Hi Ya'll!

                                                      Giday from North Carolina!

After leaving Baltimore we headed straight west for the mountains. We passed through Frederick, Maryland, the middle ground in the civil war, then headed up to Harper's Ferry beginning our drip south along the Blue Ridge Parkway. I finished reading Bill Bryson's 'A Walk in the Woods' last week in Jay, and it came alive again straight away as we were passing through all of these little towns. Stopped at Front Royal, the entrance to the Shenandoah National Park, and reaped maxi benefits from the thrift stores there. Southern opp-shopping is outta this world.
We got a Chevvy from Baltimore--who we named The Ponce because we thought it was gonna be a Pontiac...but alas twas not to be. Still, The Ponce has been mighty faithful, and has been a noble steed in allowing dad and I to drive on the wrong side of the road and not sustain fatal injuries, yet. It was weird to get my eye muscles back into driving- I felt like I was going cross-eyed whenever I'd try and focus on the ashphalt. Maybe a trip to the optometrist is in order back home.

The driving has been friggin great. We took the Skyline Drive through Virginia, which is a thin little strip of National Park mountains, and the road weaves you around to views of both out west to west virginia and east to virginia and to the ocean beyond. We stayed at 'skyland' on our first night amid comments of 'Bill Bryson was here with Katz!!' from le farzha constantly. We dined with lots of old white people in the restaurant overlooking the setting. One particularly outstanding comment was from a morbidly obese old man chowing down waffles and a coke was that 'hey, I reckon there'll be a sunset tonight'. Gr7 one m7.

With a gift card from best buy that i found on the ground ($25- WIN!) we bought an ipod jack for our sweet tunes along the way. hank williams, band of horses, elvis, sufjan, bon iver, gillian welch, alison krauss, america, simon and garf, muddy waters, seeker lover keeper. Le pops is gettin a real treat.Any more suggestions for roadtrippin around america music would be grouse.

Last night we stayed at a place called 'Peaks of Otter' GEDDAROUND IT. It overlooked a huge lake and looming above was this triangular mountain called 'Otter'. Orright. Yesterday's weather was pretty bad so we got off the mountain and took the interstate through Virginia, Tennessee, then landing in North Carolina.
We had lunch in a tiny town called Erwin, and were treated to real southern hospitality by a crazy/enthusiastic lady who had a christmas themed model train cafe, with a bed in the middle and who made us a delicious strawberry salad (supposedly this is a southern thing). AND we had fried green tomatoes.
I found me a mad-ass tshirt from the 49th annual 'Autorama' in Erwin, TN and i plan on rockin it out today.
We drove 45 more minutes after lunch to Asheville, North Carolina and were met by a 5k running competition in the carpark of the visitor information centre where every ashevillian decided to run. It was drizzly but packed and there was lady gaga pumping and a sausage sizzle- i oddly realised how absent from small-town america my experience thus far has been. That community event where everyone is there, so different to the urban context. Found a room for the night, decided i should better start looking at anu subjects and enrolment for next semester. then we went out to a pizza restaurant/brewery where there were some finger-pickin hillbillies with big ears with banjos and a double bass. there was also a REAL LIFE COWBOY which made a table of kids sitting next to us gasp and turn wide-eyed when he swaggered into the room. A great night. Then we headed into downtown Asheville where a drumming circle takes place in the town square every friday night. EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT! a drumming circle! So dad and i shook it, no doubt the best groove we've both had for a while. There were old people, young people, tweeny boppers, dogs, hippies, you name it. There was that smell of freshness after rain, warm earth, coffee and food, and sweat. Today we're heading to an alternative university where part of the deal is that you have to put in hours on their farm to get your degree. Cool, no? They've got a music day lined up. Then we might head out and hit up the mountains again. I'm so close to tennessee which is where i'm heading next week for bonnaroo, but i decided to head back up to the City, leave dad, drop off the car, and come down REAL PROPER with the roadtrippin crew.

So, the next few weeks:
Bonnaroo
Austin
Mexico
and the final month of my trip in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras.

Chauuuu! Stay warm xox

1. Put a bird on it, Eugene OR
2. Spring Break in Montreal
3. The day I finished class, Central Park

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

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

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

goodbye you crazy week.

I have waited 3/4 of my life to see The Shins. It happened, tonight, at Terminal 5 at roughly 9pm. They didn't disappoint. The perfect mix of old/new; pop/acoustic; story-telling;jamming. Berloody great. This reaffirms my long-standing desire to know James Mercer and one day, one day, this shizzle'll be true. For the moment though, I immensely appreciate his lyrics, like ever. And, capping off a big, fat, 'arena spectacular on ice' week like no other.

I'm back in Stony Brook after spending a week in Australia. My grandfather died and I decided to head over for the whirlwind that was. The key things that stood out about home:

- the AIR! crisp, full of eucalypt and autumn rain and sunshine and grass. It fills you right up.
- Cows. Weird, but I haven't seen animals bigger than squirrels for like 4 months now. Just so crazy to see these huge creatures everywhere
- Stars. Boy, we do good stars in the country.
- the view. Woke up to a window-full of gently sloping dewy paddock, with blue gum trees dotted around. The sun was shining through the autumn burn-off smoke, sending 'God's fingers' (or 'aaaahhhs' as we call them in the family- like a perfect chord shining on the promised land-) across the farm.
- space. So few people. Mostly family.
- coffee. I have missed thee. 

Food was abundant, as always. Baths, many pots of tea, sleeping. I spent a lot of time raking through old photo albums compining a photo montage of grandpa's life. Struggled with a dust allergy, aggravated by the sorting of my clothes which i hastily shoved into bags back in December. Chats, wine, wine, wine. Back to the wicked McGowan sense of humour, bluntness, and love of a good story (and anti-communist child singalong).
After 30 hours of transit (Albury>Sydney (running through Sydney airport, seeing my 'final call' announcement for my flight, after my Albury leg was delayed due to ''''''''fog''''''''') > LA > JFK > Jamaica to catch the LIRR > Stony Brook. Long bloody time. I slept almost the whole trip, and then slept another 12 hours last night.

And now begins the final week of class. I have 11 pieces of assessment due before the week is over. Yoiks. Lots of library time, coffee and yoga. As you can tell from my writing I am still scattered, and in need of bed. Until later, mis amigos. xo

OOF

Oof it's 2.45pm already. Sunday afternoon, after sleeping in till 12.30pm. Last night walking to Penn station it was so balmy. I was in a new summer dress, no cardigan needed. Today it's overcast, but doors and windows are open, letting the warm air wander inside this cold old house. I put some pasta on the stove and heard my neighbours playing some BADASS rock and roll in their garage. I'm not sure which house, I'm not sure which neighbours, but this music just summed up this carefree spirit which is hitting this area big time right now. Not very good, considering exams are around the corner. You know that first touch of spring and everyone just goes crazy.

This week I have four assessments due. I'm home all day though, so I think maybe Judith and I will go for a drive when she wakes up. Down to the beach maybe. Plans have been starting to shape up for the summer, probably going to Belize, Honduras, Guatemala at this stage. I might buy a Spanish workbook to practice, before I go. I was speaking with an Argentine last night and I realise that I'm still so far away from where I want to be. It's doable though.

Lots of love to everyone, hope it's not too cold! xo