You get hit on by a lesbian while looking for a Himalayan pink salt grinder. She popped up beside me, scared the hell out of me, and proceeded to tell me I should try their South African smoke seasoning. She was about 50 words in before I managed to say hi and sort of catch up to what she was saying. She made the stuff sound like gold in spice form. In a very long and descriptive way. I have no idea where she gets her energy from but I would like some of it right about now. I suppose this is what I get for wearing boots and a camo hat to Trader Joe's though, where I assume every other female in there is a lesbian anyway.

It certainly made for a more interesting trip to TJ's. I did buy that seasoning. She talked it up so much how could I not? I haven't tried it but it does smell good, so thank you to the girl that jumped me at TJ's!

For the record this was at the Portland, Maine location.
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The Mongolian wild horse is one of only two truly wild horses, the now extinct Tarpan being the other. Most horses that we think of as wild, such as the mustangs, are actually feral horses and the descendants of domesticated animals. The Mongolian wild horse, also called the Przewalski's horse or Takhi, has never successfully been tamed unlike the mustangs. The Takhi is native to the steppes of central Asia, specifically Mongolia and China. They differ greatly, in some ways, from all other horse breeds as they have an extra set of chromosomes.  They can, however, cross breed with domestic horses and produce fertile offspring, unlike the mix of a horse and a donkey to produce a mule.

The appearance of the Takhi is similar to that of the Norwegian Fjord. They are short, technically a pony, and very stocky. They look almost like a miniature draft horse. Their coloring is usually pretty similar, they are various shades of dun with black points and typically a black dorsal stripe. Their manes usually appear to be styled into a two toned mohawk and their hair is very coarse.

Between 1900 and 1970 the Takhi saw a huge decline in numbers due to multiple factors. In the earlier 1900 many were rounded up and sent to zoos. The weather patters, hunters, and the war all took it's toll on the Takhi. In 1967 the last wild herd was spotted, and in 1969 the last individual Takhi was spotted. Their status was listed as "extinct in the wild".

In 1977 the Foundation for the Preservation and Protection of the Przewalski's Horse was founded in the Netherlands. They developed a breeding exchange with other zoos that housed the Takhi to prevent the bloodlines from mixing too much. It wasn't until 2005 that these horses could be labeled "critically endangered" and not "extinct in the wild". Sixteen Takhi had been released into the wild in 1992 which was the start of the first reintroduction of the wild herd to the Takhi's native land. It wasn't until 2011 that these horses were moved down to an "endangerd" status. There are now around 300 wild Takhi, which is impressive when you consider that in 1950 there were only twelve remaining Takhi in the world. All these horses alive today can be traced back to those very few that helped to revive the breed.

The conservation methods being taken now are continuing with the wildlife preserves as well as keeping a few in captivity. What really needs to happen now is some close watching over their health as they could carry and spread diseases that are common in domestic horses due to being kept in a zoo. Right now Mongolia is the only country with a wild population and they require a better action plan. Genealogy maps of these horses need to be created so the inbreeding potential can be monitored or curbed if necessary. There also needs to be a plan in place in the chance that these horses cross breed with a domestic horse, which could dilute the breed over time. Overall more time, skills, research, and action plans are needed from everyone involved in saving these animals.

I truly believe these amazing animals deserve our time and skills to help bring up their numbers and ensure a future where they will exist. Not more than 50 years ago this world was nearly without any Takhi left and great efforts led to their revival, but they are not out of danger yet. I am trying to help these animals in any way that I can, mostly by a trip to Mongolia where I will be teaching English and helping at a horseback trekking farm. Proceeds from my fundraiser will go to a cause that is helping these animals directly. I do hope that you will consider giving a small contribution, even if it is just one dollar. I have included things I will give as tokens of my appreciation to donors if you click the link. 

You can find more information about my Mongolia trip and help for the Takhi here:
Volunteer Mongolia
 
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21.

Hang on! Collbran, Colorado.

20.

Looks like the bronc is winnin'. Collbran, Colorado.

19.

Watch your head! Collbran, Colorado.

18.

Ridin' broncs ain't easy. Collbran, Colorado.

17.

Runnin' the horses. Rim Rock, Colorado.

16.

He's a cowboy. Rim Rock, Colorado.

15.

Lookin' good. Leadville, Colorado.

14.

Waiting for the ropes. Rim Rock, Colorado.

13.

Saddlebronc. Collbran, Colorado.

12.

Cowboys. Rim Rock, Colorado.

11.

Cowboys. Rim Rock, Colorado.

10.

Saddle bronc rider in Collbran, Colorado.

09.

Rodeo has it's good and bad days! (this animal was not harmed because of this fall) Collbran, Colorado.

08.

Bull rider preparing to ride. Leadville, Colorado.

07.

It helps to land on your feet. Leadville, Colorado.

06.

She's a wild one, son. Leadville, Colorado.

05.

8 Second Ride. Leadville, Colorado.

04.

Get ready. Collbran, Colorado.

03.

Boys will be boys. Rim Rock, Colorado.

02.

Ropin' Horse. Rim Rock, Colorado.

01.

Bull Ridin'. Rim Rock, Colorado.
Do you have any rodeo stories from out west? Let's hear some!
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I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, which may or may not be a good thing. I've come down with the traveling bug again and I'm not quite sure where to go with it, figuratively speaking. I can think of so many places to really go that I am stuck in a hurricane of thoughts in my head. 

As of right now I have been in Maine for a little over a year without bouncing to any other place. In the last 5 years prior to that I have lived in upstate New York, Maryland, Germany, Tennessee, Washington State, three different places in Colorado, and California. That doesn't leave a whole lot of time in any one place, and that's how I like it. I accidentally fell into the nomadic lifestyle after getting done with a job traveling with the Lipizzaner stallions. Yes, those white horses that do all the fancy dance moves. It was my first chance to venture west of the Mississippi, something I had never done before despite the all the international travel I had done. We lived in a tour bus and stayed in hotels at night, there was no home base. I liked it, but I ended up getting sick while I was on the west coast and just decided to go back to Maine. When I got back to Maine and felt better I had no idea what to do. After working with horses I just couldn't sit behind a desk or anything remotely close to that. I found another job, this time in East Aurora, NY, grooming show jumpers on the 'A' circuit. It was during this portion of my life that I realized I did not want to stay in one place. It's not my style. It makes me feel antsy and I get this vague feeling that something is missing but I can't quite put my finger on it. I now realize that feeling is due to staying in one place too long. I need change and new people and new scenery and new adventures. I just don't feel complete without it. I love meeting strangers in bars or around town, talking to them, hearing their stories, telling mine if they ask, or just watching people in an unfamiliar place. When I lived in Vail, Colorado, I was surrounded with everything I loved. I took to the mountains like a fish to water. I can not get enough of those Rocky Mountains. Even without the mountains Vail is a town of like minded people. The people who move there to work are all the nomadic kind. Some are running away from things, some just wanted to be a ski bum, some probably took a vacation there and never left. The stories were always varied and entertaining. I will write another post on this more in depth, Vail really had a huge impact on me. My point being is that I feel I am meant to be nomadic, or at least partly. Which leads into the problems.

I've got a few things working against me. I'm currently pursuing my paramedic and nursing license, though I'm doing it in small steps so it's not too bad to put on hold if I must. I have a boyfriend here in Maine, I'll call him C, that I do not want to leave. I know some people would say don't let a guy hold you back, but he really doesn't. He's happy to support me if I want to run away to random countries for long periods of time, but it does rule out a fully nomadic lifestyle. If I didn't have him I would probably move to Southeast Asia and not come back, but he is worth that sacrifice. He's also supported any wild and long "vacations" I've told him I'm thinking about. That being said these two things are where the thinking has kind of been running me in circles. Some days I can tell myself that I'm fine in Maine, which I am really, and that I'll just take the typical one vacation a year or so and make do. Most days I think about that and find myself close to tears. At the very least I crave the Rocky Mountains and Colorado. I feel heartbroken without that place. When my brain settles on that state I feel like someone has broken up with me and put an icy cold dagger in my heart, just utter helplessness and this intense feeling of being lost that is worse than anything I have felt before. The fact that I can feel pain that intense without it being inflicted by someone intending to break my heart leads me to believe I just need to travel, no matter the consequences. I toyed with ways to make everyone happy, or at least to keep C around and still feel like a nomad.

Somewhere in all those thoughts I came up with a plan. I think I may have been looking into travel options just to try to ease the pain, but in that research I found a few things that seem to be of great use to me. First of all I was looking into travel jobs for paramedics. I found a lot of promising leads, but I won't be a paramedic for a while, and even longer until I'm a nurse, and I need to work for a year or two in the US before I can get on with a travel gig anyhow. Second I was looking at travel volunteering vacations. I know there is mixed feelings on these, which I will get into later, but I will have an EMT license soon so that allows me to volunteer in clinics in a lot of places. I found a company I believe I will be using to take a trip to Nepal to work in a clinic and have the option to add a trek to the base camp of Everest. Cost wise it is very effective and will allow me what will probably be a 4 week stay in Nepal. Not exactly how the usual nomadic lifestyle works, but I'm happy with that. I also would like to visit Peru with the same company. That would be the same clinic work and I'd do some sort of trip to Machu Piccu and probably a few other places. Plus a buddy of mine that worked in Vail with me is from Peru and I'd love to see him again, he actually just messaged me tonight and has made me even more excited to go to Peru. Nepal and Peru are the lower ones on the list I am working on, the one trip that I am seriously working on right now is one that will cross off a HUGE item on my bucket list. I am planning to volunteer at a horseback trekking place in Mongolia. Again, it's pay to volunteer, but the work is just helping with rides and teaching English. I am actively fundraising for it now, though it's in it's infantile stages. My bucket list item for that is just riding horses in Mongolia and being able to see the Przewalski horse, also known as the Takhi or the Mongolian wild horse. I will be posting in depth on these animals, but they are rare and endangered. I have loved them since I was 7 years old and never thought I'd have the opportunity to see one in the wild. Now, because of this random travel research I was doing the other night, I have a chance next year or the year after to do just what I thought I never would! In fundraising for that trip I am also setting aside money, hopefully I can get to a four digit number, to donate to the park that helped to save these amazing animals. Things appear to be coming together in the world of Jes! Of course I'm waiting for the catch, but those usually help to make happy mistakes anyway.

This also leads me to a purpose for this blog. I know it has been sporadic at the best and doesn't seem to have any forward movement. It's kind of how a butterfly flies. No set course, no direction, twisting and turning at random. I'm scared of butterflies for this reason. I can't have my blog resembling them, so I won't! Now I know that my life will be dedicated to maintaining a "semi-nomadic life". This blog will be my journey to see if this can really work. There will be obstacles and I'm happy to have a place to document them. Hopefully someone else can learn from my mistakes. Looking back on the last five years I realize it all really was trial and error in preparing for a semi-nomadic life. I already have plenty of mistakes that I've learned from and feel prepared to start the next chapter of my life. I hope this blog finds it's way to people who can use my mistakes, people who can teach me what they have learned, and perhaps people just looking for a laugh!
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I loved wandering Colorado. All of it is so pretty that even when you aren't looking for something amazing you'll probably stumble on it. My friend Thomas took me to this waterfall. It wasn't too far from the road we were on, somewhere right outside of Aspen.
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If you are from the East Coast and living in the western part of the U.S. one starts to miss Dunkin Donuts, even if Starbucks is better. When I was living near Seattle I was more into the local coffee, because it's damned good (or the bikini coffee stands, but that's another story). After that I was in Colorado and started realizing I hadn't seen a DD anywhere in a long time. I think there was one somewhere outside of Denver, but since I lived 2+ hours away it wasn't totally worth the trip. California came after that where it was either Starbucks or Peets coffee, but it was also where I really started to crave DD. During my Wisconsin stop on my journey to Maine I made a couple trips into Chicago. While walking out of the train station I finally saw those orange and pink letters! I stopped immediately and ordered a coconut coffee coolatta, which is about as far from coffee a drink can be while still containing coffee. At least I think they actually contain coffee, I'll probably have to look into that one. Anyway, I found DD, had a coolatta, and enjoyed it more than anyone has ever enjoyed a coconut coolatta.

And here it is!
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This blog has died and been resurrected so many times I think they need a new breed of zombie to describe it. I believe I will be posting photos soon from my trek across the US, the one that ended just a few days more than a year ago. It was a rough go and shortly after my return to Maine my laptop became so frustrating (by overheating) I could not edit photos as well as I should have been able to. I now have a new laptop and still need to move those photos onto this one for editing, but it will be a much more pleasant process. Hopefully.

I've been itching to travel lately. It's been a year and I have only done day trips in the state of Maine, which are always great, don't get me wrong, I just miss those Rocky Mountains and ending up in train stations with no signs in English. I'm currently pursuing some sort of education that will hopefully end up with me being a Paramedic and an RN. There's still a long ways to go and I don't think I can wait until I'm done to travel, so I have been looking into options for volunteering vacations, which is more my style of travel anyway. I think I was meant to be a nomad, or perhaps I was one in a past life. Mongolian at heart? Maybe I will find out soon! 
More to come on that as well as photos!
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Since we're going way back to the Avalon and Circia Survive I better post another show in my top three favorite shows. This was  in 2006 and was the first time I'd seen Circa Survive and TREOS live. Holy good god was in for a treat. I went with my friend Trey, and it was a fucking blast. One of my fondest memories. I don't think anything went wrong. Circa put on an amazing show, as did TREOS. We had never heard of Keating (now Paper Rival) or Portugal. The Man, but they were both AMAZING live as well. Overall it was incredible. We saw the last date on the Twilight Army Tour. Here's a couple links to videos to the show at the Avalon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOo5UmVnHxM - Circa Survive - Oh, Hello
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whM9HU0P3Lg - Circa Survive - The Difference Between Medicine and Poison is in the Dose



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One of my favorite concerts EVER was seeing Circa Survive, As Tall As Lions, and Envy on the Coast on the first AP Tour (and Cute is What We Aim For, but I'm not a fan). Maybe at a later date I'll get into how much this show meant to me, but let it be said that it is one of my top five favorite memories, probably in my top three favorite shows. Anthony Green and one of the guys from As Tall As Lions came out on stage to help out with "The Gift of Paralysis". The link I'm posting is not my video, but it is of the same show I was at in Boston

I am absolutely in love with these people, these bands (some now defunct), this song, this venue (which is gone I believe), this city... and everything else to do with what was going on that evening. Cheers!

Also let it be said that Todd C was there, which makes it even more awesome =)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puSPsvfo8Ro - The Gift of Paralysis" - Envy on the Coast with Anthony Green and Dan Nigro
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Waiting in the rain for the show to start
So I suppose this is just filler until I get going on the road trip. I have seen and done a lot of pretty cool shit here in California, I'll probably have to blog about all of it at some point. I have made it a point to be better about organizing and dating all of my photos when I upload them to my computer, so I have dates and adventures tucked neatly into their own little folders. This SHOULD make writing about them individually a lot easier. 

On to the real reason for this post. First of all, I'm madly in love with Craig Owens. I don't care what anyone says, I don't care that he's in rehab, he's a cool person (with a messed up past) and I feel like my life is that much better for having met him. For those who don't know who Craig Owens is, he is a Michigan born singer for the band D.R.U.G.S. (Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows), former singer for Chiodos, and he has also been a part of The Sound of Animals Fighting (with my other love Anthony Green), Isles & Glaciers, as well as Cinematic Sunrise. 

Stephen and I set out to go see D.R.U.G.S and Eyes Set to Kill on December 5, 2010 in San Luis Obispo. It started to rain shortly after we got there. We found a place to eat dinner then went to the venue/brewery where the show was going on. We had a lot of time to kill so we grabbed drinks upstairs and wasted some time. A few other show-goers were waiting up there too. It made me feel so old to see people 8-10 years younger than me all dressed in teeny bopper emo clothes, but I suppose that is how the world works. After a while they opened the doors and we scoped out the merch tables and whatnot. D.R.U.G.S. has the coolest merch guy (who is also their sound guy I think), so we chatted him up a bit and decided it would be easier to buy things in between sets or after the show. We found out the opening act cancelled due to rain (come on California! who does that?), and I was thoroughly disappointed at a band cancelling due to rain. I still have not bothered to look them up to listen to their music. If you can't be bothered to drive in the rain, I can't be bothered with a google search. Moving on, I had listened to Eyes Set to Kill only a couple times before seeing them and couldn't really remember if I liked them a lot. After their set I was a believer. The chick that fronts the band seems sincere and has an awesome voice, though she wasn't overly sociable, her sister who plays bass is fun to watch on state, and Cisko was a nice addition to the band. Stephen and I did get to talk to their newest member (screaming/vocals), Cisko Miranda, and he said they had been touring and were all pretty tired. He was really friendly however and spent a lot of time with us. I had been using Stephen's awesome camera to take pictures during their set and Cisko liked them so much he gave us his email address so he could have them. He chilled out with us while D.R.U.G.S. was setting up and Stephen and I (being the only two people old enough to drink at the show) were enjoying Jack & Cokes at the bar. I vaguely remember the three of us laughing at (not in a mean spirited way, sheesh) some of the littler emo kids wandering around. Shows are definitely a good place to people watch. So as you can tell, Cisko made it on to my favorite people list for being the chillest band member ever. Well, he's probably tied with the guys from Madina Lake, but Madina Lake is a whole different story.

On to the main event! D.R.U.G.S. is a bit of a super group. I've already given singer Craig Owens' history, but every member of that band is reasonably well known. Their bassist, who Stephen and I got to spend quite a bit of time with, is the one and only Adam Russell from Story of the Year (who apparently has a thing for Nikki Minaj, just remember this). Matt Good, guitarist/keyboards/vocals, is a former member of The Color of Violence and From First to Last. Nick Martin on lead guitar was previously in Cinematic Sunrise and Isles & Glaciers along with Owens, but people probably know him best from the band Underminded. Last we have Aaron Stern, former drummer of Matchbook Romance. Now that we've established that this band has some awesome members we can move on to how unorthodox they were about going on their first tour. First of all their very first single was released Nov 11, 2010 (we were at their show on Dec 5, 2010), their second single was released Dec 6, 2010. So here's a band on their first tour, which they are headlining, they have one single released and were being pretty hush-hush about everything else if I remember correctly. It's a damned good thing that first single was catchy. The show on Dec 5 was their fourth show ever. Their first album wasn't released until Feb 2011. I felt it was going to be one of those situations where you'd be glad to be there for the beginning because they will probably gain a huge following quickly. So glad I went to this show, because that's how it's turning out. Their set was absolutely awesome. No one would ever guess it was their fourth time together on stage and that the audience only knew one song. There were probably around 50 people there (rough guess, I'm not so great at judging that) and they put on a show worthy of thousands of people. I had the camera for this set as well and got a lot of awesome pictures that Adam Russell wanted after the show. Owens was even impressed with them. We got Russell's contact info so we could sent him some of the shots he wanted. I was allowed to get on the side of the stage to get some pictures without the crowd getting in the way, which put me almost too close to guitarist Nick Martin! I saw the jealous glances from some of the other people, getting run over by Nick Martin was NOT the worst thing that could have happened. Alright, so they are awesome live. That's been established. After their set we went over to the merch table (where we EACH spent $100+) to get autographs and whatnot. We spent time with ESTK's Cisko during the show, so we were out to get D.R.U.G.S. after (teehee). That's when we were buying tons of tshirts, cds, posters, etc. Adam Russell and Craig Owens were really chatty with us and were just so easy to get along with (I'm not the type that gets starstruck or impressed by every famous person I meet). Russell was really interested in Stephen's camera, so he actually took pictures of us! How do ya like that? We got some pictures with him too. Towards the end of being really chatty with those guys Owens was making fun of Russell or something that brought up Nikki Minaj, perhaps he was joking that Russell liked huge asses. Either way Owens got out the setlist and I decided I had to have it. At first they were just showing us, but he decided he'd give it to us (I gave him $20 for it, I really wanted it). It's safe to say no one will ever have a set list so awesome. It was also the first glimpse I had at all the names of the songs. So I currently own the fourth setlist ever from the band D.R.U.G.S. that was so awesome I had to take a picture of it and send it to Russell so he wouldn't have separation anxiety or something. Win!



(Unfortunately I'm struggling to transfer the concert pics to my computer, so I'm limited to what's already on my laptop)

Stephen's Flickr page with all the pictures from the show
http://www.flickr.com/photos/skforsure/with/5239116540/weeblylink_new_window

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The best set list that has ever existed
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Me and Cisko Miranda!
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Eyes Set to Kill
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The girls from Eyes Set to Kill
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Me and Craig Owens!
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Me and Craig Owens!
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D.R.U.G.S. - Craig Owens
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D.R.U.G.S. - Adam Russell and Nick Martin
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D.R.U.G.S. - Craig Owens
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D.R.U.G.S. - Adam Russell
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The band took our picture! (Photo credit should go to Adam Russell)
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D.R.U.G.S. - Nick Martin
Eyes Set to Kill - Broken Dreams (with the newest lineup)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhcMdx91FhQ&feature=relmfuweeblylink_new_window


D.R.U.G.S. - If You Think This Song Is About You It Probably Is (their first single)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1Nw4jGjJGk
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