So as I reach the end of my second week of vagrancy in New Orleans, I think it's safe to say I've become a regular at the downtown library. I am officially:
Tall, skinny guy with the mohawk, glasses and flip flops who types too loudly on his obviously expensive computer, which he props up with his wallet.
Other regulars include:
- Old guy with the matted beard who can't quite raise his head all the way and pants that are cuffed really high (he sat at my table today)
- Really old woman who shuffles very slowly and wears the same shirt every day, and is morally opposed to any support for her still-ample bosom
- Tall guy with the baseball hat who sits in the one window seat with an outlet next to it, hunched over a cell phone for hours at a time
- Middle aged woman with the coke bottle glasses and varying array of cat and kitten t-shirts
'Tis a long and illustrious line indeed.
I was inspired by the nice comments from Mo and
Carly to look up this quote that I've been thinking about this whole during this whole moving process.
It's from
Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck, in which he chronicles a trip around the country that he took with his poodle, Charley, in 1959-1960. During his journey, he continually talks with people so that he might check the pulse of the nation. At one point he notes:
"I saw in their eyes something I was to see over and over in every part of the nation - a burning desire to go, to move, to get under way, anyplace, away from any Here."
The other quotes that have constantly come to mind are from Vonnegut:
"Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God." (from
Cat's Cradle)
"Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of." (from his "Eight Basics of Creative Writing")
I needed to get out of the house, so I'm drinking coffee at the cafe near my house. This seems like an okay idea.
Actually, this is foolproof. No way this can fail.
So this weekend has been another fun fest. I'm still reeling from last night. This is a dangerous city that way - the bars don't ever have to close (except midnight to 1 am on Ash Wednesday), there's no such thing as an open container law, and they have a WHOLE FUCKING AISLE OF HOOCH AT RITE AID.
I rode my bike real fucking far last night, pretty stupidly too. (Ah, where would I be without you,
Google maps.) I was at a real good bar and left to go to a show where I didn't even go in. Along the way I hit a pot hole and my chain came off. I turned the bike upside down after 20 minutes of struggling, got the shit back on...and didn't realize until I got to the show that I dumped out my lock when I turned my bike upside down. I went back today, though, and I totally found it! Everything's coming up Milhouse!
(PS whilst looking for a clip of that phrase, I found
this article, which is basically the best thing ever.)
Beyond that, I just can't get over how really amazingly nice the people are here, and how much they love just talking to you about shit. Coming from Boston by way of Philly, this is disconcerting (in the best way possible), but I'm really starting to get into it.
I think I'm going to be really happy here. I need to start getting my hands dirty pretty soon, but that will come in time - it's hard to avoid here. And I'm not trying to avoid it.
Yes, this will be a good place for me.
So!
I made it to New Orleans safe and sound, and much quicker than I had anticipated. I made stops in Asheville, Nashville and Memphis, and I'm really glad that I took the time to do that. I have no idea how much time I actually spent in the car or how many cups of coffee and energy drinks I had, but I do know that I traveled 1,531 miles in 44 hours, with some stops and a little bit of sleeping mixed in.
Thanks to all you who listened to me blabber on during the drive - the road is a lonely place, and the sea is a cruel mistress.
Here are a couple of pics - a little tease tease for the taste buds. If I ever get my act together, I will post the rest on Facebook.
The hills in Tennessee going toward Asheville:
Skeptical and haggard after 5 straight hours of driving:
Cutest kitten evar (his name is Toby!!!), Kirsten's house in Asheville:
View from Broadway, downtown Asheville:
Fireworks supermarket, East Bumfuck, TN:
Cumberland River, Nashville, TN:
Broadway, Nashville, TN:
Riverfront Drive/Mississippi River, Memphis, TN:
Beale Street, Memphis, TN:
One of Elvis' jets at Graceland (I didn't go in):
Welcome to Louisiana!
As my dear friend Nick Norlen pointed out to me in college, during the very best years of our slackerdom, "Procrastination begets progress in other areas of life." Truer words were never spoken by a man with a degree in communications and minors in english and philosophy.
So here I am, with so much work on my plate and so much packing to do, dicking around on this website with Samkinggrrr:
http://www.barackobamaantichrist.blogspot.com/
It's unbelievable. At one point, one of the authors or a commenter or something makes this astounding leap of logic:
the more info I find on him the more I feel with all my heart he is the anti christ! One example is his blatent name... it's almost as god himself has made it sooo ironically obvious that something is definetly up, I mean come on people Obama is about as close as you can get to Osama... Barack means blessed, and Hussein will always be associated with Saddam. Not only that weird coincidence, but if you add all the letters of his name together you get 18...which in turn you could come to the conclusion that 6+6+6=18
(Ed. note: Freudian slip much? When I was coding that blockquote a second ago, I wrote "blackquote". Lolz.)
So, Samkinggrr and I decided to write some haiku about Obama strictly in 6 character groupings.
hecame fromth esea!!
belove dshark GODorD EVIL??
repent voteMc Cain!!
themar kofthe beast!
ontheD emball ot0h8:
barack hussie NObama
Obama? Nothan ks!!!!
NObama ismore likeit. Change?
Ha!!!! Ifyoul ikeHel l!!!!!
Hussei nisana aaaame
ThatBa rocksh areswi thaman
Whoist hedevi l!!!!!
barack obama-
antich ristwe waited foooor
speaki nginsi xxxxxs
The rest of the pics will be up on the book of faces quite soon...
So this is my last week in Philadelphia. Come Sunday, I will depart for my new life in New Orleans. This very much snuck up on me, and I have many, many things to take care of before I go and many people to see for a proper sendoff.
Physical appearance updates: I no longer have any facial hair. I also have significantly less hair - the remaining hair is in the form of a mohawk. Pictures to follow shortly.
In case you were wondering (I know you're desperate for information), I am 100% freaking out. Eating has been difficult, sleeping next to impossible, and I feel like I'm just barely holding it together. I know everything will be fine and I am still super excited about finally doing this, but I just know this week is going to be hellish.
One more week.
"So let us drink
To the dreams
And the dreamers
Long dead and gone
Between us.
Line up the shots
For every fight
We've fought and lost."
- "Crooked Mile" by Planes Mistaken For Stars (from
Mercy)
