Tomorrow at midnight, I'll be hopping on a westbound bus to snake around the northeast and midwest for 2 weeks.
I've decided to pack light/grungy with a bit of fun. For clothes: 2 pairs socks, 2 pairs spandex, 1 bra, 1 pair jeans, 2 shirts, 1 overshirt, 1 pair suspenders, 2 bandanas, 1 skirt, 1 pair sneakers, and 1 jacket. For living: some cash, passport, medication, flashlight, pencils, notebook, tea. For fun: books, CDs, clarinet, and twine.
The last four are all gonna be great. For books: a bag of all my Orson Scott Card books, to give to my boyfriend hopefully in exchange for other reading materials; The Ethical Slut (a polyamory primer) to spread the word to somebody who needs it; A Salmon of Doubt (Douglas Adams) for my friend in bumfuck, ohio; a DIY zine; and Color of Violence, a collection of essays about violence against women of color, and new ways to define community. The CDs are for playing in cars and houses, and lending to said bumfuck-stranded friend. The clarinet is for amusement and busking (I have 4-5 pieces lined up), and the twine is to make rope, which besides looking cool and giving me something to do with my hands, make cute gifts and could maybe be sold for a quarter or two.
I'll bring along some cash, but I'll definitely be relying on the houses I'm staying at. This is also a chance to see how much money I can make busking, and how much food I can gather out of dumpsters and the like.
For housing, I've found places almost everywhere. I'm spending 5 nights in Oberlin, Ohio (college town) with my boyfriend and hir roomates (a professional chef, an errant violinist and environmental activist, a graduate student in gender studies, and a few other cuties). I'll take a 4-hour bike ride to bumfuckland, go to naked parties, and the like. Then one night in Chicago to mainly to look at streetsigns and make Sufjan Stevens references, but also to return a book to my friend Nick and learn more about the city. Then to Pittsburg, with a brief layover in Columbus to see my sister, and celebrate my friend's birthday. Then onto Toronto, with one day in Erie for the beautiful lake and busking opportunity. Toronto, I don't actually have a place to stay lined up yet, but I'm waiting for someone to pull through, or I'll just use couchsurfing. I'm there to see Owen Pallett + Les Mouches + Beruit on August 3rd. Then onto NYC for 2 nights to stay with a few Unitarian friends. I'll be mainly seeing people and visiting spaces around the area. Then back to Boston, arriving just in time for an 8 hour work shift.
My goals: wander about, re-establish my connection between the inner will/spirit/intuition inside me, carefully and deliberately try out sustainable/freegan living, see art, meet new people, play music, explore why I get so frustrated and silent around people I love, get into shitty situations, have all kinds of sex. And megabus is dirt fucking cheap if you plan ahead, it's a matter of getting off work. It'll be an interesting time. I don't give a shit if it seems utopian. I'll write stories here if you don't mind.
So, ever take an awesome trip?
I haven't been lucky enough to be able to take a cool trip like that, but I definitely plan on taking one in the next couple years.
Have fun PQQU! You should definitely keep boyah updated with your journey, both physical and spiritual.
Gosh, that sounds super great giggle; giggle; giggle; giggle;
Sounds like fun. Don't get raped ;)
Yeah I'm in Europe, my next two weeks consist of Vienna, Venice, Florence, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Stockholm with other stops here and there
I recently returned from one overseas. None of the wild adventures that I had imagined and anticipated came to fruition. Did very little reading. Foud myslelf devoting more effort to grooming than I ever exerted here. But I had more fun than I ever dreamed of. The little moments of a situation are the most memorable, because you never know how they are going to play out. And together, they form the threads which weave a fabric of experience, and encompass a picture much greater than each strand. Have fun, but don't force it, same goes for your asshole.
Sounds awesome. Owen Pallett is great, saw him when he opened up for Arcade Fire last year.
Also, don't forget to use protection.
all the orgies will be consensual, assholes. yes;
[spoiler]I got out of work on Friday and went to the bus terminal an hour later. This will be repeated later; I get back on a Friday and have to go straight to work. So much of what I'm traveling with, and need to process, is that stress, and my lack of confidence, and the cycle of violence and stress and lack of confidence. Had a fight with my best friend and a teary depart with my partner to remind me that I was leaving for a reason, "taking the long route 'home.'"
ANYWAY: there are always weirdos on the megabus, I decided to be that person. I spent the three buses (Boston to NYC, NYC to Pittsburg, and Pittsburg to Cleveland) making rope and sleeping. On the double-decker megabuses you can actually sit right up front above the driver's seat and the word just unfolds around you like a ribbon.
I spent a total of $7.50 that day on vegan food I have not yet run out of. I got fruit and a bagel at a cart in NYC, but really went nuts in pittsburg: I found a farmer's market, and befriended a few shopowners. This yielded a head of fennel, a bag of beans, and a loaf of non-vegan bread all for free, and a head of Kale and some kombucha for $5.50 (the kombucha was a splurge). I trashpicked some lemons for lemonade, and in my wandering, found a squathouse that I might stay in later. Spent the rest of the time reading Roverandom out loud to myself. Got to cleveland, got hugs from my boyfriend, went to a gay bar, left cause there was a cover, went back to his house and watched "The Secret of NIMH." He's living with 5-6 lovely folks with a few guests every so often (Motorcycle activist boys today). There's zines all over the place, nudity is encouraged, and a bunch of instruments abound. There's a bunch of house politics tho, especially around the kitchen.
Lounged today, making rope and doing chores around the house, playing a little clarinet. Tonight is a "dress or no dress" i.e. naked fancy boozing party. There may be an orgy.[/spoiler]
Holy shit pqqu, your life sounds like a dream.
Quote from: Hiro on July 24, 2011, 01:43:58 PM
Holy shit pqqu, your life sounds like a dream.
Most of that sounded terrible to me confuseddood;
Quote from: YPR on July 24, 2011, 01:59:41 PM
Most of that sounded terrible to me confuseddood;
I didn't say it sounded amazing, I said it sounded like a
dream akudood;
Quote from: Hiro on July 24, 2011, 02:06:53 PM
I didn't say it sounded amazing, I said it sounded like a dream akudood;
what the hell does that mean
Quote from: Travis on July 24, 2011, 02:07:39 PM
what the hell does that mean
like a dream? you know what a dream is? it seems like that. not something that would typically happen in reality.
Quote from: Hiro on July 24, 2011, 02:41:09 PM
like a dream? you know what a dream is? it seems like that. not something that would typically happen in reality.
can you please elaborate? thanks
Quote from: butt rodeo on July 24, 2011, 01:38:06 PM
for a reason, "taking the long route 'home.'"
It annoys me how you can't be
assed to use italics and instead decide to nest quotation marks. hnnggg
I'm going to New Hampshire on Thursday for a Bright Eyes and The Mountain Goats concert, then probably Boston on Saturday for a What.CD meetup (though considering I live 20 minutes from boston it's not really a travel), then new hampshire again the following weekend and vermont the weekend after.
THERE WAS NO ORGY. Just a lot of drinking and hitting each other with spatulas, plus dramatic readings of Haggis-on-Whey books. Apparently I fell asleep, and someone tried to wake me up by rubbing her breasts against me. Woke up the following morning, did wonderful kinky things. Took a 45 mile bike to visit an old friend while two housemates made yogurt and beer. Today holds clarinet, meeting up with old friends, seeing Hamlet, and whisky sours.
"Taking the long way home" part is a quote, which is a pretty good reason to use quote marks. :/
you live the weirdest life
Quote from: Nyerp on July 26, 2011, 10:53:39 AM
you live the weirdest life
Weird, or different than yours?
i went to boston and cape cod and sandy eggo aaaaaaaaaaand nyc
TIME SLOWED DOWN SO MUCH
Wednesday was more bumming around, with goodbye and farewell excursions. My boyfriend left, had a long island, cried for a while, sort of unfairly got a ride at ridiculous o'clock in the morning from a friend to Cleveland to leave the next day. The weight summer, as an opiate, had gotten me and I needed to break out. Up until then I'd been thinking so heavily in terms of the question "What should I do now?" when I should've been asking for more help, focusing on what I need to be doing, for myself and others.
CHICAGO IS PORN. The light rail is a soaring sum of scars about the city, I broke vegan for deep dish goodness, and spent a night watching TV and talking philosophy with a friend. The newness and the quick turn around was a jolting and redynamizing force into cleveland.
Friday: got the bus to Pittsburg for a 3 night stay. First two nights were in suburban household with college friends, which was starting to get awkward, like I'm just leeching off the kindness of friend's parents and suburbia in general. My first day busking I met a lovely and likeminded person, ended up walking with her all around the city and talking about health, sex, death, family, the stuff. Otherwise I was cuddling with cute lesbian friends who were putting me up and guiding me, making money busking, and getting free produce from a friend who works at a coop. Last night was kinda crazy. Was going to stay in a squatter's house on the district, but did a really shitty job of finding anarcho folk and didn't verify that it was real. Wasn't. Slept for an hour in the bushes but had too many bug bites, had felt shitty all day anyway. Ended up regaining my confidence and wandering accross bridges in insomniac mode, seeking beautiful shit: families fishing at 3am, 33 FUCKING DUCKS just hanging out, trains, bridges, graffiti, and the gorgeous fucking sunrise. I said hello to everyone.
Monday: got a bus to erie, which is a lakeside town I used to stop in on greyhound, if briefly. It's a lot more run down than I realized, lots of poverty and no jobs. Ended up going to an evangelical homeless shelter with two brothers. It was terrifying and amazing to see how shelters work firsthand, how many vets and truly fucked people are there. I had to worry about passing both as a woman (which failed lol) and as someone who really needed this (which I kind of did, I was planning to dumpster my meals). Either way I'm kind of jarred and getting the fuck out of here to Toronto, where I know no one and have no place to stay yet. WE'LL SEE.
It's good to travel alone at least once, but I need to do this with a partner.
Everything on the east coast seems so much closer together :(
It's really cool that you make everything work out the way it does. giggle;
Quote from: Hiro on August 01, 2011, 02:16:33 PM
Everything on the east coast seems so much closer together :(
That's because it is n_u