| The longest I've gone |
[02 Jul 2008|12:46am] |
Throughout the past 8 years or so, LJ has been the one place I consistently had SOME output for the internet. I prided myself on at least putting up a little thing once a week, but those days aregone. In fact, the whole of my internet output has suffered greatly due to my lack of job and gigantic travel-plans. The notable exception is my flickr photos, where I am trying to post the best photos I've takn as I've been travelling, and those are here.
Travelling has been somewhat strange and not exactly what I planned, but that's expected so maybe it was planned. I have been to 9 cities so far, stayed in 7 of them, and only got a hostel in 2 of them. The rest have relied on the kindness and hospitality of others, which has been great.
Even still, it has by no means been "cheap", with prices for food seeming high in dollars but actually being in euros which makes them insanely high. I am travelling in a weird limbo-mindset where I'll walk for miles looking for a currency exchange that gives me the best exchange rate, then blow $15 on the "special" vegetarian meal because "When will I be back?".
I have tried to be adventurous and outgoing, and I am in controlled environents like Hostels where I try to introduce myself to people and find out where they're coming from and going to. However, I am terrible at the random nightlife-style meeting of people. I spend evenings walking around taking pictures on my own, and trying very hard to smile and have fun, but I feel like I do not belong there, neither as a native nor a tourist.
In some ways, I feel like I'm the only one that belongs there.
I get a lot of time on my own, but I am typically plotting my next destination and not doing much self-reflection. It's a lonely thing to travel alone, and while I really enjoy the freedom it affords me to strike out and take pictures and just walk around without being beholden to 'activities', I miss having people to take pictures of and to tae my picture and to talk to and to share the experience with. I fluxuate, for sure. Some days I mope around wishing someone would magically approach me and start a conversation and not just want money from me, and some days I revel in the feeling of actually doing what I set out to do. That's a good feeling.
It's nice to be in beautiful places and watching people of different cultures interact. It can make you feel like an explorer. it can also feel like the first day at a new school, where everyone knows eachother and you're the odd one, the one getting stares, the one that stands out or is invisible. I'm trying to be more middle-ground about it, emotionally. Usually I am.
I'm now about 1-month in and I still have 3-months to go for this part of it. I'm excited.
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| Making Whoopie at Columbo's |
[30 Jun 2008|05:47pm] |
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music |
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Make It Wit Chu-Queens Of The Stone Age-Era Vulgaris |
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Located in fabulous Eagle Rock, Columbo's features classy decor, friendly staff, amazing live Jazz and the some of the best STEAKS you will ever lay your tongue on.
Saturday night, Donny, Maria, Yvette and I had dinner at what has now become my most favorite place ever, Columbo's. It was one of those magical evenings where dinner just lingered on as we savored every bite of STEAK and fell in love with life. The Jazz was outstanding...4 older gentlemen (see above photo) that blew me away...the piano player plays trumpet and piano at the same time, and the singer/saxaphonist totally reminded me of my grandpa but could sing and play sax like he invented the blues. There was one older couple seated near by that seemed to be even more impressed than we were. They shouted requests, danced, and told us more than we ever needed to know about how they "make whoopie" during a song called, "Making Whoopie." We ended up staying until they closed, and on our way out got pretty much attacked by the couple who assaulted us with a barrage of questions and comments that came so fast we found ourselves speechless, even though we had them out numbered. The lady was overjoyed to see the "joung peoples" (insert cuban/puerto rican{?} accent) and her husband gave us a brief music history lesson about the roots of jazz and then proceded to ask us what schools we all went to. Their grandson goes to Berkely, and they seemed equally unimpressed that I went to Art School as my own grandparents were, when I told him where I attended.
I don't know if we'll ever be able to re-capture the magic (or the whoopie) that was made that night, but the memories will live on in our hearts forever.
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| No Roberto show tonite: SUV crashed into the Theater |
[27 Jun 2008|03:49pm] |
An SUV drove into the front of iO West yesterday around 4 pm; as a result, there is no Roberto show tonight.
News coverage
More on iOWest.com
A video somebody made in remembrance of the front door:
This was made, almost immediately following, by Heather:
Hrrrrr.
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| Temple of the warriors |
[27 Jun 2008|11:39am] |
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| Multimedia message |
[27 Jun 2008|10:20am] |
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| Multimedia message |
[27 Jun 2008|08:23am] |
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| It's your night, just one night. |
[26 Jun 2008|10:05am] |
"Welcome to your bachelor party!"
"Hahah, I hope my real bachelor party's a lot better than this!"
"No, this is it."
Tonight is officially my last night in town, my last night living alone, my last night in a long-distance relationship. Tomorrow I'm leaving for Jacksonville, but because I need to pack, organize the apartment, and run some errands (note to self: don't forget to drop off the rent!) tonight, my friends and I got together last night and they gave me a pretty nice send-off. According to Jeric, I'm leaving as Michael Pop but coming back as Michael Lawrence. I think what he meant by that is that I'm coming back a new man or something, but like everything Jeric says, I'm never totally sure.
Last night went like this: I got a haircut, then walked 100 yards and met up with Kelly and Jeric, who busted me for trying to primp in the reflection of a vacuum repair shop window, and had a drink at the Good Luck Bar while waiting for Daniel, Esther and Sandra to show up for dinner. Then we walked across the street and ate some pizza and then walked back across the street to the Tiki Ti. I can't remember the last time I was able to park my car and walk to four places, but it was awesome.
I'd never been to the Tiki Ti before, but Kelly told me all I needed to know: "Bring a billion dollars in cash and cigarettes. You can smoke inside!! And all the drinks are like, $10+." I think I spent an hour on their website trying to decide on what kind of drink I was going to have, but it was all for naught because I wouldn't be doing the ordering. Drink #1 wound up being a kamikaze shot on the rocks for the whole table, and then drink #2 was something called "Stealth". According to their website, it's billed as "one of the strongest! This drink flies high and you'll never see it coming!" It consists of the always ominous "various liquors", along with Kahlua, 151 rum, amaretto, Grand Marnier & Bailey's. Between that and the pizza, I consumed enough dairy to ruin my stomach for a good week.
But that drink was actually really tasty, or maybe I just convinced myself that it was, like mind over matter. It tasted like an ice cream if it was on fire -- but frosty. After my first sip I thought no way was I going to come even close to finishing it. I mean, that kamikaze shot had already gotten me a little wobbly. But somehow I finished it, even if it seemed like it took me 3 hours to do so.
The thing about those tropical drinks is that you don't really feel the full brunt until much later. That's why people are forever making the mistake of finishing one, and then ordering two more, and then puking their guts out. I was fine to drive home, but then once I got there, I was totally fucked up. I barely made it into bed. At 3am I woke up and thought I was going to puke. The room was spinning and somehow I'd ended up sleeping at the foot of the bed, sideways. I wanted to die.
Thanks, guys. Last night was awesome. Seriously.
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| Tri 5 Presents 'Office Perks', Part One |
[25 Jun 2008|02:12am] |
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| Scared straight. |
[23 Jun 2008|05:15pm] |
I saw these anti-meth ads a while back and meant to post about them, but I forgot. Somehow meth came up in conversation recently and I mentioned these ads and promised to post them, then I forgot about it again, and then I remembered just now. My brain has been all over the place lately. I think by now we've all seen examples of "meth-face" and know that it's not a very glamorous drug. But just in case you were still on the fence and considering giving it a shot, these ads should persuade you to reconsider. So, good job, Montana Meth Project.
Anyway, here are the rest of them. They're pretty graphic; some of them are kind of darkly hilarious, but mostly they're really, really depressing -- I really can't deal with the one with blood. Montana, though. I never figured "the Treasure State" as being a hotbed for meth activity, but then again, I couldn't even name a single city in the state, so I obviously don't know anything.
I do know that they're way more effective than the Me Not Meth ads that are up all over West Hollywood. These ads look like a Mentos commercial by comparison.
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| "We're Fucked" |
[23 Jun 2008|01:50pm] |
"I figured out years ago that the human species is totally fucked and has been for a long time. I also know that the sick, media-consumer culture in America continues to make this so-called problem worse. But the trick, folks, is not to give a fuck. Like me. I really don't care. I stopped worrying about all this temporal bullshit a long time ago. It's meaningless."
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| Project Indigo |
[23 Jun 2008|11:01am] |
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mood |
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The only thing I like more then apocolyptic end of the world movies are apocolyptic end of the world drawrings...This guy seems a bit overly optimistic, but talented none the less.
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| Kind of cheesy, but made me smile... |
[23 Jun 2008|12:18am] |
What about you?
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| Roberto tonite at 11 at our new night at iO West: Fridays thru July. |
[20 Jun 2008|12:07pm] |
Roberto Alomar kicks off our new night at io West, Fridays at 11pm through July, tonight! Come and find out what we've been up to since Todd got out of prison.
Appearing on the mainstage following Laurel Coppock's one-lady show.
New environmentally sound poster by Heather:
Roberto is Heather Campbell, Scott Rodgers, Will Maier, Gian Molina, Kevin Manwarren, Jacob Reed, and Todd Wilson.
Todd's out of Jail!!
We Are All Roberto Alomar.
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