Something I've learned from traveling.

When you meet someone from a different culture they see you in a different light.  All the quirks and personality traits your old friends have looked over for years are front and center.  What may be normal in your homeland is a a big flaw somewhere else in the world. 

When I was young I saw a picture of James Dean with his hands in his pocket and thought it was the coolest thing ever.  That picture, along with other things, has put me in the mindset to always have me hands in my pocket.  Turns out others see that as a sign of touching yourself.

Who knew?  Is there an universal subconscious at play?

I can't find the picture I was thinking about but this one is better.  It's from a 1990 movie called, 'Book of Love'.  At the time I watched this I only knew a little about Mr. Dean, but they did an homage to him through the main character.  And of course he had the that awkwardness that only comes with adolescence.  Note the grease stains on the wall...  It's more of my style.

Humble Boast (A moment of truth)

The thing about me and writing is that I like to write but I find it hard to share my feelings.  I come from a loving, generous family but I was raised not boast or to complain, just to keep you head down and make the most of what you are given.  I could expand on that thought but what I want to express is that for the most part, I’m not comfortable talking about myself.

The past 15 months I’ve seen and experienced things that have changed me in ways I can’t explain.  I’ve looked into myself and saw the best and worst of my qualities.  The saying, ‘you are what you hate’, has never rung truer.  While I despise racism I see myself stereotyping the local aboriginals through day to day transactions at the roadhouse.  It’s something I’m ashamed of but at least I see it and that’s the first step in change.

I also know that I can adapt and change.  While backpacking, through the eyes of social media looks like one big vacation, it’s not always easy.  Don’t get me wrong, laying on the beach, seeing the world and all it’s beauty, and having the greatest time of my life is golden but it’s not always easy.  I take pride in the frustrating times of trying to catch a connecting bus in Laos only to end up on the back of a truck with farmers and their family.  Being hot, tried and covered in sweat; arguing with the woman that will always hold a special place in my heart, only to end up next to a angry local in the back of the truck.  I could of kept being angry but instead I gave everyone some of my food and by the end of the trip we were great friends, if only for an hour or two.

I know I should write more but in the end I have my memories.  And when I meet someone that wants to hear them, I will speak my thoughts. 

Oh how time flies
With crystal eyes
And cold as cold
When you're ending with diamond eyes

Rivers and Roads

Now that I booked my ticket home I'm doing something that I'm not known for; planning.  Every backpacker that I traveled with was amazed at my ability to have no agenda, no clue on where I was going next.  It started a year a half ago at LAX when the ticket person told me I couldn't go to Vietnam because I didn't have a visa.  Who knew you couldn't get one on arrival?  This guy.  The blueprint was to meet Jen in Hanoi and let her help me map out some kind of master plan.  Turns out I couldn't get in and she was sick and had to fly home.  I landed in Hong Kong and decided to wing it. 8 countries later here I am.

My All Out or Get Out Farewell Tour:

•  Bangkok is the mecca of cheap tattoos.  I'm thinking about getting the tree of life underneath the dragon on my back.

• Cooking classes are must.  Jess and I meant to take some last time but never got around to it.

• Deep sea fishing.  I've always wanted to catch a tuna and eat it raw on the boat.

• Get my P.A.D.I certification.  Diving is cheap in Asia and the water is crystal clear.

• Get another suit in South Korea.  The one I bought in Vietnam is a little tight once I started eating western food again.

• Visit Burma (Myanmar).  It's one of the least developed countries in the world and it dead last in health care.  DEAD LAST.  I wanted to go last time I was in Asia but the government closed the boarders for so-called elections.

No Direction Home

I might regret it but I booked a flight home for April.  I really don't know why I did it, the subconscious can be funny sometimes.  I tell myself I can always go backpacking again but that window in life is closing.  Maybe I want to go home to see what I'm not missing.  I'm at that point in life that all my friends are making decisions and I can't for some reason.  Maybe if I touch the shore I can see the horizon?

I'm leaving Oz in early February and then heading off to Bangkok.  I'm not for sure what I'm doing but I know I have to leave Thailand at some point, so not to over stay my 30 day visa.  Maybe I'll go to Burma if the border is open again.  The last time I tried to enter, they closed entry because of the so called elections.  Gotta love a backwards ass dictatorship.

I do know I'm going to live it up on some Thailand beaches.  For those that don't know Thailand beaches are breath taking.  Just picture every movie scene you see with crystal clear water and locals bringing you fresh juice mixed with booze.  Or just watch the movie 'The Beach' on mute.  That movie kinda sucked but the book is good.  I bought it for a dollar in Bangkok.

At some point I have to reenter Thailand because I'm flying out of Bangkok and hitting up South Korea.  I never thought of going there until I tried to book a flight home and had a 6 hour lay over in Seoul.  I hate lay overs so I decided to stay 10 days.  I'm hoping South Korea will be special because that's where my Grandfather became a man.  I wish I had with me the picture of him sitting tiredly with his helmet at his feet, smoking a cigarette on some remote Korean hillside.  If I did I would post it because it was one of my favorites.  That ornery old man has some stories to tell and if you have a couple of hours, he'll preach your ear off.

After South Korea I'm flying into Cali to see family and friends.  Vegas is now looking in the mix and then it's back to real world.

Real world; Fayetteville or Denver?  Who knows?  I might not even make it home.

Halfway Home

The other day I made a five year plan for myself only to remember that's not who I am.  I have nothing holding me back in life and that's comfortable to me.  Being the analytical person that I am, I did however make a list of my options.  First, what is known; I'm going to stay at my current job for three months and save up money.  Here are my options after that.

• One of my best friends offered me an opportunity to invest in a new bar opening up around a year from now.  His current bar is doing great and everything points to the new one doing just as well.  Along with the investment opportunity he also offered me a place to stay while I get back to the real world and a job working at the micro-brewery he's about to open up.  What can I say, I have great friends who are like family to me.
• I could work and save money; and then lounge on the beach for a month before coming home.  Thailand, Fiji or Bali sounds good right about now.
• Another friend, that I call my brother, is moving to Denver and there's always a spot for me there.  I hear great things about the city and I wouldn't be far from the Great Divide; something I consider as a natural holy land.
• When I leave Oz I should have enough money to travel South America.  Machu Picchu has always been at the very top of my list of places to see and I have friends, that I've met along the way, living there.
• I can get a work visa for New Zealand and continue to work and live the dream and if I'm lucky enough, score a job as an extra on the new Hobbit movie.

So, there you have it... Fuck if I know.  I'm just going to keep on living and see what happens.

A comfort plush all laced in lead
Was sent to quell your sentiment
And keep your trembling sentinel hand at bay

Take

I'm settling in at my new job and while on the outside it's a perfect setting for a horror movie, it's not too bad.  Mount Magnet is bush country; a dry, arid landscape in the middle of nowhere.  The backpackers live in a motel like building with every two units sharing a bathroom.  My room is nice and I don't have to share a bathroom since the other room is left vacant because my predecessor hung himself in my bathroom.

That's right, the backpacker I replaced hung himself in my shower.  It's a little strange but death is apart of life. I guess I'm comfortable with death because my grandparents use to own a funeral home and one of my dad's many jobs was a mortician.  I understand death but I still wonder how he got to the point of taking his own life.  From what I learned he proposed to his girl only to be turned down.  So he went backpacking.  He was a loner at work and his room was scattered with drugs and razorblades.  That's all the information I have and I'm sure his life was more complex but now he's just a footnote in my life's journey.  Hopefully someone out there will honor his spirit with memories of the good times.

Aus dem Stegreif

Once again I've slowed down and ended up in the middle of nowhere at a roadhouse.  For those who don't know, a roadhouse is kind of like a truck stop/community hub in rural Australia.  A resting point for weary travelers tramping across the great emptiness of Oz and a local meeting place for farmers and miners.  It's a good place to look at what I've learned about the world and an even better place to evaluate who I am.  The first things you learn while traveling is your strength and weaknesses.  I'm making a list of them and hopefully will post them later on, but first where I've been the past couple of months.

The dairy farm was what it was, a 12 hour a day, six day a week ball buster that paid peanuts.  My boss was German and the most efficient man I've ever met.  Nothing went to waste on the farm and he had everything planned out six moves in advance.  He was a taskmaster and being who I am I received the nickname Troubles from my coworkers because I was always being crucified for either driving too fast, joking too much or just saying what I thought.  All things I take pride in.  One thing I've learned from traveling and 30 years of life is to be who you are.  Change and growth are two different entities.

With that said, the dairy farm will always hold a special place in my heart.  My co-workers were amazing and there was never a dull moment between a cow pissing in my mouth while I was yawning or getting an ATV stuck in three feet of mud only to get myself stuck trying to get out.  Things that will humble you and give a broader sense of humor at the same time.  But like that badass guitarist once said, All Thing Must Pass.  The main reason I was working there was to fulfil my second year visa requirement of working on a farm.  And then I found out Americans couldn't get second year visa, so I packed up and headed to the city to be lazy.

I stayed the past couple of months in Melbourne with my German bosses son, a guy that is the complete opposite of his father.  Genetics are funny; I'm just like my father but if I didn't know better I would say my brother was adopted. 

I wish I had some great stories to tell you about my time in Melbourne but I did what most guys wish they could still do; smoke pot, play video games and watching a shit ton of movies.  Did you know Mr. T made a movie in 1984 called The Toughest Man in the World?  It's so bad that Rotten Tomatoes doesn't even have it listed.  Watch it and I guarantee you'll be quoting it for months.

We did however make a golf course in the backyard.  I wish I could show you all 5 holes but I only have video for the first two.  Enjoy.

I look at the world and I notice it's turning
While my guitar gently weeps
With every mistake we must surely be learning
Still my guitar gently weeps

Winter Camp

And I'm happy.

My philosophy on backpacking is not to plan, just wing it. If you plan, it will always go wrong. After spending the past couple of months looking for a farm job that would qualify me for my second year visa, there seemed to be none. With that in mind I left Tammin and posted an ad on Gumtree, the Australian version of Craigslist. A couple of hours later I had a job on a dairy farm in SE Oz.

My coworkers are amazing and represent Germany, Ireland, Holland, Switzerland, Fiji, Brazil, Russia and Oz. They tapped a picture of a riverboat on the door of my cabin and had a slice of apple pie waiting for me. And I get to herd over 2000 cows on a motorcycle. I'm going to repeat that again so you can get a mental picture in your head. I get to herd over 2000 cows while driving a motorcycle! Legend.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

I'm a huge sci-fi fan, i.e; Star Trek, Dr. Who, Firefly, Stargate, etc and some my favorite episodes are always the ones about alternate universes. Where the plot is, if one thing changed in history everything was the same but totally different. That is how I feel about Australia. It's so much like home but different on every level. Example #1, the UTE. I still can't see one of these road beast and not say El Ca-mi-no to myself.

Rolling on Doves.

Next is the slang. Australian's have slang for everything. Everything.

• Chewie ~ Gum
• Footie ~ Australian Football
• Billy ~ Teapot
• Truckie ~ Truck Driver
• Lollies ~ Candy
• Mozzie ~ Mosquito
• Sunnies ~ Sunglasses
• Dunny ~ Toilet
• Chrissie ~ Christmas

And then there's the people. I compare Oz to the America of the mid-1800's. It has a whole continent of natural resources and not enough people; 19 million to America's 307. And a good percentage of the population are immigrants, here for work and a better life. Even the backpackers I meet are here because of the money and the chance to see the world.

ACCT #1111

I’ve been slacking on my reading and writing because of Gameboyonline.com. What can I say, I love regression and Zelda. I did buy two new books though, Ulysses and Across the River and into the Trees. I think I’ll tackle Hemingway first because man, that guy is gold.

It looks like I’m staying in Tammin for at least another week, making it little over two weeks to go. My boss loves me so much he doesn’t want me to leave, or the co-owner is going on vacation to Bali. I like to think it’s my winning personality.

Katherine, the English backpacker, flew back home but not before a going away party. It was a great night filled with very talented chicks playing guitar.

Favorite new word; whinge.

I’ve been living in Australia for 4 ½ months now and I’m still learning something new everyday.

The greatest Irish stereotype I've ever seen. A Good night.

Being There

Eventually I’ll get around to writing about my travels in SE Asia and India but for now I’ll start with Australia. I arrived in Oz running low on funds and the fact that beers are $8 and a decent breakfast will run you about $15 didn’t help. A friend told me about a job placement service before I arrived and I tried it for 3 weeks with no luck. It’s very disheartening to sit 5 hours a day in a place that blares MTV videos over the T.V. while eating microwavable noodles for lunch and still walk away jobless. After seeing Pink’s Fuckin’ Perfect video about 50 times I was about to start cutting myself.

With the borrowed money from my grandpa dwindling away, I was about to google the closest sperm/blood bank. Then I met a French couple that told me about another job service and 30 minutes later I had a job in the middle of nowhere. It’s funny how things work out when you just bide your time.

I took the roadhouse (truckstop) job because I needed money and it was an easy way to save since it was in the middle of nowhere. Being from a family of truckers I also knew I would meet some interesting people and the stories they had to tell.

I’m a month a half into a 3 month stint and everything is going well. When I get cabin fever I hop on the train to Perth and meet up with some friends before coming back to my books and music in Tammin.

I was eating breakfast and this rolled threw.

5 pieces of a giant shovel.