Finally I’m getting settled back in, catching up with friends, and getting used to American life. It feels good to be back, to start a routine again. Yesterday I worked the afternoon at Miracles and afterwards Laura and I went to the gym to get a little exercise. All those tacos and tamales did our bodies little good down in Mexico.

I have a lot of thoughts right now, a lot of inspirations, and never enough time. Two days ago Laura and I went to The Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla to see an exhibit called BAJA TO VANCOUVER: THE WEST COAST AND CONTEMPORARY ART. For anyone who has ever been to the East Coast, it’s obvious that we’re a little different. We don’t have that legacy of European aristocracy and elitism that stuck on the East Coast. We’ve been influenced much more by Hollywood and LA than by Wall Street and New York.

I had never understood to what extent I am a product of this Pacific culture until seeing the exhibit, seeing artists taking note of the same indiosyncracies that I’ve often seen on my many road trips up to Seattle and Vancouver. But what I liked about the exhibit was that it recognized that despite political borders, British Columbia and Baja California have become a part of that culture and have had an influence on it as well. If you’re in the area definitely check it out - only $2 for students.

One of the artists showing was from a Tijuana design group called torolab which is trying to promote “border culture” in the San Diego area and trying to beautify the border crossings. I agree - entrances into this country should welcoming, bright, and comfortable, not the dirty concrete vomit pools at Otay Mesa and San Ysidro that we have now.

Anyway, point is, it’s about time I got more involved in San Diego. There are a lot of groups sprouting up that are reaching across borders to establish a common culture and I like it.