Flip flops

Living in flip flops.  I'm staying on the beach, in a decent guesthouse that costs me $8/night.  I can go across the street and get an iced coffee with sweet milk for 50 cents.  Or grab a delicious plate of noodles, pork and fresh vegetables for $1.50 that was so delicious, I want one every day.  Every day I can put on flip flops, walk across the street, go about 30 yards and then cut in to the beach which is just down the lane.  I can go with just a tee shirt and bathing suit and my room key in the zippered pocket.  Then I'm on the beach, leave the flip flops and shirt where they won't get washed away, and then stretch, run, swim, stroll, play in the surf.  Kinda heavenly, and wow, getting to immerse in warm ocean on a daily basis is doing my body a world of good.  Yesterday, I watched the young Khmer kids frolic in the surf.  Today, I was the little kid, playing the game 'flotsam' (yeah I made it up).  Basically, after my swim, I would spend some time getting tossed around in the shallow water, letting the waves roll me around...  Feeling pretty great in this environment.

Been making a lot of music, helping my friends with some stuff, working up some material with some different folks so that when there are gigs (which there are), I'll be able to include my buddies in the music.  This Irish guy Jelly, a friend from Chiang Mai, is a funny, charming musician, plays whistle, harmonica, sings, tells jokes and we're working up 5 or 6 Irish tunes that people will like.  And some other stuff as well.  I've really enjoyed connecting with Mike, a sixty something Texan who runs the music store and organizes a number of open mikes around town.  He's a fountain of information.  You know how some guys talk and talk and you always need to find a way to exit.  Other guys talk and you want to hear more.  He's one of those guys.   Turns out he's a 'Burner'.  Do you know what that is?

He's one of the Burning Man crew, and when he talks about that environment, he totally comes to life... 'Best thing America has to offer'  A couple of Burners from NY showed up at the music store and they were so freakin' cool.  They're on the crew in Nevada, so it's a two month paid gig for them.  More layers... 

So yeah, flip flops, the ultimate comfort wear, when you've got nowhere to go outside of a two block area, and within those two blocks are beach, bars, fast internet, great food, interesting friends.  It's about as chill as it gets.