Perfection is Death.

A) Four places that I go to over and over:
Comicbook Shop, Indooroopilly, Shobbz' house, Channo's house.

B) Four people who e-mail me (regularly):
My Mum, Schnerfle, Channo, Shobbz.

C) Four favourite smells:
Eucalyptus, Cut Grass, Beer, the ocean.

D) Four places I would rather be right now:
New York, Istanbul, Tokyo and LA.

E) Four people I think will respond:
Er, not sure, most people that would respond responded on Schnerfles one already.

F) Four TV shows I watch:
Chuck, House, Castle, Thank God You're Here.

http://forums.kyhm.com/viewtopic.php?p=321451#321451

I spent a godly amount of time going over my past posts, not all of them were memorable, but they all reminded me of the time I posted them, where I was in the world and what I was thinking.
Its been a good day all in all.
Except for my mother getting sick and cancelling her trip to Vietnam which means I'm not stuck at home alone I've got both my parents here all week long and thats enough to make the day fall down.

I've started to do some working out with Channo, riding a lot more, after next week my Student card expires so I'll have to start skipping the train to get to the city on the cheap and I'll probably just ride my bike from Toowong, maybe try to start from a further distance each week, see how far I can get it before its too difficult to be comfortable.

I'm also looking into doing some Camp Counselling work in the US next year, Tierney seemed to have had a lot of fun at it last time he went over and I'm always looking for new and interesting ways to enjoy my life, so I might give it a go. Plus it means I can go to Canada afterwards and see more of Vancouver and maybe try my hand at mountain biking out there.

Everything here is real.

I blame my lack of Carl Sagan literature.

I have a copy of Watchmen now.
If I am not heard from in the next six days its because I've put on a mask and gone off to fight crime and break fingers.

w00000t!

I've several poisons over the years. Each more deadly than the last.
Firstly it was Alpha Centauri(from July 2000- August 2001), that game burned me badly, I still recall fondly the campaign against the Gaians that nearly wiped me out, but the Hive was victorious! Richard always played as the UN or the University, the Hive was my baby, because only the Hive knew how to run a population, with an IRON FIST.

Next was Day of Defeat(June 2001-September 2005), I was on Dial-up at the time and couldn't get a decent ping, but I'd play that at 2am when the network was a little bit faster(I tested it at all hours of the day, 2am was the sweet spot). I failed about six courses at Uni because I slept in every day. I was very very good at that game by the time 1.0 came out(I started back during 1.3b, loved 2.0b and nearly died of happiness in the glorious 3.1b days, 1.0 wasn't as much fun because they changed the crosshairs, I liked the old moving crosshair), DoD Source is my mistress, but I don't play it as much as I used to.

I flirted with Thief 1 and 2(Both in 2004), I had to stop playing because my brother came into the room when I was hiding in the game and nearly killed me with the sudden shock of the light coming on. Also those Fucking zombies... JESUS they freaked the hell out of me.

Richard and I both played Grim Fandango at the same time I think it was 2004, each trying to finish it first, but both loving every second of one of the truly great unknown games to come out in the 90s.

The worst time for me was Freedom Fighters(2003-), I can beat that game on the highest difficulty now in under a day, there is no challenge for me anymore, I just start the level, know where to go, all the secret passages and caches of weapons. I can move like a ninja through the back allyways of New York without hesitation, bringing a group of 12 urban guerrillas armed to the teeth with me. I have been set on fire, fallen on Grenades, used a pistol against an attack helicopter and stood at the base of the TV building and send wave after wave of my own men to their deaths for the sheer amusement of it.
Hitman was from the same developer(Io Interactive) and the first one kept me going for months(2001 again) mostly I'd just replay Traditions of the Trade, over and over and over. Hitman 2 was good(the Russian levels were the best, the Embassy Party was spectacular) and number 3 was okay(the escape at the end and re-doing Hong Kong were great, but some of the rest wasn't as good). Number 4 was fun, but not as good as the earlier games.

Now I'm living with Portals(2007-) and trying to get Kane & Lynch to work(I swear it will one day).
God help me, I never got hooked on Strategy games after AC, I'd probably be dead now.

Whats your poison?
Everything here is real.

Note: I also was this verbose about my Transmongolian tour and my Peru tour. I blame my aunty, she got me writing in that damn diary!

This isn't everything I put in, most of the rest was just random stuff like "was your tour guide friendly" etc. But I felt I'd typed too much for too long to waste it on some low level data monkey at Intrepid tours. So here it is, complete and un-edited.


Comments on your overall experience:
I entered the hotel after catching a cab from my last tour group, it was a hot summer day in Beijing. The first thing I realised was that the hotel elevator was bigger than the cabin I'd been living in on the train I'd just taken from Moscow, which was a plus for me. I met up with the group at about sixish I think, we were a small company, my tour in Peru was about 12, my Russian tour was 15 and my Turkish tour was about 20 people(that was only for a day and a half during the Anzac weekend). We went out for dinner, had a nice Peking duck and then the next day everyone but me went to the great wall because I needed to phone my embassy about a visa issue(note your visa section in the pre-tour guide isn't really all that informative other than saying you need to get a visa and then listing the penalties, again note that I got this guide in January so you might have updated it since then). That night the group went out to see a Kung Fu show, I'd already been to that show so I skipped it as well, opting instead to stay in the hotel and watch CNN for updates in the world as I'd been off the grid for about three weeks by this point. The next day we gathered together and went to the forbidden city, that was a lot of fun, Henry showed us around the place, telling us the little tid-bits about certain rooms, the ancient and modern history of the city etc. After that we split up, Henry wrote down on pieces of paper the places people wanted to go to so they could give them to drivers and get a taxi there, then myself and two ladies(Charlotte and Sophie) went to the White tower thing(can't remember the name of it) and then to the night market(during the day). After that we came back to the hotel and I think we packed up and left that night for the Train to Xi-An.
The train was like a hostel, except with small children running around everywhere, we ate like kings from the rich bounties of wine and some noodles. Henry took the bed in a room with myself and Valerie leaving the other four girls in a cab by themselves.
In Xi-An we got to the hotel, had a few minutes to clean ourselves up, get some quick sleep(thirty minutes was enough) some food and then we took a walking tour, we got to the old city wall and four of us went up the wall and rode rented bikes around the edges. That night we gathered in the lobby and planned out the next day then went out for food, we were shown around town by Henry and found a place to eat I can't remember where, I and I think three others went out to the bar district taking a cab back, stopping along the way at an amazing gathering of people all singing in the streets, it was great fun.
The next day I awoke to a hangover and the wonderful news that we were taking a bus to the Terracotta warriors, which was nice all in all, after that we went to the school for the disabled, which was a great idea and commendable, but not something I enjoyed very much(see the part that says low point of your trip for a detailed explanation of why if you like).
That night we caught a train to Suzhou, I was in charge of shutting the door because the light from the end of the carriage kept everyone awake, I think I strain my arm doing it. That morning we pulled into the hotel, got some food and then got taken for lunch(I got some sleep and I think some others got food) we went on foot to the restaurant that has Lonely Planet logos on the doors, they were really proud of their recommendation in that book. After lunch(which was good) we split up again and went to do a Canal tour followed by a nice walk in some random streets where Charlotte got some shoes and Sophie and I browsed about looking for junk to take home(at this point I congratulate anyone that read this far, if you did can you email me actor.au@gmail.com, just so I know that all this bloody typing is worth the effort) following that we went to the Humble Administrators garden which was nice, taking a rickshaw home, not so nice.
That night we went to a Tea House performance or something(I don't remember the correct title) and after that nice presentation we went out drinking. Henry showed us where the places to eat were, I think the girls all went off looking for junk to buy and I and my fellow Australian found an Aussie themed bar and left when we worked out that it was about $15 for a VB. It was at this point I broke my drought and drank some scotch in the bar next door. Sadly we couldn't find the Schoolgirl themed bar I was looking for and Charlotte seemed willing to join me in hunting down.
The next morning we took the bus to Shanghai. Found our hotel and then kind of bummed around, we did another walking tour, got lunch and such.
Then four of us went to the French Concession(the girls got a little lost because they didn't use a good map, I thought they were looking for a place to go not lost, Valerie and I found a mall information desk and they showed us where we were and where to go, top tip: Mall info desks and Hotels are the places to run to when you are lost, maybe you could put that in the guidebook somewhere).
We had a nice afternoon tea on the top of some hotel building's top floor bar, it was costly but nice, sadly the bright sky meant most of the photos in the room didn't turn out well.
We met up and took the subway to the Acrobatic show which was staggeringly awesome and then I think we all went to a restaurant that Henry had recommended but he'd gone home for the night by this stage, it was nice food, it just took forever to get to us. After the eternity it took to get some food, we mostly went home for sleep. I couldn't sleep for some reason so I went out walking, I stupidly left my camera, passport and everything else in the hotel, I walked up the main street and found an army of homeless people just lying wherever they could, women came up to me asking me if I wanted a massage, a man also came up to me, someone offered me drugs, some people just held out hands for money, I looked straight ahead and tried to pretend I didn't care about it. But it was difficult to do, I had some McDonalds and then went home to try and sleep.
The next day we had to skip the museum because the line looked to be about two hours long, three of us went to the French Concession(it took about half the time to walk there as it did to take a cab back) and then the girls did clothes shopping while I looked at suits and tried to not just buy all of them in one go.
After that I don't really remember, I think that was when I was sent on a mission to get some travel books as a thank you gift to Henry, he told us about how he wanted to go to Europe so we got him the European Lonely Planet(Mandarin edition) and the Austrailan one(also in Mandarin), that night we had dinner across the road from the hotel and ate, drank and were merry. We gave Henry his gift, paid for dinner took some final photos and then parted ways. Promises to meet up in the future were made, but it was the end of the group, some of us went for a walk to find a Cocktail bar, we were not successful sadly, we were happy to just find our hotel in the end.
The next day Valerie was gone early in the morning, I had another day at the hotel so I went out and did the most expensive thing I've done since I went caving under Budapest, I bought.... A SUIT.
At this point I'm pretty sure that anyone reading this has long given up on the informational value that this memoir provides and has just skimmed if anything, if you've managed to hold on this far bravo.
Charlotte, Sophie and I went out on the town, I'd also had a hair cut and a shave, I was looking less like Jesus and more like a member of the Regan Administration(not that some people in the US can tell the difference). It was a grand night marred only a little by a slight.. slight amount of rain that shat down on us and pretty much destroyed anything we were wearing, of course we elected to walk through it instead of catching a bus or taxi, because we are stupid people. Also we took the Bund Tourist Tunnel, you guys have to find a way to put that in the tour, its freaking awesome. We got back to the hotel, showered and dried up. I think we then went out again to the French Concession looking for the bar district, we found a nice bar
The next day I was still in my suit, I'd left it hanging in the hotel room for the night and it was somehow dry, I praised god and then said my last goodbyes, it was emotional. I took a last little walk around the area, had some food, thought about buying another suit, then took a taxi to the airport.
All in all a grand adventure.
1625 words, I've written essays smaller than that. Can someone email me this(please) because I think I've put a bit of effort in.


Low points of your trip and how they could be improved:
Visiting the disabled school, I have an autistic older brother and my parents spent their lives working hard to keep him out of places like that, not that it was a bad place, far from it everyone else(and me as well, just with less enthusiasm) was happy to see such hard work being done to help the most vulnerable members of society. Its just that places like that terrify me, the lady we met who runs the place deserves a medal for her work.
It wasn't a bad place and I commend you guys for taking people there and making them aware of whats going on, but for me it was just the worst place I could be at that time, for everyone else it was a field trip, for me it was part of my daily life I was hoping to get away from.
If you cancel those tours because of what I just said I'll never use your tour company again.


Comments on your accommodation:
I'd been staying in Hostels at this stage for about five months, followed by a five day train trip across Russia in a small room with two girls who did not find my adorable accent all that impressive, so any room that had a lock on the door and a tv just for me was good, having fridges, a non-communal bath, a double bed, lights that worked, privacy and a view that wasn't of an industrial estate was a reminder of how much I'd settled for when I was crashing in hostels, it was great to sleep in a room without having to lock my bags to a bed and sleep with my wallet in the pillowcase.


Comments on the transport:
Its not like you guys have any control of the trains, I think the girls in the group(that is everyone but me) didn't like the trains because of the toilets, I didn't mind it because I'm a man and the world is my toilet if I so please.
The buses were good, we didn't have any problems that I noticed, the few times we had to take taxis as a group Henry sorted it out with the driver and then gave us the fare back at the end when we gave him receipts(I think I gave him a receipt, just because I did accounting in uni for a semester).
Transportation was good, we were prepared for the train(I was a bit more prepared given I'd been taking trains across the world since I was in Paris three months prior but we'd been told what to expect and what to get for food etc). The waiting around at the station was a bit dull but no option I guess.


Comments on providing you with opportunities to interact with locals and experience their way of life?:
Sometimes it felt like we were in a Potemkin village, getting shown the high points and none of the bad, but after getting harassed everywhere by people offering to sell me shoes(seriously my shoes didn't look that bad) I realised that this was pretty much what the cities were like.
I went out walking late one night into the early morning and saw the sheer volume of homeless people in Shanghai along with a surprising number of Massage Parlours open 24 hours and realised that the homeless people and the poor and the rich were all there all day, we just never noticed the lowest of them till the highest people went to sleep, it was kind of tragic in a way.


Comments on the leader explaining responsible travel:
I mostly tune out when people start on about the environment and cultural sensitivity.
If we'd been out on the village stays then maybe it would have taken more of a central role but the cities were mostly western culture in all but name. Sure there are notable differences, but the two cultures click in like Lego when I was walking around Shanghai.
Having said that, I think the talks about Chinas history, both modern and ancient were interesting, the sheer volume of development was amazing. The cities culture isn't entirely western, and whats left is different, but it wasn't much, certainly not enough to worry about cultural insensitivity. Its hard to claim a culture needs to be coddled when they've got more Starbucks than Brisbane on the main street.


Do you have any comments on your Travel Agent and/or pre-trip information?:
Some kind of email about changed in Visa regulations would have been nice.
I had to go to four embassies to get a visa(Prague, wouldn't give me one because I didn't have a Russian one yet, Berlin, wouldn't give me one because I wasn't a German citizen, Moscow, same reason except replace German citizen with Russian citizen, I got my visa in Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar the day before I got into China). Before you think I left it too late I was told you can only geta visa 90 days before you enter China, they changed the rules in their Europe embassies after I left Australia and had already entered Europe when they changed them(also I was travelling a lot so I couldn't give up my passport unless I had a solid location to base myself till I got it back, Berlin and Prague were my first real bases that had Embassies that I could use and both rejected me), for what its worth the tour company I took to get to China(Sundowners) were utterly rubbish about Visas, they didn't even have a name for the hotel for me to use to put on my form, if they hadn't just organised someone in Mongolia to help me get my Visa I'd've probably burned their offices down by now.


So I'm back home now. Also China blocks Livejournal. Bastards.
Everything here is real.

I went to the embassy in Berlin, to check how much it would cost and how fast I could organise one once I get my passport back from the Russian government and was told by the infuriatingly polite lady behind the window that they only issue visas for German citizens in the Berlin embassy and that all Chinese embassies are like that, despite the fact that the Prague Embassy refutes that claim (I would have stayed in Prague to get my Visas except that the Russian embassy there wouldn't even let me in the door and the Chinese embassy wouldn't give me a visa till I had a Mongolian and Russian Visa and I figured I'd be better off waiting in Berlin).
I don't get my passport back till the 3rd of July(a Thursday) and I'm going to go to the Mongolian Embassy to see how much it will cost to get a same day Visa from them on that thursday or the Friday then I am going to spend the weekend getting to Helsinki to catch the train on Monday to Moscow.
I've phoned Sundowners they said that they would try to organise a same day visa from Mongolia or Moscow depending on Time. Either way they seemed confident when I said I would pay whatever it takes to get a visa.

That in a nutshell is the problem today, tomorrow who knows.
I classified yesterday as the third worst day of this trip in order they are:
1. Arriving in London.
2. Forgetting my Pin Numbers in London the next day.
3. Yesterday(all my troubles seemed so far away).
4. Getting stuck at the Miami Airport for Seven hours.
5. Losing my bags at the Paris Airport.
6. Third day in Amsterdam when I said goodbye to Belen from Argentina who I had met when we shared a dorm in our tiny hostel, I said goodbye and she got on a bus to Italy.
7. Getting Altitude Sickness in Peru(technically that happened over multiple days but I'm only counting it for the one day I nearly couldn't go on up that mountain).
8. Waking up on my birthday in the toilets of my hostel and having this guy with a neck-brace have to help me back into bed because I couldn't walk after I drank that bottle. And finding I lost my camera later that day(I'd lost it ages earlier but only noticed it in Barcelona).
9. Getting stuck in Bari because they changed the Boat schedual this year.
10. Taking the train from Sofiya to Buccarest and arriving four hours late because the trains suck in that part of the world, whilst hung-over from drinking more than I should have the night before and then getting lost looking for my hostel because Lonely Planet doesn't have a good map and I trusted it instead of the porno map I went and stole from a hotel to find my way home.

Looking at that list I can conclude that three things of the top ten were related to Alcohol(4,8, 10), four were due to the logistical incompetence of others(3,5,9,10), two were because I don't have the emotional capacity to deal with loss(1,6) and two were because I'm an idiot(2, 7).

But the good news is that the other 100 days so far have been awesome, so I'm not complaining.

Everything here is real. Goddamn it.

My cold has got to the point that I'm taking some meds to help it along.
Which means... I can't drink.
In MUNICH!

Egads, I'll be telling my children about this one day and laughing.

Everything here is real.

I finished all the blank pages in my Travel Diary yesterday and am now on volume two, not that I expected to ever actually be dedicated enough to get volume one finished. My Aunty gave me the book for Christmas, probably hasn't think of it since then, but every day I've written in it, sometimes I've missed days and made them up later from memory, usually I can tell those days because the entries are full but the little notes I made in the top of the page when I forgot to put something in aren't all there.

I went out in Rome and bought a new diary to record the next few months of stuff that happens as it happens. Its nice, but the pages are bigger so I have to write more to meet my one page a day goal. It gives me room to be introspective, which is not ideal because I can introspect for a good couple of pages without trying.
On the train to Bari, from Rome, (which was an ordeal and a half)I re-read the book from the first entry to my awfully self-indulgent conclusion, every day I had something to write about, but not always in the best way. I'm impressed how much I've managed to fit onto a page for some of the more interesting days but also I'm pissed about my horrible spelling errors as well as amazed by what I didn't remember doing until I re-read that damn thing. I have now to keep that book safe for the next two months and 12 days, because its the most important thing I've written so far.
One thing I know for certain I'm never letting anyone else read it, not for a long time at least, not till everyone mentioned in it is dead or already hates me so I don't care what they think, or if a publisher wants to make it into a movie, then I'm all ears.
Its good to remember things, even if my memories are unreliable.

Everything here is real.

Another day older and deeper in dept.

Barcelona has a reputation as a sunshine and coastal city. Which is why I opted to spend my birthday here.
This reputation has suffered a blow today, I'm soaked through to the bone right now. Freaking Spanish weather.
The good news is I've finished my itinery so I know where I'm going to be at any time between now and July 7th.

Hope your day was sunnier.

First list is a list of rules for travelling.
1. Use local currency only. US dollars and Euros are rounded up by local merchants so you lose cash.
2. Unless they're putting you on a public bus or train don't trust people at Airports with advice on how to get to where you are going.
3. No drinking the night before you fly. Hangovers mean sleeping in, which means you are stuck in Miami Airport for seven hours.
4. Use public transport, not cabs, collary to this rule: Learn the public transport system ASAP.
5. Walk if rule 4 fails, rent a bike if its too far.
6. Keep your Camera on you at all times.
7. Remember everything, even the bad stuff. Bad things make for hilarious stories three months later.
8. Don't forget home, its warm there.
9. Always book rooms two weeks ahead of time.
10. Meet a pretty girl, get her Email/Facebook/anything you can without looking like a stalker.
11. Don't lose notebooks.
12. Free breakfast is free, not eating it costs you money.
13. Tourist zones are not for Eating in.
14. You will return, don't stress about missing things.
15. In time all all tragedy is funny.
16. Remember what side of the road you are on.
17. Read and when you're sick of that write.
18. Get Homesick once in a while.
19. Keep your Hair tidy and your socks clean.
20. Never trust the Water.

Second list is a list of places I wanted to go(a few years before I left home I wrote this list out; crossed out ones are places I've been to).
[s]Seattle[/s]
Smithsonian
Amarillo, Roswell.
Mt Rushmore.
[s]Washington[/s]
Ottowa.
[s]Ireland[/s]
[s]London[/s]
Loch Ness
Vegas
Boston - Salem
New Orleans.
[s]Vancouver [/s]
Rio
[s]Incan Shite[/s](aka Peru)
Panama
Vatican
Octoberfest
Spain
Dacua(Munich)
Moscow
Berlin
Prague
[s]Normandy(Omaha Beach)[/s]
Stalingrad
Amsterdam
Hong Kong
Tokyo
Thailand
Bali
[s]New Zealand[/s]
Perth.

I saw the worlds first mainstream comic, the Bayeux tapestry. It was cool to be near something so old and so difficult to not end that last statement with a joke about your mum.
Bayeux itself wasn't my cup of tea, mostly because my hostel was beyond the definition of rubbish. That place from the movie Hostel would have been more welcoming than this place. The only good news was the company there was good, we bonded over how shite the place was.
I also went to Omaha beach by bike which was easier than I thought it would be, took about 90 minutes not including the stop for food and water half-way through. It took 40 minutes on top of that just to find my way out of the maze that was Bayeux. I got lost every time I left the Hostel in that place, I got lost just loooking for that place, I spent two days getting lost in France.
The War Memorial was dignified and moving, its like Kokoda cemetary, you don't ever want to go back because the place is just so moving. I'm glad I went there, even though the ride was tricky(I did lose my only decent map somewhere between Bayeux and Port De Bessin) it was an easy ride back, even though I fell off my bike and scratched my hands to shit. This guy slowed down to help but sped off when I was up and back on the bike in about ten seconds of hitting the ground.
Good thing it was a rental.

Everything here is Real.

I'm in Paris, city of lights, I've seen original Picaso works, I've walked the streets of great men and women.
But I'm somehow, just a little bit, sick of being far from home, that and my feet hurt from walking everywhere.
Still I'm glad I'm over here, theres much left to see and do, time to get back to it.
Plus I've come up with some good story ideas over here.

Everything here is real.

1. My username is _____ because ____

Actor because I used to have an idea for a story about an assasin who is hunted across the world as he tries to raise money to buy protection from his hunters, taking jobs he'd use other peoples techniques to pull off the hits so that they would be either blamed or credited allowing him to stay hidden longer. His name was Actor, the character eventually evolved into Actor from Roadtrip which was a long time ago now.

2. My name is _____ because ______.
Andrew because my dad had a student in his class called Andrew who was well behaved so he named me after him, my two brothers are named the same way.

3. My journal is titled ____ because ____.
Perfection is Death, because one day I was at University and in this class were two girls who looked like they'd spent about two hours getting ready, I'd rolled out of bed that afternoon and was wearing what I'd slept in, this was back during my first beard period as well. I realised talking to them that they had almost no personality outside of their superficial exterior, or failing that they had no personality that they were willing to show me. It lead me to think that people that try to be perfect are dead inside because they have nothing inside that they want to show the world that they try to make what's outside great and perfect. When they're really dead.

4. My friends page is called ____ because ____.
Friends because I'm too lazy to call it anything else.

5. My default userpic is ____ because ____.
My default picture was taken just after I took a shot of something horrible and was near dead from sleepiness. I was at the SECS ball sitting with Sarah as I recall, this was during my rare non-beard period. Damn I look good in a suit.

Everything here is real.

Well it was expensive, it was cold, it was freaking windy on top of the cold and no-one could sleep because of it. But it was freaking worth it in the end. Even though I did sleep through some of the dawn service.
Lone Pine was very moving.

Everything here is real.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Worst three days of my life.
I've lost my PIN's so I can't buy things right now, I'm living off emergancy cash.
I'm lonely and London is cold and has confusing streets.
I'm headed to Dublin soon, that should lift my spirits, but I'm still just floating around, waiting for something to happen.
London has been good to me for the last two days, mostly because the Hostel here doesn't suck, which is always good.

Everything here is real.

I left it somewhere in Canada.
Bugger, it had a bunch of notes in it.
I think I left it at the Trainstation.

I also killed a dragon in a D&D game last night.

I don't know why but I'm getting some weird freaking dreams in the last month.
I think its the fluoride in the water, its introducing impurities into my bodily fluids, like a communist rooskie.

I'm not homesick right now, but I'm seeing the day that I'm leaving in the future and its slightly unsettling. I'm really enjoying myself here, the stability of one place that I can safely leave my things without having to think about security and/or losing the four things I need to survive every day(passport, tickets, debit/credit cards and signed Picture of Jesus).
I've listened to more music played or performed live in the last two weeks than I have in the last two years and I find its nice to be able to shut my eyes and just listen to it in peace. I almost regret not getting an iPod, especially for the long times when I'm alone and waiting to go from somewhere to anywhere. Especially at places like Miami International Airport it would have been good.
Shobbz never leaves the bedroom without his iPod, its nearly attached to him, I couldn't do that with mine back when I had a Shuffle. Its not like his music selection is any good, its mostly the crappy music he's been listening to for almost three years, everytime I try to use it I get bored quickly because they're song I've heard a thousand times before driving around with him. I could've put almost three weeks worth of music on a newer model iPod and never hear a song repeated in a month as I made my way slowly Eastwards around the world. I could walk through cities listening to the sounds of Australian music and songs not from Australia that remind me of home. Songs I've been searching YouTube to find to just grip for a few seconds here and there the memories of home. How nice it would be to listen to home every now and then when I'm so far away.

But then I remember the real sounds of the cities I've walked around, people shouting at each other, cars honking, ambulances, police and firemen blaring around corners with scant reguard for their safety or anyone elses for that matter. The sounds of the L-Train crashing overhead in Chicago as I stumbled around the Loop looking for a station that wasn't shut on St Patricks day, the shouts of vendors in Lima trying to sell me everything from Scarves to children to carry me up the mountain-side, the swearing of every second person in New York as I walked on the wrong side of the footpath with a giant backpack belting into them, Columbus parks birds and the whispers in Chinese as old men watched intense games of what I'm guessing is a Chinese version of chess, the silence of Peru's mountains save the bleating of Llamas, the barks of dogs through all of Santiago because no-one in the city has a back-yard so their dogs sleep in the streets, the quiet rain of Vancouver at midnight on the border when I peed on America, Tebra picking up my accent intermittently and causing me to break out into fits of laughter and the bastardization of English by the Kiwis as they struggled to pronounce and count past six(the Americans can't spell English properly, but at least they can pronounce most words except aluminium correctly). I can't imagine such memories with some stupid music(a soundtrack to my life and travels if you will) blasting in my ears.
I've a hard enough time telling the difference between reality and imagination somedays, without the real sounds it wouldn't have seemed as real to me as it was, half a reality is not a reality I could care for. It would have been like a dream and my dreams are weird enough right now.

I wonder what the world will be like after twenty years of people not listening to it. Will the sounds be worse as less people care or better to try to bring people to listen to them or will it be just me and people like me savouring the moments in between watching everything and shutting our eyes to listen to the music.

Everything here is real.
Forgive my rambling, I've had a few beers and its about 3am.

How I love Canada, where it's not snowing right now.
Where the sun shines brightly.
Where the people are nice.
Where the money has the queen on it.
Where my accent doesn't stick out as much.
Where none of the ATMs accept my freaking card.
Where the trains run on time, but the buses don't.
Where American police look at me funny from across the border for what I did to that marker post, but they can't do anything about it!
Where the sky still has stars in it that make no sense at all.
Where they still insist that they're driving on the correct side of the road, no matter how many times I point it out to them that they're wrong.
Where Tim Hortons are just a little bit more common than Starbucks, but only a little bit.
Where I miss home, my old home that I miss everywhere I go no matter how warm it is inside.
Where I miss my friends, old and new.
Where I'm happy to be right now, because its where I am and its full of nice things to look at, nice people to talk to, nice beers to drink and a cat called Mercury who seems to like me enough to sit next to me for a few seconds before moving on.

Where everything is real.

I saw the Pacific Ocean with the sun setting behind it, I looked up
into a dark sky without the Southern Cross, I searched across the
waters and could feel the pull of home, yet out here I'm a wanderer
and I chose always to roam.

So Tacoma is nice, as was Chicago and New York.
I'm meeting tons of new people everywhere I go and so far I've not met anyone I couldn't like. Everyone's been nice as hell to me and my accent is winning the hearts and minds of the locals no matter where I stop.

Also I'm writing stuff again, its like I had to go a long way away and remove all distractions, like the internet, just to get back in the habit of writing. Its not my best work ever, but its a start, like relearning to walk after falling off a bike(and watching Channo relearn to walk last year was an interesting enough memory to use as a metaphor), I'll get better slowly and steadily.

Tebra and her friends are really nice people, its good to hang around with people who you know aren't going to be getting on a plane tomorrow and vanishing or alternatively its good to know I'm not going to be getting on a plane tomorrow and vanishing never to see them again. It does mean that I have to be a little less annoying sometimes and more thoughtful when talking to people because I'll be seeing them again tomorrow and the next day and I don't want to piss someone off and cause any problems. But they're pretty relaxed and don't seem to mind that I'm crazier that two cats stapled to a rhino's back. I've also given up drinking till Saturday, because me drinking around people I see more than once in my life time isn't as cool as I think it is.

Everything here is real.