My journey towards my next job starts with reconnection with my base. Over the summer, I flew home to stay with my parents near Boston. Soon after, I visited brother Ray in Ohio. Late summer, I rode the train up to Sacramento to see Ruben. I even had lunch with …
Although I like building my art pieces such as the Fish and the Sunflowers, I fear that I spend way too much time constructing them. A simple idea like “scales with lights” can consume months of nights and weekends to actualize. To confront this fear, I gave myself a challenge …
Last spring, I built six LED Fish with scale patterns. For each fish’s triangular tail, I arranged a unique configuration of either 5 or 7 lights. In the tails, I tried out new geometries. I planned to blow up successful configurations into their own full-scale LED installations. The tail that …
With no job in sight and Burning Man receding in the background, I knew it would come slinking by eventually: depression. I’ve inherited from my parents the manic need to stay busy, both a boon that motivates and a curse that torments relaxation. With the apartment sorted and unemployment paperwork …
At Spinach and Giorgio’s house party, Jed told me he just returned from Boston, where he lived long ago. I asked him to compare Boston now to San Francisco. Jed bluntly said, “People are happier in Boston in ways I see rarely these days in San Francisco.” When I first …
My eighteen trips to the Playa makes me an old man in Burning Man years. I noticed this year that my attitudes to the event have shifted yet again perhaps now similar to those of the elderly: go to bed early, don’t try to do everything, be grateful for your …
My jury summons was poorly timed to start the day after Burning Man concluded. Kaleidoscopic visions of technicolor flamingos might overrule court motions. Fortunately, I got assigned to the civil court in San Francisco’s Civic Center and not the criminal court in SOMA. Although I’ve done jury duty four times, …
From my eighteenth trip to the desert, I return from Burning Man dusty, exhausted, cleansed, and satisfied. It was a strange year – not for the hijinx or epic drama – but for its calmness. Here are ten thoughts from Burning Man 2018: 10. My friend Major saw most sunrises …