Category: travel

almost caught up

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Man, I have been busting my ass to get caught up to where I need to be to ensure all the things I need and want to do in life get done, after a vacation that was pretty hectic, and didn’t leave a lot of time for anything, let alone extras.

I don’t regret it, but the work it takes to get caught up; I’m starting to think for whatever I can, I might need to intensify the workout, so to speak, before the vacation, instead of playing catch-up afterward. Some stuff will be unavoidable, but if the major stuff is complete, the stuff that can be done ahead of time?

Well, maybe then it’s not all bad, yeah?

Target: 1200 words
Written: 1395 words, novel: Bad Neighbours

Read: Look Homeward, Angel, Thomas Wolfe (I'm pretty sure this book should have been called The Never-Ending Story, not that other one)
Comics: The Hawk And The Dove 4-6, Hawk And Dove 1
Music: East Side Story, Squeeze

long weekend

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I fully intend to follow this up with a post on Monday or Tuesday called Long Ass Weekend, but for now, know, going into Easter, that I was run ragged for weeks before our vacation, and as fun as travel is, it was also insanely busy, and then we got back and I have a thousand things to catch up on, so hosting Easter is kind of bullshit.

Fuck Jesus, and the bunny he rode in on.

Target: 1200 words
Written: 983 words, novel: Bad Neighbours

Read: Look Homeward, Angel, Thomas Wolfe
Comics: Hit-Girl v3 1-3, Kick-Ass v4 13
Music: IV, Veruca Salt (single most underrated girl band in history - Olivia Rodrigo owes her career to them - Guts is a straight rip off in style, made pop palatable)

dead to the world

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I wish.

Nope, naturally, because I took the day off to recover from a highly energetic and busy vacation (from my absurdly busy life), everyone fucking needs me.

I don’t know how, but over the past year or two, it has just turned more and more insane with each passing month.

How do I claw my time back?

I say no to fucking everything.

The problem is, I keep running into things I cannot say no to, or other people fucking commit me without my input, and here we fucking are.

Fuck.

Great vacation. Next time, I’m going to go live in a goddamn cottage in the forest with no other people in sight.

Shit, I may just go live there full time.

Target: 1100 words
Written: 1719 words, novel: Bad Neighbours

Read: The Last Wish, Andrzej Sapkowski
Comics: Kick-Ass v2 4-7
Music: It's A Shame About Ray, Lemonheads

the return

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There’s a long day of flying coming, but at least I learned something on this trip.

I am out of fucking shape.

Target: 1100 words
Written: 1058 words, novel: Bad Neighbours

Read: Melusine, Sarah Monette (god, I wanted to like this, so much possibility, but so many loose ends and too many anachronisms - like it just needed to go back in the oven for a bit to be truly cooked through)
Comics: Hit-Girl 5, Kick-Ass v2 1-3
Music: Itch, Radiohead

amsterdisney

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I went in the mid-nineties and the Red Light District was pretty wild. During the day, it was wild, but at night, damn. The girl I went with (fellow exchange student, not girlfriend or prostitute) and I were fascinated.

Now, there’s parents running around with kids. I went to Sexmuseum and came out ill last time because you know, the shit that was in there went want beyond anything I would ever even consider (think beastiality and worse). Now, I watched a mother pose with a bearded drag queen outside, then take what had to have been her eight and ten year old in.

What happened?

We have Disney prostitutes, instead of Disney princesses. (Of course, it’s a hundred percent certain you’ll find an Ariel and a Jasmine in one of those windows. Don’t ask me how much; I’m all for sex workers not being stigmatized, but paying for sex is not my jam.)

Anyway, saw a Van Gogh and the Night Watch.

I guess culture comes in all forms.

Target: 1100 words
Written: 111 words, novel: Bad Neighbours

Read: Melusine, Sarah Monette
Comics: Hit-Girl 1-4
Music: It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back, Public Enemy (so good)

amstertram

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Goddamn. Is it a requirement of being either a tram driver or tram conductor that you must be in the angriest one percent of all the people in Amsterdam?

I watched a lady try and get on with her friend, at the tail end of a group of about eight, which the tram could more than accommodate, get her hand slammed in the door, separating her from her wallet (luckily, the credit card she needed to swipe onto the tram fell inside) and her friend. The door was open maybe twenty seconds, like definitely not so long as to say it was nearly done.

And she wasn’t behind, she came in right with the other people waiting. Her friend didn’t make it, and hopefully, got her wallet for her.

Clearly, it wasn’t her first tram ride, however, as she casually turned to the conductor and asked, how many stops is it to the Rijksmuseum?

Target: 1100 words
Written: 2121 words, novel: Bad Neighbours

Read: Melusine, Sarah Monette
Comics: Kick-Ass 5-8
Music: It All Seems So Silly In The Long Run, Sublime (doesn't it, though?)

pub crawl

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Man, I haven’t had a night out like that, joking around with the boys and girls, everybody laughing, telling bawdy jokes, laughing, having a great time, in forever.

I don’t know that the heavy drinking was all that great for me, given various health concerns I’ve got now, but man, I miss the fun.

I miss laughing.

Felt nice. No pretense, just fun, and a good time had by all.

Thank you, Rocco, for making it a brilliant night.

Target: 1100 words
Written: 220 words, novel: Bad Neighbours

Read: Melusine, Sarah Monette
Comics: Cyber Force v5 10-11, Cyber Force: Shootout 1
Music: Istanbul (Not Constantinople), They Might Be Giants

strasbourg?

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I’ve kind of lost track of where we are. It’s Speyer one day, Strasbourg the next, and maybe Wurms and Rudesheim?

Sorry. I don’t know how to do specialized characters on this keyboard.

Germany so far has been wonderful, but man, they sure love to complain about the French burning all their shit down.

Weirdly, our tour guide looked an awful lot like a German girl named Linda that I used to know that was on exchange in the same town as I was in Seinajoki. Beautiful girl (Linda), though our guide was slimmer.

Both were from Bonn.

Coincidence?

Target: 1100 words
Written: 850 words, novel: Bad Neighbours

Read: The Road Through The Wall, Shirley Jackson
Comics: Cyber Force v5 2-5
Music: Is This It?, The Strokes

good guides

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Great guide today, telling about the history of the Nazis and Jews, showing us the stumbling blocks, and using that to really bring home the danger of a dictator, bigotry and fascism.

Something the Americans with us desperately needed to hear, and you could tell it made them uncomfortable.

That’s what good education does – it tells you more about your world in real life; taking the lessons of the past to teach us how to be better in the present, and for the future.

So, kudos, tour guide. Well fucking done.

Target: 1100 words
Written: 1384 words, novella: Bad Neighbours

Read: The Road Through The Wall, Shirley Jackson
Comics: Cyber Force 10-11, Cyber Force: Artifacts 0, Cyber Force v5 1
Music: Is This Desire?, PJ Harvey (for me, fuck yes.  I adore PJ Harvey)