The Eleven - July 2022 - Turning Lemons into Lemonade

Happy 11th of July!

Welcome to this month's Eleven. I hope you got to catch a little music from the Oregon Country Fair yesterday. As I mentioned I wasn't at the Fair much this year. After a couple of weeks of some very fun activities: Summer Solstice Healing Retreat at Breitenbush, The World Do mination Summit X, and a Singer-Songwriter Soiree Retreat I was ready for some of the high-level fun OCF brings. That's nice, said the universe. Here's what happened.

I've had the luck of a tradition of driving to Fair with Eecole Copen on Weds. of Fair for many years and we pulled it off again. Arriving at Fair and jumping through the various hoops of getting settled:

Arriving, parking in a waiting area
Getting checked in (this year with vaccine proof check)
Getting a staff wristband at the reg booth
Picking up the car - moving stuff to the camping area which includes various hoops.
Taking Eecole to her camping area and unloading
Parking car far away in Dead Lot (named so for the fact that the Dead played there a couple times in the past during Fair)
Returning to camp and setting up and saying hi to everyone
Making my way to the Ritz Showers and Saunas to freshen up

Well, we did all that in record time - I got to ride FART - Fair Area Rapid Transit from the Dead Lot to my camping area in Miss Piggy parking lot saving me a lot of time.

After #8 was complete and I'd handed out all the gifts I'd brought for my campmates I entered Fair. After that it was fun for hours:

I met up with my friend David and we kibbitzed for a bit before heading to the Ritz. I stopped in to see a friend in Community Village and reached the Ritz.
At the Ritz - I got to have this gigantic sauna that can hold 100 people in it all to myself as it slowly heated up.

For me the Ritz is pretty much the epicenter of the Fair. I see friends there. I experience a deep cleanse like nothing I get anywhere else. There's live music. Sparkly showers - fun lights at night - I never get tired of being there. I often spend 4 hours there a day. After being in the Ritz this year I left feeling cleaner than I had in many years - maybe the cleanest I've ever felt in my life.

Never enter a sauna with an infection of poison oak.

I left the Ritz and sat with David in the Clam Shell and we watched the world go by. On the Weds. before Fair, it's a very mellow scene. Esp. this year with the lessened numbers of people attending - both staff and attendee #'s were down. It was a beautiful evening.

I parted ways with David and made my way to L12 - the home of Wileyware at the Fair. I visited our next-door neighbor and joined in on a potluck.
There were 3 guys set up and playing as the skies grew darker. My favorite kind of music - Grisman/Dead style picking - and these guys were good. Eventually, I got to sit in and play a couple of tunes. I was in heaven - friends were passing by and I'd grab hugs here and there. Everyone was in a very happy pre-fair space - just trying to avoid the hungry mosquitoes and giggly happiness everywhere.
That night I was having pain in my pinky toe where the poison oak was positioned. I figured I'd go to the medical tent in the morning and see if there was anything that could be done about it.
That night I tossed and turned.
In the morning I shuffled to White Bird and got a foot bath, some calamine lotion, and a Benedryl, and then went back to my tent and went to sleep.

Then, the shit hit the fan. I woke up at about noon Thursday, started getting out of my sleeping bag, and noticed that my whole body had broken out in a rash. It was nothing I'd ever experienced before. I considered going back to White Bird, but instead realized I needed to get to urgent care or a hospital quickly and decided to just pack up and leave (see steps above and imagine undoing some of that - taking everything down I'd set up - getting to the Dead lot and back, etc.). Anyway, I was able to do all of that and hit the road about an hour later. Looking back I realize that my body was in trauma/shock.

Back in Portland 2 hours later, I did a telehealth session and they suggested I go to urgent care at the hospital. Co-pay for the appointment was about $45.
I waited in an over-air-conditioned waiting room for about 2 hours and was finally seen by a doctor.
They prescribed Prednisone and now I've been taking that for 3 days and the outbreak is subsiding quickly. At one point I found a bee in my sleeping bag - so, I'm also wondering if that little guy is involved in all of this - as I am highly allergic to bees and have had some bad reactions in the past
I could have been bummed about having to leave Fair and not return
But I knew I couldn't go back

About 6 months ago I joined as an admin the team administering the largest FB group for OCF. It has 32,000 members and grows quickly. During Fair, we admins had decided to let the group go quiet as we were all planning to be at Fair.

As I wasn't at the Fair I took a look and the FB group had tons of backed-up activity so I decided to work on that for the next couple of days.

I helped people find tickets
Tried to stop scammers from stealing from people via fake ticket offers (learned a lot about that, btw) - how to spot a fake profile - I now have advanced knowledge in that area!
Admitted new people to the group
Gave advice on how to enjoy the Fair and things to do and see
Overall, it was something fun and I also turned on the streaming of the music from the main stage and made the best out of the time.
I actually felt during some of this as if I was at the Fair - seeing so many pictures and hearing the music, etc. - it was an interesting way to participate and I'm so glad I had some way I could be useful and give back to this event which has meant so much to me and others.
Here's an example of what the music on the main stage sounded like on Sunday evening.
2 highlights from this whole experience: taking a hot shower when your body is covered in red itchiness is divine - I really don't think I've ever felt a better physical sensation. 2 - it was lovely to have the company of my neighbor Janis (below with Wileyware) for the 48 hours of the weekend - we hung out on the porch and chatted while I worked on the OCF FB group - and we shared a couple of tasty meals! Louie the cat also provided comfort and companionship which was very sweet.

If you'd like to be involved in the Fair (which means you get to stay over at night) it's a good idea to start figuring that out way before the Fair happens. There are crews to join or other parts to play - I'm happy to discuss this with you as the Fair is always more fun when you have friends there to enjoy it with

Thanks for listening to my story - it's nice to share something of the how to make lemonade out of lemons aspect of it with you. Lately, I've been feeling like my heart and head are on overdrive (in a good way), but my body is stuck - this reminded me of that relationship and I want to change it.

If you're curious about what I have coming up and want to join me for something I posted my Summer activities in the last Eleven.

Biz wise I sent out an interesting note to my biz list about Text to Join, recently. I'm also looking at a new area of marketing which I've been avoiding for years. More about that when it's underway. I'm also about to teach 2 Zoom classes for neighbors soon which I'm really excited about.

In the political realm, I've really been enjoying what Heather Cox Richardson is up to. Her recent issue about Roe v. Wade and today's news on the economy - she is such a treasure and I am so grateful to receive news from her daily. Please subscribe to her newsletter - you'll be happy you did.

I am still seeking my next partner and put together a description of some of how I see that unfolding. Please feel free to share this link with anyone you know whom you think I might be a good fit. I am ready for partnership and I'm a catch. (at least my friends tell me this).

I hope the summer is treating you well. Keep up the above-average work as my Father often says.

Much love,

Albert

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