My final post shall be delayed until my immune system learns how to do its damn job properly.
This program brought to you by influenza
September 16, 2008 at 11:15 am (Ontario)
Tags: flu, immune system, sick
The Greyhound Grind
September 6, 2008 at 6:58 am (British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario)
Tags: survival
I survived my week on the playa. I survived my ride back to Vancouver. Currently I’m surviving the long haul back to Toronto.
Since I’m using a pay computer at 5:45am in Winnipeg of all places, this is not the time for an extensive update. Keep reading when I get back: there are a few more meaty posts left in me.
Bus ride to infinity
August 12, 2008 at 1:48 pm (British Columbia, Ontario)
Tags: alex, amy, appalachians, bus, circle of all nations, enantiodromia, lindsay, prairies, rocky mountains, shawn, sophie
I didn’t mention it last post, but from the Circle of All Nations I got a ride to Ottawa, where I stayed almost a week with Sophie and her brother Alex, who are super-cool. I also got to see Lindsay again and meet her semiexboyfriend Shawn. Lindsay, Shawn and I took acid and wandered into Gatineau Park, where we had only got to commune with nature a short time before we discovered the entire remnants of a woman – purse, clothing including underwear, makeup kit, crack pipes, everything except the woman herself – strewn by the side of the road. This was eerie enough to warrant a police investigation, so we gathered up all the stuff, marked the place where we’d found it, and gave it to the first police officer we came to.
I also, in the last few days of my visit, hit it off fabulously with Amy, a girl from Guelph who was visiting the next-door neighbours. Seriously guys, you want to talk about enantiodromia? ‘Cause I can tell you all about it.
From Ottawa I decided to bus it not to Florida but to Vancouver. I’ve therefore spent the past three nights sitting on one bus after another, eating rest stop junk food (fortunately I had the foresight to bring some more wholesome victuals) and curling up awkwardly to half-sleep at nights. The forests north of Lake Superior transitioned into the great prairies, which – a day and a half later – suddenly became the Rocky Mountains, whose sharp and craggy peaks stood in stern contrast to the gentle Appalachians. Chasing the setting sun, we drove through the mountains overnight and arrived in Vancouver this morning. Let’s hope the city lives up to its reputation.
Episode IV
July 22, 2008 at 6:20 pm (Ontario)
Tags: cosm, delays, direction, drum circle, mike sharpe, montreal, pan, quebec, rainbow gathering, tina, toronto
Wandering aimless and discontent into Kensington Market, I encountered a lady I’d met at CoSM in New York. She was with her boyfriend – whose name is Pan, I shit you not – and both of them turn out to know my friend Mike from Peterborough, whom I was trying but had failed to meet today. They encouraged me to delay my departure even further and come to the Trinity-Bellwoods drum circle tonight, where Mike will also be in attendance.
I was still reeling from this vivid display of synchronicity when they mentioned offhandedly that they were planning to go to a Rainbow Gathering in Quebec a few days from now. I’ve never been to a Rainbow Gathering, but I’ve heard enough gushing about it to know I should attend.
So yes, I’m staying in Toronto tonight, and maybe also tomorrow night. But after that I’ll go to Montreal for a couple days, visit some of my family who lives there, and then join Tina and Pan at the Gathering. I have no regrets: as I see it, I’ve given up a couple more days of travel time, but received a much-lacking sense of direction. That’s certainly a fair trade.
Telling Time
July 21, 2008 at 7:36 pm (Ontario)
Tags: affair, art, chicago, communication, flash, Ges, Mike Bailey, Morgan, N, Nick, sister, tarot, telepathy, time, toronto, writing
Flash. I am back in Toronto. It is after 2AM and my friends are helping me bring my stuff back to my apartment. We go eat at Fran’s afterward. Read the rest of this entry »
The Greyhound Blues
July 17, 2008 at 9:12 am (Ontario)
Tags: bobbie, greyhound, pocket knife, toronto
Twenty-six hours into a twenty-five hour trip I am still in Cleveland, and I am beginning to wonder if this was a mistake. Incompetent baggage handlers have forced me to stay awake most of the time and handle my own damn baggage; in order to stay awake, I have had to ingest much coffee and tobacco and very little food, which has me feeling wound up like a junky. Repeated delays and erroneous connections have prolonged my agony by a full nine hours. And the coup de grace, the blow that almost brought me to tears, came when a Cleveland security officer confiscated my beautiful pocket knife, in accordance with a zero-tolerance policy that Greyhound had utterly failed to make known to me.
It hasn’t all been bad, mind you. It turns out my two-month pass covers travel not only in Canada and the U.S. but also in Mexico, which I was hoping to visit this summer. I was so pleased with this discovery that I had to tell a random stranger, who happened to be a cute girl named Bobbie bound for Detroit. Bobbie sat with me all the way from Atlanta to Cincinnati, and although she was asleep for much of the time I appreciated her company.
At any rate, I did arrive in Toronto with all my belongings, and a few of my wonderful friends braved sleep deprivation to help me carry it all home from the station. I’m in town for a couple more days and then hitting the road again, most likely bound first for Chicago.
Greyhound, you seem to have a grudge against me, although I’ve always treated you right. You have gravely tested me and, no doubt, will test me yet. But though I am bound to you until September, I will not submit quietly to your torment. Greyhound, I know your secret: you are a creature born of the minds of man, and so man can destroy you by changing his mind. With every bent or broken rule, with every strange and novel situation, with every moment of genuine human connection among your beleaguered staff, you dissolve a little into the fog from which you came. The choice, therefore, is yours: either you show me a good time, Greyhound, or I will have a good time anyway at your peril.
Into the belly of the beast
May 6, 2008 at 10:23 pm (New York, Ontario)
Tags: hostels, microcosm
(Well, it’s a pretty friendly beast so far.)
After a nice communal breakfast at the hostel, I crossed the Rainbow Bridge and entered the States uneventfully. From there it was a leisurely 55km ride alongside the Niagara River to Buffalo, where I checked into another hostel – this one a part of Hostelling International, and therefore rather larger than the last.
It was still early in the evening, so I went for a walk along streets recommended by the guy in charge of the hostel. Turns out Buffalo is rather quiet, so there were no outrageous adventures, though I did pick up some things I needed.
It’ll probably take me at least three days to get to Ithaca, and I may want to rest a day at that point. That’ll give me six days to get from there to New York City, which should be manageable. From the sound of it, New York will be hellaciously expensive, so I’ll probably want to get in, attend the MicroCoSM event, then get the hell out.
Wherein I overdid it
May 6, 2008 at 11:31 am (Ontario)
Tags: fitness, food, hostels
Well, I made it to Niagara Falls, but it was stupid of me to attempt it. I made it to Grimsby around 5 without incident, ate a meal, and felt so good I thought I’d continue on: there was a hostel in Niagara Falls with a tantalizing $25 price tag, and I’d be that much closer to New York City.
I was about 10km from St. Catharines when my legs started feeling tired. A guy passed me on a bike and said there was a camp ground only about 5km ahead. This was perhaps a sign from god that I should turn off and set up camp for the night, but I was feeling stubborn, so I didn’t. Instead, I ended up getting lost (worthless road atlas is worthless, especially in the face of poorly marked or unmarked roads). By the time I got in at the hostel it was after 11PM, my legs and knees were killing me, and I had traveled a total of 120km. That’s a reasonable average per day, but not when I’m just starting out.
The hostel, at least, was quite nice. I was roomed with a medical student from Japan, and in the morning there was toast and jams and muffins for breakfast. Today I’ll take it easy – maybe just go as far as Buffalo or a little past it.
First ride and books
May 5, 2008 at 12:37 am (Ontario)
Tags: books, food, pacing, planning
Well, I made to Oakville. Riding fully-loaded took some getting used to, though, and I think I may have overdone it today – by the time I got to my mom’s house my legs were like jelly. This is probably because I took only a few short breaks, where I should probably have divided the ride into two or three segments, separated by a half hour or hour long break. Part of it may have been the unfamiliar strain, though. At any rate I’ll have plenty of time to fine-tune my pacing.
Here at home I got a lovely home-cooked meal and then decided to cut my hair. I’m not sure I did as good a job as I have in the past, but at least it’s more contained now.
Tomorrow I’m aiming to reach Grimsby, which has certain advantages over Hamilton (not the least of which is not being Hamilton). I worried I might have to circle the tip of the lake, but it turns out there’s a skyway from Burlington into Hamilton that cuts right across the water. That’ll save me a lot of time and (hopefully) be a nice scenic ride.
One of the hardest things to decide on when I was planning was what books to take. These are the ones I chose in the end: Read the rest of this entry »
Lizard-induced time expansion
May 3, 2008 at 8:15 pm (Ontario)
Tags: delays
Well, I didn’t leave today. This was for a number of reasons, not the least of which were the heavy downpours during the afternoon. I might have started my ride anyway, but the guy who was supposed to take care of my geckos bailed on me, so I had to find someone else. This also gave me more time, much-needed, to pack up all my stuff and tie up loose ends here in Toronto. Tomorrow it will still be rainy, but not nearly so much, and I will be off.
