The view from the river.

This weekend was nice, not alot of work and more relaxing and talking with people. Its good. Gets my mind off things. Its interesting to hear what people are going through here. Most are scared and excited about finishing and starting a career. Most feel they arent any good but getting better. Some fall in love intellectually with the teachers. Some dismiss them out right. I might be in the middle leaning to the latter.

But the best conversation I get is the "What are you going to do when youre done" one. Most say to do exactly what were learning here. I like that. Good for you to work hard at a goal and get there, I respect that and will always approve, with a smart ass remark or two.

When I tell people what I want to do, i usually get a laugh, but in reality theres more to it.

I tell people I want to be a white water guide on the colorado river. Buff bronze and bald, with a braided beard and soul patch, i navigate the river with my Rainbow tinted Oakleys, faded life preserver, Tevas, and friendship bracelets in tow. I'm the first one to scream as we leave the rapids and the first to yell when people don't paddle the way i need. "HARD LEFT." "ALL BACK!!"

At night I sit on the edge of the fire circle, Indian style peering into the fire, slowly drinking home brewed tequila. "Where do you live Jesse?" my customers ask. "Where ever i lay my head." I mysteriously leave the circle into the night to do who knows what. But like clockwork, return every morning writing in a small leather bound book, greeting the weary travelers with more stories of near misses, flips, Indian burial stories, and Mexican jails I've been lucky enough to inhabit.

Its a good dream. Theres some truth in it about what I want and why I'm here. I dont know what I want. If I do art direction for the rest of my life, great. If i teach great. If i raft the river for all eternity great. If I end up working at McDonalds.....No thanks......but great.

But i guess im the kind of person to float the river, not literally of course. I let it show me places I've never seen, stories I'd never experience and wake up every day to see where it goes next. Some call it floating, I call it life.

See you on the river. Pretty deep huh?