UnEvEn GrOUnd

Yesterday, I realized how I have always taken for granted the ability to walk down a street aimlessly looking at my cell phone, talking to the friend next to me, looking at the sky, and whatever else I could do before actually paying attention to whats below me. It all happened after I almost fell down a man hole last night because the cover had miraculously disappeared and I was in the middle of an important text. Like sticking a screw driver into an electric socket for the first time, it fucking hit me how big of a dumb fuck I was for trying to text and walk in Bangladesh...No one else does this stupid shit unless your a Badeshi (Foreigner). To prove this on my way to work today, I was looking around to see how many Bangladeshi's I could see walking and talking on their cell phone at the same time. I counted about 10 in the midst of about a   1000 I saw. We are lucky in the States and some of the other countries I have been to  not have to concentrate on the little things like walking. The struggle with walking ends when we are 4 years old and after that its only the occasional hiking or running that ever hinders it. HERE walking is a fucking struggle every day. Between walking on uneven surfaces of brick gravel dirt asphalt  pot holes, missing man hole covers, big holes (dunno how they got there) where raw sewage lay below, power lines and tree's that have only been trimmed for 5'10 people...oh and I FUCKING forgot about the 5 types of moving vehicles who always win in a battle against you walking. So in light of all these things that can pile up on you in less than a mile long walk, I realized how my senses are on crack here because they are always on alert protecting me from the 100's of hazards out there and now I wonder why my brain and my neck hurt when I get back to my house after a walk in the city. BUT these experiences and especially the one last night taught me something grand. Appreciate the little things in life. For some reason, I think for the majority of Bangladeshi's who have to walk the streets everyday ENJOY the little things. Why you might ask....Because if you can understand that even the most simplest of things like walking, which many of us put little or no thought into can be so difficult that it can lead to the appreciation of so many other things we take for granted as well. So..in closing this post, being conscious of your steps is something that more people should do because you might start appreciating all the other little things you have unknowingly  ignored for so very long.

A dusty ride

It 11pm in Dhaka and I am on a rickshaw going back to my apartment and a feeling of unease comes over me because I know that in about 30 min I am going to give this guy less than a dollar for taking me 8-10km. Its hot, humid, dusty, and hazy from all the pollution but it feels so peaceful compared to what it was like just 4 short hours ago.  During the ride, I experienced potholes that were big enough to swallow up  the wheels, yet the driver without struggle manages to miss them all. Buses that look like tin can bumper cars that were hand pounded and wielded together and giant trucks caring  huge amounts of brick into the city for the massive amounts of construction. All these vehicles plus the CnG's and regular cars come within  a foot of the rickshaw and it scares the fuck out of me but it does not phase him. One of the roads is so bad that I think any gravel road in the USA would be considered a god send but its okay for me because I have a cushioned seat. My diver on the other hand looks like he has taken a seat off of a kids bike and screwed it on for the little bit of added comfort he gets when hes not pumping his ass off trying to keep the single speed moving (Go fucking hipsters and your single speed fixed gears, this guy would probably think your a fucking fool). The whole time I am seeing people sleeping on the streets and people huddled around a kerosene fire drinking sugar water (tea) and whatever else for sale. I get off the rickshaw give the gentleman his money, he rings his bell and is off looking for the next 40 cent customer.The REALNESS of life...

inaugural doughnut ride

welp it's 10:30am and my celebration of doughnut day is through.
i'm not sure if i am supposed to thank the doughnuts or curse their existence. who am I kidding? no cursing will occur.
i will thank them.
despite the slight rumble and discomfort in my belly and the over bearing sugar content in my mouth.
let us start at the beginning.
i have a personal motto that states "i go nuts for doughnuts!" that said i am not trying to have a doughnut every day, shit, every month seems a bit unnecessary, but sometimes opportunity presents itself. today was one of those opportunities.
my first thought was "i am going to eat sooo many doughnuts". of course i had made a rule last year that did not allow me to eat doughnuts here in reno unless i powered myself to get there; walking, running, biking, ect. that is when it struck me to set out on a tour of the doughnut shops and try some of the places i find myself driving passed and ogling at.
the ride was mostly a success. during a 22 mile morning ride i was able to squeeze in 8 doughnuts and 2 glasses of whole milk and really good wod today at battleborn crossfit. the only downside was that my final stop, the creme de la creme, the frosting on the cake, the cherry on top, the planned grande finale of devouring peanut butter logs at doughboy was thwarted by everyone elses immense love for (pb)logs, cuz they were out. Side note I find it quite fitting that peanut butter logs can be referred to as "(pb)logs" since pb also stands for lead on the element chart. i am not convinced that this is merely a coincidence since (pb)logs are quite dense and most ppl probably feel like they have lead in their stomach after eating a couple.

official promotion banner for national "donut" day

2 crumbs from "best in town"

really enjoyed this today; glad i only had two doughnuts in me

jelly doughnut not only 24/7 but also offering bacon maple

my reliable black steel steed

"donut bistro" a new one for me, cookies and cream, along with the classic fritter

the substitute for (pb)logs 

death valley hallucinations

i drove to another planet
at least that is what it felt like.
we entered death valley from vegas in the morning; sweaty and undernourished.
without realizing it we had slipped through a worm hole and driven onto another planet.
earth was gone.
this place with bare, sharp, growing mountains.
a drainage pit.
where water went to be reincarnated and minerals, mainly sodium, went to die.
the haze that blurred the horizon. that was moisture doing the smartest thing possible, leaving. teleporting to better climes. back to earth.
i was deeper than i had ever been but the refreshment of cold dark solitude one would expect to find almost 300 feet below sea level was missing. like i said.
i drove to another planet.

stoked

////////// Vs //////////

i had a discussion with a close friend yesterday. he brought up some topics that made think.
the idea centers around rights.
natural born inherent rights versus earned or merit based rights.
are there such things?

are certain segments of society more worthy to things than others?
the idea behind the occupy movement is that we are all deserving of our country's success. but why just our country? if we look at the rest of contemporary humanity we are living better than them. our cries for equality can seem hypocritical when viewed in the light that we prosper at the misfortune of others around the world.
of course the movement is not wrong; the idea is right. that basic premise that we are all deserving of basic comforts seems easy enough to grasp. i think within our society we have lost the idea of basic though. basic, means the bare minimum. not guaranteed employment for obtaining an arbitrary liberal arts degree.
it means clean water.
a government that protects its people.
corporations are NOT people.
food at reasonable prices.
education of youth.
gender equality.
race equality.

not mini mansions and bmw's
if these are basic rights that should be inherent to everyone, than what about hard work and sacrifice? they cant just go out the window. the long commutes that our parents have endured. the poor work conditions of our grandparents. the lives stolen from our soldiers.
how do we reward these things?
is a soldier more worthy of this land than a doctor?
a police officer than a single mother?
the simple answer is no.
everyone with a role in our society that contributes to its functioning is worthy of a piece.
turning to nature that would be like saying that a wolf is better and more deserving than a deer. no, they both aid each other. speaking of nature.
we are just ANOTHER species. not the paramount of evolution. just a cog in it.
ultimately we take ourselves far to seriously. we have a much too ethnocetnric outlook.
our actions should be to secure our needs. not extravagant wants and desires.

maybe i'll come back to this topic upon further contemplation and a more refined and structured focus. for now it'll have to be enough. share any thoughts you might have.

shit connor says

 

you might say that i have too much free time on my hands. you're probably right; that said connor is my roommate and in his absence i have found other ways to make it seem as if he is around. 

freedom

yep

next up

a review of the past...
i dont wanna do that.
the past limits us.
the future is what inspires. sure we can look at histories for....
some sort of guidance or reassurance.but the future,
the new,
the unknown, is what gets me out of bed in the morning.
catchy grooves
algeria
strength
napali coast
zion
speed
sun wind snow dust
the intoxicating sweet smell of a girls hair
a good story
a sleepless night
a colorful sunrise
fulfilling meals
an evening on the ground
heavy jams

Fuck that Noise

On a note to end 2011 and to bring in 2012, I believe in understanding FIRE. Fire is a finicky element, one that needs substance to live. Give it not enough and it dies, give it to much and you lose control of it. Fire is our love, anger, and all the emotions that fall in between it.

Trying to come up with ideas for my next workshop with kids on the topic of inner strength and perseverance, while being adrift in Europe and North Africa, I came up with the conclusion I would teach it with the concept of fire and maintaining its existence for the longest amount of time, given only a certain amount of wood. In conceptualizing this activity, I started to reflect about the previous year and how sustaining my fire has been a very bumpy yet rewarding road.

We are only given a certain amount of capacity to hold our wood. Some have a greater capacity than others but we all have our limit. We take from this pile when we are cold and need warmth and when we are in the dark and need light. This fire was started the day we were born, has been nurtured by our parents, and through our lives been slowly given to us to maintain.

The Teens are a very important age because its the transitional phase when we learn to maintain our own fires. We are learning how much it takes for it to not extinguish but also not to get burned. We are also learning how to refill our piles when they get low, where we go to find the necessary wood to keep it going.

I look at the teenagers I work with and see how much drive they posses and I am in awe. They are in love with the idea that they have the power to change something and are angry enough to do something about it. I look back now at some of these kids and they have lost the love to be angry and the anger that only comes from loving something so much. It saddens me that I might have contributed to this, that I did not prepare them as much as I could have. It also brings up some facts of life.

Create to much fire and you get burned, create to much light and you get blindness. leave a fire for to long and it goes out. I have almost let my fire go out and been burnt really bad this past year but have found the stash of wood in my closet of friends that has given me the ability to keep going.

So with this new year.... I say fuck the noise. LOVE and be ANGRY

Find your stash of wood, let the fire rage and never let it go out

-Fong