Raw Food

Alright so I told everyone that I was going to write a blog about raw food. I have decided to try going on a permanent raw food diet. This is very difficult. Some of my favorite things in the world are considered cooked. Such as coffee. I succeeded in the raw food diet for a total of 2.5-days.

I then saw my pasteurized dairy sitting in the fridge and was like, I need to eat that before it goes bad. After-all I did spend hard working income on these products. There are many things that the pure raw food diet would not allow me to have. Not just coffee, pasteurized dairy but I also would have to say good bye to most other beverages.

Essentially I have decided that I will be more of a faux raw foodie by adding more raw veggies into my vegetarian diet. Instead of sautéing veggies for my pasta dishes I will add them in raw. I decided that it is my own personal diet and that I don't need to live by other peoples standards or guidelines. I will continue drinking my coffee and doing my own thing.

For those who don't know much about the idea of eating raw food it comes from science that you get more and better nutrients from food that is raw. In broccoli you get the amino acids that help prevent cancer but once the broccoli is cooked past 117 degrees F those amino acids have been cooked out. Each food raw has something along those lines. Part of the philosophy also discusses by eating life you allow life to flow through you.

One restriction I am putting on myself though is to eat purely raw for 3 days in a row each month for a cleansing. I also told myself to be creative with pure raw food meals. One of the meals that I have already created and was so tasty is a spinach salad with mashed up berries for the dressing and sliced almonds. The more creative I can get by cooking raw the easier it will be.

Wish me luck on this new endeavor.

Routines

I am finally starting to get myself into a new routine and feeling more settled-in in Austin now. I have been finding my new local hangouts where I can be myself. Hammer out a poem or a short-story and write my blogs. I also feel comfortable just reading. Depending on my mood and my location in town also has been determining where I will be going for coffee or a glass of wine.

Not only in that aspect of settling-in I have been starting a routine of days that I will ride my bike to work and days I will take the bus. On the days I take the bus I typically go on a long bike ride after work. I have always enjoyed cycling and did it quite a bit at home but it is now becoming a part of my regular routine. If I don't get to go cycling I feel like I am having an off day.

That is how the last few days have been feeling because I popped my or according to what Olivia (@goberthicks) read on twitter I "pooped" my tire on Sunday. I will be fixing my bike today so it will all be better. I am really enjoying the routine I am starting to master. I go out on Monday nights (it is my Friday night). Then Tuesday's I find myself sleepinging going to a coffee shop and reading/writing or I will hang out with Zach. Last week we went on a pretty sweet hike through Barton Springs well I should say nature walk because I hike has a huge

elevation change in a mile. We did come across the emphasis rock tower though. Which is always fun.

Then on Sunday when I popped my tire we headed to Zilker park to watch Shakespeare's "Love's Labour's Lost". That performance was amazing. It made me miss being a part of a theatre. I kept thinking, I need to get involved with a community theatre. I tried to do a search for community theatre auditions in Austin and for the summer they either require singing (which I will not attempt to do ever again). Or the schedule doesn't work with my work schedule which is a major bummer. I figured I could keep looking until something comes up. I was also thinking I could volunteer on the tech side. I do have some worries about getting involved in theatre again though. Well not about the involvement but the fact that I haven't been involved in any type of theatre since I was in high school. Unless you consider my theatre 101 class as involvement.

Another routine I am also getting settled into or will be is that I finally got a gym membership in Austin. I decided to go with Gold's Gym because it is close to my house and I also know when I move again from Austin to my next location, where ever that maybe, I am sure I will have a friend who is a Gold's Gym member.

Essentially my life is becoming reading, writing, coffee shops, cycling, a few bars, philosophical discussions while drinking, cooking dinner (which means grocery shopping on Wednesdays), Poetry slam, live music and not having enough money to do all I want to do, oh and 1990s television (don't ask).

Rediscovering the Old and/or Finding the New, and other random thought because of my wine

I sit here at Cork and Co. enjoying a wine flight that includes Primarious Pinot Noir from Oregon, Kali Heart Pinot Noir from Santa Lucia, California and Lamelson Pinot Noir from Williamette, Oregon. As I sip down these different wines I can't help but let my mind wander. I have been in Austin for about a month-and-a-half now and already I am seeing changes in my life I wouldn't have dreamed about having. During my time here so far I have been reminding myself of pleasures that I have long forgotten in the present, such as some of the music I listened to in high school (like "The Dead Kennedy's"). I am also learning that I do miss the talent of film I have. The culture in Austin is quite amazing. I can always find something going on in the city (with the exception of Monday nights, they are a drag I must say). In someways there is to much going on in this city I can't handle it.

What I am learning new about myself is to do things alone. My entire life I always have had someone with me. I know it is not co-dependency it is more the fact that I am a very extrovert type of person. I love to surround myself around people. I have always known that fact. What I didn't know is that I don't have to have someone with me to go do stuff. The alone factor is what I am talking about. The things I am accomplishing and struggling with I am doing alone. I am looking at society and saying, "who cares if I go to a concert by myself, I am here for the music not the company." This is the same with movies as well. It felt awkward going to a movie by myself but I hate those who talk during a movie, going by oneself you are less likely to talk.

Don't worry though I am not alone in this city. I am not as surrounded by as many friends that I had been surrounding myself with in the past (which is not a bad thing either, I do miss all of my friends from Reno). Instead I am surrounding myself with a very few and learning a deeper philosophical view about the world. My conversations I have are by far the most intellectual conversations I have had yet. These conversations are so deep and meaningful that it does make questioning a more constant theme in my life. Although I go back to my intellectual roots and stick to my beliefs but it is opening up my mind even more and giving myself different insights and perspectives.

Overall this city is full of so many different surprises that almost anything I do or go to I think of someone who would fall in love with it. Whether it is live music at one of the many music venues or a rare video showing at the Alamo Draft House to some bizarre, or in Austin's words, weird event going on. To hearing about the homeless transvestite mayor candidate Leslie stories. I also learned that you are considered an Austin local once you have a Leslie story of your own.

At the same time I am reminded that I am from the desert. In fact I read a blog from a teacher I had a few years back in college and it spoke so true. He talked about how those few of us in the world that grow-up in the Nevada desert, specifically Reno are able to go on and do great things, that Reno breeds talent. While I am sitting here at this bar I can't help but reflect on this blog posting and think that he is ever so correct. People in Austin ask me all the time where my accent is from and I am never more proud to say that I am from Reno.

That is another thing I have learned about myself. After living in Reno for pretty much half of my life (but Nevada my entire life), that is where my roots are and will remain. I love that little city more than words can describe. I am a desert rat, I love the smell of the sage and I am damn proud to be from what some people described here as "that shit hole town." I can't help but smile and say "yes that 'shit hole town' that you apparently didn't visit the correct way." I always ask what they did when they where in Reno and they say something along the lines of "Circus Circus, Nugget" and I respond "Oh the the casinos, no wonder why you think it is a shit hole." I then tell them about the other side of Reno, my side of Reno, the outdoors, Lake Tahoe, the desert. I tell them if Reno is such a shit hole but you like me as a person (most of them do) I explain that Reno is a part of my personality. All of those classy things you love that I do is RenoClassy. I make them reflect on the shit hole and tell them to give it another chance. To understand Reno and see Reno the way I do, not the way of the casino that a lot of our parents work at. To see it for the individuals that Reno produces. I am damn proud of my hometown but as I have learned from my teacher I can be proud but I must let my talent explore the world and do something greater but also when or if I fail I know that that desert will be calling my name where I can shine.

A Surprise At Home

I decided to blog about tonight instead of tweeting the amazingness of what is my new home and roommates. As many of you know I finally bought a bike in Austin, it isn't everything I wanted but it is doable. It is a 2005 Schwinn hybrid bicycle. It does have some rust spots. It is not in perfect shape but very doable. Also I am back on my bike which means I can start-up my training again for a century (eventually I will do one, just not sure where yet).

Anyway enough rambling on, going back to tonight. I got off work and then called Zach to see if we are going to partake in the social bike ride that happens in Austin every Thursday night, we decided to postpone until next week. So I jumped on my bike and started cycling home. My roommates did warn me that Austin is very bike friendly but not in South Austin (where I work and live). The drivers do not share the road or anything because all of my cycling gear is in Reno I had to get some new stuff on my way home, especially after I was almost ran off the road by a vehicle. So I went off to the store and bought a helmet, lights and a lock. I then cycled home.

Once I got home there where tons of people at my house this was a surprise. My roommates didn't warn me about the BBQ that we had taking place with the co-workers from my roommate who builds nature trails in Texas. We had all vegetarian meals, which stoked me. We made fresh mojitos and had a great time. We had a nice fire pit going where we grilled veggie kabobs and veggie burgers and I got to hang out with other very like minded people. Many of them are back to the woods tomorrow for the next 11 days but it was fun. Just wanted to share.

The "Absurd man" and Synchronicity

I am 22-years-old. I know you know this but I am 22-years-old. Sometimes being in this body of a 22-year-old feels like the distance between Earth and Mars but with my soul instead. I have so many qualities of a 22-year-old but also I have other qualities that some have described to me as being way to wise for my age. Some of this could come from the Karma cycle that I am an old soul. That is if I where to believe in having a soul and not my atheistic existential way. However could my atheism and existentialism honestly be the fact that I am 22-years-old or do I have it right on the money making me wiser.

Part of this discussion I have created in my mind is a friend was talking to me about Synchronicity. I am no expert on this philosophical idea, I have only read the wikipedia article. However my friend is reading this work by Jung (he plans on lending it to me one day). This idea has been playing and totting to my mind. It is creating an ever larger reflection upon my life and beliefs.

Some of this reflecting is allowing myself to face some of my fears that I am growing-up and becoming an adult. This is a dream that all little kids have of "I want to be (fill-in-the-blank) when I grow-up". However the reality of growing-up is somewhat scary. Every choice you make will have some kind of consequence and a new experiences. The question that Synchronicity poses is that some choices you make could be related to another persons mind. That two different incidents of "bumping" into another person in two different locations or two different periods in your life means something more than coincidence.

At 22-years-old I am starting to see the meaning of synchronicity taking place in the consequences of choices that I have made. That there is more to life than "42" or that Kierkegaard was more on track with the "absurd man" especially when totting synchronicity into the idea. This is just an invisible scratch on glass that my mind is going to with the "absurd man" and synchronicity. There is so much more to how synchronicity affects the "absurd man" and vice-versa.

I am not sure where this blog post was actually going to originate because I went off of my overall topic and into my mind boggling thoughts instead. Eventually I will blog about what I was actually meaning to blog about. Until then continue thinking and continue reading more about the philosophers I discussed.

Searching for a new home

Searching for the right place to live is quite difficult, especially in an unfamiliar city. You just don't know what is considered a good neighborhood or a rough neighborhood. I discovered both. After reading multiple craigslist ads and posting craigslist ads I finally came to a decision.

This decision was quite tough but I am obviously happy with the one I chose. I thought the first place I was going to walk into would be the one. Zach told me not to rush myself that I need to look at more than one place and boy was he right.

This actually being my first "real home search" in Reno it had always been easy, I just talked to my friends and discovered who needed a roommate and BAM I got a roommate and a place to live. However finding a roommate via craigslist is a much more interesting thing. Especially when people don't put details about themselves just the space available. This is never a good thing because you should no a little something about the people you are about to live with.

There where some people whose spots I looked at and it was a nice pad but not the right fit for me personality wise and age wise (yes I know you shouldn't discriminate on age but if I wanted to live with middle-aged people I would chose my parents and aunties). So I rolled them out.

Another pad I looked at was a great spot but it was a little bit on the pricey end for me. The two I had narrowed it down to had amazing opportunity for roomies, I got along with all of them great. In fact the place I decided on I decided to look at after I thought I made up my mind. This was the best decision I could have made because not only is it not an apartment (an actual house) it is also cheaper and I feel that it is in a safer neighborhood.

I felt really bad telling the other guy that I was no longer interested but some of the decision making points was once I read reviews about the apartment complex. ALL of the reviews where horrible and negative (they did just get new management but we all know that story). The most recent review even dissed the new management so I decided it wasn't the spot for me. As people for future roomies I was torn so I had to look at economic factors and location factors and style factors. The house prevailed in all aspects.

So my new house has chickens, a furnished bedroom, close to bus routes but still feels suburban, close to a farmers market and grocery store and it is overall amazing!

I know I made the right decision and it is about time I can say "I am not homeless in Austin". I may be "Lost in Austin" which is a different story but the link might help you understand. Having a composer as a friend *cough* Amy (@amylauder) *cough* makes story telling more interesting.

The first 40 hours

Well I have completed that first 40 hour work week. Let me tell you it is exhausting. I have never quite understood the brutality of 40 hour work week because most of my jobs that I have had in the past would allow me to either leave the office or I would have multiple part time jobs that gave me air from one job to another. This time is different, I am in the same building everyday for 8 hours. I bring my lunch and eat lunch in the cafeteria or break room. I can walk outside for my breaks but the humidity is a killer so I choose to stay inside, especially because I will endure a beautiful hour long walk home. As you can see in the photo. This is normally the best part of the day walking through the neighborhood dubbed as "Travis Heights" to get to Zach's apartment (I do not have my own yet, I am still sleeping on a couch).

Other than that my job is quite great. In no means relaxing but it is pleasant. I am able to listen to my iPod while I do my work so it is great to have all of that music. I have currently been trying to find an app so I can listen to the Rockies games as well while I partake in the ever repetitiveness of pulling files or refiling. The DRU (Document Retrieval Unit) is based out of a warehouse full of files and that is where I work or shall I say hide in the files.

I have been learning a lot and I wish I could discuss other parts of my job but the files obtain classified information therefore I cannot. Even if I could all what I am concerned about is the file number and not what is in the document nor do I have the desire to see what is in the document. My biggest concern is to have the most amount of volume. This is my competitive edge coming about I must strive to have the best numbers. I am very determined to receive an outstanding evaluation. This is where I appreciate my music because it helps me get in the flow and work quicker.

This week has been so jam packed of learning new information about my job and learning about Austin while trying to find a place to live walking distance to work (I know I can ride the bus but as you can see from the image it is a beautiful walk.) I have explore 6th street a couple of nights this week with Jeana (@j_ber) and her friend Lyn that she was in town visiting. This week was even more intense because South by Southwest (sxsw) was going on so I had to go to a few events such as The Strokes concert.

Other than that I will be looking at an apartment tomorrow and hopefully I will like the set-up and possible future roomies and be able to move-in sometime this week!