What I Know

I know that I am not going to teach in Oshkosh. And, I am not going to teach in Iowa City. I handle professional rejection much better than personal rejection. That is the extent of my knowledge.

Chicago!

Two things I learned today:
1. Chicago is good.
2. Ikea is like a Swedish Walmart.

Lessons In Bicycling, Or Two New Tubes

I learned to change a bicycle tire yesterday. Thanks to Charlie B at Machinery Row Bikes in Madison. He gave me a comprehensive tutorial on all things tire, tube and air. Then I was sent on my way, back home, happy as a lark, riding like a fool, prepared to change the front tube on my own.

These days, I am living on a dead end street just off of Fish Hatchery. It is a main road that always has traffic and is less than desirable to ride on, despite its designated bike lanes. There is a lot of debris on the road and the railroad crossing is at best treacherous. But, I've been riding on it because I don't really have a choice. At some point, somewhere on this road I ran over a bit of metal which punctured through my tire and tube, but I didn't know exactly what the damage was. When I prepared to ride a few days later my back tire was flat, but I put air into it and rode it 20 miles without incident. I figured it was fine. The next day when I went to ride that tire was flat again. I filled it again and went to fill the front tire too, but I broke off the presta pin and couldn't get air into the tire. Smart as I was I brought my credit card in case anything went wrong. I was biking with Paul and we had already decide to go to Budget Bicycles after our ride. Over on the east side my bike began to feel strange and I looked down to see flat tire. I knew it would come to this. And, of course, I had no spare tube with me. I tried to pump some air into the tire, but it didn't hold for more than a few seconds. Paul was nice and walked with me back to Willy Street. The first open bike shop was Machinery Row. I went there and they were great!

New Neighbors

I'm now back in Madison. I found some temporary housing which consists of a two-bedroom condo on a dead end street near the beltline. It's a little removed from the previous places I have stayed, but it's close enough to the arboretum and the across-the-hall neighbors are darling. My neighbors are a family with two daughters. They speak Spanish. The family was sitting out on the front steps last night sipping mate (yerba mate is a bitter tea like brew drank with a special straw from a special cup--those who drink it are usually addicted to its stimulating properties). I said, "OOoo Mmmm, mate" and they were shocked that I knew what it was. Here, I guessed that they were originally from South America (most likely Uruguay, Paraguay or Argentina). Indeed they told me they were from Argentina and had moved to Madison six years ago. They are very sweet people. We spoke a little in Spanish and Johana, the daughter going into eigth grade, asked me if I wanted to play soccer with her sometime. Of course! They told me if I needed anything at any hour I could knock on their door. Igual. Nice neighbors!
Even here they are neighbors--Argentina y Chile.

Photo From Texas

(Trucks, Brian and yours truly)

Virginia is for lovers, Texas is for...

Technically I left Texas yesterday morning. I'm now in Kansas. I visited the Konza Prairie with Tor and Rachel again. Different flowers were blooming--different colors. I head to Madison tomorrow for the next month or two.

My visit with Brian (and step-mom and dad, Linda and Bruce) in Austin included some great moments which have been left undocumented by photography. We went to some galleries and museums and shops. There was one particularly lovely photo exhibit that Brian particularly enjoyed since he is a photographer. It was a treat for me to hear his take on some of the photos--information from outside my area of expertise. One evening we went with Linda and watched millions of bats fly out from underneath a bridge. Brian and I went swimming in Barton Springs, where we got a touch of exercise and told each other funny stories. I beat Brian at a game of checkers we played with chess pieces in a café. Movies. Music. Linda and Brian and I went to a blues concert, followed by the John Butler Trio at La Zona Rosa. Lance Armstrong was there at that show (he was standing off to the side, under a light, making himself stand out and be weirdly famous). The cheap thrill of seeing Lance was quick lived and greatly overshadowed by the great music that the band played. They were awesome! If you ever get a chance, go, go even if you don't know the music (like me).

Yee Haw?

I made it to Austin, Texas, where I'm visiting, my friend of seven years that I met in Italian class in Florence, Italy, Brian. Austin is a great place in Texas and a nice retreat from the "planned" events of the last few months since my return from Chile. Maybe also I am a little happy because I received a hopeful call from the University of Wisconsin--Oshkosh inquiring if I was still interested/available for a one year sabbatical replacement position in printmaking. Nice? I hope it works out well because I really do want to teach while I continue to make art. Keep fingers and toes crossed while I attempt to become artfully employed. Either way, I have decided to move to the Upper Mid-west.

Konza Prairie

Yesterday I toured the Konza Prairie with Rachel and Tor. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Geographically speaking, we live in a beautiful world. Touring the Konza felt very surreal, as if I were waiting to see some Jurassic Park dinosaurs come rip the car into bits. We drove into the fenced limits and then back out. Outside of the fence, instead of dinosaurs, we saw bison. These bison were so close to us. We could smell them and hear them licking their own flesh (a rasping noise of the tongue to the flesh). Males. Females. Babies. We drove further and back into the fence where we saw many upland sandpipers--birds with a great profile. Some day I will head to Texas to see Brian until then I'm all for Kansas and her natural prairie beauty.


(View of the prairie from within the Konza)


(Sweet, curious, baby bison)


(A teenage bison that followed us along the fence)


(Objects in mirror and beyond)

Kansas Wedding

Rachel and Tor got married in a sweet wholesome ceremony followed by dinner and folk dancing. The wedding was musical in that we sang to them, Tor's sisters sang to all of us and they sang their vows to each other. I cried along with everyone in the room.


(The wholesome wedding party with parents)



(Bride and groom on a bridge in the Konza Prairie)

The Big D.O.

The infamous Don Osborn. Sabrina and I went to visit while we were in Kansas. KANZAS!!!


(D.O. and K.O. and photographer S.O.)

Iowa City is a No-Go

The results are in and Iowa City is not going to be my new home. This also means that I am really up a creek in terms of employment. I think you can look for me in the Wisconsin vicinity in this upcoming Fall.

As for Kansas, I'm still there. Today I am heading for the Konza Prairie and the infinite views of an untouched stretch of beauty.

Yesterday I brought Sabrina back to the Kansas City Airport. Rachel and I went shopping and I also bough a new phone (so I also have a new phone number). I visited my sculpture professor from Plattsburgh the day before that. Don Osborn lives out in the middle of nowhere. It's beautiful and about 30 minutes outside of Salina.

Death in a Bottle of Chilean Wine

My cell phone died a poignant death involving a bottle of Chilean wine.  So if you cannot get in contact with me, this is why.  I find great poetry in this accident, since many of my belongings are drying out wet with Cabernet.  It's as if this were the closing final dramatic end to the Chilean heart aching drama, bloodied wine strewn everywhere, messy, ripe in odor, taking down with it what it could.  The act was done well and completed with all appropriate tears and passion and vigor.  Why do it if you do not do it right?  One tends to find meaning in these messes.  Closeur works for me.  

I'll post more about the wedding and subsequent Kansas festivities in a later post.  

I think I am heading to Texas to visit my dear friend Brian.  Then, I believe, it is back to Madison.