pics

as promised:


i took these on my cell phone immediately after Sasha finished the tattoo. i'll take higher quality pictures after its done peeling/healing.

peace.

almost forgot

bethany got a tattoo!! i'll post pictures soon.

..oh yeah, i'm in school.

there is nothing like a new semester to sap my recently acquired creative musical momentum. it is a bit depressing to realize that my new taskmasters go by the names "accounting principles for healthcare" and "advanced health systems". on the other hand, perhaps it will be a good exercise in time management and discipline.

i gotta say though, working night shift has really done a number on my body and soul. last night i knew i was desperately in need of sleep, but laid awake until almost 3 am, my confused brain and reluctant body at war with one another.

on the last night of my last stint of shifts at the hospital, 7 level 1 traumas came through the door all at once. in short: all seven of these guys & girls had gotten in a gang fight at a party and someone had a knife and stabbed all of them in life-threatening areas of the body (stomach, chest, neck, head). we have a total of 2 beds in the ER set apart for trauma...needless to say the scene was reminiscent of a bloody war sequence (think anything Mel Gibson). none of them were over age 20. that was intense. i don't know how many lived or died...i can only hope and pray that they won't take revenge, but i fear i hope in vain. none of them said anything to the police, meaning they don't want the perpetrators to be arrested.....so THEY can kill them.

may i never be numbed, calloused
to the weight these children bear

blood spills on the sidewalks
this is the only justice they know

may i be a brief lull
from the squalls of the streets

i say to the darkness
you may not live here


peace.

the 'ol guitar

i have done it. i have signed up for guitar lessons. i have wanted to do this for quite some time. time to rock even harder. i'll also lay down some new tracks today on my slowly-developing album.

looking forward to our household trip to mammoth this weekend. i'll post some pics when we get back.

peace.

bringin the pain.

so adam was kind enough to allow my brother Jason and i to stay at his family's beautiful home in kirkwood, california, mere steps from a premiere ski resort. we had a great time for a few days with beautiful sunshine and a huge base of snow...except that it rained the night before we got there, meaning that the top layer of this pristine snow was essentially an ice cube.

about an hour and a half into the first day of snowboarding, i performed a spectacular fall. imagine a forward handspring...hands free. i could feel my head (helmeted of course) hit the snow, then my board, multiple times in succession. it was quite painful on the 'ol ankle. one need not be a male nurse to discern that there is a problem here:





despite my wounds, i am hard at it training for a triathlon i will be doing on May 18 with my brother in law Jason.

it is cold here. we are having fun watching Pax while his parents enjoy a bit of wine country.

peace for now.

my first attempt at subversive art.

i have now, finally today, officially unplugged from one tentacle of empire, jp morgan chase. they have large holdings in a company called petrochina, which has direct ties to the sudanese government responsible for genocide activities in Darfur. trying to extract oneself from systems of exploitation and oppression is quite complex...but we must continue to try, no?

check it: here

beautiful.

just got back from a beautiful run...from the mission over to the bay up toward at&t park, then over potrero hill (which is much steeper than i had envisioned). at the top of the hill, the sun pierced the clouds for a few moments, even as the rain continued softly. as i looked north, the buildings of downtown below were cloaked in grey...it was surreal and beautiful. my heart was pounding from exertion, and i just opened my arms for a few moments, looked upward and allowed the sun and the rain to wash over me.

i feel cleansed. i needed that.

2008 has had a somewhat disappointing start...being that both bethany and i rang in the new year with 3 consecutive shifts. we are still trying to sort out the path we want to take this year...today feels like a day i might find some clarity.

i am going to start sketching in the sketchbook ryan and holly gave me for christmas. i am also going to read and meditate today.

peace.