...Olive Garden
Spaghetti Factory
Buca Di Bepo's
coffee that comes in a cup bigger than 5 ounces
Starbucks
Burger King
Pizza Hut
Taco Bell
Tortillas for that matter
Lowered Honda Civics
Lifted Monster Trucks
airbrush art
those tee shirts where it looks like you are nude when wearing them
hipsters on track bikes
tie dye (sorry Professor)
DeadHead stickers on old volkswagons
hyper-colour (I seriously thought I would by now)
greazy diners by the highway (bummer)
the ice cream man
$9.00 pulled pork sandwhiches
the inside of a porta poty
billboards advertising Jesus
and I'm left missing 'Merica a little bit....
Monday, May 31, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
foot in mouth knows no language barriers
So I was going to wait until I had something wonderful to say (yeah yeah, I know, that could take a while...) but I thought you all might get a kick out of this.
This morning I get up as usual, forgetting what day it is, and head into the bike shop to send and check a couple emails while nursing a BIG cup of strong coffee...per the usual.
James rolls in and we banter about what to do, and how we should call in sick and go for a ride...sometime during which my coffee kicks in, coupled with the speudoephedrine and I get all antsy to do something. We decide to unload the van and I imagine cleaning the shop out, and I make a joke about Michella the cleaning lady that comes by twice a week, whom I have a little crush on, mostly, of course, based on the unavailability of that which is sought - very Taoist of me, I know.
I decide that its late enough to make up, on the spot, a love song about Michella and her cleaning tasks and of course the sweatpants, how could I leave out the sweatpants!? I bellow out a few lines, and I'm quite happy with my creative genius so early in the morning, most of the lines even rhyme (a simple rhyme scheme but I'm impressed with myself none-the-less), and as I put the vacuum back together, STILL unaware of what day it is, Michella herself comes barging through the shop door looking for said vacuum, leaving me beet-faced, and hoping to gawd the fact that we have had not a single mutual word in our shared linguistic barriers (me not much Italian and her not much Engrish) that she has no idea I was just professing my undying love for her and her sweatpants. James has a good laugh, for which I agree to let him have free of charge as I stand there with my foot in my mouth.
I think I will spend the rest of the morning busying myself with tasks away from the Farm.
I told you I had no charm with a language barrier. But likewise I save myself from looking like a complete ASS too. Blessings wrapped in a shroud of curses.
S.
This morning I get up as usual, forgetting what day it is, and head into the bike shop to send and check a couple emails while nursing a BIG cup of strong coffee...per the usual.
James rolls in and we banter about what to do, and how we should call in sick and go for a ride...sometime during which my coffee kicks in, coupled with the speudoephedrine and I get all antsy to do something. We decide to unload the van and I imagine cleaning the shop out, and I make a joke about Michella the cleaning lady that comes by twice a week, whom I have a little crush on, mostly, of course, based on the unavailability of that which is sought - very Taoist of me, I know.
I decide that its late enough to make up, on the spot, a love song about Michella and her cleaning tasks and of course the sweatpants, how could I leave out the sweatpants!? I bellow out a few lines, and I'm quite happy with my creative genius so early in the morning, most of the lines even rhyme (a simple rhyme scheme but I'm impressed with myself none-the-less), and as I put the vacuum back together, STILL unaware of what day it is, Michella herself comes barging through the shop door looking for said vacuum, leaving me beet-faced, and hoping to gawd the fact that we have had not a single mutual word in our shared linguistic barriers (me not much Italian and her not much Engrish) that she has no idea I was just professing my undying love for her and her sweatpants. James has a good laugh, for which I agree to let him have free of charge as I stand there with my foot in my mouth.
I think I will spend the rest of the morning busying myself with tasks away from the Farm.
I told you I had no charm with a language barrier. But likewise I save myself from looking like a complete ASS too. Blessings wrapped in a shroud of curses.
S.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
yo vivo en mi estado de animo
Not only was Barcelona AWESOME!!! but the adventure of bringing a van full of bikes back to Italy from Spain via Boat and roads proved to be one hell of an amazing time, and something that I desperately needed to boost my driving, navigational, and language confidence. Only problem (for you) is that I lost my camera full of photos, so you are gonna have to read through this and use your imagination...and maybe a little wikipedia.
Lets start with the scotch...cause that seems as good a place as any. Sunday morning I pretty much nursed little nibs on a bottle of scotch all day in my excitement for this little journey. Not just any scotch but a bargain bottle of Vat 69 - the scotch of pulp novellas, and a favourite of brittish and american soldiers during WWII, (Cousin will recognize it as Nixon's fav scotch from the series Band of Brothers) which of course led to a power nap right before leaving and feeling pretty unprepared. James drove me to the tren station, I had no idea what train to get on but bought a ticket and proceeded to fumble about. A cute girl talked to me (FINALLY!) and I had nothing for her, no Italian for me, no english for her, so we broke up right then. It was brutal but these things usually are. I hopped the train to Bologna, in Bologna got the well labeled bus to the airporto, and managed to make my flight in time. The flight to Girona was fine, and by fine I mean F-I-N-E FIIIINE! If you have not been on a ryanair flight you have not had the pleasure of the flashback 60s style flirty and fun hostesses, seriously I was beside myself, and highly encouraged that this trip was starting off charmed (could be the scotch). My Hotel in Girona was literally across the parking lot of the airport, a 20 minute walk and aside from the restaurant being well closed, and having to use my own credit card for the room (wasn't sure what was in there) I had myself a steaming hot shower and crashed. The whole trip seemed like it would be punctuated with late starts; an 11:30 flight, an almost midnight boat, and a 11pm drive through Italy.
The Girona airport is not that close to Barcelona and the bus I took took about an hour and a half and a gorgeous ride through the hills that separate the bulk of Spain from the Costa Brava. Check out some maps for the visual. I roll into Barcelona slow with the traffic and on an elevated freeway (La Ronda - more on that later) which allows me to peep the biggest shit market since the swap meets of my youth! I get off the bus and grab a McDonalds sponsored map, and work my way back to the market with all the crap junk for sale. Seriously I wished I had a MUCH bigger backpack! There were people crammed in there selling everything from books to dismantled chandelier bits, to old porn and brass doorknobs (a combination SOMEONE needs to make a joke about!). There are old men selling old coins, medals, ashtrays, tools, stolen stereos, records, war stuff, found junk, and clothes. The clothes bit was good cause I had forgot my belt and the weather and walking conspired against my one pair of pants for the week to expose my bum. From there I basically walked, and tried to find monuments, parcos, statues, crowds of tourists, anything that made me feel immersed in a big city.
Barcelona has to be my FAVORITE european city so far! Its amazing, feels a bit like SF and is HUGE!!! Its also on the coast, has the Barri Gotic (the oldest part of the city) with its twisty alleys dodgy characters, boutiques and tiny bars. I basically took it all in and wandered. Wandered right into a hostel that I had looked up online the day before so I figured I would call that my bed for the night.
Now Hosteling is a big part of most travelers experiences most everywhere. But somehow in my years I had never taken the chance to stay in one and to be honest the stories of beds crawling with scabies, not being able to sleep cause of the smell of some dreddie kids feet, and the overall flop house nature of them had me a little more than treppid. But I had to think of the stories and encouragement from my good buddy Taint-Boy. He has stayed in them, and has always encouraged me to do the same from a strictly financial need point of view. In other words he has said things like, "Dude, they are dirt cheap and worst case scenario you get hammered somewhere, crash in a room full of hot young brittish tourists, snore your ass off and disappear in the morning." Sounded perfect. I faced my fears and was pleased when I found a room for only 18 Euros, with 18 beds, a small bathroom with its own shower, shared with no less than 7 cute young tourist chicks who I treated to a rather impressive orchestra of snoring and sleep farting all nite long! Then bounced in the morning. Perfect! The place had a rooftop bar and I met a chick named Rory who was on the run after loosing her job in LA, and spending her unemployment partying and exploring Spain. It was weird to talk american for a while and the need for food (me) and sleep (her) tore us in separate ways. I found a place with a TON of grilled meat (see sleep farting above) and the cracked out waiter up sold me a whole carafe of vino, no doubt the cause for the unbelievable snoring! (I seriously even woke myself up once!)
The next day was spent similarly strolling around, but I was SORE! My calves have never felt like that before and strolling was a painful and slow process. Saw the Joan Miro statue, drank loads of water, peed between parked cars, had a fantastic swarma at a sidewalk cafe, almost puked in the open air meat market and took tons of pictures of graffiti. I wish I had them but in the process of wandering I found a great reason to go back.
I met a couple of dudes originally from New Zealand who run a tattoo shop in the Bari Gotic and if all goes well they will both be doing a little work on my arms during the big Tattoo Convention in Barcelona in October. Check out there work here, Mark's stuff is incredible and he does all of it WITHOUT a tattoo machine (its not called a "gun" for those who don't know, and knowing this will make you seem like an insider). All hand done pokes, one at a time, and they are beautiful! Ill have another camera soon so will def get those pics up when I go.
I continued to chill until I got the call I was waiting for and I think I was half asleep in the park when I got it, I jumped up grabbed my bag and walked and talked leaving my camera sitting in the grass behind me like a half asleep dumbass! Oh well. Dont tell anyone but I think that camera had once belonged to the big corporate brewery in fort collins anyhow - easy come, easy go. I got my directions and set out to meet up with Juan, the Spanish Tour Leader and pick up the van.
I took the metro up to a neighborhood that would have safe parking while I wait for my 11.55PM ferry boat boarding, and Juan scoops me up at the station. The bikes to my surprise are INSIDE the van, all 19 of them, spare parts, spare wheels, and tools and stands, and two rows of seats folded down. Unbelievable but it will certainly deter theft. A better theft deterrent turned out to be the neighbourhood I was to park and wait in, maybe have some dinner, has turned into a permit parking only neighbourhood, and after giving up trying to find a place to park I decided to drive down to the port and check it out during daytime. I was told to watch my back cause there are hustlers who ride next to cargo vans on a scooter, puncture tires, and while you are fixing the flat they jack you for some of your stuff. A very clever plan that has me ready for action and a bit nervous. I hop on the rondas and managed to make a full loop around Barcelona in rush hour traffic. Not bad, I'm used to driving and needed to sit down a bit anyway, and managed to take a good look at the city from the elevated freeways. I circled back around where I had started and noticed kids on BMX bikes in a park so I pulled off hoping there would be parking - sure enough, free parking, a BMX track with practice runs going on, a fountain with drinking water, and I dug out some left over trail mix from the tour supplies. Best part was in doing so, I stumbled onto what was probably supposed to be a welcome surprise...a CASE of Spanish beer for the helpful mechanics from the generous and brilliant Spanish Tour leaders, Juan and Philip. Philip has been introduced here earlier and used to be a bike messenger in the 80s in Germany and knows how far a few free beers will go for dudes like me. SALUTE PHILIP!!! A couple warm Alhambras and a few handfuls of trail-mix and I'm feeling like I can do anything! After a while I'm feeling something else...something that feels a little rumbly...and lower...and before long I am a little more than panicked at the prospect of holding my rumbling boom-boom guts for another 3 hours before getting on the boat, especially since I will probably have to share a bunk, and the boat is almost always late to leave. I frantically dig for some of the shop towels I know we put in the tool box, managed to remove a clean(er) corner or two a make way for the bushes to soil someone's bum-camp with an impressive pile of boom-boom, corn from last nite's dinner and all!!!
At this point I realise the gem that this little bike tour outfit has found in hiring me...not only am I staying cool, preparing early, taking notes, killing it in the shop with 15+ bikes a day on a good uninterrupted day, and able to navigate with a map and my keen sense of direction, leaving the GPS to the others, a decent cook, clean to the point of ADHD, and full of english slang, not to mention braving the language barrier to get through it all with an appologetic smile and a few new friends, but I'm able to laugh at the fact that I had to crap in the bushes of an otherwise pretty public park, had I not lost the camera boy would you be in for a treat right here!
When its time, I make way for the port and all goes smoothly. Tales of pirates and theives keeps me from stopping and I find the line of cars without much a'do. It IS indeed late and I dig out another spanish beer to pass the time, stretch and call the base to let em know its gonna be a long late ride but that I'm loving every second of this!! We board about 1pm, set sail at about 2, and I snuggle into a bunk ALL TO MYSELF for the 20 hour boat ride!
With the rocking of the seas I slept like a baby, 11 hours, woke up and had amazing coffee, wrote a bunch, had some epiphanies, finished reading a Nick Hornby book, took a nap, watched elderly tourists (that arrived by a huge bus) eat a crappy lunch of broiled chicken (skin on) and cigarettes, then turn green and carry around bags of their own barf as the violent sea tossed them about! Seriously, for all the romanticism of the Mediterranean, the sky was grey and drab, and the seas were rough! 20 foot high swells had us tossing about like a dingy, waves crashing up on the windows on the 5th floor!! There was a crappy wedding singer-esque lounge act on the 7th floor and I skipped the whole mess for alone time in my room. Loads of rest and we dock in Livorno, Italy at 10pm. Livorno is on the west coast of Italy, the Farm is on the east coast - for the record. I drive the van down the docks and get a little turned around in all the truck traffic but otherwise find the highway pretty easy, and scoot my way all the way across Italy in the middle of the night, full of one last cafe con leche and with a cold can of that sweet sweet european coca cola in the cup holder.
And that's when it really hits me. Driving, squinty faced into the dark Italian night, trying to make out signs before I pass them, and managing to find myself not far from towns I recognize, passing by the sights next to any freeway in any country I would imagine; late night diners, gas stations with a ton of fluorescent lights, truckers sleeping it off on the side of the road, and parking lots at empty malls. Fueled by caffeine and excitement of having made it I even hallucinated the mirage of a home depot off in the distance with its glowing orange sign and empty car lot. I was HOME.
I had a water-eyed moment of clarity out there on the open road, having been wandering in another country, the nautical adventure I always love, and now driving as I have done so much of in the last year, that all the things that I could and have worried about have all made it so that I could be where I am. And where I am is not just Italy, its a state of mind, and a state of mind I was not sure how to get to a year ago. All the writing, all the alone time in the woods on my moto, all the bike rides in spots I have always wanted to ride, all the friends who took care of me when I needed it and I was still left wondering when I would feel good again, cause I still didn't feel very good. I still felt betrayed, and lost, and alone. I still struggle with those feelings from time to time as I ponder where the hell I might go next, or how life can get more exciting than this. But the feeling is being battered pretty good right now by a self confidence that I could not have created without this experience. The last few years makes sense, all the way back to the divorce, and the hustling through SF. These sets of circumstances have left me feeling like I can handle almost anything, and that's not a feeling I have had truly deeply in a very long time, maybe even since I was in college and felt successful navigating that very foreign world. And here, it seems more pure, more substantial, more lasting somehow, maybe cause small successes wont turn into wild nights with friends and lovers this time, repeating old patterns, and I'm left to wallow in this personal growth alone. Sometimes I wonder if I will be much different when I get back. Then I realize that I will again be able to make dick and fart jokes in my native language and talk about pop music that everyone knows and will probably jump right back into my old self, not that my old self is not here with me now, I still crack myself up, god knows James isn't going to do it! But I know this trip is changing who I am, how I see the world, my habitus (for the french anthropologists out there), even what I eat has changed dramatically - all of it adding up to the change in the way I FEEL.
I wrote on the boat that I was going to "continue to feel my way through this experience, see where it takes me and enjoy the living hell out of the ride that I never thought would be mine to take." Pretty much sums it up.
S.
Lets start with the scotch...cause that seems as good a place as any. Sunday morning I pretty much nursed little nibs on a bottle of scotch all day in my excitement for this little journey. Not just any scotch but a bargain bottle of Vat 69 - the scotch of pulp novellas, and a favourite of brittish and american soldiers during WWII, (Cousin will recognize it as Nixon's fav scotch from the series Band of Brothers) which of course led to a power nap right before leaving and feeling pretty unprepared. James drove me to the tren station, I had no idea what train to get on but bought a ticket and proceeded to fumble about. A cute girl talked to me (FINALLY!) and I had nothing for her, no Italian for me, no english for her, so we broke up right then. It was brutal but these things usually are. I hopped the train to Bologna, in Bologna got the well labeled bus to the airporto, and managed to make my flight in time. The flight to Girona was fine, and by fine I mean F-I-N-E FIIIINE! If you have not been on a ryanair flight you have not had the pleasure of the flashback 60s style flirty and fun hostesses, seriously I was beside myself, and highly encouraged that this trip was starting off charmed (could be the scotch). My Hotel in Girona was literally across the parking lot of the airport, a 20 minute walk and aside from the restaurant being well closed, and having to use my own credit card for the room (wasn't sure what was in there) I had myself a steaming hot shower and crashed. The whole trip seemed like it would be punctuated with late starts; an 11:30 flight, an almost midnight boat, and a 11pm drive through Italy.
The Girona airport is not that close to Barcelona and the bus I took took about an hour and a half and a gorgeous ride through the hills that separate the bulk of Spain from the Costa Brava. Check out some maps for the visual. I roll into Barcelona slow with the traffic and on an elevated freeway (La Ronda - more on that later) which allows me to peep the biggest shit market since the swap meets of my youth! I get off the bus and grab a McDonalds sponsored map, and work my way back to the market with all the crap junk for sale. Seriously I wished I had a MUCH bigger backpack! There were people crammed in there selling everything from books to dismantled chandelier bits, to old porn and brass doorknobs (a combination SOMEONE needs to make a joke about!). There are old men selling old coins, medals, ashtrays, tools, stolen stereos, records, war stuff, found junk, and clothes. The clothes bit was good cause I had forgot my belt and the weather and walking conspired against my one pair of pants for the week to expose my bum. From there I basically walked, and tried to find monuments, parcos, statues, crowds of tourists, anything that made me feel immersed in a big city.
Barcelona has to be my FAVORITE european city so far! Its amazing, feels a bit like SF and is HUGE!!! Its also on the coast, has the Barri Gotic (the oldest part of the city) with its twisty alleys dodgy characters, boutiques and tiny bars. I basically took it all in and wandered. Wandered right into a hostel that I had looked up online the day before so I figured I would call that my bed for the night.
Now Hosteling is a big part of most travelers experiences most everywhere. But somehow in my years I had never taken the chance to stay in one and to be honest the stories of beds crawling with scabies, not being able to sleep cause of the smell of some dreddie kids feet, and the overall flop house nature of them had me a little more than treppid. But I had to think of the stories and encouragement from my good buddy Taint-Boy. He has stayed in them, and has always encouraged me to do the same from a strictly financial need point of view. In other words he has said things like, "Dude, they are dirt cheap and worst case scenario you get hammered somewhere, crash in a room full of hot young brittish tourists, snore your ass off and disappear in the morning." Sounded perfect. I faced my fears and was pleased when I found a room for only 18 Euros, with 18 beds, a small bathroom with its own shower, shared with no less than 7 cute young tourist chicks who I treated to a rather impressive orchestra of snoring and sleep farting all nite long! Then bounced in the morning. Perfect! The place had a rooftop bar and I met a chick named Rory who was on the run after loosing her job in LA, and spending her unemployment partying and exploring Spain. It was weird to talk american for a while and the need for food (me) and sleep (her) tore us in separate ways. I found a place with a TON of grilled meat (see sleep farting above) and the cracked out waiter up sold me a whole carafe of vino, no doubt the cause for the unbelievable snoring! (I seriously even woke myself up once!)
The next day was spent similarly strolling around, but I was SORE! My calves have never felt like that before and strolling was a painful and slow process. Saw the Joan Miro statue, drank loads of water, peed between parked cars, had a fantastic swarma at a sidewalk cafe, almost puked in the open air meat market and took tons of pictures of graffiti. I wish I had them but in the process of wandering I found a great reason to go back.
I met a couple of dudes originally from New Zealand who run a tattoo shop in the Bari Gotic and if all goes well they will both be doing a little work on my arms during the big Tattoo Convention in Barcelona in October. Check out there work here, Mark's stuff is incredible and he does all of it WITHOUT a tattoo machine (its not called a "gun" for those who don't know, and knowing this will make you seem like an insider). All hand done pokes, one at a time, and they are beautiful! Ill have another camera soon so will def get those pics up when I go.
I continued to chill until I got the call I was waiting for and I think I was half asleep in the park when I got it, I jumped up grabbed my bag and walked and talked leaving my camera sitting in the grass behind me like a half asleep dumbass! Oh well. Dont tell anyone but I think that camera had once belonged to the big corporate brewery in fort collins anyhow - easy come, easy go. I got my directions and set out to meet up with Juan, the Spanish Tour Leader and pick up the van.
I took the metro up to a neighborhood that would have safe parking while I wait for my 11.55PM ferry boat boarding, and Juan scoops me up at the station. The bikes to my surprise are INSIDE the van, all 19 of them, spare parts, spare wheels, and tools and stands, and two rows of seats folded down. Unbelievable but it will certainly deter theft. A better theft deterrent turned out to be the neighbourhood I was to park and wait in, maybe have some dinner, has turned into a permit parking only neighbourhood, and after giving up trying to find a place to park I decided to drive down to the port and check it out during daytime. I was told to watch my back cause there are hustlers who ride next to cargo vans on a scooter, puncture tires, and while you are fixing the flat they jack you for some of your stuff. A very clever plan that has me ready for action and a bit nervous. I hop on the rondas and managed to make a full loop around Barcelona in rush hour traffic. Not bad, I'm used to driving and needed to sit down a bit anyway, and managed to take a good look at the city from the elevated freeways. I circled back around where I had started and noticed kids on BMX bikes in a park so I pulled off hoping there would be parking - sure enough, free parking, a BMX track with practice runs going on, a fountain with drinking water, and I dug out some left over trail mix from the tour supplies. Best part was in doing so, I stumbled onto what was probably supposed to be a welcome surprise...a CASE of Spanish beer for the helpful mechanics from the generous and brilliant Spanish Tour leaders, Juan and Philip. Philip has been introduced here earlier and used to be a bike messenger in the 80s in Germany and knows how far a few free beers will go for dudes like me. SALUTE PHILIP!!! A couple warm Alhambras and a few handfuls of trail-mix and I'm feeling like I can do anything! After a while I'm feeling something else...something that feels a little rumbly...and lower...and before long I am a little more than panicked at the prospect of holding my rumbling boom-boom guts for another 3 hours before getting on the boat, especially since I will probably have to share a bunk, and the boat is almost always late to leave. I frantically dig for some of the shop towels I know we put in the tool box, managed to remove a clean(er) corner or two a make way for the bushes to soil someone's bum-camp with an impressive pile of boom-boom, corn from last nite's dinner and all!!!
At this point I realise the gem that this little bike tour outfit has found in hiring me...not only am I staying cool, preparing early, taking notes, killing it in the shop with 15+ bikes a day on a good uninterrupted day, and able to navigate with a map and my keen sense of direction, leaving the GPS to the others, a decent cook, clean to the point of ADHD, and full of english slang, not to mention braving the language barrier to get through it all with an appologetic smile and a few new friends, but I'm able to laugh at the fact that I had to crap in the bushes of an otherwise pretty public park, had I not lost the camera boy would you be in for a treat right here!
When its time, I make way for the port and all goes smoothly. Tales of pirates and theives keeps me from stopping and I find the line of cars without much a'do. It IS indeed late and I dig out another spanish beer to pass the time, stretch and call the base to let em know its gonna be a long late ride but that I'm loving every second of this!! We board about 1pm, set sail at about 2, and I snuggle into a bunk ALL TO MYSELF for the 20 hour boat ride!
With the rocking of the seas I slept like a baby, 11 hours, woke up and had amazing coffee, wrote a bunch, had some epiphanies, finished reading a Nick Hornby book, took a nap, watched elderly tourists (that arrived by a huge bus) eat a crappy lunch of broiled chicken (skin on) and cigarettes, then turn green and carry around bags of their own barf as the violent sea tossed them about! Seriously, for all the romanticism of the Mediterranean, the sky was grey and drab, and the seas were rough! 20 foot high swells had us tossing about like a dingy, waves crashing up on the windows on the 5th floor!! There was a crappy wedding singer-esque lounge act on the 7th floor and I skipped the whole mess for alone time in my room. Loads of rest and we dock in Livorno, Italy at 10pm. Livorno is on the west coast of Italy, the Farm is on the east coast - for the record. I drive the van down the docks and get a little turned around in all the truck traffic but otherwise find the highway pretty easy, and scoot my way all the way across Italy in the middle of the night, full of one last cafe con leche and with a cold can of that sweet sweet european coca cola in the cup holder.
And that's when it really hits me. Driving, squinty faced into the dark Italian night, trying to make out signs before I pass them, and managing to find myself not far from towns I recognize, passing by the sights next to any freeway in any country I would imagine; late night diners, gas stations with a ton of fluorescent lights, truckers sleeping it off on the side of the road, and parking lots at empty malls. Fueled by caffeine and excitement of having made it I even hallucinated the mirage of a home depot off in the distance with its glowing orange sign and empty car lot. I was HOME.
I had a water-eyed moment of clarity out there on the open road, having been wandering in another country, the nautical adventure I always love, and now driving as I have done so much of in the last year, that all the things that I could and have worried about have all made it so that I could be where I am. And where I am is not just Italy, its a state of mind, and a state of mind I was not sure how to get to a year ago. All the writing, all the alone time in the woods on my moto, all the bike rides in spots I have always wanted to ride, all the friends who took care of me when I needed it and I was still left wondering when I would feel good again, cause I still didn't feel very good. I still felt betrayed, and lost, and alone. I still struggle with those feelings from time to time as I ponder where the hell I might go next, or how life can get more exciting than this. But the feeling is being battered pretty good right now by a self confidence that I could not have created without this experience. The last few years makes sense, all the way back to the divorce, and the hustling through SF. These sets of circumstances have left me feeling like I can handle almost anything, and that's not a feeling I have had truly deeply in a very long time, maybe even since I was in college and felt successful navigating that very foreign world. And here, it seems more pure, more substantial, more lasting somehow, maybe cause small successes wont turn into wild nights with friends and lovers this time, repeating old patterns, and I'm left to wallow in this personal growth alone. Sometimes I wonder if I will be much different when I get back. Then I realize that I will again be able to make dick and fart jokes in my native language and talk about pop music that everyone knows and will probably jump right back into my old self, not that my old self is not here with me now, I still crack myself up, god knows James isn't going to do it! But I know this trip is changing who I am, how I see the world, my habitus (for the french anthropologists out there), even what I eat has changed dramatically - all of it adding up to the change in the way I FEEL.
I wrote on the boat that I was going to "continue to feel my way through this experience, see where it takes me and enjoy the living hell out of the ride that I never thought would be mine to take." Pretty much sums it up.
S.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
off to Barcelona....
gotta take a car to the train station...
a train to the bus station...
a bus to the plane station...
and a plane to barcelona where I land at 11:30 at night on sunday.
Have no idea where Im staying on Monday nite but Im sure I will figure somethig out...
got a free day in Barcelona, and a half day too for that matter...
then I hop a ferry boat Tom and Huck style, back to Italia, and if its late I will be sleeping in the van, prepping bikes in a car park somewhere, then meeting the next tour on thursday to hand over bikes...
this is crazy and Im so excited for it all...
Will keep you all posted and if somethig goes wrong Professor kn0ws what to do with my stuff.
Passport - check!
wallet (empty again) - check!
online checkin papers - check!
journal and a fresh pen - check!
deodorant toothbrush and condoms - check!
wing and a prayer - check!
airline bottles of scotch - check!
what cant you get through with that packing list!?
will post again when I gets back!
S.
a train to the bus station...
a bus to the plane station...
and a plane to barcelona where I land at 11:30 at night on sunday.
Have no idea where Im staying on Monday nite but Im sure I will figure somethig out...
got a free day in Barcelona, and a half day too for that matter...
then I hop a ferry boat Tom and Huck style, back to Italia, and if its late I will be sleeping in the van, prepping bikes in a car park somewhere, then meeting the next tour on thursday to hand over bikes...
this is crazy and Im so excited for it all...
Will keep you all posted and if somethig goes wrong Professor kn0ws what to do with my stuff.
Passport - check!
wallet (empty again) - check!
online checkin papers - check!
journal and a fresh pen - check!
deodorant toothbrush and condoms - check!
wing and a prayer - check!
airline bottles of scotch - check!
what cant you get through with that packing list!?
will post again when I gets back!
S.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
add this up...
for those of you who think I traded in that crazy busy beer job for a vacation in Italy...here's a little math for ya'll:
50 Bikes shipped from Van Nicholas to be assembled
+ not enough cassettes (the gears for you non-bike-humpers)
+ 10 sets of wheels that needed tires and tubes put on
+ 6 2/3 Liter beers between James and Myself
+ 4 handfulls of peanuts for breakfast one day
+ 2.25 Pizzas for dinner that nite
+ LOADS of coffee the next morn
+ 40 seats attached to 40 seatposts
+ 21 Bikes prepped for upcoming tours
+ 2 bikes that were going to be for sale now being sent out on tour cause we dont have enough parts
+ 4 vans
+ 8 sets of roof racks, 2 for each van! (thats 13 bikes per roof!)
+ a case of headsets and cables (more bike geek stuff but quite a sight that many parts in one box)
+ 3 12 hour shifts
+ not enough sleep
+ 5 rentals
+ 7 damaged knuckles
+ 4 major tours
+ 2 dudes
- (and that's a BIG minus) my last damn nerve
_____________
= several new original swear words, two really tired dudes, my hands hurt like I just built the friggen railroad, ALL of it!, and my vans shoes (that should have been thrown away a year ago) smell of degreazer, sweat and that funky throat smell you get when there are a ton of new tires around. Am I even making any sense here!?
We got the big shipment of bikes we have been waiting for but none of the bikes were built! Typically when you get a new bike from the manufacturer, you have to put the bars and stem on, adjust the brakes and shifters (only minimally usually) air up the tires and give it a spin. What we got this week was boxes and boxes of stuff! wheels with no tires, tires with no tubes, handlebars with no tape, shifters, gears, brakes, chains, seats, seatposts,....all individually wrapped patiently awaiting our years of expertise to carefully put them together in the right working order and VOILA! BIKES!
Bikes that are leaving on tour the day after mind you! The 30 minute bikes preps we expected turned into 2.5 hour pro builds, for each bike!!!! Not to mention there are some crucial parts not available in Europe as of right now due to the increased production over previous years. Needless to say we had some long nites...but damn aint the finished product worth it!...
I finally grabbed a bike ride into town today with the hopes of being right behind an accident involving an armoured truck and a limo full of "dancers." No suck luck, but I did get to spin my wheels a bit, come back refreshed and dive head first into an amazing dinner of salad and panini.
Its summer and I keep thinking..."wasn't I going to be a teacher? With the summers off?" But I still cant find a good reason to trade this experience with anything! The Cottonwood tree has finally stopped its search for fertile grounds, or I'm getting used to it, or I took a lifetimes worth of anti-allergy meds last week and their collective half life expires sometime after I'm dead. The skies have been amazing, and despite a day of rain (which we didn't notice hunched over bikes) the weather is amazing. In Italy there is a kind of rain dance you can do for the crops, simply vow to spend the afternoon putting roof racks on vans and sure enough - it will rain. But all in all the busiest week of the year is done with. And although we are still awaiting some parts, and there will be more crazy weeks ahead, I'm looking forward to it, collecting some stories to tell, and pushing on through.
We'll leave the espresso machine on for ya!
S.
50 Bikes shipped from Van Nicholas to be assembled
+ not enough cassettes (the gears for you non-bike-humpers)
+ 10 sets of wheels that needed tires and tubes put on
+ 6 2/3 Liter beers between James and Myself
+ 4 handfulls of peanuts for breakfast one day
+ 2.25 Pizzas for dinner that nite
+ LOADS of coffee the next morn
+ 40 seats attached to 40 seatposts
+ 21 Bikes prepped for upcoming tours
+ 2 bikes that were going to be for sale now being sent out on tour cause we dont have enough parts
+ 4 vans
+ 8 sets of roof racks, 2 for each van! (thats 13 bikes per roof!)
+ a case of headsets and cables (more bike geek stuff but quite a sight that many parts in one box)
+ 3 12 hour shifts
+ not enough sleep
+ 5 rentals
+ 7 damaged knuckles
+ 4 major tours
+ 2 dudes
- (and that's a BIG minus) my last damn nerve
_____________
= several new original swear words, two really tired dudes, my hands hurt like I just built the friggen railroad, ALL of it!, and my vans shoes (that should have been thrown away a year ago) smell of degreazer, sweat and that funky throat smell you get when there are a ton of new tires around. Am I even making any sense here!?
We got the big shipment of bikes we have been waiting for but none of the bikes were built! Typically when you get a new bike from the manufacturer, you have to put the bars and stem on, adjust the brakes and shifters (only minimally usually) air up the tires and give it a spin. What we got this week was boxes and boxes of stuff! wheels with no tires, tires with no tubes, handlebars with no tape, shifters, gears, brakes, chains, seats, seatposts,....all individually wrapped patiently awaiting our years of expertise to carefully put them together in the right working order and VOILA! BIKES!
Bikes that are leaving on tour the day after mind you! The 30 minute bikes preps we expected turned into 2.5 hour pro builds, for each bike!!!! Not to mention there are some crucial parts not available in Europe as of right now due to the increased production over previous years. Needless to say we had some long nites...but damn aint the finished product worth it!...
I finally grabbed a bike ride into town today with the hopes of being right behind an accident involving an armoured truck and a limo full of "dancers." No suck luck, but I did get to spin my wheels a bit, come back refreshed and dive head first into an amazing dinner of salad and panini.
Its summer and I keep thinking..."wasn't I going to be a teacher? With the summers off?" But I still cant find a good reason to trade this experience with anything! The Cottonwood tree has finally stopped its search for fertile grounds, or I'm getting used to it, or I took a lifetimes worth of anti-allergy meds last week and their collective half life expires sometime after I'm dead. The skies have been amazing, and despite a day of rain (which we didn't notice hunched over bikes) the weather is amazing. In Italy there is a kind of rain dance you can do for the crops, simply vow to spend the afternoon putting roof racks on vans and sure enough - it will rain. But all in all the busiest week of the year is done with. And although we are still awaiting some parts, and there will be more crazy weeks ahead, I'm looking forward to it, collecting some stories to tell, and pushing on through.
We'll leave the espresso machine on for ya!
S.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Happy Mother's Day
To all the Mamas, and the Baby Mamas, and the baby's Mama's Mama...
In celebration of my own Mum and for moms everywhere I set out on a little mission today. Here is the pictures to tell the tale...
set up the bike...
RIDE!
local garden store
its even bigger!
PERFETTO!!!
load up...
And I can't tell you how amazing this felt, to ride home, on bike, pulling a trailer with a rose bush in the back is something that had me teary eyed almost the whole way. I was overcome with a sense of happiness to be on this mission, sadness for missing my Mom, but absolute pride knowing she is with me and I am living the life I have always wanted to live; doing good by bike...
Found a good half-day-sun spot near the evil cottonwoods, nestled in with some wild lavender, dug a big hole, a sifted the dirt cause there is alot of debris in it around here, added some compost from the back yard and almost threw up at the smell of it, seriously I can still smell it, something that rancid can only make plants happy...and indeed it did!
Built a cool lattice out of bamboo poles and cut up inner tubes from bike tires, and unwrapped the ties to reveal quite the little rose bush. Followed the vines where they wanted to go and found THIS little guy already opening up.
Seriously, all the buds were shut tight in the nursery, that's how I was told to select a healthy plant. The fact that its opening up already makes me feel like this is one of the best days spent here at the Farm.
I also want to say thanks to all the Mom's I still have with me and to thank you for the nurturing qualities that make you awesome Moms!
Tammy - for showing me love and family when I needed it most! Singing Lady GaGa songs in the car, fake family fights at Sea World, and who could forget opening my eyes to the joy of 7 hours of waterpolo!
Carrie M - a new to-be Momma, who is practicing by baby sitting my only worldly possession in SD, who came through for me in a big way when I needed it cause she cares. Shes gonna be a great fun Mom.
Cathy Darby - cause she is funnier than you and I put together and cares enough to give you 20 pounds of shop rags for Christmas cause you couldn't find one last June, and who loves a good Bloody for thanksgiving, and who got me so many red blinky lights for my bikes I will never have to replace a battery in one!
Googlietta The (other) Douche Manycarts - who is the hardest workin' Mamma I can think of, business owner, coffee slinger, Mom of two cute twins, and who still finds time to be funny as all hell, throw people out of her cafe for touching a vintage record on the wall, makes a pair of short shorts look real good, and get stupid tattoos.
Namgyal Newton - who opened her home and heart to having a very lost Scotty there for a few (too many) weeks last fall, and who is courageous and smart enough to either ignore or see through Taint-Boys facade and make him an awesome caring dad, she's got two boys and handles it with aplomb.
Miss you all
Love you all.
S.
In celebration of my own Mum and for moms everywhere I set out on a little mission today. Here is the pictures to tell the tale...
set up the bike...
RIDE!
local garden store
its even bigger!
PERFETTO!!!
load up...
And I can't tell you how amazing this felt, to ride home, on bike, pulling a trailer with a rose bush in the back is something that had me teary eyed almost the whole way. I was overcome with a sense of happiness to be on this mission, sadness for missing my Mom, but absolute pride knowing she is with me and I am living the life I have always wanted to live; doing good by bike...
Found a good half-day-sun spot near the evil cottonwoods, nestled in with some wild lavender, dug a big hole, a sifted the dirt cause there is alot of debris in it around here, added some compost from the back yard and almost threw up at the smell of it, seriously I can still smell it, something that rancid can only make plants happy...and indeed it did!
Built a cool lattice out of bamboo poles and cut up inner tubes from bike tires, and unwrapped the ties to reveal quite the little rose bush. Followed the vines where they wanted to go and found THIS little guy already opening up.
Seriously, all the buds were shut tight in the nursery, that's how I was told to select a healthy plant. The fact that its opening up already makes me feel like this is one of the best days spent here at the Farm.I also want to say thanks to all the Mom's I still have with me and to thank you for the nurturing qualities that make you awesome Moms!
Tammy - for showing me love and family when I needed it most! Singing Lady GaGa songs in the car, fake family fights at Sea World, and who could forget opening my eyes to the joy of 7 hours of waterpolo!
Carrie M - a new to-be Momma, who is practicing by baby sitting my only worldly possession in SD, who came through for me in a big way when I needed it cause she cares. Shes gonna be a great fun Mom.
Cathy Darby - cause she is funnier than you and I put together and cares enough to give you 20 pounds of shop rags for Christmas cause you couldn't find one last June, and who loves a good Bloody for thanksgiving, and who got me so many red blinky lights for my bikes I will never have to replace a battery in one!
Googlietta The (other) Douche Manycarts - who is the hardest workin' Mamma I can think of, business owner, coffee slinger, Mom of two cute twins, and who still finds time to be funny as all hell, throw people out of her cafe for touching a vintage record on the wall, makes a pair of short shorts look real good, and get stupid tattoos.
Namgyal Newton - who opened her home and heart to having a very lost Scotty there for a few (too many) weeks last fall, and who is courageous and smart enough to either ignore or see through Taint-Boys facade and make him an awesome caring dad, she's got two boys and handles it with aplomb.
Miss you all
Love you all.
S.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
whew.
Has it been a week already!? Shit. This summer is going to fly by!
Lets see...where did I leave off...
Last weekend...
I again rode into Faenza and was treated to the workers rally of May 1st. Which was kind of a bummer cause the junk shop was closed AGAIN! Its a big workers rights celebration day and ton of people just hit the roads for rides and drives. Enough motorcycles to make me miss mine dearly. But tons of families out on bikes, which always makes me smile.
I rode to the mountain town of Brisighella and kicked about this little whole foods, slow food, organic food faire thinggy. I think thats what it was called. Anyway I found some hot as all hell chilli peppers, the dude made me smell a jar of them and I almost died! No more stuffy nose for the week! I also met Giofranco and Walter, who make the locally famous LOM chestnut beer. They were stoked to meet a dude who worked for Anchor as they were just reading about american microbreweries and invited me to come up for a day soon and taste and tour around their brewery. Cool guys who shared alot of local history with me, must have talked to them about an hour. And they were right next to this curious stand that I'm not sure is aware of the implications for its signage in English. Kinda blurry photo but I bet you can read it...
Then I chilled at my first ever sidewalk cafe and scribbled in my little black book for a couple hours over a couple brews and watched the place fill up with people of all sorts enjoying a sunny beautiful day.
Sunday a crew of 5 of us went out for some rainy weather mountain biking, and again I had my single speed dumb bike and my ass handed to me! Not that Im not in shape cause most of the tricky stuff I was right on Igors back wheel with him saying, "How did you do dat!" at the top of the climbs. Most of us did a fair amount of pushing our bikes up a steep ravine that was towards the end of a long day, about 25K and a good 700 Meters of climbing, (that's a 17 mile ride with roughly 2300 feet of climbing for you Yanks!) A big day for sure, and in weather conditions that would have had me cringing or left me sitting on the couch anywhere else Ive ridden. It feels more hardcore to know we were out of food and go juice and wet and cold when we got back to the car.
We came back to a big BBQ and pretty much all crashed. On monday, I picked up some bikes out in Cortona and Bologna. Sounds easy but was a good 6 hours in the car rocking out to Italian radio stations. RADIO DEE JAAY and RADIO KISS KISS being two of my personal favs.
Tuscan Green
Tuesday through Friday was an onslaught of bikes bikes bikes! I think it was thursday that I prepped 9 bikes AFTER lunch! Its crazy busy and the result is three big tours went out this weekend with all the bikes, spare parts, and tools ready to rock.
Its good to see the garage empty but we are at it again this week so don't expect too much scribbling from me till after next weekend when I get to pick up a van with bikes loaded on the roof and inside...in BARCELONA!! Yup, the Andalucia tour will be wrapping up and the bikes and van need to come back on a ferry from Barcelona to Italy then driven down to the Farm home again. Should be quite the adventure and I have scheduled a whole day and a half for me to explore and dick around. Should be a gas, and I will finally be able to see the Gaudi House and Park, have a proper sangria while harassing transvestite hookers on Las Ramblas, not the least to mention I will finally be able to take the Spanish Landowner to SPAIN!!! Thats right, thought I forgot didnt you...Its MAY and that means a new facial hair construct here in Italy. You may recognise this one from the winter of 08, or summer 05, its a classic...
spanish landowner
Today I rode the shitbike quite alot...into Faenza again but nothing really going down since I slept till noon, so I headed for the twisty roads near the hills and made my way towards Forli for a sit in the park...till I started sneezing again, then crept around the square, its huge market, saw some ladies drooling in a shoe store window (somethings are universal) and headed home to get some food, have tea and stay up late painting.
market
mmm shoes
Spring is amazing and all along the roadsides are flowers in bloom.
Which reminds me, Sunday is Mother's day and if you haven't got anything for your mum, shame on you (unless you don't believe in it I suppose, talk to James, he has it figured out...) I will be dragging a trailer on my bike to the local garden center to buy a big ass rose bush and get it planted right here at the Farm for my Mom, in her honour and in her memory. Ill share that with you all for sure. I know she gets to share in this whole experience with me and now there will be a physical reminder of that. Come on over, Ill share it with you.
S.
Lets see...where did I leave off...
Last weekend...
I again rode into Faenza and was treated to the workers rally of May 1st. Which was kind of a bummer cause the junk shop was closed AGAIN! Its a big workers rights celebration day and ton of people just hit the roads for rides and drives. Enough motorcycles to make me miss mine dearly. But tons of families out on bikes, which always makes me smile.
I rode to the mountain town of Brisighella and kicked about this little whole foods, slow food, organic food faire thinggy. I think thats what it was called. Anyway I found some hot as all hell chilli peppers, the dude made me smell a jar of them and I almost died! No more stuffy nose for the week! I also met Giofranco and Walter, who make the locally famous LOM chestnut beer. They were stoked to meet a dude who worked for Anchor as they were just reading about american microbreweries and invited me to come up for a day soon and taste and tour around their brewery. Cool guys who shared alot of local history with me, must have talked to them about an hour. And they were right next to this curious stand that I'm not sure is aware of the implications for its signage in English. Kinda blurry photo but I bet you can read it...
Then I chilled at my first ever sidewalk cafe and scribbled in my little black book for a couple hours over a couple brews and watched the place fill up with people of all sorts enjoying a sunny beautiful day.
Sunday a crew of 5 of us went out for some rainy weather mountain biking, and again I had my single speed dumb bike and my ass handed to me! Not that Im not in shape cause most of the tricky stuff I was right on Igors back wheel with him saying, "How did you do dat!" at the top of the climbs. Most of us did a fair amount of pushing our bikes up a steep ravine that was towards the end of a long day, about 25K and a good 700 Meters of climbing, (that's a 17 mile ride with roughly 2300 feet of climbing for you Yanks!) A big day for sure, and in weather conditions that would have had me cringing or left me sitting on the couch anywhere else Ive ridden. It feels more hardcore to know we were out of food and go juice and wet and cold when we got back to the car.
We came back to a big BBQ and pretty much all crashed. On monday, I picked up some bikes out in Cortona and Bologna. Sounds easy but was a good 6 hours in the car rocking out to Italian radio stations. RADIO DEE JAAY and RADIO KISS KISS being two of my personal favs.
Tuscan GreenTuesday through Friday was an onslaught of bikes bikes bikes! I think it was thursday that I prepped 9 bikes AFTER lunch! Its crazy busy and the result is three big tours went out this weekend with all the bikes, spare parts, and tools ready to rock.
Its good to see the garage empty but we are at it again this week so don't expect too much scribbling from me till after next weekend when I get to pick up a van with bikes loaded on the roof and inside...in BARCELONA!! Yup, the Andalucia tour will be wrapping up and the bikes and van need to come back on a ferry from Barcelona to Italy then driven down to the Farm home again. Should be quite the adventure and I have scheduled a whole day and a half for me to explore and dick around. Should be a gas, and I will finally be able to see the Gaudi House and Park, have a proper sangria while harassing transvestite hookers on Las Ramblas, not the least to mention I will finally be able to take the Spanish Landowner to SPAIN!!! Thats right, thought I forgot didnt you...Its MAY and that means a new facial hair construct here in Italy. You may recognise this one from the winter of 08, or summer 05, its a classic...
spanish landownerToday I rode the shitbike quite alot...into Faenza again but nothing really going down since I slept till noon, so I headed for the twisty roads near the hills and made my way towards Forli for a sit in the park...till I started sneezing again, then crept around the square, its huge market, saw some ladies drooling in a shoe store window (somethings are universal) and headed home to get some food, have tea and stay up late painting.
market
mmm shoes
Spring is amazing and all along the roadsides are flowers in bloom.
Which reminds me, Sunday is Mother's day and if you haven't got anything for your mum, shame on you (unless you don't believe in it I suppose, talk to James, he has it figured out...) I will be dragging a trailer on my bike to the local garden center to buy a big ass rose bush and get it planted right here at the Farm for my Mom, in her honour and in her memory. Ill share that with you all for sure. I know she gets to share in this whole experience with me and now there will be a physical reminder of that. Come on over, Ill share it with you.
S.