misplaced and dismissed.

In all honesty though I have a lot to celebrate and be thankful for. I guess my essential conflict lies in trying to understand myself and my desires and how that fits into the larger scheme of things. Apparently my birthday becomes a period of reflection and restless assessment of the many different facets of my life I deem worthy and important. Then again, who isn't battling seeming contradictions at various points of their journey through life.

We decided to visit Apple Hill this year for my birthday. Matt did an amazing job handling all the details and I got to truly enjoy the company of my friends. The day was a perfect fall one, the air was crisp and the sky was clear. There were a few pumpkin patches we peeked in on and a couple of Apple orchards. I guess the farmers faced a problem this year since their crops were not very fruitful. In fact when we eventually found a place to pick apples, for the most part they were bruised and rotting. Somehow we ended up with three measley apples from our picking efforts. Matt and Dan made a great game of trying to toss the apples from apple picker to apple picker, much like lacrosse. Matt eventually hurled the apple and with it the grabby, basket catcher thingie. Hehe that was hilarious.

Food-wise we got to have tons of cider, sampled various types of apples, had caramel apples, picked at fudge, apple cider donuts, apple jerky and almost any other combination of apple and apple product you can fathom. There was a tiny hay maze set up in the same place we ate lunch. All of us went through it once. Matt and I turned it into a game of hide and seek which eventually turned into chasing each other through the maze. Matt and I also got to walk around a pond of little fishies. The four of us then proceeded to feed the fish. They seemed to have many different sizes of Koi who seemed to be fairly oblivious to us trying to feed them, that or they had been fed so many times by people by the late afternoon. The littler fish we a lot more feisty, whereas the larger fish seemed to exude a certain authoritative confidence. Besides the Apples we seemed to enjoy nature a good deal, we went for a walk along a trail where we encountered a praying mantis, that Eric sort of stepped on. We got to also walk through a petting zoo which had, rabbits, a cow, a pony, several goats (who wanted nothing more then for us to pet them, three pigs sunning themselves in the afternoon sun, and humongous chickens who were pecking at one anothers feathers. This particular farm also had a playground of farm equipment. Those were rather fun to play on.

Celebrated a portion of my Friday night at Matt's place. His family got me a white dress shirt which has hooks instead of normal buttons, some earrings and a $25 giftcard to Borders. I'm going to enjoy shopping at the bookstore. Later on Matt and I got some food from Carl's Junior and went to this park in Rancho Cordova (behind Cordova high school). We sat along a small bubbling brook under a starry sky talking about life, social conformity, what our future holds and savoring one another's company and the peaceful quiet of night. I really appreciated that we got to spend this time together.

Donny and Natasha thank you so very much for sending me birthday wishes and blessings. You guys are really sweet :-)

More on the festivities on my birthday later on today!!!

Nearly a week's worth of catching up :-)

2005-10-22T06:03:35Z

So my family and I have been insanely busy since my second cousin Stan is in town. I have had an absolutely amazing time with him. He is just the most genuine, sweet, easy-going person I know. I love talking up a storm with him.
Matt and I have gotten to enjoy his company and share our fav hangouts, activities and our talents with him
*We cooked him a meal, which he enjoyed a good deal :-) Guess feeding people is always a good option!
*Took him to Lollicup for boba, hes not sure about the boba, strange texture and all...tends to be ones 1st impression
*For lunch at the Sushi buffet, he was amazed by how much quality as well as abundance of seafood available
*A couple rounds of bowling, he was pretty good, I on the other hand was not one bit...though I ended up doubling my score to 70 by the second game
*The three of us had really amazing conversations about just about everything imaginable, from sports to philosophy to culture to life experiences.
We even got an invitation to go to England,which we fully intent on cashing in sometime in the next couple of years.

This year has been a little bit slow for me since I haven't gone out of town for an adventure. Although there has been an unusually high influx of visitors from various parts of the globe, actually come to think of it they're mostly from different parts of the US and our sister country Canada. Jules (Oklahoma) and Tory (Texas) both stopped by while they were on vacation from the Air Force, Tony came for a visit a couple of weeks ago from Palo Alto (he seems to be adjusting to his move to California from Toronto, Canada), and of course Stan (UK). Then of course Don and Eddy are going to stop by around Christmas...hmmm wonder if any other out of towners will hesitantly make a stop at our little purgatory.

The chaos that is inevitably Monday!!!

2005-10-17T06:47:28Z

I'm sitting here savoring the final moments of Sunday listening to CCR and feeling rather contemplative about the week that lies ahead of me. My mom's cousin is going to be here from England for about a week. He is affectionately called Stan-the-Man. I haven't seen this cousin in over ten years. As I remember him he was very kind, funny and generally social. I'm excited on catching up with him. I'm trying to wonder what he would like to do while in Sacramento. Our city is really rather dull, or at least thats the way my friends and I tend to look at our hometown.
I was also just thinking about the shitload of things I have to do tomorrow. None of which sounds interesting at this moment in time.
Work by far sounds the least appealing. It is a very numbing job; same thing day in and out. I really feel rather mechanic there sometimes. The job has perks but sometimes one has to wonder what part of oneself is undeniably compromised to such a stringent, micromanaged to the umpteenth degree place of work. I guess the older I get the more grim a lot of the functional aspects of our world appear.

Finally getting arount to sharing the sordid details of my existence!!!

2005-10-15T16:56:10Z

So for a very long time now I have wanted to keep a journal online to share the various musings that occur on an ongoing basis. But as one knows I am unbelievably lazy and so this could not come to existence until now, when boredom completely overrides this sense of laziness.