Here I am at Good Vibes Cafe around the corner from my new apartment. I just signed a lease. Tonight I''m going to spend my first night sleeping in a place with nothing but me and a few bags of clothes in it. I really miss not having Dante around. I always explored new places with the pup and adjusting to life without the big mutt is not as easy as I thought it would be. Last night I jumped right out of bed after having a very vivid dream about my brother Michael. It was bitter sweet talking to him in a dream. He was smiling away and talking to me about...
September 2008 Archives
Today is my first full day in my new apartment in my new neighborhood. I got to the Good Vibes Cafe and met Tim from New York who was setting up the place. We spoke a few times when I came here to blog. Today two guys from Germany came into the cafe. They are traveling across America. They've already visited the East Coast. Now they are doing the west coast. The two guys are from Darmstadt, Germany and the way I know this is that there is a periodical table chart of elements on the wall above the computers. Hs 108 Hassium & Ds 110 Darmstadtium are two of the elements abnd they are the name of the town and state these guys come from.
It has been an interesting morning speaking to these two young men. Their English is better than many American's. Long Beach is billed as an international city and so far I have encountered nothing to challenge that notion.
I now need to get my medical (prescriptions/primary care doctor) things straightened out and get a California driver's license. Furniture---I need to get a chair and a table and I am all set for awhile.
The Beach---I will be walking the beach early every morning. I hope to get my computer shipped here in a little while.
note: somebody else wants to use the computer.
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It has been an interesting morning speaking to these two young men. Their English is better than many American's. Long Beach is billed as an international city and so far I have encountered nothing to challenge that notion.
I now need to get my medical (prescriptions/primary care doctor) things straightened out and get a California driver's license. Furniture---I need to get a chair and a table and I am all set for awhile.
The Beach---I will be walking the beach early every morning. I hope to get my computer shipped here in a little while.
note: somebody else wants to use the computer.
ltr
d.
I have stumbled into a great community. They loves the blues here. Good Vibes Cafe has a few people who play on some nights.
here they are tonight...
where is the image?
here they are tonight...
where is the image?
windows sucks...but I got one image to load.
tee hee hee, pirates rule!! (mac joke)
tee hee hee, pirates rule!! (mac joke)
Only Orlando knows exactly what I am doing with this post, but I want something to be online that exemplifies the essence of Orlando my old friend.
Orlando,
thank you for being there and for being my friend all these years. even in the worst of times in our relationship I have always cherished your friendship.
----Donald:Good to hear from you and I am pleased you are in your new abode.Yes I am aware that you knew the story and I recall that along with the the two mad ones; we introduced you to the splendidthickets of 'lost horizon'.It was a whim on part to send this story. I ruminated what individual would appreciate that particular memory? I exclaimed! Why of course Donald.For our brothers,this we were, this is how we tried to love,and these are the forces they had ranged against us,and these are the forces we had ranged within us,within us and against us, against us and within us______Adrienne RichAs my old friend Peter Lauria use to say; Be Strong.Love***
Orlando,
thank you for being there and for being my friend all these years. even in the worst of times in our relationship I have always cherished your friendship.
What am I doing now? Dumping images that are on my phone.
the images above are of the windows at the Americana Restaurant on Broadway (around the corner from my apartment building) in Long Beach CA. The people there (employees and customers) are really great. The Americana Restaurant is the first place I ate at in Long Beach. John and his wife Gladys are the owner/operators and they are sweet people.
one image above is inside of the Good Vibes Cafe and the other two are murals on a wall in a section of LA that I took a walk in---Santa Monica Blvd between Hollywood and West Hollywood. It is a really poor part of the area and it was an interesting walk that day.
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the odd thing is that on the walk of stars Ali's star is on a wall near the visitor's welcoming area across from the desk/window . most everyone walks by it barely (if at all) noticing it.
I guess it was supposed to be a place of honor that got lost in the shuffle.
the images above are of the windows at the Americana Restaurant on Broadway (around the corner from my apartment building) in Long Beach CA. The people there (employees and customers) are really great. The Americana Restaurant is the first place I ate at in Long Beach. John and his wife Gladys are the owner/operators and they are sweet people.
one image above is inside of the Good Vibes Cafe and the other two are murals on a wall in a section of LA that I took a walk in---Santa Monica Blvd between Hollywood and West Hollywood. It is a really poor part of the area and it was an interesting walk that day.
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d.
the odd thing is that on the walk of stars Ali's star is on a wall near the visitor's welcoming area across from the desk/window . most everyone walks by it barely (if at all) noticing it.
I guess it was supposed to be a place of honor that got lost in the shuffle.
I guess it's about time I starting putting some thoughts down on what it is I am experiencing and where I feel I am going. Words are sometimes inadequate and many times misused and misunderstood. One thing I will attempt to do is to be much more clear and thoughtful in my ramblings here. Spending time away from my mac, away from television, and away from familiar habits has me sitting for longer periods with myself. Contemplation and introspection has always interested me, but life's distractions are difficult to break away from as they are mostly self imposed.
I'm helping out a new found friend with his internet/web presence and it is personally rewarding as well as helpful in giving me something to work on as I settle into my new life here. When my mac gets here I plan on jumping into a few projects that got put off what with life intervening.so heavily in the past few years. But I hope not to forget to prioritize spending time alone...with myself.
We'll see.
d.
I'm helping out a new found friend with his internet/web presence and it is personally rewarding as well as helpful in giving me something to work on as I settle into my new life here. When my mac gets here I plan on jumping into a few projects that got put off what with life intervening.so heavily in the past few years. But I hope not to forget to prioritize spending time alone...with myself.
We'll see.
d.
So my mac has gotten here safely and it still has some life in it. It's a workhorse and I only paid $700 dollars for it 6 years ago. Of course I added ram, chips, an airport card and other hardware/software to it (macromedia/adobe). Now I get to lift more of the photos of me and Dante and Somerville, and Ricky's Flower Market and East Boston/Winthrop from my external drive and post/store them on my server. I'm getting a bit nostalgic these days about the pup and our journey together, but I'm okay with that because it helps me refocus on how I ended up here and why I moved on.
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I'm sitting here in the Good Vibes Cafe listening to my ipod. The selection playing is "Oh Happy Day" an old great spiritual tune that I used to sing out long as it played. I'd walk around my apartment clapping and singing (shouting really) and the pup would get all excited.
Oh happy memories mixed with nostalgia.
Playing with my mac is sure to bring back much more in the way of fond memories mixed with nostalgia as all the time I had my mac, Dante would lay at my side patiently waiting for me to take a cyber break. Now I need to get internet service. For now, being online in an internet cafe is tolerable but with I want to do I need my own broadband service.
keep the faith
as always
d.
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I'm sitting here in the Good Vibes Cafe listening to my ipod. The selection playing is "Oh Happy Day" an old great spiritual tune that I used to sing out long as it played. I'd walk around my apartment clapping and singing (shouting really) and the pup would get all excited.
Oh happy memories mixed with nostalgia.
Playing with my mac is sure to bring back much more in the way of fond memories mixed with nostalgia as all the time I had my mac, Dante would lay at my side patiently waiting for me to take a cyber break. Now I need to get internet service. For now, being online in an internet cafe is tolerable but with I want to do I need my own broadband service.
keep the faith
as always
d.
Augusto Roa Bastos, (June 13, 1917 - April 26, 2005) was a noted Paraguayan novelist, and one of the most important Latin American writers of the 20th century. As a teenager he fought in the Chaco War between Paraguay and Bolivia, and he later worked as a journalist, screenwriter and professor. He is best known for his complex novel Yo el Supremo (I, the Supreme) and for his reception of the Premio Cervantes in 1989,..
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thank you wikipedia
d.
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thank you wikipedia
d.
Choosing Long Beach as an area to start over again has proven to be a pretty good choice. One month plus...
A few difficulties later and I'm starting to believe my choices have benefited me well. I do not feel lonely or isolated and the experience of homesickness has yet to cross my radar. All said, I'm on the road I've chosen and loving it. If it's true that "It's the journey and not the destination..." then I am indeed a blessed man.
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I've never seen a cactus this large on a sidewalk.
cool, huh?
People at the Good Vibes Cafe---minus Jamal. We will capture his photo on another day.
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