October 2005 Archives

it's a long flight. the second flight is a long flight. they are long flights. when we disembark in Dar es Salaam, i feel like i've been thrown from a train. i'm still rolling, unsure if i'm hurt or not. waiting for the motion to stop so i can check myself. we are shepherded through immigration -- slowly, but with smiles -- and head for the loo. the sign says men to the left, women to the right. we part ways. we walk our prospective halls in silence and turn corners to see each other, forced to awkwardly cross paths to reach the right stalls.

the facilities are limited here.

we live.

two quick things.

1) middle of the night. plane number two. hour number zillion. as i watch, the blackness of the mediterranean is woken by the little crystal lights of the lybian coast. soft fog rolls off the desert into the sea, like a reverse wave. as if the desert is trying to soak up the sea. we're over africa.

2) so jet-lagged i can't see straight. sitting in the cool blue open lounge. to my right, the infinity pool and the sound of the sea. the orange moon cresting over the cliffs. the wind in the palms. to my left, a figure appears out of the darkness. deep maroon robes. thick white bracelets. a spear. the Masai turns to see me. "Hello." he says. africa indeed.

t-minus 36 hours.

not a whole lot of time to blog just now, but there are a few things i wanted to share in the carbonated moments before departure.

after an insane day of packing/cleaning (in re; the biggest ever shout-out goes to Corg for having the world's best timing and helping us schlep without even being called) i'm in bartlebee's truck heading towards the bay bridge.

and the euphoria sets in. i just start grinning. i'm completely filthy and exhausted. i can barely shift gears i'm so tired. but i've done it. a year ago, when i had this crazy scheme to get hitched and jet it was this crazy scheme.

that worked.

ding ding.

all aboard.

last night i put all my stuff in my pack. as in "all my stuff" and "in my pack." not too heavy. pack needs adjustment. brain needs sedative. i'm packed, see? that means i could leave now.

as it is, we're gone in a week and a day.

tonight, casual BYO-everything send-off lounge-about to-do here at Troublonia. if you wanna come, do so. marvel at how empty our apartment is!

there will be a raffle.
3rd prize: old towels!
2nd prize: cleaning supplies!
Grand prize: all the food we have left!!

i have no idea what willikers means, but that's about how i feel today.

as in, golly-gee willikers!

but also with a tinge of "i dreamt i had a worm in my arm."

all clear?

sorry for the lack of blogging, but things have been ka-razy. in the past week we packed up the entire house, sold two thirds of everything we'd accumulated and left another stack with the salvation army. i've cancelled my cell phone and various other services, changed my address to "africa" with other places, and made a small pile of stuff earmarked to come with us. i just reserved a truck to drive to LA next weekend and...

next weekend?

hells ya.

bartlebee is doing the boingboingboing and i'm not much better off. things are intense, but then again, a repo man is always intense.

(bartlebee: film reference there)

i've got a wife. i've got my life in various boxes or converted into cash (did i tell you we made over $1400?). i'm consolidating accounts and wrangling details. there are tanzanian visas in our passports and tickets in the bag.

i still have to figure out how i want to connect to the internets from overseas. to gmail or not to gmail? my mail server has a web interface but it's kinda sucky. and i already have a bazillion email addresses.

where does the madness end?

it's the new year if you're of the heebie persuasion. so happy new years. if you want to see me before i leave indefinitely, i suggest contacting me soon.