MD to CA, as the crow flies.

5 days left!!
5 days and hopefully, crosses fingers that the weather holds out, I'll be basking in the Sunshine of the West Coast. 58-61 degrees Fahrenheit. Yep.
Too stoked. Literally. I'm having a hard time containing my giddiness.

Nervous about how busy it's going to be, but I'm trying not to worry about it too much. I'm really looking forward to hanging out with friends, meeting new people, and riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiidddddddiiiiiiingg! Well, hopefully.


Baltimore Convention was a bust. Headed down on Thursday night, got snowed in at a friend's house, and they took until Tuesday to get the roads cleared enough to make the Great Escape form the city. Sooo, yea...didn't get to see muh peeps, didn't get to experience the energy of the convention, but...I did get to have mucho fun being snowed in with friends and willed-poosie-chats (Asian Leopard Cats). We had wayyyy too much fun, ate wayyyyy too much food, and did what we could to occupy ourselves until we could see the sidewalks. Good times.

So yea, still got a bunch of stuff to do, like packing, and waiting for last minute supplies to get here, as well as juggling a few big tattoo projects before I leave. Sunday, I have a humongous start of a leg sleeve, which is going to be bonkers. I'll try to get time to toss some flix up on the ol' website when I get finished with the outline.
Alright, kiddies, that's enough for now. I'll report back when my feet have officially landed on Californian soil!
Until then!

Heya!

So hey, internet-world!
I don't even know if anyone reads this thing anymore, but that's totally cool...I'mma still update it!

The biggest news as of late is my up-coming trip, no, Winter Hiatus, next month. I decided last year that I did not want to stick around for Winter in MD/PA this year, so I'm heading out to the Gold Coast to live/work until whenever I feel like coming back. I bought a one-way ticket to give myself a bit of positive uncertainty to look forward to, as well as give myself an opportunity to roll with the punches in the event that my trip needs to be cut short (or extended).

I chose San Francisco based on its moderate climate, and because I really enjoyed myself when I was out there almost 2 years ago (ughh, I can't believe it's been that long).
I think a few people think that I won't come back to the East coast...I hope they are wrong!

Work's been good, sometimes a slow week or two, sometimes a busy week or two. That's how it is. I've been pretty minimalist with advertising as well as staying put, which I look forward to changing once I get back form the West coast. Even with the lax attitude with promoting myself, I still get new clients and big projects to work on, so I guess I'm not that bad! The majority of the travel bug has been washed out of my system, so I'm finally ready to settle back down in a studio again and take on a heavier schedule.

BTG is most likely where I'll be...The guys have been trying to coerce me into working there since before they've opened, but I knew that committing to work there full-time with such a serious travel bug in my body was going to be counter-productive. We all get along super well, so I'm anticipating the actual nestling down and sticking my nose back into the grind-stone.
There is also another shop that will be opening very close to the epicenter of my travels, and they have expressed interest in having me work there. So, if I decide to commit there as well, I'd probably break my schedule into 2-3 weeks with BTG, then 1 week out of the month with the new shop.
I'm still going to be doing guest spots, but the majority of my time will most likely be spent up at BTG.

Health-wise, things have been good. I had a few issues a few months ago, which included a barrage of tests and what-not, as well as a trip to the ER. Since then, I've been taking further action to maintain my health, and it appears that any future issues will not be a terrifying ordeal.
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Moped season was super rad this past year. I finally met up with a crew in the area, and we've been hanging out, going to rallies, and just being stupid/silly. We really hit it off after I arranged a weekend rally in Gettysburg, and since, we've proven that we can spend almost a week without wanting to kill each other! It's everything I'd thought it would be!
I don't know what I have planned for this rally season, especially since my focus has [finally] shifted back into making my tattooing schedule more consistent. I know it's silly to say this, but I do plan on heading back out to SF in September, since that is the Creature's rally. The last one was two years ago, and it was by far, one of the best experiences of my life.

I have a few projects that need to be finished, but I feel like I haven't had much dedication to really get them finished. The Sebring is getting completely made over, so that was a huge undertaking. The Snark has been awesome...haven't blown it up yet. I still have a few more engines to rebuild, as well as a franken-ped project, so I have my hands pretty full.
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I'll be at the Baltimore Convention this year, but I won't be tattooing. I'll probably be running around, being a gopher for my fellow friends and artists who need someone to do things for them. Should be fun either way, I always enjoy the energy of a convention and seeing all my tat-bros and brahs.
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I think that's a pretty hearty, healthy update. I suppose once I head out to SF, I'll be sooper-giddy and bloggy. For now, any pertinent information can be found on my website...www.chikkenscratch.com!
Catch ya's on teh flip-side!

Wandering

It was just a note, just a word, just a moment.
The Universe is not cruel, yet not caring of our wants.

It exists to promote life, to flourish, then to whither back into into the Great Mystery.
The debt of life is paid, and so creation can go on

The Universe is not cruel, yet not conceding to our every wish.
I still remind myself that this,
This is just a note, just a word, just a moment,
and nothing that can't, one day, be undone.

Strange Currents

Fighting sleep.
Don't know why.

I keep thinking about the image of strange currents; Swirling about in my head.
A constant reflux of reminders, yet, a vision.

Five years, an azure mountain, the dead leaves, and the fires that rage on,
year after year.
There are moments when my heart opens,
Offering my vulnerability.
There is none there to receive,
and so the gates slowly counter swing
and interlock.
I am assured that there will never be resolution, yet I hope.
I still hope for no purpose.
A strange current,
it marks the path where emotion forces passage.
It swirls in a violent eddy, exposing it's silver waters
like the gleaming fangs of a wild dog.

Somehow, I am comforted rather than frightened,
I am watchful.
At the other end of the torrent, I know that the moulded earth
slowly withers away under that river's endless current.

Green Sky Musings

Well, it's that time...
Yep. Update time.

Tattooing is fun, I like it.
More traveling has been happening, more to come. Check my website @ www.chikkenscratch.com for the details. I'm too ADD at the moment to repost them.

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Yup. Mopeding riding as usual. Killed the Snark. Well, actually, Ben killed the Snark, but it wasn't his fault. After two years, TWO YEARS, of subjecting the Snark engine to pure PUNISHMENT and TORTURE, it was an absolute fluke that sent 'er screaming to the pearly gates.
Upon inspection of the carnage that was laid to waste, it appears a small chunk of the nearly indestructible Polini separated from it's permanent home inside the cylinder. It made contact with the piston, and the two became enemies instantaneously. I'm not sure how the cylinder did not suffer more backlash of the two nemeses unyielding circumstance, but it appears the piston was not victorious over the concourse of combustion physics.

The victor had claimed its spoils, and the cosmic euphoria that shrouds the mystic pleasures of 'moped ride' had ceased to reign. Its operator(s) were left disheveled, confused, accusatory of the firm moped gods, lamenting the joy that is now bereft of their mechanical companion.

Such is moped, and this is the reason the keepers of all moped breeds keep many a moped in their herd. It is the death of one, but many remain to keep the joy and hope alive in hearts and minds of two-stroke tuners near and abroad.

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Football season is almost upon us. I can't wait. I was jumping up and down when I saw the showcase game of the Giants vs the Pamfers (Panthers). Happy, Happy, big men with armor smashing into each other, into inanimate objects, into unsuspecting cameramen, smashing into the terra firma, the onslaught of warrior vs warrior, the glorious marriage of strength and tactic, pure brute force and flashing spandex contouring to the every twitch of massive man-thighs. Yea. Pathetic, I realize. It is a beautiful sight, a symbolic ballet of inertia and precision. Hoo-ray!

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I feel like ass right now, which may or may not explain the unusual typing style for this evening. Went to the Cardio doc, and he thinks upping my sodium intake is a good idea. Two pills, two times a day, Sodium Chloride. Your body needs it to function on a daily basis.
I think my body hates it.

Literally, within seconds of taking them, I get severely nauseous...you know the kind...you start salivating (that liquid, non-sticky, almost water kind of saliva) in preparation for your stomach contents to make their slippery way to the back of your esophagus, and into whatever container you have at hand.
Minutes pass slowly, hours stray; The feeling doesn't go away.

They taste like an overwhelming gulp of briney sea-swells, and make gagging a welcome expression of their admittance into the body.

I'm not sure how long I have to take them. If it doesn't fix me, the next course requires a series of prodding medical tests, and the waiting game.
Worst case scenario may require the installation of a pacemaker.

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I think that's plenty enough for this evening. Once more shall this nonsense resume when I actually have something semi-important to say.
I bid all the readers out there in internetland and fond Adieu.

The Yellowed-eyed Messenger

Here I am, taking a breather.
Whoa.

A lot of traveling going on. I'm digging it. I'm not sure what my path is, I'm just going with it until the survey is over. I guess I have no other decent alternative.

The persistence is remarkable, really. Floating about, here and there, waiting for the violets to appear. The fire and the light, reaching shadows cast onto ultramarine snowflakes. That was a good dream.
I saw a picture of a lion, etched into a black background. His eyes were wild yellow, but his expression left me feeling intrigued. He was to the right of a heart, staring intently toward the northeast. It was a moment of crepuscular clarity...Not quite dawn, not quite dusk; Not quite sure, not quite afraid. Mecca, sent by Ero? Maybe?
Don't think about it.

The call tempts me, but I cannot find that one spot there, the one where humanity melts away, and I am left in complete awe. I am hoping that it is because Winter's bare shell deceive my senses. I have neglected it for a while. I know it's still there, it never really leaves. It just becomes harder to come back to after all these years. I am confident...somewhat. I'm a little out of step with the rhythm as of right now. I don't know the severity of it, I just know I'm spinning away from the realm of common minds. It might be minor, like, this is what is supposed to happen...or it could be one of those things where you see yourself falling, but the hope of an eternal sky blinds the horizon that quickly approaches.

Earth. That's where I am now. All I can do is wait.

Eh, the lingering threat of indifference. I am learning that although some emotion is omitted, ignorance does not necessarily stem from this seed. I'm not sure what to do with the new-found wisdom...it doesn't seem like wisdom at all...but I suppose that might be part of what I'm supposed to be doing with it. Keep your head down, keep your nose to the grindstone, they would say.

Lastly, I'd like to take this time to mention how thankful I am that the mind forgets. I am calm, but feeling bland. This is a long entry. This is a long entry that probably makes absolutely no sense to anyone.

I'm going to go practice another language now.
Happy Spring.

Sleep is over-rated.

SoooOoOOooooo...
I had a nightmare for the first time in years last night. It was a rather weird thing. I forgot how vivid my dreams get in the right circumstances.
The odd part is that I cannot even begin to explain said nightmare. It was a clusterfuck of absolute absurdity.

I remember that it was about weird shit happening as I was about to fall asleep...yea, I was having a nightmare about having a nightmare...pretty ingenius, right?

One thing that was scary was that things kept trying to take me..I think. I remember a lot of asinine jibbajabba and abstract physics happenin' around me. For some reason, this combination was extra-terrifying. One thing that comes to mind was my body being lifted for no reason and doors becoming transparent as I walked up to them. There was a grasping of my torso, and a coldness that seemed to linger with it. I just kept feeling like I was possessed, which, for the record, I've had happen in the past during a dream...well, it felt like a possession to me. That time had a lot of significance tacked on to it, but this time...well, I just don't know.

I kept screaming in this nightmare. This is weird in itself because I hardly ever express fear in a raging, ear-piercing series of harsh vocalizations. Usually, the shock keeps me running for about 10 seconds, then the grasp of reality leaves me silently contemplating the relevance with stinging, weak legs and a heartbeat that would put a marathon runner to shame.

So um, I can't remember much else, other than it was really intense. I remember thinking at some point in my dream that I needed to wake up...at which time, I believe I opened my eyes and consciously evaluated my surroundings while still in dream mode. I saw my room, and the light that creeps in from the hallway. I saw how it bounced off the floor and walls, and the few boxes next to my bed. I saw those things, and did mentally reach for them, hoping to wake up. I was sooo close, but my dream pulled my back as if I was bound to it by an elastic band.
I tried multiple times to wake up, and although my eyes were opened and I was cognitively thinking, I could not escape from it. This ultimately led to more terror compounding to the already scary bits of my dream world.

Then I woke up. Ahh, the paralysis of dream shock. A moment of complete autonomic failure where you are strapped into whatever position you fell alseep in, complete with an ejaculated by-product of overstimulated microorganisms. My body was stinging, and my heart felt like it was on the verge of implosion. Yet, there I was, unable to do a goddamn thing about it. I looked at the clock, and realized I had only been asleep for an hour, at most.

Yep.
That was my evil dream sequence. I wish I could have gone into details about it, but yea...The end.