Dudes and dudinettes, seriously, check this out:
http://zealandinthenewd.blogspot.com/2009/02/when-searching-for-golden-fleece-beware.html
Sigh...I want the whole world to be like that...is that too much to want? I don´t care if it is, it is worth it!
So...this morning started out rather bleak, in a stream of consciousness about the big city that I didn´t break until halfway to Saltillo on the bus...this is a nicer city, much smaller and has a more open feel to it. There are actually shops and such here that I could buy some boots, another hat, or a mexican blanket or poncho...nothing really struck me as something I just had to have...more blankets are always neato...so I guess I could get one...but I have no drawing to spend money on such a thing. Ah well. Hmmm...in a library in Saltillo right now, wonder how long I can get away with using this computer. A pigeon shat on my notebook earlier while sitting in the park this library is in. I am just grateful that he didn´t poop on my grapefruit that I was eating. Frikkin pigeons, they are pretty awesome..and earlier this morning it was one of the few things that seemed peaceful to concentrate on was pigeons strutting around.
So last night I wandered around with Richard in the club district in Monterray, he became tired and went home and continued wandering aimlessly...I kept feeling this pull towards an area that I had already covered...and I was resistant at first. There was a neat cafe that was about to open at 7pm, and it was about 6:45, so I continued wandering down the street feeling that I was missing something but not knowing what. I ran across a telefono publica and then immediately ran into a fire hydrant, ow knee. Still hurts a little bit...I took a break thinking what I was doing, I´m in a big city in a foreign country and feeling bored, what the heck? I was right by the phone and had a few minutes on the calling card...debated a long time if I should just use it up and say hi to someone, went through a long list of who I would call, and even if I should call anybody. Finally went to pick up the phone and dial a number...and it didn´t work. Aha! Should´ve just went for it and not used all that brain energy debating, the universe had a plan for me that evening that I was just minutes away from discovering. I started pseudo-limping down the street further and spotted the black fronted building with red trim...one of my favourite color schemes...and heard it...the sweet sound of metal guitar riffs, filling the air with majesty and glee. Hardwired, my gut knew, it had its radar primed, I wandered, trusting it, and was not disappointed. I sat, listened, not a bad guitar player, they must have been doing a sound check I thought for later on tonight since it is still early...I leaned against the building for a moment. The scale was major, which I have been increasingly drawn to lately, having spent many years preferring the darker sound of the minor scale. Filled with excitement for the night, I started back up the street to go see if I could grab some 'expresso' as it is called here. The cafe was open and had a rather nice vibe, kinda of jazz-techno-air style of music...sounds weird I know but it actually wasn´t. So I brainstormed for a bit about how a whole bunch of my homies should plan a trip to Europe next summer and how I could do that financially. Turns out that I only have to make 500 dollares a week for the next 16 months to....pay off all my debt...have 5k for a trip to Europe, have living money until then, and have a 3k cushion to come back to...that doesn´t include getting a private pilots license though I realized today...which is ok because I doubt I would really spend $5k in europe...though I´m sure I could if I allowed myself to...whee?
So after espresso and water, I headed back to the hotel room to drop off my jacket and extra money since...it would be warm in the club and I'd be out on the streets late at night. When I finally made it back to the club, in my cowboy attire, fitting in with the all in black metalheads like a charm, I discovered they were only practicing, and were really playing the next night...or tonight...Yes! I´m still just as ready. Though I don´t know that I´ll type up the stream of consciousness that I went through earlier today right now, but I will and I definitely feel that metal has helped me break through the suffocation and suppression of current global industrial material culture. Thank you, gods of metal. I´ll always know in my heart without that energy, I would not be so balanced in a world where suffering, ignorance, and obedient followership is so prevalent. I am my own person, full of spirit, and that is enough to create a better world through hard work and diligence.
Apparently, mexican poliza cruise around with their lights for shits and giggles...goin nowhere, not pulling anyone over, just cruisin, with their lights on...very peculiar.
hmmm...until nnext post! I´m going to wander and gawk at pretty buildings in Saltillo and make my way back to the bus station...maybe get some food somewhere along the way...I said I wanted to stay away from fried foods, but some tacos seem kinda tasty right now. yum. We´ll see what I turn up ya? Sweet. I think I will get a blanket, I haven´t always been super cozy and toasty while in the city, ironically enough, don´t lug my extreme cold sleeping bag everywhere I go...
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Ola!
Ok, back at la computador! So...we went to the Mercado today, got some nice lookin papaya, mangoes, limes, guava, banana, and...grapefruit...and...honey...and....mmm, what else? I think thats it. Also had the most painless eye exam ever this afternoon, it couldn´t have taken more than 5 minutes it felt like. It´s ridiculous that american doctors are so stuffy about everything, I always felt so frustrated with the process, and then you get charged 60 bucks for the visit, and another 150 or 200 for your glasses...I got everything for....lets see, 700 pesos, or $50. Sweetness! They will be ready tomorrow, but Richard will have to pick them up I guess because I want to be heading over to Horsetail Falls Park methinks, still have to figure what the bus situation is going over there though...Looks pretty amazing though! I ´scited.
So, I definitely don´t like big cities, whether their foreign or not. Madrid and Barcelona were cool because of the old architecture, but Monterray is a bit newer so it just doesn´t have the same flavor. I like the strong cultural identity though, and the abundant mass transit. Very cool. Though the mass transit is necessary though because it is quite evident that people are very poor. I feel opulent next to the average mexican considering I own: A car, A bicycle, 2 computers AND a laptop, MULTIPLE guitars, a ton (well, maybe only a couple hundred pounds) of books, etc. Yep, I´m spoiled, glad I´m trying to do something other than just please myself! When we came in on the bus we were in the scary part o town...well, not scary, just...poor, trashy, got come ons from hookers, etc. Faucet didn´t work in the hotel we stayed at that night..awesome.
After we got into the more downtown area though it is a bit nicer, parques here and there, la gran plaza where the old turn of the 20th century palace is was neato, interesting though that you can walk into a chain restaurant and be greated by some kid (18 or 19) carrying an assault rifle with a bullet proof vest...Ah yes, different countries, such a wonderful experience! This morning we got up to go have breakfast and we saw on the television ´riot in monterray during police drug bust´or something along those lines, glad I decided not to walk around last night to get the flavor of the night life! Though in the downtown area it probably would have been fine, just not nearly as cool as Barcelona at 3am. Considering that this is the only other time I´ve been out of the country and I went to Spain the first time I guess I am coming at it a little critically, but I am enjoying it no less...though I have been trying to get the most out of my visit and it seems what I´ve done the most is sleep and write, but that is also essential to catch up on my life etc. Looking forward to the not city tomorrow.
The first day here I was looking for the hampton inn (where we stayed one night because it was close to the hospital) later on in the day, after Richard had gone into surgery, and got a little confused because of the naming of the streets...that was a fun adventure, walked around a whole bunch...carrying a few small bags in my arms close to my chest because none of the sacks were strong enough to house them all...knew I should have left with a bag! Anyway, I laugh about it though because of leaving the hotel that we checked into without really knowing where it was before leaving it...dóh! There were a couple moments where I about to say ´ah f.....´ but both those times random guys on the street helped me out. There was also an HEB right by the inn so I just asked where HEB was and got some directions, the first guy wanted some cambio, and so i told him ´Well, maybe you can help ME out too!´which me obliged in some english, coolio. Thanks tigers eye bracelet! You rock!
So, Likin it good. Feel like there are some stories that I´m forgetting, you know, lots of trying to fudge my way with the language and just feeling very humored by how ignorant i am of the language, but hey, at least I´m trying! And it is fun when they say, ´poco´ when i tell them ´habla pequeno espanol´. Good times. Oh, and a guy was just lightin up a doobie in the street at the mercado this morning, that was pretty hilarious. We were trying some mangoes and buying the papaya, couldn´t have been later than 11, when I smell a familiar smell wafting through the clogged streets of cars, carts, and people...turning around and continuing on our way the source of the scent was in broad daylight in the middle of the street. Ah, again, I´d like to say, different country, how sweet it is.
Ah, the Metal scene totally exists down here, saw the decked out young dude with all black clothing, wallet chain, oh I can´t remember the band shirt he had on...could here a little bit of the thrashing from his headphones, lip piercing, the trying to be serious and dark expression on his face...very hilarious, I was telling richard that I like all these different styles of music, etc. but don´t necessarily vibe with the subculture at all. I don´t think I´ve ever met another metalhead outside my family who has the same relationship with it that I do, and even then, we all interpret and experience it in our own unique way and have different (to some degree) favorite bands.
Hmmm...other than just laughing at myself for not getting it, there doesn´t seem to be a whole lot to tell...Tried getting a subway pass, kept putting in the change, hitting the button, and nothing happened...then a chica came up to the machine next to me, put in change, hit a button, and got her pass...I just laughed...when I tried it all over again, with confidence this time...it went smoothly...as if the ghost in the machine was...playing with me (eerie voice).
Well, gonna send off a couple more emails before I go so I´ll be done for the day and be back for more mind blowingly average stories for tomorrow! Yeeeeeha! (An old mexican lady at the Laredo bus stop just loved my cowboy hat, it was just precious :)
So, I definitely don´t like big cities, whether their foreign or not. Madrid and Barcelona were cool because of the old architecture, but Monterray is a bit newer so it just doesn´t have the same flavor. I like the strong cultural identity though, and the abundant mass transit. Very cool. Though the mass transit is necessary though because it is quite evident that people are very poor. I feel opulent next to the average mexican considering I own: A car, A bicycle, 2 computers AND a laptop, MULTIPLE guitars, a ton (well, maybe only a couple hundred pounds) of books, etc. Yep, I´m spoiled, glad I´m trying to do something other than just please myself! When we came in on the bus we were in the scary part o town...well, not scary, just...poor, trashy, got come ons from hookers, etc. Faucet didn´t work in the hotel we stayed at that night..awesome.
After we got into the more downtown area though it is a bit nicer, parques here and there, la gran plaza where the old turn of the 20th century palace is was neato, interesting though that you can walk into a chain restaurant and be greated by some kid (18 or 19) carrying an assault rifle with a bullet proof vest...Ah yes, different countries, such a wonderful experience! This morning we got up to go have breakfast and we saw on the television ´riot in monterray during police drug bust´or something along those lines, glad I decided not to walk around last night to get the flavor of the night life! Though in the downtown area it probably would have been fine, just not nearly as cool as Barcelona at 3am. Considering that this is the only other time I´ve been out of the country and I went to Spain the first time I guess I am coming at it a little critically, but I am enjoying it no less...though I have been trying to get the most out of my visit and it seems what I´ve done the most is sleep and write, but that is also essential to catch up on my life etc. Looking forward to the not city tomorrow.
The first day here I was looking for the hampton inn (where we stayed one night because it was close to the hospital) later on in the day, after Richard had gone into surgery, and got a little confused because of the naming of the streets...that was a fun adventure, walked around a whole bunch...carrying a few small bags in my arms close to my chest because none of the sacks were strong enough to house them all...knew I should have left with a bag! Anyway, I laugh about it though because of leaving the hotel that we checked into without really knowing where it was before leaving it...dóh! There were a couple moments where I about to say ´ah f.....´ but both those times random guys on the street helped me out. There was also an HEB right by the inn so I just asked where HEB was and got some directions, the first guy wanted some cambio, and so i told him ´Well, maybe you can help ME out too!´which me obliged in some english, coolio. Thanks tigers eye bracelet! You rock!
So, Likin it good. Feel like there are some stories that I´m forgetting, you know, lots of trying to fudge my way with the language and just feeling very humored by how ignorant i am of the language, but hey, at least I´m trying! And it is fun when they say, ´poco´ when i tell them ´habla pequeno espanol´. Good times. Oh, and a guy was just lightin up a doobie in the street at the mercado this morning, that was pretty hilarious. We were trying some mangoes and buying the papaya, couldn´t have been later than 11, when I smell a familiar smell wafting through the clogged streets of cars, carts, and people...turning around and continuing on our way the source of the scent was in broad daylight in the middle of the street. Ah, again, I´d like to say, different country, how sweet it is.
Ah, the Metal scene totally exists down here, saw the decked out young dude with all black clothing, wallet chain, oh I can´t remember the band shirt he had on...could here a little bit of the thrashing from his headphones, lip piercing, the trying to be serious and dark expression on his face...very hilarious, I was telling richard that I like all these different styles of music, etc. but don´t necessarily vibe with the subculture at all. I don´t think I´ve ever met another metalhead outside my family who has the same relationship with it that I do, and even then, we all interpret and experience it in our own unique way and have different (to some degree) favorite bands.
Hmmm...other than just laughing at myself for not getting it, there doesn´t seem to be a whole lot to tell...Tried getting a subway pass, kept putting in the change, hitting the button, and nothing happened...then a chica came up to the machine next to me, put in change, hit a button, and got her pass...I just laughed...when I tried it all over again, with confidence this time...it went smoothly...as if the ghost in the machine was...playing with me (eerie voice).
Well, gonna send off a couple more emails before I go so I´ll be done for the day and be back for more mind blowingly average stories for tomorrow! Yeeeeeha! (An old mexican lady at the Laredo bus stop just loved my cowboy hat, it was just precious :)
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Mexico!
You heard it! Mexico! Monterray to be exact...and yet, I am in an internet place posting a blog...well, that´s what vacations are for! Catching up! So...why you may ask, am in Mexico?
I got an all expenses paid trip from this Sunday to this Friday to accompany a man who I am starting a farm with, Richard, for surgery in Monterray, because it is less than one third of the price down here than up there, and from where we live in the hill country it is less than an 8 hour drive...I couldn´t even make it through west texas in that time!
Wow, uno hora can go by quick, cursed facebook and reading other peoples blogs! My friends Celeste and Keith are in Nuevo Zealando (haha!) and are woolfing, sick stories of idyllic lives! Wunderbar!
So, its really smoggy down here, we are at the base of the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains and in the middle of the day I can barely see them! Unfortunate. The British American Tobacco company has a huge plant down here I walked by the other day, I was on the sidewalk walking right by the wall that shielded me from the power plant...the sound that it created! It is a wonder, that for one, we have created such devices, and then also a wonder that we even use such diabolical creations...everything around me vibrated and filled my ears and body such that I was a leaf in the ocean of white noise.
I´m only supposed to be on this computer for one hour at a time...dóh! our hotel is just down the street so I´ll be back and actually tell more stories about our adventures thus far! I´ll go into detail, don´t worry! :) Plus sharing all that I am thinking of and processing at the moment. One of the best things about this experience is that it is giving my brain a much needed time to go through a lot of different things and help me iterate to the next part of my creation. Many wonderful developments! Much string cuttings, molting, as it were. So...with that, I´ll bid adieu for a day.
I got an all expenses paid trip from this Sunday to this Friday to accompany a man who I am starting a farm with, Richard, for surgery in Monterray, because it is less than one third of the price down here than up there, and from where we live in the hill country it is less than an 8 hour drive...I couldn´t even make it through west texas in that time!
Wow, uno hora can go by quick, cursed facebook and reading other peoples blogs! My friends Celeste and Keith are in Nuevo Zealando (haha!) and are woolfing, sick stories of idyllic lives! Wunderbar!
So, its really smoggy down here, we are at the base of the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains and in the middle of the day I can barely see them! Unfortunate. The British American Tobacco company has a huge plant down here I walked by the other day, I was on the sidewalk walking right by the wall that shielded me from the power plant...the sound that it created! It is a wonder, that for one, we have created such devices, and then also a wonder that we even use such diabolical creations...everything around me vibrated and filled my ears and body such that I was a leaf in the ocean of white noise.
I´m only supposed to be on this computer for one hour at a time...dóh! our hotel is just down the street so I´ll be back and actually tell more stories about our adventures thus far! I´ll go into detail, don´t worry! :) Plus sharing all that I am thinking of and processing at the moment. One of the best things about this experience is that it is giving my brain a much needed time to go through a lot of different things and help me iterate to the next part of my creation. Many wonderful developments! Much string cuttings, molting, as it were. So...with that, I´ll bid adieu for a day.
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