2. Spring Break in Montreal
3. The day I finished class, Central Park
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Good Eveningk Baltimore!
Howdy doody.
Wowie a lot has happened since I last wrote, and I might have to skim over the finer points.
Oregon happened. Made my way to La Guardia, then through Philly to Portland. Flying into the P-Dawwwwg we came right past Mt Hood- this freaking huge, lone ranger of a mountain, all covered in snow- and also past Mt Saint Helens, the gutted, defeated volcano. Caught the tram to meet my couchsurfing host Kena, a girl who's set up her own volunteering initiative in Africa, is a vegan, fire-twirling, dread-locked acrobat artist. Supposedly this is all pretty usual in Portland. Bit of a shock coming from the ol conservative East Coast, believe you me.
The few days I spent there seeing films, buying derricious jewellery, eating derricious food, drinking derricious microbrews, getting toured around by some couchsurfing kids and just chillin. It was lovely to be taken under peoples' wings and just give myself to being there. It was such an easy place to be. But yeah, it's homogenous, rich, hipster to the death, and super comfortable. But bloody great.
Then I smanged my way down to Eugene through a crazy rideshare that involved a dirty ragamuffin basketeer who was going to study herbology in the forest, a chirpy ranga father who had driven from LA to Minneapolis and back to attend his daughter's graduation, and a homeless guy with a brown weathered face and a dog called Annie, brushed and washed for the trip, scrubbed up alright.
Eugene was a hoot. Unfortunately it's one of the worst places in the States for allergies, but no biggie. There I was welcomed into the families of some student co-ops- The Campbell Club and The Lorax- and immediately upon arrival was handed a delicious plate of vegetable delight and asked what my horoscope was. We spent some lazy days riding bikes around, doing tie dye, sitting in the sun, cooking, being sumo wrestlers, and generally feeling the love. There were a few parties and Gavin! made an appearance at the open mike as a result of some much-needed encouragement.
Then I went back to rainy New York and within a few hours caught another ride upstate New York to visit some rellies. That was peaceful: days spent drinking tea, wandering around Jay Mountain, hearing stories and cooking. On my final night my aunt and I had quite a few wines looking over to Whiteface Mountain- an old Winter Olympics site- and munged hardcore on stirfy. All enjoyable.
THEN I spent about a day back in NYC before Poppa G flew in. We've been doing some touristy New York things, eating nicely, sleeping in ritzy hotels, all the things I could not afford to so far. So it's a treat being looked after like that.
Arrived in Baltimore about an hour ago with the help of a girl called Erica who saw we had no flippin idea where we were. We got off the bus wayyy too early, right out in the burbs, but she managed to give us a lift to the hotel door. Absolute champ.
Now zhe farzzzha has passed out on the bed so Imma rouse him, then go get some food and have an early night.
bissouxxx to ya'llllll
Wowie a lot has happened since I last wrote, and I might have to skim over the finer points.
Oregon happened. Made my way to La Guardia, then through Philly to Portland. Flying into the P-Dawwwwg we came right past Mt Hood- this freaking huge, lone ranger of a mountain, all covered in snow- and also past Mt Saint Helens, the gutted, defeated volcano. Caught the tram to meet my couchsurfing host Kena, a girl who's set up her own volunteering initiative in Africa, is a vegan, fire-twirling, dread-locked acrobat artist. Supposedly this is all pretty usual in Portland. Bit of a shock coming from the ol conservative East Coast, believe you me.
The few days I spent there seeing films, buying derricious jewellery, eating derricious food, drinking derricious microbrews, getting toured around by some couchsurfing kids and just chillin. It was lovely to be taken under peoples' wings and just give myself to being there. It was such an easy place to be. But yeah, it's homogenous, rich, hipster to the death, and super comfortable. But bloody great.
Then I smanged my way down to Eugene through a crazy rideshare that involved a dirty ragamuffin basketeer who was going to study herbology in the forest, a chirpy ranga father who had driven from LA to Minneapolis and back to attend his daughter's graduation, and a homeless guy with a brown weathered face and a dog called Annie, brushed and washed for the trip, scrubbed up alright.
Eugene was a hoot. Unfortunately it's one of the worst places in the States for allergies, but no biggie. There I was welcomed into the families of some student co-ops- The Campbell Club and The Lorax- and immediately upon arrival was handed a delicious plate of vegetable delight and asked what my horoscope was. We spent some lazy days riding bikes around, doing tie dye, sitting in the sun, cooking, being sumo wrestlers, and generally feeling the love. There were a few parties and Gavin! made an appearance at the open mike as a result of some much-needed encouragement.
Then I went back to rainy New York and within a few hours caught another ride upstate New York to visit some rellies. That was peaceful: days spent drinking tea, wandering around Jay Mountain, hearing stories and cooking. On my final night my aunt and I had quite a few wines looking over to Whiteface Mountain- an old Winter Olympics site- and munged hardcore on stirfy. All enjoyable.
THEN I spent about a day back in NYC before Poppa G flew in. We've been doing some touristy New York things, eating nicely, sleeping in ritzy hotels, all the things I could not afford to so far. So it's a treat being looked after like that.
Arrived in Baltimore about an hour ago with the help of a girl called Erica who saw we had no flippin idea where we were. We got off the bus wayyy too early, right out in the burbs, but she managed to give us a lift to the hotel door. Absolute champ.
Now zhe farzzzha has passed out on the bed so Imma rouse him, then go get some food and have an early night.
bissouxxx to ya'llllll
Saturday, May 12, 2012
B.A.L.L.S. - grow a pair
Yeah hi.
Done done done! Saturday morning (well, actually nearly 3pm).
Setting the record yesterday, I handed in an assigment FOUR DAYS EARLY, expediting the end of the semester. Or 'term', but that's a weird thing to say in America.
So, done! It's a bit weird really, what do I do? Exchange kids are packing out of Stony Brook, heading home. Local kids are (already) gearing up for all their unpaid summer internships, and summer classes, which begin in about 2 weeks. Unpaid internships are a BIG DEAL here..everyone's seeking them. Seems it's the only way that people with a Bachelors degree can actually get into a field that they studied. However I know people who are going back for their 2nd, 3rd summer at the same place- still no cash.
I've written a mothhherlong list of all the stuff that needs to happen now, now that I can't procrastinate any longer. Couchsurfing in the city, sorting out travel insurance, getting shots for Central America, finishing off my final batch of 'New York- Wonder City!" postcards, cleaning my room, dying my hair. I'm not sure whether to stick around Stony Brook and chill with the crew, or go to the City and play there for a week, or start adventuring to a part of the country I've never been. I actually just found $450 return flights for Oregon next week, SO TEMPTING. I know some kids there and I'll just have to see if that'll work or not. Either way, it's wonderful to be able to decide impulsively again, and not be tied to that stupid attendance grade.
After finishing up with assessment I rolled to the city, found myself on a lucious lawn in Central Park just north of the Jackie Onassis Reservoir, put on some Nicolas Jaar, and went to sleep in the glorious sun. There were French children running around, picnics, doods with their shirts off, couples, daschunds, the whole shebang. Then I found a vegetarian cafe on the Upper West Side and did some people watching whilst I nommed a quinoa salad. The place is booming right now. Give New York City a balmy Friday night and all 8 million of them are on the streets. Then Pies my sister called and I wandered around, before catching the N/Q/R train (Not Quite Right, Not Quite Right) down to Greenwich Village- saw 'Gay Street!' ( I didn't think that place actually existed!) towards Webster Hall. Saw M. Ward, and it was delicious ordering an $8 bud (thanks, bitches) and retreating to a velvet bench overlooking the theatre and doing some journal/ people-watching/ breathing. It's a nice feeling when you're peaceful enough just to be, when you don't want to do anything else than just sit and soak it up. Once M. Ward started playing I went downstairs and everyone was kind of swaying, jigging in a "We're-New-Yorkers-But-Deep-Down-I-Guess-Country-Music's-Ok" kind of way. It was a lovely show, then caught the train all the way home, watched an episode of Mad Men, and passed the F out.
Today, who knows? I'm totally out of Money until '11am Sydney/Melbourne time'- what's that, like 8 hours? Thanks commonwealth. Imma watch more Mad Men, finish 'How to be a Woman' by Caitlin Moran- a freaking brilliant read- do more chores, and basically not do anything. Weird to stop!
Will keep you posted re: Oregon plans, and if they eventuate or not.
Oh and also, 'balls'. Important. Over the last week I've realised that everyone just needs to grow a pair of balls. For a while now I've held back on certain stuff- on my music, on being brave, on just DOING something without fretting about it. So, from now until it gets old, Imma live by the 'balls' way of life. Maybe a tattoo on the forehead ala Garden State. But seriously. Should I go talk to that person? Should I promote the sounds that I'm making? Should I invite everyone around -even people I've only spoken to once- for a Monster Going Away See Ya Stony Brook Pahty (Potty)? Should I travel by myself and just meet people along the way? Balls.
Obviously, yes.
Until soon, my loves.
G
http://soundcloud.com/gavinsaysyes
Done done done! Saturday morning (well, actually nearly 3pm).
Setting the record yesterday, I handed in an assigment FOUR DAYS EARLY, expediting the end of the semester. Or 'term', but that's a weird thing to say in America.
So, done! It's a bit weird really, what do I do? Exchange kids are packing out of Stony Brook, heading home. Local kids are (already) gearing up for all their unpaid summer internships, and summer classes, which begin in about 2 weeks. Unpaid internships are a BIG DEAL here..everyone's seeking them. Seems it's the only way that people with a Bachelors degree can actually get into a field that they studied. However I know people who are going back for their 2nd, 3rd summer at the same place- still no cash.
I've written a mothhherlong list of all the stuff that needs to happen now, now that I can't procrastinate any longer. Couchsurfing in the city, sorting out travel insurance, getting shots for Central America, finishing off my final batch of 'New York- Wonder City!" postcards, cleaning my room, dying my hair. I'm not sure whether to stick around Stony Brook and chill with the crew, or go to the City and play there for a week, or start adventuring to a part of the country I've never been. I actually just found $450 return flights for Oregon next week, SO TEMPTING. I know some kids there and I'll just have to see if that'll work or not. Either way, it's wonderful to be able to decide impulsively again, and not be tied to that stupid attendance grade.
After finishing up with assessment I rolled to the city, found myself on a lucious lawn in Central Park just north of the Jackie Onassis Reservoir, put on some Nicolas Jaar, and went to sleep in the glorious sun. There were French children running around, picnics, doods with their shirts off, couples, daschunds, the whole shebang. Then I found a vegetarian cafe on the Upper West Side and did some people watching whilst I nommed a quinoa salad. The place is booming right now. Give New York City a balmy Friday night and all 8 million of them are on the streets. Then Pies my sister called and I wandered around, before catching the N/Q/R train (Not Quite Right, Not Quite Right) down to Greenwich Village- saw 'Gay Street!' ( I didn't think that place actually existed!) towards Webster Hall. Saw M. Ward, and it was delicious ordering an $8 bud (thanks, bitches) and retreating to a velvet bench overlooking the theatre and doing some journal/ people-watching/ breathing. It's a nice feeling when you're peaceful enough just to be, when you don't want to do anything else than just sit and soak it up. Once M. Ward started playing I went downstairs and everyone was kind of swaying, jigging in a "We're-New-Yorkers-But-Deep-Down-I-Guess-Country-Music's-Ok" kind of way. It was a lovely show, then caught the train all the way home, watched an episode of Mad Men, and passed the F out.
Today, who knows? I'm totally out of Money until '11am Sydney/Melbourne time'- what's that, like 8 hours? Thanks commonwealth. Imma watch more Mad Men, finish 'How to be a Woman' by Caitlin Moran- a freaking brilliant read- do more chores, and basically not do anything. Weird to stop!
Will keep you posted re: Oregon plans, and if they eventuate or not.
Oh and also, 'balls'. Important. Over the last week I've realised that everyone just needs to grow a pair of balls. For a while now I've held back on certain stuff- on my music, on being brave, on just DOING something without fretting about it. So, from now until it gets old, Imma live by the 'balls' way of life. Maybe a tattoo on the forehead ala Garden State. But seriously. Should I go talk to that person? Should I promote the sounds that I'm making? Should I invite everyone around -even people I've only spoken to once- for a Monster Going Away See Ya Stony Brook Pahty (Potty)? Should I travel by myself and just meet people along the way? Balls.
Obviously, yes.
Until soon, my loves.
G
http://soundcloud.com/gavinsaysyes
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
So Close to Being Done
Gday!
Sitting at home on a rainy, overcast Wednesday nutting out my final assessments. It's not a lot, really: an exam (plus two written pieces), a final report and a final essay. I've got the tingling anticipation when you can sense freedom but this is why I'm locked in my room with a cup of tea, water and nothing but my laptop. And the internet for distraction, I guess.
Classes have wrapped up, which is crazy. How quickly did that go! It's unfair. I'm getting settled, becoming chums with a bunch of people-- can see the opportunities for a great summer of camping, beers, music, campfires, the beach...and I have to leave. I curse the university for disallowing 12 month exchanges. To think of returning now, I feel so unready. Unprepared to go back to it all! To work, to school, to expectations (my own, no doubt) that I'll be involved in all that is work/school/environmental/co-op/drama. It's been a wonderful holiday, and it's definitely not over (more than two months to go), but this stage is wrapping up.
When I went to Montreal I was so nervous to be packing my bags and being on the road again. You just get settled so quickly and upending yourself is a big deal. So I guess we'll see how this next upending goes. I'm pretty excited, really. Apart from leaving people here, it's gonna mean that I've got 2 solid weeks in NYC to play and see theatre and buy nice clothes and hang out. Then I'm off to Tennessee with my father to walk the Smoky Mountains in the foothills of the Appalacians, and maybe the Blue Ridge Mountains (queue Fleet Foxes here). Then to Bonnaroo, a musical extravaganza with 80,000 people, and maybe catch the end of the Country Music Festival in Nashville. Then I plan to skim my way through the southern states of Louisiana and Texas before arriving in Austin where I plan to see my cousin for a bit. Then I'll fly to Cancun and begin my journey south through the Yucatan Peninsula, through Belize and Guatemala (and all that has to offer- including a lobster festival - 'party like a lobSTAR') and then for some diving at Utila, an island off the Honduran coastline. Let's see how it goes eh! I have the sneaking suspicion that imma run out of time.
And then home, and then I graduate at the end of the year, and then what? Who freakin knows. Being on the road will give me some time to mull it all out.
Much love to youse,
Hasta pronto. Better get back to study now, I guess.
PS listen to Patrick Watson- I saw him supporting Andrew Bird at the Beacon Theatre...this guy is gold, and gonna be huge very, very soon.
xoox G
Sitting at home on a rainy, overcast Wednesday nutting out my final assessments. It's not a lot, really: an exam (plus two written pieces), a final report and a final essay. I've got the tingling anticipation when you can sense freedom but this is why I'm locked in my room with a cup of tea, water and nothing but my laptop. And the internet for distraction, I guess.
Classes have wrapped up, which is crazy. How quickly did that go! It's unfair. I'm getting settled, becoming chums with a bunch of people-- can see the opportunities for a great summer of camping, beers, music, campfires, the beach...and I have to leave. I curse the university for disallowing 12 month exchanges. To think of returning now, I feel so unready. Unprepared to go back to it all! To work, to school, to expectations (my own, no doubt) that I'll be involved in all that is work/school/environmental/co-op/drama. It's been a wonderful holiday, and it's definitely not over (more than two months to go), but this stage is wrapping up.
When I went to Montreal I was so nervous to be packing my bags and being on the road again. You just get settled so quickly and upending yourself is a big deal. So I guess we'll see how this next upending goes. I'm pretty excited, really. Apart from leaving people here, it's gonna mean that I've got 2 solid weeks in NYC to play and see theatre and buy nice clothes and hang out. Then I'm off to Tennessee with my father to walk the Smoky Mountains in the foothills of the Appalacians, and maybe the Blue Ridge Mountains (queue Fleet Foxes here). Then to Bonnaroo, a musical extravaganza with 80,000 people, and maybe catch the end of the Country Music Festival in Nashville. Then I plan to skim my way through the southern states of Louisiana and Texas before arriving in Austin where I plan to see my cousin for a bit. Then I'll fly to Cancun and begin my journey south through the Yucatan Peninsula, through Belize and Guatemala (and all that has to offer- including a lobster festival - 'party like a lobSTAR') and then for some diving at Utila, an island off the Honduran coastline. Let's see how it goes eh! I have the sneaking suspicion that imma run out of time.
And then home, and then I graduate at the end of the year, and then what? Who freakin knows. Being on the road will give me some time to mull it all out.
Much love to youse,
Hasta pronto. Better get back to study now, I guess.
PS listen to Patrick Watson- I saw him supporting Andrew Bird at the Beacon Theatre...this guy is gold, and gonna be huge very, very soon.
xoox G
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