Twin Oaks - week 2 (journal)
10/21 - Saturday
We took a tour of Acorn and a nearby Earthship this morning. I saw a hot tub and fire circle at Acorn that I didn’t know existed while I was there. The Earthship was the first of its kind that I’ve seen. I was impressed that a livable, low-energy structure could be created utilizing old tires filled with packed earth (along with some lumber, plumbing, etc.) My work in the afternoon was the “bio-filter” project. Twin Oaks is in the process of constructing a more ecologically friendly way to treat/dispose of the waste from their Tofu production. Most of my job involved digging trenches out of mud that smelled like rotten milk. It was the grossest job I’ve done here, and it still wasn’t as bad as humey (humanure) shift at Dancing Rabbit (which wasn’t too bad).
I hung out with Coyote again. He liked the Michael Franti CD I burned for him. There was a different crowd in there this time, and we stayed until 6:45 (he usually kicks us out around 6pm). I skipped dinner and went straight to the Samhain pagan ritual-combination-sweat lodge which one of the members had organized with her teacher. The sweat was nice, but overall the spiritual aspect was weaker for me than at my previous sweat lodge experience. However, I was able to articulate a life realization: Up to now, I have been searching for understanding. I feel like this part of my journey has been completed (at least for the time being). Now, I’m searching for connection.
When all the visitors got back to Aurora, we played descriptionary, with predictably hilarious results. We’re starting to collect our own “in-jokes.”
10/22 - Sunday
Slept in this morning - a nice change - until 10:30. Woke up and had brunch (a waffle, then some rice & beans) - did another Tofu boxing shift and then worked on Hammocks a little before and after dinner. After dinner, I hung out in compost cafe - one of the few smoking-allowed places on the campus. It felt like college - people working (or thinking about working) hard all day - and then partying, drinking & (talking about) fucking at night.
10/23 - Monday
Last night there was a going-away party for one of the TO members - lot’s of great dancing and fun. Alex & Jessie voted me the best male dancer (wow!) out of 4-5 people. I took Callista up to hang out w/ Coyote and I realized that he is one of the coolest people I’ve ever known. What I mean by that is: when someone does something and it’s a cool thing to do, or they run into a situation and react in a cool way - he does that, and just keeps doing it over and over again. Did some food processing work peeling garlic for 3 hours this morning, then a garden shift in the afternoon - mulching, weeding, etc.
10/24 - Tuesday
I’ve been thinking about pizza - cheese pizza - not obsessively, but it seems to be the first thing I crave in community. Serendipity! Dinner was pizza and brownies. Good pizza too. I’ve been invited to hang out with members, welcomed to dinner tables, and one of the members said she thought I was the “special visitor” (not short-bus special). I’m feeling so much love here. Callista & I have become cuddle buddies. I went to the “playground of death” with Carmen after lunch - they have swings hanging from gigantic trees, two zip lines and a huge net. It’s like an adult-sized Showbiz Pizza playground. It’s a Twin Oaks tradition for each visitor group to throw a party in their third week. We planned ours tonight - it’s going to fucking rock.
When I think about my friends back in Austin, I feel like I’m slipping more and more into my own subculture. I was always more “hippy” than they were, but out here I’m normal. It’s very similar to my experience with TAMS, only for a different subculture. I went from being a geek in high school to TAMS, where everyone was a geek. TAMS was great for me socially, and I feel like I could have a similar experience in a place like this.