Nov. 8, 2010

Spent a few hours fixing a sound software problem on Isidora's computer. Upon realization that speaker jacks were in the wrong plugs, I was ready to go. Took 77 bus into Novi Beograd and walked from there. An hour later, at the outskirts, noticed a 77 bus terminal. Oh well. Bought a map, walked on past the aerodrom as the sun set. Pack heavy, legs tiring, I set up at a Lukoil to hitch a ride. Hop on board with a friendly trucker who has a son, Mladan, who played basketball while at university in Texas and then Alaska. While serving along the road, dras me a nice hitchin' sign for . Drops me off at Ruma toll terminal, then graciously gets me a ride to Sid after arguing with another trucker in the middle of the road to take me. An awkward, quiet ride. Walk the rest to the Croatian border. 8 km of dark road and aching feet. Strap headlight to the back of my head so as not to get accidentally splattered. Take my queue behind the cars, passport in hand. An odd sight, no doubt. "Jesse. Jesse James!" Thaat's me. And on into Croatia. Totally exhausted, feet in pain, fences on both sides of the highway, I make camp behind a road sign for a rainy night, readily broken by the lights and rush of passing semi-trailers.

Oct. 24,2009

Saturday. Last full day for most of the Airwaves volunteers. Woke up and did some damage control from the people who went out last night. Went back to sleep. Woke up around 4. No food in the house, and no one to accompany poor old me in shopping. Strap on my pack and hop on my bike. Luckily, the close Bonus is open again. Load up the bacon and honey and apples and milk and processed visceral spread substitute and whatever else these ravenous zombies have been feasting upon, lately. Get some drawing done and generally sequester myself in my room for the rest of the day. People from the north camp returned today, so it was good to see some old faces, most of which I was unable to attach a name. Figured I should go out for everyone's last night. Stomached as much Disorrono left over from last night's dessert as I could, and sneaked out to Zimsen with Jamie and Peter. Beer specials ending at midnight trump waiting around for friends en masse. Had a few beers, discussed the finer points of flatulence and American kickassery. Got a call from Julia saying that the northern lights were out. Being a perfectly clear night, it was not an option to miss the event in the confines of an dead bar. Plus, the beer special was ending. Emptying our glasses, we three headed for the sea coast. Looking up into the sky, we couldn't see anything, and began to think we had missed it. But upon descending the rock retaining wall and losing some of the city glare, we could see faint streaks coming from the eastern horizon. Looked a lot like light pollution from an adjacent town, except the nearest adjacent town in that direction is probably Halifax. Took some long exposures with my temperamental camera, and an amazing green light show left its mark on the CCD. Watched the ribbons slowly ebb and flow until they died out. Headed back to the house in good spirits. Kjartan was off of work and headed to a hip-hop concert down at NASA. Interested in Iceland's take on the genre, so headed with him. Wasn't too into the first act; generic dance music mixed with a crowd much more inebriated than I. Main act was good, though. Bunch of Icelanders singing in Icelandic about Iceland. The sound at first struck me as similar to 1990´s preppy MTV rap attempting to be 'hardcore', but their emotion and stage presence made up for the utter lack of cultural connection. Also, the lyrics seemed decent after Kjartan explained them to me. Was a welcome release to knock around the wasted meathead section of packed crowd that I found myself in the middle of. Headed back toward the house, met up with Matevz, Jamie, Peter, Lucas and others. Somehow quickly lost the others. Ended up at Jacobsen, dancing in the downstairs bar. 'Twas hot as hell down there and after quite the extended bout, we left, quite tired and drenched in sweat. On the way back, took quite a lot of time taking pictures of us jumping over things. Maturity hath no quarter. We talked awhile with a female Icelandic basketball player. Also with random drunkards and some kids that had some moonshine and knowledge of the Philadelphia rap scene. Avoided the water blasts of the street cleaners. Made the final turn into the yard. Convinced the last Beatles-singing drunkard that he did not live with us. Ate some garlic butter toast and made it to bed around 8:30.

Oct. 13, 2009

And on this day...very tired. Got suckered into going out by Isidora, despite my refusal to drink and my near-comatose state. People flying around me, saying nonsensical words. Ended up going to karaoke night, with jerk-ass Isidora staying home, believing that sickness was an excuse to strand me with these savages. Was a good time at Oliver's, though. Sang Bar Fly by Jeff Who? with Kobi and Kjartan, with Kjartan being unable to sing the second half of the song, as he was in laughing fits from listening to my guttural explosions. Left a bit earlier than everyone else to avoid being trapped in a living room full of amoral drunkards. Soon after retiring to my bed, I hear the bass beat of Barfly coming from downstairs. Realizing defeat in this initial battle with consciousness, I join in the revelry for a while. Quiets down, get back to bed. Woken up again. Sigh.

Oct. 12, 2009

Shit, it has been a while. Been too tired to write these things. On a Monday, went for a bicycle ride, as the evening sun was too much to ignore, and no one wanted to walk with me. Felt about 50 degrees with zero wind. Rode along the sea, stopping by an old fish-drying shack. Cool little bunker in a hill. Found the public beach with hot tub. Going to go brave that one of these days. Set the self-timer and took some pictures of me on a pier column out in the water. Decided to do hand stands on it, despite not being able to do handstands. After about 10 tries, got my feet vertical, and they continued swinging over me. Disoriented, I my foot luckily caught the edge of the column as I fell backwards. Continued on, finding a forest on a hill, topped by the Saga museum, Perlan. Very refreshing to be surrounded by trees. Saw a black rabbit. 'Twas a first. Went to the observation deck. View=not-too-shabby. Returned, most likely ate dinner... Went to Zimssen with Peter, Jaimie, and Kjartan. Drank cheap beer and played some boring Icelandic game similar to Sorry. For the record, I was clearly in the lead when they decided to quit. Talking outside about AIDS in Guatemala, we met a pleasant couple from Canada. Aaaand then we left. I am sure the rest of the evening was just peachy.

Oct. 9, 2009

Friday.... OK, I've got this one. A few volunteers arrived for the festival. Shaved most of my beard, as I was beginning to tire of having uninvited leftovers hanging from my face. Emmm. Got some beer with Michelle. Very high wind and rain today. Kjartan's father came to fix the heating pipe for the garage. Gutter drain next to the back door clogged, house almost flooded. Drank said beer. Went out with everyone. Had good time. Walked home with Isidora and Kjartan. Went back out. Danced. Spoke in Spanish. Kicked-in bathroom door. Lost everone but Matevz, Michelle, Taru, and Alek. Stumbled home, stopping to talk to some people on a bench. They didn't know how to get home. I didn't have an answer. Got home "early" around 5 a.m.

Oct. 8, 2009

Thursday! This is what you get when I wait too long to post.

Oct. 7, 2009

Ummmm. Yep.

Oct. 6, 2009

Wake up headache-free; always a plus. In the mood to do something constructive today, so decided to try to fix the hot-water line to the garage. Head downtown to a hardware store, but no plumbing equipment. Referred to a Home-Depot-like store about a 5 minute ride down the road. Walk around the store, humoring myself that if I stare at the aisle signs long enough, they will morph into English. Ask an employee, and spend a half hour finding the right fittings/piping for this little project. Confident I have a workable assortment of gadgets, I pay and head back to the house. Something's a bit off here... Yes. Measured the diameter of the wrong pipe. Head back to the store. They don't have the same parts in for the smaller pipe gauge. Spend a half hour collecting a new assortment of fittings and tube that should work. Head back to the house, immerse my hands once again in the freezing-cold mud around the broken pipe. One end fits tight, put the other end on. Hot water it delivers, but the rusted pipe end leaks a bit too much to ignore. Fiddle around with it for a while longer, hands now being scalded in the hot water mud around the broken pipe. No progress made, so I cut my losses and head in for dinner. Not a bad try methinks armed with only a pocket knife, teflon tape, and a dish towel. Kjartan's father knows plumbing and can hopefully make his way over and come up with a slightly-less-shitty fix. Draw and relax with Isidora for the rest of the night.

Oct. 5, 2009

Sunny early morning relaxed with no road trips on the agenda. Felt a bit sedentary, so hopped on my bike and went for a ride. T-shirt weather it was not, but it kept me riding to avoid hypothermia. Spotted a couple abandoned shacks down by the water just in case I should need them in the future. Back wheel began to go a bit wonky, so headed back and warmed up. Cleaned out the car, returned it to the lady, and then went for a stroll around town with Isidora. Tried to climb the large church, but the stairs were off-limits, and the elevator cost money. And I was just about to accept Jesus Godsson into my life. Oh well. Found something much more practical outside in a crescent wrench that will fix my wonky wheel. We went to a few shops and passed by the anarchists' free shop before heading back. In the market for something to read, preferably a math book to keep me busy on rainy days. Jamie and Peter going to London and then Amsterdam tomorrow morning, so that proved enough of a reason to purchase some alcohol for the night. Rode to a few used book stores; both surprisingly containing mostly books in Icelandic. Best I could come up with was a mathematical terms dictionary that cost like 700 kr. Dejected, picked a few bottles of hooch, then remembered the free shop, so decided to check it out. A dank open air squatter's shack with plenty of graffiti, and some clothes strewn about. Few books on the bookshelf, including a 400 page calculus book in English with a spray paint how-to pamphlet on top. What a great country. Place both in my bag, and head back, scolding myself for ever believing that structured society could provide me with my educational material. Sit around, eat some spaghetti and sauce with lamb liver that Jamie made(although he thought it was lamb meat upon purchase.) Waited around some more. Started drinking, playing Texas hold-'em and king's cup with Jamie, Peter, Isadora, Kjartan, and Kobi. The latter being the only game that Jamie, Peter, and I introduced to the non-Yanks that received a positive response(beer pong failed failed miserably in crossing the cultural gap.) We were planning on staying up until Jamie and Peter left for the airport at 4:30 am, but, that just wasn't going to happen with now empty Vodka and Rum bottles rolling across the floor. Aaand scene.

Oct. 4, 2009

What a surprise, awake early with sparse sleep preparing for a road trip. Today's lineup:Isidora, Jamie, Peter, Kjartan, and myself. Headed south to see some waterfalls and the gigantic glacier, Vatnajökull, if we have time. Thought I lost the keys to the car, and after dumping all my stuff out and cursing to myself for a good half hour, turns out they were in Isadora's purse. Welp, rousing poor Kjartan after only getting about ten minutes to sleep, we piled in the car and headed off. Accidentally went north on route 1 for a bit, then got the sun on the correct side of the car and continued on. Snowed a bit on the way, but the sun was out and sparkled beautifully off of the landscape; pleasing, but rather blinding as I drove down the road. First stop was a narrow waterfall in free fall off of a large cliff face. Look in my bag and realize I forgot my camera. I can see it spilling onto my bed an hour earlier as I was dumping my bag out in search of the friggin' keys. Looks like memory will have to pick up the slack on this one, a task I'm just not sure its up to these days. Walking up to the falls, everything is coated in ice from the mist. The slim grass blades are encapsulated in inch-thick translucent tendrils. A small trail leading behind the falls, like everything else, is zero friction, so it makes for a fun crawl up and around as the mist completely soaks me. Looking back out from behind the falls, standing within the cavernous rock erosion, I thought this would make quite a nice picture, you stupid forgetful freakin' idiot crapface! Jerk! Oh well, I'll forgive myself...someday... Managed to slip and stumble my way back to the car, as Jamie and Peter gracefully skated behind me, laughing nonsensically all the way. Back in the car and onward, made it to another waterfall, Skógafoss. This one was off of a much larger river, wider and taller, and also a free-fall. A long, steep metal staircase let to the top, and Peter and I decided it rational to race to the top. Well, we made it about 5% of the way up before he was coughing in fits and I was keeled over the railing. Sucked wind the rest of the walk up. A long way down. Ice-capped cliff edge. No photos standing on the edge, as that would pretty much ensure a long, contemplative journey ending with a splat or a bounce; not sure how that works off of jagged icy rocks. Oh, but a moot point, camera-less buffoon. Watched for a while as gull-like birds jumped from the cliff face and rode the updraft from the falls, only using energy to subtly flick their wings and turn. An icicle broke off of a overhang on the top and I watched as it fell and fell for what seemed like 5 seconds, never actually seeing it hit the ground. The rock at the bottom of the river atop the falls was a smooth and high-luster black. Cool shit, basically. Back down and back on the road. Attempting to make it to the black sand beach right next to the road, took quite a while before we found a road that wasn't fenced-off. A bit of snowfall on the way. But was for the best in the end, as we ended up at a black sand beach enclosed by porous volcanic cliffs and rock arches and spires out in the middle of the water. So...picturesque. Fuck! The foaming waves were calling me, and I couldn't help but strip down, sprint, and jump in. Aand, colder than I imagined. Run away! Towel. In. Car. So. Far. Away. Dry off and sit in car as we wait for Jamie and Peter to return from laughing at whatever nonsensical object they have come across. My body finally realizes its cold and I start to shiver in a vain attempt to add to what little body heat remains. Hunger and fatigue beginning to get the best of us, as we head over a mountain pass containing the glacier Mýrdallsjökull to the small town of Vík, in search of some sustenance. Find a small restaurant at a gas station and order some overpriced food that took entirely too long to come out. A ham sandwich isn't rocket science. Not sure if rocket science works as an analogy for protracted periods of time, but it seriously was at least a half hour wait. Ate, still felt hungry. Kjarten and I acquired some fries from plates left on adjacent tables, and we headed out. Not so hungry, but still tired, and so we decided to call it a day and head back. Vatnajökull will have to wait for another day. Driving on the way back, everyone else is asleep. Now, to set the record straight, I have been speeding a lot while driving on route 1. There is nobody on the road, and the national speed limit of 90 km/hr is just too slow. But, I was doing exactly 90 with a car in front of me as another car comes racing from behind, passing us both right as we pass what looked like a cop car on the side of the road. I look behind me and there goes the siren and lights. That's what you get, sucker. Oh...its me you're pulling over, of course. "Did I do anything wrong?" "No?" But you're giving me a breathalizer for shits and giggles. First exam I got an A in in quite a while. Ok, one more challenge...start the car without stalling with the cops waiting in their car. I've been operating in the 5% range so far. But success! I come through in the clutch. Pun intended, bitches. Go to hell cops. Kjarten informs me they weren't even cops, but private security. Rather shady. Continue on to Reykjavik, taking a bit of a detour to pull along side and follow a car full of girls that Jamie and Peter thought were cute. Stalled like crazy at every stoplight in town, haha. Made it back to the house in one piece yet again. Kobi shared some great seafood pasta dish he made with us, so that took care of dinner. Zoned out for the rest of the night, eventually made it upstairs to bed.