Congrats on making it 5 years around the sun. You totally rock.

For those who know me, it’s no secret that the last few months have been both the hardest and the most transformational of my entire life. I’m facing aspects of myself that have been with me almost my entire life, and are finally coming out to be noticed and counted, and finally (hopefully) resolved.
As a part of my ever-growing activities to heal myself in both body and mind, I went to an acupuncturist/nutritionist/Chinese Medical Practitioner yesterday, and it was an opening and affirming experience. Some of the things that are surfacing in my therapy were reflected and confirmed in her diagnosis, and some root causes that stretch all the way back to being 5 years old were evident in my current condition. Health history was read and confirmed through her observations, and I feel like I’m going to be in strong and able hands moving forward in my discovery of health and who I need to be in the world.
My first treatment was an interesting experience – I barely felt the ten needles that went into my body, some not at all, but as I sat there and allowed the treatment to do its work, I did feel a difference in my mood and my body feelings come over me, but what perhaps was the most surprising were the visions I started to have.
One strong vision, was my flying like a super-charged hawk up the face of a cliff, the edge of a mesa, until I reached the top and landed. I turned and looked back over the precipice down what appeared to be a mile or more of distance. It was as if I were at the top of the Empire State Building, leaning over the edge and staring down into the drop. Now, normally I have vertigo in such a situation, and I wouldn’t trust myself not to go toppling over the edge or feint or both. However, in my vision, I was unafraid and excited by the drop, and after staring over the edge for a time, I dived into the air and plummeted down the cliff face like those fly suit base jumpers, and cruised my way out and over the horizon.
Upon returning to reality, I felt as if a layer of carried fear had been lifted from me, and that I was somehow more integrated than before. An exciting first step into acupuncture healing, for certain. I’m not going to question the source or the nature of my experience — I will accept the gift, and move forward.
Sometime in the future, I know I have to go skydiving.

The last few months have been some of the most emotionally tumultuous of my entire life, and while I don’t have the capacity to talk about it right now, nor can much of it be shared in blog format, I wanted to let you know that you can look forward to future insight from me here on the blog. I need to start expressing some of what’s going on inside, and I’ll be finding appropriate parts of my process to share in philosophical form .
In the meanwhile, let me share with you an awesome little mash-up clip starring the original Star Trek cast, and a very inventive tune by Fall On Your Sword:

http://www.fallonyoursword.com/BackToTheShip.html

Check it out and tell me if you’re not ready to watch it twice!

Today (before midnight) was Inauguration Day, and while I know the job has just begun for our new president, I am proud to have seen this day come to pass, and to have been an active part of his election. I donated more this year to Barack’s campaign than to all other political donations combined. I shared my thoughts and feelings on this candidate many times with many people, and while I didn’t make phone calls or go out into the streets, I was a part of this movement.
Now we have a President Obama in the White House. I’m exhaling, and I’m ready, so very ready, to engage with politics again, and to have this President get to work and lead our country out of despair and into prosperity. I’m ready to do what I personally need to do to help him, and to follow his leadership. I am looking forward to his press conferences, and his speeches. Oh, how dreamy, finally a President who is thoughtful, intelligent, reasoned and inspired to do good for all Americans. I look at this man and I see the very best that this country has to offer. No man is more deserving to be the leader of the free world in this day than Barack Obama.
And yet, there is so much to do, and he’s not even started yet. He’s got lots of ideas, has made these ideas and plans public, and is poised, but only now has the power been handed to him. I’m sure that the Republicans felt the same way when Bush was elected 8 years ago – there was such a negative energy towards the Clinton administration, that for the right, Bush was their every-man breath of fresh air. He was one of them, in the same way that Obama is one of us. The only difference, is that Obama has been on the presidential path and public stage for over two years, and in that time, he’s performed flawlessly, shown integrity and cool, shrewd intellect, and deep compassion. And he’s a man who understands working hard in times of hardship – he’s the exact right president for today’s times.
Thank you, Obama, for rising to the challenge and serving your country at a time that would make others quake in their boots and run for the hills.
Now, get to work!

Okay, so it’s been more than a day, but I’ve been busy in my life, and besides, I have much more to report now that you’ve patiently waited.
Some of you already know that I have been an amateur brewer and mead maker for a number of years now, having made small 5 or 10 gallon batches here and there to share with friends and family, toasting every winter holiday season with a little of my home made honey golden cheer. Well, this last summer I decided that I wanted to do a little more, and began in earnest to contemplate taking my mead professional. I found a honey provider that could sell to me premium honey in volume at a decent price, and bought 8 gallons (roughly 100 lbs of honey) and produced 40 gallons, or approximately 14 cases of mead. With this mead, I have been building a market amongst friends and acquaintances, and what’s more, I’ve entered judged events. In specific, the International Mead Festival Home Mead Maker Competition, of which I have since learned that in the category of Dry Mead, of my 4 entries, I won first, second and third place. It’s conceivable that I also won fourth place, but they didn’t report results beyond 3rd.
This I took to be a sign. Actually, the first thing I thought, honestly, that there was some sort of technological quirk or mistake in the results (it was reported on a web page), but after my self-doubt subsided, it bolstered my resolve to take my mead professional. Interestingly enough, my mind had been on the mead for several weeks, and I had made moves on two fronts that are important to disclose, as they lead to my current news.
The first front is that of Paul Kreider of Ross Valley Winery in San Anselmo, CA. Emily, my mother-in-law, and a business owner in San Anselmo has been aware of my mead-making endeavors, and having tasted my most recent successes, has been trying for months to get me to come in and talk with Paul, to see if there was anything that we might be able to share, but in the very least to make a contact who was a local wine producer. The week previous to learning about my results from the mead festival, I made the resolve to make a date with Emily to go in and introduce myself to Paul, and to see how it went. On the Thursday of that week (two weeks ago), on the date that Emily and I set to go talk to Paul, that morning I discovered the results of the contest. Armed with that knowledge, and two bottles of my best mead, I went in and introduced myself to Paul. I told Paul about my mead-making endeavors, and handed him a couple of bottles of my best mead (one dry blackberry, one semi-dry orange). Paul, without batting an eye offered to trade me two bottles of his own wine in return, to which I gratefully accepted. I was to learn later that Paul started off as a garage wine maker, and therefore understood the hard work that goes into making wines. I casually told Paul about my awards, and mentioned I was desiring to go professional, and to which he instantly replied that perhaps we could do something together, where I could produce mead under his bond and at his facilities, because he knew how hard it was to get started. This was something I was planning on talking to him about eventually, once I won him over, but he offered this as a possibility on his own accord, without even having tasted the mead. He’s been down this road before with a few other friend/wine-makers, so he’s familiar with the process, and this is fantastic for me. I leave him with the two bottles, and he told me that he’ll taste them and if he thinks he’s got a market (i.e. if they’re any good), that he’d let me know. Last Tuesday (about 4-5 days after I left him the mead), he calls and leaves a message on my machine. As it turns out, not only did he love the hell out of the mead, but the customers that he let taste the mead over the week also loved it, and he called me to let me know that he wanted to pursue matters further. In other words, he wants to play.
The other front is the honey provider from whom I procured the honey for my latest batch, John Gipson of Gipson’s Golden back in August of 2007. At that time, I ordered 100 lbs of honey from him, and let him know that I was a mead maker and wanted to start producing mead professionally. He got really excited about this, and told me that he’d be interested in selling it if I ever got it off the ground. I told him I’d bring him a couple of bottles of mead when it was ready, and left it at that. Well, wanting to keep to my word and also wanting to light a fire under John’s rear again, I dropped by a couple of weeks ago with my mead as promised. I left him with a few bottles, and we chatted about how he’s got tons of connections through the stores he distributes to, and how he could totally sell my mead in those locations, in the same way he’s also selling chocolates made from his honey from a provider in Reno. I tell him to taste it and to let me know what he thinks. Last Wednesday morning, (one day after the phone call from Paul), I get a call from John telling me that he totally loved it, was surprised and shocked at how good it was, and wanted to sell some in a ‘limited run’ to his connections, including Oliver’s Market, of whom he knows the owner, and they said they’d be willing to showcase my mead. To John, a limited run is 50-60 cases, just as a ‘test’. to the layman, 60 cases is 720 bottles, or roughly 150 gallons of mead. Considering the largest batch I’ve produced to date is 40 gallons, this would mean ramping up my production almost 400%. But, the Universe hates a coward, and I will rise to this challenge. If I can get him to commit to a purchase, I will most certainly make his limited run a reality, with possibilities for more on the uptake.
Last Thursday I came down to meet with Paul again and to look at his operation. I think it’s gonna work out great for us. He’s only thinking of a starting capacity of 40 gallons or so for the first batch, but I’m going to push him to allow me to make 200 gallons on his premises. I might have to buy some fermentation tanks if Paul doesn’t have them to spare, but I will make it happen. Paul is an awesome guy, with lots of grass-roots experience, a laid-back style, and a talent for making excellent wine (I’ve tasted it.) I meet with him and his business manager on Tuesday, to go over particulars and to figure out what we need to do in order to work together. We’ll draw up an agreement letter covering what we want to get out of the deal on both sides, and if all works out well, I could be producing mead as soon as the next couple of weeks, which once bottled and labeled, will be legally sold.
So, I am left with a ton of work to do to get things prepared, from label design and approval to DBA’s to sales tax accounts, et cetera. The good news is, what I thought would be a retirement endeavor, or at least an activity put off for the next couple of years, turns out to be something I get to start right now. I’ll keep you all posted on the status and progress of Beowulf meads (Trademark pending).

Tonight there was a surprise impromptu birthday celebration at my house for my good friend Mark, whom I’ve known for 24 years. Happy birthday, my brother. I hope you had a good time, because I know everyone else did.

Hey everyone,
Just putting the blog post in brief again, since the day has slipped away from me once again. Ian and Lisa came over, hung out, and watched bad films with me. We had a great time. Now it’s time for bed.

Okay, so only hours after my last blog post, I was feeling better already, and this morning? I woke up completely clear, with no congestion to be found anywhere, no sinus pain, no nasal pain, no sore throat (only the inklings that I even used to have a sore throat) and no chest conjestion. Man, I f*cking love western medicine. I swear to you, if some witch doctor with a bone through his nose came and shook a dead chicken over my body and said some crazy words to the mighty Juju and I woke up feeling this great the next day, I’d be a true believer. All praise the mighty Juju.
I am notoriously bad about not wanting to take meds and not wanting to rely on western medicine, but this time… oh man, I love me them doctors. Zithromax is the f*cking shisnit. All praise the pharmeceutical companies. Take my money, make me poor. Just make my cold and infection disappear in twelve hours.
yay.
I am so finishing this series of meds off. I do NOT want this evil mofo of a cold coming back.

I got a note in the mail last week stating that due to fuel price increases, my gardener is raising his rates from $32/hr to $35/hr, and the decision that I’ve been putting off for months and months finally came to the fore. Basically, WTF?! I talked to my neighbors across the street and they have a service that provides basically the same service I have been getting for about 1/3 the price. I’m tired of leaking cash out of my rectum like a goddamned sieve, and it’s time to start plugging the holes… Okay, that’s a bad metaphor.
So Friday (I think that was like, uh, one day after I called and cancelled the service), I am working from home and the phone is freakin’ ringing off the hook. 3 or 4 rings, but no one leaves a message. Then they ring right back, again no message, and this goes on long enough to seriously piss me off and ensure I’m NEVER going to answer a goddamned call without screening. Julie picks up the phone later in the day because she hasn’t been assaulted by the mad ringer, and it turns out to be my gardener’s wife, looking to collect. I’m fairly certain it was her calling all day long after a bit of analysis, because she’s just that kind of spastic wench looking to close accounts, and being super aggressive about it. Now, I have had my gardener for like 6 years and I have never failed to pay an amount. I got hit with several large bills recently which also contributed to me canceling the service, and so I’m a few hundred in the arrears at least, but I will get them their money when I’m good and ready, but now I’m less ready than I might have been before. Anyhow, Julie says I’m not home, and that we’re leaving for the weekend, and hangs up on the spazz, who wants to talk to me RIGHT AWAY. Well, in about an hour, the phone starts doing the same ring-hang-up-ring bullshit, and the woman has officially pissed me off. Good fucking riddance I quit their service.
Here’s the complicating factor. Last fall I traded part of the labor costs on my driveway for doing a website for my gardener. It’s roughly $1500, and I’ve done very little on the project. Partly because we had a baby and partly because I don’t want to do web sites anymore and partly because I’m just not fucking inspired to do this site for a guy who is less than attentive to my needs and totally overcharges me. So, now I’m left with a dilemma. Do I do the job (half-assed, whatever) and fulfill my end of the bargain, or do I just write him a check and tell him to find another web designer? I’ve already scanned his pictures, but I just can’t seem to put it together on the site. I know if I just spent like 5 hours on the project, it’d be done, and I’d have fulfilled my end of the bargain. Blech. Bleargh. Pffft.
In the meanwhile, the grass is getting longer, and the leaves are building up. I need to take a trip over to sears and get myself a mower and a blower. And… I need to hire a new freakin’ gardener like immediately. Time to call those numbers on the papers tied to the little bags of rocks they throw on my driveway. Because face it — I just am not going to do it myself.

Yesterday was a totally awesome day. I spent the day in the city with a good friend, then ended up at a club downtown called ‘Mr. Smith’s’, where tons of my friends came to party down with me. I got plenty plastered and had a really good time. DJ Laetor was spinning for me (He’s burning me a disk of the party tunes), and we totally packed this club that’s usually filled with pretentious yuppies. Thank you all who came to the party, I was happy to see every single one of you.