I've been working in this business professionally since I was 10 years old and I've done just about everything there is to do on both sides of the stage and across most of the performing arts. When I look back I realize that I've been in tech for most of that time and frankly 23 years in tech is about all I had in me. The 10 year old Jared got his wish and was fortunate enough to have worked on and with some of the most inspiring, beautiful, moving, thought provoking and life changing experiences this world has to offer, but it's time for the 33 year old Jared to get to explore his dreams. My long term strategy is to open a space for the dazzling community of artists in this town and to subsidize it by selling them booze. I'm going to open a bar. I don't know when, and I'm not sure how, but it's time to find out. Somehow in my life people and places come, go and come back again. When they're gone, it's as if they were never there, but when they're back it's as if no time had passed. So many of you have touched my life in ways I can never begin to understand and I hope that I've done the same for you. This is the hardest decision I've made in my life and I'm not entirely sure that it's the right thing to do, but I have to try. After today, you can email me at jradhirschATsbcglobalDOTnet and call me at 510.290.9726.
until then,Jared
My plan was to drive half way to Boise today and finish the rest of the drive tomorrow. Winnemucca, NV was a place I had heard about as the place if you get arrested at Burning Man, that's where the county seat is and where you have to go to face the music. Winnemucca is that half way point. About 30 minutes into the trip I placed a call to my sister to chat about life and things and that conversation resulted in my first detour of the trip. Turns out in all of my research and planning I overlooked my own backyard for something to do. Cara tipped me off to the California State Fair in Sacramento. Now I had been looking up other state fairs, but they are all gone by September so i scratched them off my list. I am so grateful to her for that suggestion. The State Fair is amazing. The Cal State Expo grounds for one are really cool with all the pavilions and grand stands, and whatnot.
I could have spent all day at the fair, but I had a county set in the middle of Nevada to get to, so after 2 hours, a hot dog on a stick, an ear of corn, a lemonade drink and the before mentioned battered and fried Twinkie (with Strawberry sauce) I hit the road.
I got to Winnemucca a little later than planned what with the deep fried detour and so missed the Basque restaurants. Did you know that Winnemucca is home to the largest contingent of Basques in the US? Well, now you do. Instead, I ended up eating at a Casino and had a Casino Monday night special. NY Strip, Fried Shrimps, mashed potatoes, asparagus, and all you can eat salad and soup bar for $18. Not too shabby, pretty good, and I lost about a buck fifty in the slots. Oh well.
My day actually started at 1:30am when the fire alarm in the motel went off. I hurriedly threw on clothes, grabbed my bags, opened the door and smelled nothing burning. I hung in my doorway as people lazily sauntered around looking for the fire. There was no fire. There was a dusty heater that hadn't been turned on in months that set off the alarms. Joy. Back to bed.
The theme for today is Basque. After being denied Basque food last night, I was encouraged to seek out Basque breakfast. Alas, it was not to be. half a cup of bad coffee, or should I say continental breakfast jolted me down the road as I passed the same closed restaurants. Yesterday was Hwy 80. Today was a new one for me Hwy 95. What a beautiful drive.
to get from Nevada to Idaho you have to go through Oregon, though looking at a map you would wonder why. Nevada and Idaho share a border. After hundreds of miles cruising at 80mph, Oregon is a different story. 55mph and you better stick to it. So I did.
You know those ear worms you get? One of mine for a number of years has been the B-52s song and theme from the movie Your Own Private Idaho. I haven't actually heard the song in a long time, but during the drive, I played a playlist (a mix tape for those you who are romantic about such things) that Justine put together for me and that song popped on about 20 minutes from the Idaho border. Perfect timing alone on the road to Idaho. Who the ho? I the ho. It's just so much fun to say.
Boise is fascinating. the downtown is awesome. A State capitol, a big college town, and Northwest spirit. Great shops, cafes, restaurants, you name it. 5 minutes outside of downtown Boise is SPRAWL with a capitol yuck.
After lunch I wandered around downtown and found their park which is about to undergo a centennial facelift. Justine I wish you could have seen it. It looks like it should be really nice. The onle thing that the park already has and I hope they are keeping is a beautiful rose garden. Huge. I was a bit confused by the drano blue fountains (water features, right Justine?) so I grabbed a picture of them. I took a picture of a rose, but only Justine gets to see it, cause it's for her.
I'll drive over to the couch surfer's I'm staying with in a little bit and fill you in on what happens with that tomorrow. I was going to stay in Boise tomorrow, but I think I just did the whole town in half a day, so maybe I'll hit the road.
Ha! I went a whole post without mentioning Burning Man. Oh crap. Well, here's a picture of me eating some corn from yesterday
I drove to my hosts Abby and Jill's house just outside of downtown and got a chance to hang out with them and another couchsurfer staying with them, Charlie. Talk about awesome people. Friends for life. Charlie had just come back from his first Burning Man (ha ha- It will follow me across the country. Look out America!) and we had much to talk about. Both Abby and Jill were getting off work at 3pm and Charlie and I had the day to pal around. I decided based on all this that it was worth really exploring the other side of this couchsurfing experiment. The social side.
Downtown Boise as I said yesterday is a state capitol mashed up with a University town. As such, it has great coffee shops . Dawson Taylor would be our home base for the day, sitting on our computers, drinking caffeinated beverages, writing postcards, eating lunch: you know: things you do when you have no job but want to contemplate your place in the world and how progressive you are. Check.
Tomorrow- Idaho>Yellowstone. I'll probably be out of communication for a few days (3?) as i camp and disconnect from civilization. I'll be back though. Miss me. Really. I want tears.
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