Stepping Stones

2014 is behind us. I haven't place my thoughts down in public in just over a year. The last year was full of ups and downs and striving to move forward. Am I where I want to be yet? No. By no means. I'm not sure I am the complacent type. Work finally found its way into my life. To an extent I beat my home town like an extremely difficult video game. I spent 8 months of 2014 job hunting and feeling sorry for myself after grad school blew up in my face. I landed a job with the USDA. The pay is nice. Though, it is not where I want to be. Nope. The lack of movement vexes my soul. I really want to be traveling more. The world is a book and i'm stuck on page 3 at the moment.

Don't get me wrong. I am by far not complaining. I have a roof over my  head and food on the table. My home town has been a wedge more accepting to a guy that doesn't jive to the beat of the native drum. I have a good group of friends and a wonderful band. The only down shot is that i don't feel fulfilled on a work level. Sure, I need to make a living just like every other "average Joe", but damn do I need to move. Working the 8 to 5 office gig puts money in the bank but leaves a hole. I find myself buying things that are amusing. I like them. They are utterly unfulfilling. They don't give me fond memories with friends. They don't give me great experiences that can only happen in some other place. Material goods just take up time. They are a brain distraction from the real world. I'm not against owning things, but I feel they can be a mental crutch. This is what I've found in my own life. If i start buying tons of useless things such as video games and more fiction books than a guy can read in 2 years then something needs to change. I have a good foot hold right now and in some ways I am quite glad the job i'm working is temporary. I don't' want to move, but I do want to find something else to fulfill my monetary needs. Food for thought, that is. With Spring coming in about 10 weeks I need to get the lead out and find something else.

That being said, my current band is just amazing. Nate and I dropped the rock and roll schtick and moved along to a folky medieval type sound. We picked up a cellist and it is a quite enjoyable sound. We want to get the band on the Ren-Faire circuit and maybe the convention circuit. I suppose we need to finish this EP so that can happen. Playing music is only one angle of what we want to do. Keeping the diversity of the income is going to be key. Starting my own business will probably be my most enjoyable way of making money. I don't deal well with having a boss. I hate being told what to do and find most of the things done in most offices to be completely useless. In the case of my job, I am at least helping people in a positive way. The job is at least in a side field of my general environmental and travel type skill set. Like i said, this is a firm stepping stone, but not the end game.

At least the house i'm living in is coming around. I'm able to sort my junk and get rid of most of the crap I don't need or want anymore. Organization is a good thing. And the motorhome project is still coming. Hopefully this spring I will be able to start that mess.

Happy Holidays

Santa is watching you! Best be on your perfect behavior.

So things here at Facing the Tempest have been slow due to the move. Life tends to throw curve balls, but that is what keeps things interesting. Expect many updates coming soon. Yes, the Wisconsin/Chicago trip review will be coming very soon. I know, I know. My procrastination is rather off putting, but that will happen soon. I also have an article being written. I wont' elaborate due to not wanting to give away any of the goods. Trust me, it will be an enjoyable read.

In the mean time, have a happy holiday. Go and do something amazing with your family and friends (sometimes one in the same). See you in the new year. Hopefully just before the new year, actually.

The holidays

Many of the holidays I celebrate are over shadowed, unrecognized, or were integrated into mainstream society. Note the Judeo Christian faith assimilated many holidays they do not understand. However, that is not my point. My point is simply to point out that these festivals and celebrations of cycle and life should be shared with family and friends. So from the bottom of my green little heart I wish you all a, I know it is late, Thanksgiving. We shall ignore the fact that the holiday is based off of murder and gluttony and focus on the positive aspects. Enjoy your weekend. I will update soon with details of my trip. My plane leaves tomorrow afternoon.

 

Back on the road

I generally rather take my trips by land or sea, but tomorrow morning i take to the air. This really does make sense in this case. Time and versatility. Plus, I get to have a lovely adventure through Chicago to meet my best mate. Neither of us have seen the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) so this should be fun. Hopefully I can pick up a good record in town as well. Last time I was in Chi-town I saw Danzig's first Legacy show. Didn't really get to sight see; just the venue and the highway. I won't be sad to not brave the highways. I have my camera charged and ready for the taking of pictures. I will be staying by Milwaukee for the whole week and doing all those lovely things my best mate and I do. His wife and I haven't gotten to really bond yet, so this will be a super good time. Hopefully next run i'll be out in my own rig. I don't like not having any pointy objects on me. The airline is anal retentive about liquids and pointy objects. All in all this is going to be a bang up of a trip. As of right now I leave in 10 hours.

Catch you on the next update.

Travel Tips: Staying clean on the road

I'm sure at this point people are getting worried. I mean two updates in a week? Well...what can i say, I have more time on my hands. I'm thankful for that. Good changes in my life. Not saying this will be the easiest path, but I feel happier about it by the day. However, let me get to the point of this blog. Oh yes. This will be a new series of posts. Random tips about traveling that I've learned. I'm sure some people know these, but this will give some good reference. Today is all about baby wipes. That's right. Baby wipes. These are a terribly wasteful way of staying clean. If i could find a reusable (and i haven't looked into this yet) way of doing the same thing it would be much nicer.

So you ask, "Why do I need baby wipes?" Let me tell you a story. After five days on the road with a band of stinky Celts (Lunarium - Celtic Folk Metal - now defunct) in a bus with no A/C the one thing other than a cool gallon of water one wants is a shower. With no shower in sight the next best thing are baby wipes. These are one of the more universal cleaning tools on the planet. Hygienic enough for little children so they will take good care of your smelly grown up parts. They take good care of cleaning human bodies, dishes, flat surfaces for whatever reason, and random messes that your traveling mates make after a night of debauchery. Just about anyone in any sort of traveling job or hobby that only allows for infrequent showering will tell you the miracle of baby wipes.

This is such a simple thing. One would not think of this as a large problem. However, after 3 days of doing your thing and your balls are sticking to your leg (or if you are female and you feel like you have balls sticking to your leg) those precious wipes are heaven. If you get a hold of the big value pack in the plastic clam shell just transfer them to a zip lock bag of some kind and stuff that in your travel pack or motorhome. You will thank me later.

Tell me what you think. Give me stories about your baby wipe experiences. If you have any suggestions about a reusable option.

Amazing ideas...

Starting in December I'll begin the undertaking of the motorhome project. I've decide to use the 1970 Ford F100 that my Uncle gave me and turn this into a motorhome. At some point (probably the 1980's) he upgrade the suspension to 3/4 ton. That helps me a ton. During the winter time I'll be doing a full tear down and refit of the motor. That's the start. It has one of the more stable old Ford engines, the 302. Rebuilding that puppy shouldn't take too long, though I am going to be putting hardened valve seats in it. Yes, it is of the era where a vehicle needed lead in the gas to lube up the valve seats. It is an easy fix. Part of the reason the truck will get a full motorhome makeover is that the bed is shot. I really don't feel like fixing it and this will be much cheaper than buying a whole new rig. Besides when i build the next project...it will be a yacht...

Anyway, the outcome of the rig will have that streamlined Airstream vibe. I love the flat aluminum that gives it a WWII bomber look. Though, the front portion of the motorhome is going to have portholes just like the boat I want to build. Hey, i'm a land locked guy looking to take my pirate adventures on the road. I'll get to the oceans soon enough. This will get me traveling and hopefully give me a home while working out and around the country. The interior, at this point in the plan, will be all wood. Of course, weight is a big factor, but I'm fairly sure i can do what I want with it. So as i proceed there will be updates here. Video and pictures will be taken...Lots of that.

Thanks for reading.

Take what you can and take what you like.

It is back to the grind. Not that I am all that happy with my situation. Though, speaking of being happy. If one is not happy with where they are, change the situation. That is what i'm doing. I know that all sounds fairly vague. Trust me that the cat is scratching at the strings to be let out of the bag. People need to trust their gut feelings rather than take a magic pill to take away the pain. That is no way to live life. A wise man (who is actually younger than I) once said something to me that rings true to this moment. "The happiest man on the planet is also the dumbest. He just doesn't realize how bad his, and the worlds, situation really is. I wish I were stupid some days." Oh, how that statement reverberates in my soul most days. However, when i get to the point that I twitch when certain things happen, things must change. I have initiated that change. Never let things that affect your senses fester. Good health means more than just taking care of ones body. The mind is just as important. Solid mental health is just as important as not eating toxic waste and getting some exercise. Some days I wish I were born at the turn of the 1900's...then i realize how great proper medicine can be these days. It is a give and take. Really I think "Carpe Diem" fits well with what i'm saying. We live day to day and being miserable all the while is pointless. Take the leap, just as I have, into the unknown and make the change.

I leave you with this bit of thought provoking prose and a poem from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow about life.

A Psalm of Life 

 Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,— act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o’erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow