23.DEC.2002
It has been snowing a lot over the last couple of days: yesterday we got about 6 inches in only a few hours. Today I went for a short hike to one of the old silver mine sites. It was dead silent out there in the woods, except for the "whumf" of snow falling from the trees. With my longing for the northeast briefly satisfied I headed back to the lodge for a snack.
I'm getting restless. I think it's the 7 months of relative isolation (4 in Wisconsin, 3 so far here) and contemplation of my future. I want to go see a rock and roll band. I want to eat Vietnamese food. I want to try to sell some photos. I want to choose my own projects, execute them my way, and finish them. None of that stuff is happening here.
On the other hand, this is a nice place to spend some time, learn some new songs, read some books, maybe write an article. So I should quit complaining and be glad I don't have to get a job.
08.DEC.2002
I just turned 30 recently. No big deal I guess, but it was enough to score a free beer at the High Desert Brewery in Las Cruces. If I let my hair grow long enough I can see grey hairs on my temples and the top ain't as thick as it used to be. Good thing I started shaving my head again.
I've updated the future plans page and added a couple of links. Now here's a treat: a sound file of me playing my bamboo didgeridoo.
01.DEC.2002
Sitting naked in a hot tub in the dark, watching the stars disappear with the coming dawn as the cool rain hit my hot shoulders: that's how I spent the first morning of the second year since I left my job.
Yesterday I made a huge leap of progress on my bamboo didgeridoo. I shaped the mouthpiece almost perfectly, and found that cutting off about 8 inches made the natural frequency just a bit higher and easier to achieve with my novice lips. I managed to get a low rumble once at the didgeridoo's original length (up to my forehead when standing upright) but such a low frequency pfffpplllpppttt is difficult to maintain. The big hurdle now is circular breathing.
By the way, this is bloody hilarious.
27.NOV.2002
I know how to put a metal roof on a building now. Not only do I know how, but I am fully confident that I could roof my own house with the help of 1 or 2 other people. The downside is that I am exhausted after working for about 3 weeks straight, most of which was spent removing 30,000 pounds of Spanish tile from the old roof. We slid each of the 5,700 tiles down a chute to be stacked on pallets on the ground, hopefully to be sold later. The new roof went up really fast, but the repeated trips up and down the ladder have all but destroyed my legs. Oh well, that which does not kill me makes me Stromberg, I always say. We just got our first snow yesterday and the temperature has dropped significantly in the last few days. Luckily we finished the roof right before the weather changed.
Now I am working on a bamboo didjeridoo (pardon the spelling -- I'll look it up later). It's my third bamboo project: the book rack and the wind chimes got me hooked on working with this material.
I just ordered a pair of winter boots today, something I haven't needed in a long time. I didn't spend enough time outside in the winter during the years I was working to really need them: house to car, car to office, office to car, car to house. Now I'm outside a lot of the time, and although it doesn't get New York cold here my feet have not been toasty since the temperature dropped. My experience has taught me not to be cheap when it comes to footwear, and despite my hyper-frugality these days I took my own advice and dropped the big cash on a pair of elk hunting boots. Not that I'm going to go elk hunting, but they are built to stand up to abuse, scary terrain (like roofs) and cold weather, which I guess is what you run into when hunting elk.
You might note that in 3 days it will have been a year since I unplugged from the corporate world. It is possible to not only survive, but truly live, without giving up your time to The Man. In fact dropping out of the rat race is possibly the only way many of us can truly live, and live truly.
05.NOV.2002 election day
I'm not voting today. Not because I don't want to, but because I'm not a resident anywhere. It's a situation I don't like for many reasons, but not being able to vote is a big one. I think that if you can vote but choose not to then you damned well better get out the razor to scrape that "These Colors Don't Run" sticker off your bumper.
And if you still think we're going to war for some altruistic or defensive motive and not so we can get more oil for our Ford Excursions, you should read this. That's right, it's another oil war.
Well, faithful readers, I'm eating well, working hard, staying warm, and learning a lot. I even got what amounts to a marriage proposal (or a something proposal) walking down the street in Palomas, Mexico the other day. Oh, and it sounds like Christian and Sandra are having a good time in China.
20.OCT.2002
I have been at the Black Range Lodge in southwestern New Mexico for about three weeks now. So far I have learned how to: drive a backhoe, arc weld, mix concrete, make sourdough waffles, peel green chiles, and play extreme frisbee golf. Many other experiences are soon to come.
Yesterday Pete and I took a father and son from Canada (eh) on a 4-hour hike from the Lodge that just skirted the southern edge of the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area, the first protected wilderness in the US. It was a tough hike at times, climbing to nearly 10,000 feet; I'm still not quite used to the thin atmosphere here. Just as the sun was going down we were treated to a spectacular bird's eye view of an aspen grove that was in between green and gold. For the last hour or so we were walking by the light of the full moon before we shuffled into the kitchen for some well-deserved grub.
I am pretty out of touch here, with no regular news of the world. What little I do hear is discouraging. The frequent lodge guests are fun to talk to though, and they get a lot of cross-country cyclists (we're on one of the popular routes) who are always interesting.
20.SEP.2002
The wisest thing I can come up with right now is this: Instead of wondering why your belly button smells so bad, perhaps you should ask yourself why you put your finger in there and then sniffed it.
I am packing up for the road trip back to New York, but I'll be enjoying Cheese Days in Monroe this weekend before I go. I can't wait to see the Beef Queen. Next week I fly from Albany to Albuquerque, two cities that start with "Alb." You probably won't hear much from me until after I get there.
10.SEP.2002
I will not write about September 11. I will not write about September 11. I will not write about September 11. I will not write about September 11. I will not write about September 11. I will not write about September 11. I will not write about September 11. I will not write about September 11. I will not write about September 11. I will not write about September 11. I will not write about September 11. I will not write about September 11. I will not write about September 11. I will not write about September 11. I will not write about September 11. I will not write about September 11. I will not write about September 11. I will not write about September 11. I will not write about September 11. I will not write about September 11. I will not write about September 11. I will not write about September 11. I will not write about September 11. I will not write about September 11. I will not write about September 11. Enough already.
01.SEP.2002
A couple of days ago I called a radio show for the first time ever. It was the Kathleen Dunn Show on Wisconsin Public Radio; she was doing her monthly Open Line segment in which people call in to suggest future show topics. During a break from building the water tower I decided to call and recommend that she do a show on television: people who have given it up, its effect on our society, stuff like that. On the air Kathleen started asking me questions about myself, so a lot of the stuff that's in my latest essay came up. She said that I sounded like I'd make an interesting interviewee; she handed me off to her producer who took my contact information and said they might be in touch. Thus, a dehydration delerium-induced whim has led me to possibly be invited to be on a Milwaukee-based radio talk show.
Perhaps even weirder than that was the coincidence that happened this weekend. A young married couple rode their tandem bicycle from Milwaukee and stayed a couple of nights here at the bed and breakfast. Through a little bit of conversation I found out that the guy, Jim, was a co-op (intern) at Gore in 1999, just before I started there as an engineer. But that's not all -- he actually lived in an apartment with another Gore engineer during his internship, who eventually ended up moving in with me during my last months at Boat House! Long ago I had even heard the stories, which Jim confirmed with a nostalgic smile, about the guys in that apartment sewing vast amounts of outdoor gear from scrap Gore-Tex fabric. I would have gone out and played the lottery that day, if I believed in crap like that.
Christian and Sandra Stromberg are well on their way around the world. I've added a link to their journal on the links page.
23.AUG.2002
A couple of nights ago we went to a farm about 20 miles north of here to check out their live music night. An old hippie couple owns this farm, and every once in a while they host musicians and a pot luck. They have turned an old sandstone barn foundation into a little outdoor theater, and there is no electricity involved: the musicians are purely acoustic and oil lamps and the moon are the only light sources. The event is free, except they pass a hat to collect money for the performers.
This time they had a bluegrass band come down from Madison. They put out some great tunes, some I recognized and quite a few that I didn't. During a break I asked if they knew "Blue Diamond Mines" and the bassist took over the guitar and joined the mandolin player to do a stunning duet of the song. Even the crickets quieted down to hear it.
If I ever have a farm or some other place that would fit a band and a handful of people I am going to do something like that. What a great experience! A bunch of cool people who want to hear some good music and share food, and a band that just wants to play, all gathering under the cool summer night sky. A pessimist would say that it seems like just the sort of thing that some arm of the government would want to shut down for no good reason.
I've tweaked the site again: added an about page and some things to ponder in the right gutter of the home page.
Today I will continue work on the water tower structure and bring in Liam's diapers from the clothes line.
17.AUG.2002
Well then. Just as I was getting really frustrated in my effort to get deeper into the natural building world, I got an offer to work down at the Black Range Lodge in southern New Mexico. The place is a hub of activity for straw bale and other natural building methods, and this is a great chance for me to gain lots of experience.
So I will be leaving Wisconsin for New York the third week of September, and I need to fly to New Mexico on the 27th to help out at the Solar Fiesta. My initial commitment is for a month, but assuming that things work out I will be spending at least the winter there, if not longer. It's hard to believe I've already been here for 3 months, and it will have been 4 by the time I leave.
Soon it will be a year since I left the corporate world, and as far as conventional society is concerned I am terribly unsuccessful with no job and no home. But I'm well fed, I do meaningful work every day, I have a great place to sleep, and I'm having fun. So nyeaahh.
12.AUG.2002
A couple of weeks ago I went to Wisconsin's north woods to join in on a paddle party held by the River Alliance. We did a day trip on the Wolf River, which until recently was in danger of being destroyed by a metallic mine. Fortunately the mine was never built, and a recent decision by the state has ensured that it never will be. So far I am really glad I brought my kayak here. The River Alliance folks welcomed me like I was a member of their family, even though I had never met them and wasn't even part of their organization (John and Lisa are, which is how I got hold of the invitation).
Last weekend the farm hosted a series of MREA workshops, and I took part in Intro to Natural Building and Earthen Plasters. I was reunited with Uncle Matty and Joe, who were here last September when Worth and I came to help with the strawbale greenhouse. John and I will finish the interior plaster this month.
I have begun construction of a cob garden wall, which is my first experience with this building method. It is time consuming, incredibly labor intensive, and loads of fun. Using sand, clay, straw, water, sweat and muscle, the embodied energy (fossil fuels burned in the process) is very low compared to other building methods.
The materials for the water tower are coming together, and Phil and I should be getting started with construction in a week or so.
I am woefully behind in my search for "what's next," and I have extended my stay here through September; this will allow me to do some more cool stuff here, and I'll get to see Monroe's famous Cheese Days!
11.JUL.2002
Tomorrow I fly back to New York for the weekend to attend the Stromberg wedding. It should be a good time, and I hope nobody minds if I don't get too dressed up -- all of my so-called nice clothes are in storage.
The energy fair was eye-opening. I went to workshops on topics like cordwood masonry and stone circles (e.g. Stonehenge) and met a few engineers who were frustrated with their jobs and looking for a new direction. I should start a support group or something. I got some useful leads, and I have begun the process of making contact with folks on the West Coast regarding work in natural building.
Right now I am designing a water tower to hold rainwater from the greenhouse roof, which will be used for irrigation inside. I am going to integrate a solar-heated shower into the structure, too. The main tank is 500 gallons, so you can be sure that I am going to brace the hell out of it. ("Over-engineer" is not in my vocabulary.)
18.JUN.2002
I smacked my head hard, not for the first time, against a low beam up in the dairy barn. The llamas were privy to a good amount of cursing. I made a cool chair, kind of like an African "chieftan chair," out of warped boards that would otherwise have been burned. Songs that I can play and sing: Blue Diamond Mines, The Band Played Waltzing Matilda, Johnny B. Goode, Ball and Chain (by Social Distortion), and a sea chanty with no title that I know of. Songs I want to learn next: Folsom Prison Blues and Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner.
This week is the Midwest Renewable Energy Association's annual Energy Fair, where I will be among many thousands of people interested in RE and alternative construction methods like me. I hope to do some serious networking, maybe making some connections with builders from northern California.
New photos are up from Arizona, San Francisco, and the redwoods. Only a couple more rolls of slides to scan and the US trip will be complete.
03.JUN.2002
Dig the site's new look, a change made simple by my style sheet. A film-scanning marathon has resulted in 3 new photo galleries from my trip: Austin, True Believers, and Fugazi. I also added a few more color shots to the New Orleans page.
I spent last weekend up north at the cabin taking care of the newly planted trees and doing the check-in for this week's guests. I have the farm to myself this week; my duties include chicken wrangling, garden weeding, asparagus harvesting, and de-nailing old barn wood.
29.MAY.2002
A few observations since I arrived here at the farm... I have not spent a DIME - well, except for $4.50 to see Star Wars. I have not consumed any food from a disposable package (even the local brewery reclaims and refills its bottles). Eating lots of spinach doesn't give you super strength, but it does do interesting things to your digestive system. Chickens look hilarious when they run at full speed. There is a disturbingly sharp contrast between this property, which is a lush habitat for everything including singing toads, and the surrounding corn fields, barren thanks to being soaked with Monsanto brand RoundUp.
Designs I'm working on: a rain collection system for greenhouse irrigation, a manual egg washer, a clay sieve (for making more stucco), and a kayak cart (for myself).
23.MAY.2002
Since my last update, I met up with friends from school while visiting Boston, who kept handing me huge glasses of Guinness. While in Boston I also got to visit Bikes Not Bombs, which happens to be right next door to my sister's art studio.
On my way back to New York I stayed over in New Hampshire with a very cool couple I met while traveling in Turkey. We went to the NH Sheep and Wool Festival where I got a neat hat, and I also got the full 4-volume set of "Ingenious Mechanisms" for $8 at the local Goodwill store.
After a few days furiously packing at home in NY, I set out on the road with a kayak and bike on the roof and a carload of tools, books, clothes, my guitar, etc. I stopped in Syracuse to visit friends, then went on to Rochester to spend the night with some more friends. I made it to Inn Serendipity on the 18th, after a rather cold night of camping outside of Toledo.
I have been eating nothing but organic food from the garden and eggs from the chickens since I arrived, and John and Lisa sure know how to cook! John's mom also made us some really good spinach pie, with the same kind of crust that is on baclava. I have had plenty of time to relax and do some film scanning, so New Orleans photos are up. I've also been getting into some projects around the farm, and already made handy use of the Sawzall. Raaaaaaaargh!
07.MAY.2002
Wow. I made it back from California in one piece, and Mom picked me up in Burlington, VT to take me home. A day later I was on the road to Maryland to develop my film from the trip. I spent all day at Cecil Community College to develop 13 rolls of B and W, which came out well. In the meantime, my 9 rolls of color slides were being processed in Delaware, and I am really happy with the results.
I got to go down to DC to help Christian renovate his sister and brother-in-law's bathroom, and got paid! (Thanks Jon and Kerry.) I also found out that the camera I had on consignment sold while I was traveling, so there's mo' money in the pocket. Finally, and coolest of all, my latest essay was published in Adbusters, and I got paid for that, too! Sweet.
Now I'm in Boston hanging out with my sister for the week. Yesterday we went to the Garment District, a used clothing store where I found some used black t-shirts. They're in better condition than my current inventory, which I have had for about 6 years or so. Holes in the armpits and such.
I plan to get to Wisconsin around the 18th of May, after which I will start the process of scanning negs and posting them to this site.
12.MAR-24.APR.2002
I have finally packed up all of my stuff, loaded up my backpack, and hit the (rail)road. Luckily I set my itinerary and bought my train ticket before Amtrak gets hacked apart by the federal government, which seems to prefer petrol-swilling modes of transportation like highways and air travel. By the way, planes, trucks, and cars get $46 billion in federal funds annually, while Amtrak receives $520 million in "subsidies."
Enough of the downbeat stuff -- take a look at my trip log for updates from the field. And for a little light reading, check out my essay marking my second year without television.
24.FEB.2002
Last week I recovered from the most serious cold I've ever had: 103 degree fever at the worst point, and a cough that felt like swallowing a wire brush. I lost about 8 days of productive time, and now my departure date is looming like, well, a train. This week I will take some things to NY for my parents to store, and put the rest of my stuff in a storage unit not far from here. I also need to get to work on the 2-year sequel to my first TV essay.
I did my taxes by hand on Friday and found that my refund will cover the estimated cost of my trip, not counting beer and whatnot. Pretty nice bit of Karma there.
04.FEB.2002
I just looked up and realized that it has probably been snowing for an hour: everything is covered in a thin layer of white. I was surprised enough to say, "Holy shit!" to an empty house, because the last time I looked out the window, which is right in front of me, nothing was happening outside. Winter has finally arrived in Maryland (again).
I have been playing guitar every day, mostly practicing "Blue Diamond Mine" and trying to sing and play at the same time. It's a lot more difficult than patting your head and rubbing your belly simultaneously. I'm getting better at it, but don't ask me to get on a stage anytime soon. I picked up my train ticket on Friday: only $450 to ride from New York to New Orleans, then to Austin, Phoenix and Sacramento. In preparation for the trip, I have been sewing Gore-Tex stow bags and modifying my backpack to suit my needs. The packing of most of my posessions continues slowly, and I have determined that everything I own (minus the 17' kayak and my car) will fit nicely into a 10' x 5' storage space.
15.JAN.2002
Today Jeff and I went mountain biking - I can't believe I was out there in short sleeves. I promised myself that I will scan more negatives tomorrow: I need to finish the Goreme pictures. On Thursday I am going up to the Dixon Farm in DuBois, PA to hang out with former Boat House inhabitants Worth and Christian.
I've updated my links and future plans and added a help link to the blurb at the bottom of the main page.
The news I hear on the radio is really bugging me. Actually it's what I'm not hearing that bugs me. Where did the Enron money go? Certainly not to these people. While the billions that Enron gouged during the California energy debacle sit in offshore accounts, ordinary citizens take the hit.
02.JAN.2002
I spent the holidays in upstate New York, and realized that I am no longer used to the cold temperatures that I once laughed at when I lived there. While I was at home in Peru, NY I worked on photos for the Istanbul and Goreme pages. I also added a personal favorites page, which I will update from time to time.