Hey! I've been rushing around in the sunshine. . . Soaking in waters at the spa, celebrating my friend Cara who is visiting home from New Jersey. I ripped
a(nother) wall out of my house last night and rebuilt the stairs. Today I sat in the garden and up on my roof (that i built!) in the sun singing. I've been tanning in the garden with friends/bogmates and feasting to drum rythems at night. I am off to work - then tomorrow I am headed to eastern Washington with Cara and Amanda. I love the flowers and the leaves. I love my Saab which zooms me around. I love my boyfriend and my bogfriends. Its good to be in the sun and under the leaves and the air smells like lilac. So I am good. I hope you are too. Someone once told me I am bi-polar, but then again so is the Earth.
Ok ... So I now have my very own phone number. WHAT? Jezebel with a cell phone? We're all going to hell. What ever. Its prepaid and a bit expensive per miniute, but if you need to get in touch with me, my number is: (360)480-1014.
Welcome to the 21st century Jezebel.
Alright, I admit, I have been neglecting my weblog. I blame it on writer's block and the fact that I am in a flux lately. I live a double life and it has been disturbing my psyche lately.
In town I stay with Aaron, who is finishing up his fifth year of college and very busy. So I have been trying to not be in town too much lately. So I rush into town from The Bog an hour or two before begining work at the four star restaurant where I am employed. Mind you that out at The Bog I have been ripping walls out of my house, digging recycling up out of the ground where people have buried it, shitting in an out house, splitting firewood, smoking too much marijuana, and etc. So I have two hours in which to transform myself. I also probably have to try and squeeze some loving out of Aaron in this time too -
Then off to work - The scientific definition of work is: The act of moving matter from one place to another. In my case I move clean dishes to the front of the house (the part of the restaurant that the guests see) and dirty dishes back to the dish pit. During rushes I must do this very quickly. I have to clear and set tables, give new customers water, and keep the water filled. Plus I have to take away dirty dishes. Quickly. There are all sorts of tricks to doing this, but there are also things that I can't do. Wierd rules that protect the safety and reputation of those four stars. And for the first time in my life I meet "The Manager." Previously I have worked directly under a boss who is also the owner, this simplifys matters. Now I have several managers - and depending on the night they fluctuate. Depending on who is managing the rules change. Confusing. And of course there is the good manager who I love and the bad manager who I try to view in an enlightened manner of compassion while also fantacizing about telling him to shove his shoe up his butt.
So that is another fraction of my life. Now it is spring and my cool job at the Produce Stand is opening up. This is the fun job that I love, but which can not really sustain my student loan bills and such. So I try to help with set up which involves putting up the tarp, moving things around, anda lot of painting. But this takes time. The good thing about Anthonys (the restaurant) is that I only work 16 or so hours a week and I can pay my bills and still have lattes in the morning and beer at night. So I am a bit lazy.
I like my free time a lot. Because besides work I must maintain a loving relationship with my about to graduate and be free boyfriend; and I must work on my house which is presently sitting back at The Bog with half of the kitchen wall missing and needing to be closed in - not to mention moving the old stove out of the kitchen (throught the hole I ripped in the wall), and insulating and on and on; and I also must maintain a friendship with my best friend Amanda who is also in a busy tizzy and occupied with a full-time boyfriend; and I must also find time to go hiking - which is my true desire because it nourishes my spirit.
Of course neither Aaron nor Amanda nor anyone can find the time to come hiking with me. And also I lack the patience to 'organize an expedition' so I hike alone on my days off. Knowing that I should be working on my house or at the produce stand or spending time with those I love, or putting energy into the community at The Bog - which lately consists of me hanging out with my exboyfriend and exgirlfriend both who live across the driveway from me.
How did my life get to be like this?
Two nights ago I blew up a mostly empty plastic diesel can in my face. We were on night two of mushroom wine at my house - same five people - and we decided to go outside and light a fire so we adjurned to my fire pit which had a bunch of wood for the fire, but the wood was from an old porch deck so it was wet. My trusty fire starter diesel can was mostly empty so I was standing up shaking droplets of fuel onto the fire. This worked out fine because the flare-ups from the fire were not tall enough to make a bridge to the can.
But a little later I was doing it sitting down. There was barely any fuel in the can and I was shaking it when BAM! My whole field of vision was filled with fire and I threw myself back to escape from it. I looked and saw that the burning can was right by my head so I sat up. I was completely deaf from the sound of the explosion.
I shook myself off, told everyone that I was ok and walked over to the faucet and poured cold water over my head and face. I came back top the fire and sat beside it with a cold wet towel over my face to cool it. I felt my eyebrows and lashes and figured that since they were still there, I must be alright.
Later I drove into town and took a shower to clean the burnt smell off and cut a bit of Aaron's aloe plant and made a poultice for my face. Aaron also had second skin burn pads. Yesterday I kept vitamin e oil and comfrey on my face and I am fine today. My face looks like I got a little sun, and I have these cool tiger-stripe marks under my eyes. It doesn't hurt at all.
I just can't forget seeing the ball of fire right in my face. I imagine what it would be like if you couldn't get away from it, if there was more fuel and what I saw must be what you see when a bomb expoldes in your face - right before you burn alive. Trippy stuff. Being on mushrooms at the time really made it all imprint quite clearly in my mind.
A friend who was there said I was kissed by fire.
Today is actually the 5th of April and it is currently 12:22 pm but for some reason due to leap year and daylight savings time we are all pretending that is the 4th of April at 1:22 pm. Just goes to illustrate that time is subjective and also that if "we" all agree to something, we can change anything. It is connected in some way to the way everyone on the highway can agree to go 10 mph over the speed limit. Why can't we all decide to over throw the government or something really exciting like that.
Last night I partied at The Bog. It was cause for celebration I fixed the plumming so I have running water in my house. Yolanda, Daisey, and Rick ran electricity out to right next to my cabin - so now all I need is a cord and things to plug in and I can have electricity at my house. Its good Biodiesel and Wind generated electricity too. The third cause for celeebration was that I bought 5 Turkey peers (that is what I call baby birds because that is what they say.) They will be dinner in the fall, but they are so cute right now.
I had Amazonian Cubensis mushrooms (read psychedelic) - the mushrooms had been tinctured in vinegar. So I took the Bog Wine which I have 5 gallons of at my house - and mixed the psychedelic vinegar into it. Yolanda, Josquin, John, Brandon and I all sat around drinking mushroom wine and smoking joints. Then we went out to the garden to drum and play gitaur.
So now I am taking an easy Sunday, glad that it is cloudy and mellow today because the sun makes me manic and I get all strung out on beautiful April. The time change unhinges me a bit. But as it is it is 4/4/04. Just two years, two months, and two days from 6/6/06. And only 16 days from 4/20/2004. Yee Haw.
I need you Seattalites to come down to my place and help me drink this two year old red wine which Michael Manos gave me. Its soooo good. Maybe for Cara's birthday party. I'lll show you how to use the siphon hose to do the red wine version of "keg stands".
In the heat of the day today I worked on my motorcycle. I had to reattach the handlebars and unstick the front break pads. I replaced the mirror that broke when Aaron dumped it last summer. I tried to reassemble the rear fender and lights but I couldn't find the bolts. Josquin, Yolanda, John and I tried to jump start it and barely got it to fire after using a whole can of starter fluid. Later, I took the whole rear fender to the hardware store to try to find the bolts. I was wandering around the store with the rear fender assembly. Eventually I managed to gather the "right" pieces, though I know from experience that I will have to return to the store at least once.
Everything I do works like that. Plumming - for example - did you know that PVC pipe is different that CPVC? Oh yes it is. PVC is for cold water only - whereas you can run hot water through CPVC. And most mystically of all - 1/2 inch PVC is the same size as 3/4 inch CPVC. Go figure that one out. Also you have to be sure to use purple primer and PVC glue at each and every joint or else ... leaks. And if the primer and glue doesn't work - tough! You have to return to the hardware store and buy new pipe. Hence I am on a first name basis with the clerks at Olympia Supply Company.
Everything I do works like that. Stove pipe installation, home addition, carrepair. Back to the hardwars store I go - learning patience.