A quick post - Saturday

I am in Salt Lake City, in the neighborhood known as Sugarhouse, having just eaten an enormous plate of nachos and having a second beer. I have been working A LOT. Today I went around to a bunch of yard sales, visited the large thrift store where i purchased some furnishings, and went to a bank to open a free checking account. This bar/restaurant is really nice, and I'm thinking about asking out my waitress. (Yeah, I know how cheesy that sounds, but sometimes you gotta go with your gut). I'll let you know how it goes...

UPDATE: It's one week later, and I'm back at the same restaurant, this time drinking pepsi to awaken my tired brain. I never asked her out--lost my nerve at the perfect moment, when I had the best opportunity to do so. I regained the nerve, but it was too late. This time, there is a different server. Oh well. Also, in this past week, the experiences I've had and people I've met make the missed opportunity not seem so bad. Although, I really was feelin' the girl that works here and am resolved, if I ever do come back here and see her, that if I feel the same sort of vibe I will ask her out. Anyway enough about that, my burger's here.

The rest of the way to where I'm at - A really long post

As I write this, I sit in a coffeeshop in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. It has been two weeks, to-the-hour, since my arrival here, and I figure it's time to sit down for a bit with a nice coffee, and catch up with the journey that brought me to this spot.

Let's start where we left off, shall we...

Part One - To Austin, TX

Leaving Pilgrim House in the morning, I drove west into Arkansas, reflecting on my experience in Memphis. The weather was alright, a bit gray and a bit humid, but nice. The first few hours flew by with me in a daze, and I found myself entering Texas to some beautiful scenery. As I approached Dallas, I saw some lightning in the distance amidst foreboding clouds, and felt the tinge of anticipation about driving into a storm.
I thought I was, but I wasn't prepared--the rainstorm that I encountered near Dallas was CRAZY--during the first and most intense part of it, rain was falling so ridiculous that no one on the highway could go more than 40 miles an hour. I couldn't see ten feet in front of my car, and could barely makeout the lines for the lanes. It's one of those driving moments where your entire attention becomes focused on simply making your way safely through the near-blindness of the conditions. It's as if you channel all of your attentive energy into your next move, and even still, you rely mostly on faith to get you through. These moments happen throughout life, and driving, since it is a life-or-death activity at times, certainly can have this characteristic. While this experience was a rush, it left me feeling a bit frazzled, which continued through the rest of my drive due to the rainy conditions and the constricted-construction nature of the highways I was traveling on. As I approached Austin, I got directions from Zach, (whom I had never met) to his house and arrived there relieved after another long day of traveling.
So here I am, at someone's house whom I have never met, a friend of a friend whom I have only known for a relatively short time, and I am asking (have already asked over the phone) to stay the night at his home. Thankfully, he is gracious and kind, and says 'of course'.
Zach is very cool -- a proud Texan, outspoken but thoughtful with a critical sense. After meeting his wife and sister and her young baby, he drives me into downtown Austin to have a beer and see the (astounding) nightlife. The 'South by Southwest' festival is in town, so a good portion of the Tuesday-night crowd is a result of this, however that alone does not explain the nightlife we encounter. The austin scene is amazing--it is known as the live music capital of the world, and rightly so. We go into a bar which is fairly packed--this is Tuesday night mind you--and have a drink. Conversation turns to politics and world affairs almost immediately (which I believe Becky specifically warned me not to talk with Zach about, assuming our differences would make such subjects a source of bad feelings). In fact, our conversation is interesting as hell. Having never visited Texas, learned about it, or conversed with a 'proud Texan' before, the experience is very educational and quite a lot of fun.
After a couple beers, Zach takes me on a walk down 6th street, the famous nightlife center. This is almost too much for me to take in, in my road-weary state--there are endless clubs, people pouring out on the street everywhere, all different types, from bums to punks to fashionable folks--all races, etc. Not that all of this is new to me, but to see it all so vividly and larger-than-life, on a Tuesday night--is amazing. From what Zach tells me, on Friday or Saturday entire blocks are closed down, and the streets are literally filled with people, especially on occasions like Mardi Gras, Halloween, or a college football game between U of Texas and Texas Tech or Texas A&T. The nightlife here really has to be seen to be believed. After this we return to Zach's house, where I sit preparing to go to bed on his couch writing this.


Part Two - To Albuquerque, NM

Today's drive was interesting-- a few things stood out. Stopping at Dairy Queen in semi-rural Texas for lunch, and being looked at by pretty much every other customer in the joint. An amazing moment when I was driving through texas where suddenly, over the horizon, I am confronted with the sight of hundreds of windmills spaced about the plains. The sun setting as I enter New Mexico... On the whole, another day full of driving experiences to remember.
As I drove into New Mexico, I felt, for the first time, all of the driving really starting to get to me. I noticed myself talking to myself maybe a bit more than usual. There was a weird moment at a (totally lifeless) truck stop gas station--where I felt a bit 'off', but simultaneously felt the power and sacredness of this place for the first time. From there, I regained a lot of sense of awareness. The arrival in Albuquerque was definitely the most relieving of my arrivals--having gotten all the way west, I felt this was/is a major accomplishment, and with today's driving I came to really appreciate what it took to get me here.
I met with Ryan at his friend Marla's house, where I also met his cousin Matt. They were all very welcoming, and Ryan essentially offered to let me stay at his apartment despite that he would not be there that night. His out-of-his-way kindness, in addition to all of the great kindness I have been shown leading up to this place, really cements the experience for me.
Writing much of the preceeding before going to sleep in Albuquerque, I realized that it would be best for me to spend another day there, relaxing and catching my breath, before heading to Salt Lake City.
The next morning I woke up late (ahh lovely sleep), and went on a walk with Matt to get some TP for the bathroom. Upon returning to Ryan's apartment, I took a walk around Albuquerque (which by the way was experiencing record-high temperatures for the day, in the high 70s at least), visiting a nice restaurant and a cool used bookstore where I found a gem on the $1 rack outside the door. After this relaxing jaunt, I returned to the apartment, where I hung out for a bit and talked with Ryan and Matt. We decided a bit later to take my frisbee out to the large lawn right across Central Ave from Ryan's place, on the U of NM campus. We tried to throw the frisbee, but the wind was ridiculously disagreeable, so we sort of gave up on this.
Around this time, folks were beginning to show up for the pick-up soccer game which apparently is a weekly event on Thursday afternoons on this big 'ol flat lawn. The game sounds great to all of us, so we hang out and eventually things get started. Now, I am a cigarette smoker, so my lungs are not up to par, however Albuquerque is also at a high altitude, and now I totally get it about places like Ecuador where their national soccer team gets used to difference in altitude--it's really difficult to run when you're not used to it. Despite my relatively crappy soccer skills, the game is still enjoyable, and I end with some nice memories in the form of a nick-on-the-shin and calf soreness.
After this, we return to Ryan's apartment and chill for a bit. We make plans for the evening to have dinner there with his friend Marla. The soccer has made us all tired, and the evening ends up being very low-key and relaxing. Going to bed early, I prepare for the last (for now) 10-hour day of driving, to get to Salt Lake City on Friday night.
Even though Salt Lake City may not be the final destination, it is certainly the conclusion of the first chapter (or perhaps, second chapter, since we should count the traveling that led up to my move)--and I am overwhelmed with joy and gratitude by how smoothly things worked out. Having a vision, and trusting that it would work out somehow, coupled with good planning and not being shy about asking my friends to help me (and then asking their friends to help me), made this a very special experience. My deepest appreciation and thank-yous to my friends, old and new, who helped me pull this off. Those who assisted me by contacting their friends around the country, and those who, not knowing me, kindly and warmly welcomed me into their lives.

Part Three - You to Utah

My drive from Albuquerque begins particularly early, for me, having caught up on sleep and hoping to stop for a few hours in Arches National Park as I reach Moab and still arrive in SLC at a reasonable hour. I don't remember much specifically from the first few hours (that's what happens when, burnt out from all this traveling and writing, you don't write a word for two weeks), however I do remember arriving in Moab and visiting Arches Nat'l Park.
After lunch at Wendy's, I drive a mile or two past Moab to the entrance of the park. Now, my car has been all over in the past few weeks, and this is it's second trip across the country, so I'm a bit apprehensive about climbing mountains with it, but the drive into the park isn't so bad. The views are absolutely beautiful - comparable to Yellowstone in some ways, though each has a totally unique beauty. I realize shortly that I will not be able to traverse all of the park in a few hours, and resolve to go about halfway in and then return in the future for the full experience. I stop often to grab a picture or two, and eventually arrive at the North and South Windows (why Microsoft hasn't shamelessly exploited this natural monument for a marketing opportunity I don't know--I only hope their web-crawling intelligence doesn't steal the idea from this posting). I walk the path up to one Window, and return on a different route to another.
As I leave the parking area of this, I am forced to turn around, as there has been an accident in the park (a hiker has fallen and broken bones), and exit a different way. At this point, I hear what I believe to be a tire losing air, and as I pull into the next view area, my worry gets the better of me and I decide to head back to the highway, resolving to stop and get the tire refilled.
Of course, once I hit the highway and place my focus on reaching SLC, I completely forget to stop for a few hours until I need gas, at which I point I realize that if the tire hasn't gone flat yet I guess it's okay. I take a lovely picture of the sunset (Utah sunsets are amazing), and drive on. I reach the city, and find my way easily to Rachael's apartment. I am elated to be there, to see her and to know that I safely arrived. It is Friday night, two weeks ago tonight. I'd like to write about the two weeks that have passed since that night, but right now I want to get a refill on my coffee and have a cigarette. I have been sitting here for over an hour preparing this post, and it is time for a break. See you soon...

Pilgrim House -

(this photo is not mine, it's from http://www.pilgrimhouse.org/ i slept in a different bed but in the same spot, directly underneath that awesome painting on the wall)



After a long but beautiful day of driving on Interstate 40 West (i got sunburn on my face), I arrived in Memphis at 9 or so p.m. My destination: a hostel known as Pilgrim House, located in First Congregational Church, a service-oriented church community hosting a number of very cool organizations within their walls (which is how I lucked into learning about this hostel). I followed the directions into the city, but was baffled when I turned onto a street with the wrong name on the sign (WTF?). Thus, I circled around to a nearby mcdonalds, and, ordering a Big n' Tasty from their dollar menu (that sandwich isn't even around in the north anymore), asked for directions to the church. The cashier was very helpful; turns out the street I had turned onto was correct, and that I was close. Arriving at Pilgrim House, I wasn't sure what to expect--my only previous hostel experience was in New York. Upon entering the hostel, I was greeted warmly by the folks that were in the office--young folks around my age. I met four people - Zac, Kate, Matt and Anna - and was struck with the strange feeling that I had met them before (perhaps in a dream?), and the related feeling that I will see them again in the future. Zac, Kate and I soon got into some conversations about hip-hop. Between the long day of driving and the feeling right at home with them, I think I probably came across as very opinionated and a little bit self-focused, in our conversations. Realizing it then, but not able to do much about it, I was glad that they were still very warm and did not seem offended by my broad judgmental statements about hip-hop, or whatever else. The room that I stayed in was a shared room (actually two connected rooms) called Rainbow rooms. There was no one else in the rooms, so it was like having a private room which was really cool. There was a painting on the wall, directly above the bed I slept in, which was very powerful--I wish I had taken a picture of it (luckily someone else did and I posted it above). After conversing late into the night, I stayed up and spent a couple hours on craigslist, looking at jobs and housing in salt lake city. (SPOILER WARNING! to tie this together: as I post this, I am in SLC going emailing to these very same listings I found in Memphis)


The serendipitous nature of learning about Pilgrim House and the people I met there, coupled with the Christian and historical significance of it all definitely had a strong effect on me feeling that this was another stroke of destiny, and a blessing upon my trip. Thanks to everyone I met, you'all were very helpful and welcoming, and really made my experience great.

Greensboro Connection: Days Three and Four and Tangent and Conclusion

(authors note: these events happened a few days ago, blah blah just posting it now)

Day Three

On my third day in Greensboro, I went down to Tate Street again and planned out my further travels. After spending a good portion of the afternoon here, I returned to Danielle's house where I met her roommate Stefan. We hung out, and jammed on the drums and guitar. After this, Danielle and I took a walk which led us along train tracks near her house. We spoke of self-improvement, and relished in the moment. We then traveled to a potluck dinner with Danielle's colleagues and friends from work. This was interesting because Danielle did not know exactly the house or the street we were looking for, yet after driving around a bit we found it. The people I met there were cool. Next, we went to a show (a concert, when the bands are 'indie', is called a show not a concert--if you go to these things you already know this) at an awesome art gallery called 2ArtChicks. This was an ideal space for such a thing--in the midst of an art gallery, a stage.
One thing about Greensboro is that beers at bars are considerably cheaper than in CT--at least, if you know where to look. The bar where i puked had $2 dollar specials (as you can see, inexpensive beer is not necessarily always a good thing). At the show, all of the better beers were only 2 bucks and the old faithful PBR was only One Dollar. One Dollar. However, having barfed on the PBR 2 nights previous, I opted for a Pete's Wicked Ale Strawberry Blonde. I met some more very cool people, and got into a very interesting conversation with one of Danielle's friends, and ended up missing a lot of the music while standing outside. And yeah that was that night...

Tangent

You know, I'm starting to really think this whole 'blogging about my experience' thing is stupid (or at least ineffective) on a number of levels. For one thing, my writing style is pretty boring, I'm trying to go into considerable detail, and what I'm writing about isn't that compelling--its not like I was out putting myself into dangerous situations or going on crazy benders (or for that matter, describing sexual exploits). No Sex + No Violence = Bo-Ring! Also, there is not much insight that I have to share with other people about my travels--my insights are my own. Lastly, what I'm writing about is fairly personal--people are probably going to get certain impressions about me from this, like that I'm a drunk since I'm always talking about beer or that I'm generally completely full of myself since I'm writing about my travels in such detail. I envisioned writing this blog as a way to keep in contact with my friends from home, but of course that doesn't work since it is a one-way conversation.

On the whole, I think that this blog was a dumb idea, however, I am not going to abandon
it but force myself to at least finish writing and posting about my travels. It has been a great experience, and all parts of it, and the people I met, deserve recognition.

Moving on,

Day Four

The last day of my time in greensboro was by far the most enriching and nourishing. After spending some time in the coffeeshop where I had by now become a regular, i decided to take a walk around Greensboro. I covered a good mile or two, and while the particular (random) route that I took did not bring me to 'see' many particularly interesting things, it was very nice nonetheless. After this I returned to Danielle's house. In a moment of intuition, Danielle suggested that we simply hang out on her porch that night and just chill, as the weather was beautiful. This may not sound like excitement, but for folks like us this is often far better than chasing a rush which in the end leaves you feeling empty. It was this night that we had our deepest connections, communicating and bonding, while mutually inspiring each other to create. I know that probably sounds ridiculous, but the reality is there was something magical, at least for me, and very nourishing about this simple and relaxing set of moments.

Conclusion

My time in Greensboro was fun and enriching. It helped me prepare for the road ahead, and settle in to the new direction my life has taken. Being around Danielle gave me the motivation and the environment to re-engage with my spiritual side and to focus on the moment at hand, as well as on the tasks ahead, without over-worrying about either. She helped me grow in a lot of ways, and I'm very thankful for her friendship. I love the city of Greensboro, and plan to return there soon.

Greensboro Connection: Days Zero through Two

(authors note: these events happened a few days ago, i'm only getting around to posting them now)


Day Zero

The drive from Manchester, CT to Greensboro, NC is the longest I've ever undertaken alone in a single day in my life. That morning (since I couldn't do it the night before on account of the extreme cold), I packed everything I (now) own into my car, leaving behind that which wouldn't fit and wasn't that important, and left my home in Connecticut. These factors giving a sense of profundity to my day, there actually wasn't much about the driving itself that was very memorable. I was content, and spent a good portion of the time consciously feeling myself breaking the ties that had kept me in my hometown for so long (by this I don't mean breaking the ties to my friends and family, but rather the invisible 'pull' that I feel had kept me in something of a rut for quite a while).
I arrived, finally, at 1:30 in the morning to meet my friend Danielle, whom I had visited in Greensboro once previously (with friends) since she moved there from CT. Danielle is a spiritual type, a seeker of knowledge, like myself, and I had been greatly anticipating the chance to hang out with her one-on-one, which is something that we hadn't fully done before, as most (not all, but many) of our experiences together in the past were within larger groups of friends. Anyway, I was exhausted that night and pretty much went to bed as soon as I had settled in to her home and on to her couch. Welcome to the rest of the world Nate...
The days I spent in Greensboro absolutely flew by, even when they were not filled with specific 'excitement'. I guess I'll describe some significant events from each day, in relatively chronological order, only because that is how I have already drafted this and I feel like there's way more important things to consider than how to best format and present my experiences (like considering going to sleep now, as I write this..)

Day One

The first full day I spent in Greensboro, Danielle and I drove around some (I don't remember what we did, it is blended together--was this when she gave me a tour of her workplace, or when we went to get coffee, and/or we had lunch--i can't recall at this point), and eventually returned back to her home, replete (I think that's the word) with some beers. We got into talking about our spiritual paths and processes, discussing life, and sharing poetry. Danielle is a very talented
poet--she has a knack for creating a movie-like scene in your mind with her poems. Both of us experienced a bonding and a moment of overcoming fear when we read things to each other that were personal, that we were hesitant to share at first. Next, we headed over to a nearby bar to meet with some of her friends. Now, I had not eaten dinner at this point, and while I realized this was potentially a problem I soon forgot about it and continued drinking at a moderate pace once we were at the bar (beer was much cheaper at bars than you see in CT--more on that later). We sat in a booth passing back and forth a piece of paper (writing rhyme/poem snippets back and forth, as we had once done years before in an IM chat to our mutual enjoyment), and watching as folks showed up to this bar. I met some interesting and cool people, however towards the end of the night, when everyone was sitting around a table having conversations, I began to feel that ultra-woozy 'I-cant-sit-here-any-longer' feeling. I went outside on the patio, lit a cigarette, and proceeded to put my head down on the table while the cigarette burned, not taking a single puff, as people came and went through the rear door of the bar. Luckily I was left alone with some semblance of privacy, but even this did not stave off the inevitable--in the corner area of the patio, behind the table, I pyukedy-puked! Wow. Been quite a long time since that happened... Luckily only one person witnessed this, and it was Danielle's friend Brett, with whom I felt comfortable, although still obviously embarrassed about the situation. I felt immensely better after puking of course, so Danielle and I went to an awesome 24-hour diner where I finally got my dinner. Yummm.

Day Two

Went to the ever-awesome Tate St. Coffeehouse, and posted a bunch of blog entries. Ate pizza and stood on a chair to plug in my laptop high on the wall in New York Pizza (they were cool, and suggested this as it was the only outlet). Slept. Did other stuff but nothing that I can think of now was particularly notable. This was the 'slow' day of the trip.

Plane Trip: Goin back to Cali - conclusion

Here I am again, sitting on the plane (the red-eye) from Los Angeles back to Hartford Connecticut (technically Windsor Locks, CT), Friday night 2-29-07. The trip has been very interesting and lots of fun, well--as much fun as a business trip can be. Not 'a blast' in the sense of partying and craziness, just simply an enjoyable experience that I feel I made the most out of.
During the three days of the conference, I heard two very good 'speakers' who talked of things more generally relevant outside the professional field that most conference attendees belong to. These were Mike Singletary (hall of fame football player, and now assistant coach for the SF 49ers), and Dr. Robert Cialdini, author and professor, an expert in persuasion (and as he describes it, ethical persuasion). Both of these speakers were great to hear, as they each had valuable things to say (I assume they were paid well for their time in sharing this knowledge with the employees in the audience). This is one thing that I really like about being a sound tech--you get to experience things that you wouldn't otherwise get to, and you get to observe the events you work at from an outside perspective; an observer's point-of-view.

In addition to these two relevant-to-me presentations, I did audio for a lot of speeches which had very little interest to me personally. Once i realized that the work itself was going to be relatively easy, with only a few occasional moves here and there, and a definite need to stay awake, i began to write down notes--thoughts, poems, music ideas, etc. For your enjoyment, and to properly punctuate this description of my trip, I will transcribe some of these 'notes' here, for your enjoyment.

blah blah and of course, blah. next, i'd like to tee up a blah blah and actually, perform all of this simply by blah and also blah. if there was ever a way to blah blah, its obvious that would be blah without necessitating much discussion. So, what have we learned? One thing we have uncovered is that blah blah and bloop have significant effect on how pibbledy plop synergizes on blah-related splop.

in summary,

sunlight bathes your skin
which in turn fires my kiln
which subsequently writes my poem
that is the engine of your memory

and then there was:

oh my gosh if i do not continue this inner monologue on paper then I will fall asleep, and since I am at work that would be bad. it is difficult, very much so, to not nod off right now. the hum in this room and the man speaking now both put me to sleep. "I'm ready for dinner Mom" said Harold Coburn. "Sit down then", his mother barked.

however, not all was utter boredom. I did write some rhyme fragments as well:

contrive this, hoping to arrive with some live shit
dive in, derive
thrive with life in drive
they try to bribe me to betray my tribe
replay the vibe

bargain with jargon, carton by carton
market my target, barge in, charge it

On the experience of the sound guy: LA trip part two

(pretty sweet hotel room, eh?)

First, of all, let me say that I'm a sound-tech. My job on this trip was to monitor the audio levels of microphones for individuals speaking/presenting at a sales conference. What follows is a sort of musing on what a sound-tech experiences, which is of no importance whatsoever, so don't read it.

I must preface this by saying that the nature of this conference was such that presenters were speaking one after another in the same room, thus there was no opportunity for 'sound check', which would largely eliminate the problem I am about to describe.

One thing I realized is that a lot of people unintentionally make it difficult for the sound tech to properly set their audio. Problem is, for a sound tech, that inevitably makes you look bad or at least mediocre. For example, a lot of times the first thing a person says when they get onto the stage (their mic has been turned on, but the sound tech has not yet had a chance to establish a good level for them), is "can you hear me?"... okay, this is a natural thing to want to know first, before proceeding, but it is generally bad news for the sound tech, and here's why:

As soon as you arrive on the stage, the first words out of your mouth gives the sound person time to adjust your level, so chances are people cannot hear the first four words you blurt out. When this happens, as it inevitably does, there are a few choice strategies used by speakers to deal with it, other than to simply continue talking at the same volume, waiting to hear themselves and receive feedback from the audience (the correct response, but one that rarely happens)

"Can You Hear Me?" ("No.") -- strategies used by presenter on stage:

1. Talk louder or directly into mic
2. Look at sound guy baffled
3. Stand there frozen and silent

1.
When they talk louder, or pull the mic to them and talk directly into it, it is more likely that the sound tech will overshoot the level. It's not that this is a big problem, it just sounds bad and it's obviously stupid.

2.
When they look at the sound guy baffled, this is no big deal as long as the the sound guy gives them a 'thumbs up', or a 'keep going' (roll of the hand) motion. Then they resume talking as the sound tech sets the level and all is good. If the sound tech does not give any signal, other than an "I dont know what the fuck you should do" (shoulder and palm lift), see the following scenario:

3.
The worst thing a presenter can possibly do is stand there silent. The entire point of the first few words is to get the level right. If the crowd couldn't hear you, the sound tech is now turning up the sound on your microphone. However if you stand there silently, he or she cannot tell if they are turning it up too loud or loud enough. When you begin speaking again, perhaps it is blastingly loud and feedback-inducing...did you ever think of that?

The truth is, none of this is really that bad, however it really shouldn't be this difficult, and the short 'bad-sounding' moments are often remembered more than the majority of time when the audio runs smoothly. I guess that's just the way it is.

Plane Trip: Goin back to Cali - part one

(author's note: these events occurred over a week ago, i am just getting around to posting them now)

As i type this, i am flying high in the air. After staying up all night preparing for my trip to l.a., I embarked at 3:50 a.m. to my father's house, to drop my car off before going to the airport. The snow had already started in earnest, and there was at least a couple inches of fresh unplowed snow. Driving conditions were ridiculous--on 291 west i got stuck in between two oncoming plows, narrowly escaped hitting the second one which proceeded to pass me on the right, and made my way the entire course going no more than 40 or so miles per hour. Arriving at the airport, i managed to get my boarding pass, and during the security check was totally taken by surprise when i entered a booth and was blasted by puffs of air. I set off the metal detector, and after removing more things and being cleared, i was told that my bag would be searched. my dumb ass had forgotten--there was a pocket knife in there! wow. I'm lucky not to have been in any trouble from that, and it also made me glad that airport security really works. So then, i get to where you wait, meet Greg (whom i'll be working with for the next few days) for the first time, get ready to board; we board, sit there, and then we find out that due to the nature of the particular class of plane (a smaller one), the runway is 'contaminated' and that we will not be cleared to take off. So we 'de-plane', and stand in line for 25 minutes trying to figure out what to do. They get us on a direct flight to l.a., that doesn't leave until 3:30 p.m. So, after hours of intermittent sleeping, reading, and general airport boredom, here i am, in the air, flying towards fargo n.d. to angle down to l.a.x.

postscript: what a long day. we finally arrive in L.A., and take a long cab ride to our hotel, where I get to meet other members of our A/V and Event team, and have a nice dinner before buckling down to set up the equipment. The setup goes surprisingly smoothly, and gives me positive energy looking forward to the rest of the week.

New York City - methinks its awesome: Day 1

(author's note: these events occurred weeks ago, i'm just getting around to posting them now)


Day One

i drove down to Milford, and took the Metro into the city, reading a book. i arrived and made plans to meet with Ryan, organizer of the Methinks collective NYC roadtrip. after figuring out the subway route, and finding my way to the bar, i went inside to an eight dollar cover charge (ouch!), and ordered a drink. there i was, sweating in two long sleeve shirts standing around for 10 minutes waiting for a drink, with my huge backpack totally getting in the way of everyone. for this first 15 minutes (and only for this 15 minutes, out of the whole trip), I was feeling pretty uncomfortable. then, right around the time i was finally getting my drink, Ryan arrived with some folks from the roadtrip. I tried to introduce myself and explain my reason for meeting with them, over the incredibly loud sound system. we hung out there a bit, but couldn't really have conversation it was so loud. the band was cool, playing 'funk' classics. anyway, we left there. four of us: Colin, Orest, Ryan, and myself rode the subway over to greenwich village area (washington sq park), and stopped for a slice of really good pizza.

conversation began to get intellectual here (as usual, catalyzed by a shared appreciation for South Park), which continued in the pub "The Olive Tree" over a couple of pitchers of guiness. to introduce ourselves to each other, we were talking about family, and spontaneously Ryan decided to guess my step-father's name (which is a very common name, as I told them). about 20 minutes or more later (with everyone at the table guessing), Ryan finally guessed it. its astounding how a group of three people can go through almost every single common male name (and many uncommon ones) before they figure out the one that is right in front of their eyes. i did give clues, but always within limits where there was still considerable challenge. this probably sounds like quite a stupid activity, but it was a lot of fun. i guess you had to be there.

conversation then turned to racism in the u.s. and we got into some depth about that, discussing the different relationships of black and white, from canada to the u.s. we discussed media figures, and i brought up carlos mencia whom no one had heard of (or at least heard). i brought up the concept of 'anti-globalization' movement to find out what they thought and how much they knew. soon the conversation broke into smaller fragments, as if due to a single moment of inspiration. ryan began writing, colin went fora smoke, and orest and i continued to talk, about old-school video games and their relation to our changing culture. a few minutes later, i went outside for a cigarette, and it hit me: a feeling of holy-shit-here-i-am-in-new-york-city-in-greenwich-village-at-the-time-that-bars-are-letting-out. suffice to say, it was a rush, and felt great.

at 2:30 or so we decided to head back to the hostel. we took the subway, but eventually got to where no line would take us to our stop, so we split a cab ride. the cab ride itself was an experience, through ryan's tongue-in-cheek and tall-tale-telling conversation with the cab driver. upon making it back, i got to spend a few minutes in the hostel lounge, meeting a few more roadtrippers and writing the beginning of this post.

staying in a hostel-what an experience. so much going on, so many different people from so many places (so many languages!), moving through such an intimate space. i only slept about five hours, and those hours were replate with confusion and intermittent dreaming.

New York City - methinks its awesome: Day 2

(author's note: these events took place a few weeks ago, I am getting around to posting it all now)


Day Two

after waking up really late, and explaining my presence as the random-new-guy-in-the-room, I ventured downstairs to figure out what to do. at the front entrance of the hostel, i entered in conversation with some members of the roadtrip, and asked them to tag along on their street-art/graffiti tour. it was Mike, Jamie, Jesse and Jennica (sorry if i spelled any names wrong!), and myself. the tour was really well-designed--while i'm sure it doesn't cover all of the keystone graffiti locations (as if such a thing could be defined since it changes always), it really exposed us to some very interesting buildings, corners, street-signage, etc. Mike was especially knowledgeable about the artists and techniques currently popular in nyc and beyond, and i learned alot from him and the other folks as we went. we walked clear across manhattan, from canal st at the red-line subway stop, all the way over to bowery and then up all the way to the gray line. we stopped to eat at a really cool hot dog place called Crif Dogs, where they had PBR cans and some really intriguing hot dog choices. from there, we took the subway as close as possible to the edge of the island, where The Armory Show (an art show) was taking place.

went in to the armory show, and had the real 'art' experience. the pieces, the galleries, etc. are as always a mixture between prescience and pretentiousness. i am inspired to create art, on a number of levels. one thing i think would make a good art project would be to take photographs of people who visit these 20-dollar-admission art shows and then look with some sort of disapproval upon you (well if you look like me, that is, not like someone who 'belongs' in their world). i think it would make for good art--to capture these people, their interactions, their looks (at me), and their unintendedly ironic posturing and general activity within the mise-en-scene of the art works surrounding them (as well as some of the reactions to the art itself, although i realize as funny as that can be i wouldn't want to cheapen the depth of any piece in this way). anyway, i'm lugging my massive backpack around, and my neck is really hurting. i stop for a few minutes to write these thoughts, and rest my shoulders. i return to the galleries.

then came the party in Brooklyn, the cornerstone of the trip. after spending the day doing a graffiti tour and visiting the armory show, i returned to the hostel with the group i was with. i returned to the room to relax, and talked some with two of the girls who were staying there, whom i had met briefly that morning, as 'the random guy in their room'. after taking a shower, and trying to fix the problem with my keycard not working, i went down to the other room where everyone was hanging out and pre-party drinking. i got to meet a bunch more people and had an enjoyable time in conversation. i was drinking some banana rum and getting a bit tipsy when, in an attempt to grab some doritos, i inadvertently turned my cup over and spilled it all onto my pants-leg. doh! i went to the bathroom to attempt to dry it off, feeling very embarassed, but realizing that this was quite silly and that these people weren't going to think i was some complete loser because of it. i had a moment of overcoming my fear of embarrassment, which in retrospect was an important moment for me. from there, i returned to the room where i was staying in order to drop off my backpack, where i met a few other 'roommates' who wanted to come along to the party. as a result, i went downstairs with them, and after about 20 minutes of confusion, we set off in a group of about 20 to brooklyn for the party.

being that people were already tipsy, the subway ride was quite a lot of fun. there was antics, laughs, interesting conversations and people to meet. one thing that i have noticed alot thorughout this trip, which i feel is a testament to the friendliness of canadian people: many of the people on this trip will engage with strangers in a friendly conversation with no scruples, whether on a subway, on the street, in a pizza shop, or at a bar. this is something that doesn't happen so much in CT where I'm from, but i must say i appreciate it alot.

we found our way to the bar with no troubles, but as we approached we began to realize there would be an issue with people not having IDs. this was a real downer since we had all come together, and the point of the party was generally to bring everyone together. a few bands had come down from toronto (some that morning) in order ot play at the show, so on the whole this was a disappointing development. as a result, the group split, with those under 21 (and a few over) traveling to another place. staying with the over-21 group at the party, i had some really awesome conversations with a few people, and checked out the bands. the first band didn't really work for me, however this turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as it caused me to move away from the stage where i could hear people talk a little better, which led to some of the awesome convesation i've referred to. the next band was very cool--there were two guys, playing pre-programmed beats and grooves, and over them adding a wide variety of parts, from hand drums, to vocals, to drumkit drums. their 'stage presence' was awesome, although i dont know if it can be called stage presence when the spend the majority of the time not on stage--in the audience, standing on the bar, etc. the lead vocalist was getting in peoples faces, screaming out the lyrics, and generally wildin out. the style mixed electronic dance music with hip-hop with soulful, and at times very emotional (screaming) vocals. on the whole they were very enjoyable. during this time i was hanging out with Anika and Nalini (again, really sorry if i misspell names!), two friends from toronto who were also staying in the same room as me. after this second band, a DJ started playing some dance tracks. this got people going, and i had a great time dancing with the group. as the night progressed (pretty much as soon as we left the hotel), i found myself helping to keep things in order; make sure everyone is together, coordinate plans with other sub-groups, etc. as it got a little later, we decided to leave, together with another sub-group from the hostel. we had some problems taking the proper subways back to our hostel, part of which I feel responsible for, and these difficulties made everyone a bit frustrated. eventually, we did make our way back (thanks to a helpful fellow subway traveller), and i ended up staying up for another hour or so (it was 4 a.m. when we got back to the hostel) talking with Ashley from the trip, before turning in for the night.

New York City - methinks its awesome: Day 3

(author's note: these events occurred weeks ago, i'm only getting around to posting them now)


Day Three


this morning i woke up, well, this afternoon, at 12 something. after having a bite to eat, meeting with Colin in the cafe area, i returned to the room, packed up all my stuff, turned in my key, and headed out. i had no exact destination in mind, so i ended up getting off the red line at houston st. and walking towards the river. i took a nice long walk along the piers, sat down and relaxed, and got a suggestion of where to go (christopher st.) to get wireless internet. walking back, i found this place, and sat down, and spent a good little while typing this out. i feel a sense of peace, as a result of this trip, though i really wish i had time to go back to the hostel, talk to the many people i met individually or semi-individually, thank them and wish them luck, and make any contact information for keeping in touch available. for the record, thanks to everyone whom I met on this trip, for making it an enjoyable and memorable experience. special thanks to Ryan from Methinks for graciously inviting me to join in his group's adventures.

The Boathouse Gig, or, How Canary Mine Kicked my Heart in the Nads

(author's note: some of this is present-tense, though i'm posting the finished version days after the actual event occurred)

As I write this, I am in Kitchener Ontario Canada, sitting in a bar next to a skating pond in Victoria Park, listening to a band that is making beautiful music, music which is doing to my heart what the people of Who-ville’s singing did to the Grinch’s on that fateful Christmas morning. The band is Canary Mine, and they are friends of mine. While this familiarity makes my experience all the more amazing, don’t be mistaken that these emotions and inspirations are due simply to the fact they are likeable people. No, this is about their music and their transcendent collective awesome-ness. They are one of those bands who hits the stage and makes magic happen, although I get the feeling that one must be a Canadian (or in my case, a student/apprentice/wannabe-Canadian, at the very least) to fully appreciate the magic that they make.

They are composed of three individuals whom I know from earlier times in life, and one whom I've just met but am already convinced is totally awesome. This band is the most entertaining thing I feel like I’ve heard in years, and they bring a smile to my face with every second that passes. The vibe in this room is absolute wonderful magic, something that a lot of cynical people cannot understand, and which they may regret missing when they are old and crotchety. How can I describe this? Here’s my poetical attempt:

its the interplay of love between musicians who love their music and love their audience. its the interplay of love that comes from the interchange of spirits choosing to love, through the band and through the audience. it is the crafting of solidly tight confidently played love spontaneity humor wisdom and ROCKANDROLLMUSIC with all the (reaction-ing) (explosion-ing) energy of the SOUL, augmented when fragmented effectively distributed underneath our skins continuous. Left with memories (manifested) moments of social existences (instances again) but this is all generalistic simplistic descriptive of implicit effects individuated and distinct as imprints (differentiated in instant separation from This one).

…or somethin...

I met some very cool folks and enjoyed some good strong Canadian beers, too. I even got on stage for a quick freestyle, which to my mind was pretty crappy, but at least it rhymed and I started and ended at the right times, so it wasn’t all bad. Still, here’s how I should have done it:

I got nothing planned to add to this song

So I guess I’ll just make it up as I go along

Chillin in Ontario has been real awesome

‘It’s green outside’ and the flowers will blossom

We’re living here on earth in a scary time

But I’m glad that there’s bands like Canary Mine

Bringing all this positivity and mad good vibes

I’m just happy that tonight I was along for the ride

Peace!

From Hamilton to Toronto: The rest of my Ontarian Odyssey (god I hate when people use stupid expressions like that).

Day 4 (or something):

After staying up wayy too late last night in order to update online resources and send a few emails, (with the movie “Wimbledon” on TV for accompaniment; it is a crappy movie but I couldn’t help watching it because I love tennis), I slept for 4 hours and then drove with Dennis to his work. I hung out for a short while and googled the directions to drive into Toronto, then set off after purchasing a ‘Vault’ energy soda and some Doritos (a flavor unknown in my home area, Tandoori—awesome). As I approached the city, I phoned the number for the ‘Marshall McLuhan program’ at the University of Toronto (which I had found online and was interested to check out), to be told that essentially it was useless for me to visit unless I was interested in entering graduate studies for becoming a librarian (umm, nope). This is neither here nor there, but WTF it's called the McLuhan program at the university where McLuhan himself taught--you'd think there'd be some chunky-style communication-intellectual Action for a cat like me...



Thus I found myself entering the lovely city of Toronto with a couple hours to kill before I could meet with my friend. After finding my way to the area I wanted to be in, I drove around in a very frustrating manner for at least 20 minutes, trying to find a parking space, with no luck. Eventually I gave in to paying for parking and pulled into an underground facility which had the cheapest rate of any I had come across (which happened by pure luck, as it was the closest spot at the moment I finally gave up). I wandered around some, changed over all the U.S. bills that I had in my pocket (30 bucks), and went into a nearby bar to have a beer (and eventually lunch). I sat there by myself, a little tired and out of it, and before I knew it 12:45 had become 2:40 and I was off to meet my friend James. We returned to his house where I took a 3 hour nap. Following this we hopped in James’ car for a guided tour of Toronto, which was very awesome and taught me a lot about the city. For example, there are a lot of ‘ethnic neighborhoods’ (in the vein of Little Italy or Chinatown), and they are each really interesting. We passed through Korean, Greek, Portugese, Vietnamese, Indian (as in India), Italian, and Chinese neighborhoods and streets, to name a few. We went through the CBD and James described for me the major attractions including a new 'times squre'-like area with large television screens throughout. The entire city was covered, from the north where James lives down to the shore of Lake Ontario. After that we stopped to pick up James' bandmate (and another friend of mine from when I attended school in Ontario six years ago), Joe. Together the three of us went to check out a bar where some individuals from James' hometown(s) of Kitchener-Waterloo were performing (that is, we were in Toronto but they are from K-W, aka ‘K-Dub’). The bar was a chill place, though the drinks were a bit expensive (6.25 canadian for a beer?!) and we hung out and talked about important stuff like music, Anna-Nicole Smith, hockey, and what the clip was that kept playing on CNN (I still haven’t figured it out, it was someone flipping out on a reporter at their front door or something like that). After a while there, we rolled back to drop off Joe and stopped on the way for pizza slices. Upon returning to James' subsequently, we hung out for a while and played some of our tracks for each other.

Day 5 (i think):

Saturday I had a slow start, then in the afternoon I drove into the downtown area to meet up with a guy named Ryan from an art collective called Methinks. Talking with him was very inspiring, to know that there are artists out there doing awesome things on a community level. After I told him a bit about my work, he suggested that I meet up with the Methinks “NYC Roadtrip project” when they are in the city, as I live only a few hours away anyway and there would be lots of opportunity to talk in more depth and find collaborators at this event. It sounds like a really cool thing, so I’m trying to make sure I can attend. I’m hoping to utilize the opportunity to be introduced to this so-called ‘art scene’, and to discover and decide both the extent and direction of my energies within this scene (in other words, whether and how I fit in to it). Overall, Ryan was a cool cat and talking with him definitely made me feel like my research efforts (and my cold-contacting of his and one other collective) had been fully worthwhile.

Saturday night I rode to Kitchener-Waterloo Ontario with my friends from Canary Mine. The night was awesome, in fact there is so much to describe I’m going to post a separate poetical thingy on my thoughts about it and leave it at that.

Day 6 (final day):

After breakfast and another awesome guided tour of Kitchener-Waterloo, I returned to Toronto with James and his roommate Dinesh. The whole drive we were bumping hip-hop (the new Sean Price and a classic, Biggie’s ‘Ready to Die’), so that was awesome of course. My last night in Toronto was spent hanging out with Joe from Canary Mine, who was showing me some techniques in Ableton Live. He created a really nice instrumental track (playing all the instruments himself except drums, which he’d programmed), supplemented with a few vocal and horn samples that we copied from my laptop and mapped onto his M-Audio Trigger Finger. The track was bangin’ and I came up with an idea for vocals, but of course we didn’t have time to finish anything that evening.

Conclusion

On the whole, my time in Hamilton and Toronto was awesome. As cliché as this sounds, it was awesome to see old friends and make some new ones. It gave me the chance to get some perspective on my situation, and infused me with a new rush of creative energy. I felt the pressure of having very little money, and spent a bit more than I would have liked to, but had a great time and didn’t bankrupt myself, so it all worked out. Toronto is definitely high on my ‘Top (x) Cities to Move To’ list, and I’d really like to visit with some of my friends from home, who I think would really enjoy and benefit from a little Canadian air. Big ups to my musical homies Canary Mine and Crayzdom, and thanks especially to Dennis, James, and Joe for their hospitality and friendship. Ontario, I’ll be seeing you again soon…

Hamilton, Day 1 and 2

This is my collected story of how I got to Hamilton and spent the first two days of my trip. It's not going to be particularly insightful or particularly exciting:

Packing and preparing my supplies took longer than expected, and I didn’t get to go to sleep until about 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning. I slept until about 11:30, and with my few morning chores (including an oil change) didn’t get on the road until 1:15 or so. The drive was easy, and nice, although there seems to be a problem with my fuel indicator, that is the fact that it hasn’t gone down beyond 4/5ths of a tank throughout the second half of the trip, and that it didn’t leave “F” for at least an hour and a half of driving. Otherwise, things were fine until (hour 5 or 6 when) I hit the Buffalo area and was suddenly driving though a snowstorm with very low visibility and high slipperiness, with (as I found out when I stopped to add only $4 worth of gas to top off my tank despite driving for 2+ hours previous) a frozen windshield washer fluid resevoir (apparently not the same as the bottle of ‘antifreeze/windshield cleaner’ that I was planning to refill with). Luckily the shitty conditions cleared up completely as I moved closer to Niagara Falls, and were fine the rest of the way to Hamilton. Crossing the border went very smoothly, and after stopping at Tim Horton’s (ahh, good old timmys) for a coffee and a bathroom break, I returned onto the QEW (thats a highway) to discover a few miles later that my car’s hood was not fixed down and was quavering as it tried to flip completely open. Was it like that since Buffalo, the only time I opened it? Shit. I pulled off the next exit to fix it, and eventually found my way back to the QEW with the help of some drunk types leaving a bar/restaurant.

Something you should know about Ontario is that the speed limit is 100. You notice this difference driving on the highway: the cars go a tiny bit slower. (that’s my little joke).

Arrived to Dennis’ house to warm hospitality and a home-cooked meal, got to check out his studio and spent hours talking about many things, like music and movies and TV shows, catching up. He told me of his struggles to get acknowledged by local promoters despite being a fixture in the local scene, and I learned of the status of some of our classmates at RAC which was very interesting to me. As I prepared to actually go to bed, the conversation turned to presidential politics, election systems (votes of no-confidence), Obama, racism, media, and more (Michael Moore, that is). That was all the spark I needed to stay awake, and we talked til a bit after 5 a.m.

Having not slept the night before, and up so late this night, I slept away the day until 3 p.m. on day Two. Both Dennis and I had apparently caught something 'going around', causing a scratchy, phlegmy throat and nasal congestioin. Fun! So for this second day neither of us felt like doin' shit so we sat around, watched TV, and talked some more. There were some highlights to this, however: an awesome show called "Art Attack!" which is a kids show demonstrating how to make cool art projects; "Face-Eating Tumor", a TLC special about a kid who had enormous tumors on his face and how the doctors saved him

Also, two new sports that I had never heard of: Beach Soccer (4 on 4! awesome!) and Kayak Polo (also sweet!) were shown and described on TV.

Having a cold is shitty, but it is getting better. Tonight or tomorrow I'll be heading out to Toronto for a couple days. Even though my time in Hamilton has been uneventful and I felt crappy, it was my own choice for it to be uneventful and it is still enjoyable to be here.

First an Introduction

So I know that this blog will present these 'posts' from last (most recent) to first (oldest), and this totally screws up the whole idea of having an introduction, but whatever. Here it is:

I'm going on an open-ended touring/networking/learning type of trip, I'm not sure what to call it. Ontario first, then back through Connecticut, down the East Coast, and west to the West Coast, with no real clue where I'll end up (I'll be happy if my car makes it to Salt Lake City). My goals are to break bread with good people, make connections, find collaborators, learn stuff, and potentially look at jobs or graduate schools for the long run. Included in all this is (finally finishing and) presenting some of my own 'work': as a hip-hop producer (years worth of beats!), a performer of some kind (comedic and occasionally serious songs), as an amateur visual artist (collages, working on a book of them), and as some sort of writer/academic type with (hopefully original) strategies and ideas for grassroots democracy and democratic media. I've been researching online and finding some art-collectives, musicians, university programs, and individuals that I'm going to try to contact, but in general it's pretty must just a nomadic, figure-it-out-as-I-go type of journey.