It has already been two years?!

A meditation from my book Smash Your T.V. and Have Adventures:

I miss the way that it rains in Reykjavík. In the morning when you wake up, you can barely hear the whispering cadence that the water makes on the window. I hate the way the rain falls elsewhere––droplets the size of my thumb print hit the Earth. Reykjavík is misty––the rain gently embraces your body. I wish that the feeling could last forever. Sometimes if you stop thinking so much, you can hear the wind whistle in time to the shower.

Ride an Effing Bike!

I was thinking about melting down all the cars in the whole world, Making brand new mountain bikes for all the boys and the girls -Jeff Ott

At last I am free. With gas prices hitting all-time highs every day of the week, I have taken a radical step forward by riding my bike at all times except for long hauls and to work because my office is nowhere near a bus line. So I am doing a Morgan Spurlock-esque experiment, tipping my hat to his work in “Supersize Me” and the TV series “30 Days.” Who knows how long it will work out, but I may as well try because gas prices will continue to rise and I love biking. It is such a great way to see your world for what it is really worth.

Today, for instance, I rode to the bank because I needed to deposit a check and some cash. I have been biking to the bank for years because it is ten minutes from where I live, but today made me more cognizant of how impractical it is to drive anywhere in my community. The town where I live is pretty hilly and going down the inclines adds great natural speed, even though the climb is a big laborious.

I am always surprised at how unkind the roads are to pedestrians and cyclists. I shouldn’t be fazed by it, but it is difficult to not be upset when the odds are stacked in favor of motorists. At one cross walk after another, the button for crossing is out of commission and whenever I do have a chance to cross, I barely make it because some moron in an SUV inches toward me like a vampire invading the crosswalk space. I don’t think that I will ever get over things like this because they lack basic levels of respect for well-being.

If more people decided to cycle, then the world would not be as tense. It improves balance and is one of the best things that you can do for yourself if weight loss is your mission. It is such a shame that it is still not taken seriously here as one of the most energy efficient modes of transport. The car has been of major focus to happiness and the fulfillment of aspirations because of conglomerations like GM who instilled the car culture mentality into American minds as early as the 1950s. In reality, they only emit carcinogens into our atmosphere, raise blood pressures, and encourage all things sedentary, leading to the “obesity epidemic” that the American media has a tizzy over.

There is an easy and cost-effective solution: RIDE AN EFFING BIKE! A bike! Two wheels and a seat! I don’t know about you, but I feel so much better, even cleansed, after biking. Whenever I drive, I feel drained and irritable. No matter what, I love my bike, even though it is 12 years old, has a slightly bent front wheel, and makes a squeaking sound that gets on my nerves.

The past month or so

I haven’t written in a while because it has been a blurry month. Since I returned from the tour, it seems like things have really picked up. Work was pretty frantic for a while because of the end of the year slew of news releases that I wrote before commencement (I am a publicist at a local college) and I also played my first show in nearly six months with this band, Debutante, from Pittsburgh, PA. They remind me a lot of Portishead in their approach to stoic electronics and delicate female vocals. This was my second time playing with them and it was great to catch up on our lives. It was nice to see my friend, Cari, as well. She is now a bartender at the venue and is also the most hardcore cyclist that I know. She is gearing up for a North American bike tour this summer. I hope that everything works out for her. We used to work at a bookstore together and bonded over our love for My Bloody Valentine, who are back together and playing their first shows since 1992! The sky has fallen.

I thought that the gig went well, considering that I had barely picked up an instrument since I finished recording “Hummingbird” in late January. It was great to have Jamie there too---she was able to come up for the weekend to hang out since we hadn’t seen each other in a few weeks. Our favorite moment of the night was this kid who was no more than six that had a Michael Jackson fixation. He walked into the venue with his dad and walked around to every table with a Barbie-sized “Thriller” doll. Jamie was asking him questions about his favorite songs and he enthusiastically said, “All of them! ‘Billie Jean,’ ‘Thriller,’ ‘Can’t Stop Till You Get Enough,’ ‘Beat It.’ All of them!!” We were trying so hard not to laugh. He proceeded to moonwalk. True story.

The following weekend, Jamie and I decided to take a random road trip to Canada. For all of our various adventures around the globe, we both found it odd that Niagara Falls was somewhere we had never been. So after work on Friday, she drove up to Cleveland and a few hours later, we were at our hostel. I thought that it was going to be alright because I booked an HI hostel, but it was pretty dumpy and the price was not as it was listed on hostelworld.com. I sucked it up. Our room had a TV, which was odd and a total unnecessary luxury. We spent our first night channel surfing and talking about random things.

I love Canadian TV. I am really interested in the cultural differences between Americans and Canadians because more often than not, there is a disregard for Canada as a separate nation by many Americans who know no better. Canadian TV is one of those subtle differences. For one, there are at least a half dozen French stations from Quebec, as well as the CBC, CTV, and Much Music. Flipping channels here made me *gasp* enjoy the programming! Sure, there are the crappy reality shows that pollute American airwaves, but the multicultural programming is certainly one of the strongest differences. Jamie noticed it immediately. We woke up to a local program that resembled one of those reality singing shows, but it catered to the Filipino population of Ontario. It was called “Filipino, Eh?” and we thought that it was hysterical. All of the contestants were so terrible that I prefer a cat fight in the middle of the night.

The falls were impressive and don’t need any sort of introduction. The hoards of tourists from around the world detract a bit from its intrinsic beauty, but the Horseshoe Falls are impressive even with all of the oglers. After an hour or two, we shrugged and tried to figure out what to do with the rest of our day. So we decided to randomly drive to Toronto and didn’t regret it at all! I only wish that we stayed at the backpacker’s hostel in downtown Toronto for the second night because we didn’t nearly have as much time there as we wanted. It is a gorgeous place that is super livable. The modern glass skyscrapers coupled with its lakefront views made me instantly fall in love with the place. Its proximity to the States is fascinating in that it functions much differently and feels more multicultural than even New York. I prefer it to New York without a question. The cleanliness and efficiency of the city makes me want to live there. So, how about that work visa? ;)

It was one of the best weekends that I have had in a while. Now I am just trying to figure out where to go next and how I will get to wherever I am going. After several more job interviews and not much luck, I still have the freedom to go off on another (albeit brief) tour. I am aiming for the fall, ideally late September or October. It maybe another solo trip, but I’m not sure at this point. If I have any takers, I would love to go with someone. The dollar is still weak against the currencies of most places that I want to visit, but I am beginning to not care. If not at the end of this year, then hopefully by the beginning on next. My life is in limbo right now because I am waiting for the right time and opportunity to move but have yet to land a job. But I will hopefully be elsewhere by the summer. I have been out of school for exactly one year and am ready for this stasis to end and for my life to begin.