It’s been a few since I last wrote. A lot has happened… I wrapped up my trip in Scotland
I'll start from the beginning, the last I wrote I was on my way to Edinburgh
That's not my picture, by the way. When I rolled through it was very dreary. This giant tower thing has a cliff (not shown) facing the train side. When I saw it I immediately thought of the Lord of the Rings tower - the one where the evil wizard lived.
I spent about 4 nights in Edinburgh. It's a must stop for those rolling through Scotland. It has a long, fucked, history and has maybe the coolest looking castle I've seen on my trip, right in the center of the city. It's a fairly large city and really the tourist area, the area within a square km around the castle, and Aurthor's seat is about the only place a tourist needs to see. The first day I checked in around dinner and met some fun people (a couple Ozzie bloaks, a girl from Chile, Vanessa, and a chick from Toronto, Beth, who ended up staying there the whole time I did). I ended up going out with them to a club. Well, that was a disaster. I tried to imply that I didn't have much money and that I couldn't afford going to a club. We went anyway and I almost got in a fight. Trying to make the most of being in a club, I was dancing with the girls in the group while the guys were at the bar, and the place was crowded, but not so much so that people needed to be moshing you. There was a dude that kept throwing his body into me, so I gave him a gentle butt bump to kinda let him know I was there and to maybe knock it off. This resulted in an elbow to my kidney. When I turned to see what his deal was, he palmed my face. For those of you who know me, I don't even need the 2 beers that I had that night to be sent into seeing red when someone does something like this. So, I shoved him pretty hard and was about to throw a punch when his friend put me in the full nelson and dragged me off. Luckily, this guy didn't try to get in any cheap shots, though because I wasn't struggling with the guy who had me in the nelson, I could've kicked him in the face had he given the indication of harmful intent. Obviously, I was too fired up to stay. I tried. I tried to blow it off, but the guy kept staying in eye contact smirking at me, so I told the guys to watch my back to make sure I didn't get jumped or something and headed home.
The next day the guys took off. Venessa, Beth and I met another Ozzie, Micheal, and a Canadian, Jonny, and we became team success. I can't remember why or how that name came about but it did. Everything we did worked out splendidly. I really had a great time with these folks. They stayed the entire time I was there. The first night we hung out we met a Scot who is teaching there trying to make enough to go to Spain to save his girl friend (weird story). We ended up getting him drunk and he kept talking about banter and chat and viola we ended up at a salsa bar. I refrained from dancing too much here, but enjoyed watching others. Here, the Scot earned his name Crazy Legs, which is why I don't remember his real name, and became a full member of Team Success.
Beth, Micheal, and I spent the next day wandering about seeing the sights, but there isn't much to report other than Beth is insane about food. If she isn't thinking about it, she's eating it. She's in the industry, but still, it was extreme. The next night we went on a ghost tour. Edinburgh is supposed to be a hotspot for those into the afterlife. We found a tour with the creepiest guy around. If you could think of someone creeping around you, this would be creepier. It was an act, but it was dead on. He had some of the group that was waiting around to start the tour freaked out before we even started. The creepy dude took us to two spots, one was under the south bridge and the other was a grave yard. The bridge was supposed to be cursed and was really more interesting from the point of view of history than paranormal stuff. Occasionally, the guide would drop his act, and he seemed like a guy that'd be fun to grab some beers with. Oh, sorry the graveyard (Grey Friars). The grave yard was crazy. It is guessed that there are around 500,000 people buried under it. The topside, it is about a half acre, but it used to be street level with the street under the bridge. Today it is almost level with the bridge. The reason being is that it hold mass graves of 3 rounds of plagues and the victims. There are fantastic stories about drunks (in Scotland???) falling into plague pits in the graveyard. Also, there is a famous story about a dog that visited his masters grave every day. The scariest story is that this was the first death camp. There is a side part of the graveyard that at one point in time held the prisoners of a religious rebellion against the king of England. They were chained to each other during the winter and not allowed to talk, move, and were fed less than a slice of bread a day. The only way they'd be let go is if they renounced their oath to the rebellion (and essentially god). I can't remember the amount that survived, but it wasn't much more than 5%. There are many attacks on people who enter that walled side mausoleum yard. The tour guide got into his serious, not playing the creepy guy mode here and explained what his experiences had been, what he would do while we were there and how long we could stay to the minute and everything. We didn't know it until later, but Michael had a run in with something. He told us later at the bar that while we were in one of the mausoleums he had something squeezing his wrist. We had one of the deepest spiritual conversations I've ever had at that bar.
While something squeezing your wrist might not amount to an experience in your mind, I can assure you what he had to say at breakfast did. That night, he was attacked several times in his bed. During the night he was awakened by a force sitting on his chest so that he couldn't sit upright and started strangling him. The first time it happened, he didn't know what to do and finally turned on his side and it was gone. The second time it happened, he tried to fight against it, but it tightened around his throat and he tried calling out to anyone in the room, but couldn't get the breath out to make a noise. It abruptly stopped and he didn't know what to do. He was scared to sleep. He eventually did, but it happened one last time and all he could think was to yell out that he was sorry to trespass and that'd he stay away. You could see in his eyes the fear of reliving the moment when he was telling the story to me in the morning. I remember reading some of the experiences from a book that the creepy dude kept that people from the tour wrote. Many described what ever attacked them in the graveyard had followed them home. Even the guide had this happen. He was so freaked out that he slept at his brothers, who threw him out because some menacing force was in the room. For me, esp cause I wasn't attacked, the tour was not scary, but it was worth the money for how well the guide did.
I spent about 4 nights in Edinburgh. It's a must stop for those rolling through Scotland. It has a long, fucked, history and has maybe the coolest looking castle I've seen on my trip, right in the center of the city. It's a fairly large city and really the tourist area, the area within a square km around the castle, and Aurthor's seat is about the only place a tourist needs to see. The first day I checked in around dinner and met some fun people (a couple Ozzie bloaks, a girl from Chile, Vanessa, and a chick from Toronto, Beth, who ended up staying there the whole time I did). I ended up going out with them to a club. Well, that was a disaster. I tried to imply that I didn't have much money and that I couldn't afford going to a club. We went anyway and I almost got in a fight. Trying to make the most of being in a club, I was dancing with the girls in the group while the guys were at the bar, and the place was crowded, but not so much so that people needed to be moshing you. There was a dude that kept throwing his body into me, so I gave him a gentle butt bump to kinda let him know I was there and to maybe knock it off. This resulted in an elbow to my kidney. When I turned to see what his deal was, he palmed my face. For those of you who know me, I don't even need the 2 beers that I had that night to be sent into seeing red when someone does something like this. So, I shoved him pretty hard and was about to throw a punch when his friend put me in the full nelson and dragged me off. Luckily, this guy didn't try to get in any cheap shots, though because I wasn't struggling with the guy who had me in the nelson, I could've kicked him in the face had he given the indication of harmful intent. Obviously, I was too fired up to stay. I tried. I tried to blow it off, but the guy kept staying in eye contact smirking at me, so I told the guys to watch my back to make sure I didn't get jumped or something and headed home.
The next day the guys took off. Venessa, Beth and I met another Ozzie, Micheal, and a Canadian, Jonny, and we became team success. I can't remember why or how that name came about but it did. Everything we did worked out splendidly. I really had a great time with these folks. They stayed the entire time I was there. The first night we hung out we met a Scot who is teaching there trying to make enough to go to Spain to save his girl friend (weird story). We ended up getting him drunk and he kept talking about banter and chat and viola we ended up at a salsa bar. I refrained from dancing too much here, but enjoyed watching others. Here, the Scot earned his name Crazy Legs, which is why I don't remember his real name, and became a full member of Team Success.
Beth, Micheal, and I spent the next day wandering about seeing the sights, but there isn't much to report other than Beth is insane about food. If she isn't thinking about it, she's eating it. She's in the industry, but still, it was extreme. The next night we went on a ghost tour. Edinburgh is supposed to be a hotspot for those into the afterlife. We found a tour with the creepiest guy around. If you could think of someone creeping around you, this would be creepier. It was an act, but it was dead on. He had some of the group that was waiting around to start the tour freaked out before we even started. The creepy dude took us to two spots, one was under the south bridge and the other was a grave yard. The bridge was supposed to be cursed and was really more interesting from the point of view of history than paranormal stuff. Occasionally, the guide would drop his act, and he seemed like a guy that'd be fun to grab some beers with. Oh, sorry the graveyard (Grey Friars). The grave yard was crazy. It is guessed that there are around 500,000 people buried under it. The topside, it is about a half acre, but it used to be street level with the street under the bridge. Today it is almost level with the bridge. The reason being is that it hold mass graves of 3 rounds of plagues and the victims. There are fantastic stories about drunks (in Scotland???) falling into plague pits in the graveyard. Also, there is a famous story about a dog that visited his masters grave every day. The scariest story is that this was the first death camp. There is a side part of the graveyard that at one point in time held the prisoners of a religious rebellion against the king of England. They were chained to each other during the winter and not allowed to talk, move, and were fed less than a slice of bread a day. The only way they'd be let go is if they renounced their oath to the rebellion (and essentially god). I can't remember the amount that survived, but it wasn't much more than 5%. There are many attacks on people who enter that walled side mausoleum yard. The tour guide got into his serious, not playing the creepy guy mode here and explained what his experiences had been, what he would do while we were there and how long we could stay to the minute and everything. We didn't know it until later, but Michael had a run in with something. He told us later at the bar that while we were in one of the mausoleums he had something squeezing his wrist. We had one of the deepest spiritual conversations I've ever had at that bar.
While something squeezing your wrist might not amount to an experience in your mind, I can assure you what he had to say at breakfast did. That night, he was attacked several times in his bed. During the night he was awakened by a force sitting on his chest so that he couldn't sit upright and started strangling him. The first time it happened, he didn't know what to do and finally turned on his side and it was gone. The second time it happened, he tried to fight against it, but it tightened around his throat and he tried calling out to anyone in the room, but couldn't get the breath out to make a noise. It abruptly stopped and he didn't know what to do. He was scared to sleep. He eventually did, but it happened one last time and all he could think was to yell out that he was sorry to trespass and that'd he stay away. You could see in his eyes the fear of reliving the moment when he was telling the story to me in the morning. I remember reading some of the experiences from a book that the creepy dude kept that people from the tour wrote. Many described what ever attacked them in the graveyard had followed them home. Even the guide had this happen. He was so freaked out that he slept at his brothers, who threw him out because some menacing force was in the room. For me, esp cause I wasn't attacked, the tour was not scary, but it was worth the money for how well the guide did.
The next day we decided to do some life affirming things like ride bikes, climb hills, and take in cozy joints. It was a vintage day. We went up to Aurthor's Seat, which is a mountain in the middle of the city. You don't find too many cities these days where there is a mountain bam! right in the middle. All and all, I really loved these guys and it was a magical time. I decided it was in my best interest to stay in Glasgow (where my flight home was) overnight instead of try to get out there the next day and go straight to the plane.
It was a good idea, yes, cause Ivy was starting to get pissed. Before I get to that though, let me just wrap up my trip with saying that I met up with a couple girls I met in Inverness who were from Germany, but going to school or something. I had dinner with them and a drink at one of Glasgow's only areas worthy of note (iow Glasgow isn't worth going to). It was nice to have some friendly faces see me off. OK, so Ivy... Ivy and I, while broken up, had kept in more or less contact along my trip. She ended up coming out to Thailand to see me. After that, I think we both saw that there was likely a real future for us. As about a month approached to when I was flying home, we were pretty much deciding on not only were we for sure getting back together, but that I would most likely be living with her temporarily when I returned. Part of that reason is that if I lived with my mom for a month + one of us would be in jail for murder. The other part is that, well, why not. We're young, we're stupid, fuck it. Anyway, I had given Ivy the option of picking me up at the airport or not knowing when I'm coming home. She told me times and days that she could not do it and since they wouldn't work, she didn't get to know. I let her know that I'd be home for a friend's halloween party, but as time drew near I had to rely on tactics to throw her off course of my return. Maybe, she can add a comment below to describe what was going on with her. My tactics involved telling her that the internet wasn't working and trying to stay off it. Of course I couldn't do that for a full week to her, so I did talk to her one night, but I was doing my best to throw her off while trying to mitigate her agitation of being over schedule. Anyway, she had friends and family on notice for my return and was sending irritated messages.
I flew home on the 27th of Oct. My mom picked me up and of course cried. It was sweet of her though. My dad in his usual fashion was not there. Not because he didn't want to be, but because he got the times screwed up (not the first time, he is truly not good with being in the right place at the right time). He thought something may have went awry when I called him from the airport. Don't worry, Don and my mom, my brother Dan and his gf Heidi, and my dad all went out to dinner when I got into the Seattle area. It was extremely tough for me to sit there and talk after we'd had dinner. I think it was pretty evident what was on my mind cause everyone started wrapping up conversations and skulled their beer. At about 9:30 I showed up at Ivy's door with a wooden flower (not to be mistaken for anything but the literal meaning of those words). She had just removed everyone off Dylan watch and had gotten ready for bed. It was one of those moments in life I will never forget. Izze of course barked his god damn head off and freaked her out, but she peaked through the window not expecting me. But, and get this, it was me! Bam! She had a good 20 minute cry in my arms and I didn't want to let go. The feeling was such that if I let go, I'd wake up and be somewhere in the world and realize that I had only been asleep, and so I couldn't and didn't.
Sometimes I feel like, is it fair that I got the trip of many lives and the girl in the end? No, but life's not fair :)
So, that was my homecoming. Then, reality set in...
The next day I felt major depression. It set in that I was no longer on this amazing journey. I hadn't really even ventured out to see what had changed, if anything, and all I wanted was to either leave or curl up in a ball and pout. Luckily, I had Ivy. She came home and consoled me and I felt a lot better. Without her I think the transition into the wacky non-real world of American life would have been a lot more difficult without her. So, I pulled my head out and started trying to play the silly game of getting in the swing of American life. First step was obviously to get a job. But I've returned with a voracious hunger for knowledge. Don't get me wrong, I've always enjoyed learning, but it's different; it's as if I'm making up for lost something. Sure, I learned more in the last year than I did in the last 28 years, but it isn't enough. The cup always feel dry. What I'm saying is that I need a job, but I shouldn't be so eager to stop being a kid. Iow (in other words), I shouldn't be so eager to jump into something "career" like. I realized a few days ago, that I should be applying for part time work. Money will be tighter than I've ever had to deal with, but it will provide opportunities that full time won't. Learn to bartend for free? Learn reiki? Ski backcountry when conditions are right? Freedom to learn things like car mechanics or to start one of the business' I've been knocking around in my head? It's time I put my money where my preachy little mouth is. It's time I start living simply; Learn reiki; Learn Feng Shui; Learn Tai Chi; Learn skills that I could take to other countries and work there with or that would aid with my goals; set a new dream timeline; make the world a better place. Yeah, lofty, right? Near impossible fulltime. Having a big wage would be awesome, but all it would accomplish is me saving enough to leave again soon. Yes, I plan to LTR in Africa, India, Tibet, and more of Asia, Europe, and live in Argentina for awhile, but right now there are other goals I want to accomplish first. The more I think about it, the more I think some part time work would help accomplish those goals. I plan on posting my new years dreamline (I'm replacing resolutions with this from now on). So, look for that. I'll also post detailed financials (including budgeting on return) and maybe a wrap up of sorts.
One last thing before I sign off, I want to discuss a little of the spiritual things I've looked into since returning. I tried looking around for some reiki training and tai chi. I haven't found any solid leads on reiki that's not advertised. I'll check that out, but it seams a little off if they are advertising. Like it's about money and not the practice. Plus, what I got from my trip is that you can't force it, it'll come when it's ready. I'll check out the people since I haven't had any leads elsewhere, but if I have the slightest vibe, I'll kick some dirt. I figured tai chi would be free since I see people do it in the park, but that doesn't appear to be the case. It may be more like a gym membership and I can't afford that without a job. I might be able to work a work exchange with the teacher, but I need to start meeting with them to see if I jam with them.
Ivy has been putting up with my spiritual quest well. She has come with me to the two things that I've gone to so far. The first was a meditation class. It was one type (and there are many with many different intentions). This one was one of the simplest I've heard of. It involved finding a comfortable position, closing your eyes gently while looking at some point straight ahead in the darkness. To control your mind from zipping this way and that, you repeated the name of whatever god you believe in. Only really experienced meditators can preempt their mind from wandering and clear it totally, but this method helps those of us who have a hard time because it occupies the mind. Well, the newer you are to it the more it will wander, then you'll realize it is and realize you kinda slacked on repeating the name and doing so will bring you back from wandering. The only trouble that I'm having with it is that I don't have a name for god. I don't subscribe to any religions. The closest thing I have right now is Taoism, but I don't know any names of god other than maybe yang. It distracts me and makes it hard to meditate. I'm going to email some of the people I met and see what they suggest.
It was a good idea, yes, cause Ivy was starting to get pissed. Before I get to that though, let me just wrap up my trip with saying that I met up with a couple girls I met in Inverness who were from Germany, but going to school or something. I had dinner with them and a drink at one of Glasgow's only areas worthy of note (iow Glasgow isn't worth going to). It was nice to have some friendly faces see me off. OK, so Ivy... Ivy and I, while broken up, had kept in more or less contact along my trip. She ended up coming out to Thailand to see me. After that, I think we both saw that there was likely a real future for us. As about a month approached to when I was flying home, we were pretty much deciding on not only were we for sure getting back together, but that I would most likely be living with her temporarily when I returned. Part of that reason is that if I lived with my mom for a month + one of us would be in jail for murder. The other part is that, well, why not. We're young, we're stupid, fuck it. Anyway, I had given Ivy the option of picking me up at the airport or not knowing when I'm coming home. She told me times and days that she could not do it and since they wouldn't work, she didn't get to know. I let her know that I'd be home for a friend's halloween party, but as time drew near I had to rely on tactics to throw her off course of my return. Maybe, she can add a comment below to describe what was going on with her. My tactics involved telling her that the internet wasn't working and trying to stay off it. Of course I couldn't do that for a full week to her, so I did talk to her one night, but I was doing my best to throw her off while trying to mitigate her agitation of being over schedule. Anyway, she had friends and family on notice for my return and was sending irritated messages.
I flew home on the 27th of Oct. My mom picked me up and of course cried. It was sweet of her though. My dad in his usual fashion was not there. Not because he didn't want to be, but because he got the times screwed up (not the first time, he is truly not good with being in the right place at the right time). He thought something may have went awry when I called him from the airport. Don't worry, Don and my mom, my brother Dan and his gf Heidi, and my dad all went out to dinner when I got into the Seattle area. It was extremely tough for me to sit there and talk after we'd had dinner. I think it was pretty evident what was on my mind cause everyone started wrapping up conversations and skulled their beer. At about 9:30 I showed up at Ivy's door with a wooden flower (not to be mistaken for anything but the literal meaning of those words). She had just removed everyone off Dylan watch and had gotten ready for bed. It was one of those moments in life I will never forget. Izze of course barked his god damn head off and freaked her out, but she peaked through the window not expecting me. But, and get this, it was me! Bam! She had a good 20 minute cry in my arms and I didn't want to let go. The feeling was such that if I let go, I'd wake up and be somewhere in the world and realize that I had only been asleep, and so I couldn't and didn't.
Sometimes I feel like, is it fair that I got the trip of many lives and the girl in the end? No, but life's not fair :)
So, that was my homecoming. Then, reality set in...
The next day I felt major depression. It set in that I was no longer on this amazing journey. I hadn't really even ventured out to see what had changed, if anything, and all I wanted was to either leave or curl up in a ball and pout. Luckily, I had Ivy. She came home and consoled me and I felt a lot better. Without her I think the transition into the wacky non-real world of American life would have been a lot more difficult without her. So, I pulled my head out and started trying to play the silly game of getting in the swing of American life. First step was obviously to get a job. But I've returned with a voracious hunger for knowledge. Don't get me wrong, I've always enjoyed learning, but it's different; it's as if I'm making up for lost something. Sure, I learned more in the last year than I did in the last 28 years, but it isn't enough. The cup always feel dry. What I'm saying is that I need a job, but I shouldn't be so eager to stop being a kid. Iow (in other words), I shouldn't be so eager to jump into something "career" like. I realized a few days ago, that I should be applying for part time work. Money will be tighter than I've ever had to deal with, but it will provide opportunities that full time won't. Learn to bartend for free? Learn reiki? Ski backcountry when conditions are right? Freedom to learn things like car mechanics or to start one of the business' I've been knocking around in my head? It's time I put my money where my preachy little mouth is. It's time I start living simply; Learn reiki; Learn Feng Shui; Learn Tai Chi; Learn skills that I could take to other countries and work there with or that would aid with my goals; set a new dream timeline; make the world a better place. Yeah, lofty, right? Near impossible fulltime. Having a big wage would be awesome, but all it would accomplish is me saving enough to leave again soon. Yes, I plan to LTR in Africa, India, Tibet, and more of Asia, Europe, and live in Argentina for awhile, but right now there are other goals I want to accomplish first. The more I think about it, the more I think some part time work would help accomplish those goals. I plan on posting my new years dreamline (I'm replacing resolutions with this from now on). So, look for that. I'll also post detailed financials (including budgeting on return) and maybe a wrap up of sorts.
One last thing before I sign off, I want to discuss a little of the spiritual things I've looked into since returning. I tried looking around for some reiki training and tai chi. I haven't found any solid leads on reiki that's not advertised. I'll check that out, but it seams a little off if they are advertising. Like it's about money and not the practice. Plus, what I got from my trip is that you can't force it, it'll come when it's ready. I'll check out the people since I haven't had any leads elsewhere, but if I have the slightest vibe, I'll kick some dirt. I figured tai chi would be free since I see people do it in the park, but that doesn't appear to be the case. It may be more like a gym membership and I can't afford that without a job. I might be able to work a work exchange with the teacher, but I need to start meeting with them to see if I jam with them.
Ivy has been putting up with my spiritual quest well. She has come with me to the two things that I've gone to so far. The first was a meditation class. It was one type (and there are many with many different intentions). This one was one of the simplest I've heard of. It involved finding a comfortable position, closing your eyes gently while looking at some point straight ahead in the darkness. To control your mind from zipping this way and that, you repeated the name of whatever god you believe in. Only really experienced meditators can preempt their mind from wandering and clear it totally, but this method helps those of us who have a hard time because it occupies the mind. Well, the newer you are to it the more it will wander, then you'll realize it is and realize you kinda slacked on repeating the name and doing so will bring you back from wandering. The only trouble that I'm having with it is that I don't have a name for god. I don't subscribe to any religions. The closest thing I have right now is Taoism, but I don't know any names of god other than maybe yang. It distracts me and makes it hard to meditate. I'm going to email some of the people I met and see what they suggest.
The second was meeting a shaman. I had the opportunity to listen to what a real life shaman has to say about spirituality. Some of it was very interesting and had parallels to what I've learned and experienced. Some of it I really felt was fluff or was even too much for me. Two things that drives me nuts about most religions and about what she had to say are a human centered universe and simple solutions to peace on earth. The first is that we were created not just for a purpose, but that the universe (or god) is conspiring to help us and that everything that exists is part of that help to us. This is not true, no matter what you believe. We are no more important than a tiger, slug, trout, etc. We've been blessed with some pretty amazing gifts that we don't understand, but being meaning more than anything else is not one of them. There is no special purpose for us, get over it. The simple solutions like, "if we all do this, than we'll all feel love stop doing bad things to each other and the world will be saved", are bullshit. I don't get why all people who are spiritual have some phrase like this. That is stupid. There is no easy answer like that. There are very hard answers and I know most of them and they are not love and joy. Those are amazing things, but not answers. I feel like most people live in the following situation: they have just fallen from a window and they close their eyes and tell themselves that gravity isn't real. Is there a way to save themselves, yes, but they refuse to open their eyes cause they are too scared to do it. Instead, they'll go on trying to convince themselves that gravity isn't real and break their neck.
There are some very hard truths we are going to have to deal with in order to keep some semblance of a life we are accustomed to. The current thinking towards it is not a solution, but nor is pretending that love is going to save the planet.
I don't want to end on a negative note like that, so...
There are some very hard truths we are going to have to deal with in order to keep some semblance of a life we are accustomed to. The current thinking towards it is not a solution, but nor is pretending that love is going to save the planet.
I don't want to end on a negative note like that, so...
P.S. To settle the bet from the beginning, I gained weight. I gained about 6 or 7 lbs. Sure that doesn’t seem like that much, but consider that in Europe I was eating primarily carbs. I looked at my body when I returned and it was definitely a different composition. I most likely lost some muscle and put on a bit more fat. So, in reality I probably added about 10-15 lbs of fat. I’ve only been home for a couple weeks and eating strict paleo has already started making a visible change in my body. YAY!
20 minutes seems to be quite the exaggeration!
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