Atlanta

To the blackboard again. There was really no need to return to the states to amass more money but my sister begged over breakfast, though she didn't really need to say much more than "Atlanta has a great music scene (many free venues) in the summer and it seems you're never here in the summer" for me to abandon the original plan to move through South East Asia.

I informed most of those who've since fallen out of my life; funny how quickly that happens and the indifference with which we take it, you know...old high school friends with whom you no longer seem to find many commonalities, college buds who've gone the 'stable life' route. No hard feelings if you're one of those that seem to have fallen by the wayside but life is all about changes and it'd be silly, fraudulent, and insulting to deny the fact that certain people just don't interest me anymore.

With a very brief recap, I started my 'real world' (aka post college) journey to South America as 2002 sprung upon us. This of course was right after 9/11 and more regionally significant, the default of an international loan by the Argentine govt. Everyone was pissing their pants with warm fear, not knowing what to do or where to hide...I chose to visit our southern neighbor that share the name America (yes it's a continent, not a country U.S. citizens). While everyone warned me of the imminent danger involved in entering a third world country on the verge of anarchy, I found some of the most pristine places on earth, made the most memorable moments in my life, and progressed personally on a level that is still insurmountable in scope. 15 months of a fantastic voyage found me back in the states to hoard some cash and set off upon the road again...this first travel opened my eyes to the point I was crying to get away from the suffocating ethnocentricity this country inculcates. The "america" example above is the most blatant testament to this factuality--I mean come on, we as a country claim an entire continent and no one even notices exept those other Americans (e.g. Central, Southern) and forget about that 'too docile' neighbor above us, Canada...they don't want anything to do with "America" because they know the rest of the world has excepted our misrepresentation)-not to mention the all too rampant geographical incompetence and misstatements like uh...I don't know, "World Series" that involves only the U.S..

I started looking for work in the Atlanta area because that's where my older sis lives and came across something via internet, "teach English in Korea". I thought, 'what the hell' and sent a resume that had a few facts in between the lines. 3 days later, I got a call from Tino and just 10 later I was introduced to the East by a driver of a van holding the movie-typical placard that said, "Insert Real Name". We were off on a 45 minute journey with no talking and some all too emotive South Korean music on the radio.The year in South Korea was more than I could ever put down on paper, though I might attempt that daunting and introspective task at a later date, but let's just say that when people ask me, "how the hell did you teach them English when you don't know Korean?" I didn't have much of an 'oh it was easy' sort of answer...it was harder than Mike at a 10 year old talent show, at first.

I returned with my nest egg of loot, ready to spend and ready to see the more mysterious part of Asia, as I didn't get much traveling in while in Korea. I agreed to chill in Atl with my sister for the summer, but being November of 2004, I didn't want to spend the winter in the states...I headed back to Argentina to visit some old friends that helped to transend me. Man had since become fathers, husbands/wives, and other devoting figures of life that completely changed my perceptions of them. All in all, it opened my eyes again but in the sense that life and your memories are constantly changing; and the possibility, that our perception and those same memories we so value might be nothing but pure illusion, become more of a reality to me.

Returning to the states yielded emotions that were not yet experienced. I didn't want to stay there any longer, but I didn't really want to leave either. A few intimate experiences with several lovely Argentines left me leaving in good spirits. There's much to say about ATL and I hope that I might experience it enough to be able to tell it with erudition. I've only allowed myself the time to go to Music Midtown in June which featured Lou Reed, a favorite of mine, The White Stripes, an incredibly alive live duo, Chuck D, Def Leppard, and a blowout performance by Kid Rock. I missed Aimee Mann in a Botanical Garden, shame on my poorly selective ass. There will be some great musicians make it through this city and I hope to incorporate myself amidst the innebriated masses to show my support for live music and the pain-cloyed musicians that produce it. July is rushing past, with August banging on the door and the moments of summer are rushing for'd. Now that I've caught everyone up, or those that care, I can move on to more memorable writing and events that will carry me through this sojourn and onto the next drifting.

M