...is fast approaching. In fact, it is tomorrow...as in Thursday. I have sold the Yamaha to one of the waiters at the restaurant I frequent. I haven't received the money yet, but I trust that it is soon to be here. He has to wait for his refund check. I sold it for a fair price and will use the money I receive as needed for upkeep of myself and the Goldwing. I don't see any big material purchases in my near future. I do, however, see a new living situation happening quickly.
My plan, at the moment, is to leave some of my stuff with a friend here in Lake Havasu City while I make a little trip up to Las Vegas to visit a dance friend and maybe even work on my dancing a little bit. It has been a long time since I last had a lesson. The young man I am going to visit, Elliot, was a dance teacher trainee back when I was working at U&Me Dance in Bellingham. I saw promise in him and took him under my wing, so to speak. Well, whereas I quite working for studios and thus basically quit working on improving my dancing, he continued and has become a very fine dancer indeed. In fact, from what I saw last time I watched him dance, he is much more skilled at dancing than I am now. In any case, whether I get to work on my dance skills or not, seeing him and dancing at the studio he works at will be a joy.
I have several possible scenarios for living space once I move out of this room. The young man buying my bike has offered to let me stay with him, but he has a wife and young child in a smallish house so I'm thinking that I might be in the way there. I have another woman who is willing to rent me a room on a short term basis at a price much higher than I actually wish to spend, but she is willing to let me work off a bit of the rent to make it more cost effective for me. I also have another older male friend who lives most of the time in California who offered to rent me a room for the short term for more than I wish to spend. However, if I can talk him down a bit, I think this might be my best bet. I had someone else respond to an ad I placed on Craigslist, but I think she might choose to go with someone more long-term. I would like that situation if it were to manifest.
In any case, chances are quite good that I will be hitting the road again soon, only this time on a bike designed for touring. I will miss the cats in this house I'm at. One of them is snoring on my sleeping bag behind me. When she's awake, she has a purr that is almost as loud as her snoring. I've been sleeping on the tile floor for the last two weeks with nothing but my Thermarest mattress and a light blanket and my old sleeping bag. The air mattress that I started off here with blew a big hole from having to be re-inflated so often from the smaller hole it had in it when I got here.
I like this town, but there really isn't much here for me. There is no dancing nor anyone interested in learning dancing, other than one woman who teaches a VERY small class at the collage. There's nothing Buddhist here that I've found. No woman has show any interest in me here. No place to busk with my balloons. Basically, the only thing that has been keeping me here is the weather, the cheap rent, and the beautiful countryside.Oh! And the occasional easy money from a last-minute twisting job. I must say that I have enjoyed this time of stability. However, even with remaining rooted to one home, I've put almost 2,000 miles on the Goldwing, just riding around. So, hitting the road again won't be that hard to do. I think the hardest aprt will be trying to figure out how to get all of my balloon stock on the bike.
I had an interesting experience the yesterday: I looked at a picture of me twisting at the local hot-air balloonfest and saw an old man sitting on a stool. I saw hollows in my neck that I've always associated with "old". Oh, well...maybe that explains, in a small fashion, the fairly intense body pains I've been experiencing recently. Then again, it could be something more to do with my low-vegetable diet and lack of dancing exercise.
One joy I've been missing is having a girlfriend who was concerned with my health and who would help me maintain it. My little friend, Sharon (Cutestuff) would feed me salads and encourage me to do yoga with her and she kept me dancing a LOT. Simone would feed me veggies from her garden, as would my awesome earth angel friend, Laurie. Funny, it occurs to me that both put me to work...Wendy (not Windi) taught me about eating fruit. Had no idea that one
could pick up a plum from the ground, brush away the bees and munch! Sweet Kristina went a long way toward teaching me about how to eat healthy, though I don't think I was an apt student. I do appreciate her efforts and wish I would've paid closer attention. Ah well. Perhaps I will catch a clue before I do permanent injury to this body.
It is amazing just how blessed I have been to have such wonderful, incredible, and loving women in my life as those I've been blessed with. In looking back, I can think of no one that I could wish that I hadn't dated, though I can think of a few who I know wished that they hadn't dated me, my son's mom being one of them...of course, then she wouldn't have had that particular son, so maybe she doesn't wish...
I'm tired. Can you tell? Time to take something for the pain and go to sleep. May all be peaceful, happy, healthy and whole.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
Les Miserables and lost friends
I just received a comment on my last post from an anonymous poster stating that they would like for me to keep posting on this blog because they "love" it. After watching the incredible romantic musical drama, 'Les Miserables,' this comment triggers my mind to wander here and there in a somewhat melancholy fashion, coming up with imaginations of who this person might be.
It could be anyone at all, but my imagination creates fantasies of how I would feel if people I love very much but, for whatever reason, no longer communicate with were to create a blog in which I could in some vicarious way share in their day to day life experience: Kristina, Sharon, Simone, and a few others. Each brought great blessings to my life experience; joys that were incomparable and love that was powerful and full. They were my best friends at the time I was with them and for reasons of their own, have chosen to go their own way. Sharon Denny was my closest friend for many years and though she chooses to go her own way (no fault on either of us and I fully understand her gentle reasons), I still consider her to be one of the greatest blessings of my life and will always hold her friendship dear. I will always love my friends and wish them great joy, even if they feel that remaining apart is the path they need to take. Sometimes life paths just go their own separate ways, but that doesn't change the love and delight I have in and for each of them.
Even my son, Tyler, whom I have met once and have communicated with only a handful of times; I would enjoy reading a blog of his were I to find such. There are friends who I care about who don't know that I would like to be closer to, not in some dark, sinister way, but because I hold them in such high esteem...sometimes in much higher esteem than they do, themselves. I see radiant power of who they are, but they cannot. Sigh....
That movie effected me quite deeply, it seems. Well, that combined with a few other incidents that have occurred recently. One being an accident that happened close to where I was. I was overlooking the scene just as the police arrived. A 25 year-old young man ran a red light in a Toyota Eclipse and t-boned a Hummer3 a couple evenings ago. He hit the Hummer enough to spin it and slam it into a light post. The young man was airlifted to a hospital in Vegas and might yet die. The people in the Hummer were transported to the hospital and then released. This put incident put me in mind of how tenuous and fragile our lives are, and with me on a motorcycle, Perhaps I ride the edge of death a little closer than others. Had that young man hit me...well...I guess I would now be finding out whether what I believe about the afterlife is true.
Combine that with a balloon order that I due to come in today. I realized recently why Buddhism speaks to me with it's primary message that everything is impermanent, not only have I lived a life on the move (Brit W.Anders--WAnders), but I work with balloons. My art is fragile and very temporary. Please note, I am not feeling sorry for myself, I am quite content with my life thus far, though I would love to reconnect with my "lost" friends. I am merely pointing out the course of my thoughts at the moment. I'm sitting in my little room that I've rented for a month, next to a mirror. Looking into the mirror, I see a smiling face looking back at me, so the truth is that my peace runs deep and my friends are still close to me and bring me great joy, even if we aren't in touch.
So, I guess I will continue to blog for a bit. Might as well, since I cannot see the end of this trip. It may not end until it is time for me to step out of this body, though I hope not. I still entertain the hope that the Universe will grant me a long-term stay in a pleasant location. (Read: a somewhat normal existence with a partner and the chance to have a cat and/or dog companion for it's lifetime.) I think that experience would be different. Either way, I will continue to give my life in the service of the joy of others.
A Story:
A wise Yogi was sitting in meditation on the edge of a stream in India with one of his students. he heard a small splash and opened his eyes to see that a scorpion had falling in the water and was drowning. He reached down and rescued the little creature and as he was placing the scorpion on dry land, it stung his hand. He smiled and immediately went back to meditating. A few moments later, he heard another splash and the same scorpion had fallen in again. Again he rescued it and again it stung him and again his went right back to meditating. The third time the scorpion fell in, the student--who had witnessed it all--couldn't stay silent. He cried, "Master, why do you keep rescuing the ungrateful creature? You know that he will sting you again, don't you?" "Of course," replied the master, "The scorpion acts according to its nature, as do I."
It could be anyone at all, but my imagination creates fantasies of how I would feel if people I love very much but, for whatever reason, no longer communicate with were to create a blog in which I could in some vicarious way share in their day to day life experience: Kristina, Sharon, Simone, and a few others. Each brought great blessings to my life experience; joys that were incomparable and love that was powerful and full. They were my best friends at the time I was with them and for reasons of their own, have chosen to go their own way. Sharon Denny was my closest friend for many years and though she chooses to go her own way (no fault on either of us and I fully understand her gentle reasons), I still consider her to be one of the greatest blessings of my life and will always hold her friendship dear. I will always love my friends and wish them great joy, even if they feel that remaining apart is the path they need to take. Sometimes life paths just go their own separate ways, but that doesn't change the love and delight I have in and for each of them.
Even my son, Tyler, whom I have met once and have communicated with only a handful of times; I would enjoy reading a blog of his were I to find such. There are friends who I care about who don't know that I would like to be closer to, not in some dark, sinister way, but because I hold them in such high esteem...sometimes in much higher esteem than they do, themselves. I see radiant power of who they are, but they cannot. Sigh....
That movie effected me quite deeply, it seems. Well, that combined with a few other incidents that have occurred recently. One being an accident that happened close to where I was. I was overlooking the scene just as the police arrived. A 25 year-old young man ran a red light in a Toyota Eclipse and t-boned a Hummer3 a couple evenings ago. He hit the Hummer enough to spin it and slam it into a light post. The young man was airlifted to a hospital in Vegas and might yet die. The people in the Hummer were transported to the hospital and then released. This put incident put me in mind of how tenuous and fragile our lives are, and with me on a motorcycle, Perhaps I ride the edge of death a little closer than others. Had that young man hit me...well...I guess I would now be finding out whether what I believe about the afterlife is true.
Combine that with a balloon order that I due to come in today. I realized recently why Buddhism speaks to me with it's primary message that everything is impermanent, not only have I lived a life on the move (Brit W.Anders--WAnders), but I work with balloons. My art is fragile and very temporary. Please note, I am not feeling sorry for myself, I am quite content with my life thus far, though I would love to reconnect with my "lost" friends. I am merely pointing out the course of my thoughts at the moment. I'm sitting in my little room that I've rented for a month, next to a mirror. Looking into the mirror, I see a smiling face looking back at me, so the truth is that my peace runs deep and my friends are still close to me and bring me great joy, even if we aren't in touch.
So, I guess I will continue to blog for a bit. Might as well, since I cannot see the end of this trip. It may not end until it is time for me to step out of this body, though I hope not. I still entertain the hope that the Universe will grant me a long-term stay in a pleasant location. (Read: a somewhat normal existence with a partner and the chance to have a cat and/or dog companion for it's lifetime.) I think that experience would be different. Either way, I will continue to give my life in the service of the joy of others.
A Story:
A wise Yogi was sitting in meditation on the edge of a stream in India with one of his students. he heard a small splash and opened his eyes to see that a scorpion had falling in the water and was drowning. He reached down and rescued the little creature and as he was placing the scorpion on dry land, it stung his hand. He smiled and immediately went back to meditating. A few moments later, he heard another splash and the same scorpion had fallen in again. Again he rescued it and again it stung him and again his went right back to meditating. The third time the scorpion fell in, the student--who had witnessed it all--couldn't stay silent. He cried, "Master, why do you keep rescuing the ungrateful creature? You know that he will sting you again, don't you?" "Of course," replied the master, "The scorpion acts according to its nature, as do I."
Friday, January 11, 2013
Blog motorcycle picture...
I would sure love to know how to change the picture to the bike I'm actually riding. Anyone have any ideas? I've tried as many things as I can guess at.
This and that...
Hello all,
The desert is so peaceful...it is as though the ground itself absorbs thought and time. I find it easy to stay present when out in the desert proper. I can become one with the rocks, the sky, and the occasional plants. It is very easy to just sit and breathe. I went out Wednesday and made a couple videos for YouTube; I'll try to get them up as soon as I can. One has to do with how our memories are very limited at best, and completely incorrect as the norm. I'll let you know when I've uploaded them.
I rode over to the Needles, California, DMV yesterday to see what I could do about getting the title to the Goldwing. Turns out that I was able to get the bike fully legalized. The title will be coming to me in two weeks and the bike is now registered. Now I'll see if I can sell the Yamaha and get a down-payment on getting my teeth fixed before the bridge is totally destroyed. I'm not too concerned with the looks of the missing tooth, but if that bridge breaks completely, I'll be in trouble when it comes to chewing.
While in Needles, I stopped in at a restaurant and may have wound up with a good gig in Las Vegas later this month. One that not only earns me some decent money but also gets me a hotel room there for a Friday and Saturday evening. Such an opportunity would enable me to go dancing, which is something I haven't done in well over a month. I kinda miss it. Another positive about this particular gig is that I may be able to make something big and fancy, more so that most other creations I've done. One might say it would be a show or competition piece. That'll be fun. I'll post pictures if it all comes to pass.
Now that I am in one place for a bit, I have less drive to continue this blog. However, I will continue to post on it and may change the style of what I choose to post until I'm back on the road again. I see this time in Lake Havasu City as being just a temporary stop on the journey. I have to admit, it is pleasant to stop for a bit. The next time the Universe asks me to pause, I sure hope it is in a place with dancing!
The desert is so peaceful...it is as though the ground itself absorbs thought and time. I find it easy to stay present when out in the desert proper. I can become one with the rocks, the sky, and the occasional plants. It is very easy to just sit and breathe. I went out Wednesday and made a couple videos for YouTube; I'll try to get them up as soon as I can. One has to do with how our memories are very limited at best, and completely incorrect as the norm. I'll let you know when I've uploaded them.
I rode over to the Needles, California, DMV yesterday to see what I could do about getting the title to the Goldwing. Turns out that I was able to get the bike fully legalized. The title will be coming to me in two weeks and the bike is now registered. Now I'll see if I can sell the Yamaha and get a down-payment on getting my teeth fixed before the bridge is totally destroyed. I'm not too concerned with the looks of the missing tooth, but if that bridge breaks completely, I'll be in trouble when it comes to chewing.
While in Needles, I stopped in at a restaurant and may have wound up with a good gig in Las Vegas later this month. One that not only earns me some decent money but also gets me a hotel room there for a Friday and Saturday evening. Such an opportunity would enable me to go dancing, which is something I haven't done in well over a month. I kinda miss it. Another positive about this particular gig is that I may be able to make something big and fancy, more so that most other creations I've done. One might say it would be a show or competition piece. That'll be fun. I'll post pictures if it all comes to pass.
Now that I am in one place for a bit, I have less drive to continue this blog. However, I will continue to post on it and may change the style of what I choose to post until I'm back on the road again. I see this time in Lake Havasu City as being just a temporary stop on the journey. I have to admit, it is pleasant to stop for a bit. The next time the Universe asks me to pause, I sure hope it is in a place with dancing!
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Lake Havasu City
I had posted a request for a couch on couchsurfing.org and had gotten a response from a young couple who had a room they were willing to offer me for 3 days. (There were 5 days left before I was to be at the London Bridge Resort.) It took me all day to get to LHC and I arrived at the house about 9pm. They were tired, I was tired and so after just a quick little greeting and tour, we all went to bed. They seemed like a great couple and so I felt quite welcomed.
At their request, since they are private people, I won't give much information about them or where the house is on the internet, but suffice it to say that the house is awesome and it has a million dollar view of the whole lake and valley. We hit it off well and they invited me to stay until I needed to go to the resort. the young man possesses one of the sharpest minds of any I have ever met and the personality of a true leader. Very charismatic! those who know me in person will hear the whole story.
So, the day came that I was to go to resort. I had chosen this particular resort from those available because it had a rockin dance club and a tourist area close by that I could twist balloons at...or so I thought. LHC, in the winter, has almost no children, no pedestrians that I have yet to be able to find almost a month later, and the club was seasonal and had a big pile of bird poop in the middle of the dance floor. (The club is an outdoor club.) So, it turned out to be a rather uneventful week. I used the time to wander about and get used to the bike, catch up on some emails and whatnot, and watch movies. I also explored the town, trying to find places to twist.
I have gotten into just giving balloons away without expecting a return...most of the time. I am now trusting the Universe much more than at the beginning of this trip and It isn't letting me down. I found a restaurant that really supports the balloon arts and has been very generous to me, even hiring me at my full paid rate while letting me accept tips. the Black Bear Restaurant in Lake Havasu City has my full endorsement! If you come to town, be sure to stop by and tell them that Kai sent you. I also got a call from the sales manager who told me that she had heard that my going rate was $150 an hour for parties (don't know where she got her info, but I was happy to oblige. Not knowing the going rates around here, I figured it was the average. The party was for that night at the ice rink right next to the hotel. It was great and they paid for the extra 15 minutes I stayed. Very cold, though...which is starting to effect my hands.
While at the resort, I stayed in contact with the young couple that hosted me and when I said that I would be interested in staying in town a little hile if I could find a place, they offered to rent me a room until February 1st for only $200. You bet!!! I jumped on it! And that is where I am right now, in my rented room on the house on the hill with the great view. One awesome joy about this place is THREE CATS! One has even chosen to keep me company in my room most of the time I'm home. I'm SO blessed!!! :-D
I got sick the day before I moved into my room. A pretty bad case of the flu. Four nights and five days in bed. I had met a beautiful young lady who brought me a bunch of medicines and vitamins to help fight the sickness, but even with all that, it was determined to keep me in bed. When I was healthy again, I went to the DMV to get a 30 day temporary registration for the Honda. It was a piece of paper in a plastic bag. I affixed it to the bike close to the main tags, but one of the three dogs that live here decided to eat it in the night. I picked up the pieces that were scattered around and went back to the DMV. We all got a good laugh over the fact that the dog ate the homework. They made a copy of my copy of the registration and even wrote on it, "The original was eaten by a dog." This time I affixed it in such a way that I can flip it into the trunk at night.
I've been offered several paying gigs since I've been here and I've been generously gifted some funds by a dear friend, so I'm not hurting for cash right at the moment, though what I have is no where near enough to get my bridge fixed. LHC respects my efforts with the balloons and often presents me with generous and grateful people picking up my tab at restaurants. I've worked the New Year's bash downtown and am scheduled to work the Hot Air Balloonfest later this month. I've been told that it draws tens of thousands of visitors to see the 50 or 60 balloons in flight.
A couple days ago, I hitched a ride into LA to pick up the Yamaha because the temporary registration for the Honda will run out before I can get it fully licensed. I have to order a copy of the title and then mail it to several places and do some paperwork and wait for Oregon DMV to send me the tags; the Yamaha is legal until sometime in '14. It was seriously COLD that night. Going to pick it up was basically spur of the moment. I didn't know until that morning that I was going to go do it. I was almost totally without money, though I knew there was some in the pipeline. In fact, I didn't have enough to buy the gas to make it back to LHC, but one thing I have learned pretty well, the Universe ALWAYS provides. I did make it back, thanks to several generous people that I twisted balloons for on the way back.
There is more I could write, but this is enough for tonight. Perhaps I'll flesh out the posts a little more in the days to come.
A request: if anyone knows a generous dentist who may be willing to work on my bridge for little or no money, please let me know. I know that I can get teeth pulled and filled and also get false teeth through different public avenues, but none I've found will cover a porcelain bridge. One of the anchor teeth has broken in half and is barely hanging on. I'm now missing half of the tooth. I don't care about the looks of the thing, but I only have 8 teeth on the bottom and the missing tooth of the bridge is my only chewing tooth on the side that I chew most with; which is why it broke, of course. If I lose it, I lose it. Going to work for the insurance isn't an option because it takes 90 days for most dental insurance to take effect AND the bridge will not last that long. I'm willing to trade the Yamaha, once I get the Honda legal. I'd sell the Honda, but I really don't think that is why I was given it.
Alright, enough of that. the Universe ALWAYS provides. Always. Don't know where, when, or how, but it always provides.
Happy New Year, everyone! May this be the year we all make radical leaps in our spiritual evolution!
At their request, since they are private people, I won't give much information about them or where the house is on the internet, but suffice it to say that the house is awesome and it has a million dollar view of the whole lake and valley. We hit it off well and they invited me to stay until I needed to go to the resort. the young man possesses one of the sharpest minds of any I have ever met and the personality of a true leader. Very charismatic! those who know me in person will hear the whole story.
So, the day came that I was to go to resort. I had chosen this particular resort from those available because it had a rockin dance club and a tourist area close by that I could twist balloons at...or so I thought. LHC, in the winter, has almost no children, no pedestrians that I have yet to be able to find almost a month later, and the club was seasonal and had a big pile of bird poop in the middle of the dance floor. (The club is an outdoor club.) So, it turned out to be a rather uneventful week. I used the time to wander about and get used to the bike, catch up on some emails and whatnot, and watch movies. I also explored the town, trying to find places to twist.
I have gotten into just giving balloons away without expecting a return...most of the time. I am now trusting the Universe much more than at the beginning of this trip and It isn't letting me down. I found a restaurant that really supports the balloon arts and has been very generous to me, even hiring me at my full paid rate while letting me accept tips. the Black Bear Restaurant in Lake Havasu City has my full endorsement! If you come to town, be sure to stop by and tell them that Kai sent you. I also got a call from the sales manager who told me that she had heard that my going rate was $150 an hour for parties (don't know where she got her info, but I was happy to oblige. Not knowing the going rates around here, I figured it was the average. The party was for that night at the ice rink right next to the hotel. It was great and they paid for the extra 15 minutes I stayed. Very cold, though...which is starting to effect my hands.
While at the resort, I stayed in contact with the young couple that hosted me and when I said that I would be interested in staying in town a little hile if I could find a place, they offered to rent me a room until February 1st for only $200. You bet!!! I jumped on it! And that is where I am right now, in my rented room on the house on the hill with the great view. One awesome joy about this place is THREE CATS! One has even chosen to keep me company in my room most of the time I'm home. I'm SO blessed!!! :-D
I got sick the day before I moved into my room. A pretty bad case of the flu. Four nights and five days in bed. I had met a beautiful young lady who brought me a bunch of medicines and vitamins to help fight the sickness, but even with all that, it was determined to keep me in bed. When I was healthy again, I went to the DMV to get a 30 day temporary registration for the Honda. It was a piece of paper in a plastic bag. I affixed it to the bike close to the main tags, but one of the three dogs that live here decided to eat it in the night. I picked up the pieces that were scattered around and went back to the DMV. We all got a good laugh over the fact that the dog ate the homework. They made a copy of my copy of the registration and even wrote on it, "The original was eaten by a dog." This time I affixed it in such a way that I can flip it into the trunk at night.
I've been offered several paying gigs since I've been here and I've been generously gifted some funds by a dear friend, so I'm not hurting for cash right at the moment, though what I have is no where near enough to get my bridge fixed. LHC respects my efforts with the balloons and often presents me with generous and grateful people picking up my tab at restaurants. I've worked the New Year's bash downtown and am scheduled to work the Hot Air Balloonfest later this month. I've been told that it draws tens of thousands of visitors to see the 50 or 60 balloons in flight.
A couple days ago, I hitched a ride into LA to pick up the Yamaha because the temporary registration for the Honda will run out before I can get it fully licensed. I have to order a copy of the title and then mail it to several places and do some paperwork and wait for Oregon DMV to send me the tags; the Yamaha is legal until sometime in '14. It was seriously COLD that night. Going to pick it up was basically spur of the moment. I didn't know until that morning that I was going to go do it. I was almost totally without money, though I knew there was some in the pipeline. In fact, I didn't have enough to buy the gas to make it back to LHC, but one thing I have learned pretty well, the Universe ALWAYS provides. I did make it back, thanks to several generous people that I twisted balloons for on the way back.
There is more I could write, but this is enough for tonight. Perhaps I'll flesh out the posts a little more in the days to come.
A request: if anyone knows a generous dentist who may be willing to work on my bridge for little or no money, please let me know. I know that I can get teeth pulled and filled and also get false teeth through different public avenues, but none I've found will cover a porcelain bridge. One of the anchor teeth has broken in half and is barely hanging on. I'm now missing half of the tooth. I don't care about the looks of the thing, but I only have 8 teeth on the bottom and the missing tooth of the bridge is my only chewing tooth on the side that I chew most with; which is why it broke, of course. If I lose it, I lose it. Going to work for the insurance isn't an option because it takes 90 days for most dental insurance to take effect AND the bridge will not last that long. I'm willing to trade the Yamaha, once I get the Honda legal. I'd sell the Honda, but I really don't think that is why I was given it.
Alright, enough of that. the Universe ALWAYS provides. Always. Don't know where, when, or how, but it always provides.
Happy New Year, everyone! May this be the year we all make radical leaps in our spiritual evolution!
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Hmmm...been awhile.
It has been brought to my attention by several people recently that I've been lagging on keeping this blog updated, so here I go. This post likely won't be in as much detail as some of the others...more of a "headline version" post, I think.
Okay, I think the last post had me wet, and the one before that (not in order) was about getting the new bike. So I'll tell you about the Universe wanting to feed me and what led up to being at the restaurant that night, then I'll skip forward a bit.
After getting up soaking wet from the dew in Santa Barbara, I put up the tent slightly moist because i just wanted to get on the road. I rode East a bit and found a place to hang out awhile and warm up. I spent most of the daylight hours trying to find a place to sleep via couchsurfing or a cheap tent space, all in vain. So, toward evening I decided to take a more aggressive approach and took off on the bike stopping at this exit or that and looking for a campsite. I found a lot of them, but none in my price range. Finally, after exploring one exit, I decided that I would just leave the LA basin and get to the desert. Figured I could find a place out there and it would likely be dry.
As I was headed back toward the highway, I noticed a park that had an open and lighted restroom. This is unusual as I've noticed that most cities close and lock the public park restrooms after dark. I stopped to change into my deep cold weather riding gear and charge my cell phone as I was going to need the GPS to find my way to the desert. Shortly before midnight, a beautiful though somewhat intoxicated young woman came walking purposefully across the parking lot while calling out, "Hey! I've been looking for you!" I have to admit that for a moment, I thought I was going to get "lucky." Yes, I still have some of THOSE kinds of thoughts.
Anyhow, she told me that it was her birthday and that she had decided to give away 3 Denny's Sunrise breakfasts before the end of her birthday to someone on the street. I was the third. She handed me a bag with the still-warm breakfast in it. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I had just eaten and that I don't eat meat. I figured the Universe wanted to show me that, although I was having trouble finding a place to sleep, It was still looking out for me.After taking our picture, she called her dad and said goodbye. I watched her stride toward what I can only assume was home. I wished her well and placed the food on the sink and got on the bike and rode on.
About 3 in the morning, I came out of the pass and found myself in the beginnings of the desert. I got off at the first exit and found a spot where I could ride the bike behind some desert bushes and camped, using my bivy-sac for the first time. It was cold and cramped, but I got sleep.
The next morning, I wandered around a little, waiting for the air to warm up. Then I rode down to the local IHOP and made a little money twisting while I ate. they occasionally had a twister in so they knew the drill of tipping for balloons. I liked the area so decided to hang out for a bit as I had more than a week to go before needing to be in Lake Havasu City. Besides, I knew that I was going to have a place to sleep that night...the same place I had already slept. I spent the day meeting people and doing what I could to help them experience more happiness via giving away balloons and/or counseling.
That evening around dinnertime, I found myself not very hungry. I've noticed that my body doesn't process food really fast so I was still working off of breakfast. This is where "Pay It forward" begins, more or less. I'll post another entry to cover the goings on after arriving in Lake Havasu City.
Okay, I think the last post had me wet, and the one before that (not in order) was about getting the new bike. So I'll tell you about the Universe wanting to feed me and what led up to being at the restaurant that night, then I'll skip forward a bit.
After getting up soaking wet from the dew in Santa Barbara, I put up the tent slightly moist because i just wanted to get on the road. I rode East a bit and found a place to hang out awhile and warm up. I spent most of the daylight hours trying to find a place to sleep via couchsurfing or a cheap tent space, all in vain. So, toward evening I decided to take a more aggressive approach and took off on the bike stopping at this exit or that and looking for a campsite. I found a lot of them, but none in my price range. Finally, after exploring one exit, I decided that I would just leave the LA basin and get to the desert. Figured I could find a place out there and it would likely be dry.
As I was headed back toward the highway, I noticed a park that had an open and lighted restroom. This is unusual as I've noticed that most cities close and lock the public park restrooms after dark. I stopped to change into my deep cold weather riding gear and charge my cell phone as I was going to need the GPS to find my way to the desert. Shortly before midnight, a beautiful though somewhat intoxicated young woman came walking purposefully across the parking lot while calling out, "Hey! I've been looking for you!" I have to admit that for a moment, I thought I was going to get "lucky." Yes, I still have some of THOSE kinds of thoughts.
Anyhow, she told me that it was her birthday and that she had decided to give away 3 Denny's Sunrise breakfasts before the end of her birthday to someone on the street. I was the third. She handed me a bag with the still-warm breakfast in it. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I had just eaten and that I don't eat meat. I figured the Universe wanted to show me that, although I was having trouble finding a place to sleep, It was still looking out for me.After taking our picture, she called her dad and said goodbye. I watched her stride toward what I can only assume was home. I wished her well and placed the food on the sink and got on the bike and rode on.
About 3 in the morning, I came out of the pass and found myself in the beginnings of the desert. I got off at the first exit and found a spot where I could ride the bike behind some desert bushes and camped, using my bivy-sac for the first time. It was cold and cramped, but I got sleep.
The next morning, I wandered around a little, waiting for the air to warm up. Then I rode down to the local IHOP and made a little money twisting while I ate. they occasionally had a twister in so they knew the drill of tipping for balloons. I liked the area so decided to hang out for a bit as I had more than a week to go before needing to be in Lake Havasu City. Besides, I knew that I was going to have a place to sleep that night...the same place I had already slept. I spent the day meeting people and doing what I could to help them experience more happiness via giving away balloons and/or counseling.
That evening around dinnertime, I found myself not very hungry. I've noticed that my body doesn't process food really fast so I was still working off of breakfast. This is where "Pay It forward" begins, more or less. I'll post another entry to cover the goings on after arriving in Lake Havasu City.
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