fact based brevity @factbasedbrevity - Tumblr Blog

14 year challenge... (2006-->2020)

Apparently I'm not the only one! If anyone was wanting a window into my professional life, here you go.

We visited the Garden of 1,000 Buddha's in Arlee, Montana on Mother's Day this year. It was a relaxing way to spend the afternoon with my wonderful and amazing mom (and dad). I've been in an empty place lately, but some of the quotes spoke to me . Maybe I'm not in a total vacuum

#MTbucketlist #montana #buddhism

Just a short commemorative note:

pictured above is the foxy DJ red velvet, and the first decks I ever owned - silver pioneer CDJ 800s. scored ‘em off craigslist in Baltimore in early 2011, (along with the seller’s entire hip hop collection, organized by decade!) They served me well across several states- Maryland, Montana, Pennsylvania, West Virginny- until I had to sell them when I left to join the Peace Corps. At that point, the soon-to-be-Red-Velvet bought my whole get up - CDJ’s, mixer, and a flight case - never to be seen again. Fast forward to Saturday night, march 18th 2017, nearly 5 years later, when I serendipitously end up at a party hosted by this lovely lady herself. As it turns out She has grown into quite the excellent selectress...By some kind of miracle, The original CDJ’s are still rockin’ it....and karma had recently dropped another pair of CD-only CDJ’s in my lap, so I was actually toting around a few CD’s. Funny part is, we got to go b2b all night long, since who burns CD’s anymore? ...

moongoddesslilith-deactivated20

happy new year from Addis ababa

trumanshealy

Summiting አምባ ፅበት (Tsbet Mountain)

Saturday morning I braved 2.5 hours of switchbacks and getting puked on by a car-sick minibus passenger to travel with my friend Yonas to a town in Southern Tigray called ማይጨው (Maychew).

Our goal: to climb the tallest peak in Tigray, አምባ ፅበት (Tsbet Mountain)

We were repeatedly warned of the perils awaiting us by concerned bystanders, but we made it to the top in 3 hours with only 1 pack of local dates, 1 liter of water each, and arguably insufficient clothing.

Pictured below: We left Maychew at 6 AM to drive 16 km to the base of the mountain. If we were hardcore we could have hiked all the way from Maychew but, no.

Pictured Below: Checking out some icicles on the way up

Some views on the way up

Pictured: A frigid Yonas gives his best grimace at the summit

Pictured: No! More! Uphill!

Pop a squat at the top

One failed selfie....

this one was better

Pictured below: With our driver on way down from the mountain. Tsbet summit is in the background & when we looked at it we thought we had done something impossible!

several concerned friends suggested that i take down that post ... ok. I'm getting in the plane now!

Presenting the 2016 annual Burning Man Ultramarathon video filmed and narrated by the man, the legend, Ryan Van Duzer!! Duzer makes it look easy, which is pretty aggravating. But I love this video because his enthusiastic commentary captures a lot of what was going through my mind while I was running.

I came in 91st /160 with a time of 6:19, and after I finished it took me around 7 coconut waters before my hands would stop shaking enough that I could DJ my set - which I foolishly scheduled for immediately after the race. (Side note for next year)

Some of my memorable moments were:

Running into the sunrise in the deep playa watching airplanes & birds fly & feeling so satisfied with life, drinking rum shots on every lap with my rock my hero Wario the Rum guy at Slutgarden, pacing myself with the Silver naked man and realizing we had run together last year too (his Prince Albert was camoflauged this year so I didn’t recognize him right away), Cole rallying to bike with me on the last lap after I burst in to the trailer where they were all sleeping and rudely called them all ass holes (I’m sorry I think the heat was getting to me by then), tearing through the middle of all the dance floors on 2:00 and 10:00 once it was daylight because morning party people are the best, ripping into what I thought was an energy gel but was actually warm yam/carrot baby food and nearly vomiting and then trying to get the taste out of my mouth by eating a bunch of rice crispy treats, honestly trying NOT to push myself too hard - I told myself not to plan on finishing - but realizing that I literally CAN’T resist. I’m too competitive to quit! ... typical.

Its been a relaxing week in some ways and in other ways just the opposite. I came to addis on Friday Morning, having spent the preceding two weeks filling every crevice of spare time trying to catch up on a crushingly enormous backlog of work so that I wouldn’t be too swamped while my parents are here visiting. (They arrive today in to Addis Ababa, in about 1 hour!)

I didn’t come to Addis on pleasure. Since I arrived in Addis on Friday, I have been on the same grind...working from morning until night and only taking short breaks for eating, running, and that’s about it. The main difference is I’ve been staying in a luxurious hotel with free meals and doing someone else’s work. I’m not sure about the morality of that but it sure has been nice to have a hot shower and fast internet access for 5 days.

When did I become like this...It seems like whatever I do I’m not happy with myself. Either I’m working too much and neglecting people I love (and myself), or I’m working too little and everyone is nagging me and I feel like a good for nothing slacker. I hope I am able to escape this thought pattern while my mom is here.

This article does a nice job explaining the nuanced history that most people miss or ignore in their idealized mental picture of Ethiopia as the pure and uncolonized motherland. as the article mentions, slavery was practiced in Ethiopia until WW2 and today oppression, colorism, ethnic hate crimes, and servitude still exist....even in this country that is largely without the 'typical' influences of white supremacy. In my opinion, the hateful atrocities that humans commit against each other are not only about color/race/religion but primarily about power and money and the soul-blinding fear of losing hold of them.

funkfoxx

Missing the wife somethin’ fierce today. #burningman #funkytown

Mekelle with out Pierrejust isn’t the same. He has moved on to a new job but we all know that nowhere else in the world can quite match Kebele 16....I (Courgette) will always appreciate Pierre (Baguette) and treasure the times we waltzed to Vesoul, drinking Picon, & iskista + Ouzo. The question will always remain in my mind...

“What shall we do with a drunken sailor??!”

You know it was one hell of a morning run when you return home covered in thorns, with one bloody leg, and having wiped your butt with a rock, twice.