Friday, April 29, 2011

Moving Forward

I will be departing SoCal soon for the shores of Hawai'i. I'm still not sure if this is a step forward or sideways. As the old adage~sometimes printed in indelible ink~ says, 'Only time will tell.'

The stress of this move and the impending new job has left me in a strange mood the last couple of days. On two different occasions this week, I have been surprised by how this stress has manifested itself. The first time was with a freshly cut mango in the kitchen. It smelled exactly like happiness. I don't mean that the smell made me happy. That fresh cut, half eaten mango smelled exactly like happiness.


- Posted using 19526235 from my iPhone

Location:Gary St,San Diego,United States

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Barber shop life lessons

An abridged conversation with a man named Edgar.

E: "What the hell is it with people and tattoos these days? They mean nothing, the ink poisons you slowly all your life and you will live to regret it."

K: (wearing long sleeves) "Sure a lot of people get tattoos they regret when it's simply a cool design vice a tattoo that's telling a story. I like to look at it as the story of your life, like a suitcase with stickers from everywhere you've been, only nobody carries suitcases like that anymore really."

E: "My uncle had a terrible tattoo, I'd see it when he'd wash his face at night after work. He told me that it was the biggest mistake of his life and that it was just poison in his body. But, you know, it's a free country people can do what they want."

K: "There's going to be people getting bad tattoos everyday, tattoos are a sacred to some, others just get what they think are cool designs. You don't have to like it."

E: "Temporary tattoos. Everyone should have temporary tattoos instead. You get it done, you go strut yourself at the beach, and in two weeks it's gone."

K: "I feel that not everyone gets tattoos to be cooler in public."

E: "Telling you, temporary tattoos. All of them will live to regret it."


E: "When I was younger I should have just gone up and got all these hard lessons out of the way by talking to old men."

K: "Sounds a little too sheltered, part of living is making mistakes. If anything it's going to make you a better parent."

E: (clearly ignoring my two cents) "Yup, a lot of young guys come in and I tell them they need to get married by the time they hit 25."

K: "Why's that?"

E: "Well when you're 30 you'll be way too picky."


You want to know the answer to life's problems? Getting married early and staying true to temporary tattoos kids. I know, I asked an old man who's got everything wired tight. Look out life, I'm coming at you swingin'!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

WHEN IS THIS GONNA STOP!

I need a break. I've had a substantial dirt clod of responsibility tossed at me and it's beautifully smashed atop my head and done quite well at exploding and affecting the loved ones around me. Thing is, don't want to get into that. What I do want to say is that I took a "not so emergent pump the breaks leave" and thankfully it was approved within the work day. So I have from today til' the 25th off... and that gives me the piece of mind I desperately need.

In fact I cannot remember the last time I took leave. I talked to my fellow blog contributer about this and we both guessed that it was a day here and there, but the main leave being two weeks with my Pop during our eduro-moto ride to Colorado and back. So folks it's time to take a break. It's time to see my great friend Steven while he's back home and take two days in San Onofre with a tent, two boards, a small backpack stove, a book, and plenty of southern California surf on my side.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Tidal shift

I'm on my last glass of Kentucky bourbon tonight, and as I usually do I've been thinking. I remember telling my friend "Malo" about how we shouldn't link each other's topics entry to entry, but his entry has got me thinking positive.

I had my day off today and I made a few observations that I suppose I usually wouldn't make. Normally a day off in the single life would mean waking up early to a pot of good coffee, and why I don't have to validate it, buying shit coffee like Maxwell House is a choice for fools an owners of bland personalities. After a few cups of black piping hot deliciousness that would lead me into accomplishing some short term domestic goals around the house and local grocery store. Before I bore anyone to quickly I'd probably find myself four to five beers deep at either the Til' Two Club or The Tower shmozing on some other bored regular. But not today...

Today was greeted very quickly by a girlfriend with a migraine at about 3am followed by her poor self getting very sickly til' about 7am. I didn't sleep a wink and it just didn't do me right to see her feeling terrible. I was tired of laying in bed trying to get 30 mins of sleep at a time and thought it best to draft a list of things I had to accomplish to make myself mentally satisfied. My list would be chocked full of dollar signs and a lot of driving around. Again, without trying to bore anyone it ended up with me taking my love to the doctor's office to get checked out and some good meds to subdue her headache that "...wants to make me take my eye out with a spoon." The important part being that the usual impatient person I know myself to be who was inconvenienced with catering to his lady all day, was in fact happy to do it and is glad to welcome her into my apartment to live with me.

The simplicity of having someone at home is such a great feeling, and most moments feel like an effortless transition, and that my friends is a report I'd like to not only share, but yell at the top of my lungs.

It's not good to be home, it's great to be home. Surfs up or not... I know someone who's paddling out tomorrow after work.

Home again

It's odd that coming home from a long trip should feel more like being gone than actually being gone does. Most likely not a revelation to seasoned travelers.

Home feels strange. Strained even. I don't enjoy doing dishes or scrubbing the shower or washing the bath towels. All things I do not have to do when I travel. I've grown accustomed to other people doing those things and now they feel like burdens rather than everyday life.

But, being home makes the unexpected more spectacular. I'm not taken aback too often with the things I see or experience when I travel. I expect to see new things. This expectation does not make new experiences any less exciting. But being "home" tends to make mundane, well, de rigueur.

So, when the unexpected surprise does happen at home, it is all the more spectacular. This is what explains a guy's excitement when his wife/girlfriend/partner "dresses up" for a special evening in. Or the satisfaction when he walks in to his local bar and the bartender says "Hey___, the usual?" Or he returns to find tattoos that were never imagined.

Malo

Location:Ohio St,San Diego,United States