Sleep Walking

Yesterday, during one of our many gypsy wanderings around San Diego County, Natalie and I stopped at the Lux Art Institute in Encinitas. It's not a gallery or museum, but a studio in which artists come and stay for a residency. The artists' previous works are displayed, but the coolest part is that the artist can be viewed creating a new piece of art and visitors can be witnesses to the combination of genius, inspiration, and hard work that is necessary for creation. Unfortunately the most recent artist, Spaniard Carlos Vega, had just left, but we did get to see his new completed project.

In this particular piece, Vega was inspired by a woman who had a near death experience. She claimed that only after death had stared her in the face, she realized how close to death she had always been. Only after this experience did she feel fully awake and aware of all the world had to offer. In the piece, Vega depicts several people, all sleeping contentedly, wrapped in blankets, safe and protected. This represents the woman before her deathly encounter, as well as the vast majority of earth's inhabitants. So many people benignly coast through life, going through the motions that society deems necessary, never once lifting their eyes high enough to see the horizon, let alone anything that might lie past it.

I honestly don't know how I got to the mindset I'm in, or how I prevented my eyes from glazing over into apathetic acceptance, but I know I didn't need a near death experience to realize how awake I am. The past few weeks have again reiterated exactly how strong my zest for life is, especially compared to those sleeping around me. In the words of a fellow adventurer, Everett Ruess, "I have known too much the depths of life already" and I could never settle for complacency.

This isn't the piece I was describing, but another one done by Vega entitled Don't Tell Me You Can't. It depicts a man being burdened by a donkey wearing a false set of antlers. The antlers are filled with pictures of iconic, successful people. The man is bent over, weighed down by his desire for success, but if he only had the courage to stand up, the donkey would fall off his back and he would be free to pursue his dreams.

Kinetic Energy

While cruising down the California coast on what has endearingly become known as "the road trip" this fall, we stopped in San Francisco to stay with Natalie's friend from high school. While there we also connected with someone she knew from elementary school, someone she hadn't seen or talked to in around 17 years. That's one beauty of having a traveler's soul - no matter how little you know someone or long it's been since you've seen someone, there is instantly a mutual understanding and inherent bond. He went out of his way to meet us, bring us pastries from a local bakery, and chat with us about our trip. We spent maybe an hour with him before continuing on our way.

Just yesterday Natalie informed me that the same guy we met is currently on an extended road trip with his friends. He told Natalie that this is something that he'd been thinking about doing for a while, but after listening to our story he was inspired to stop procrastinating and just go. People who continually put off things they want to do, offering the same tired excuses, will never find any color, vitality, or adventure in their lives. Our anti-sedentary lifestyle spurred him in to motion. There's really nothing to say besides how cool is that?

I know that my travels have an endless positive effect on my soul, but I often feel that I should be doing more to help others, something with a higher purpose. While I am ecstatically grateful for my current job, I know I'm meant for something more challenging and influential than serving tables. But knowing that my experiences, in a small way, have already helped another to achieve something in his life, feels pretty good.

Some cool things I've discovered so far...

- Near Sea World, there is a miniature runway and field dedicated to the die hard remote controlled airplane owners

- People live for Taco Tuesday - shrimp tacos, lobster tacos, chicken tacos, fish tacos, veg tacos, carne asada tacos, pork tacos...

-With no humidity, it gets COLD at night

- San Diegans don't mess around with viewing their "wild life." Tickets to the zoo and Sea World are insanely expensive

- The hierarchies orchestrating most restaurants are borderline impenetrable. I have to work about a year before I'm allowed to take on the sought after night shifts at my restaurant

- For ten months, maybe more, out of the year you can't get in the water without a wet suit

- There is strict surfer etiquette that I have yet to break in to

- San Diego is the number one spot for homeless people, which makes a lot of sense to me. Why wouldn't you migrate to a warm, ocean front spot if you were homeless? Many of them are more than happy with the way their lives have turned out, including the notorious guy with a flower headdress that I see all the time

Now the fun stuff

The reason I could never be satisfied with "vacation traveling" is because it's entirely too limiting. There's no way to fully embrace the essence of a place without immersing yourself, and that simply requires time. Having the right mentality helps, too. I have seen and done so much since arriving in San Diego only a month ago, with only a bike to get around (though I do ride really fast), and I intend to continue making the most out of however long I stay here.

saw an authentic fiesta

explored Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach

visited Coronado Island and the ferry port

discovered a regular spot at Woody's cafe

rode my bike to La Jolla to see the seals

witnessed several amazing sunsets

went on a whale watching tour

visited the oldest mission in CA,
Mission de Alcala

found the oldest house in Mission Beach

Electric Run with our new Guatemalan friends

L-I-V-I-N

Whew! I have been in San Diego just about a month now and so much has transpired. I'll start with the administrative stuff. I finally moved into my apartment on February 2. Up til then I was staying at a friend's place and couch surfing. A lot of people unfamiliar with the couch surfing network find the idea of showing up at a stranger's door step and requesting a free place to sleep a little sketchy, but I've had nothing but enriching and pleasant experiences. I met several people who will continue to be good friends throughout my stay in San Diego.

I live in technically international student housing through a program called KAMO Housing (http://kamohousing.com/pacific_beach.html). It's in an area of SD called Pacific Beach, a very young and party-friendly scene. So far I love it. My roommates are Natalie, the friend I moved here with, and two Norwegian girls. I have had the privilege of living with international people before and I am ecstatic to do so again. The amount you learn about someone else's culture is entirely beyond what you could read in a book. And it's uncanny how people who grew up on opposite sides of the world could be so similar. Kinda gives me a cozy feeling.

Mandi Schmitt

3950 Ingraham Street

Apartment 13-107

San Diego, CA 92109

I also found a job! This was the most worrisome aspect of moving here. I needed to be able to support myself and I knew I didn't have enough money to last me past the first month's rent. I am a server at a restaurant called World Famous (http://worldfamouspb.com/) which is located literally next to the beach. Whenever I look at the wall of windows I see waves crashing and people enjoying the sunshine and sand. I don't have a car so I use a bike, which I bought when I got here, to get around everywhere. It's quite the work out but I really love it.

My morning commute via bike

traveling from couch surfer to couch surfer,
looking strikingly similar to the numerous
homeless people in Pacific Beach

My Philosophy

California Dreamin'

Here I go again... I have just arrived in sunny San Diego. It's the first time I have moved somewhere without a specific purpose, which is both frightening and exhilarating. I have no car, no job, and cannot move in to my apartment until Feb 2. But with my will of steel, and with the help of some incredibly generous friends, I have no doubt that this season of my life will be fruitful. Sometimes I worry my absence of fear under most circumstances will be detrimental, in the same sense that a person numb to pain indicators can injure themselves without realizing it. But I've made it this far, and my youth and curiosity will allow me to move only in one direction.

“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.”

Chris McCandless