Burning Man 2014

I know I've been gone a while, but I'm in a phase where I have a lot to say right now. On a whim, with a few week's notice, I made the decision to go to Burning Man. I had to organize a ticket through Will-Call, which I was extremely nervous about... I was so scared I would wait all those hours in line only to find that I didn't actually have a ticket, but everything turned out alright. :) I arrived Tuesday evening because the lines were shut down Monday due to torrential rain -- had to spend another night in Reno -- the greeters were bubbling with life, and I got to roll around in the playa dust and ring a gong.

While this could warrant a much longer blog post, I'm going to keep it short for now and post my few photos from that week. It's already changed the course of my life significantly, provided me with inspiration beyond the immediate, and introduced me to a wonderful network of interesting people. I also feel like I walked away with an extra limb, or maybe an organ. (A heart.) It's brought such positive change into my life, I've already bought my ticket for next year, but I'm pretty sure it will be my last for a while. I don't like the idea of it running my life the way it does to some people. But anyway, on with the photos.

http://www.jeremytlock.com/

http://www.jeremytlock.com/

Feeling Retrospective.

I was re-reading some of my old posts... I feel a little ashamed, as the picture I painted was not so positive. As I wrote, it was to people that know me. To anyone else, I probably just look bitter and inconvenienced. In truth, this past trip was much less positive of an experience than I anticipated, or even believed it to be at the time. I was incredibly lonely. 

There are a lot of bad smells in China. A lot of hygienic/safety inconsistencies as far as what we're used to in the U.S. But I don't really mind any of that. My lack of consistent internet really drove fear into me because it was my only lifeline... my only connection to home. But, I still feel as homeless as I ever have.

I'm currently residing in San Fernando Valley, in California; the people I'm staying with are a blessing to this earth. It's more comfortable than I've felt in a long time, but I don't see forever in it. It's nice to be able to rest in one place, to not be alone, to own yourself fully... I just love to be on the move. I hope to return to China, to visit India and Japan, South Africa, Egypt... when it's realistic to do so. 

I'll always have more love for the world than anger.  

More updates soon. 

More photos, color.

Charlie, Hamid, Jasmine.

Lauren, me.

Woop.

Jasmine.

Liberace, Mike.

David.

Jah Bar.

Cai.

Cai.

Re-entry + Photos.

So I'm back home for "Christmas." I've been dealing with re-entry shock the past ten/eleven days, which can be easily detected by my blank, almost shocked expression when I walk into a new place and someone starts speaking directly to me. It's nice that I could deal with the majority of it in Los Angeles. It's also nice I got to meet someone I met in Chengdu, to nail down the reality of everything... though that in itself is still questionable in many regards.

I've changed a lot. Not a lot of people can see it, but I feel it. I ooze it.

And PG County isn't doing it for me. Washington, D.C. hasn't suddenly started doing it for me, either. I probably still love Baltimore to death, but... I would much rather be living on the west coast right now. This isn't where people go to make shit of themselves. It's easy to see why I was so depressed here.

Here are photos of my last couple days.

Lauren's housewarming.

Fuck my landlord.

I haven't had electricity for four days. My milk went bad, my eggs probably are too, I can't cook the food I bought, I have no heat, can't take hot showers, and I need to do my damn laundry. What kind of idiocy, seriously...