Sasquatch

I spent all of last weekend at the Sasquatch Music Festival. It was held at the Gorge Amphitheater in Washington state. Whoever had the brilliant idea to set up an Amphitheater down there deserves a great big gold star. It was so beautiful it almost didn’t look real.

There was so much good music I can’t even begin to describe all of it. I can say that seeing The Cure play a live show was one of the coolest experiences of my life. Robert Smith is looking a little chunky and washed up — almost like a human version of his South Park character rather than the other way around — but he still sounded incredible and they played a very tight set. I wasn’t that excited about seeing R.E.M. initially. I was a big fan when I was in high school but I thought their more recent albums kind of sucked (except the newest one is pretty good). I was caught off guard by how much I enjoyed them though. They totally blew my mind, they were incredible. Modest Mouse started off a little shaky but ended up getting their energy going and doing a great job. M.I.A. rocked so hard I can’t even put words to it. Death Cab For Cutie was even better live than they are in the studio. Flight of the Conchords were hilarious. The New Pornographers were amazing. Everyone was amazing. The funnest set for me was definitely The Hives. Those guys know how to get a crowd going. And my favourite new musical discovery — Ghostland Observatory. I also really enjoyed Beirut and the Cold War Kids, neither of which I knew particularly well before I arrived. We also saw Rich Fulcher in the Comedy Tent. He plays Bob Fossil on The Mighty Boosh, one of mine and my roommate’s favourite shows.

Aside from the music though, I think what made the weekend so wonderful was the people I went with. I feel pretty lucky to have such amazing people in my life. We camped together for three nights and, despite the fact that we were all filthy by the end of it, we had more than enough fun to make it worthwhile.

The craziest thing happened on the second day as we were walking from the campsite to the venue. A big gust of wind came through and turned into a little twister. Then it picked up a tent that wasn’t pegged down and hurled it straight up into the air. Everyone watched in awe as the tent flew through the air, around and around, and eventually landed down in the bottom of the valley. Whoever owns that tent was probably pretty choked when they came back to camp that night to nothing. And the worst part is, they would have had no idea of the adventure their tent went on. They probably thought someone stole it.

Again

Home again. Finally.

I made a last minute trip to Houston TX last week to rescue my best friend from a tough situation. It’s a very long story that I will recount bits and pieces of soon but I am so tired right now and need some time to process it all. I flew down to Texas last Thursday, spent the weekend, then we drove home — from Houston to Vancouver — in 4 days. 42 hours of driving time. If you count stops for gas and food we were actually on the road for 54 hours. 4500 km across 7 states then into BC, Canada. Maximum speed with the 4.6L V8 was 144 km/h, hit by me while passing a big rig somewhere in Washington state. D was angry because until that point he had the record, and you know how guys are with their trucks. All I can say for now is WOW. And also, it’s a damn good thing that D and I watched a lot of Dukes of Hazzard when we were younger or we may not be alive right now.

Aijou

Everytime I open up my Google homepage I notice the cute Japanese banner I added. There’s a fox wearing a traditional straw hat who is always hanging out with different little animal friends of his, including a bumblebee, a bird, and a frog in a crown — not sure of the connection there. Sometimes I think it could be China, but I’m sure it’s meant to be Japan because Mt. Fuji is in the background. The banner changes every few hours with the time of day. Sometimes it’s sunny and the fox is eating a picnic lunch of what looks like sushi; sometimes at dusk the fox and frog sit on their dock and watch the stars come out; at night you can see them sleeping, and sometimes I’ve even noticed fireflies buzzing about. I wonder if it will change with the seasons as well. It’s a silly little thing but its presence makes me happy. Every day it re-instills in me the feeling of living in Japan. You know how certain times in your life are accompanied by a particular feeling? It’s very abstract, impossible to pin down or explain, but also so deeply rooted. I sometimes think the combination of all those abstract feelings is what makes up what I feel is the core of my being at the present moment.

At times I desperately miss living in Japan. I miss the wonder of it all, the strangeness as it becomes more familiar, the sense of being part of some well-oiled super-modern machine while at the same time being surrounded by the ghosts of ancient histories. There are so many concrete things that I miss as well, but it is the feeling that I would really like to get back. I sometimes wonder, if I were to return, would I find that feeling again or would it be an entirely new and different one?

Mosquito Hell

I am still not quite ready to sit down and write… especially considering I am on a crazy Czech keyboard that has switched the “z” and the “y,” and on which I cannot find the apostrophe and am thus required to not use contractions.

I did however feel the need to report that I have a mosquito bite on my leg that is so big and swollen I am starting to look like I have three knees. I can actually feel it growing with every passing minute, as if at one point it will just get so big that it will explode and thence provide me with much needed relief from the near suicide-inducing itch. For those of you who may be concerned about me, dont worry. I always react really badly to mosquito bites and it is not likely to be a giant tumour or anything problematic like that. But I am dead certain that passers-by on the street are looking at me with concern. Ahhhh Prague. You are leaving me with such wonderful memories.

My Trip to Greece

Well, it’s been about a week since I’ve posted anything… I am in Greece now and it’s taken a few days to get used to being half-way around the world again.

The journey here was very long, but well worth it. I’m staying with a friend from my Master’s class. He and his family live in Athens, fairly close in to the city centre. Of course I love to travel, but it’s especially nice to have the opportunity to see and experience everyday life in another culture. Since I’ve arrived, we’ve spent a lot of time wandering around and I’m starting to get a sense of Athens as a city. It’s so lively, especially at night. I’ve been very well-fed so far by my friend’s mother. She is a lovely woman but we are as yet unable to talk directly with each other, as she doesn’t speak English and I don’t speak Greek. I think my friend would prefer if I didn’t try to speak Greek. Everytime I do I apparently butcher the accent, he shakes his head at me, and reminds me that I haven’t got it quite right. The food is incredible of course — homemade Greek salad, pastitsio, tzatziki, cake, it’s all wonderful. We went for kebab the other night and it may have been the best I’ve ever had. I also had what may have been the most delicious coffee of my life the other day — and the strongest. There was so much caffeine in it I nearly passed out! Last night, my other friend here hosted a party for her brother’s girlfriend’s birthday, so that was nice. It was just like a party at home of course, but with more Greek pop music.

Greece is in the middle of a heat wave right now so it’s not ideal to go out in the afternoons. Yesterday it was 40 degrees, today it feels even hotter. I actually don’t mind the heat, but it certainly is tiring. It makes sense that people here siesta in the afternoons and stay up really late at night. It seems to me like a more relaxed way of life than at home, but I guess it has to be that way. I’m sure if our afternoons at home were as hot as they are here, we’d do the same.

It’s interesting… I haven’t travelled for a couple of years, since I came home from Edinburgh. I went to Saskatoon, but that doesn’t count as travelling, unless we’re talking about travelling down to Hades. The first morning that I woke up here in Greece, I cracked the biggest smile, I almost started to laugh. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt truly happy or excited about anything. And I’ve known full well the reason why. I’m a traveller, I like to explore, I enjoy being in different cultures. I loved living and travelling in Asia, but I especially loved living in Europe. It felt like I would never tire of it. Being at home in Victoria for me is soul-sucking. Victoria is a fantastically beautiful place, and I love my boyfriend and my family, and I am lucky to have a great situation at my University — but I still absolutely do not want to be living in Victoria. I just hope that after 5 weeks away, it will be a little easier to live there again for awhile.

The Pursuit of Efficiency

I try not to make a habit of posting links on here — I figure people can surf for themselves. But this was too good. Maybe because I spent a year in Japan I am especially entertained by it, but you’ve got to give the Japanese credit for their sales pitches. You would never see a homepage like this for a Hilton.

You probably already know what a Capsule Hotel is, but if you don’t this is how they describe it: “a unique style of accommodation in Japan, inspired by the pursuit of efficiency and functional comfort, originating from the adaptive, creative spirit of the Japanese mind.” Have a look!

My Long Weekend

Back home from a weekend in Vancouver and Whistler and this is what stuck with me:

1. The BC Coast is really pretty.
2. Train travel is the best kind of travel.
3. Black bears are very cool to watch from the safety of a gondola.
4. My sister loves television.
5. My 80-year old grandpa can hit a golf ball twice as far as I can.
6. Hanging out with negative people is a real drag.
7. Swimming is more fun than I remembered.
8. Skiing is much more difficult than I remembered.
9. I can still understand Japanese.
10. I can still speak Japanese!

And the highlight of the weekend, wise words from a good friend: every day, do something you wouldn’t normally do, just to remind yourself how fun life can be.