Right Now - 29/4/09 10:11 AM

Right now, I'm sitting next Larry having a coffee and a breakfast burrito, listening to some new age, wishing I had some clean clothes.  

My shoulder is astoundingly better.  Here's the scoop:  Three nights ago, a chiropractor friend of mine was in the bar and gave me a little adjustment to try to help my shoulder.  It seemed to have maybe helped a little, but my biggest problem was that I couldn't really move still.  The pain with it sitting by itself wasn't bad, but if I tried to raise my elbow or rotate at the shoulder, it would get to a sticking point, as if something was catching it.  Then, bringing it back to its natural position, it would click with spurts of pain, again like a tendon or something was catching and releasing.  So the night before last, I'm walking around looking kinda strange with my arm up, and I went to sit with some other friends, one of whom is a therapeutic "medicinal" masseuse from Sweeden, Anna.  She had had a couple of drinks, but said she wanted to take a look.  I preferred to just let it heal, but she insisted, and came up behind me.  She examined my shoulders with her hands for a bit, and then put two fingers super deep into my armpit, to the point where it was more than uncomfortable.  She applid pressure and said "it's moving now,"  which I couldn't feel anything at all.  10 seconds later, she retreated and told me to lift my arm.  In disbelief, I gave it a shot, and found I had full range of motion.  Un-freakin-real.  I was sure I was out of commission for weeks, but in literally one minute, my arm became my arm again.  Still a bit sore and certainly stiff, but completely usable.  I'm lifting crates again, and even went for a short surf session last night.  If this had happened anywhere else in the world, I would have been out for a whole lot longer, probably would have undergone physical therapy, and maybe even just continued to do damage.  Turns out my muscle under my pectoral muscle was just in the wrong place, and she just put it back where it belongs.  Freakin crazy.  

Anyway, right now I feel good.  I'm a little energized by a cup of coffee, but feel calm and kinda relieved, in spite of not really ever feeling stressed.  Odd the way that works.  I am constantly witnessing an actual difference in my life, finding myself being very easy and even happy and laughing in situations that would have once caused considerable stress, anger, and frustration in the past.  It's pretty cool.  I definitely find myself taking EVERYTHING less seriously.  But at the same time, I do get caught.  I can sense my ego at work, trying his hardest to fit the world around me into my comfort box, and right now I think it fits, so part of my ease is a quiet ego.  It sure makes me even more interested continuing to rob my ego of its strength.  I think a quiet ego is basically the same as a non-existent ego, which means I could have the peace all the time if I could be totally rid of that devil that still lives inside of me.  The calm used to give credit and therefore strength to my ego, but now I think the calm is beginning to take strength away because it reminds me of how good life can be without that nagging son of a bitch.  Or maybe not, maybe my ego is still smart enough to convince me of that so I continue to seek his calm.  I wonder if this is how split personalities start.  So do I.  

Tuesday Nights

So, two nights ago (Monday night) we had a freaking awesome Tuesday night party, and I think set my new record for staying open.  About 10 of us decided to tie one on until about 3 in the morning.  The night included dancing on the bar, Michael Jackson, the splits, Boogie Nights, a little cripe, Shakira, dancing on the coolers, mild nudity, Boogie Nights (cause everyone knows that Boogie Nights are always the best of times), Miguelito shots, bad decisions, severe dehydration, and Boogie Nights.  The local disco closed and the owner actually came down at 2:30, concerned after hearing our ruckus 150 meters down the road.  Here are some pics from the ridiculous evening.  

Mom and Ron's Visit

So, this doesn't have a whole lot of pictures to it, unfortunately.  I don't know if I have any pictures from my mom's trip down here.  The one picture we really did have was left in a camera at the Campo Verde cabinas near Arenal.  Hrmm.  

So, here are some great things.  Everybody loves my mom.  Which makes sense.  She's nice.  When she came to town, everyone heard about it quickly and it made me realize how lucky I am both to have such a wonderful mother and live in such a positive community.  Several dozen people came up to my mom and said, "Oh, I heard you were in town.  So nice to meet you!"  And then follow it with some compliment about me.  It was Funny-Farm-esque.  People here hug and kiss (guys don't kiss guys, but every other combination works), so my mom and Ron both got plenty of affection.  My mom, in spite of her somewhat disgusted reaction to my house, said she felt a lot better about me living down here.  So that's nice.  

I miss them already. 

Quick highlight - Traveling to Arenal.  After picking up Jeni at the airport, we drove to see the active volcano where we spent a couple of nights.  It was incredible.  We walked to where we could sit on some lava flow from 1992, and watched and listened as house size rocks tumbled from the crest a thousand feet down to the base, leaving puffs of dust and debris as they repelled off the steep slope of ash and gravel.  With each landslide came the anticipation of the delayed barrage of thunderous applause echoing down the canyons formed by timeless fury.  A skirt of cumulous clouds lifted in the early morning to expose all but the very lip of the lone mountain, creating a lusting desire to see the peak, just for a second, just once.  Over lunch and an Imperial, we watched as her skirt blew lazily in the breeze, rising, rising, rising, and then falling just before she was completely exposed as if she knew how to keep our undivided attention without compromising her integrity.  She left us satisfied and in awe, but wanting more, the perfect seduction.

And interestingly, we met a guy from Norman, Oklahoma, who owns a sweet little hopping dinner spot in La Fortuna, Lava Lounge, just a few K from the volcano.  Cool. 

Right Now

I'll keep trying to catch up in the coming days, but I wanted to add a little bit about where I am RIGHT NOW.  Right now, I am in my office, where it's starting to cool down after another freakin hot day.  My right shoulder is pretty messed up after I took a bunch of rolls on my board up near Caldera a few days ago.  Probably will be out of the water for a couple of weeks.  Brook Marie's "Romance" is playing off my iPod on the speakers outside.  I'm tired after being sick with a stomach parasite over a couple of torturous days this week.  But I'm good.  I'm thinking about buying a vehicle.  It would be nice to have some freedom to cruise.  And my Jeep sold in Oklahoma.  I have no debt.  To anyone.  Or so I think.  

I've been a little sad lately, but also in a pretty damn good spot and happy.  Even in the illness I was happy.  Even with my arm in a sling I'm happy.  Even with Jake's fur falling out, I'm pretty happy.  I still get angry or moody a bit, I still get sad and even a bit depressed, but I honestly feel pretty happy all the time.  Content.  Cool.  Chill.  Yeah.  Yeah.  

I'm going to connect more.  I like that.  Not connecting sucks butt in comparison.  I don't think I've ever sucked butt, so I'm not sure that was an accurate statement, but I definitely prefer being connected.  

My shoulder hurts too much to continue.  But that's a good glimpse of where I am now, right now.  

Dad's Wedding

So I went to Aspen for a few days.  In spite of me thinking the whole theme was a bit silly, I had a GREAT time.  It wasn't so silly when I got to mount up on Fury, once my special filly,  in 1880's style Wyatt Earp garb sporting a thin handlebar mustache and ride to a "babbling brook" to escort my new sister down a slippery slope to the narrow bridge before watching my dad get married to a super-cool chick.  Neat.  The next day I got to play ski-bum and hit the slopes with my dad and his new bride while the wind swept from over the continental divide.  Follow that up with driving 128 miles an hour in my childhood DREAM CAR (Porsche 911 Carrera 4) in the snow up to McClure Pass with my dad making permanent fingerprints in the passenger seat leather, and you've got one hell of a passport stamp vacation. Here's my dad's wedding announcement in the Oklahoman yesterday (I thought you might get a kick out of it.. I did):

Donald M. Smith of Oklahoma City, and Krissa K. (Van Pelt) Halter from Denver, exchanged wedding vows March 28, 2009 in an event reflective of the spirit of the Old West.

The couple was married near a silver mine site in the ghost town of Ashcroft, 10 miles from Aspen.

In keeping with a Victorian theme, Krissa wore a shearling wedding coat, stovepipe boots, Italian leather riding slacks, a ruffled shirt, and a black cowboy hat. Don wore an 1880's style, formal, wing-collared shirt with a string bow tie and a long black frock coat. Guests were brought to the wedding site in a 20-person sleigh drawn by Percheron draft horses.

Don, his two sons Michael and Brian, and his Best Man, Mike Young, rode their quarter horses to the wedding site from up the valley in two feet of snow. Krissa, her mother Gertrude Van Pelt, her daughter Heather Van Pelt, and her Bridesmaid, Holly Gomez, rode to the wedding site in a small sleigh pulled by Clydesdales.

Reverend Luke Back of St Paul's Cathedral in Oklahoma City officiated, as the couple stood on a narrow foot bridge over a babbling brook. Together, the wedding party read prayers of Celtic spirituality written by J. Phillip Newell, their friend and expert on Celtic spirituality.

During the procession and recession, the children of Don's cousin, Cara, beat a Native American drum and struck a Tibetan song bowl. After the ceremony, Krissa mounted Mac, the quarter horse Don gave her as a wedding gift, and Don mounted Blue.

Hand-in-hand, they rode through the snow to the 130-year-old Blue Mirror Saloon in Ashcroft, where they hosted their guests with champagne and hot cider. The couple is honeymooning in Egypt, riding Arabian horses in the desert to reach the pyra mids at dawn.

The couple will reside at Duck Smith Farms in Logan County, Oklahoma, and at the Lazy O Ranch near Aspen. Don founded Smith Cogeneration, a developer of highly efficient power plants. Recently, Don founded Smith Algae Biofuels and BioFeeds.

CO2 emissions from his natural gas-fired plant in Oklahoma City will feed algae, which will pro duce diesel oil. The algae will also generate the type of oils rich in omega 3 fatty acids, which will be fed to a new blood line of cattle, developed at Don's ranch north of Oklahoma City.

Don, a Harvard graduate, began his quest to improve the environment with economic practicality as an assistant professor of economics at Southern Methodist University. 

Oh, my dad (and Krissa) changed his (their) last name(s) to VanPelt-Smith.  THAT was a surprise.  I think it's sweet.  But it brings up a couple of things.  First, I noticed how much my father's last name has played a symbolic part in our relationship.  He has frequently wanted one of his son's to carry on the family companies, most of which have used our last name in some pseudo-hyphenated way with another word that makes it sound really cool.  PowerSmith.  HydroSmith.  Smith Cogeneration.  DuckSmith.  (Okay, that doesn't sound all that cool, but we were kids...).  He even spoke about turning Quoddy Bay into QuoddySmith, and we recently named the "Algae Company" Smith Algae BioFuels.  Anyway, as he changes his last name, I start to realize how silly it really is to want to "keep things in the family." I guess I might see things differently when I have kids, but I question whether we put too much emphasis on family.  Are we any more connected to family than we are to friends or even strangers?  And why?  Because we share genes and eye color, and have gone through our experiences in close proximity for many years?  But in the end, aren't we all connected in such a way that is so much greater than this genetic and experiential bond?  I believe our connection through God, the Light, our spirits, that "iron string" is far more meaningful than the bond of chromosomes and proximity.  After all, love is really love, right?  I don't really believe there are degrees there.  Like Papa, in The Shack, who is "especially fond" of EVERYONE.  This is not intended to say that we aren't closer in our relationships to our family at all.  I certainly am much closer in my relationship to my mom and dad than I am to, say, Mickey Rourke.  And that has a lot to do with me being their son and our proximity as I grew up.  Anyway, it's interesting how when he decided to change his last name, I found myself less attached to carrying on the last name, even though the name didn't change at all.  Strange. 

Oh, and the second thing.  I've decided to one-up dad and Krissa.  They each changed their last name, and I have decided to change BOTH of my names.  I would now appreciate it if you would all refer to me as VanPeltSmith VanPelt-Smith.  Perhaps DOCTOR VanPeltSmith VanPelt-Smith.  Yeah. 

Quick Overview of the Past Month

 Okay, just to get started again, and sorry to myself for the delay in writing, here's some neat shit about the last month:

• Busted my surfboard on my elbow in a nasty shore-break out front. 
  
• Had some wonderful parties at the bar.
  
• Four wonderful friends moved back (many left).
  
• My dad got married.  I got to play cowboy, got to play ski bum, got to play race-car driver, got to hang out with new family.   
  
• Got the chance to see a person I love and have missed dearly in Denver.  Ahhh. 
• Semana Santa.  Licores locked up, but didn't stop the crazy drunkenness throughout this super-religious country.  Not as crazy as everyone warned.  
  
• Neil and Megan are freaking pregnant!  No shit.  Not lying.  Mike and Hayden and now Neil and Megan.  I'm going to be an uncle TWICE over. 
• My mom and Ron came to visit.  Awesome.  Absolutely loved every minute of it. 
  
• Saw Arenal, my first active volcano that I remember.  Got to watch her strip-tease. 
  
• Started a new tradition of "Boogie Days and Boogie Nights."  
  
• Injured my shoulder getting rolled in out-of-my-league waves in Caldera. 
  
• Got super-sick again, this time just a stomach parasite probably from the few gulps I took in Caldera.  That sucked.  
  
• Read a LOT.  "The Shack", "Inner Revolution", "How to Practice".  Got some good shit from it all, especially The Shack.  

All in all, it's been perhaps one of the craziest months of my life, and that says a lot.  I'll publish more detail starting tomorrow.  And I'll get back into writing daily, or at least every other day.  Starting tomorrow.  

Neat. 

Feeling love.