A guilty CRUNCH!

i woke up feeling like a bag of ass...the night previously I drank way to much way to fast!!! I somehow managed to get to sleep at a reasonable time and woke up to my first alarm, no snoozing, and I think this is because I knew today had the potential to be something fantastic.

Maybe something rejuivinating

But definitely something to help kill the stress that is continually chipping away at my smiles

:D :) :P :O

So I do the S's, grab my effects, and head out the door to catch the 11:04 leaving the lilac village coasting into that majestic metropolis; Glass and glory...the Windy city...I lovers her...

My car...

I call her sunny, we have a crazy bond and these are her last days. I've slept many a night in her (Urban Camping FTW!!!), seen many a site with her, and she's been an amazing car. This morning we coast to the train station and the only parking I can find is a hike from the station. To boot the train is fast approaching...

...So...there is a problem with her drivers side window these days. I apply some super strong duct tape to it, hoping this will keep water out, because the world is calling for rain at some point on this beautiful day.

*Gun cocking* BLLAAAAAAH DOW!!! I"m off...pushing my dolley, which holds my PA, that allows my back pack to rest on top. I get up to the train platform and within two minutes the train arrives. The tiny Buddha is no where to be seen or heard from. I say fuck it and hop on the train anways...if he comes AWESOME, but if not there is still a lot of potential for greatness. I'm coasting along reading "The Spirit Molecule" when my pocket begins to vibrate.

"Hi ya hi..blah blah..might not come."

"Oh, blah blah blah...artist stuff, you should come, I drank too, blah blah blah...not many days like this left."

"Hmmm, i'll be on the 1:04"

"Awww :D"

I hop off the train and into the fast passing masses...

Colors, so many colors, and bold fragrances that somehow infiltrate my extremely stuffy nasal passages. I do some running around, this and that, and then set up shop in front of the Walgreens on Michigan ave (across from millenium park) DUDE!!! we've got a lot of walgreens and please for the love of god, tell CVS they don't need to keep up.

I push play on the iPod and the minutes begin to melt away in the most amazing way. Fingers, arms, wrists...Today is all about waving, not in that middle america beauty queen way but more so in that "Holy hell what is that guy trying to do with his body" way. I'm a lengthy dude and as I watch my appendages flail about via glass reflection (aka Street Mirror) I'm glad to have the extra inches on other dancers. Beats Antique put out a new album...Kai snagged it for TMY and TMY gave it to me in a trade. Pimp Sauce...because now I give it to everyone and bump it on these lovely blocks.

I start to get over run by crazy homeless folks and since I don't have any holy water I pack up my things and head down the block. Next stop...Art institute college...or what I will now call "Hogwartz School for the extremely Pretentious"...SO MUCH DAMN PLAID!!! and a lot of non showering going on...but I digress and only because they didn't embrace me as one of their own. Next time I set up in front of their, I'm bringing girls jeans and not showering for at least a few days....once again I digress

Her name was Jessica...

She had cute pig tails and was smoking all alone. I began to do my thing and her cheeks became extremely rosey. A few friends joined her and they enjoyed watching people freak out as they passed me by. I'm set up outside the art institute college, because I think this might be a place to catch some open minded people who'd dump some change in my bucket for a good cause...WRONG! All I got was a lot of plaid and a shit ton of looks like...

"If he was a real artist he'd probably shower a lot less."

Definitely some vocalized contempt...but there was this extremely cute girl who freaked out when I started playing some Lupe. It wasn't long till Joe showed up and it was time for my days adventure to switch gears.

I'll forever be in debt to this magnificent artist and I continually find ways to assist him on his journey. So I asked him to come out with my today so we could shoot some time lapse footage of him "enhancing" some Chicago sidewalks. We spotted a few areas and the Tiny Buddha did what seems to come so naturally to him. He's a creative fellow with a grip of amazing commentary that enhances the already beautiful Chicago day. We run around various spots, riff about if this corner will work, is it illegal to draw on sidewalks, and eventually end up getting Oreo shakes. There is some mild police harassment towards the end of our sessions. I guess my bucket was obstructing the sidewalk.......

....I can't stand Cops!!! So we peddle our persons else where.

Right across from the theater were suppose to catch a special screening at is our final spot. We got to what we've been doing all day, except this time Joe becomes a bit more precise, focuses on a smaller area and the results are splendid. He tells me later on during our train ride home that, chalk isn't his medium but the results from the days trials in my opinion are fantastic. Definitely turned some heads, got some people to smile, handed out some cards for the conference, and added another great memory to an always climbing friendship.

As were winding down, bumping tunes, I'm trying to hustle a few more dollars into the ole bucket, this girl comes walking across the street BAREFOOT...four lanes of traffic...BAREFOOT. She sets up right next to my PA and starts dancing. She doesn't respond to any of my questions and just vibes with the music. Finally after enough consistent prying I learn her name is Amore. She stays by us for a while but I continue to get an extremely uneasy vibe from her. She's really spacey and ya know...STILL BAREFOOT! After her a dude in a cowboy hat comes up and begins talking with Joe about GOD and Art...I get a call from a dancer coming in for the conference and handle that. I get off the phone and man, they are really going, building layers, tearing them down, and all the while this man has some of the craziest eyes I've ever seen.

We take pictures, part ways and cross the street to meet the loverly Izzi. The peoples in the box office are nice enough to let me stash my equipment and we unwind with a few hibiscus chillers before the movie. Izzy has brought us out to catch a screening of "Exit through the Gift shop" a film by internationally acclaimed street artist Banksy. The feature was AMAZERING! really inspiring stuff and it sparked some great debate as we walked izzy near her bus stop. She's a great friend and this evening was sharing with me how she finally made it "in the box" of the Chicago reader.

I remember coming home and watching my friend struggle to find a job. She had her MBA and a large wealth of world knowledge that I'm sure few people can bring to a job. She was living in the very basement that I'm now striking these keys from. Things were bleak...then...but now. She is married, has a beautiful daugther, and has taken off in so many ways as an artist. Went from writing for Beep! to the daily herald to the widely circulated Chicago Reader. I'm surrounded by a lot of greatness and I continually try to give praise to those and to the forces that have carefully placed these people in my life.

Joe and I make the 10:40 train back to lombard with NO TIME to spare. This makes me extremely happy and the ride home is wonderful. We recap on the year we've spent and all that the two of us have accomplished. We joke about getting a fake advertisement from Banksy for all our future projects...its not like the guy could sue us....could he...I mean he sort of doesn't exist. Anywho! We step off the train and start to walk in the direction of our cars passing the wonderful Lilacia park. I stop pushing my PA for a second and select "If you want Blood" by AC/DC...

...It was my birthday song this past year, it's become sort of my theme song, and definitely rocked a large grip of unsuspecting campers at UGS this past summer. I'm serious though, if you want it YOU GOT IT! Because I work extremely hard to build substance in an extremely unstable world. I protect the things I love with fists, fire, and fury!...

We part ways and I reach my car feeling extremely accomplished in the day. Made a little money, definitely got some great footage to help my friend down the road, kicked it with two amazing peoples, while seeing a great flick, and interacted with a ridiculous amount of peoples. I sure am going to miss days like this in the coming year but while I can have them I will.

I appreciate the read :D

When I leave Chicago this will be the main way I communicate with the world. So make sure to subscribe if you'd like to keep in touch and learn the goings on in my world. Hope your sliding into fall in the most fitting of fashions. In about a month it all comes to fruition and I'd just like to thank you if you're one of the many that have helped me this past year. Some of those that have helped I don't talk with anymore but the majority I keep extremely close and value you more then myself. PEACE! Much Love!

PwT

Kings of every corner

So we set out, at first there was only three, and then we stopped by to grab another. We set up over by the Damen stop on the blue line because another was gona come. We set up, the initial three, and we instantly start spreading the sickness. The one we stopped by to grab shows up and he's brought another. So this means there is many more then we had initially planned on being there...this is good! A group of burnt out junkies begins freestyle rap battling me as I construct squares from my limbs. His breath smells like 3day old cheeseburgers, he has a dollar store money sign gold chain on and is clearly wearing a womens tank top. I point this out to him, he leaves, and everyone gets a quick chuckle.

The energy is thick and were starting to warm up to the idea of destroying every inch of this city with our dancings. Sort of like holding Chicago for ransom...

"If you don't put money in our bucket and help support our conference, then we will level all the buildings with our awesomeness."

Some people take us seriously and change begins to find it's natural resting place. However, once another one of us gets off the train and meets up I decide maybe...possibly...this isn't the best place because people aren't forced to stop and partake in the dancings.

So we head across the street, set up on a corner, and bam! from out of no where four more peoples show up!!! WTF!!! I'm looking at this new corner were at and realizing that this might not be enough space for the mobile disco party we have acquired. So I stake out a new corner, it looks lush, and catches 3 intersections, and that just might be all we need. So we set up and before I can hit play on the iPod another rides up on his bike. YIKES!!! The weather is nice, so many great people to kick it with on the corner, and we take to doing what we know and love most. DANCE!!!

One of them, she's what we'd call a badass, keeps putting dollars in the bucket...singles...as to tell the passer byers, it's o.k.....this is a good thing. She also gives some out to other people to splash into the bucket and this greatly improves the results of the nights work. Her and I are in competition, she's greatly winning at the moment, but I won't be outdone. To side track, by the end of this evenings adventure I had a wad of singles on me that would make most strippers jealous...A-List status!!! Thanks for that friend and I'm a firm believer of that goings arounds theory.

We pass out business cards, get coins in the bucket, some folded, and before you know it...SPLASH!!! Wet stuff rains down on the all of us, we move in doors, and take our party to those who try to pull money out of the ATM. You'd think that was a proactive move but we made no money and I think irritated a bum or two.

Since the weather took a dump on our dancings we decide to do what water does best and go around this new obstruction. Picking up our things, racing in different directions, we relocate in the underground, and start moving about various subway platforms. We lose a few peoples but still have a nice gang of smiling faces to help us with our days mission. The chunes echo through the subway walls and people slowly but surely come check out all the crazy finger twiddlers. We end up stacking another nice little chunk of change and some greenbacks. Then we decide to take an extremely long train ride to the Kinetic Playground.

Not a whole lot going on there but we have a celebratory drink and do some finger twiddlin. It's not to long till the night closes down around us and were riding the red line back to the blue line and parting ways. I sit with one remaining dance alley and philosophize bout life love and the pursuit of liquids. The day was a success on so many levels and I know it will keep me glued together as I get smashed by a brutal work week.

Cast of characters in no particular order

Little Rachel

Chris the Tbagging ninja

TMY

Marina

Ryun

FlowZel

That kid with the trippy laces

Mr Migz 2.0

Plainest to the Whitest

Vlad the impaler

BreakShit Brittany

BassPhreek aka window smasher

I think that covers them all...

...These people are a large reason we will succeed this year and I'm forever in debt.

Hope you enjoy the winter

I sit in this broken chair

wondering why on earth I still care

sitting in the stillness of inky black regret

I sit withered writing a million blank checks

Now I know...

Action, Consequence, remorse, relapse

I told you "No" so many times and still your persistence wore me into something shameful

The light switch however has been long busted and mangled

ALONE, I SIT, with no wit left to strangle

hunting down an angle

That just might make me feel a little bit better about these past two months

I have a hunch, actually, it's a really bad back

and a knee that only gets worse attached to that

Teeth that rot

And a mind that sputters in circles non stop

I TOLD YOU "NO" because you had more then a few chances

and now I come to learn that you realized you loved me only after I'd lost all hope

after you choked

and broke

down every inch of what I had so boldly dreamed

Hypocrite

I'm just shortening the words you called me

Inconsiderate

Bastard son with a long list of unchecked felonies

Whose suffered worse

and whose more to blame

I'll sit in my busted chair and suck back the shame

While you write another chapter about heart ache and pain

I live with very few regrets on this path I blaze

But showing you all I am will forever haunt my days