:-)

ATTENTION TREE-HUGGERS:

BE CAREFUL HUGGING TREES IN ARIZONA!!

desert botanical gardens

adam and i had a pretty important conversation today, and i was brought to the realization that our connection and friendship in the past existed within a context that no longer exists for either of us. furthermore, i realized for the first time that what brought each of us into that old context (the social scene we were a part of) was not the same motive or intention, but two very different things. this cleared up any dissapointment i was projecting onto him, once i realized that what i wanted him to be now was something that he never was. and now that we find ourselves hanging out after both having left the scene and lifestyle we were in when we were close friends, all of those old connections are filed away as good memories and these new ones are lessons of unconditional love. adam is family to me, a brother who i could never deny compassion and appreciation for. and we agree to accept our differences.

after talking about this over sushi and matcha tea, we went to the phoenix botanical gardens. wow. what a cool and fascinating place. i have never seen such phenomenal cacti in my life. it was a very awesome experience.

sedona, az

adam and i drove up to sedona today to enjoy the spectacular landscapes. the town itself is a tourist trap of people buying trinkets and knick-knacks from southwestern shops, beef jerky shops, and new age crystal shops. the views were worth it though. beautiful red rocks, cacti, and gnarly trees. we went for a mini hike and took some pictures (i pieced together a panoramic series of picks i took so you could get an idea of the view we saw... you can get a larger view if you click on the picture). at one point during our walk we spotted this baby tarantula-like spider with a missing leg. on the ride back to phoenix it was revealed that adam doesn't like 80's music. my heart broke for a second, but then i made him listen to 80's the rest of the ride home, and now he can't get 99 Luftballoons out of his head... ha! a convert!

this entry is merely a sidenote...

at the end of my trip i will have an empty apartment and will need some essential items (like a can-opener). if you'd like to help me achieve this, please see the posting i have placed on the left side of this page, beneath the itinerary.

i hope that anyone who is reading this is well and full of joy!

namaste.

phoenix

thursday, oct 11: danced the night away at a san francisco hipster club. nothing more fun than working up a sweat dancing to the cure, surrounded by great people.

friday: rain clouds in san francisco, all flights delayed, 6 hours in the airport, finally made it to phoenix and reunited with adam!

saturday: adam and i randomly stumble upon the Tour de Fat festival in Tempe, AZ and see the Handsome Little Devils, who put on a fantastic vaudeville performance! (click on the link to see a teaser youtube video of what their performances are like)

sunday: see Wes Anderson's new movie Darjeeling Limited. awesome.

i'm really happy to be hanging out with adam, and the sunshine here is quite nice, but phoenix doesn't score too many points in my book (especially after being in wonderful san francisco). it is somehow lacking some essence of life or culture that i thrive on. i'm determined to find it here before i leave... it's got to be somewhere! :-)