travel

Somehow India has captured my attention. I’m not sure why, I have always been very daunted at the prospect of traveling in India.

I have been dreaming of going on a world-wide travel adventure, possibly for 2 years or more.

I stumbled across this website, www.wherethehellismatt.com , tonight (using a program called “Stumble” but that’s a different story).
This guy got sponsored by a corporation to travel the world, making a video of himself dancing a jig in different places.

This is the kind of gig I want.

Helped local band Tijuana Cartel make a music video today. I didn’t do much, just lift and carry some stuff, pass around the sunscreen and watch the day go by. Not very glamorous but something different for a Sunday. The dudes involved were really cool to hang with and we had a few beers at the end of the day.

Check out their “Myspace”...
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=102291696

is starting to get on my nerves. Its hard to be anonymous here… too many people recognise me from my work. The upside is that I can strike up conversations just about everywhere I go. I need sleep!

the cat that I am cat-sitting as a part of my house-sitting gig was attacked by a feral cat a couple of days ago. She was pretty banged up so I took her to the vet. $200 later she is doing very well and her owner still has not replied to my email informing her of the incident. The vet didn’t make me pay the bill, they will wait until the owner returns from Europe. I wonder what she will say.

artists. nutters. drunks. escapees.

The dance party last night was awesome. Saw 3 great bands… Cooii, Tijuana Cartel and Oka. Any one of the bands could have been the headline act, they were all so good. The other cool aspect to the night was all the people that I met. I trundled in on my own (I’m house-sitting in strange new land) and I bumped into a bunch of cool folk that I know as customers from my job. I also managed to find a percussionist that is keen for a bit of jamming so hopefully tomorrow we’ll get something happening.
So glad I had the balls to show up by myself…

So tonight I went to the Upfront Club to see a Sunshine Coast singer-songwriter by the name of Hindii Bandu (or something like that). Had a great singing voice and crisp fingerstyle guitar-playing. Has a good dose of jazz in his style. I would have liked some blues but obviously I’m obsessed with blues and he isn’t.
I also happened to bump into a couple that I used to see through my work down in Brisbane about a year ago. Had a good catch-up and got my first order for a cigar-box guitar! The dude was drunk so maybe he won’t be so keen tomorrow but I’ll show him one when I’m confident with my craftsmanship. If he likes it ha can buy one, if he doesn’t I’ll keep it. No skin off my nose.

there’s 3 bands playing tonight at the Maleny community centre. I’ve met the promoter at my work and he’s a really cool guy. Going to check out the gig but also try to learn a bit about the business of it. “Observe”. This is such a musical town, I love it. Apparently my neighbour is a highly-regarded jazz trumpet player. I’m going to brush up my trombone-playing over the next few months and then get some lessons from him if I’m still in the area.

Since I have this house for 6 weeks I’ve decided to do about 30 to 60 minutes of work everyday on the house. So far I’ve swept off the front and back patio, swept down all of the spider webs on the outside of the house that I can reach and cleaned all of the leaves off the carport roof and out of the gutter (we’ve had a series of storms lately… leaves everywhere). I’m thinking I might borrow the gurney from my parents and clean all of the outside walls. I can just imagine the owner’s surprise and delight to come back to a sparkling home. There are a few reasons for doing all of this. I have to acknowledge that impressing this home-owner will increase my chances of getting more house-sitting gigs by reference and referal. So there is an element of self-interest involved but I’m OK with that. That’s how the world works. The other reasons are for the simple fact that doing something useful is better than sitting in front of the TV or computer all day. There is also the pleasure of leaving something better than when you found it.

This is such a beautiful town to live in. It is small enough to feel like a village and its up in the mountains so it gets a massive amount of rainfall. Today I went for my first run in Maleny(its been raining for the past 4 days). Around every bend there was a photo-worthy sight. After about 7 minutes I was out of the township and was surrounded by rolling green hills spotted with dairy cows and magical-looking trees that would not be out of place in the land of the Hobbits. Now I wish I had a digital camera (my goal to pay off my debt is preventing me from rushing out and buying one). While I am staying in the one house for six weeks, I have found what my journey here will be. The journey here is coping with being alone for the entire time, apart from while I am at work. I have plenty of things with me to amuse myself (musical instruments, running shoes, internet access and books). Its just a matter of picking something up and starting.
I am going to find a way to continue on my cigar-box guitar project while I’m here. I was just getting back into the project when before coming up the range for this house-sitting gig.
I have been contemplating ways in which I can have more freedom in my life. Things I want freedom from are financial struggle, boredom, repetition, travel constraints, fear. Working for the man is no way to live life to its fullest. It is a compromise. I’m not ready to surrender my dreams and accept the compromise.

This is the kind of kooky thoughts you have when you spend too much time alone ;)