walking backwards with nothing to say

september 20/09

today i met betty. she happened to be sitting in the seat next to me on the train. at what i could only estimate at being near the 300 lbs mark, my brain immediately began stressing at the thought that my one butt cheek might be forced to be compressed against the armrest of my chair for the next 25 hours of my life due to the limited seating area. fortunately she was able to squish over enough for me and we got to chatting it up rather quickly.

my day has been fairly relaxing so far. it started with church, which was an experience in itself - i havent been for years and didnt particularly have any intention of going back anytime soon. tim, shelley, mackenzie and i all went out for lunch afterwards at a mongolian restuarant (YUM!) and then lazed around the remainder of the afternoon. after a delicious supper of soup mixed with tortilla chips and chees, shelley drove me to chemault which is near bend so i could catch the train. i boarded at 8:08 pm and wont be in LA now untill 9 pm TOMORROW night. i think that qualifies as the most time ill have spent in one mode of transportation at one time. even so - i cant complain.

i find train riding to be probably one of my favorite modes of transportation at this point (well, except for skydiving -- if i could parachute in to wherever i wanted to go... well, life would be pretty sweet). the seats on a train are bigger and cushier. theres the option of regular seating or sleeper cars. theres the dining car, washrooms and lots of space and opportunity to walk around. plus the seats recline and are complete with table trays, foot rests and leg rests. and thats all without mention of the incredible scenery and cheap rates.

back to betty and i - she definitely surprised me at being a total sweetheart. as we chatted it up, what didnt surprise me was her constant need to find excuse and complaint over her weight "situation." excuse after excuse would come pouring out of her mouth without me asking a single question. its "not her fault." she has "health problems." shes "too old" to do anything. her family "takes care" of her. i felt like telling her to go apply for the biggest loser tv show and DO something about the weight that she blatently appeared to hate, but i figured a comment like that probably wouldnt do wonders for our short-term relationship. especially if i had to sit next to her for 25 hours.

a couple hours into the ride a staff came by to move me to another seat. as each car is designated for a certain drop-off area, i had been orginally seated in the wrong car. i was "at home" with "my people" at last. i plopped myself down beside my sleeping neighbor and took in my new surroundings. the guy talking loudly on his cell. the snoring couple in the row ahead. the single elderly man with rocking dance tunes blasting from his head phones. i figure ill fit right in with my neck pillow and neon green ear plugs (thanks shemine). if only i had brought an eye mask. oh well - hate to be TOO comfortable here. haha.


september 21/09

i made it through the night - however restless it was. i managed to figure out that my multipurpose headband could also be used as an eye cover. i can only imagine what i looked like sleeping - so long as i slept - i didnt much care.

this morning i was able to brush my teeth in the extra small bathroom - yet another reason its been awesome to travel with luggage small enough that i dont have to check it. theres something about freshly cleaned teeth that always makes me feel more human.

****

25 hours from chemault, i made it to LA. the i took a $7 USD express bus to the airport to get the shuttle that would take me to the hotel. as i rode the express bus, i focused my gaze out the window at the sillouettes of palm trees that resembled an end of a q-tip. the soft glow from the hundreds of city lights highlighted the shaggy-looking trees and helped my mind block out the crying baby a few rows behind me.

i eventually made it to my hotel, something that was a gift from my uncle. when i was staying in oregon, he said to me shortly before i left, "i have a gift for you." as tim is notorious for making jokes and such, i was skeptical as to what this could be. i asked if it was made of peas as he used to put peas in everything when me and my sister were younger and it was kind of a running joke among the family. he laughed and said "no" and then proceeded to inform me he had booked a hotel room for me. i was thrilled. originally i intended to just crash at the train station or airport as i was only planning to stay in LA for the night. i was so glad to get to LA and actually have a bed to sleep in - thanks tim!

i quickly settled into my room, but not before i made a pit stop at 7-11 for some grub. i was famished and as the food was insanely expensive on the train, i had refused to indulge in more than what i had brought with me. after i chowed down i crashed for the night in a blissful sleep.


september 22/09

this morning i woke up feeling refreshed and relaxed. the shower the night before had down wonders in making me feel renewed. i pulled on my jeans again, completing my "outfit" that i had worn the past 2 previous days. i figured as the majority of my time has been spent sitting on my butt in some form of travel and i was looking at more travel time to get to sydney, a new set of clothes i figured was not necessary. besides, wearing my jeans takes the bulkiest clothing item out of my bag.

anyway, the remainder of my morning flew by rather quickly between a complimentary breakfast at the hotel and zoning out in front of the tv. before i knew it it was coming up to checkout time. in case i had some how thrown out my brain, the front desk called me at 10:30 to ask if i was going to check out or if i wanted to spend another night. shortly after a maid came knocking at the door to see if she could clean house. geez. i got the hint. was was time to go.

after being so "nicely" nudged out the door i realized i had a ton of time to kill. my plane wasnt scheduled to leave untill 11:45 pm. so i got busy with the first activity that came to mind. hitting up the beach.

earlier at the hotel i had asked the lady at the front desk of the hotel if the beach was within walking distance. she stared at me with the type of astonishment one would give had i asked if i could take a tv with me when i checked out. she told me that the beach is NOT within walking distance and that one would HAVE to take a bus. i failed to ask her how far the beach was and she had failed to ask what i considered "walking distance" to be. i had plenty of time to kill and the walk across BC was still freshly engraved in my mind.

so west i walked. i dont know how far it was that i walked. i had only taken a portion of the LA map i had picked up and it just so happened that that part didnt have the scale on it. and even it if did, i wouldnt know how to convert it to km. makes me wonder what the deal is with the USA and how theyre the only ones using the imperial system.

however, i DID eventually make it to the beach. it was beautiful. my toes in the sand. my face feeling the warmth of the sun. and the waves. i hadnt realized how much i missed the sound of ocean waves crashing along the shoreline. in the near 3 months that i have been going, i havent really been around ocean waves. anywhere i have been has been protected from the raging waves. here - they calm me. mesmorized me. i sat right on the sand and just took it all in. hearing them. seeing them. feeling the salty ocean spray on my cheeks. i was in heaven.

things were all good untill i realized i should get moving. it had taken me nearly 2.5 hours to get from the hotel to the beach, bypassing the airport - i had a long walk ahead of me and i already had blisters from the walk to the shore (keep in mind that i am carting around my backpack all this time). to top it off, it was 90 degrees today and though i loved the head, i was without sunscreen today. i had to leave it behind in bend with my cousin as it was too large for my carry-on.

i never ended up staying at the beach too long then as i figured it would be wiser to avoid looking like a lobster by the end of the day - before i even make it to australia. so i began walking back to LAX. i was almost there and was walking along the sidewalk untill i came upon the point where the road when under another. there was this big sign indicating that it was illegal for any pedestrians to go through the tunnel where there wasnt a sidewalk anymore and was too dark to see anything. even without the sign i had no intention of walking into a potentially deadly situation such as that where cars are zipping by. the thing was - there was no alternative option for pedistrians too go. the sidewalk just ended. there was no way to go over, around or through. i simply had to backtrack and take an even longer route around. my sore and tired feet were not too happy about that.

eventually i made it to the airport and beelined for the washrooms. it was there as i rinsed my sweaty face and grubby hands that i discovered i had, in fact, turned a nice pinkish shade due to the sun. i only hoped it didnt get any worse. i then checked in with the airline and went to my gate where i wandered around, ate some supper and then waited to board the plane.


september 23/09

** DUE TO CROSSING THE INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE ON THE PLANE, SEPT 23/09 IS FOREVER NON-EXISTANT IN THE HISTORY OF MY LIFE...


september 24/09

i have made it to sydney and have spent the last few hours settling in at tiffanys flat. after a long shower and nap, i felt refreshed. i then walked to the local store for some groceries and when i came back the weariness of my travels set in.

everything in me is tired. partly from the flight. partly from my long walk around LA the other day. partly from these last few days being so packed with travels my body and mind are exhausted. my spirit, however, is elated that i have made it this far in my journey. as i sit here resting my blistered, sore and swollen feet (this all resulted from my walk in LA and the flight), i contemplated what to do next.

the flight last night went rather smoothly and it didnt feel nearly as long as the last time i flew to australia. i figure my 25 hour train ride prior to the experience may have had something to do with that.

i did manage to snag an aisle seat on the flight, which was perfect as the plane was packed. on a flight that long i would gladly give up the opportunity to look out a window in order to have the freedom to get up to go to the bathroom as many times as i please and not feel guilty about having to make others scramble out of the way. however, i did happen to be sitting next to a guy who, upon falling asleep, let his arm slide over the armrest onto my seat (intentionally or not) taking up what little space i DID have. at the time i was sleeping too - but not for long - eventually i felt a nudge in my ribcage. my subconcious clued in that the guy next to me might be trying to wake me up so he could get out. then again, it might have been by accident. so i waited to see if id get another nudge. i did. i removed my eye mask and looked over to my companion. he was busy sleeping, his arm that was draped onto my seat twitched.

now, for myself, i have a hard time sleeping on planes to the point where i have lost complete awareness of how my body is positioned in relation to my surroundings. whether i am by the aisle, window or other human being - i am constantly aware. this leads me to question as to whether or nto this guy was twitching his arm in my seat on purpose. probably not, but wierder things have happened.

i figured the easiest way to get out of the increasingly awkward situation was to remove the intruders arm. i promptly took hold of the cuff of his shirt sleeve, swiftly picked up the arm and half tossed it back to his lap. he didnt even stir. i then went back to my state of half-sleeping.

once we landed, i was once again reminded of how i consider USA airports to be the most annoying at trying to get through their security measures. in sydney here, they didnt even blink when i put on my form that i was planning to stay in sydney for a year and i didnt know the exact address of where i was going. they also hustled me through the quarentine line without scanning my bag even though i openly declared i had brought over-the-counter medications into the country.

the USA, on the other hand, is an entirely different story by my experiences. first off, they always ask very specific questions about why im in the states, demanding to know the answer to the point where i wonder if beads of sweat are forming on my forehead. there are no smiles exchanged. no jokes. no banter. only the undenying feeling that i may have committed some crime that only THEY know about and have yet to include me on the details. then theres the security scanners that 5 people stand around eyeing the screen as though any minute it will show proof that i am, in fact, a mass arms dealer. then theres the dogs and the bomb checkers.

during one lovely time at LAX (this was a layover - i wasnt even scheduled to STAY in the USA) - i was checked twice by the SAME person (different locations in the airport) for any weapons of mass destruction i may have on my body. the guy told me it was random. i beg to differ. they frequently choose me for these types of searches and so i tend to think that i have a look that says i-have-a-bomb-on-me. anyway - the USA appears to be the exception for these experiences as i never leave any other countrys airports as frustrated and pissed off as i do with the states.

so, as i said - i made it to sydney without incident. i then met up with tiffany who picked me up from the airport and brought me back to her flat where she has graciously lent me a bed to sleep on for the next week. i have since spent the remainder of my day after grocery shopping, relaxing and trying to keep my eyes open untill its a decent hour to go to sleep for the night.


september 26/09

i woke today with the realization of all the possibilities and options that are available to me now that im in sydney. between where i can live (hostel, apartment, house, beach, city, other suburb), what to do for work (a barista gets paid more than what i got back in canada at my old job), and what to explore for fun - well the options are simply endless. i immediately felt inspired. so i went for a run.

there is something i find so wonderful about being able to run in so many places around the world. generally i get bored doing the same route all the time as i did back in calgary. but now, when travelling, its refreshing to be able to put on my runnders and explore a new area of the world with my ipod tunes cranked. today i ran along the seawall to the opera house. i was in awe and felt so priveleged to be able to be so up close to such a structure that i have only ever seen in pictures and tv advertisments.

part way through my run, i came across a two-man news crew. they stopped me to ask how i felt about running in the dust storm. at that point in time the sky was clouded over in a brownish haze and the wind had picked up. i told them i didnt really mind, i was just focused on my run. they countered with a question as to how i felt about all the "health concerns" related to running in that type of weather. i shrugged and said it didnt bug me so much. they let me continue on my run and i began thinking about the interaction and laughed to myself. i would much rather run in a dust storm than 2 feet of snow back in canada. that and how many health concerns could there possibly be with a bunch of dirt and sand blowing around in comparison to car emissions, pollutions and junk food? i finished my run, going along the same route i had taken yesterday when i walked through the botanical gardens towards the opera house, taking pictures along the way.

tonight the plan is to head out to meet tiffanys friend, arianna, in bondi (a famous beach suburb) for some drinks and chill time - should be fun!! :D


NOTE: i have created a new photo album to highlight my travels in sydney australia - check it out at: DOWN UNDER - SYDNEY