I am pretty sure I got high last night. It's really a bummer more than anything but I have to make the best of everything and laugh at it.
The kids I have been staying with smoke a lot of hash. A lot. Last night they decided to try some new methods for smoking. I don't generally care what people do around me so long as it doesn't affect me personally so I was chatting with people and hanging out in the same room.
After about an hour of them smoking and me sipping tea at the table, I started giggling uncontrollably. I couldn't figure out why I was laughing so hard at nothing and then it dawned on me, I was contact high.
I didn't think that actually happened. I thought it was an urban myth but last night proved me wrong.
Getting high just isn't my thing anymore. I have no desire to do it again and I'm kind of bummed that shit got into my system at all. I suppose it's just another story and experience to add to the list. I am sure there will be many more.
So yeah. Getting high. Its lame.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
More of London, with Pictures
i want out of London!! i am trying to find a place to stay in Paris but it just isn't working. my back up plan is to take an overnight bus to Paris, see the city in just one day and then get on another bus to Bordeaux. i would rather stay in Paris for the weekend and hitch to Bordeaux on Monday or Tuesday but if i cant find a place to stay, i am not about to pay 25 euro for a hostel....
anyway, the rain has set in again and my shoes are old and falling apart so my feet are always wet. i did find a nice little farm in the middle of the city today! there were pigs and sheep but the horses were on holiday. its nice to know that there is a farm in the middle of a city for people to come and learn about plants and animals that otherwise wouldn't be there.
yesterday i walked the length of London, again. i took a few pictures and got lost and had to ask an old London messenger for directions. if i hadn't been so shy i could have made a new friend but after i had my way and we talked about bikes, i was too shy to make the conversation go any further. i guess i just have to learn the hard way.... i also found out yesterday, that the street i am staying on is where Jack the Ripper's first victim was found!
hopefully i will leave for paris tonight or tomorrow. I like london but i cant take anymore of it. the city is very ugly and the people aren't much better. that sounds terrible. what i mean is that the city is void of any color. everything is grey, even the people. the city is nice to get around in and can be very exciting but for the most part its portland without the green. the people are nice but usually cold. everyone seems kind of sad.
paris should be better, even if it is only for a day. i hear bordeaux is beautiful and hopefully i can stay there for a few days before making my way to spain.
anyway, the rain has set in again and my shoes are old and falling apart so my feet are always wet. i did find a nice little farm in the middle of the city today! there were pigs and sheep but the horses were on holiday. its nice to know that there is a farm in the middle of a city for people to come and learn about plants and animals that otherwise wouldn't be there.
yesterday i walked the length of London, again. i took a few pictures and got lost and had to ask an old London messenger for directions. if i hadn't been so shy i could have made a new friend but after i had my way and we talked about bikes, i was too shy to make the conversation go any further. i guess i just have to learn the hard way.... i also found out yesterday, that the street i am staying on is where Jack the Ripper's first victim was found!
hopefully i will leave for paris tonight or tomorrow. I like london but i cant take anymore of it. the city is very ugly and the people aren't much better. that sounds terrible. what i mean is that the city is void of any color. everything is grey, even the people. the city is nice to get around in and can be very exciting but for the most part its portland without the green. the people are nice but usually cold. everyone seems kind of sad.
paris should be better, even if it is only for a day. i hear bordeaux is beautiful and hopefully i can stay there for a few days before making my way to spain.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
London Proper
well, what can i say about London.... i will say that the past few days have been wonderful! i have met so many great people i don't know what to do with myself.
the house i am staying in is a squat. they are legal here and many people live in perfectly good flats for free. this one in particular has not heat or hot water but i am used to that sort of thing. because people don't pay any rent, they are extremely willing to share their space with travelers. i have never seen a group of people more hospitable or diverse. there is a British gentleman, an Italian circus performer, a polish reggae super star, two very different french girls, two american boys living in Egypt and two polish girls living in Edinburgh. not to mention the stream of people in and out of the flat from other squats and friends that come over to cook or party or talk.....
my days have been filled with wandering the city drinking wine, getting lost and finding my way back. i can say that i have easily walked 50 miles in just a few days. i have also managed to spend only 30 pounds and that has mostly been on food and transportation. how could i be spending so much on getting around after all that walking? the tube is outrageously expensive. four pounds for a one way ticket!
I spent Friday walking from east London to tower bridge, Buckingham palace, st. james park, hyde park, soho, Piccadilly and through many neighborhoods with the two polish girls. the only problem is that i didn't take any pictures so i have to do some of it again! the girls were very funny about having their pictures taken but i managed to get one anyway.
hmm... what else.... i met this girl Melanie, she is great. we spent a lot of time talking together in the two days she was here and i plan to keep in contact with her. she had so many insightful and positive things to say. i really enjoyed her company and i am sad she had to leave. she gave me some contacts and things to do in Paris so it looks like ill have to head that way and give it a try! paris would be better with her but i will have to make due with what i have....
Stephanie is another french girl who is staying here. she is a little more radical and "alternative" than most of the people i have met so far. we have talked about racism and class ism, genocide and politics. its great to hear about these things from another perspective. she has even been talking about going vegan which is always exciting!
i have to laugh when people want to talk about politics though. its just that everyone seems so excited about Obama. they all ask me what i think and how americans feel about him as a leader. i just laugh and give my opinions and listen to them praise him. its good to hear Europeans happy about an american leader. but i worry that they too have caught Obama fever and expect too much.
anyway, i will take more pictures and post them when i can. i miss everyone, mostly because your so far away now, but not enough to come home any time soon!
the house i am staying in is a squat. they are legal here and many people live in perfectly good flats for free. this one in particular has not heat or hot water but i am used to that sort of thing. because people don't pay any rent, they are extremely willing to share their space with travelers. i have never seen a group of people more hospitable or diverse. there is a British gentleman, an Italian circus performer, a polish reggae super star, two very different french girls, two american boys living in Egypt and two polish girls living in Edinburgh. not to mention the stream of people in and out of the flat from other squats and friends that come over to cook or party or talk.....
my days have been filled with wandering the city drinking wine, getting lost and finding my way back. i can say that i have easily walked 50 miles in just a few days. i have also managed to spend only 30 pounds and that has mostly been on food and transportation. how could i be spending so much on getting around after all that walking? the tube is outrageously expensive. four pounds for a one way ticket!
I spent Friday walking from east London to tower bridge, Buckingham palace, st. james park, hyde park, soho, Piccadilly and through many neighborhoods with the two polish girls. the only problem is that i didn't take any pictures so i have to do some of it again! the girls were very funny about having their pictures taken but i managed to get one anyway.
hmm... what else.... i met this girl Melanie, she is great. we spent a lot of time talking together in the two days she was here and i plan to keep in contact with her. she had so many insightful and positive things to say. i really enjoyed her company and i am sad she had to leave. she gave me some contacts and things to do in Paris so it looks like ill have to head that way and give it a try! paris would be better with her but i will have to make due with what i have....
Stephanie is another french girl who is staying here. she is a little more radical and "alternative" than most of the people i have met so far. we have talked about racism and class ism, genocide and politics. its great to hear about these things from another perspective. she has even been talking about going vegan which is always exciting!
i have to laugh when people want to talk about politics though. its just that everyone seems so excited about Obama. they all ask me what i think and how americans feel about him as a leader. i just laugh and give my opinions and listen to them praise him. its good to hear Europeans happy about an american leader. but i worry that they too have caught Obama fever and expect too much.
anyway, i will take more pictures and post them when i can. i miss everyone, mostly because your so far away now, but not enough to come home any time soon!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
london
im finally in london! its great to finally relax and regroup. i have met some nice people aready and will have more to write about later.... right now i need sleep. this whole ny time had me all fucked on the the time zone. hopefully tomorrow will be filled with adventures around the city! Good night everyone.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Bon Voyage.
I have less than 24 hours left before I fly to London. I have my debit card, the insurance company has settled, I found a place to stay and now all I have to do is wait.
This is the worst part. I don't have anything I NEED to do so I just sit and think for hours about what could go wrong. I would like to go to a grocery store before I leave so I can get snacks for the plane. Other than that, I have the next day to do whatever I want.
When I get to London, I have some rad people to stay with, a tattoo convention to go to for SG, possibly another set, and a friend waiting to see me! I am looking forward to seeing London again, although, I am already ready to leave. I want to go somewhere warm. That's difficult to do this time of year but I think I could settle on a lack of snow. Spain, Portugal, Morocco....
As far as the last few days, I have been happy to be out of Philadelphia. It was nice while it lasted but to be honest, it was a waste of time. New York is proving to be a nice little spot for regrouping before Europe. I was up late last night with Sean and David, sharing embarrassing stories and having silly predictive pictures drawn.
Yesterday was productive too. I finally got to shoot with Brooklyn and will have another set up in a few weeks! I cant wait to see the final outcome of my set! I can already tell that it's very different from my first set!
On my way home from the set yesterday, I realized that Jake was probably right, I think I fractured my toe. It gets sore when I walk a lot or if its cold. I can't remember hitting it on anything but I know something is wrong. Whateves. It's one of the middle ones so it shouldn't be a big deal.
On a different note, my plans for the next year have changed (yet again). I don't think I will be coming home in May/June like I said. I have what seems to be enough money to make my way to Japan from London via Asia. I'll see part of Europe, Morocco, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories, Iran, through Pakistan to India and Nepal and on to Southeast Asia. I know some folks who will be in Tokyo in September, so I want to be there then and then make my way home!!!
By the end of it I will have seen four continents and at least 20 countries! After that I have South America, Australia and Antarctica. I'm pretty sure that by not following through on this I would not only regret it but would be a total loser and failure for chickening out.
Yeah. Anyway. I will miss everyone very much and I cant wait to share more with you! I still have email and all that so don't be shy! It might take me a bit to get back to you but I will! No phone though.
Wish me luck!
This is the worst part. I don't have anything I NEED to do so I just sit and think for hours about what could go wrong. I would like to go to a grocery store before I leave so I can get snacks for the plane. Other than that, I have the next day to do whatever I want.
When I get to London, I have some rad people to stay with, a tattoo convention to go to for SG, possibly another set, and a friend waiting to see me! I am looking forward to seeing London again, although, I am already ready to leave. I want to go somewhere warm. That's difficult to do this time of year but I think I could settle on a lack of snow. Spain, Portugal, Morocco....
As far as the last few days, I have been happy to be out of Philadelphia. It was nice while it lasted but to be honest, it was a waste of time. New York is proving to be a nice little spot for regrouping before Europe. I was up late last night with Sean and David, sharing embarrassing stories and having silly predictive pictures drawn.
Yesterday was productive too. I finally got to shoot with Brooklyn and will have another set up in a few weeks! I cant wait to see the final outcome of my set! I can already tell that it's very different from my first set!
On my way home from the set yesterday, I realized that Jake was probably right, I think I fractured my toe. It gets sore when I walk a lot or if its cold. I can't remember hitting it on anything but I know something is wrong. Whateves. It's one of the middle ones so it shouldn't be a big deal.
On a different note, my plans for the next year have changed (yet again). I don't think I will be coming home in May/June like I said. I have what seems to be enough money to make my way to Japan from London via Asia. I'll see part of Europe, Morocco, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories, Iran, through Pakistan to India and Nepal and on to Southeast Asia. I know some folks who will be in Tokyo in September, so I want to be there then and then make my way home!!!
By the end of it I will have seen four continents and at least 20 countries! After that I have South America, Australia and Antarctica. I'm pretty sure that by not following through on this I would not only regret it but would be a total loser and failure for chickening out.
Yeah. Anyway. I will miss everyone very much and I cant wait to share more with you! I still have email and all that so don't be shy! It might take me a bit to get back to you but I will! No phone though.
Wish me luck!
Monday, January 19, 2009
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