Sunday, December 16, 2007

gift wishlist

Straight razor shaving kit.

A stainless steel straight razor, although carbon steel would be just fine

a guitar strap, a capo, and some picks

a collection of Bertolt Brecht plays - this one will work (google: 080213159X)

these shoes size 10.5


That's it. please, no shirts, sweaters, or coats. Socks and underwear should be black or at least dark colors.



Art, poems, anecdotes, war stories, and captured memories are always appreciated.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

there but for the grace of god go I

I guess you could say I'm growing closer to being content. I got a volunteer/paid substitute gig teaching English to refugees locally. I figure it's a great way to get my feet wet before doing the same elsewhere. I'm going to have to update my collared shirt wardrobe and remember to shave more often, but it'll work itself out I'm sure. I bet I have enough to work with for the first few weeks.



right now I'm going to watch a dl'd copy of menace II society and do some pushups and practice some juggling.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

voleur de la merde

I just emailed a few people in the SF bay for a place to hang my head when I get out there. Hopefully someone bites.



this may be my new streetcorner if all goes well. Fulton at Stanyan (I have no idea where to credit the artist)



PS. Prank calls and hate mail tomorrow night!

Monday, October 8, 2007

Seigniorage

I think I'm a target for peoples' aggression as of late - something in the cosmos has shifted my way. First the incident a month ago with the Bellarmine students, and now I nearly get into an altercation at the Pour Haus Saturday night. Suffice it to say that I think that people become further angered the more that you remain calm and tell them to fuck off than if you got right in their faces. I couldn't believe the amount of aggression people seem to have regarding the smallest little things. This guy got mad at me for not tapping the bartender on the shoulder to get his attention. I said "the guy looks busy", he called me a fag, so I called him an asshole and gave him the finger. He got super fucking mad. After that he just flew off the handle and began making threats - "I'm gonna be waiting for you out in the parking lot" and the like. It was 11:30 and he was paying his tab. I probably shouldn't have laughed in his face, but I did. I told him that I was closing the bar at 4am because I was going to be singing Karaoke with my friends until then, so he'd be waiting a good four hours to confront my posse rollin' deep. He eventually walked off and talked with his girlfriend for a minute but kept staring at me, I noticed it and we locked eyes, he then rushed over and again started with the threats. He said he was going to choke me and reached out his hand - that's when my buddy Tim grabbed him from across the shoulder and took him to the ground. This guy was a big motherfucker, but I'm sure Tim was stronger, plus there was at least 10 of us there ready to bust ass if it came to it. The guy freaked out, and his girlfriend (wife?) and their friends hauled him outside. The bartender knows him, so I guess she was at first really confused, but everyone came forward to my defense and said the guy was just acting like a douchebag and was the only one making all the threats. It ended the way it should have. I'm sure the guy was humiliated by the end of it all, and I just sang my tunes with my crew for the rest of the night.



I got lucky tonight, it's always nice when that happens. In the long run, I never have to wait too long, but it's the uncertainty that makes it such a special occasion when it arrives.



caveat emptor:

buy my snake oil

give me some money up front so I can free it from a nigerian bank

if you give now, christ will save a spot for you in his kingdom

the Man-Eating Chicken is probably a man eating chicken

three card monte is a fair game

rosie palm and her five palm reading sisters have pinpointed your fate

if the vat kool-aid already has cyanide in it, nobody'll care if you pee in it first

Saturday, September 29, 2007

el nopalito en mi cama

I decided that I should be updating this blog instead of my other one because this one is way more stable. Plus it can be read by many many more people than the other one which operated on a closed web community.



I'm living in Louisville, at the moment I'm not working, but I'll probably start back up as a taxi driver next week. I was assaulted on the job a few weeks ago, so I decided to take a breather before I got back in the swing of things. I'll be bringing the perps up on charges later this week when the summons are served. Whether or not they're convicted, I'll be taking out a civil suit against them - for damages. I probably shouldn't say anything further publicly on the web.



At the moment, I'm experiencing yet another existential crisis. I'm on this sobriety kick that I've been enjoying quite a bit, mostly to benefit my sleep so that I can have solid dreams - a real rarity for me in the last few years. Whenever I get this way, I start feeling like I need to be living elsewhere. I love this city, but I think it stagnates far too much for my comfort. I keep feeling alienated because my interests are so varied, and reach beyond what this town offers. Languages for instance, are limited mostly to universities and restaurants - and French is practically nonexistent in this town save for the hoity-toity eastenders that use silly wine and cheese get-togethers as an excuse to try and gloat about how jet-set they've become. My favorite encounters are with West Africans and Haitians that have come over here for work or as refugees. Mostly I run into them in the taxi as passengers or fellow drivers.



My love life has been a little lacking, that's probably my fault. I'm way too picky these days, a little rendezvous here and there is one thing, but when it comes to clogging up real estate in my mind it really pays to be choosy.



I've been exploring ways to make money doing things in other cities. I've had the idea that I've wanted to be a bike messenger for a good while. There's absolutely no money in that here, but I could certainly pay my way in a busier city. If I moved somewhere on the coast, I could keep a job, set up residency and get enrolled in school pretty soon.



Everything else is in order I guess. I'm living and breathing and am in good health, so I'd better not jinx that.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Saturday, June 16, 2007

coup de soleil de nouveau

So, I'm really starting to get pretty sick of this. I'm covered head to toe in a nasty sunburn that seems like no matter how long I stay out of the sun, it gets deeper and redder. Whatever. I'm staying in today. Reading Crime and Punishment and mostly just chilling out. As much as I love the beach here, I think I'll have to go back tonight after the sun goes down. No problem for me exactly, but it is only noon - meaning I've got a lot of Crime and Punishment to occupy me. At least they have the internet here, and I can futz around.

I've got about four more days here, then I fly to St Louis for a day or so, then either take the greyhound or hitch home. All in all, it's been a wonderful trip down to god's blind spot. I haven't had even the slightest bit of trouble, no sketchy situations, no robberies, no extortion. Jadon and I got harassed by a cop and a park ranger type guy for being in the park after it closed, and I think I got shortchanged by someone in a store for about five bucks, but I'm going to have to assume that it was an honest mistake - plus I should have just counted my change more carefully. Five bucks and a wasted cab fare were certainly not the worst I had expected. That said, I haven't made it back home yet.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Valladolid

We took the bus from Mérida yesterday to this little town without much to it. I think Jadon and I are going to catch a dip in one of the cenotes here before we head out. Since we're not super far away from the coast, I think we're planning on hitching out to Tulum or perhaps another beach sometime tomorrow. We're parting ways with the german girls today ' they're heading north to some small island on the coast, then to isla mujeres before they have to leave. Potentially we'll meet up again in Tulum, but whatever, who knows.

Monday, June 11, 2007

cenotes

Jadon and I paid the 12 pesos to catch a bus to this little town called Cuzuma. Once you stop off the bus, in fact even before we stepped off the bus, a group of teenage mexican "guey's" were all clamoring for our attention, trying to get us to get in their bicycle rickshaw. This is all standard actually. They probably get this all day every day during this season. Their town has a lot of underground sinkholes that attract many tourists, locals, and foreigners alike. The sinkholes, or cenotes are plentiful here in the Yucatán. I felt silly taking a bicycle rickshaw, but aside from it being human powered, it's the same as a taxi I guess. Jadon and I paid the guy collectively about $2.40 for him to take us to the site, then, once we were there, a bunch of people with these horse drawn carriages that ran on tracks wanted to charge us about $15 (US) to take a 2 kilometer trip around to the cenotes in the area. We opted to walk, figuring it wouldn't be too long. Honestly it wasn't, but the deal isn't terrible. We only made it to the first cenote of the three because, as we found out, the trip includes the horse and buggy trip to three cenotes spread over 10k. Whatever. once we finally got there, it ruled. We ended up being the only gringos that were there the whole time. People there were quite friendly as well, most everyone wanted to talk with us about where we came from, what we thought of mexico, and to comment on Kentucky Fried Chicken. Without fail, each time I mention Kentucky, where I'm from, I get a whole ration of oooohh "el pollo loco" and people start flapping their wings. I normally just make fun of them back and start flapping my wings at them and mocking them. Mostly it just ends up being pretty silly between us. But for sure, the joke gets old.


Without a doubt, the cenotes were wonderful. It was nice to swim for one thing, but it felt like we were in a big quarry with stalactites, bats, birds, and catfish. The water was a very clear blue and quite deep, but not cold in the slightest. Another main highlight of my trip.


Next up, I'm not sure. I've seen Chichen Itza, so I have no business to go there again, so potentially we'll try and make it to an animal preserve or Tulum. We've got just over a week left, so we've got to make the best of it. Any bright ideas?

Sunday, June 10, 2007

¡no mas, por favor, no mas!

So Mérida kicks ass. Two days ago, Jadon and I made our way to the beach at Porto Progreso for a whopping $1.20 (US) busfare from one street over. The beach is kind of dirty, yes, and full of frat-trash friendly beer stores, but I guess we came late enough in the day, or at least in an off-moment so that the beach was pretty clear. What's interesting about this place, and all of Mexico, is the amount of stray dogs that roam around. They're plentiful on the beach. We saw a dog that bounched up and down like he was a lowrider, hydraulic dog, hehe. Made my day. Yesterday I made my way to Chichen Itza, the biggest of the ruins i've seen here. This will perhaps be the last one that I go to down here, so at least I had a good time.

Today I'll probably hit up the cenotes (sinkholes) and go swimming. I guess it's about an hour's ride from here or so. I'd sure like a good swim that doesn't burn my eyes like the ocean.

Thursday, June 7, 2007

eso mucho calor

I'm leaving Palenque today for Mérida. It sucks that the only bus that takes us there leaves at 9pm tonight, so we've got about 6 hours to kill in this miserable heat. We found a little coffeeshop with an internet cafe here in town and I think I'm stuck to my chair. it's over 100 degrees here, and it feels more humid than Louisville ever gets (quite a feat, ask anyone). I put on a fresh shirt this morning, and I immediately soaked right through it. My hair is reasonably clean but a bit clumpy since I haven't shampooed it since I left the states. We should have stayed another week in San Cristobal just because it was at least 20 degrees cooler. The original plan was to try and hitch out of here, but with the sun beating down so hard, and the main highway over 200k away, we opted to take the night bus so we didn't have to spend any money on a place to stay for the night, plus that was pretty much our only option.



My mood seems to shift quite a bit here since it's hard to come up with any sort of concrete plans. Jadon and I both said that we feel pretty much like outsiders since we don't really want to feel like typical tourists, but we don't really know anyone here, and we can't use our typical "punk roots" to get oriented in a place. The language barrier is definitely there too, even though I feel a bit more comfortable after this much time here.


Anyone have any real plans for the fall? want to go teach abroad somewhere? I'm cool after October, I'll probably work until then once I get back from Canada.

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

desmadre total

Today I went to check out the ruins of Palenque. Since we're staying right down the street, it was basically the first thing we did this morning. Easily one of the coolest things I've seen in my life. The Mayans were way less bloody than the Aztecs, and I think that's evident in the ornate reliefs and pleasant architecture. It's a strange phenomenon to me that neolithic peoples from across the world evolved to create pyramids totally independent from one another.

The nature around the area is also incredible - I even saw a family of wild howler monkeys up in the trees today and a bunch of lizards, including what we think was the jesus lizard, not the band, but that lizard that walks really fast on its hind legs and can kind of skip around on the surface of water. Definitely cool. I'm a little sunburned. The heat really got to Jadon and I. I made the effort to climb all the pyramids and ruins, but after awhile Jadon couldn't keep up with it, the heat really hit him hard. We crashed out for about an hour, then wanted to go to a little waterfall. We took a taxi there, then got harassed by the cops almost as soon as we got there. The same cop let us through the gate. Apparently we got there too late in the day and we could just come back tomorrow, but he obviously just wanted to shake us down and look us over. once he found that we didn't have any drugs or anything, it just became a joke almost and we were let go. bah, cops are cops whereever you are right...

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

off to palenque

Jadon and I said our goodbyes and now we're about to get on a bus to the ruins. From there, who knows.

I tried posting this entry three times, but for some stupid reason it doesn't upload. It's a little out of date, but I figure I should post it anyhow

We're still here, this is still the best place I've been to in Mexico, and I still keep getting lost everyday. Jadon and I had a discussion last night about how this place is perhaps the "most foreign" place we've been. Both of us have certainly been further away from home, but not exactly further away from familiar surroundings. Aside from Europe and Canada, I haven't really been anywhere internationally. The culture here in this part of Mexico isn't a polar opposite of what I'm used to, maybe rural Cambodia might be, but it has taken quite an adjustment. First off, the language is pretty tricky. Most places in Europe allow you to get by with English quite easily, even France although I tried to never use it. Nobody, including my host family, understands a word of the language. They teach it in schools here to some extent, but hardly anyone uses it except for the tourist booths and in a few restaurants. Cool enough, it's not a big deal, I'm learning pretty rapidly. Unlike French, where I hardly have the opportunity to speak it at home, I'll be able to use Spanish that I've been learning here in Kentucky with all the immigrants and refugees. Being able to stammer through conversations and understand what people are saying has been a real confidence booster.


For some reason, the water infrastructure in Mexico is atrocious. Everyone knows you can't drink the water, but what I found bizarre was that you aren't supposed to put toilet paper down the toilet. Yep, you're supposed to do your wiping and place it in a little bucket by the commode. In a café yesterday I nearly gagged at the sight and smell of a full bucket. I guess the pipes aren't designed to handle it. You don't even want to think about how bad it was on the 12 hour busride from Puebla to San Cristobal. What's even stranger is that a couple of teenagers had "a good time" in that same bathroom. ¡Muy disgusto!


Today was our third day of lessons at the language school. Jadon, who has never learned another language, is starting to sink his feet in. If you're ever down this way, even just traveling through, it's well worth the skrill for a week or so. $200 for a week of lessons and a homestay. Yesterday we went to a Mayan medicinal herb museum, and today we cooked a traditional soup after buying the ingredients at the market (lleno de bueno). Tomorrow we'll be salsa dancing. I'm not sure what we'll be doing saturday or sunday, but we'll probably leave Tuesday morning for Palenque and then head up the Yucatán to the beaches. The goal with the Spanish lessons was to become a little more comfortable with the language so we could get by with hitchhiking, something we figured we should certainly give a try.


One thing about this town, that's almost creepy are the amount of wild stray dogs that people don't seem to pay any mind. They sure are cute looking, but I wouldn't dare touch them. I guess dogs like these are all over Mexico, but they seem to be here in greater numbers than anywhere else we've been. From what I understand, few people actually keep dogs or cats as pets here. Occasionally birds or something more exotic like a monkey. Thing is, I've seen literally hundreds of these dogs in my walks across town. They're like the cats that take over Mallory square in Key West - when the sun goes down, they just take over the city. Walking to school this morning, a dog followed us nearly the entire way. We lost her at a busy street. I felt so bad for her, but I couldn't really do anything about it. She looked emaciated and dirty, I would have been tempted to take her home and take care of her if I were back home (although it probably wouldn't work out because she and Ruby would probably not get along). I guess it's just a fact of life here. My instructors said that occasionally the dogs become rabid, and are most likely disease carriers anyhow. Really sad.


Tonight, Jadon and I are probably going to study for a few hours and hit the streets again. This town comes alive a little during the evening - moreso even than Mexico City. Supposedly there are some Mariachi bands in one of the town squares that take requests for only a peso. Since a peso is roughly ten cents on the dollar, I give it about two weeks before I've heard enough.

Monday, May 28, 2007

¡no me joder cabrón!

First off, a big congratulations to Tim and Shalan for their new baby boy Bronson Abadox McGruder. I couldn't have picked a better name myself, you crazy kids.


The murals of Diego Rivera were absolutely the best thing I saw in Mexico City, anyone who checks the city out should make the Palacio Nacional a first priority, besides, it's free.


Jadon and I took a cheap bus to Puebla for a day. That city was pretty big and bustling. Their soccer team won a big game, so for hours and hours the streets were clogged with people laying on their horns in celebration. People honk in this country quite a bit actually. Sometimes all night.


In Puebla we pretty much just took it in for the night and made plans to leave the next day. We shared a $10 room in a flophouse that was absolutely dreadful. The bed was misshapen in the middle and really uncomfortable. I was afraid of the scabies but I did it anyways - no sign of them anyhow. The bathroom was communal and flooded, and I didn't trust the shower.


There was a church adjacent to the roach motel that had loud chimes that went off every 15 minutes - even through the night. I was able to sleep through it all right, but Jadon tossed and turned the whole time. Poor guy. I'd sleep through a train crashing though my house, which I guess is a mixed blessing.


In the morning, we futzed around for a little bit and then headed to the bus station. I had credit card trouble, because for some reason my bank thought I was receiving fraudulent charges in Mexico - I guess you're supposed to tell them you're leaving the country first. After playing phone tag with my dad and the bank, I finally was able to get a new PIN and withdrawl some cash.


The bus was completely packed, and I ended up sitting next to some stinky guey who snored and kept touching his swampy genitals - plus he took up 3/4 of the seat. 12 hours later, we arrived here in town and got a quick hotel. This one was much nicer. I got a nice shower and a shave. much better, now for laundry.


Now we're in San Cristóbal de las Casas in Chiapas. We paid for a week of Spanish Classes and a weekly homestay with this nice lady Esmerelda and her son. It's coming along fine for me I think, Jadon's definitely having some difficulty. Knowing what I do of French has helped quite a bit, although I keep confusing prononciations.
I'll get the hang of it soon enough, no prob.

Friday, May 25, 2007

Anyone care for a friendly fight to the death?

I've been reading more about Ulama today. If you lose, you'll end up honorably decapitated, so it won't be a total loss right?

Tonight is our last night in Mexico city, tomorrow we'll be off to Oaxaca, then Chiapas. Anyone have any suggestions? send me an email!

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Calzada de los Muertos

we met up with this Australian named Mick earlier today to head off to Teotihuacán. Besides Stonehenge and the mountain carvings in Britain, I think it's the oldest neolithic thing I've ever seen. I didn't get any good pictures because my batteries were dead, and Jadon ran out of cash (with no ATM around), so I had to conserve my money. Besides, with all of these landmarks, everyone's probably seen way better photos online and in magazines. It would have been nice though.


I got a killer sunburn, which i hope is the worst I get through the whole trip. Nothing besides water tonight, it'll just dry me out totally, so I don't want any part of it, I'm already hurting.


We're planning on crashing in the hostel for another night, then heading to Oaxaca in the next couple of days. Tomorrow I want to just hang out in the city, and take in a few good walks and whatever. I want to see some Diego Rivera murals and find a good restaurant.


I found a vegetarian restaurant today that was practically atrocious. Mick the Australian was the least pleased , but I did watch him pull apart a whole fish and eat it. Tomorrow I'll just take some of Jason's advice and use the "sin carne, sin pollo, sin puerco y sin pesco" routine and cross my fingers. so far, Montezuma has nothing on me (so far).

gestalt

Jadon and I made it into Mexico City just in time for it to rain and get cold. All in all the vast majority of people here have been very forthcoming and friendly. Granted, I've only been here a day now, but it's a sharp contrast from the filth and crime that lots of people attribute to this place. The architecture is very old, and the streets are well worn. This place is way older than anything you'd find in the states. The only place I could compare it to would be Europe as far as the feel and architecture, but that doesn't give it justice.

Last night Jadon and I wandered the streets a little, took in a few drinks, and made a couple of friends at the hostel we're staying at. We found a little restaurant down the street, I wonder whether the soup I had was made with beef stock, but it was at the very least quite tasty. At this point, my novice Spanish isn't quite to the level of asking that kind of question. I'd give it a week or so. So hopefully I won't be getting a shitty (pardon the pun) visit from Montezuma.

Today I think we're going to explore the old ruins outside the city with an old Australian guy named Mick (I think). Now, I need to buy batteries and get some more coffee.

captivating right? well, our adventure has barely started. We've got about 4-5 more weeks to go before I plan on returning to the states.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

la casa de la muerte

I fly out for Mexico City in two hours. I barely know a word of Spanish, and have never had a formal lesson. Neither has my traveling partner Jadon. I'm afraid to look like a tourist, but fuck it, I'm going to enjoy myself. I've got $500 to make it there and back and stay alive for 6 weeks. The plan is to take in a bunch of ruins, sleep on the beach, avoid getting fucked with, and soak in a pretty solid adventure. After Mexico City, I'll be headed east towards the Yucatan and all the ruins along the way. The goal is to find a way to hitch a boat ride back across to the US and end up along the Gulf Coast somewhere and find our way back to our respective cities. I've got a frame pack, some clothes, a couple of books, a chessboard, my documents, and a sleeping bag. sink or swim, right?