I finally got my computer back all shiny and healed. The staycation continues and I am actually kind of floored at how quickly time is going and how much I do on a daily basis. Mz. Blu teases that I wouldn't really have time to work given my schedule. Lojo has come and gone. Our week together was very special.
Lojo and I met when I was in the 6th grade and she was in the 5th. She was the next door neighbor and close friend to my best friend at the time. In the beginning I didn't know what to think of her. My friend was always telling me how crazy and funny she was, but when we would hang out, she was mostly quiet and sometimes just moody, but I pursued her friendship anyway. I'm glad I did. We've definitely had our ups and downs, including a fight where we literally did not speak to one another for 2 years, but surprisingly we seem to have ended up on similar paths. When I was back in Wisconsin a few months ago, we reconnected and she just seemed like a new person to me. It's like she had come out of a funk. Any residual tension we had between us had disappeared and I could see her more clearly than ever before.
Lojo arrived just as Coco was headed to Napa, on the eve of my big art show. Our first stop in town was Madame Lazonga's tattoo parlor. She wanted to get a tattoo she had designed, but that didn't work out, so we got sandwiches from the cute deli next door then when back to my place to chill out and chat. After a nap we got all dolled up and went to run a few errands. Then it was on to the show. It's kind of awkward displaying my art outside of my home. It's different when someone comes over and they happen to notice the art, but totally different when they are coming specifically to look at it. I kind of held my breath, unsure of if I was ready to have my art judged, but Lojo or anyone, but everyone was positive. So we snacked and had wine. Friends and stranger came and went and when it was over Mz. Blu, Lojo, Kerry and I went out for a celebratory drink at the Seasound Lounge.
The rest of the week was jam packed. Thursday we went shopping and took a walk around Greenlake. Then Paren and Kerry invited us out to a pool party with a bunch of their friends. Paren and Kerry both row crew and as such almost all of their friends are insanely sporty. The party was fun. We had BBQ and sangria, then we played a brutal game of water basketball, girls against guys (we won) that left Lojo with an open wound on her knee and several scratches. After the pool party we went to samba night at Babalu's with Shewhodancesallthetime. The music was great, there was no cover, but the drinks there are mediocre if you're lucky. Friday, to celebrate the 4th, Taus, Lojo, and Stewy's new girl took the ferry out to Bainbridge then drove to Port Townsend for a family BBQ at Stewy's.
I met Stewy's family briefly at his and Shoshana's graduation (when they were still together), but I'd never been out to their house. It is a gorgeous wooden creation perched on the hillside above the beach with a long narrow staircase leading down to the water's edge and a cedar sauna Stewy's dad built. In fact his Dad built the whole house and they lived in a yurt of sorts for years while the house was under construction. In addition to the general celebration of our country's independence, we toasted and had a special ceremony to celebrate not only the completion of the house, but that they finally owned everything free and clear. It was really cool.
During our visit, Lojo and I both did things we'd never done before. Stewy took us down to the beach with shovels and buckets and taught us how to pick oysters and dig for clams. I picked dried sand dollars and shells to take home. Then Stewy introduced me to a real live sand dollar. They are black, which surprised me because I'd only seen them white and dried out, and they are covered in a kind of fine hair...or tentacles I guess. It kind of creeped me out. Then I had a moment of realization. Once I saw what they look like, I realized I was standing on a sand dollar breeding ground. Live sand dollars were everywhere! After a short freak out (I mean it's one of those things I wish I didn't know), we continued on down the beach spotting mini crabs and collecting our contribution to dinner. Dinner was amazing. We had fresh crab, clams, oysters, barbecued ribs-pork and beef, salad and strawberries from the garden, and an assortment of desserts. Afterwards we were all in food coma, so we took naps on the couch. I awoke looking out the big picture window at the flurry of hummingbirds. Lojo took lots of pictures, then we went down to the sauna. The night ended with s'mores, firing off a homemade potato cannon and a wide variety of fireworks.
I really enjoyed Stewy's family and also meeting his co-workers and family friends. Though my loyalty is always to Shoshana (she IS my girl)...I found myself really enjoying the new girl as well. I think they are a good match. She's got a good sense of humor and she likes to do all that outdoor-climb a mountain, camp in a kayak-crap that Stewy and all the other Northwesterners seems to love. The next day we ferried back to Seattle after a leisurely breakfast. We did some more shopping and napping, then we went to Hidmo (my favorite Eritrean restaurant) for Ladies First...a monthly local hip hop and spoken word show benefiting Communities Against Rape and Abuse (C.A.R.A) and showcasing a hot array of female talent. Akua and Monie Love featured (Akua on violin and Monie Love doing spoken word) and there was an open mike. I read a piece and so did Mz. Blu, but then I had to go grab Coco from the airport. This took longer than I thought, so instead of returning to Hidmo we went back to my place. She hadn't eaten yet so I made her some dinner and checked out picks from Napa. It was nice to hang. Mz. Blue and Lojo showed up later and we all took turns hula hooping.
The next day we went to CSL, which has been on my mind almost constantly this month. I really do think I've found my spiritual home (more on this later). Instead of the regular person, we had a guest sermon from a guy named Terry McBride. I'm not sure I can really convey the kind of intensity he brings to the mic. I had no idea what to expect, but when he started to speak, I was stunned.
When Terry was 23, he injured his back doing some manual labor. After lots of chiropractic care, he still wasn't feeling better, so the he had surgery. As it turned out, that was the first of 27 surgeries he would have over the course of 11 years. After the first surgery, his spine somehow became infected with E coli bacteria which proceeded to eat his colon. He had to have a colostomy bag and they did all these surgeries that literally involved removing chunks out of his back to rid him of the infection, but nothing seemed to help. At one point all his doctors said that he would never be whole and that if they continued these aggressive surgeries, they would probably end up damaging his nerves which would leave him paralyzed and impotent for the rest of his life. He told those doctors to go to hell....and even cooler, he told us he told those doctors to go to hell in church. I come from a church where you don't really say "bad" words and I always feel like a bit of a hypocrite, like there is a less holy part of myself that isn't church worthy. Not to say that I don't understand that you would have to act differently in different venues (example: I would never swear in front of my students), but I don't like feeling fake at church. I digress. Terry learned how to heal himself and then he wrote a book called "The Hell I Can't" which I promptly bought two copies of, one for me and one for my Dad.(I finished reading it two days ago, and I'm still thinking about it.) Listening to Terry was a very cool experience for me and for Lojo. Afterwards we had breakfast at Julia's then we shopped some more and chilled out for a bit.
Stewy's new girl 's brother (I will come up with a better name for her soon) is a bartender at my Dad's favorite spot, Elliot's and they have a decent happy hour. So Sunday evening Coco, Lojo, Stewy, new girl, Taus and I had mango mojitos and seared aji. Lojo absolutely loved it...which shocked me because as long as I've known her she hasn't been a fan of seafood, I guess that's what Wisconsin will do to you. After happy hour we went to Stewy's and played apple to apples forever.
Monday we did the Pike street market and returned for a full lunch at Elliot's then I had my first Beyond Limits Class at CSL (more on this later). Tuesday I don't remember what we did except that we ended the evening with Mz. Blu at the Lofi for Don't Bite...more local hip hop, excellent DJs, and the occasional hot break dancer. I love the Lofi and I'm going to work on getting my art shown there. And all too soon it was Wednesday and we were taking last pics and then she was one the way to the airport.
All throughout the trip, I feel like I really got to know the new Lojo. This Lojo likes to draw. She is quiet and thoughtful...still crazy, but not like before. She reads a lot, which was nice because I have been reading a lot again lately too, so it was nice to have someone with whom I could spend quiet time. She and I are both on the verge, doing that late 20's "what should I do with my life" thing, but also discovering new ideas about what we might want to do. Well, whatever we decide, we will be there to help each other through. Again, I'm really grateful for my friends.
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