Drawing a blank...

For a few days now I've been feeling the need to sit down and do some writing (or typing. Whatever.). I have something in my head, I start typing and a couple of sentences later I realize that nothing further is coming to mind. My desire to write was clearly not accompanied by inspiration and the whole attempt just fell on the ground like a clay plate at a Greek party. In other words, the end result was not very pretty.

So, instead of pushing myself to put forced words together, I'm just gonna eat some chicken and watch a brain-dead action movie with Jet Li. Or maybe Jason Statham.

Yeah, that'll do it.

Take *THAT*, literature...

M.

I *am* flying!

The other day I was sitting at a cafe, observing people.

A kid put his two hands on the railings on either side of the steps leading to the patio and pushed himself up with enough strength to lift his feet off the ground and dangle his legs back n forth.

“I’m flying!!” he said to his mom standing a few feet away.

“No, you’re not flying. You’re hovering.” She quickly replied. You could see the disappointment in the boy’s face. It only took 3 words for him to turn from happy and excited, to disillusioned and sad.

Why did she do that? The kid is barely 8 years old. Is it really that hard to let the boy live in his imagination? She wouldn’t need to say much. She wouldn’t even need to lie, if that was her reasoning behind shattering her son’s super-hero moment. A simple “Wow!” or “Yeay!” or even a smile would have been enough for the boy to continue flying.

Why do we try to teach “reality” to children so quickly? Why grow up as soon as possible and face the world with its rules and laws and realities... Every day I come across examples of people not allowing themselves (or others) to live their surreal moments. For so many generations now, people have been getting brain-washed with the importance of being proper, serious, acting maturely and making sure they present themselves as a good fit for society. Why not let our inner child free to explore the bizarre corners of our mind? Why not express ourselves in the way that our heart wishes, instead of choosing the way that people around us consider appropriate? It’s always about “What will the neighbors think?”, or behaving according to our age. And for what? For not being judged based on those actions by those who, deep inside, which they could do the same thing? Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll pass.

If others choose to judge you and profile you based on the moments you decide to act like a 6 legged, 2 headed creature in the street, or the times you wear a bright red speedo over your torn jeans, or when you are holding on from a railing and pretending to be flying, then those individuals should never be given the privilege of being part of your social circle. They do not let you explore your full potential and that is much less than what you deserve.

So go live your moment. Be the weirdo you truly want to be! Pick up your air guitar and scream at the top of your lungs right into the world’s ear.

And kid, when you come back down, please bring me a small piece of a cloud. I’ll be the one in a tutu with orange face paint on, walking into a conference.



M.

FUCK THEM (with a smile)!

Fuck guns. Why don't people understand that guns don't solve problems. They create bigger ones. Countries that allow every Tom, Dick n Harry to own a gun for "protection" don't have any more or any less burglaries, muggings and assaults than countries that do ban guns. Sure, your aunt once scared a rapist off. Don't forget also, though, that Jim's 6-year old son found his dad's accidentally loaded weapon one lovely autumn afternoon and shot his own face off!

Fuck racists. Stop hating a color. It only makes you look retarded. It's like hating only part of a rainbow. The day your precious, pale-skinned princess elopes with her black lover who achieved more goals in a year than you have in a lifetime, I'm gonna laugh in your face and then piss on your favorite fucking petunias!

Fuck organized religion. Can't you understand that every single religious script written was compiled by PEOPLE and not a GOD? Do you think that your god had a sharpie and left behind an autobiography and a manual? Or do you think that as he shared his thoughts/instructions, every other person repeated the exactly same words? Have you never played chinese whispers as a kid for fuck sake??

Fuck corrupt politicians. And by fuck them, I mean stop voting them! Stop undermining your intelligence by believing that people who fucked their country over 8 years ago will be better, simply because the last people you voted proved to be as corrupt as the others. THEY ARE ALL THE SAME SHIT!!!

Fuck ignorant drivers. Somebody take their car keys and throw them in a dragon's lair! They will never learn that indicators are called that way for a reason. The don't understand why staying on the right side when going slow is helping traffic move faster. It makes sense to them to carry their ugly fucking chihuahua in their lap while driving their 20-ton pick-up truck.

Fuck bullies. Seriously, guys? Playing macho-man on an individual that is a quarter your size makes you feel good about yourself? Sooner or later, you will either realize that this behavior will never make your penis be of respectable size and you'll feel like a douchebag, or you'll get to meet the aforementioned individual's brother who not only is he 4 times your size, but he also happens to have been raised by yetis up in the Himalayas and he will make you his bitch. Either way, do yourself a favor and cut this crap.

Fuck wars. Period! If you think you can define what a "winner" of a war is, please stop talking to me.

Fuck MacDonalds. How can you not give a shit about what you feed to people? Do you ever spend a happy Sunday afternoon with your kids at one of your restaurants? I truly hope not, because you would be an ever bigger waste of oxygen than I thought.

Fuck you. Yes you. Because at some point in your life, for a brief moment or for longer, you probably entered one of the thousands of categories of people that deserve a good kick up the arse.

Fuck me. Because the previous "fuck you" applies to me too. And because here I am, behind a bright laptop monitor, having a pointless rant without even being pissed off.

No, I'm not pissed off. I'm just frustrated because I lost faith in humanity a long time ago and day after day I see reasons all around me that do not prove me wrong.

I'm also not some emo, upset with the world, kinda guy. I'm a very happy person, living a wonderful life, not lacking anything, with lots of wonderful people in my life who care for me and I care for them and my passion is to travel the world because there's nothing I love more than observing the beauty in everything around me and learning from it. That does not mean, however, that I do not see some things for what they are and believing that the flaws we have as a species will simply never change. This is a wonderful, wonderful world, but like everything else, it is not perfect. Sometimes I wonder... Where is the point where we enjoy it for what it is and stop trying to fix it? Some things are as they are and will never change. I don't want to be living frustrated. I want to live happy. Happy for what I have, for who I am, for whom I have by my side and for what I will achieve in the future. Of course I will fight for what I believe in and will put my blood and soul in something I feel will make the world a better place - if not for everyone at least for some. But I also understand that sometimes I need to cut my losses and move on. Life is only as amazing as we make it, regardless of the hurdles.

If none of the earlier rants apply to you and you are one of those few, inspiring, wonderful individuals that walk the streets, I apologize and offer you a cupcake.



And there I went, on a tangent once again, having started with one thing and having ended with another. It's a good thing I never promised cohesion in my expressed thoughts.

I'll leave you with a song that always makes everything better.

M.

Boots... STOP walking!!

Today's morning plan had two potential paths to follow. One was to wake up at 8am and go for boot camp. The other was to have a nice, hearty breakfast. Since I went to bed at 3am and got out of bed at noon, the obvious choice was, of course, the latter. (Yes, I had breakfast at 1pm. Deal with it.)

After a delicious, juicy, chicken-filled French crepe, we stopped by the Austin Pets Alive station on South Congress to show the dogs some lovin'. That's where I got acquainted with the adorable Carter.



I've always loved dogs more than any other pet and I've been wanting to have one for years. Specifically, I like big dogs. The kind that will be dragging you down the road while you're desperately trying to hold on to the leach and when they jump on you in the living room, you're lucky if you manage to stay on your two feet. Small dogs are not my thing. Anything that bounces while barking is not a dog. Those little overgrown rats should just be a squeaky toy for my dog to chew on. But I digress.

While walking Carter around the neighborhood my mind went on a tangent once again about what I sacrifice to have the kind of life I choose to lead. It's impossible for me to have a dog. How can I possibly be responsible for it and keep it by my side, when my desires often include fleeing the country I've been living in for 2 years to go travel like a nomad through 4-5-6-7-athousand countries before choosing to settle in whichever destination is unexpectedly designated as last (for the time being)? It's not the fact that I consider it a burden. On the contrary, it would be a wonderful partner in crime. But most countries have regulations when it comes to "migrating" dogs, such as getting vaccinations, issuing passports and visas (yes, a pet passport), putting them in quarantine for a pre-determined amount of time, etc. On top of that, what the hell is the poor dog going to do when I decide to go and spend a month in the Gobi desert? Supplies are scarse and living condition are harsh for a human, let alone for a canine.

Half way through this thought process, I saw an abandoned church with a HUGE, arched side window that was sealed shut. My mind immediately went to my dream home. A house up on a hill, but not far from a busy city centre. Lots of big, loft-like spaces, high ceilings and enough natural light to make the marble floors of my kitchen sparkle. My bedroom has that exact same window. I pull the long curtains open and as the wooden rings grind upon the dark, brown, oak curtain rail, I am overwhelmed by the sun's warm rays, while I gaze upon the green field that trickles down towards the city's skyline.

SLAM ON YOUR BREAKS, brain and enjoy the screeching of the wheels on the tarmac, complemented perfectly by the alluring perfume of burning rubber, because that's all you're gonna get to feast on for now. Are you forgetting that you still have not found a city that you can call "home"? How can you make such a dream house a reality when you haven't even found the perfect ground for it and every place your heart has gotten captivated by so far proves to be inadequate only a couple of years down the line?

Some travelers have a home base and some don't. The ones that do either choose their home base because they need one, or because it feels like the perfect one. Me, I can't settle. I have the kind of heart that will never find peace unless every single piece of the puzzle feels perfect. Until then, I'll keep on vagabonding from place to place, from beauty to beauty, from surprise to surprise. Even if it means sacrificing some of my deepest desires. It's a choice I made long ago and I never looked back. It's a trade-off I am perfectly happy to live with. For now, at least...

I will never stop walking. Ever. It's who I am. It really would be wonderful though for my boots to have their very own shoe rack where I can pick them up from each time I choose to wander off and long to put them back into many months later. I'm looking forward to that.

M.