OuT of the WiLdeRnESs!

...and directly into a seriously freak-infested portion of the grid (which some euphemistically refer to as "reno").

Since my last post and subsequent descent into zen-monky-business, a gazillion things have happened. Not being sequentially-minded at the moment, here is a bunch of crap in no particular order:

1) the ocean ate my car keys (and did NOT spit them back up). This, of course, led to a whole expensive and time-consuming series of events involving locksmiths, tow trucks, a park ranger named Tina, a seedy motel, a Honda dealership, a cheeseball, half a Woody Allen movie and a beautiful sunset.

2) aside from the above incident, I spent five days in Big Sur, sleeping in a turnout overlooking the sea (which I soon discovered I was sharing with a dead guy - but really dead and ashy with a plaque and stuff, not all maggoty and decomposing - that would be weird). I woke up every morning to the crashing waves and the sun pushing it's way up through the fog, went down the road and had really good coffee and pastry at Big Sur Bakery. That bakery totally kicks ass and you should go there if you're in the neighborhood.

3) i got married.

4) ha ha - just kidding. That was last trip, silly!
(although, interestingly enough, that accidental nuptial did end up factoring in to my experience at Tassajara... my innards hadn't flinched that much in quite some time)


anyhoo...

I'm off to sleep now in my comfy Reno bed at my fabulous Aunt Sweetie's house, and am reasonably sure that no one is going to run by my head ringing a wake-up bell at five in the morning...damn, that sure does suck sometimes!

more later,
jingles
xoxoxo
 

Truck Stops, Boob Jobs, Hot Dogs and Pee

Hello Friends!

When last we spoke, I was chicken sitting and counting the days until blastoff.

Finally, after much preparation and a satisfying series of goodbyes, I am on the road and well on my way to destination Zen...in fact, at this very moment I am sitting in a coffee shop in Lompoc, California.

In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that it's a Starbucks, but cut me some slack here, people...I have no idea where I am (yet).

Lompoc is Here

 I left Austin on Monday, drove 16 hours straight, and then discovered the wonders of a little thing called Rest Stops. Did you know that you can park at a rest stop and actually stay there as long as you like and sleep?
True story.

And it looks like this...

Man, I love my Honda Fit. The front seat folds down flush with the back seat, creating a completely comfortable and functional bed. Mix in a little down comforter action, soft pillows, and high thread-count sheets and you got yourself a luxury sleeping scene, folks!

I actually spent a few hours in LA yesterday afternoon, and it was everything I'd imagined and more...grotesquely opulent, decadent, seedy, plastic, boob-jobby, desperate-and-down-at-the-heely, traficky conglomeration of towns with no cohesive identity. The most notable trait in the more upscale neighborhoods  was that everyone was checking everyone else out, seeing and being seen.

Whatever.

I went to Beverly Hills and drove down Rodeo Drive, into Hollywood and up the Sunset Strip, down to Melrose, had a hot dog at Pink's (I had to do something famous-ish) where I spotted what may or may not have been some superhipster rock stars emerging from a BMW, through Brentwood, Venice and then got the hell out of there.
Glad I went, Glad I left.

Last night I drove up Highway 1 until it got dark, pulled into El Capitan state beach and slept in the Fit-bed until morning. I've been waking up really early in California time, so I was up and on the road before the booth people even got back to work...

One more thing before I leave you:

My new best friend...

Christmas is coming, y'all!

        pStyle!
             pStyle!!
                    pStyle!!!



http://www.thepstyle.com/pages/pstyle


 
love,
jingles
xoxoxo

The Slave to Chickens has a Slight Change of Plans

Hi Y'all!

Originally, this was going to be an all-ages kinda writing scene.  

However, due to my desire to say whatever the fuck I want to here, the Habibi's-Child-Friendly blog has now taken on it's own discrete life. You can find it here: jingles-n-change.blogspot.com
That one'll be me and Penny going to town (and country) in a "G"-rated kinda way.

Jingles-n-Change

Jingles-A-Go-Go

Meanwhile...

I am now T minus 21 days and counting until I head West! I have procured a perfect and small backpack for the occasion, and am mostly packed and rarin' to go!


Right now I'm house sitting.

My current life involves living in a magazine-worthy farmhouse outside of Dripping Springs, making sure I get home before sundown in order to insure the safety of a couple of not-so-bright chickens (apparently the country is rife with nefarious creatures), murdering innocent crickets for the sake of lizard longevity, and hanging out with a couple of labradors.

I'm diggin' it.

Butt Eggs

The egg-laying chickens have made me evaluate my eating habits; do I really want to eat something that a chicken has pooped out of it's butt?


Why yes, I believe I do.


ttfn,
jm

Ants In My Pants

Hi Y'all!

This is me. I'm super-fancy in this picture; mostly I go without the mustache and mink. I'm more of a bare feet and cut-offs kinda gal...

In about a month I'm hopping into my car and heading to a Zen monastery near Big Sur. I think I'll drive straight over to Los Angeles then up Highway 1. Highway 1 is obscenely beautiful, at least the parts I've seen so far. I've never been to LA. Everyone in my orbit has told me I'd hate it, which has made me really curious. I gots to see for myself. I plan on playing "spot-the-boob-job" (if I actually dare breech the city limits)...I like to play games I can win!

Once I get there, I'll stay at the monastery staring at a blank wall and chopping a gazillion vegetables until either:

(a) My head explodes; or
(b) The end of September.

This is where I'm going: http://www.sfzc.org/tassajara/

After a few weeks of high-end monastic living, I'm gonna meet my friend Penny in San Francisco and we're gonna fly into Bangkok. We're both crazy-excited about it, and having a hard time focusing at work. Thus the antsy pants.


This is where we both work: http://habibishutch.com/

These are some of my friends from Habibi's. I've been teaching there for a long time and am really going to miss those little humans, some of whom I've known since they were in utero. This blog is a way for me to keep in touch with the kids, the Habibi's community, my fellow dancers, my old friends, my new friends, and whoever else wants to take a peek. I plan on posting lots of pictures from Asia...assuming I figure out how between now and then (I am a blogging neophyte).

love,
jingles