Vagabond Jim

Jet lag is not easy.  I was mistaken. My trip to So. Africa ('04) but arrived at dusk.  This time I arrived at dawn without meaningful sleep.  BIG difference. Yesterday (my Saturday) sucked physically.  Sure, I slept some.  But not enough, not at the right times.  Up before dawn to write.  Then a nap at dawn. Awoke at 10h00 and was peckish.  See the Chickens post for details. Then I grabbed some water, apples, chips, oreos, and toothpaste at a minimart.  RM 45.50...less than $10. I read some Dortmunder (too unfocused for James Burke) and was very unsettled.  At 12:30pm I was in bed. I was a wreck. Frustration over not wanting to struggle with the breakfast place when it was full had cowed me.  Lack of sufficient sleep had completely affected me.  The NYT Mini had the word TANTRUM as an answer.  I had worked so hard not to melt down  in NRT - a melt down is a Hallmark of autism.  In my years before my diagnosis I ...

 The sambal or the weather? YES. So hot it burns? YES. But happiness prevails.

After writing earlier I was tired enough to nap.  Can one nap from 0600 - 0700?  The sun was not up when I started dozing, that's not a nap. But I awoke after an hour.  Hungry. So, hat on, I walked across the road.  Existential threat be damned - I was no chicken today.  And, I looked rightward.   None of the collection of restaurants directly across the road were open.  Except a guy selling Nasi Lemak from a card table.  OK, I was a chicken and decided not to try roadside, wall-less vendors.  Yet.  I walked a hundred yards.  One place was open and had a good crowd.  But cowardice once again prevailed.  I stand out pretty obviously here.  Especially with white as snow legs and a funny hat.  (I LOVE my Tilley Endurables hats.  2 came with me on this trip; the third is too heavy for this weather.)  Fearing awkwardness is silly but real at times. I saw a bunch of cars parked in the road and people mil...

Jet leg is gonna happen.  But on very long voyages it is tolerable.  It's 0400 here, I've been awake for 3 hours.  But, I slept for 7 before that, it's all good. And, I don't fear the moonburn on my scalp! 80F and a pleasant dampness.  A light breeze completes the comfort. Let's pick up after my last sleep - the flight to Kuala Lumpur (aka KL). Before this trip I'd taken to following the major Malaysian (country code MY, used hereafter) English language papers.  The Star (KL) and the New Straits Times (Penang, I think).  Just to get a feel for the place, people, and politics.   It was generally reaffirming and positive.  They're not super informative and  let's call them 'patriotic.' I saw a few letters to the editor re KUL also known as KLIA.  HKH/HKIA (Hong Kong), SIN (Singapore), ICN (Seoul) are major international airports.  3 I truly have enjoyed.  I think SYD and MEL are of simalar regional importance too and of the ...

 Exactly how did I get them?  Let's recap. Wednesday (times PDT) 0700 - I woke up in San Jose.  (Yeah, I know the way...) 1030 - Wonderful brother dropped me off at SFO 1330 - I was seated in a wonderfully empty row in Premium Economy on JAL 057 1335 - We took off; I fell asleep. 1530 - I awoke in time to have a meal Let's chat about that.  I believe in trying the local food when possible and within reason.  Choosing reheated tempura, reheated on a bed of rice, no longer qualifies as within reason.  Mushy is an understatement.  Ketchup?  NOOOO!  (We'll be delving into the joy of "kecap" later on this trip.  Man, the Brits outdid themselves with the "emblandishmentification" on that one!) The soba noodles were ... unremarkable?  The salad was ... iceberg lettuce?  (Ranch dressing??? That's not Japanese.  Especially if it's Heinz!)  The garbanzo and cuke salad was bland but a blast to succeed in eating with chop sticks....

 OK, first things first, yes...my feet hurt.  And, it's HOT here. So what? 21 hours on airplanes - even with compression sleeves/socks (I used each) will result in cankles.  Man or woman.  It's just gonna happen.  It's happened to me before and gonna happen again.  No, they're too ugly (and white) to share with you.  That's for your own good.  Got it?  Good.  Move on. The heat is bad - mostly because it's not a dry heat.  And, at less than 4 degrees (north, as if that matters)  of latitude (that's less than 240nm for you weirdos - convert to statute miles or kilometres on your own)the sun is brutal on a balding pate (redundant?)  Note to self: the hat is on the door nob for a reason - wear it, no matter how hot it is, the sunburn would be fatal. But there is a strong breeze.  And, it will drop to about 75-80F at night.  I've got AirCon (as the cool ones say).  And, I knew -  a priori -  it would be...

 Here we go again! I'm currently seated in the Cathay Pacific (CX) lounge at SFO awaiting my JAL flight. 12 hours to Tokyo 6 hour wait 7 hours to Kuala Lumpur (KUL) 6 hour wait  1 hour to Kuantan, Pahan, Malaysia First, THANKS to Dan for the drop off at SFO.  His help is always appreciated.  Today, especially so. Not much to say today and limited battery, so I'll be quick. The JAL folks steered me to the BA lounge - before arrival and on the boarding pass.  But that lounge is crowded with 2 JAL and a some BA flights.  The savvy traveler knows (1) the system and (2)the CX lounge is better (especially the made to order noodle bar!)  So I'm a happy OneWrorld alliance Sapphire member eating excellent Dan Dan Noodles in a very quiet lounge.   WIN! I'm looking forward to... * Great food * Amazing Hospitality * Sweating off a dozen kilos in the excessive heat of Malaysia More to come..... Jim

 They put together a nice retrospective of my trip for me. Ecuador '23

 (In a Museo del Pernil* in Quito.  In Spanglish with a lot of GoogleTranslate.) Me:  In South America you call it Castilian; in the North we call it Espanyol. Server 1: It's all the same. Me: Nope, take the word: Guagua (pronounced "waawaa!").  In some places it's a bus in others it's a baby.  They make the same sound.  Server 2: Really??? Me:  Yes, my ex-wife used to go crazy when nobody in United States of (both - America and Mexico) would understand what she wanted when she asked for a Bombilla Them: What?  Eventually when they point at a few lights, I figure it all out.  A light bulb (pointing)   Me: (Mime a drinking straw.) Them:   Ahhhhhh. Me: Like Piscina and Alberca (two words for 'swimming pool.')  Server 2:  Looks up bombilla on the internet.  It's used in Peru,Bolivia, and some other places.   Ahh, I understand. Server 1: (Walking away, addressing Server 2) Somos Vecinos . * Exactly as m...

  Washington Post 09June23...It's like they know Monday is coming. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/09/ellis-rosen-cartoon-caterpillar-butterfly-email/

 And, exhausted. I truly hate driving in L.A. now. And, the generally nice LAX Flyaway was a shitshow today.  Still, 10 days of parking and $20 in bus fare is ABSURDLY cheap long term oarking.  For anywhere I've ever lived.  At anytime as an adult.  $60 all in.  Wow. Bedtime. Thanks for reading. Much more to come in the next few days. Somos Vecinos, Jim

  ( Do you know where you're going?  What's your polestar?) (Old sailors love their sextants.) (Closed until at least August.  The home of the dissolved Assembly.) (Aristotle weeps) (No, no fucking way.) (Wow, just wow.  And, this elevation sucked a lot less than it would have last week.  4,000m+  Still left me winded.  And, awestruck.) (Doors seem to pull me in.) (Contra the advice of Lyle Lovett, do NOT 'step inside this house.' 'The House of Grief') ($5, including the first, and best, beer in memory) (I turned the corner and just stopped.  This picture fails to capture the moment. Nonetheless,..) (It feels to me as this captures my experiences here quite well.  Don't ask; I could never explain.  It just does._

 Literally. (Served first, I thought it would be the entire meal.) (But, lo!,  then came the eggs!) I'm just here to answer the REALLY BIG questions, y'all.  Nothing else really matters.  

 "Asides" will be occasional series; my ramblings on subjects that are dear to me and of importance to the blog but not a destination.   Modern photography is amazing.  The computational stuff has made it VERY easy to get a stunning exposure. Whereas on used to have to think about how and how much light to let hit the film, no one needn't.  All.  The move away from chemicals to pixels made that not just possible but inevitable.  The old trade of was to choose between a fast burst through a wide opening (a small aperture (f-stop)  = large opening) or a long exposure (slow shutter speed). Short exposures with a wide open iris would stop motion - think sports. Tiny apertures with long exposures would create amazing depth of field (how much of the picture is in fine detail, moving along an axis away from the film) - think Ansel Adams.  (And his colleagues in the f/64 club.) Assuming that was done right, there was still room to screw up.  In ...

~1330 I asked a pharmacist for some help.  I mis-steped the other day and immediately felt it in my back.  NSAIDs were not cutting it.  It's going to take a massage or two when I get home. Muscle relaxants should help.  I hope. And, I am definitely forcing myself to rest. ~5k steps so far (not a reliable count) but only 12 zone minutes. Going slow and improved cardio combined.   Breakfast (from my favorite ladies at Mercado Central, why go elsewhere?)  Roast pork, potato, and mote.  YUMMY.  And a guanabanana (no, I have no idea what it is) "shake" ( Batido ).  Happy, happy, happy! This stuff is so damn good.  I wanted 'fried' pork but it was not in stock so I went with what I know.  "Fried" is actually braised first and then seared in its own fat.  I know it from Bolivia and love it. Really, pork rules.  It just rules the proteins completely.  Sorry, cattlemen (I do have friends in the dairy business; milk is the...

"Saturday In The Park" Saturday in the park I think it was the Fourth of July Saturday in the park I think it was the Fourth of July People dancing, people laughing A man selling ice cream Singing Italian songs Eh Cumpari, ci vo sunari Can you dig it? (Yes, I can) And I've been waiting such a long time For Saturday (Chicago was the first band I saw live.) Today is Sunday.  It's the 4th...of June.  I don't care.  I dig it. In the summer of 1980, yes 43 years ago, I watched some old dudes playing bocce in Assisi. Sundays, parks, old dudes, somethings never change.  Nor should they. 

 Remember, false precision and not MediCal instrumentation    Can you guess when I got here? 

 It's a lava flow, too.

Quito, ~1545 Exhaustion is setting in and I'm doing my best to pay attention.  Honest, I am.  It's also about accepting limits and being smart.  That's very hard to do here.  Elevation is tough on a fat (but thinning) and balding dude. Today's sole destination:  Science! (For kids) My two favorite museums, in the world, are Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry and Muenchen's Deutsches Museum. [Immediate digression, to live in the moment: While it has rained here everyday, it sounds like a doozy is about to blow in.  Thunder for the first time.  Big temp and light drop just now.  Glad I'm blogging rather than logging footsteps  at this moment.   I hear the stores shuttering; I do not hear the touts.  Oh, shit... 20 minutes later... I now have 3 bananas, some cookies and chips - perfect for a rainy night dinner.  Plus about 4 litres of various fluids.  Hydration matters at elevation. Supermercado Santa Maria must be...