So... here we go.
40.
Fucking 40 man. And I think its going to be a good week actually.
You know, nothing that I could have ever imagined, and with the return of all my journals, finally resting on one shelf together, there are readily accessible reminders of all the grandiose plans I have conjured up over the years for this big birthday... there was a Coastal California Bike Ride with my Favorite Dudes Idea, the Wedding in Italy Idea, the Lose a Knife Fight in Mexico Idea, the Spend the Year Fucking Off Idea, there was the Mountain of Cocaine and a Giant Party Idea... Ive fantasized about this week so much over the last few years, and yet never imagined I would be in a place like this.
Today I started the week with a nice breakfast alone - bacon. Cause thats what real men eat for breakfast. Then I sought out a local hike and abandoned the idea of staying warm or dry and slipped my way to the top of a local peak, Elk Knob, at 5500 feet for views of where I am calling home for now. I laughed my ass off sliding down the service road in record time, came home to cook some food and I got myself a date with dollar-off beers all set for this evening. Not a bad start. Not bad at all..
Of course there are other birthdays to celebrate this week. My Man Brian Bogan is getting RAD in Cali right now and I wish him well. My roomie Sarah (not Jessica) Parker is getting spoiled with a fancy cocktail and dinner at a local Hott Date Nite spot tomorrow for her b-day with flat mates. There is Alyssa Cookie Monster Koziol who rumor has it will be in Boone this weekend for the big night.
And I couldn't be happier! I wish you all could be here with me, I wish I could be there with you all - but that is how this life of transient travel has unfolded, much to my surprise, and much to my pleasure.
This week I carry you all in my heart, for the journey you have shared with me to this point, for the beers we have spilled and the late night talks we have shared, and the ride we have been on together even though sometimes not in the same place. A new friend of mine here in Boone has recently suffered the loss of someone close to her by their own hand. It was a sharp reminder of how far I have come, and the empathy I can provide has not been squandered. I dedicated my hike to her today as she grapples with all the feelings of loss. And somewhere along the way my own personal loss has become my blessing, but more importantly, this journey is no longer about what I have lost, or left behind, but the immeasurable weight of all the love and kindness and goodness that I carry with me as I go. That came from all of you, and I carry it with me, a smile hidden, to reach into my pocket of memory and enjoy when I need it.
Be well everybody,
I will be thinking of you,
pics to follow...
Olde Scotty del Norte
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Monday, February 16, 2015
looky here...
Last post June 22... thats 230 days since my last post... where to begin.
First off, I missed you. Its true. This life of Dynamic Quality, of seasonal travel and abandoned expectations leaves a fella craving what little he has in the way of Static Quality - and that has been my friends. As much as my personal feeling is that most of today's technology is making us LESS social, I have begun the slow process of embracing how it can keep us connected. It will never be a replacement for a pint at the corner bar, or a coffee date with a loved one, or being able to place a hand on the shoulder of a friend in celebration, commiseration or empathy, but being able to quickly share a picture, a note, a kind uplifting word, or a story has relieved me during a tough transition.
The summer, as you all know was a bit of a disaster - with choices on my part being not very well thought out, definitely selfishly motivated, and with consequences that had me weary of the people that would have otherwise probably been good friends. I left alaska with hope in my eyes, but knowing it would be a short spell of peace before ratcheting myself towards the unfamiliar facing the challenge to once again adapt and build something new.
We love what we are good at and are good at what we love.
Enter Boone North Carolina. A small college town nestled in the high country of the Appalachian Mountains, bisected by the Blue Ridge, surrounded by The Pisgah, and full of interesting and kind southern folk. Its been a tough transition worrying about finding work, staying warm, being mobile by bike in the winter, and making new friends as a single dude who is a bit out of the typical age profile of the general body politik. Being a truer, kinder, more humble and open version of my typical presenting face has lent me the return ears and kindness of a bunch of solid folks and in no time I have procured immediate friends, future employment, a borrowed bike to shred, a freakin car to go explore and stay warm, an empathetic ear, hearts with stories to share, doggies to pet, and even a regular adult date or two.
Essentially, and in a very short time here I have found what I have been hoping for - Community.
And I want to share it with those who have been critical in helping me stay positive and happily loved as I have made my way here. You know who you are (cause this blog is still invite only! wink wink) and its with a very heartfelt toast, a pint or something stronger in the air, I salute my friends and loved ones and pledge to try to share as much of this as I can once again. My journey is by no means slowing down, nor is my conviction to keep going becoming weakened.
I have been working on some art again, and its a daily event for me to sip my coffee and draw, confined within a circle, my personal Mandala for the day. Its a type of ancient way of organizing your own personal cosmos, and Im sure there are art-therapists a-plenty out there that would have a field day with how many phallic and yonic symbols touch the pages in my little experiment, but suffice to say that this morning, after a particularly amorous St. Valentard's weekend and 5 days off to get into the usual trouble, I sat wishing that I could simply write the names of all my favorite people in that circle.
It would be a circle too grand to grace any notebook - and that makes me so happy!!
Its you who keep me going, and its going to be fun to add to that list as I go. Maybe someday our circles will all overlap on some astral plane and we can toast the stories we share. Until then, keep living, keep smiling, keep loving your ballz off, and feel free to shoot me a note, or ring me up with a story or heartache.
I love you.
Scotito Del Nord (Nord Carolina that is...)
bacio bacio!
First off, I missed you. Its true. This life of Dynamic Quality, of seasonal travel and abandoned expectations leaves a fella craving what little he has in the way of Static Quality - and that has been my friends. As much as my personal feeling is that most of today's technology is making us LESS social, I have begun the slow process of embracing how it can keep us connected. It will never be a replacement for a pint at the corner bar, or a coffee date with a loved one, or being able to place a hand on the shoulder of a friend in celebration, commiseration or empathy, but being able to quickly share a picture, a note, a kind uplifting word, or a story has relieved me during a tough transition.
The summer, as you all know was a bit of a disaster - with choices on my part being not very well thought out, definitely selfishly motivated, and with consequences that had me weary of the people that would have otherwise probably been good friends. I left alaska with hope in my eyes, but knowing it would be a short spell of peace before ratcheting myself towards the unfamiliar facing the challenge to once again adapt and build something new.
We love what we are good at and are good at what we love.
Enter Boone North Carolina. A small college town nestled in the high country of the Appalachian Mountains, bisected by the Blue Ridge, surrounded by The Pisgah, and full of interesting and kind southern folk. Its been a tough transition worrying about finding work, staying warm, being mobile by bike in the winter, and making new friends as a single dude who is a bit out of the typical age profile of the general body politik. Being a truer, kinder, more humble and open version of my typical presenting face has lent me the return ears and kindness of a bunch of solid folks and in no time I have procured immediate friends, future employment, a borrowed bike to shred, a freakin car to go explore and stay warm, an empathetic ear, hearts with stories to share, doggies to pet, and even a regular adult date or two.
Essentially, and in a very short time here I have found what I have been hoping for - Community.
And I want to share it with those who have been critical in helping me stay positive and happily loved as I have made my way here. You know who you are (cause this blog is still invite only! wink wink) and its with a very heartfelt toast, a pint or something stronger in the air, I salute my friends and loved ones and pledge to try to share as much of this as I can once again. My journey is by no means slowing down, nor is my conviction to keep going becoming weakened.
I have been working on some art again, and its a daily event for me to sip my coffee and draw, confined within a circle, my personal Mandala for the day. Its a type of ancient way of organizing your own personal cosmos, and Im sure there are art-therapists a-plenty out there that would have a field day with how many phallic and yonic symbols touch the pages in my little experiment, but suffice to say that this morning, after a particularly amorous St. Valentard's weekend and 5 days off to get into the usual trouble, I sat wishing that I could simply write the names of all my favorite people in that circle.
It would be a circle too grand to grace any notebook - and that makes me so happy!!
Its you who keep me going, and its going to be fun to add to that list as I go. Maybe someday our circles will all overlap on some astral plane and we can toast the stories we share. Until then, keep living, keep smiling, keep loving your ballz off, and feel free to shoot me a note, or ring me up with a story or heartache.
I love you.
Scotito Del Nord (Nord Carolina that is...)
bacio bacio!