A roof over my head

I love being a vagabond, the gypsy lifestyle, floating from couch to couch, but sometimes you just need your own bed. So, to that end I have moved into a little duplex in South Austin. It is a great little place, ugly on the outside, clean on the inside, and there is just enough room for little dinner parties. I have a place to keep my things and park my car, lay down at night and cook in the morning. It is nice.

A lot has been said about the value of a home, a base for operations, a place to hang your hat, so I won't go into it here but to say that having that grounding place really helps me figure out what I am doing right now. Since my return to the US I have floated and my mind has floated with me, it has been a valuable time of growth and questions. Right now, at this moment, I have the opportunity to sit still and my mind has the opportunity to focus.

I am currently expanding my client base for private climbing lessons, trying to expand into other outdoor pursuits, working with a friend on a climbing shoe resoling company, and researching the feasibility of a brewpub in College Station. Along with those humble projects I am scheduling a Wilderness First Responder refresher course, looking into a American Mountain Guide Association course, and an American Alpine Institute avalanche course. I am also still pedicabbing on the weekends for income and entertainment.

I have gotten to see lots of friends over the summer and had even more time with family than I could have ever hoped for. My roommate and I are having dinner gatherings regularly, and looking forward to more. Little sister came into town today, and my parents were in a few weeks ago. Lola, my car, has been parked since June because of a wheel bearing but I am enjoying not paying for gas so I haven't rushed out to get her fixed. I feel guilty but my pocketbook is happy for now... besides have you seen my cycling calves lately? But seriously I love my bike.

I hope you all are sharing time with good people, eating good food, and learning about your passions.

Peace and Love

Mike

Irie

Irie: to be at total peace with your current state of being. The way you feel when you have no worries. (urbandictionary.com)


I regularly stop in at the Irie Bean Coffee Shop on South Lamar to get coffee, use the internet, and hook into the south Austin community. I found the Irie bean when I first moved down here and it has become my coffee shop and I really dig the community that has developed here. As a matter of fact I am here right now.


A lot has been going on recently and it is hard to get it all in order to convey through a few paragraphs on the web, but here is a short synopsis; I am focusing outdoor education right now teaching private lessons and camps at the gym, I went up to Colorado for a week and taught mountain biking and mountaineering, I have started working on feasibility studies and market analysis with two different friends on two different business ideas, and I am training (in fits and starts) for the Austin Triathlon in September (if anyone wants to sponsor me please shoot me an email or leave a comment.) It is all very exciting and I will flesh this out more as more becomes apparent.

A note: I love teaching, I have gotten back into outdoor ed. over the last month and I am looking to start doing outdoor tutoring in Austin. There are people all over the place that would like to learn more about paddling, hiking, camping, biking, and climbing, and I would like to help them. Over the next few weeks I will be rolling out a small outdoor tutoring service in Austin. I am excited about this and hope you are too, I will keep you posted.

Peace Love and good food,


Mike

Rain in Texas

I grew up in Abilene. If you don't know much about Abilene that is ok, but one thing you ought to know is that it can be very, very dry. For a majority (read that most) of the time I lived there we were in a "severe drought" i.e. a desert. So for us, rain storms were the greatest thing in the world.

We had big booming thunderstorms that would roll in across the plains, sending fresh, beautiful wind out in front to announce their approach. You never forget what those storms smell like. They would come in with big towering clouds, and flashes of lighting that would steal all of the air for the split second before the thunder would hit. We would sit out on the front porch with our blankets and watch the storms at night, or run around in the rain and build dams in the gutter. Dad would load us up in the truck and we would drive around town checking the levels on the creeks (as an aside it is no wonder I get so fascinated with flooded creeks and kayaking as an adult.) Rain meant change, clean air, clean streets, and fresh starts. The world always seems happy after a big storm.

Today I am sitting at my favorite coffee shop, doing some some life-study, and watching the rain fall outside. We ate dinner with the doors open and the rain coming down. Last night while I was at blues on the green I saw these huge clouds piling up with the sunset tinting them orange. We have had a lot of rain and it is great. All of the creeks have some water in them, the lakes are up and the plants are eating it up. True, unlike Abilene, the air has been heavy with moisture, and there is lots of sweating, but it has been great and the cloudy days make everyone appreciate the sunshine that much more.

I hope you are well, eating good food, and sharing time with friends.

Peace and Love,

Mike

The Hiatus

Settling down

Sometimes, you find yourself in an eddy, a place in the stream where you can stop and check your bearings and look downstream for hazards. Recently, I decided to catch an eddy and take a look around for a while. I am sitting in a coffee shop/bar in downtown Austin listening to a new age jazz/hip hop/ string trio play and thinking about life. Last week I signed a 6 month lease on a little duplex with my new friend/ roommate Chris and I am looking into some side projects to keep my income up and start paying down some student loans.

My months of couch surfing are coming to a much awaited hiatus. I could not have foreseen this a few months ago but it is where I find myself and I am happy. As an update for those who do not know I have picked up a few jobs over the last few months as a pedicabber downtown in the evenings, as desk staff at the local rock gym and an itinerant guide for a company in Central Texas and Colorado. Along with that I am looking into a few other projects that I will detail as they come closer to launch.

A note on family; I have been able to see a large majority of my extended family over the weekend and gotten to share some great meals. I live down the street and around the corner (and on the couches more recent than not) of the Young Boys whom I was privileged to grow up with in Abilene, and most of my mom’s family lives in the Austin/ San Antonio area. My little sister just got back to San Antonio from the Dominican Republic and my parents came down to visit this weekend. It has been great getting to know everyone as an adult and I am happy to share my life with them.

More on life in Austin in the near future, get some good food, say hi to your family, and raise a glass for me.

Peace and Love,

Mike

An idea

They say that ideas are meant to be shared... Here is one of my favorites I like to refer to as the Pickadilly Project, at first it was to be known as "Mike Young's center for all things delicious and Beautiful" but I was told that was somewhat conceited. The basic concept starts with an abandoned gas station, then mixes with a taste of beer and bread, add in local food, music, and art, and my affinity for housing (small, efficient, sustainable, and shared) tag that towards my dream of communal land ownership and a flair for the dramatic and you get the Pickadilly Project. It would basically be a space for people to come together and share food, stories, ideas, music, and passions.

The first phase was visioned around the aforementioned abandoned gas station. We would buy the station and land around it, retrofit the building for beer brewing, bio diesel production, and a short order cafe. around the property we could cultivate plants (after breaking up the parking lot) that would leech the negative chemicals out of the soil and eventually produce food on the same land. The cafe would be stocked by food from local farmers, and the beer ingredients could be sourced from nearby as well ( a true regional beer.) The next structure on the property could house a bakery and then further an art gallery with studio space for transient artists. We could build a small recording studio as well and have a potters kiln and even glass blowing facilities. On site we would have different housing structures built from hay, rammed, earth, and reclaimed materials, experimenting with in the earth homes, yurts, etc. Some of these could be rented out, or used as Bed and Breakfasts (featuring local art, and food) Others could be permanent homes for employees, and community members. Once a year we would have a huge festival bringing people together to share in the synergy. The goal would be to create a destination that entertains, relaxes, and inspires individuals, part experiment, part reality. I set a goal of 2017, I will let you know how it goes.

Peace and Love

Mike

Surprises

The other day, while sitting on the greenbelt in Austin, I noticed a boisterous group of 20 somethings hanging out on the other side of the creek. I didn't realize it at first but they were all talking to each other in sign language, I thought it was just that they were too far away to hear anything but they were all just signing. It was the first time I have seen a large group of otherwise non-descript 20 somethings using sign language, and I was surprisingly warmed by this. Maybe it was the momentary glimpse into the lives of a group I am admittedly unfamiliar with but the experience touched me. There are so many different types of people in the world with different challenges and dreams and goals in life, sometimes it is fun to be reminded of this. I hope you take the chance to look around and see the lives going on around you and share yours with someone else.

I am in Dallas at my buddy John's house, 3 of us are leaving for Florida this afternoon for a wedding, 17 hrs of driving either way. I am excited about getting to spend time with friends and see some more of this great country. I hope this finds you well, share some food, and I look forward to talking to you soon.

mike

Aristocracy

I am a modern day aristocrat, an aristocrat of the 21st century. I spend my days as I please, rotating between rock climbing, kayaking, looking for jobs and socializing. My fare consists of robust ramen feasts and peanut butter platters. I am free at the drop of a hat to join you in a climbing expedition or on a jaunt out of town. If the creeks are swolen with rain I can meet you at the river in record time. I can spend most of a day idly chatting about life. My nights can drift from gathering to gathering.

I am as free as if I were a 4 year old, or the child of an industrialist with a trust fund, yet I am neither. I am a middle class American, with college debt to pay, and an education to use. But I find myself in a limbo land, a purgatory of sorts waiting to be cast into my lot. I am between those with much and with little, I am below the radar. I am floating.

Eventually I will find paying work and join my peers. I will move from the impoverished vagabond, floating with the wind, free of cares and possessions set loose by my poverty. Eventually, I will have responsibilities.

I have been told to enjoy being unemployed, that I will do, nay that I must do. Until otherwise, go see some friends, share a meal, and give someone a place on your couch, it could change your life.

Peace and Love

Mike