Here I sit.... Drinking my troubles away....

Just kidding! Yes, I am drinking, but just a couple beers. And surfing the free wifi here. I never heard of The Continental but apparently, it was a punk hot spot for years. You can see the picture of Iggy Pop on their wall below, taken at a show in 1993.



I started coming here a couple weeks ago for a "burning man" happy hour. The owner is a burner and offers up free shots of whiskey and free pizzas for us each Wednesday. How generous! And quite tasty too.

I sit alone with my Yuengling. It's a quiet Monday night here at the Continental. There's a booth of twenty something girls, downing shots, a bored bartender and a big bouncer asking people not to smoke cigarettes right in front of the entrance.

It's after midnight. My truck is parked south of St. Marks out on 3rd ave, but I'll probably sleep back in Dumbo. I have a new favorite spot there underneath the Manhattan Bridge. It's unregulated parking, so I don't have to move my truck for street cleaning or anything. I can sleep in, if I want. And I often do.

I find this type of living to be quite liberating and oddly enjoyable. When you don't have a traditional home to relax in, you tend to find yourself in the most interesting places. Sure, I could be sitting my ass on a lazy boy, in my mortgaged home, surfing my overpriced internet service while keeping a half ear and eye on my advanced home theater system of streaming digital distraction.

But, I'm not...

I'm living freely....without the attachment to these things of which I held so dearly in a past life. The tethers are loose... the debt ridden ride I was on for a dozen or more years is over. Nobody owns me. I decide what I do, when I do it and who I do it with. Absolute control.

I do realize when I say these things that I am still dependent. I still have to rely on money to make things happen. Yes, I can make it myself, by using my mind or my muscle. However, true liberation from this system can only occur if I own my own land, grow my own food and had access to my own source of water.

Meanwhile, I sip the last ounce of my beer, contemplating a late night snack. I wish I could grow my own pizza.