Our relationship had deteriorated to the point where we felt more like roommates then lovers; this was due to many reasons but primarily by allowing present actions to be guided by past hurt, anger, and worst of all fear. Doing this fostered an air of negativity and resentment which has no place in a loving relationship. We each know our roles in allowing this to become the norm in our relationship, and I think I can safely say we have kicked said mentalities arse. Where we chose to go from here is beautifully wide open.

The other force driving us to sell our house and get the hell outa dodge is the current state of American culture and society; sickeningly narcissistic, deluded, duped, our government routinely making a joke of democracy. Stuck in the Matrix, most Americans bump along content with their apathy so long as they feel safe. They like to think they are safe from physical harm, really they’re safe from ever waking up to the true reality that they have the capacity within them to become god and transcend this worldly bs to something much much better. People who do realize this have power, something those in ruling positions don’t care to share.

Crazy new-age left-wingest tirade over, James and I want to completely detach from this society and wash the sludge out of our brains that’s been put there by this joke of a society. That’s rather hard to do when confronted with it daily, so we’re removing ourselves from it. We hope to visit the small hamlets, ancient places of spiritual significance, and find ourselves along the way.

When we come home, the intent is to carve a niche for ourselves here, separate from but functioning in this society. To wrap ourselves up in the love of each other and the love of our friends and find away to live fulfilling lives that somehow make a difference in what comes next.

To this point, I’m calling this little blog and our trip Slade’s Elucidation.
e-lu-ci-dat: to make lucid or clear; throw light upon; explain; an interpretation that removes obstacles to understanding

~ Amanda

the aquarium

West Texas is a collection of near-abandoned towns with faded gas stations displaying prices not seen for years and shuttered roadside restaurants where I gladly would have stopped for a meal had they been open. The speed limit slows through these towns, forcing you to look around and notice the desolation in anticipation of the next generation of ghost towns. Many of the towns had one or two houses with new trucks and tv satellites in the yard, most likely owners of the farms that lined the highway. Then thirty miles before Austin, you hit dense suburbs which carry you into the city.

After going a little too far down a street, I made it to my CS host's house north of UT Austin. That night I was too tired to do much. My time in Austin consisted of Cafe Epoch down the street, the Austin Museum of Art (showing Lewittx2), The Mexic-Arte Museum, downtown and yummy tex-mex.

I went out that Tuesday night with Haley (my host) and some of her friends (they were celebrating one of them turning 21), first checking out some blues at Antone's, then doing a pub-crawl including the Aquarium (free birthday shot and t-shirt on your 21st), the Library (more free b-day shots), Cheers (which has crazy flaming shots), and finally Rain, a cheesy gay bar with a great patio, a stripper pole and a light up dance floor.

I was tired when I reached Austin and spent a good amount of time just vegging and recharging my batteries, but I also go to see a lot of the best the town has to offer. My favorite place was probably the Mexic-Arte Museum, which had an amazing exhibit on Aztec-Maya revival art the was very historically contextualized and which included everything from Mayan and Aztec artifacts to pulp mummy film paraphernalia from the 40's and 50's, including an actual clip of a film.

written by  hannahrose on July 21, 2008 from Austin, United States
from the travel blog: Summer Road Journey 2008
tagged Austin, MexicArteMuseum, AMOA and Epoch
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