The Alameda Beach Fiasco

Or: The Fine Line Between an Adventure and a Fiasco...

Adventure: Noun: An unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity.

Fiasco: A thing that is a complete failure, esp. in a ludicrous way. (Ludicrous: Causing or deserving laughter because of absurdity)

This was my day:

Wake Up at 10:30, groan because I didn't go to sleep till 6:00AM, nap till 11:15, open eyes, sit up. Groan more. 11:45, get text that says meet at 1:00pm instead of 12:00. Much better. Get up, get dressed, make Dark Wizard Lemonade, pack up the bike, ride to Mosswood, almost get killed 2 blocks from my house when a lady runs a stop sign and only sees me at the last minute, be real scared for a minute, logically think I should wear a helmet more, illogically think I'm invincible. Bottom line: Today was not my day to die, however Death, you're getting a little too close for comfort. Step off bro.

Meet up with the peeps at Mosswood, ride to the tunnel, ride through the tunnel, find route to Park ave, Devin gets a flat, Devin fixes the flat, Devin gets a flat, stop at Stone Cyclery to fix the flat, walk through the food and wine festival for a block, decide it's hell, ride up a block, meet the rest of our group at Trader Joes, ride to the beach, a block away, find a spot, eat hella good food, drink tecate, run into the ocean, dry off in the sun, discover that Celina has two flats and Devin has another flat. Send an exploratory group to Big 5, while the rest of us decide to drink the bottle of wine while we wait for the return of said exploratory group. Wine drunk in 10 minutes, group migrates to Big 5 where we hang out in the lounge chairs out front until the flats are all fixed, ride home.

It was ridiculous and fun, and I'm glad I was with everyone I was with.

Brain Grumbles

1. If I sell all my bike parts, I can go to Mexico.
2. If I work a full season and buy some plane tickets, I can go to South America, Or Big Bear, Or Colorado, or, or, or anywhere I want really. This appeals to me on so many levels...
3. My back hurts.
4. I wrote a new song today that i need to write down.
5. It feels good to get rid of all my stuff, even if my room is a disaster area right now.
6. Utah is getting closer.
7. It feels really awesome to have a camera again. I figure I can print and frame pictures for Christmas presents this year.
8. I bet if I went to Latin or South America, I could buy a bike for cheap there and get around. I'd like to volunteer at a couple of places down there. Maybe that will be my winter. I could skip winter this year and be ok.
9. I think I'm going to take a day of silence and detach myself from technology on Monday. It's going to be an overwhelming week of people next week and I'll need a super charge to get through it.
10. I think I'm going to take a long bike ride in the morning on Saturday up to Tilden. And then I'm going to buy myself a bakesale betty chicken sandwich.
11. My foodstamps were approved, so tomorrow I have to go pick them up. I'm pretty excited to have access to hella food.
12. Free Nachos at A's games are awesome.

13. I just tried this warhead spray candy and it's weird, but delicious, but also kind of numbing.
14. I got a new toy yesterday, and his name is Grumble. Grumble's job in my life is to go on adventures with me and get his picture taken in odd spots or with random people.

The Way and the Mountains

First the first gratitude list in a while:

This week I'm grateful for the people in my life. Most of them stand out on their own, but lately they have been coming in pairs.

1. Nick and Laura
2. Dom and Celina
3. Dan and Cindy
4. Matty
5. Alcatraz
6. Devin
7. Matto

The pairs of people are people who love each other, are generous with others, and have strong boundaries. Each expresses it in their own way, and each individual is one I admire and love a great deal in their own right, but the core of what I am grateful for this week, is how they interact with the world as a pair. There are definitely stand out individuals for very specific reasons: Matty for being, well, Matty. I've known him for a long time. He makes my brain and belly feel ok. Alcatraz for making me aware of how much I don't listen to the world around me and should. Matto for being a sweetheart and making me laugh, and Devin for showing that he cares without a hint of hesitation.

I'm using this week to begin a major tectonic life shift and today I'm feeling productive. I decided Saturday night that almost all of my stuff would have to go and that very little is going into storage this time around. For one, I need the money. Secondly, I need a new life. So the craigslist ads are posted, I'm in the process of uploading pictures, and my room is a disaster area. It feels amazing to be clearing out the clutter.


Liz Song just posted something up on Facebook yesterday that did a little thought reshaping for me: Brainpickings list of Five Manifestos for Life. Wow. What a treasure mine this website is. Definitely going on my favorites list.

There is some saying about how harmony and/or happiness come from having everything in your world projecting the same message. The same goes for a good marketing program with a company. Consistent messaging is key. So I'm working on clearing that up for myself. What's my plan for happiness that I'm not going to let circumstances interfere with? I guess that starts with what the hell makes me happy? I have an inkling, and things are becoming clearer in that area.

I feel a little bit like I should be really anxious, but for some reason, almost all the anxiety I've had the last year is gone. I am feeling somewhat in my element, I am exploring my world and my options, and the last two months have opened my eyes to a lot of things about me that I was not previously acknowledging or simply didn't know. Things like, I hate being in front of a computer all day. Being outside in nature makes me ridiculously happy and drops me right into the flow. Riding bikes is great, but doesn't even half way compare to riding a horse. Travel calms me down and gives me space to think. I don't like being inside all day. I like cooking simple and clean. I like having a beer or a glass of wine with friends and talking fluffy and serious in small groups. I like dance breaks. I like being on stage. I'm not sure what all this says about me, other than that it is who I am, and my best friends are the ones that understand it and love it about me.

I had a friend break off our friendship when I got back from Hollywood. Seeing as how we haven't really hung out very much outside of band stuff for the last year (almost) and our dealings with each other haven't been very friendly as of late, I can't say it was much of a surprise. Still, it sucks to lose a friend.

Another friend of mine posted up a pretty fantastic list of reasons why the 21st Century is Making you Miserable, on cracked.com. It was laugh out loud funny, but also really struck a nerve. Man, I love laughing and this one was just perfect for my morning.

This has been an interesting two months, and promises to be a continually interesting year. Adventuras!

Oopah ala!

Means: Jump Down! In Finnish. None of this is chronological, I am only writing how it comes to me. If I try to time line it, nothing will work.

More Hollywood: Playing dress up with Cindy to go out to a Brenna Whitaker show at the "W". She's brilliant and fun, and plays there every Sunday. I had a small crush on her trumpet player, and I heard more Journey than I could have imagined. At the end of the show this little old lady who was drunk got up on stage and danced with the singer, and tried to make out with him. It was incredible. I was surrounded by sparkly, and I felt sparkly to go with it.

Street Meat. This does not mean hookers. Though in hollywood, everyone under 25 seems to want to look like one. Street meat is a hot dog, wrapped in bacon, put on a bun with sauted onions and peppers, and oh god, it's delicious.

Sayana: Your first night camping was in a tent, in an apartment living room, in Hollywood. You're gonna be fine kiddo.

(The fam, in the tent, in the apartment in LA.)

Harrypocolypse!

Farmer's Market!

Waterfalls: Treasure pumkin= 2.25, a name, and a piece of honey comb found in a cave. Two trees climbed. Lots of skipping and jumping and running and climbing. I was too excited to be outside moving to not use all of it.

El Cid: One song open mic with Cindy. She got a gig, and I got to flirt with the cute sound man, who happened to be from Texas and had an instant crush on me after I said "Y'all are so pretty".

There's been a couple of days of rest in there too. I am ending up longer here than I thought originally, but it's been awesome so far. Dan and Cindy are amazing hosts, Hollywood is a shit show in the most amazing way, and I'm sleeping well. Tonight we went to the Griffith Observatory at the top of one of the hills. Beautiful. LA ain't so bad to visit.

OH! There was also the Eat Real festival and the pool party. Eat Real was all samples from the local food people down here. We paid too much for beer, we were misinformed, bastards. I met some bike people, (I've gotten into the habit of cheering them when we pass in the car. I think it might be obnoxious, but I don't care.) The pool party was a lot of fun. We basically spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool, drinking PBR and batting a bouncy ball between 8 or 9 of us. The non-competitive game lasted about two hours. I miss pools.

Velvis and the Funky Bus

Laughter for days. Alas, I've forgotten my camera, so I'm going to try and tell the story without too many words and far fewer pictures than I would prefer.

Tuesday Morning: Walk to Aaron and Sarah's, guitar in hand, pack on back, brush teeth, load on to the bus and we're off. The bus is a short bus, painted army green. Inside the seats have been taken out, with bench beds in their place. One higher, one lower in the back, and another along the left side of the bus, all with foamy cushions and lots of pillows. All the backpacks were piled on the floor between the closet and the lower bench over the right side wheel well, held in place by bungee cords. A throw rug on the floor, a swivel captain's chair up front by the stairs, two coolers on the left side, a tower of milk crates and a small pantry shelf for food storage behind the driver's seat complete the furnishings. They keep magnetic letters on the ceiling, Taylor throws up a hammock stretched across the middle of the bus from left side to right to nap in, there was Mud On The Tires playing from an a nice sound system and I could feel the base through my belly, since I was sitting above the woofers. We hit the highway and ten minutes in I was 10 pounds lighter, having left most of my baggage in Oakland. We hit the sun when we hit the valley, and multiple pee/gas/break stops later, we finally found our rhythm. Naps, punctuated by intermittent activity, the Texans are good at playing with each other and laughter won the day. I don't care what they say, those Texans have some big hearts and a whole lot of love for each other. It's nice to be around. "Let's go back to Texas where people love each other" Sarah said one night to Aaron. I consider myself lucky to have had a chance to be sitting in the middle of it, if only for a day. By nightfall we had hit San Diego, the bar was nice, but the music was bad. Hipster Harpist, Jazzy funk, and dreamy strings blended into one another, and the Texans in the middle of it all. Two step to a couple songs, talk about driving to Texas, (I ask you, driving to texas over a few days with a cat and listening to Sci-fi books on tape, does that not sound fantastic? I think so.) and being dropped off at the greyhound station were the end of my night.

Wednesday: Trying to find a comfortable position on the greyhound floor to try and sleep, and watching greek napoleon rule his little greyhound world, I'd have been offended if I didn't find it so damn funny with a side serving of being a little sad. 5am had me at the ticket counter and Four hours and forty five minutes later I would be in LA. The transfer point was LA, where I pulled out the guitar and sang until the hollywood bus arrived. Dan picked me up and we walked to his house, just around the corner. I got to see Miss Becca, hear some big and awesome news, and take a shower before passing out for a bit. Sat in as a test audience for Bill Maher, ate some delicious Mexican food, waited in line for a while with the boys and Cindy, came home and read and drank PBR before heading out and seeing amazing and not amazing art. We went to two really fun galleries, saw some really good art and some not so good art, drank some japanese beer, and then went to the margarita bar where we sat in the mirror room, and then met Velvis, or Bob, whatever. Velvis was a man who indeed looked like Elvis, but younger with curlier hair. He was charismatic and outgoing and entertained all of us for a while before getting into some deep conversation with Alex. Needless to say, I slept till noon today and enjoyed it.

Grateful Bowl

So, I would just like to say that it seems to me that some gratitude must be laid out on the table for my full belly. Being as poor as I am, scratchin' in the dust for some kernels of corn and some pretty pieces of paper that mean nothing in the long history of things, I have come to realize that my friends are incredible and generous sorts. They have let me travel with them, fed me, and soothed my invisible wounds with plenty of cheap wine. I'm not sure there's much more I could ask for in people I call my friends.

Yesterday was a backyard show day, with a band from Europe (The guy from Lichtenstein was amazing) and my lovely lions. I'm so proud of them, and they let me sing a couple of songs with them. I've only been to a couple of these shows this summer, I've not been feeling the punked out vibe this year, but a backyard bbq is hard to resist when you have no money, and the mood of the afternoon was mellow.

(backyard bbq show)

I had my first grateful bowl today. For those not in the know, the Grateful Cafe is a cafe that does mostly raw vegan food based in Berkeley. All their dishes are named after affirmations. It's kind of brilliant in that most Berkeley of ways. The grateful bowl is their community offering of brown rice, black beans, kale and a spicy green cilantro dressing, generously poured. You buy it for what you can pay. Also, it's incredibly delicious, better than I thought it would be. Some people pay 10$, some, who are poor, like me, pay 1$. Most pay somewhere in between. I have to say, for all my opposition to the cult like atmosphere, It made me smile and blush when the Question of the day was offered: What do you want to be acknowledged for and I answered "Being Awesome". When she actually did acknowledge me for that, I squirmed a little, but in a nice way. I sat down and ate, and picked up the book next to me written by the founder of the company. Insights a plenty, and not enough time to take them all in.

Also, I wrote this short note because sitting on my bar stool eating my grateful bowl, I had a hammer of self confidence just slam into me. My response:

Oh wow, hey confidence. Where have you been? Way to come out of left field like a ton of bricks. Sure, I'd love to dance. I wouldn't mind keeping you around for a while longer either. Love, Ashley

Quick, Get Me a Cow Costume!

And take me to chick-fil-a!

Oh the things I would do for a free meal. But this actually sounds incredibly fun.

Summer Music

It's been a while for a music post. I've been searching for the good stuff, and some good stuff I have indeed.

1. Spoken Word, "I want to Hear a Poem." Thanks to Ben for the tip.
2. Chali 2na, some really interesting sounding dancy stuff that I'm kind of loving. Took me a couple listens, but I like it more every time I listen to it, and I've been listening to it alot.
3. K'Naan, because this song is always on my summer music list.
4. Coldplay- I really love the new direction on their latest album and I'm not sick of the sound of it yet. It's upbeat and the videos have been amazing. This one is worth watching and not just listening to.
5. More Head and Heart. They are killing me right now. I will call it my "The head and the heart" phase. This song caught my ear last night.
6. Sam Cooke. 'Nuff Said.

4th of July

Lamb steak impromptu bbq in my own backyard, bike ride with good people to the ports, SF fireworks, bike ride home with the same good people, fireworks EVERYWHERE. I love my city.

Dirty Feet and Smiles for Days

Think this pretty much sums up my life lately.

Last night was the kickoff show for Aquarena Springs. They sounded amazing, and the whole amphitheater was full of people. There were at least 100 people there. I'm so proud of them.

Now I'm left to decide if want to try to hitch a ride down the coast on Rideshare or wait for the bus to come back in a week. I have a lot to take care of this week, so we'll see how it goes.