About 2 months too late but I figured now that I've been back for a while, turned 29 years old yesterday and need to move on with life and the torrential downpour that ensues from it; I need to wrap up this blog.
Sitting here at my usual coffee shop, Venice Grind in Culver City, CA and I must say I haven't grown as much since I returned compared to when I left. I still remember the last day in Amsterdam, sat around drinking and smoking with Pat until 5:30 AM; only to wake up at 6:00 to catch a flight to London then back home. I was going to miss Pat, and I wanted to spend as many waking hours with him for who knew when I was ever going to see him again. I threw up that morning and my stomach was so queezy; it was like the thunderous backdrop for crab fishermen. I was scared and sad and slightly excited to see my family.
Let me just catch up on everything. I just turned 29 and things have been good; I was quickly reminded of how many great people I had waiting for me back home. Pat came back to LA as well. Funny how I can't get rid of him. And Pom from Belgium, she came down and couchsurfed with me and we both had a blast. She's onward somewhere else now and again, I'm left wondering when/if I'll ever see her again. The book front has been tough, the love front hasn't been easier, but the charm of a well-traveled soul is wearing thin.
I look back on the trip and it's almost as if it didn't even happen to me. The readjustment is tough and I still find myself lost and in disarray - jobless, homeless and worst of all purposeless. What I liked most about traveling was that I was able to bask in the solitude because of it was always temporary and fleeting; but it appears to have followed me home. I'm just in between floors right now; hopefully moving up.
But this trip has certainly changed my life and my perspective on the world. The alleys of Lvov, the slush in my boots, Mikey in his underwear, all those people...all those places and challenges and sleepless nights.....I long for them more than anything else. When I was sitting in Stoney's apartment, planning this trip 8 months ago, his friend that was there told me,
"Man, you're going to love it. I once waited 14 hours in the cold and the snow at a bus stop for a bus that never came. I wanted to just go home. And when I came back home all I could think was, 'I'd give anything to be back at that bus stop, waiting in the snow.'"
As if putting off the final write up would allow my adventure to continue. As if I could just go see Ed in Odessa or play backgammon with Gonca or get fresh bread from Albert Hein, get blown away by Amanda's thoughts, or have a drink with 15 year old girls at a squatted building with prostitutes walking around in white corsets.
I can't believe all this really happened, but it did. And this is my testament. And I hope it happens to you.
Trust me, you wouldn't believe it either.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
shannon airport - bidding farewell
i swear, i hope this won't be the last time i'll see cam, mike and patty balls. but i took this picture because i had an awfully strange feeling it was.
at home in limerick, ireland
nothing says home like some jack daniels and 7-up. i was feeling a little tired of beer so i coughed up the dough for this overpriced import.
why does cough and dough look so similar, yet sound so different?
why does cough and dough look so similar, yet sound so different?
ireland
yeah, we saw this hill and wanted to climb it. i think it's called sheep shit and mud wedding hill.
urinal - belgium
during my trip, i got obsessed with urinals and bathrooms because they're so private and intimate. therefore, i decided to turn it into an art project, i'm going to take a series of these and hang them in my bathroom.
best fish n chips - dingle, ireland
finally came across the best fish and chips i've ever had. that guiness right there was like guinness number 3 of what would be 6.
inch, ireland
i saw the ocean for the first time in 3 months and it made my heart drop. i know i'm being overly dramatic, but it really is that important to me.
wake up call
we spent a few nights at this historic mansion-turned-hostel. this is pat and i waking up mikey at 3:30 in the morning after partying with a bunch of french college students in the rec room.
he was only upset that we didn't wake him up to go down and drink with us.
he was only upset that we didn't wake him up to go down and drink with us.
los angeles represent
this cat was so enamored with rap culture that i taught him how to represent my birthplace.
hostel - killarney, ireland
this is why i love traveling -- having crazy, wild, memory banking experiences with complete strangers that you will never see ever again.
there'is poetry in it.
there'is poetry in it.
ireland hike
at this point, it was raining bullets, dirt became mud, leaves became lakes and fun became damn great fun
ireland
we spent about an hour here trying to set up this contraption that we came across. patty balls and cam were the only ones that did it. me? i don't have health insurance!!
jigsaw, ireland
to describe ireland, i'd say it's either:
1) a giant jigsaw puzzle
2) the drawings found on milk cartons
1) a giant jigsaw puzzle
2) the drawings found on milk cartons
self portrait - me hanging out the car - ireland
i used to love hanging out of cars when i was younger (15-23)
free food
ordered fries, waitress brought us the wrong thing, i coaxed her into giving it to us on the house.
wishful thinking
so they say you have to walk backwards, with your eyes closed up this narrow stair way while focusing solely on your wish in order for it to come true.
group photo, ireland
we knew we were onto something great and memorable as soon as this moment occured.
relaxing in the pijp area of amsterdam
every time i told someone of pat and/or blake's location, it's always followed with a,
"wow, that's a cool neighborhood."
"wow, that's a cool neighborhood."
grey area - amsterdam
best coffeeshop in amsterdam. all their herb is top-notch. closest to cali weed. oh yeah, by the way, surprise, but i am quitting the daily ritual of smoking. now i'm ony saving them for concerts and festivals....no more of this wake and bake...it just makes no sense. we'll see how long it'll last, but the first step is always to acknowledge the excessiveness to it.
what is this shit? am i becoming a "man?" i'm off to buy a training bra.
what is this shit? am i becoming a "man?" i'm off to buy a training bra.
flying over amsterdam
my last day was by far my scariest and most nerve wrecking.
i didn't want to come back. i was, still am, and will probably (for a long, long time) continue to feel this way. i can't help it, i miss the road. i miss the uncertainty. i had every excuse to not "fit in" wherever i was. what would i be able to say if that were the case back home?
you know how i mention that writers have to do lame things like stare out of windows to "reflect?"
i looked out and all i saw was my own shadow, quickly being left behind.
i didn't want to come back. i was, still am, and will probably (for a long, long time) continue to feel this way. i can't help it, i miss the road. i miss the uncertainty. i had every excuse to not "fit in" wherever i was. what would i be able to say if that were the case back home?
you know how i mention that writers have to do lame things like stare out of windows to "reflect?"
i looked out and all i saw was my own shadow, quickly being left behind.
london curry
ok, best lamb curry i've ever had. had about 6 hours between flights and decided to venture into the city to find some curry. paid 7 pounds just to ride the metro 3 stops, then dished out 7 more for lunch.
what's that? like, $28? man, london can go suck an egg.
what's that? like, $28? man, london can go suck an egg.
racial profiling at heathrow airport
for real, they just pulled aside every arab-looking dude in the queue...fucking bullshit. seriously, i'd rather have them let a terrorist slip through and blow up the plane with me in it than to see this racial profiling bullshit ever again.
if you like, we can discuss...
if you like, we can discuss...
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