24/04/2010
It's great not needing to work! You have the freedom to catch all these crazy events and then some. (Funny enough, it's now a year that I have not been working and it seems like I'll be sticking to this pattern for a while still. :) )
Does anyone out there remember Eeyore, the blue donkey from Winnie the Pooh? Well, on the 24th of April his birthday is celebrated and only a place like Austin would throw a huge party in the park in his favor.
This past saturday, the 24th of April, the whole of Pease park was full of happy, silly people wearing any costume you can possibly imagine, were painted in all colors of the rainbow and were smoking all herbs known to man... The fun and laughter went on strong till sundown, when everyone dispersed and headed out o the afterparties.
I seriously friggin love this city!!!
M.
20/04/2010
Some of you may remember of the farewell party I had thrown when I was leaving Austin back in October. It had taken place in TC's lounge, my favorite live music venue.
Now that I am back in Austin, my arrival could not possibly be official without a welcome back party. So, I organised a "fare-welcome back" party, again at TC's. It just so happened that the very same day was the national "Draw a moustache on your finger" day. So, I put on my best enhanced facial hair
and off I was to shake my booty at TC's, along with a bunch of my good friends!
Indeed, there was a lot of sillyness, dancing, jumping (we nearly broke the damn dance floor), laughing and general merry behavior.
It's official! I am now a newly-born Austinite! :D
M.
01/01/2010
Yeah yeah, I know that by now, we’re over and done with the wishes, but I only just now got round to updating these pages, so humor me.
I was thinking about how some years ago everyone would go crazy and stress out like hell, while preparing for the new year’s party. Nowadays, most of us don’t really care that much and leave things to just “happen” at the last minute.
Time was 11.30pm and we were still getting ready. Space themed party, E. said. Gotta dress up and paint your face, E. said. It was me, E. and two other couchsurfers at E.’s house, getting dressed up and mucking about. 
11.50pm and E. is still putting face paint on. I wasn’t really bothered how the night would evolve, so I was going with the flow.
E. finally got ready and at 11.56 we ran out the door. Walked a couple of blocks down to the bridge, where a bunch of other people had gathered to watch the fireworks. And as soon as we got there, the colorful show kicked off, all around the space needle.
WEHEEEEY!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Hugs and drinks and smiles and kisses all around.
Ok, we’re done now. Off to the parties. We proceeded to honor a couple of different parties with our presence, which, conveniently enough, they were both “space” themed. As you can imagine, it didn’t take me long to pick some random garments from Charlie and come up with a weird combination that would meet the needs of the parties.
Please say hello to...
The SpaceOddBall and it’s stupid little buddies.
With this and that and the other, I got back home at around 7pm the following evening.
We’re in 2010 guys! We’re in the future!!!
M.
10/09/2009
"Welcome home!"
It all started with this phrase and a big hug coming from a completely naked man in eye-protective goggles, as I was going through the gates of Black Rock City. I was finally on the playa, as it's called. I was at the Burning Man festival.
A lot of you might ask "What is Burning Man? Where does it take place?". As far as the location goes, it's simple. It happens in the middle of nowhere. In Nevada, in the Black Rock desert, a huge open, flat, empty space that is covered by tons of fine, alcaline, white dust. Now, as for what... it's difficult to explain. Each person who has been would give a completely personal, different explanation of what Burning Man is. And every single one of them would be right. If I take the plain, apt elements of which is comprises, I would say it is a gathering of approximately 40.000 people in that desert, who spend a whole week in a city that gets constructed just for the purposes of this event. It then gets torn back down (or parts of it even burnt) and absolutely no trace is left behind. Let's leave it to this description for now.
It was only friday when I entered, three days before the official opening of the festival, so not everything (or everyone) was in place yet. Nevertheless, this was no more a plain, empty, flat, endless desert space. Camping structures were being raised all around, people on their bicycles roaming between everybody else, large scale art being built at various spots throughout the playa and in the middle of it all, the man; the big human-like structure, built on top of a large, well-designed wooden base whose fate was known to us all: to be burnt to the ground.
I was already awed by the things I was witnessing. People's creativity and imagination at full throttle, showing their true selves, expressing the inner-most desires without any inhibitions. My friends were telling me: you haven't seen nothing yet. Just wait until next week...
Even from the very first hours, while I was helping D. set up her camp, the dust storms began and I realised what it was all about. It was now obvious why a breathing mask and goggles are the two most vital items to have with you at burning man. 
And that got even more ridiculous, considering that there we were, inside a shade structure (which does not, by any means, keep all dust out), in the middle of a crazy dust storm, with googles and masks on the face, squashing avocados for guacamole. Indeed, we might be talking about radical self reliance, but some people bring as much as they can out there and as we were part of a program for which we would cook dinner for some of the artists (which is how we got early entry passes), we had to go the extra mile and cook properly.
As days were passing, more and more burners arrived. More camps set up, more crazy structures everywhere, more happy people, 
more sights that make you double-take on a regular basis. 
Finding my camp, and more specifically my tent&van inside my camp, was becoming more and more difficult by the day. Every morning that I would wake up, I would find all my landmarks to have been swallowed by something bigger, fluffier, louder, more colorful.
On tuesday I discovered The Temple. Arguably the most important and powerful piece of art on the playa. It is a wooden structure, as big as a 3-storey comfortable house for a family of 5, located far behind the man, on the opposite side of all campers. A lot of people kept telling about how important it is to all burners, how emotionally charged it is and how its burn is for many the highlight of the week. I couldn't quite grasp all that until I actually experienced it. When I spent my first sunrise there, I felt everything everyone was telling me. People write on its wooden walls all their deepest sorrows, their most hidden secrets, their strongest feelings. When the temple gets burnt to the ground, they feel all that gets released. They are free and they have once again shared a moment with their lost and loved ones. Looking at the temple's structure under the pale early morning light, I felt how emotionally charged that piece of art is. I cannot explain it. No one can explain it. It is something you need to experience and "touch" in order to grasp it. (Just like practically everything else in Burning Man, but anyway...).
And then, leaning against it's well-designed railings, accompanied by hundreds of people who are there, silent, waiting for the new day to come, the sun pops its head from behind the mountains, far in the horizon. Everyone starts to howl and scream and clap their hands. They celebrate another free day, another happy day, another bright day. They appreciate the moment and get pleasure off the simple things. They share their joy with random strangers by hugging them and smiling at them. And all this while somewhere around there, there is a group of people dressed up as sharks, circling 3 guys on their bicycles.
In the days that followed, I witnessed all sorts of unexplainable madness. Crazy bicycle contraptions, 
vehicles so bizarrely transformed they become the so-called mutant vehicles 
and tent structures that keep you hooked for an hour, admiring them and trying to figure out how the hell someone built that. Or you may be wondering through complete nothingness, in the middle of a whiteout, as the winds are blowing strong and you can't see a thing, but suddenly a figure will appear and as you are approaching it, you will realise it is a man who has gotten off his bike and is playing the trumpet. 
Then of course we have the typical trip to the toilet, from which you get back to your friends 2 hours later, because in that 300 meter distance of the return trip, you end up drinking two strong drinks, the contents of which are unknown to you, receiving a foot massage by a big, fat, gay dude and showing your balls to the world simply because you are wearing a tu-tu and it's easy. 
Hell, there was even a huge rocket ship being built out there that they were planning to launch. 
And all this orchestrated by all sorts of music and melodic sounds, coming from all directions. Ahhh... The beauty of creative randomness.
So what is Burning Man? 
For some, it's a holiday. Others see it as a big, out-of-control party. Or maybe an place to show off their art. A lot of people see it as intense meditation and a strong spiritual experience. I have heard someone say that for them, it is a ritual and a way to break out of their emotional dead-ends. Personally... I saw a combination of it all. It is finally an opportunity for people to break free from all inhibitions, all society-imposed "shoulds", all shames and man-made behavior rules, all obligations to others and to one's self. It is incredibly heart-warming and it gives great hope for the future to see what people are capable of and what great potential and creativity they have, when they just let go and make their deepest, most intense desires come true. And the mere fact that for once, even if it's just for a week out in the desert, everyone is exactly who they want to be. There is no holding them back. They interact, they share, they love, they shout, they get naked and go rollerblading, they give away gifts and expect nothing but a smile in return, they do the silliest and most absurd thing a human being could possibly come up with and everyone else will think nothing of it, other than to appreciate and applaud it.
Burning Man is all that and more. I don't think there is any reason to write any more about it. I probably can't do it justice. The photos speak for themselves. Although they probably can't do it justice either. But I know. I was there and everytime I think about those ten days and look at the photos, I get a silly smile on my face and the emotions in my head explode and escape through my eyes in liquid format and with a strange gleam arising from my ecstatic, adrenaline-pumped joy. I invite you to treat yourself one day to the same emotional, mental and physical roller-coaster. :)
***
Another sunrise... Another howl... Another smile and another tear... Another hug... Yet one more hug... A hug you don't want to let go from. A moment you don't want to let go from... A life you don't want to let go from... A life full of expressions, emotions, freedom, love and all those wonderful things that give you the reasons to rise, to howl, to smile, to cry, to hug...
Live!
Love!
Hug!
Express yourself!
Be free!
***
M.
06/10/2009
I know I owe you guys a bunch of updates from burning man onwards (and they are coming, don't worry), but I just HAD to tell you about the past few days.
This past weekend has probably been the most exciting and fun-filled weekend of my life! I kid you not! Is it really possible to fit more than 100 bands playing live, crazy twister games, a Charlie the Unicorn themed party,
endless amounts of cake, 
several beers and a party on a bridge in 65 hours? Apparently it is...
Friday morning and I'm up fairly early. ACL is about to begin. What is this? It's the Austin City Limits Music festival, (yes, I am back in Austin by the way) a musical extravaganza in the greenest park of Austin that lasts three days and hosts some of the biggest names of the musical world. 
And the festival kicks off with names such as Mishka, the Avett Brothers, Phoenix, Thievery Corporation, Kings of Leon and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs! And by around midnight that the music ended, I went to a friend's place where we thought the most normal thing to do is play twister at 3am.
Saturday, festive day (did I mention it was my birthday that day? No? Well, it was! :) ) and the music begins once again. Bring it on !!!, Airborne Toxic Event, Flogging Molly, And you will know us by the trail of the dead, Ghostland Observatory and so many more. And the best part of it? All of those under the pouring rain! 
Austin city centre is just behind us.
I'm not crying my eyes out. I'm just really exhausted. And no, that's not sh1t on my chest.
Thousands and thousands of people jumping, singing and crowd-surfing, wet to the bone and knee-deep in mud.
And as if that was not enough, come the end of the music, a friend comes to pick me up. He takes me home to have a shower (believe me, I needed it) and gives me a set of white clothes to wear. (??) We then drive out to some house where I've never been before, go walk around the back and suddenly two girls jump out of nowhere and shout "Welcome to candy mountain Charlie"! They dragged me into the house, only to find that the two girls were L. and D., disguised as unicorns and they had thrown a Charlie the unicorn-themed, surprise birthday party for me. 
The unicorn possy
Unicorns, bananas, candy and starfish all over the place! I couldn't believe what they had put together! So many people, so many costumes, so many sweets and the biggest cupcake I had ever seen in my life to top it all! The whole thing was just surreal.
Candy mountain in the flesh!
The biggest cupcake I have ever seen!!!
And then my face in it!
The choo choo shoe is back!
Sunday and final day of ACL. To be honest, I did not care about most of the bands. I was only waiting for Pearl Jam to come on, closing the festival and sending us to awe-land. And indeed they did. And there was no better way to end this extraordinary weekend, than by having a few beers at one of my favourite spots in town. But then, as I was moisting my throat with the delicious, cold, amber-colored, wheat-based drink, the phone rang, only to invite us to a... bridge party!
The name of it explains it all. It's a party. On a bridge. With DJs, speakers, sound systems, lots of people dancing etc. INSANE!!!
I got home at about 4am again and by that point, I could not feel my legs. After 65 hours of constant craziness and jumping around, recovering was in order.....
M.
P.S.1: ACL photos taken by Hillary Jenkins. Party photos taken by Tabitha Halfmann and Brent Thomas
P.S.2: If you have no idea what I'm on about when talking about unicorns, bananas and starfish, do yourself the favor and get educated.
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