What's Up, Doc?
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Hey guys. Well, I took a month off. It wasn’t planned, but so much stuff was coming at me in the physical world that the writing/podcasting thing was out of reach for a while. Here’s what I learned:
never buy a half-built house you NEED to move into in two months;
don’t hire a plumber who appears to have a meth problem (even if it’s not a meth problem, just seeming like he has a meth problem is problem enough);
don’t leave town for ten days JUST BEFORE you need to move into said half-built house;
and if you ignore all this advice, don’t be surprised when you come back, ready to move in, and find that the half-built house is now a three-quarter-built house, not the completed house you were expecting.
I don’t meant to complain. The reason we took off for ten days was to attend the Bombay Beach Biennale, which is one of the best things I do every year or so. Just click that link if you want to know more. Basically, it’s what Burning Man could’ve been. It’s an amazing collection of creative, kind, quirky people who love to create beauty and community. So despite the mess I came home to, I have no regrets. Who needs a door on the bathroom or a working washing machine?
Speaking of creative, kind, quirky communities of people, Anya and I will be hosting a retreat with our friends Cameron and Melayne Shane at their place outside Whitefish, MT this August. Cameron and Melayne are martial arts/yoga/movement teachers, Anya will be teaching a form of dance she’s studied in Thailand and Greece and discussing Jungian archetypes and I’ll be tossing in any wisdom I can drum up. The idea is to balance the physical/spiritual/emotional/intellectual/erotic by talking about sexuality, relationships and psychology while eating great food, swimming in clear lakes, and learning to move like a chimp.
Last year, I had a covid relapse and spent a good part of the retreat shivering in the van, but this year I’m feeling like a man with a table saw, a tool belt and orange pants. Invincible, in other words. Hope to see you there.
CPR
ROMA (“Ranting Out My Ass” — essentially rants about whatever’s on my mind at the moment), BROMA (Bonus ROMA); TOMA (“Talking Out My Ass” — autobiographical stories from back in the day, ranging from travel stuff to an upcoming series about what it was like to shift from teaching English in Spain to bestselling author in a few weeks); AMA (Ask Me Anything).
I went last year and took the train from Portland to Whitefish. Thank you Chris, Anya, Melayne, Rachel and Cameron for the invite into your home and land and garden therapy and love. This adventure for me was about quiet time and learning to slow the fuck down. The other fellow people that helped in my healing process during that time I’ll never forget. And to enjoy every person in our own unique way. We all came with anticipation for more. It helped me build and trust my instincts and helped me regain my inner athlete. Thanks CPR for your podcast and Bowen for sparing off with me and your podcast that helped me better communicate with my partner now. Kevin for your awesome dance skills that liberated me to love myself and letting me lead and changed my thoughts on topics around the fire. Cameron for helping with self defense refresh and Budokon is a gift. Sandy my sister and friend I love watching your adventures. Maria the talks. Oversharing I know but it changed my life. You should really think about going. I didn’t even touch on the food, sauna, and cold plunge. Pillow pants and Coco, John, Josh, Yanni has awesome Brazilian dance moves, Maria’s kind hugs. Teresa and her beautiful heart. Jordan and Anya for trusting me with cutting your hair. How’d the cuts go ladies? And Bryan and your curious mind.
Glad you are getting the house gradually sorted out! What did you expect?!?! I have a hard enough time keeping up with the basics on my van. Luckily I haven't had anything all that major 🤞🏻 but now approaching 100k miles it's time for the "B" service, new tires, replace a fuel sensor filter thingie, couple of recall issues and... most importantly, a full rabbit fur interior lining.
I had dodge some fires on the way to the retreat last year but it was well worth it, and I imagine this year will be even better. In case anyone wants to read a bit more, here's a trip report:
https://open.substack.com/pub/bowendwelle/p/sex-at-dawn-live-at-budokon