Solomon's Castle

It's been a long while since have been here.  Arrived early, way too early, as there wasn't a single car in the parking lot so I got my pick of spots.  Of course, picked one closest to the entrance.

I don't remember all the details so this post will be shorter than average, but did want to highlight a couple of things.

Exterior view

With exception of a little help on things that were too big, or required specialized items, the owner/artist of Solomon's Castle did everything himself.  The shiny-ness that is the exterior of the building is actually used printing plates from one of the local newspapers.  If were to look on other side of it would see news for that day in the aluminum.

Choo Choo

One thing that truly amazed me is all the sculptures, and other artwork, he has made, seemingly from junk.  Wish I was able to get his creative inspiration and do things like saw on the tour, like this train.  In the album can see another picture of the inside of it.

Scream

Last item I'll highlight (but take note of the chess set) is this framed thing he did.  It's a replica of a famous painting, but pretty sure it's more of a sculpture instead of a painting.  One of my old co-workers who helped me learn COBOL (thanks Frank) was a huge fan of the original artist that made it famous.

Will be leaving Florida in a month or so to start my westward trek.  Really miss the west coast!  It's starting to get warm and icky here....

More Breakthroughs

This past weekend, well, Friday and Saturday, I attended Nikken's 40th Anniversary Celebration in Orlando, Florida.  It is hard to believe this company has been around so long, yet their vision remains largely unchanged.  The vision includes an understanding that total wellness rests on the 5 Pillars of Health. Healthy Body, Mind, Family, Society and Finances.

I did get some great realizations.  In no particular order:

• Forgiveness is Key, for those that can forgive, and right any wrongs, will excel in the end
• "If we wish to be a person of Greatness, there must be a stunning release of Love"
• Once identified, Purpose drives us.
• The side we feed the most (good or bad) is generally the one which wins

Forgiveness

I have been a person which remembers, for who knows how long, things that have caused me grief, and seek to avoid those situations with a passion.  This probably explains more than I care to admit, or remember, though is integral to my life.. Not sure why have always been like this, but will be finding out in due time.

In my notes, I have two entries about this.  Verbatim they are:
Forgive, and correct, yourselves
Forgiveness is key

Not really sure what triggered me to write those specific things down, or what was said before or after.  What matters is I thought it was important enough to jot down..

I would like to take this opportunity to truly forgive anyone who I believe could have wronged me, albeit direct relatives to corporate entities (they're "people" too), and anyone else.  I do not wish to be forgiven if other people believe I have wronged them, as that is not up to me.

I have carried some things way too long, and for some truly stoopid reasons.  Doesn't mean I'll go back to talking to them right away, probably eventually, but it's the first step in my reconciliation.

Surprising Story

One of the speakers at the event, Susan Carver, surprised me with an experience she shared about a recent trip to Central (South?) America.  It's a lesson that I feel the need to share, and giving her all the credit.  Might not get the whole story correct, or accurate, so please forgive me, the meaning for me is still accurate.

Susan was on a business trip to Central / South America, I want to say Peru but might be mistaken.  Her business building tour was coming to an end with couple more meetings and presentations left.  She had checked into a hotel in the city, got to her room, and something felt strange, odd, the energy wasn't quite right.

She then went back to front desk, checked out, and went to another hotel elsewhere.  When she got to the other hotel, asked if she could be taken to one of the rooms to get a feel on whether it was a good place or not.  After checking out the room and liking it, she and the bellman went back to the lobby to get her checked in.

Upon coming back to the lobby Susan saw a mother and her daughter in a corner of the lobby, crying.  Turns out the mother was staying at the hotel as her daughter was being treated at a local hospital for something, maybe cerebral palsy?  Can't remember the sickness exactly.  They were crying as mother had to leave the town (or hotel?) due to not being able to afford it.

Susan then invites her to a presentation she's putting on just to get the daughter on Nikken products.  Mother accepted and brought daughter to the event.  At the event, the daughter is put on a mattress pad with special comforter, and some other things to potentially help, in a separate room.  Susan ended her portion in the event sooner than normal to check on Mother and Daughter.  Turns out that the daughter was helped immensely, and I'll probably get this wrong, but the daughter was so relaxed just laying down that she was no longer scrunched up, and tense, from whatever was causing her problems.  She was so relaxed that the mother was able to lift daughter up on shoulder, like a rag doll, and mother was crying tears of joy.

This type of story is fairly common with Nikken products, but what caught me by surprise was what Susan said next.  It sounded like she, herself, purchased the items for the daughter that the mother couldn't afford.

Now, most, if not all, Nikken people are very generous.  However, for some reason, this struck a chord with me in that in my previous dealings with Susan it seemed like she was always all business and never showed compassion such as this.  Guess what, I dun goofed in my thinking.

Most every time I have heard her talk it's all about the business and nothing about the emotional side of the business, that is, helping the people, such as this lady's daughter.  Susan gave without thinking "what will I get in return".  She gave because it truly helped someone beam with hope where there was a dim dark future before.  It turns out Susan really benefited but didn't do it to benefit.

This, for me, is one of the meanings of life.

One Final Thought

Came across this cartoon on Reddit.

This quote is the topmost comment at the time I write this.

Wherever I've worked, my co workers and I knew that we, and those below us, were just wage slaves who cared somewhat about work quality, somewhat about customer satisfaction, but were mostly motivated by self interest.

Money.

Benefits.

Perks.

But there was an insidious assumption---we all seemed to believe that those ABOVE us were company men, loyal only to the cause. Whether they fucked us, whipped us, fired us, there was a company driven rationale behind it.

But now I'm older, and i know: it's self interest all the way up.

Self interest at for profits and non profits, self interested doctors, lawyers, judges, CEOs, mayors, governors, congressmen, senators, and presidents.

Those CEOs would rather sit pretty on a slow boat than row on a fast one, and if sinking the ship means they get their own islands, the ship is going down.

You can explain ago much behavior This way, and its the first place I look when trying to understand why something is happening.

It explains sweat shops and homelessness and the Koch brothers and Kim Jong Un and Nicholas Cage's career choices.

People's loyalty is first and foremost to themselves, and a mission statement is nothing but a convenient smoke screen.

Self sufficiency

 My whole life, well, ever since can remember, have been keen to be able to do everything myself, without having to rely on others.  This is because, when rely on others, something generally breaks down in the process.  This breakdown could be no fault of either party, just something happened, but yet impacts view of the people we relied on.  This has been my religious belief up until now.

This is one of the main steps I need to overcome, mentally, and is a key part of The Meaning, and also a key piece in my self improvement.  Not truly sure what kicked off my need to be a fully self contained unit, maybe something in childhood, maybe past life experiences, really unsure.  It has persisted my whole life, not being able to open up, always building a wall around myself, not letting anything, or anyone, in, and very rarely letting anything out.

Some of the recent turning points was when jotted down The Meaning, as well as loss of both my cats, my companions for 18 (or so) years, Pia (Pia 2) and Mia., and some recent legal items.  These life events were very substantial (at least to me), in that have never experienced them before.  I've always insulated myself from things, and people, so that would never experience the ups and downs like have on this trip so far.  I couldn't deny the emotions that crept over me, or more like flooded me.

There was a specific word thought of several days ago when came to this realization that we can't be self sufficient in everything we do, yet can't recall it now.  We need support, we need to ask people, we need a lot of things that one person cannot fully provide.  Examples would be diaper changing (infancy), work (for most people), any relationships, and pets.

If I wasn't so bent on being the only one I can depend on, there are a lot of things that would be different in my life right now.  But, this all boils down to some mental blocks that are still holding me back from being able to rely on others.  Scatter is helping me immensely with this as we speak.  He is doing things Pia and Mia would do, but I would always push them away, yet I accept him.  It's strange how this all works.

I don't think this holding back is due to trust issues, as I really do trust most people, probably more than I should.  It's now a matter of retrieving the mental blockage, acknowledging what happened, then releasing and letting it go.  It's simple as that, but the first key is memory, remembering and unlocking it...


Now it's time to find the key....

Image taken from this blog post.

Valentine's Day

A typical gift, from what I gather, on Valentine's day is chocolate, and what better place to get chocolate that melts in your hand, and not your mouth, than Florida.  Yes, know got that reversed, just a poke at the warm and humid environment here.

There is a chocolate store I was recommended to go to, by same person who suggested I go to Zingerman's, in Florida, specifically in Ft Myers.  Now, being the intrepid person I am, had to venture into the unknown lands of a chocolate connoisseur,  As a caveat, I went here week or so ago, not sure if they're open today.

A chocolate store?

Enter, stage left, Norman Love's Confections.  Truly the best, and prettiest, chocolate I have had the pleasure of tasting.  Sure, there are some rivals to this, like the wholesomeness found in Theo's Chocolates (they have factory tours), or the smoothness of some European brands, but this is special.

Have some good friends wintering in Florida and they're within spitting distance of the store.  I made a day trip to check out what all the fuss was about, and my oh my, was splendidly surprised.  Now, have a confession to make, person who told me about this place also gave me one of their chocolates, and I was blown away, even with it being dark chocolate.  Not by the wonderfully satisfying dark chocolate piece, but by their generosity in freely giving up one of their best treasures!

Delivery too?

My first impressions upon seeing the building was it's so TINY, really tiny.  At the moment there was a line 15 people deep waiting to get chocolate and it snaked through the store to the front door.  Was amazed at how small the store truly was.  When enter, on the right is store area and on left is a small seating area, like a cafe (they had a small solid chocolate alligator on the shelf).

Yumminess inside

After a short while wandering around and checking things out, hopped in line to get some true goodness.  I got the mix n match and truly have no idea what I mixed and matched.  One was banana something, another had a fruity type thing (cherry or strawberry?).  They're truly like works of art, each and every one is done to perfection.  Due to the line went rapidfire to get my box filled (16 or 24) with these works of art, naming things at random that looked (really, they all were) great and the names on the panel sounded tasty (to me).

After picking out chocolates there was also a selection of baked goods like croissants (told the almond one is to die for), cookies, brownies, etc.  I chose to go with a good ole standby, the chocolate chip cookie.  This cookie was nothing have ever tasted before.  It was great, and while not the best, will go down in the memory banks as being a very good one.  Nice and think and scrumptious with a flavor all it's own.

Dark chocolate sampler

As my camera was misbehaving (due to phone software), was unable to capture more pictures of the interior, and the display cabinet, but suffice to say there was all sorts of things on display, from chocolates to pastries, to little deserty things, and each one was a piece of artwork.  Truly felt guilty biting into my little chocolate pieces, until that taste flowed throughout my mouth.

And, to top it all off, there is more goodness to be had elsewhere in this area.  Next door in a little strip mall type place, they have an Artisan Gelato store.  Not much to say about gelato other than it was very delicious.  I don't pretend to be a gelato expert, and have only had it twice before, but this was excellent.  Once was when in Barcelona (or someplace in Spain) and the other was at place off one of the ferry stops in Washington state (north of Seattle).  Had the mint chocolate chip with a dap of cookie something.

At back of the chocolate store (not gelato place) was the kitchen where it seems like all the chocolates are made.  It wasn't a factory per se, but more like a commercial kitchen, with what looked like everything being hand crafted.  Couldn't really see too much in there, though people were working and saw some dirty (guessing) chocolate molds stacked haphazardly on end of the counter.  These molds could've just been waiting to be filled?  Not sure.  There were quite a few people in the kitchen toiling away, was interesting to watch for a brief minute.

If ever I have the need to send chocolates to someone, anyone, can rest assured they'll be getting some Love'in from Norman Love's!

I leave this entry with a picture of MY chocolates...  Hearts and all..

Self Development in Far Eastern Wyoming

Most everything I've done over the past year or so, ever since starting this RV Lifestyle, has to do with The Meaning.  This meaning is becoming clearer with each passing day and experience.  This past summer I was hanging around my parents place in Connecticut, waiting for word on a commitment I had.  After received word that I was "off the hook" for this commitment, boogied straight towards Idaho/Wyoming border, with a brief stop in Ohio to pick up a scooter, a scooter with a presence.

The scooter isn't reason for this entry though, it is the weekend I spent in Wyoming.  Strange that only way to get there was through Idaho.  It was so remote wasn't even given an address to get there, only some vague directions down a long (and I mean LOOONG) road far away from civilization.  There was still some semblance of cell phone service here, though had to be in one specific location.  Any deviance from said location resulted in no signal at all.

Road to goodness?

Here is the general location of where we were at.  It is a little North East of Driggs, ID.  There is a dirt road that goes off into the mountainous area where people do wildernessy things.  As the picture shows we were very remote, though had electricity out here.  When I took the right to come into the location, ran into a HUGE pothole that rocked the RV back and forth violently.  It was so rough broke one of the wardrobe doors, and the mirror that it contained..

If it wasn't for the cold temperatures and snowfall, this location would've been the top place I would live, even surpassing Vashon Island.  It was beyond beautiful and the couple pictures I have doesn't even come close to doing it justice.

Trees everywhere!

I was packed right above a babbling "brook", more like a tiny river.  The river reminded me of a similar one I saw in Germany as headed towards the Neuschwanstein Castle (or some other castle in that area).  That stream had pure blue water coming down from the glaciers.  It was wonderful to see and one of the treasures of Germainy!

Sweet river o' mine

I spent some of the free time I had just sitting near the stream and listening to the water babble, gurgle, and just make watery noises.  It is like the water was alive, and not in the freaky sense.  While this isn't a good picture, it's straight out, and down, from the entrance to my RV and the river.  River was a good 15 feet below where I was parked.

This was a "typical" Humans Being More course, put on by Nikken, yet it was different.  All the portions that were feasible to do outside we did outside.  Once or twice it decided to rain when we were out.  Will definitely do this again next time it's offered!

My partner during this class closely resembled another friend I met during the permaculture course I attended in Montana, right down to mannerisms and beliefs.  She was there with her husband and they didn't take the course together, which is recommended for the first time.  During dinner the first night I actually got a feeling why they didn't take course together.  Though at the end he seemed completely changed!  This is why I feel everyone should attend the course regardless if they're affiliated with Nikken or not.

Ever since attending this one course I've been keeping a journal of sorts.  This journal identifies the items I want to have happen.  Out of this list I've been keeping, quite a few have already happened with more yet to come!

Winners, and us

I have a somewhat different outlook on life than most people.  One of those is to do my best to look at all the positive, and good, that's around us.  Some people, me included, think this all adds up to bring good and happy things to us.  These small good deeds and thoughts add up and bring us good things, so long as we are not expecting them, or thinking we deserved them due to the good things we've done.

So, it is with that preamble, that I tell what I "won" this weekend.

Ice Tea jar

Am still in Florida, near a town called Wauchula, at a "resort".  This year, and sounded like many years in the past, they had large gathering, many meals, may good times, many games and comraderie.  Unsure about the origin of this, nor does it matter to me.  What mattes is it is a fun time!  And, a lot of the activities that take place benefit a worthy cause that benefits the locals.

The activities I took part in:

Seashore

A silent "raffle" of sorts..  This is where we buy tickets, put them in marked bags, and then one ticket is pulled from the bag and people win...  Here I won four things, and was quite surprised, and very pleased!

• A set of five blue glasses.  Only put one ticket in here as no one did before me.
• A gallon glass ice tea jar (with spout). This looks like a large canning jar.  Found image located here, next to where can buy it too, if so desire.  This is what I truly wanted
• A gift basket with a seashore theme, as shown in phoo
• A gift basket with a valentine theme, as shown in photo 
• Some people believe in coincidences, some don't, but me winning a Valentine's basket and the seashore thing, makes ya think...

Valentine's

In order to win these, I bought $15.00 worth of tickets and deposited them in those bins.  With the exception of the jug (70% went in there), most everything else I put in only one or two tickets.. In most cases my tickets were in the severe minority.

Then came some cards later that night..  We played blackjack, with tokens painted gold, or green, I forget, but did play with tokens.

I started the game out with about 80 tokens, and walked away with double, about 158.  At then end, I gave almost 75% of those away as didn't really want to get that many tokens.

They also had a mock horserace (note: no real horses were involved) which actually looked like they had a blast with.  Watched most of the last "race", quite neat.

Then, came a 50/50 raffle, which was in the low triple digits.  I wound up buying a handful of tickets, not thinking anything about them, until they drew the winning number.  Didn't bring tickets and didn't look at the numbers then, but the next day went to check for haha's, and lo and behold, I was winner for that!!  As the whole thing goes to a good cause, I gave back little over half of my half, so only got a quarter of it.  Was a really good feeling and very nice to win.

With all of this, while it's nice to win, winning in this case was unimportant.  For me it was more important to support things in which I believe.   Don't get me wrong, I graciously accepted everything!

Elio Number! and other news

I mentioned had signed up to get a brand new vehicle, which will be an Elio, that has three wheels.  Now, I have an official number in line...  Queue the drumroll please....

It is.....

Drumroll.....

11,725

Round of applause and cheers....

So, assuming everyone with a number less than mine gets theirs, and I choose to get mine, I will have one of the first 12,000 vehicles ever produced for Elio!

They have been announcing a lot of options for it, particularly highlighting the technology that will be integrated with InfiniteSkyz.  I have mixed feelings on this, primarily due to security and privacy, though they do have a lot of nice nifty features which are helpful, such as cameras to check surroundings (for safety), and this is one of my privacy concern issues.  One good thing is they're offering things a-la-carte so don't have to buy packages, which will allow the average person to save money.  Plus, they're only supporting Apple devices out of the box, which I have even more mixed feelings of, but that's something else.

Today also got an e-mail from them concerning status on the new motor..  It looks like this news isn't on their blog yet, but they showed a picture of a fully assembled engine.  They'll be undergoing some testing and will be hooking the engine up to a dynamometer end of this month, then a press conference/release thing beginning of February sometime.

The dynamometer will measure engine performance and make sure the engine, as designed, meets their performance criteria.

In other news:

Am still in Florida where it's been between 70 and 80 degrees, with a dip to 60 now and then, but am having a huge battle with fleas... Am following the steps which Paul Wheaton mentions in this article he wrote showing all natural ways of de-limbing the fleas in their tracks..

Olivia is still out on her own and haven't seen her yet..  Maybe my goal was to bring her here and show someone cared for her?  On a plus side, think got most, if not all, of the urine smell out..  Thank goodness for Vinegar, organic of course!!