this is zen
I’m doing my best to keep this updated, but life is overwhelming me right now. Not in a bad way, but it is still a huge challenge. Not one I can’t overcome however.
I decided instead of trying to fill in the blanks, I’d talk about now. Nomadic Zen is about being in constant motion now. One day when I cross your path we can crack open a beer, look at the pictures, and I’ll promise you a good story about all of them. So I will summarize what happened over the past 10 days in as little words as possible.
They were amazing.
Moving right along.
It’s funny how this idea of giving up everything has gotten me more and more plugged in. I’m sitting in a park in Austin Texas updating my blog……And my blackberry just went off………It was a text message from someone several thousand miles away. Talk about plugged in.
But I welcome the support and everyone is more than welcome to contact me at any point for a chat or random text.
Austin has been good to me so far. It’s hot as hades here, but it’s better than the hail storm we hit driving here. I’ve been here for about 48 hours and have already made some amazing friends. A local CSer let me borrrow her bike while I’m here after knowing me for a grand total off 60 minutes. Thank you!
I haven’t hit the bike yet. I was too busy hitting the trails today and hanging out in water trying to stay warm. Yesterday we checked out Barton Springs to try to stay cool. It’s a large spring fed pool that is a little more natural than most pools. The ground has rocks and seaweed, but the edges are smooth. $3 well spent.
I put out a call to local Couchsurfers (is that supposed to be capitalized) looking for some good local beer and fellow brew snobs. That led me to Draughthouse for pint night. I sampled a poorly labled amber ale that should be an IPA and a delicious pecan porter by 512 brewing. I made friends with folks there and they invited me to their party on Saturday. I’m not sure if I’m going to make it though. One day at a time, right?
After that we went to Ruta Maya coffee house for open mic night. One of the local CSers was supposed to play but I don’t think she did. Instead we sat outside doing a little impromptu jam session until the rent-a-cop for the neighbors (clear channel) came by and shoed us away. he was a nice guy though. His favorite artist is Celine Dion. He’s from Jamaica, mahn. 2nd coolest rent-a-cop I’ve ever known.
Today my host wanted to go back to Barton springs and wade some more. I’ve seen it once so I decided to decline. Instead I’d do some urban exploration. I love that feeling of being lost in a new place. He tried to explain how to get downtown via bus, but I’ve never been very good at public transit. What I am good at is flying a sign.
A mustang pulls up a few minutes later and Kevin asked me “going downtown?” I always get a chuckle from that question, but I guess you gotta ask what “downtown” means before you offer to drive people places. He told me he passed me once and started thinking about karma and came back for me. That’s why I pick up hitchhikers and that’s why I give my spare chage to the homeless. I’ve never had to beg for money, but ya never know, right?
Kevin was a nice guy who grew up not far west from Austin. He’s been living in Austin for 15 years and it showed. It proved to be a plethora of kn0wledge as he pointed out cool things during the drive. He gave me history lessons and awesome advice and what to do. He asked where I was going in particular and I just shrugged and said, “downtown.” He laughed and decided it would be best to drop me off at the capital. I’ve never seen it and it was on top of a hill so he figured it would be a good place to start instead of ending.
He drops me off pretty much at the front door of the place and I shake his hand. His good deed added a bit more positivity to my universe.
I walked around the capital building for a little while. Not as much because I was interested, but because it was probably air conditioned and that also adds a bit more positivity to my universe. 
The building however was pretty cool, and the shaded comfort equally nice. I snapped some photos like the tourist I am and decided to keep moving.
And now I sit. Here in the grass. Contemplative, reflective, and in the moment. Life is good. My dad told me before I left that things may not go as expected. He’s right. I’m well fed, never alone, and there hasn’t been a single moment of regret. Nothing like I imagined.
Past, present, and now future.
In 40 minutes I’m supposed to meet up with yet another friend that I haven’t met yet. Serrano’s is just 2 blocks south of here. We meet there and hopefully draw the attention of more couchsurfers before heading back this park I sit in to experience Blues in the Green. Live blues music in waterloo park.
From there, who knows. I’ll be Austin for at least through tomorrow, and no later than Monday. From here I’d like to visit a friend that I met at the Detroit Couch Crash. He lives in San Marcus which is about a 20-30 minute drive west of here. I’ll be sure to check on a bus going in that direction, and if not, I’ll start doing pushups on my thumbs.
The National Gathering of the Rainbow tribes is in a few weeks in New Mexico. I’ll head that way after San Marcus. If I get there in time, I may visit a couple cities in the area before camping out. Coyote Dave who I met at the Tentsurf has invited me to camp with him there. He told me he’s setting up now. Maybe I’ll get there early, but who knows. One day a time. I think it goes well throughout the month so I’m in no hurry.
From there I have a rough idea of what’s going to happen, but everything in life is subject to change. Where you end up isn’t all that important. What is important is the journey you took to get there.
People keep talking about how much I’m going to learn while traveling. Here are a few of them so far:
-Never fart in a mummy bag.
-Do however wrap hot rocks from a fire in a towel and stick them in there. It’ll keep you warm at night and the towel will insulate from burns.
-You don’t really HAVE to wear underwear most of the time.
-When you buy a compass, you get what you pay for. NOTE: buy new compass
-Most produce that says “keep refrigerated” can go a few days outside of the fridge and not kill you, or taste bad.
-If you eat healthy, you won’t stink as much.
-the reason they call it “mountain mix” is because the chocolate melts at sea level where it’s 100 degrees.
-You never know how long you have. Live before you die. Live for those who wish they could. Live for yourself while you can. RIP Brian Maynard
go happy, my friends
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