Taco Truck Night Re-cap!

Taco Truck Night!
Originally uploaded by hollywhat

While I indicated I'd be less infrequent with my posts, I never said I'd be prompt. So one week later, here's the post-script to "Taco Truck Night!", complete with pics on Flickr.
When we rolled up, it was apparent that the word about Taco Truck Night had spread... there were an awful lot of people in line for 8pm on a Thursday night .
While we waited a little while for our order (two tacos de suadero, two tacos al pastor, one taco carnitas and 1 suadero quesadilla), I took an informal poll of the people around me to see what they were eating and what they recommended. The group of three small, skinny dudes in tapered-leg girl jeans and completely unironic vintage t-shirts were obviously regulars (more so than those of us who only show up after Dodger games or boozing it up in Echo Park or K-Town), so I chatted them up. They collectively agreed that Taco Zone is the best truck "outside of East Los, or at least this side of the river" and crowed approvingly and knowingly when I told them we had ordered the suadero. One of the Dudes was experimenting with being a vegetarian and was excited about trying the new Veggie taco, but his review was mixed. "It's pretty good, except I'd probably leave out the beans next time. And the rice." I looked at his taco, which seemed to consist of a tortilla, beans, rice, and cilantro, so either it was really good cilantro or he was being extremely generous.
There was no fist-pumping, no battle cries, but about 5 minutes after we got our food, a guy taped this homemade sign to the window of the truck:


Fight the power, Dudes.

of gates, locks, barricades and dams

More than one friend has accused me of never crying. I wish they could look inside my head and see the impressive machinery of titanium gears and locks I’ve constructed to keep the tsunami at bay. I’m saving us all from the epic swell of my emotions. Global economies could be destroyed, people. Or I could be. At least I have some idea that that’s why I needed to build it in the first place.

Shit happens to all of us when we’re kids, and we build our various fortifications and machines accordingly--which is pretty ingenious of children if you think about it--but the thing about how a kid’s brain works is that function follows design. We build our edifices out of the best materials and make them bigger, stronger, higher than is necessary. And when we no longer need them, they remain as monuments to our past. I am deconstructing mine. Some days I get a blowtorch and some days I get a chisel, so I’m asking everyone to bare with me.


***
I do cry, by the way.


***
As I get older I recognize more and more the importance of letting people in, of sharing, especially with people I love, so I am trying harder. The effort can be disorienting, overwhelming, mentally/physically/emotionally exhausting and it scares the shit out of me. But that’s okay. I’m not getting out of this alive, impressive machinery or no, and neither are you. Right now the main point for me is to do right by myself and the people I love, and to recognize, be okay with, and ultimately enjoy the fact that I don't have any answers.

Taco Truck Night!

To honor and protect East L.A.'s favorite indiginous animal, the newly endangered taco truck, tonight we're taking it to the streets! At 8:00, B and C and I will make our way to the Taco Zone truck on Alvarado, where we will stand united with other taco-lovers, pumping our carne asada and al pastor laden fists heavenward with a defiant cry of, "Viva la taqueros! Viva la resistance! Don't fuck with taco trucks!" You will know us by our greasy fingernails, and you shall tremble, L.A., you shall tremble...

This is just to say...

I've been remiss in keeping up this blog. It seems all but abandoned. I'm ashamed to say there is a fine layer of silt over this blog and that it's starting to smell funny. But I'm ready to start fresh again. I was recently re-found by a good friend after a tragically long absence. And I learned that, in spite of not having seen me in -- years, this person, who posts his own very funny/sad/insightful/nakedly honest musings online, read my entire blog, such as it is. It's hard to explain but this simple act really moved me and has inspired me to shake off the dust. More posts coming soon, including a few older drafts that for one reason or another I didn't finish or just forgot to post and then they just felt too outdated. But I think I like the idea of being on record about something, even if it's about something that's no longer relevant. Some things can be isolated in time, some can't but in the grand scheme of things, it's all snapshots in a shoebox. It's late and this is starting to feel too precious and possibly unintelligible. Fuck Bush! Here's my mea culpa:

This is just to say...

I got lazy
or distracted
whatever
The point is
I am back
to write pithy observations
and possibly
semi-coherent rants
forgive me
you will have to deal
until I get distracted again
or lazy
whatever