starting out

Today is Friday, the 12th of August, and we are mere hours from barreling out of this state of Colorado.
A month and a half ago, 8… 9… 10… lets just say a large bustling clan of us - left New Orleans and landed in Boulder Colorado. In Boulder we rented a 2 bedroom house together for a month. During this time we sewed, landscaped, had meetings, made money, had lots of visitors, celebrated a ridiculous number of birthdays, and tried to re-adjust to a culture where houses are not rotting hell holes, the air is clean, sidewalks are not made of pallets, and we have to actually pay for stuff.
Needless to say, we are still adjusting.
After 8 fast-paced months of cooking healthy meals for the masses, organizing a non-profit, keeping the peace, and maintaining a rockin’ dance party in the kitchen… some of us are feeling a little lost, purposeless and displaced.
I should only speak for myself.
What I truly need is a home. I need a space where I can focus my passion and creativity on a project that isn’t going to slide out from under me in 6 months or 5 years. I need my long hours of work to potentially result in me making money (or some resource equivalent). And I need to make friends without the looming reality that I will have to leave them in the next year or so.
This is why Brian, Valisa, Benja, and me (Jes) are going on this really spectacular road voyage… to seek our fortune.
We are counting on the fact that whatever “home” situation we stumble upon will be so in-arguably fantabulous that the rest of you will be seduced (permanently, temporarily, or - at very least - in hologram form) to join us.

Right now I am officially psyched on this blog idea. I solemnly swear to keep anyone who’s interested informed of every spectacular moment on this trip… unless, of course, it has been deemed inappropriate. Benja, I am certain, will serve as my censor. I mean editor.
So far we have been on the road for 2 days, and they haven’t been terribly eventful. We still haven’t left Colorado.
We are still in the process of creating a name for our traveling crew. These are the prospective titles so far: (I won’t differentiate between serious and silly because it switches. Yes. You would be surprised).
Roots, Root Seekers, Arial Roots, Tuff Roots, Tap Roots, Rhizomes, Bulbs, The Bulb Heads, Embers, Burning Embers, The Smoking Embers, The Hopeful Embers, Dark Fire, The Ember Keepers, Whispering Embers, Seed Seekers, Remember the Ember, RemEmber, We-Told-You-So, Rising Ground, Transplants, Non-native Transplants, Gassy Embers, Gas-Roots, The Idealists, The Flakey Idealists, The Young and Flakey Idealists.

That’s it so far. Any new ideas or constructive feedback welcomed. Be nice to us.

Our Blog is called “The Last Bite.”
On that note - visualize someone’s birthday party. It is a big birthday party and there is 1 utterly decadent raspberry rhubarb pie (you are welcome to fill in your desert of choice). The pie is disappearing quickly. There are a lot of hungry folks swarming around that kitchen counter. Pieces are whizzin’ outta that pan so fast that some folks are getting worried. Maybe even a little angry. Soon there is only one piece left. One polite, drooling guest cuts that piece in half. The knife gets left in the pie plate and people drift by, nibbling a bite here and there as they go. Pretty soon it’s been whittled down till no person can legitimately eat another smidgeon without eating “the last bite.”
At this point, all kinds of crazy psychology gets involved but don’t worry. I’m not gonna go there.
The bite could get eaten ½ hour later when some lucky soul finds himself alone in the kitchen.
It could be devoured loud and proud by the boldest sister at the party
Or maybe it gets left on the counter till 8:30 the next morning when it lands in the sink on top of a mass of dirty dishes where it is saved - in the last possible second - by a very enthusiastic gutter punk.
One way or another… no matter how long it takes… no matter how many times it gets divided… no matter how small… the last bite is always savored.
Just tryin’ to keep that in mind… while I’m missin’ all of you.