Landing Zone

This looks like a good a place as any to catch a wild goose that lays a golden egg. A nice place for an early morning stroll, or a sunset walk for that matter.

This is a wild goose chase!

Well, after a year of being relatively "settled" in Utah in a cave up in the hills, the rollercoaster ride has kicked into full gear with stops in San Diego, Sacramento, Portland, and back to Sacramento. The only thing separating me from the guy in a sleeping bag in the park is my Mom's revolving door policy which is allowing me a nice place to sleep, dream, and write.

I always seem to think that a geographical fix is the answer to my problems but with apologies to Einstein, "I love to travel, but hate to arrive." I know that the best things in life are free, that love is all you need, etc., etc., but winning the Lottery wouldn't hurt at this point either. Yes, the best things in life are free, but the gas to get there is expensive.

So now I find myself back in Lincoln, California, outside of Sacramento, where the local industry is a sewage pipe factory and the local hobbies seem to be a choice between retail shopping and retail shopping. Or, if that's not your thing, you can always opt for the third option, retail shopping.

I'm an early bird these days, rising at 4 or 4:30 to check my precious email, drink coffee, and scour the Craigslist personals for a lady who will accept this ridiculous situation as potential relationship material. Facebook occupies too much of my day, but the retail outlets provide a respite from the headache otherwise known as the internet.

And so the wild goose chase continues. The question remains, is there a wild goose? If so, does it lay a golden egg? Among other questions I have these days are "Who are the dream police?" and wouldn't it be nice if we had a way to record our dreams and play them back in high definition?

Can't seem to stay in one place!

Well, it seems things never go as planned. I'm not in San Diego anymore and was unable to find a place to live there. Now I'm on the road again, visiting my mom near Sacramento. I've changed the name of the blog too. It seems that a lot of the reason for my being unable to stay in one place is because of financial limitations so I've decided to call the blog How to Survive on $822 a Month. First, get a Paypal account so that your friends and family have a way to send you money because even though the government has decided that $822 a month is enough to live on, it's not. Get a cell phone that has a camera and a computer so you can look at the bright side through your cell phone camera and post pictures and stories on the web.

Goodbye Desert, Hello Ocean!

After a year of exploring the southern Utah desert, I am packing my bags yet again and heading out for Southern California. I feel like I'm moving from triple A to the Majors again where I will be able to go to Padres games and regularly attend the first church of Rock n Roll at places like the Belly Up, 4th and B, and Humphrey's by the bay.

This has been an interesting year and I have made a lot of new friends and encountered many different perspectives and philosophies regarding spirituality and religion. I've had the opportunity to play drums for bellydancers, guitar at a coffee shop open mic, and to read poetry for a large audience at a health spa.

I've also been introduced to Tibetan and Himalayan singing bowl meditations and met a lot of great friends through an organization called World Peace Gardens.

There is plenty to be grateful for during the past year and I am looking forward to continuing my journey to San Diego where I hope to continue with my writing and photo journalism as well as soak up the sunshine, the waves, and the mellow vibes.

One Year in Utah

I've been in southern Utah now for one year after a much needed vacation in Kauai. I spent the first two months living at my Dad's house in a gated community next to Hollywood movie stars and professional athletes. Then I got a condo of my own in a huge complex that had tennis courts, two swimming pools, a couple of hot tubs, and a clubhouse with an arcade for kids to play in and a big-screen tv and some comfortable couches. I lived there for eight months and decided it was time to move when the upstairs plumbing ruptured and I spent three weeks under an umbrella in my bathroom. I found a casita in Ivins with views of the red rock mountains, a tribe of black crowes, soaring eagles and falcons, and a nearby arts community. Gradually making some musical contacts, playing guitar at open mics, drumming at World Peace Gardens gatherings at a health spa, and gearing up for some poetry readings.