hi friends! i want your addresses please.
here's mine-
carmella guiol
c/o donna bouchard
po box 2126
vineyard haven, ma 02568
let's get a snail mail train started!
<3
Wednesday 30 June 2010
Thursday 24 June 2010
japan
Konnichiwa!
So I've been here about two weeks. The first week was all oreintation at this random hotel south of Tokyo, complete with language classes, guest lectures, lots of free awesome food, beers, and a homestay. Then I arrived in Yokohama to start working in a lab. These grad students work hard! And they do field work on weekends, but I'm still going to try and finagle some time to hang out in Tokyo with friends and visit Kyoto, Osaka and maybe even Nagoya. Anyway, nothing describes Japan like pictures! So go to this link! Or if it doesn't work, just check out my facebook album entitled 'first two weeks'. Complete with captions!!!! In Japan we use too many punctuation marks!!!! Love you guys!!! >_< :* ;) :D
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2040285&id=4002210&saved#!/album.php?id=4002210&aid=2040285
So I've been here about two weeks. The first week was all oreintation at this random hotel south of Tokyo, complete with language classes, guest lectures, lots of free awesome food, beers, and a homestay. Then I arrived in Yokohama to start working in a lab. These grad students work hard! And they do field work on weekends, but I'm still going to try and finagle some time to hang out in Tokyo with friends and visit Kyoto, Osaka and maybe even Nagoya. Anyway, nothing describes Japan like pictures! So go to this link! Or if it doesn't work, just check out my facebook album entitled 'first two weeks'. Complete with captions!!!! In Japan we use too many punctuation marks!!!! Love you guys!!! >_< :* ;) :D
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2040285&id=4002210&saved#!/album.php?id=4002210&aid=2040285
Wednesday 16 June 2010
Not as awesome as Selena in her combat boots
Hello you wonderful people!
Selena has driven me to posting. I can just picture her in her virtual combat boots stomping all over our emails, reminding us to write. So here are some snapshots of my recent life:
- I fell into a minor depression once many of you left after graduation weekend. I was mopey all over the place. What could I do? It was just so good to see you! Veronica even said to me in the Zu kitchen, "No wonder you're so sad!" after she went through the roster asking if each of you had left yet ("What about Carmella? Megan? Rose?"). Maybe it's melodramatic, but it felt like saying bye to you all at Chapman once again. It also foreshadowed the steady stream of friends who will leave the Happy Valley this summer. Some have already gone: Julian and Kendahl (we miss you!); Will Bangs (the Hampshire friend from high school who Selena followed around Chapman); Tauhid; Dylan Bianchi; Marcella. Some are about to leave: Scott and Sara DZ; Jenny Morgan; my friend Liz from Smith; potentially Becky and Steve. Obviously they are all going off to exciting things...
- I have dealt with the scary prospect of losing friends in Western Mass by making an effort to make new friends out here. My roommates are a total lost cause (why does every interaction have to be so weird?), but my coworkers are amazing people. I have become friends with two in particular: Amy, who reminds me of a mix of Carmella, Rachel, Selena and my friend Ellice from New York; and Lauren, who is unlike anyone I know. We have been cooking breakfast together before work, which is a glorious way to start the day. Amy also started an all-young-women skill share, which, if any of you have one near wherever you are, I highly recommend joining. It's one of my favorite things right now. Usually a group of 6 - 12 of us get together, do some popular education, eat some delicious food, and have an awesomely good time. I didn't know anyone in the group before, but it's a bunch of amazing women. (Not quite Chapman of course, but Chapman-esque.) So far we've learned about sex, feminism, and bread baking. We also did a clothes swap, a la Megan! And we're going to make goat cheese, can fruits and veggies, play with power tools, learn about camping and international travel, talk music theory... the list of things that we can teach and learn goes on and on. (Generally, it's a good, confidence-boosting activity to make a list of all the things that you could teach a group of people. It turns out to be more than you would think.)
- I have also made friends with a woman, Vanessa, from the Ivory Coast. We get together at the Holyoke Mall (yucky, but she likes it), and practice our English and French.
- Monty and I went camping this weekend at the same place that Carms went with her family. It was rainy and wet, but there was still wisdom in the woods.
- New friends + camping + going home for Memorial Weekend + still hanging out with old friends in the area = me coming out of my mopey phase. But I still do miss you guys.
- I can't seem to make myself care about the World Cup. Soccer's sort of boring, but everyone else in the world likes it. I liked playing when I was eight, but it was a fad, and we all just ran after the ball in a huge clump of snotty kids. I got over it.
- My work got painfully frustrating during the month of May. For those of you who don't know, my job is to bring a struggling affordable housing agency back to life by building a Board of Directors and facilitating their meetings, raising monies, participating in strategic planning, networking with partners, doing advocacy as needed (ie taking on public corruption) and, my personal favorite, building community among our homeowners (ie community organizing). Last month, however, I realized that there was absolutely no good expressed reason for bringing this organization back to life, and that there was no vision or direction for its future. The conversation with my boss, the Executive Director, went something like this:
Me: So, Eric, if money or time or staff constraints were no object, what would you want the organization to do? [This question after I had pitched multiple exciting ideas and had been shot down each time because of "money, time or staff constraints". Grrrr.]
Eric: Oh, I don't know ?
Me: So then..........why did you want to restart this organization when you could have just shut it down?
Eric: Oh, I don't know. First, the Land Trust was really closely tied to my career and identity, so I wasn't ready to let it go. [WRONG. Selfish.] Second, I had the vision of it growing into a national model of foreclosure prevention, and of myself being congratulated by President Obama for staying off the domestic housing crisis. [WRONG. Also selfish. And totally unrealistic. We are an organization with no money in the bank, no staff, no programs, and no reputation. A handshake from Obama is just not in the future.] Third, I sort of needed something to do. [WRONG. Pathetic.]
At this point I was ready to throw in the towel, furious that I had basically wasted six months of my life on an organization that was going nowhere. But then I decided to give a big shpeel to the Board of Directors, and it worked! I was so mad, that I got up the courage at the next Board meeting, and told them that they HAD to get their act together and start making some decisions about the organization, or we were just going to close the whole thing down. They hemmed and hawed a little, but I made them each go around and say whether or not they actually wanted to keep it going, and they all finally made a concerted commitment to invest serious time and thought and energy into it. Yes! So now we are going places! It's not like I have a lot more direction now (don't get me wrong, I still spend a lot of time reading blogs and web cartoons at my desk), but at least I don't have to quit my fake VISTA job.
- Plus, this whole week my lame boss has been on vacation, so I get to do whatever I want! I came in to work at noon on Monday and 10:30 this morning. Yesss. No one cares what I do.
- Most exciting ever: I am going to the US SOCIAL FORUM next week!!!! Between 10 and 20 thousand activists are descending on Detroit, ground zero of globalization and the economic crisis, from June 22 - 26. We are going to take it all on: Goldman Sachs, BP oil, corporate interests, Monsanto, the man, Halliburton (I hate so much), insurance companies, whatever! I am pumped. Mostly, actually, I am going to community organizing workshop after community organizing workshop, and I am going to come back skilled and revitalized. Watch me get inspirationed up! Everyone I know who has ever been to a US or World Social Forum has said that it's a life-changing experience. I used to learn about these Forums in Development Studies classes. (Selena, remember that radical Turkish Marxist Econ professor -- what was his name? He showed us footage of the World Social Forum in his class.) So I'm really excited to be part of the real thing at last, as opposed to just learning about it in a classroom.
- Talk to you guys soon!!!!!!
Selena has driven me to posting. I can just picture her in her virtual combat boots stomping all over our emails, reminding us to write. So here are some snapshots of my recent life:
- I fell into a minor depression once many of you left after graduation weekend. I was mopey all over the place. What could I do? It was just so good to see you! Veronica even said to me in the Zu kitchen, "No wonder you're so sad!" after she went through the roster asking if each of you had left yet ("What about Carmella? Megan? Rose?"). Maybe it's melodramatic, but it felt like saying bye to you all at Chapman once again. It also foreshadowed the steady stream of friends who will leave the Happy Valley this summer. Some have already gone: Julian and Kendahl (we miss you!); Will Bangs (the Hampshire friend from high school who Selena followed around Chapman); Tauhid; Dylan Bianchi; Marcella. Some are about to leave: Scott and Sara DZ; Jenny Morgan; my friend Liz from Smith; potentially Becky and Steve. Obviously they are all going off to exciting things...
- I have dealt with the scary prospect of losing friends in Western Mass by making an effort to make new friends out here. My roommates are a total lost cause (why does every interaction have to be so weird?), but my coworkers are amazing people. I have become friends with two in particular: Amy, who reminds me of a mix of Carmella, Rachel, Selena and my friend Ellice from New York; and Lauren, who is unlike anyone I know. We have been cooking breakfast together before work, which is a glorious way to start the day. Amy also started an all-young-women skill share, which, if any of you have one near wherever you are, I highly recommend joining. It's one of my favorite things right now. Usually a group of 6 - 12 of us get together, do some popular education, eat some delicious food, and have an awesomely good time. I didn't know anyone in the group before, but it's a bunch of amazing women. (Not quite Chapman of course, but Chapman-esque.) So far we've learned about sex, feminism, and bread baking. We also did a clothes swap, a la Megan! And we're going to make goat cheese, can fruits and veggies, play with power tools, learn about camping and international travel, talk music theory... the list of things that we can teach and learn goes on and on. (Generally, it's a good, confidence-boosting activity to make a list of all the things that you could teach a group of people. It turns out to be more than you would think.)
- I have also made friends with a woman, Vanessa, from the Ivory Coast. We get together at the Holyoke Mall (yucky, but she likes it), and practice our English and French.
- Monty and I went camping this weekend at the same place that Carms went with her family. It was rainy and wet, but there was still wisdom in the woods.
- New friends + camping + going home for Memorial Weekend + still hanging out with old friends in the area = me coming out of my mopey phase. But I still do miss you guys.
- I can't seem to make myself care about the World Cup. Soccer's sort of boring, but everyone else in the world likes it. I liked playing when I was eight, but it was a fad, and we all just ran after the ball in a huge clump of snotty kids. I got over it.
- My work got painfully frustrating during the month of May. For those of you who don't know, my job is to bring a struggling affordable housing agency back to life by building a Board of Directors and facilitating their meetings, raising monies, participating in strategic planning, networking with partners, doing advocacy as needed (ie taking on public corruption) and, my personal favorite, building community among our homeowners (ie community organizing). Last month, however, I realized that there was absolutely no good expressed reason for bringing this organization back to life, and that there was no vision or direction for its future. The conversation with my boss, the Executive Director, went something like this:
Me: So, Eric, if money or time or staff constraints were no object, what would you want the organization to do? [This question after I had pitched multiple exciting ideas and had been shot down each time because of "money, time or staff constraints". Grrrr.]
Eric: Oh, I don't know ?
Me: So then..........why did you want to restart this organization when you could have just shut it down?
Eric: Oh, I don't know. First, the Land Trust was really closely tied to my career and identity, so I wasn't ready to let it go. [WRONG. Selfish.] Second, I had the vision of it growing into a national model of foreclosure prevention, and of myself being congratulated by President Obama for staying off the domestic housing crisis. [WRONG. Also selfish. And totally unrealistic. We are an organization with no money in the bank, no staff, no programs, and no reputation. A handshake from Obama is just not in the future.] Third, I sort of needed something to do. [WRONG. Pathetic.]
At this point I was ready to throw in the towel, furious that I had basically wasted six months of my life on an organization that was going nowhere. But then I decided to give a big shpeel to the Board of Directors, and it worked! I was so mad, that I got up the courage at the next Board meeting, and told them that they HAD to get their act together and start making some decisions about the organization, or we were just going to close the whole thing down. They hemmed and hawed a little, but I made them each go around and say whether or not they actually wanted to keep it going, and they all finally made a concerted commitment to invest serious time and thought and energy into it. Yes! So now we are going places! It's not like I have a lot more direction now (don't get me wrong, I still spend a lot of time reading blogs and web cartoons at my desk), but at least I don't have to quit my fake VISTA job.
- Plus, this whole week my lame boss has been on vacation, so I get to do whatever I want! I came in to work at noon on Monday and 10:30 this morning. Yesss. No one cares what I do.
- Most exciting ever: I am going to the US SOCIAL FORUM next week!!!! Between 10 and 20 thousand activists are descending on Detroit, ground zero of globalization and the economic crisis, from June 22 - 26. We are going to take it all on: Goldman Sachs, BP oil, corporate interests, Monsanto, the man, Halliburton (I hate so much), insurance companies, whatever! I am pumped. Mostly, actually, I am going to community organizing workshop after community organizing workshop, and I am going to come back skilled and revitalized. Watch me get inspirationed up! Everyone I know who has ever been to a US or World Social Forum has said that it's a life-changing experience. I used to learn about these Forums in Development Studies classes. (Selena, remember that radical Turkish Marxist Econ professor -- what was his name? He showed us footage of the World Social Forum in his class.) So I'm really excited to be part of the real thing at last, as opposed to just learning about it in a classroom.
- Talk to you guys soon!!!!!!
Monday 14 June 2010
Boot Camp
Hi friends!,
I write from Basic Training with the Texas State Guard. Waking up at 4:15, roommates just returning from going out, Sergeant First Class Bradley and I drive for hours to get to Camp Bowie, where they used to house German prisoners of war. On the drive to the dusty military post, I think I fell in love with Texas. The landscape along the one-lane highway is unassuming, but there is something quietly enchanting about the striving tufts of bush and knotted trees, the red-rusted sheds. These passing shadows contrast against the vast and pink sunrise.
And then we're at Camp Bowie. We do push ups for not standing up while asking a question. We learn how to drill and march and only do for hours what someone else orders us to do. The military is pretty much the opposite of Amherst. At Amherst, we are bombarded with rules. Professors spell out class assignments. In the military, you learn by observing and screwing up. Then a higher rank officer barks at you for something you never knew you were supposed to do. But hat's just how you learn, "nothing personal".
Here, we all wear the same uniform, but after being fussed at enough, you start to see the the stray hairs, loose threads hanging off pants, exposed velcro that make a careless soldier. Or the squared badges, close shave that makes all the difference. And the patches on officers' chests start to make sense. Salute the black oak leaf that makes a lieutenant colonel, but not the three chevrons and two rockers that make a sergeant first class. It really is like learning a new language and I love it. It's weird but I want to stay for a few more days. It's been great gettin to know my battalion and they're just so different from everyone I hang out with in Austin. Anyway, here are a few visuals:
Here's a class photo!
And here's a close up!
I write from Basic Training with the Texas State Guard. Waking up at 4:15, roommates just returning from going out, Sergeant First Class Bradley and I drive for hours to get to Camp Bowie, where they used to house German prisoners of war. On the drive to the dusty military post, I think I fell in love with Texas. The landscape along the one-lane highway is unassuming, but there is something quietly enchanting about the striving tufts of bush and knotted trees, the red-rusted sheds. These passing shadows contrast against the vast and pink sunrise.
And then we're at Camp Bowie. We do push ups for not standing up while asking a question. We learn how to drill and march and only do for hours what someone else orders us to do. The military is pretty much the opposite of Amherst. At Amherst, we are bombarded with rules. Professors spell out class assignments. In the military, you learn by observing and screwing up. Then a higher rank officer barks at you for something you never knew you were supposed to do. But hat's just how you learn, "nothing personal".
Here, we all wear the same uniform, but after being fussed at enough, you start to see the the stray hairs, loose threads hanging off pants, exposed velcro that make a careless soldier. Or the squared badges, close shave that makes all the difference. And the patches on officers' chests start to make sense. Salute the black oak leaf that makes a lieutenant colonel, but not the three chevrons and two rockers that make a sergeant first class. It really is like learning a new language and I love it. It's weird but I want to stay for a few more days. It's been great gettin to know my battalion and they're just so different from everyone I hang out with in Austin. Anyway, here are a few visuals:
Here's a class photo!
And here's a close up!
Sunday 6 June 2010
checking in from martha's vineyard!
hello loves, how do you do?! it has been quite the journey these past few weeks - from graduation in amherst, to family bonding time in the mountains, and now this adorable island! on sunday, after seeing rosie graduate a second time, picking up my 2nd cane, and listening to tmarx give a semi-inspirational speech, my family loaded up the ridiculously large car we rented and headed for the berkshires! our destination: the mohawk trail state forest, only about an hour west down route 2. I can't believe this little gem has been so near all this time and we've never been exploring around there! it was a week full of swimming in luscious swimming holes, sitting around the campfire, forcing my family to take long hikes along the deerfield river, and general merriment all around. familial peace is so much easier to keep when you're out in the woods! but seriously, i have to take you guys out to this place in the fall. tannery falls (the state's highest waterfall...) is a seriously magical place - like whoa.
after all of that fun in the sun, we headed back to the pv and stayed a night with family in holyoke. my sister and dad returned to miami on saturday and i returned to amherst for some special sarah z time, reunion madness, special becky time, a nose piercing...? gooood times.
and now, onto the next big thing - the vineyard! my mom and i have been out here since tuesday. i've been taking my mom on many forced bike rides all over the island (the bike paths here are extraordinary!) and she's been treating me to many a yummy meal in fancy restaurants. it's a good deal.
i'm living in a cute little house on forest ave (it's really in the forest!) with a lady named donna and her son daniel, a junior at umass amherst. hannah, a recent uvm grad, and i share an extra large (and dark, sadly) basement, but we've been sprucing up the place with exciting wall decorations and such. the house is homey; there's an outdoor shower so i get to look up at the trees while i lather, and we live down the road from a sailing camp on a lagoon. these are all good things. tomorrow morning, hannah and i will wake up at the ass-crack of dawn and make our 8-mile trek out to katama farm to begin our summer job at the farm institute- whooooo. look out for an update on that soon!
the wind is blowing mightily round these parts tonight, perhaps a storm's a-brewing. i'm feeling refreshed and ready to take on this summer. soo excited it's finally here. <3 summer!!
here are some pictures of summer so far....
magical waterfalls!
magical swimming hole!
our sweet little cabin in the mohawk trail state forest!
the first time i wear a one-piece bathing suit in a million years and i happen to be on a nudist beach.... what? this is me at the aquinnah cliffs in martha's vineyard (sorry folks, no nudies in the pic)
and lastly, hannah, my cute little roomie, reading in our kitchen!
after all of that fun in the sun, we headed back to the pv and stayed a night with family in holyoke. my sister and dad returned to miami on saturday and i returned to amherst for some special sarah z time, reunion madness, special becky time, a nose piercing...? gooood times.
and now, onto the next big thing - the vineyard! my mom and i have been out here since tuesday. i've been taking my mom on many forced bike rides all over the island (the bike paths here are extraordinary!) and she's been treating me to many a yummy meal in fancy restaurants. it's a good deal.
i'm living in a cute little house on forest ave (it's really in the forest!) with a lady named donna and her son daniel, a junior at umass amherst. hannah, a recent uvm grad, and i share an extra large (and dark, sadly) basement, but we've been sprucing up the place with exciting wall decorations and such. the house is homey; there's an outdoor shower so i get to look up at the trees while i lather, and we live down the road from a sailing camp on a lagoon. these are all good things. tomorrow morning, hannah and i will wake up at the ass-crack of dawn and make our 8-mile trek out to katama farm to begin our summer job at the farm institute- whooooo. look out for an update on that soon!
the wind is blowing mightily round these parts tonight, perhaps a storm's a-brewing. i'm feeling refreshed and ready to take on this summer. soo excited it's finally here. <3 summer!!
here are some pictures of summer so far....
magical waterfalls!
magical swimming hole!
our sweet little cabin in the mohawk trail state forest!
the first time i wear a one-piece bathing suit in a million years and i happen to be on a nudist beach.... what? this is me at the aquinnah cliffs in martha's vineyard (sorry folks, no nudies in the pic)
and lastly, hannah, my cute little roomie, reading in our kitchen!that's all for now, folks! keep on updating us on your lives/summer adventures. SUMMMMERRRRRRRR. love, carms
praha/freiburg/strasbourg
I landed in Prague on 5/25 and hiked me and my pack to my hostel, which is covered in graffiti and rocks the party. Met a bunch of interesting people: two talkative Bavarians, a bunch of Texans and a Tennessee-er, a French guy who is making a film about travelers, some Brits and Aussies. Tried all of the requisite beers: Gambrinus, Pilsner Urquell, and Kovel, had some absinthe ice cream (bright green and bitter, only a little disorienting). Walked all around the city, up to the top of Castle Hill for an incredible view: 
Wandered the old Jewish quarter, saw a Dali and Mucha exhibit, some Cubist art. The Communism Museum sits on top of a McDonalds (RIOT!). Found a hippie whole foods store with a cheap-eats cafeteria and all kinds of nuts dipped in yogurt. Ran into some music festivals and hare krishna parades.
Next I traveled to Freiburg im Breisgau, which is where my childhood friend Jessy lives and goes to med school. Her studio is in the basement of a crazy lady's house and is a substantial hike up a hill, but offers the most ridiculous view of the town. We ate lots of breads and chocolate-y things. We day-tripped to Strasbourg in France and wandered the cathedral and side streets. Some guy was playing this instrument that looked like a small UFO and sounded like a laser harp.
I got back to San Diego on 6/1 and have been seeing my friends and trying to learn Japanese and work on my poster for the program orientation that I have to go to during the first week of this research trip. A few days ago me and a buddy went to a pastoral poetry reading at this arts collective and then got on a bus. This bus drove around San Diego while a band played in the back of it, about 100 people crammed inside, byob and ..is that marijuana I smell?, trying not to fall over. This bus runs on vegetable oil and is lined on the inside with real grass that gets watered by an in-bus sprinkler system. Complete insanity. And this concert on the bus was free! I hate on San Diego a lot, but there's some interesting stuff to do around here for the brave and hippie. I leave 6/14 for Tokyo and hope to post often. My grad student friends are telling me to start a blog about my travels. I don't know if this is a good idea but if I do, I will surely link you.
Wandered the old Jewish quarter, saw a Dali and Mucha exhibit, some Cubist art. The Communism Museum sits on top of a McDonalds (RIOT!). Found a hippie whole foods store with a cheap-eats cafeteria and all kinds of nuts dipped in yogurt. Ran into some music festivals and hare krishna parades.
Next I traveled to Freiburg im Breisgau, which is where my childhood friend Jessy lives and goes to med school. Her studio is in the basement of a crazy lady's house and is a substantial hike up a hill, but offers the most ridiculous view of the town. We ate lots of breads and chocolate-y things. We day-tripped to Strasbourg in France and wandered the cathedral and side streets. Some guy was playing this instrument that looked like a small UFO and sounded like a laser harp.
I got back to San Diego on 6/1 and have been seeing my friends and trying to learn Japanese and work on my poster for the program orientation that I have to go to during the first week of this research trip. A few days ago me and a buddy went to a pastoral poetry reading at this arts collective and then got on a bus. This bus drove around San Diego while a band played in the back of it, about 100 people crammed inside, byob and ..is that marijuana I smell?, trying not to fall over. This bus runs on vegetable oil and is lined on the inside with real grass that gets watered by an in-bus sprinkler system. Complete insanity. And this concert on the bus was free! I hate on San Diego a lot, but there's some interesting stuff to do around here for the brave and hippie. I leave 6/14 for Tokyo and hope to post often. My grad student friends are telling me to start a blog about my travels. I don't know if this is a good idea but if I do, I will surely link you.
Thursday 3 June 2010
Weekend fun!
Hello!
I am always missing everyone. I can't count how many times I've retold Megan's story about how you can orgasm during birth. And how often I've seen pajama pants and thought of Rose. Bought organic, local produce and thought about Carmella and our hippy commune. Anyway! I've been having a lovely time in Austin, although feeling strangely restless and tired at the same time.
This weekend I went to the Kerrville Folk Festival which is as hippy as Texas gets. Miles of tents with song circles at each cluster of tents all throughout the night. I was walking around and recognized this autoharp with a flower carved into it. It belonged to one of the best autoharpists in the world and turns out he was there! I plopped down next to him and started talking to him. He played a few songs for me which made me tear up multiple times. His wife joined him and they harmonized so beautifully! He told me to bring over my harp and I played for him, feeling clumsy and silly. Anyway, it was incredibly being so near genius and hanging out with him and his crew. I absorbed a lot and it was so much fun hanging out with the old guard of folk music. I also had a great time running around to the different camps listening to various styles of folk and learning some classics.
We left the next day to go "float the river" which means getting an inner tube and having someone drop you off 3 miles up the river and floating down with cases of beer and frat boys. That's what I love about Texas is that you can have such diverse experiences one day after the other. Anyway, it was exhausting and I love getting back to my silly art projects (which I'll post as I complete) and practicing my autoharp and watching Jon Stewart.
I am always missing everyone. I can't count how many times I've retold Megan's story about how you can orgasm during birth. And how often I've seen pajama pants and thought of Rose. Bought organic, local produce and thought about Carmella and our hippy commune. Anyway! I've been having a lovely time in Austin, although feeling strangely restless and tired at the same time.
This weekend I went to the Kerrville Folk Festival which is as hippy as Texas gets. Miles of tents with song circles at each cluster of tents all throughout the night. I was walking around and recognized this autoharp with a flower carved into it. It belonged to one of the best autoharpists in the world and turns out he was there! I plopped down next to him and started talking to him. He played a few songs for me which made me tear up multiple times. His wife joined him and they harmonized so beautifully! He told me to bring over my harp and I played for him, feeling clumsy and silly. Anyway, it was incredibly being so near genius and hanging out with him and his crew. I absorbed a lot and it was so much fun hanging out with the old guard of folk music. I also had a great time running around to the different camps listening to various styles of folk and learning some classics.
We left the next day to go "float the river" which means getting an inner tube and having someone drop you off 3 miles up the river and floating down with cases of beer and frat boys. That's what I love about Texas is that you can have such diverse experiences one day after the other. Anyway, it was exhausting and I love getting back to my silly art projects (which I'll post as I complete) and practicing my autoharp and watching Jon Stewart.
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