Why You Won't Be Seeing Blogs Near As Much For Right Now

Saturday marked a month on the road for me. For the celebration of such an event (and perhaps to drown out the loneliness), my host and I bought a 1.75 litre bottle of vodka to partake of; and by the end of the evening, we had drank most of it together. Perhaps more important to this story is the fact that I rarely drink and the last time I had vodka (or this much alcohol at all) was about two years ago. While my host wasn't too terribly altered because of it, I was committing a genocide of brain cells and as far as the old saying "three sheets to the wind" is concerned, my sheets had up and flew away about three screwdrivers ago. I was nothing to the wind now.

Needless to say, the next morning I awoke and while my brain screamed at the top of its brain-lungs how much it hated me, I got to play the "Guess What I Did Last Night?" game.

I hate that game. Win or lose, you lose.

With the game, you always get your first clue free. My first clue was the shirt I was wearing last night thrown to the floor beside me, and that was enough to get me started. Many thoughts arose at that first clue.

"Why is my shirt not on me?"

That one was determined by feeling my upper body and noticing a very distinguishable lack of shirt there.

"Well, could be worse. At least my pants are-"

Oh, balls.

A quick hand to the lower body revealed that despite me not being able to do common activities when blitzkrieged, shedding of my clothes is apparently one of the activities I can still do just fine under the influence.

But the shirt was more of a clue than it looked. After picking it up to put it back on my body, I felt the distinct feeling of a wet article of clothing. Well, other symptoms of something being wet typically includes a noticeable odor that might help me determine why said item is indeed damp, so I took a sniff.

If there was a smell to fit just the word "awful", I'm pretty sure it was all over my shirt.

"Awful and-"

"Awful annnnnd-"

"Awful and cheese."

My shirt had the scent of awful and cheese.

I hate this game so damn much.

I walked over to a pair of shorts (not the clothing I was wearing last night, mind you, that comes later) and slipped them on. Upon walking into the den, I saw the sight to fit the smell that you would call "awful and cheese".

Bodily fluids can ruin a laptop. And a couch cushion. And a wooden coffee table. And a shirt. And a floor. That should be the first tip listed in any guidebook of any kind; bodily fluids will fuck your shit up.

So my laptop is fried now.

But the game must go on, so I walked into the kitchen and found a smoke-filled room and a small skillet on the stovetop that had what appeared to be a large lump of charcoal, with little bits of yellow still around it.

One shouldn't attempt making a grilled cheese sandwich when intoxicated. Lesson number two in that same guidebook mentioned before.

Expecting my host to be furious, I found out that he had broke a window in his room from almost tripping and falling through it so suddenly things don't seem so bad.

I had to keep up my travels but I need the money for a new laptop so I will be hitching to Maryland to join a carnival temporarily. I think one of the things I love most about hitching is that we get to say sentences that most people would only say to jest.

I'm going to join the carnival in Maryland; and I'm not jesting.

Regards from the Kodiak.

Thoughts On The Road

I figured that while I was sitting in Oklahoma City for a few days, it would be the appropriate time to write an entry that covers more of the emotional side of this lifestyle, especially since as of this Saturday, I have been on the road for one month. While I am not ready to turn around and go back to my former life right now, I am beginning to come to terms with some of the harsher realities of my travels.

The loneliness hit harder while I was here than it has before. I find myself constantly feeling like I am alone even when I am with other people, considering that I am a temporary visitor wherever I go. I'm only getting what I mentioned that I wanted in one of my first entries though, I'm getting single-serving friends. I guess I should've been more careful what I wished for.

The other part of the loneliness is the desire for human contact. Not sexual contact necessarily, but more of having someone hold you and holding them in return. I want to fall asleep in the arms of another again, I never thought I would miss it that much.

I wanted to share that because I know that a lot of tenderfoots are reading this blog to consider taking such a trip for themselves. There is a negative element to living this lifestyle, and I want anybody reading this to know that too. Now, that isn't all there is, but it is something to strongly consider.

I feel like I am on the steps of losing myself to my travels, and this is the point where most would turn around and resume society's ideals of a normal life. It is going to be tough to fight against the urge to go back to it, but I think it will be better for me if I stay along this road and find out where it leads.

This part of the journey is really all about shedding those layers that have developed over the years of your life, the layers that society and the many constructs of it have created to tell you who you are meant to be. It can be a hard process but once you can take off those, you find out who you really are.

By the way, I rolled a die today to determine where I go next, turns out I am headed towards Missouri, my friends and companions. Also, expect a general blog on hitching tips and tricks I've found so far soon.

Regards from the Kodiak.

Shun the nonbeliever. Shuuuuuuuuun.

First of all, my apologies for going so long without any form of an update, and it has certainly been the worst time to go without one. I just feel like I dove into a deep end with my travels and I needed the events that happened in Denton to give me a taste of my old life again, I'll explain everything as the entry continues on.

I ended up staying in Denton about a week at the Bordello, where seven different guys (all of them deeply delved into the arts, particularly film and music) lived together. It brought back enough memories of belonging to a group that I felt like I was beginning to miss from being on the road. It timed perfectly with whenever my loneliness began to really set in. I plan to meet up with all of them down the line, but for right now, I had to continue on my way as they continued on theirs.

Over the course of the week, I helped paint a new recording studio and met an array of interesting people while I was there. I had even considered moving there and living for a few months with the rest of the guys in the Bordello, but then wanderlust struck me again and I had to leave.

Leaving their side, a new adventure begins. I have ran out of initial funds and now, things are going to get interesting. So far, it has not been a burden, I asked to wash dishes in a Waffle House in exchange for a meal and I ended up getting one for free from a very gracious waitress. That is the only place where my lack of money has changed my travels thus far.

I initially got a ride into Oklahoma from an older man turning seventy who was going to gamble in a casino. He wasn't much in the way of company, but was playing some really early Elvis that I could get into and enjoy. He eventually reached the end of my road and let me out near the edge of the border, and I started walking and discovered it isn't as easy getting a ride in Oklahoma as it was in Texas. I've always heard that when you travel, you don't only get to experience a new region, you learn to truly appreciate your own; in this regard, that is true.

I reached a resting site and began to prepare to sleep for the night. Luckily, the trash bags in the storage containers made this rustling sound when the wind blew that sounded eerily like someone running in your general direction. Nothing like paranoia and fear to lull you into a gentle calm sleep. I ended up staying awake until early morning then finally got some sleep there. I woke up and got a cup of coffee from the local information center and headed out on my path.

Even during the day, the waiting time for a ride is much longer in Oklahoma. I walked up the highway some, but to no avail. I was in the middle of nowhere, with nothing in sight for another twenty miles. I had a trucker finally pick me up, and haul me right across the state into Oklahoma City. Along the way, he told me about how he just had a good feeling about me when he saw me standing there and that was why he picked me up. Personally, I was getting my groove on with some music at the time so I think he was just digging my moves. He told me all about himself and all sorts of stories about people he had picked up and helped in the past. He offered to take me all the way into Kansas with him and to stay at his house, but I turned him down. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to thank him for his help when we parted ways.

Wherever you are, Coyote, should this message ever cross your way, The Kodiak thanks you for everything.

He told me about his ancestry that was similar to my own and it felt almost like meeting brethren along the highway, which is always welcomed. It seems like this adventure just gets better and better for me.

I'm sleepy. I'm done for tonight.

Regards from Kodiak.

Jim Carrey is right. Grr.

I really don't want to write this entry, let me tell you why. I really don't want to admit that a philosophy from a Jim Carrey movie is actually almost completely accurate and leads to a better life, but I must. It turns out that it is true, you can really change your life around with the use of one simple word.

Yes.

It seems that the more time I spend on the road, the more opportunities I get to say that precious little word, and each opportunity typically leads to a better outcome and reward. It led me to a hotel room paid for by a man that gave me a ride recently, and today, it led me to a chance to explore and discover the religion of Islam.

I was looking for a ride into Dallas (previously, when I stated I was in Dallas, I was actually on the outer limits), and two friendly and very hospitable gentlemen originally from Pakistan picked me up. They had been living in this country for about a year, and along the ride, asked me if I had some free time. I replied that I did and they asked if I would like to see a mosque. They had to catch up on their prayers and needed to stop by, and I was interested so I told them that I would. We arrived there and I went inside and they both were very courteous and asked me to remove my shoes.

I thumbed through the Qur'an while I was there, and I noticed how many of the stories were the same from the Judeo-Christian Bible; Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Moses and his trials of freeing the Israelites, and even Christ himself.

Expect an upcoming blog entry on my thoughts about religion, I don't want to stir up negative emotions tonight.

I'm also going to say that little word to an invitation I got today to spend a few nights with a group of filmmakers and musicians living together in their little slice of Bohemian paradise in Denton. Right now, I'm saying it to a pipe being offered in my direction by some friends of a friend so I suppose this is it for now.

Regards from Kodiak.