City Living

Old friends and new...... If you are attending Burning Man this year, feel free to comment or message me with your location, any events or things of interest, or places and times you are playing music.

I will be with my old new paltz, new york/california pals and some others right next to Pink Mammoth. (Pink Mammoth is a San Francisco-based, well-established yet unofficial party spot with a pink bar, serious dancefloor, daily packed happy hour, and house music. It is usually at 8:30 and G).

Get a teenytiny notebook, keep track of the happs and where people are at, and slip it in your fanny pack with your altoids....

Our crew will be next to/behind Pink Mammmoth, at approximately 8:40 and G or G/H. Unofficially, we are Camp in the Cut, or the Infinity Crew. Just keep your eyes peeled for weirdo pretty people in the shade, and listen for lots of laughing. And strong, male accents from New York. (Yeah....I know.... them's the breaks....)

Our more exotic amenities include but are not limited to:

homemade tv film set with a backdrop to film Charlie-Rose-esque interviews, hosted by Roscoe

strange large pick-up-sticks like structure, with fabric somehow involved

graffiti wall

cuddle pool

lots of homemade absynthe, tried and true



My personal endeavors this year are modest and reasonable. They include:

-Bartending Thursday around 4pm or so at the Burning Man Radio station, right next to the DMV. This is in conjunction with The Billion Bunny March.

-Putting up alot of my poetry. Debut of internet-unfriendly pieces including "Paper or Drop" and "Where the Good Green Grows" along with the usual R-rated and comedic classics. Poetry will be taped to the outside of portapotties. Especially at 8:30 and G.

- Tequila. I will be bringing alot of great blanco tequila, so if you need a pick-me-up, you know who to find. (Delicious juice optional)

- Postcards with a Metropolis-themed piece of my writing called "I am What I am". I will be giving them out, and I will have stamps, can mail them for you from Black Rock City post office, and then they will have a postmark from Black Rock City. Bring an address of a friend who can't make it this year.....Or send one to your grandma......

- Firehooping with my broken firehoop

Finally, we will also hopefully have a tiny camp on the opposite side of the playa, between 2 and 4. It will be called Bizarro World and contrary to my main place, it will be for serious, desperate partying measures only. This will be a party survival camp with little to no creative visual arts, save the flesh of hot, intoxicated bodies. Box wine and granola bars will reign as Queen and King here.

So, that's it as of now. I would love to see you! And please, message me or comment about where you will be or what happenings you are looking forward to being around for

My Evening Has Been Nice

my evening has been nice. this is for a few reasons. i drove to manhattan to pick up 2 burning man tickets for $250 each. i found this deal on craigslist. the drive went well; i like driving around nyc. it was very enjoyable. and now i have burning man tickets for myself and my best friend erin who has not been yet. she is my bestie- my honorary sister, and i am so excited.

then, driving home, i thought of white castle. a few days ago on the way to the beach, a friend and i stopped at the drive-thru and ordered 2 cheeseburgers for the taste. we paid, but he drove away without getting the food and we did not realize it until a few minutes later. we are dum-dums. shortly after thinking of white castle, i saw one. so i went. i parked; this white castle was nice, with 2 outside umbrella-clad tables, and no bulletproof glass. i could go there on a date. i got many things off the menu, including my first chicken rings. the chicken rings were good, but they seem like an exotic chicken from another planet, like jupiter or mars. i could tell i was not eating actual chicken from earth. but they did taste good. and i had a conversation with a fellow white castle customer because we both like whitecastle - he had not had it in 5 years but saw it on his way to church and just had to stop.

i picked up a tiny pulled pork sandwich for my best guy friend aka the brother i always wanted aka myk tummolo aka dos melo. it is his birthday tonight and i want to see him eat the tiny sandwich with his fat fingers, all in one bite.

this evening is nice because my other brother i never wanted, saylor, is back from south america.

plus, my roommate is back from san diego. she is a big sweetie. and my other roommate and i got to chat for a while and catch up about life.

the moon is beautiful tonight, as is the weather

and the icing? i let the neighborhood cat into our apartment and she/he has been hanging around for a while, and i feel like it's my cat for the time being.


that is just some of the ways my evening has been nice.

There Are Drops of Sadness, Hate and Frustration

There are drops of hate, sadness and frustration inside of me. These drops trickle out for 2 reasons- cell phones and banks. I hate these 2 things- they are the only true evil that plagues my world.

Usually I focus my hate towards the cell phone company. but yesterday I got my phone wet, and it is all my fault. so now I am focusing my hate towards the phone itself. Why can't you be like other phones, and work after water damage? Stupid phone. you are made of good korean craftsmanship. I expect more. not that much more, but more, nonetheless.

It's a good thing I have another phone or two waiting in the wings for occasions like this.

I think I am going to try out metro pcs too, by the way, as an experiment.

The BEst

skjdhfg sdkjhfg sdjkhfg skjdhgf sdkhjgf sdkjhgf sdkjhgf sdkj testttttt

Flat Brim

2 years ago, I made a giant wizard hat (for my giant friend with his giant head). The wizard hat had a flat brim that I built into it.

Tomorrow is an event involving rainbows and unicorns. kaleidoscope. When I get back to NY tomorrow, I am going to attempt to make a unicorn horn, with a flat brim. I made go with an urban chic theme entirely, but I am not sure..depends on the materials I have. Definitely going to try to make the unicorn horn with the flat brim.

My Favorite

I am really really looking forward to finishing up work shortly.

My favorite food? food i eat when I am not working.
My favorite color? shades of anything I see, as long as I'm not working.
My favorite music? well, I like the same music when I am working, but I like it much better while I am not working
my favorite animal? animals that don't work

Reserve

I am so tired, but so very content. I am dirty, need a shower, slightly still hungover, hungry but lazy, hideously bruised in many places from the new bike (cause I ride it like a mountain bike although it is not), first I went the wrong way on the subway for a long time on the subway, then I fell sleep going in the right direction, yadayadayada.

Yet, contentitude is radiating outward from me. to you. Tonight I have some to spare, so I am sharing it. Use it now if you want. Or save it up for the future. There will be more too. I may package it up and hand it out, para gratis. Or wrap it up in cottonballs and glitter, get a sling shot, stand on a rooftop, and hit people when they aren't looking. Put some in my my altoids box so I have some just in case I am feeling down.

i peed on your stuff pal

i peed in your shower
i peed here on your couch
i peed in a bag, tied it around my waist
and now i've got a pee pee pouch

i peed out your window
i peed on your hairbrush
i peed, drank it fast (and liked it)
cause i'm a kinkyboozy lush


i peed on your sad, sad flowers
hoping they would grow
i peed in your alpaca slippers
it will be years before you know

i peed in the thai friendship dinner doggybag
i should be busting open right now
i'm peeing in the beer you're drinking
don't even ask me how



(the above poem was written for mik, my particularly self-centered pal in chicago)

I Applied to Be a Malt Beverage Poster Girl.

Technically, I applied to be the next "Miss Joose". Joose is a malt beverage and an energy drink combo. Tomorrow, my friend and I are having a Joose tasting on my roof (I now live in Brooklyn). Anyhow, I went to the site to see how many flavors they have (cause I know there are a fair share), and I saw that they are looking for the next Miss Joose.

Honestly, I wish to be the nest Miss Joose. It would enhance my life. Not kidding.

So this is what I wrote:

Laughing, relaxing, making crazy costumes and clothing, writing, cooking, making mini-movies and songs, camping, and partying. Seriously partying. I graduated high school a year early because I was in search of something beyond the monotonous weekends. I went to a an alternative hippie activist travel school called Friends World Program, which brought me to San Francisco for an internship. And partying. Left that, went to a NY state school. Graduated with international relations degree, worked to get Bush out of office (did not work), moved to Park City. Partied. The whole Morman dry-state thing is a myth, which you may know if you have been to Sundance. Lived on and off in NY and in Guatemala on a volcanic lake. Seriously partied. I am fortunate enough to have enjoyed a very special time when full moon parties were the thing on this lake. Watching the sunrise over volcanoes in paradise with travelers from all over the world, electronic music pumping in the background- this is an exquisite moment. A nice wrinkle in time. Partied and south america. In Argentina, people don't go to the bar until 2 am. Wine-tasting via bike. In Brasil's Sao Paulo, the government shuts the streets down for a 2-day culture festival. Which they sponsor. This includes a huge electronica party outside one of the countrie's top law schools. I went to Europe and joined these swiss friends I have, for their "one-million euro trip". They especially wanted me because I hulahoop with fire. I can hulahoop with fire and take my clothes off at the same time (but the latter is not necessary). I DJ a little- in Guatemala, El Salvador, and NY.
It is Saturday night and I am taking it easy. You know why? Because I went to a huge burning man costume party in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and then I went to an after party at one of the many lofts we have here. And I got home at 6pm. I do not do cocaine. You know it's a good night when you get home back 6pm the next day with White Castle leftovers. Every weekend, there are a ton of loft parties that go all-night here in NY. My friends throw the parties, DJ, etc. I will DJ when I get around to it. I will also hulahoop with fire once my firehoop gets fixed.
I go to festivals. Specifically: Mountain Jam, Camp Bisco, Desiderata, Gathering of the Vibes, and Burning Man. I spend fall in Northern California. I party there. Specifically, at electronic events, burning man events, and even this secret party train through the redwoods in Mendocino county.
I don't need to drink all the time- I know this because sometimes I don't drink or party. But at the moment, I'm living it up in the nexus of my generation's culture. It's not what you do that kills you- it's the guilt you have about it. This was told to me on the Mendocino party train.
To be straight forward- I party. I will be partying for a while, around the world. My friends party. I can serve as an asset to your firm in various ways. I am idea factory. And I happen to look good.

Where is the Love?

I've heard about a place called Love in Manhattan for a while. The venue hosts the Dub Wars. Although I had a good time (I have a good time anywhere), I will not be going back. I had a million complaints about the place.

My overal review of this joint is that it tries to pass itself off as being part of the underground scene, yet in reality it is just another over-priced, over-rated place in the village. There is no sign, and there was a line of about 30 people waiting to get in at 12:30 or so. The doorguy came up to each person and said that the club had nearly reached capacity, and there was not a good chance many people on the line would get in. My friends and I prodded him a bit, and he said they did not want a long line to draw attention from the cops. Some people left, and we were in the door within 5 minutes.

In general, most of the staff I encountered were nice.

The cover was 15$. Beers were 8$, and shots and mixed drinks 10-12$. Water was 6$. The bathroom had a nice attendant and a short line, if any. The coat check had a ridiculously long line.

I wanted to buy this girl a drink, and she wanted water. At the moment, they were out of 6$ bottles of water, so this guy, who was like security, wanted to charge me 2$ for tap water. THAT IS NOT LOVE.

There was a nice, chill area to hang in, which I did for much of the time, since the place was ridiculously packed. AS usual, much of what was supposed to be dubstep was not (This is a seriously annoying fact at the moment here in New York. Bay Area people would flip out at what is played here at events that are advertised as dubstep).

There is only one dj playing at a time, and you can hear them throughout the place. Which is cool when the dj is good. When the dj is not so good.... not so much.

The speakers were excellent (and are apparently one of 7 in the country or something, as told to me by the owner or manager of Love. I complained to him a few times. I was in a complaining mood).

At one point, we were not allowed to go outside to smoke cigarettes.

I heard there was an arrest. I was also told there were undercover cops. I believe both.

Finally, it cleared out, and the regular DJs of dubwar played dubstep.

So, basically, if the dubstep/electronic/club/party scene is new to you, you would really enjoy Love, since you don't know any better. But, from the beginning, I felt exploited. I also felt like the establishment is exploiting a culture and music that I and other people hold dear to our hearts. I know what dubstep and techno parties elsewhere in the country and world are about, and Love does not care to be a part of that community. It is all about the dollars. It is obvious that Love wants both the benefits of being an underground loft party place, but it also wants the profits of a public, legally-ran club. Which is fine for some, but I got other places where I can spend too much money for a better time.

2 Days In a Row

For the past two days, before sunset, there has been this tangerine glow that comes through the window. It paints stripes of light wherever it hits, and reminds me of late spring. I can practically feel the itch and coarseness of thick, freshly cut grass underneath me.

I heard you should never wish time away, so I won't.

Burning Bodies in the Street- Not The Worst Idea for Some... Guatemalan Mob Mentality VS. Reigning Salvadoran Gangs

I have written about this already, but it disappeared when my computer's harddrive crashed. I will try to keep all the details from over a month ago straight.

2 violent mob incidents that resulted in death at Lake Atitlan occurred within a week or two of eachother. This was just before Christmas. First, there was apparently a small group of people (from the highlands, probably- definitely not from around town) who were trying to extort money from the chicken bus drivers. (Chicken buses are the main form of transportation in Guatemala. They are old converted school buses decorated in crazy psychedelic colors, are affordable, reliable, and you can take them anywhere you need to get to)

The extorters wanted to show that they meant business, so they held a bus driver at gunpoint while he was driving from Solola down to Panajachel. This is a very popular 10 minute route for both tourists and locals. The gunman was arrested, and put in jail in Solola. Townspeople were outraged- this guy represented a threat to the whole communitys wellbeing. Guatemalans have dealt with enough corruption (especially during their 30+ years of war and puppet governments). Chicken bus transportation is a system that works well, and extortion would only serve to ruin that. A mob went to the police station, and demanded that the guy be released. The police (who are quite official, have alot of jurisdiction, and make trips all across the lake to "check" on towns in their department) would not release the guy. So, the mob firebombed the police station, which resulted in the guy getting out. They took the guy, beat him, and burned his body.

The 2nd incident is eerily similar. It took place in Panajachel, the town next to Solola. Panajachel, aka "Pana" sits right on Lake Atitlan, and is bustling tourist town. 2 ladies and a guy, not affiliated with the bus extortionists, tried to extort money from a market lady. Once again, bad idea. The market is the main focus of communities throughout Central and South America, especially in a tourist town like Pana. If these strong-arming thieves were going to prey upon one market vendor, what would keep them from doing it to someone else? So, to keep the system functioning and safe, a mob from Pana demanded that the Pana police release the extortionists.

The 2 women were moved to a different jail (one was pregnant; they were probably moved to Guatemala City) but the guy was released. They tied him up, beat him to death, and burned his body in the street. Specifically, the busiest intersection in town. My friend is a teacher at a school there and said that it was riot-like, and that the body layed in the street throughout the entire day (mostly covered with a cloth) until the guy's family came and got it).

Now, I am from a small town in New York, and this sort of justice and vigilantism is incredibly foreign to me. Probably to most people from the United States. I can't say if I like it any better or not.

Just south of Guatemala is El Salvador, a small and beautiful country that has a serious problem with organized crime. Specifically, crime run by gangs. This springs from the US deporting members of the Los Angeles-based gang MS-13 back to Latin America. MS-13 now has connections both in the US and Central America, and 50,000 members in the US, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. They are ultra-powerful, and they use their power to run drugs, extort businesses, buses, and more, and reak havoc on their community. They kill bus drivers that do not accommodate their demands. They largely contribute the the alarming murder rate, which per capita is 10 times the amount of the United States', and 5 times that of Mexico's. (according to Reuters and LA Times)

So, just to widen our worldview... on one hand, you have certain regions of Guatemala with a mob justice that entails violent murder and burning of those suspected of trying to fuck up a functioning system for their own financial gain. And on the other hand, in El Salvador (and maybe other parts of Guatemala), widespread extortion is completely the norm, and the threat of violence prevents much change.

Valentine's Day in CRAZYTOWN

"He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals."
-Benjamin Franklin

Many of you might already know that..........


In CRAZYTOWN hearts are never broken, and chocolate (like all candy and soda) has life's essential vitamins and minerals. (And, as also stated in the Constitution, there is no need for prostitution because all residents' sexual desires are fulfilled....*with the exception of beastiality, pederasty, and necrophilia)


But did you know this .............

For every dollar spent on Valentine's Day merchandise outside of CRAZYTOWN, residents of CRAZYTOWN will donate $2 USD to the Human Fund's Center for Social Ineptitude.


In CRAZYTOWN, love is not all you need. In CRAZYTOWN, we know not the feeling of need, since we always get what we want.

And more importantly, as seen in Myk tumelo's cosm photo, you do not need love, you are love. This truth applies to those both inside and outside of CRAZYTOWN.


In CRAZYTOWN mythology, we believe cupid is a trans-gendered self-hating robot who fills his arrows with the tears of orphaned Chinese babies. (girls' tears only, of course)


In CRAZYTOWN, love is not blind. It sees perfectly fine, is really picky, and will settle for nothing less than what it deserves- the creme of the crop. Luckily, all residents of CRAZYTOWN surpass bestness.

In CRAZYTOWN, love does not conquer all. Fun does.

"Love is like ghosts, which everybody talks about and few have seen."
Well, in CRAZYTOWN, love is like Seinfeld, Simpsons, or The Office- enjoyable, with many
episodes that we never tire of.

"Better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all."
-St. Augustine
Ehhh- better to have loved and never lost. In CRAZYTOWN, we don't lose things.

Best Regards,
The Benevolent Dictator

A Mob of Locals Tries To Overrun Restaurants&Bars

Well, the craziness continues in San Pedro! I heard from my friends who are there that there was a large group of locals who went around to all the bars and restaurants at 10 or 11pm, demanding that they close. Apparently, customers were still eating dinner. The Mayor, with a small minority of support (the town has something like 13,000 people), is going to try to pass a law that makes bars and restaurants close by 11pm. Many of the locals make their money off of tourism- whether they own businesses, sell OJ or veggies to the restaurants, make jewelry and clothing- so most of the locals realize this is extreme. But as we know from the past, majority does not always rule. Especially like in this case, when the minority believes that Christian Evangelism will solve the problems of their socio-economic infrastructure.

Now, cleaning up drugs from town to curb rising crack addictions is reasonable. But going from business to business, vigilante-style (vigilante is Guatemala’s favorite style, by the way), harassing proprietors and customers…. this can only lead to trouble. There have been COUNTLESS hotels, tiendas, and restaurants built buy locals, and if these businesses do not make money off of tourism, many people will become impoverished. Not to mention, this vigiliantism is impeading on people's rights (the right of Guatemalan citizens and permanent residents to conduct business within the guidelines of a capitalist system). Hopefully this ebb will begin to flow back to a sane equilibrium.

**I HAVE INCLUDED SOME PICTURES FROM MY FRIEND's FACEBOOK. HE IS A RESTAURANT/BAR OWNER IN TOWN for perhaps a decade.



(Regarding top picture, as written by bar/restaurant owner Mike. This is outside of his bar/restaurant: " These guys were milling around after already closed. I opened the door to get look. They yelled at me to close and turn of lights, etc... The bastards already closed us!! Threw out 100 paying customers. They told me to "go home gringo!" After the next picture they stormed my door, beat the hell out of it, threw a rock at the window where I was and then emptied an entire canister of pepper spray!!")

Recognizing Transition

Last year while visiting Lake Atitlan, I had noticed that things in San Pedro were in transition. Along with a new mayor, there had been drug busts of many dealers (the most powerful being Mayan Grandmothers. Not joking). The mayor had a platform to clean up San Pedro, which in the eyes of many Mayan townspeople, had been overrun by hippy tourists whose recreational drug use had trickled down to the locals in the form of crack addiction.

So along with the drug busts (which may have been federal, if I remember correctly), the Mayor outlawed full moon parties. The Lake was famous for its full moon parties, and San Pedro was often a jumping point for them. With the hope of putting an end to these parties, things such as renting sound systems to party promoters and transporting people via boat taxi to desolate party locations were made illegal.

After a few years of living my winters and springs in a perfect party bliss, I recognized the transition. More and more hotels, restaurants, roads, etc were being built, yet tourism had decreased. Whereas in years previous, travelers got to San Pedro and stayed weeks, months, even years, living, sometimes working, always spending- contributing to the local economy- now, there were very few new tourists who would stay for longer than a few days. There had been a large community of people from around the world who owned restaurants, worked, and/or partied together. This community had dwindled to almost only people who were deeply tied to San Pedro because they owned businesses there, or had boyfriends or girlfriends that did. And even some of them sold their businesses, and left. So, last year, I spent most of my time in San Marcos, where my friend had the only bar in town, and a few cool girls working for him. It was a great time, but even that didn’t last. His lease was not renewed, so this year… no bar over there. Back to being a paradise of quiet yoga retreats. Fine for some, but not for me.

So, more about this year: most importantly, Lake Atitlan- the lake itself, became sick. Or should I say, it was sick for a while, and finally started to show symptoms. Apparently, a thick layer of algae called cyanobacteria bloomed on its surface. I heard it smelled like dead animals and was due to nitrogenous things including pesticides, sewage, laundry detergent, etc. This completely killed the tourism. I came just after this, shortly after the layer was gone, and the lake was back to its seemingly beautiful self. Only on the outside though- the problem has not been solved and the lake is not safe to swim in. A few days before the New Year, other tourists, many who’d previously been to the Lake, came to party. We spent our money in the establishments had just been empty. But the vibe was different for me, once again.


Also, the authorities had started putting foreigners in prison for small drug offenses. There was a list of extranjeros (the word means stranger and is a term for non-guatemalans) who'd been living in town for years. The people on this list were targets for the police, who claimed the people sold drugs. This was not true. Some of my friends were on this list. Some of my friends left Guatemala because of this list. Had I spent enough time there recently, I could have been on the list. One of the first people on this list was a rotund Italian guy in his 50's who lived out of town and rode a motorcyle. His house was the first searched, when no one knew about the list, and the police found 4 or so pot plants. He was given a 5 year prison term.


After the Lake, I went to El Salvador, where the organization I was supposed to volunteer with was located. As it turns out, the girl who started the organization (a friend of a friend), is in San Francisco, and should have told me the organization was dependent on her being there. ( It was extremely unprofessional and actually straight –up fucked up of her- what if I had not been a casual traveler familiar with the language, the region, the way things work down there?) My volunteer position teaching English, and the program, were sort of defunct, and instead of finding a different gig (possibly paying), I appreciated fate for what it was. Yes, if I had not gone to Central America for this thing, I could have taught in Korea again for a winter camp for a month, gotten paid, flown over for free, hopped to Thailand for a cooking course (this was my other option when I had been planning back in September).

But everything happens for a reason. My trip back to the Lake was a confirmation that it is no longer a place I want to spend a lot of my time, as I did in the past. I used to plan on moving back there, permanently. I have land there (or, at least, the title for it….) I enjoyed the company of a few great friends while I was there, but I was not sad to leave. It was closure. In the process, I had closed the chapter of my life that was Guatemala. And with every door that closes, a few others open.

A Possible Change of Plans

I am supposed to volunteer teaching english on the beach in El Salvador, and the people have been flaking getting back to me. The terms also were that I would get a private room in a hostel for $135/month, and now apparently, that is not the case. I am volunteering my time and skills, which is fine, but I do not appreciate the lack of answers I am receiving to my questions. I have traveled a lot in Central America and I am not very uptight about things, but what if the case were different? They are not telling me what I need to know.
So, for the past few weeks I have told them via emails, that if the hostel room is not as affordable as I thought it was, I may only volunteer for one month. Maybe I will go back to the US a month early, which means a month of making money instead of spending it. Who knows. I don't even feel like going to El Zonte, to tell you the truth. The girl who started the “organization” (who is a friend of a friend) is not even in El Salvador, and what was presented as a casually- structured program with specific protocol seems to be completely unorganized, perhaps even non-existent.

I know I do not want to just come back to the lake either, so this is not even a matter of wanting to party instead of teaching in a quiet beach village. It is the principle of being told one set of things months ago, and then being blown off and not told vital information.

I could have taught at the month-long winter camp I taught at last year in Korea, where they pay for your flight and pay you. And then I would have taken a cooking course in Thailand. This- this was my other option for the winter, and instead I chose to do this El Zonte thing. We'll see.

New Years Eve on Lake Atitlan

There ended up being a psy-trance party at Freedom for New Year's.... surprise surprise.... Around 1 or 2 am, myself, Ric, Leslie, and a bunch of the other foreigners who live here filled up a boat and went to this “Universal Dance Festival” (or something to that effect). Advertised was 3 days&nights of partying, workshops, vegetarian food, djs, live music, etc. We got there, and Dave from England started playing music... good music. I had not heard him DJ yet. I had a few little boxes of wine, tequila (which was one of my choices for the evening), and my hulahoop which lights up. Things got crazy for many of us. I met one of the organizers of the event, David, from Berkeley. He had heard about me djing at Freedom the night before and wanted me to play the next day or Saturday. I said I just had to go get my stuff from San Pedro so Saturday would be better.

At one point, maybe around 5am, Antonio, the owner of the land/house, came down, freaked out, shutting off the music. Antonio is a crazy American guy, and the place that we were at can only be reached by boat, so cops can't get there. There have been some amazing parties on his property (over in the woods along the lake, just a walk away from the party this year). But I had more or less heard Antonio is a control freak, and this proved it to be true. So, the San Pedro people we came with left, and I continued to party (sin loud music), on the lawn, with the people who were left and these little kids that came around. I was hanging with the little kids, all sorts of fucked up, blowing bubbles with them. With wands and my bubble gun, of course.

Then I went up to the house to drink more...this amazing house, with stairs winding up to different levels built into a mountain I think. There was an awesome bar area that was in the shade of a tree whose limbs sprawled out 20 feet and were intertwined with a cactus whose limbs also sprawled out. I met some more cool people, including the guatemalan bartender who said that 2012 would be the collapse of capitalism. I liked this idea.

I slept down near the lake where my friends were, and awoke to the sound of waves crashing on the lake, a fire nearby, and the sound of a band playing relaxing music. Afterward, Ric went to play, and for some reason, the music was shut off. Beat scene. So, it was a chill night. I tried to drink a beer up in the bar but just couldn't physically get it down. I did meet some cool people though- an Irish welder who works on bikes in Guatemala, and also turns them into pedal-powered energy sources. Another slumber under a full moon, waves crashing. Bienvenido 2010.