Ease of sliding into the holidays unbound by threats of shopping/fruitcake/Rudolph/menorahs/gefilte fish/time shares.

Sunset early.

Miss Ryan lots.

Love everybody I know.

Fighting some kind of illness, perhaps caught from Harker, or Ph0sphene.

Worried about a few people.

Excited about the coming year.

Seeing the Avetts with Nefashal & Ph0sphene on the 29th!!!!!!!!

Miss Raleigh lots.

Season's Greetings to all. Hope you're all warm, snuggly, feeling good about yourselves, and relaxed. If not, have yourself a bourbon/bubble bath/blowjob.  Kisses!

Union Square:
"When you gonna start dancin'? You love it!"
"You two look like a couple of marvelous (expletive deleted)!"

4:08 am:
Up very, very early today, but it feels good. I love waking up with the city, and sunrise is usually something I see when I'm either walking to work (Mexico) or when I haven't slept yet (Guilt), so it's nice to have good conversation, fresh coffee, and some decent (albeit ridiculously 90's) music to wake up with.

Sunday Evening:
Cooking tomorrow, and I will OWN those potatoes.

Explorer:
Being un-rooted feels good, but it makes me view my connections differently. Almost all the people I love are rooted, and have a hard time understanding what I'm doing, but they love and trust me anyway.

As a person who comes from the world of rooted-ness, I still make little nests and home bases regardless of where I am, so it helps while I'm there but makes me feel like I'm cuckolding the city when I leave.

Weather:
It was a high of 70 yesterday, and drizzly gray. Today it is a high of 49 and (expected to be)sunny.

"Comment and I'll give you a letter; then you have to list 10 things you love that begin with that letter. Afterward, post this in your journal and give out some letters of your own."

1. Perpendicular lines
2. Parallel universes
3. Papaya
4. Personal space violations
5. Panting
6. Painting
7. Practice
8. Pandemonium
9. Pinkie toes
10. Pressing my luck

HAH. So many other wonderful things which begin with the letter P. I have friends whose names begin with the letter P, but couldn't list them or they'd be the whole list and people would get offended if their names weren't on and it became a whole Myspace top 8 thing that really freaked me out and so I chose Papaya.

Bless him, but that's an image that will forever be branded on my frontal lobe.

I've been having an excellent time. Walking around lots, not spending any money, and we're not wanting for anything. Got to cook tonight, kicked the ass of some vegetables for la otra vegetariana and myself. Ben did a wonderful job on the meat eaters..for the meat eaters. Whatever. I'm loving being back up north. Went alone to the city today, which was really good. Got to meet Ben's new friend, who I love. Have been reconnecting and making new connections, and am really really really happy.

It starts.

Today, Ben and I are taking off for a tour of the northeast. I'm super excited (clap clap) and can't wait to see everybody. We'll be staying for a little while with our very gracious hosts Casi & Jarrod who have put me up COUNTLESS times during my dalliances above the Turnpike. They've put up with weird boyfriends, ridiculous hours, short attention spans, a propensity for losing things, and numerous other accoutrements of..life as a product of the early 80's. Actually, I know what to blame all the eccentricities on, and it ain't the 80's.

I love road trips. Though I hate driving, typically, I do enjoy riding in the car on major highways and traveling over hundreds of miles because of all the fantastic things I see and experience. It will be a good time. Aside from the main leg up I-95, we'll be visiting New England which I've never been to. Hopefully we'll get to go to the freak show in Philly because my cousin tells me there's a killer museum with a lady who was buried for a long time and her body turned to SOAP. That is really awesome. Also, the other museums of good old NYC will be great as always, plus watching Ben eat NY pizza is a treat indeed. I've never seen someone so connected to his food before, it's like some elaborate ballet of particles and napkins, perfectly choreographed in that Post-modern art style of dance.

My phone has unlimited text messaging, so if yours doesn't, tell me right away or I will text you a gazillion times to tell you about the twin old ladies hanging out by the gas station in Alberta or some shit.

NaNoWriMo has gone NOWHERE. I'm at 4,500. Just not into it this time, too scattered and not enough motivation at all. Don't care. Perhaps next year. So, congrats early to all you little overachievers who've managed to meet your deadline (I'm looking atchoo, Quietlywatch).

If you live above the Mason-Dixon, expect a drop-in (with advance notice). If you live below, I'll be back down after Christmas (circa 27th, I believe). If you feel like visiting the great north, let me know and we'll try to swing something to see ya. If you know Ben, check his Myspace for the details, because I'm kind of flying by the seat of my pants these days.

Reading Rabbit Redux by John Updike, after that I'm onto a Faulkner binge, and after that I'll smooth it out with Hemingway for good clean balance. Later I will attempt Underworld, because I'm a bit of a masochist.

Here's wishing you all a happy holiday season. Though I am opposed to the whole gift thing, and the need to proclaim your love for one another one day a year, I do wish that you all make it through the various family hells, work insanities, and shopping disasters sure to follow,

If you don't have my new number yet, send me an e-mail. That still stands as a decent way to communicate. Oh, and Mister Lives in the Boonies, I'm still waiting for your number via e-mail. We have a lot of catching up to do!

Love,
Leora

I am listening to my new favorite band Deadboy and the Elephantment. So much rocking. So much!

I had an awesome day yesterday.  I walked around for HOURS listening to music, kicking all the leaf piles I could find. I actually skipped down Oberlin for 30 minutes straight, punctuated by twirls in the air. I have ridiculous amounts of energy, I feel so full of joy. This is incredible for me because November is usually my worst month of the year. However, yesterday, I just kept walking and dancing in the street, grinning like a crazy person, all by myself. When  I got off the plane on the 5th and my dad asked me what the most profound thing I learned was, I thought for a moment and told him "I got the fuck over myself." All the nastiness aside, it was an amazing experience and I'm super proud of myself for doing it, but mainly I realized how little so many things really are, including myself, and it was a really liberating realization. Since then, I've been walking on air. I'm not trapped by anything, I'm not holding myself back, and that means I can skip down the street and not give a shit if anyone driving by thinks I'm mad. I simply don't care. Conversations happen and I throw myself into what I really want to talk about, no more talking around subjects or implications. I refuse to do anything I don't want.

I am very sorry if I haven't called you yet. Things are hectic and I'm trying to give myself some semblance of structure in which I can function happily, and this means that I may decide to wander around by myself instead of calling, but I will. I have a new phone now, which means I can call people, though I may not have your number if it was stored in my old phone. If I haven't called you yet, it probably means I don't have your number, so send me an e-mail with the number and I promise to call you when I'm not traveling or dancing in the street. Please know that I would very much like to talk with you and climb buildings and trees with you. I also don't screen calls anymore, so if you have my number, call me and I will answer, regardless of what I'm doing.

Those were many long sentences.

I watched "Being There" last night. What a fantastic movie. I recommend it to anyone. Netflix it, guys, or borrow it from a friend, or whatever means you need to take. It's great.

Today I will work for a little while, hang out with Ben, and walk around a bunch more because I'm rediscovering my city and falling in love with it and my feet all over again. It's so amazing that I am safe walking around by myself. Security was something I took for granted before leaving. Not anymore.

<table width=500 style='border:1px solid black; background-color:white; color:black;'><tr><td><img src='http://triggur.org/dearsanta/santa.gif'><font size=6>Dear Santa...</font><br><br><b>Dear Santa,</b><br><br>This year I've been busy!<br><br>In May I helped <lj user="imtheknife"> hide a body <font size=-3 color=gray>(-173 points)</font>.  In July I bought porn for <lj user="roete_ananas"> <font size=-3 color=gray>(10 points)</font>.  In April I donated bone marrow to <lj user="glennantm"> in a life-saving procedure <font size=-3 color=gray>(300 points)</font>.  In August I gave <lj user="talythius"> a life-saving blood transfusion <font size=-3 color=gray>(50 points)</font>.  Last month I farted in an elevator <font size=-3 color=gray>(-6 points)</font>.  <br><br>Overall, I've been <b>nice</b> <font size=-3 color=gray>(181 points)</font>.  For Christmas I deserve <b>a shiny red ball</b>!<br><br><blockquote>Sincerely,<br>pixie3283</blockquote></td></tr></table><br><form action='http://triggur.org/dearsanta/'>Write your letter to Santa!  Enter your LJ username:<input type=text name=uname size=20><input type=submit value='Write Santa!'></form>

In other news, my life is a swirling pool of NEW THINGS.

Changing, changing. I can feel it in the wind, walking down the street..by street, I mean HILLSBOROUGH, because I'm back in Raleigh! And not about to talk about politics.

If anybody needs to get in touch with me, e-mail me because I don't have a phone. However, I can check my mail very regularly and keep myself near phones to borrow to call you back.

HEATHER & NICK: LET ME SEE THE BABY!!!!!!!!!! And, you know, it'd be alright to see you guys too. :)

JAMES: If you wanna talk, you know what to do.

CASI & JARROD: We'll be up there within the time between right after Turkey Day and X-mas. <ROCK FIST>

PAT & FRITZ: We'll be down yer way sometime right before Spring, I b'lieve, but I'm not sure yet. I'll tell you as the time approacheth so you can decide if you feel like having squatters for a few days or suggesting another place to crash.

GUINN: Will I see you this X-mas?

EVERYBODY ELSE IN RALEIGH/Cary: It's been awesome to see you all so far. Your faces have been making me feel a gazillion times more like this is real. If I haven't seen you yet, e-mail me. If you and I had some weird something that makes you feel like you can't see me, please forget about it because I have, and if not, let's talk about it. Life's too short. Unless that weird something was me saying "Don't call me. Ever again. Seriously." In which case, I still mean it.

Yes, there is a nasty struggle going on right now in Oaxaca. Yes, people were unjustly killed while defending their rights. Yes, one of them happened to be a white guy from the US. But, so were 11 other people who happened to be Mexicans.

It is important to note that in many places around this country, there are riots and rebellions, and people are dying unjustly defending their rights. The only reason this rebellion made it to the news was because a white US citizen died in the process.

In other news:
Anybody know anybody who wants an unused uterus? I mean, it's practically mint condish, hasn't been knocked up once. A doctor declared it, upon it's last visit, to be a "very nice uterus." Fully-functional (sometimes to an irritating degree, which is why it's owner has decided to part with it), available to a good home.

More news: Did you know that the vast majority of women in Mexico use pads, not tampons? There's like, one brand available and it pretty much sucks. Or, rather, doesn't.

I'm coming home.

I've been mentally saying goodbye to Mexico, which has been painful. This feels like the whiplash I was half expecting. Leaving Raleigh was hard, and then I adjusted to Mexico like only a person with well-refined survival skills can, very quickly. I learned the language, scenery, pace, style, culture, colors, music, laughter..I wash everything by hand, take 3 minute showers, am not afraid of dropping the runs in a public toilet, pee in places I wouldn't leave a dead body, have punched complete strangers for trying to touch me/steal my money, have learned alburres (double-sense words and jokes), argue prices in Spanish, know what all kinds of dead animals look like after a week or so, have slept on the floor in 30 degree weather with no blanket, hitchhiked (don't tell mom), sang and danced in a drum circle for money, played drums for free travel, have done many things that were very difficult, and now I don't know if I'll be able to adjust to life where things are all provided and clean and easy.

How much has Raleigh changed? I know a few people will be gone, people I wasn't expecting to be gone when I got back, and one who will never come back from where he is. I'll miss him too much to talk about. What else? Construction, friend groups, my grandma.

My grandma's apparently been having strokes. Why did it have to be the brain? Why couldn't it have been the body? I can deal with hospitals, IVs, home nurses, etc., but I can't deal with her forgetting shit and possibly us. It's the cruelest thing in the world. She loves talking, but now she can't remember what she did or who she saw, she forgets words, names, places. This is going to be awful.

In other news, I have two very exciting things to look forward to. My Favorite Person, who I will show My Raleigh to, and make collages with, and play musical hangman with; and a fascinating and liberating journey with my best friend, more travel, more learning, life without boundaries.

I don't have Plans. I don't have a place I want to settle, or a career I want to tie myself to, nowhere to grow roots and that is a good thing. Scary, but why? It's not scary, really, evolution is just strange.

I'm rambling. I'll see you all soon, we'll get beers and go urban rockclimbing and I'll see how much you, me, and my city have changed.

It is 6:33 pm in Mexico and I've been drinking!


We now return you to your regularly-scheduled programming.

I <3 wasting Livejournal space.

WEEP IN GREATER VOLUME, PUNY MORTAL!

Ah, I know, it's been quite some time. Not gonna waste any with excuses, though, here I am.

News here:

Right now, in downtown Metepec (about 20 mins walking distance from my apartment) there is a festival known as Quimera. It is an arts & culture festival, and it is amazing. I now have a large group of friends who play in drum circles and have dreadlocks. I don't feel alone here anymore, which is strange, because I had gotten so accustomed to it. I had friends, but they were all different groups. Now I've got one big circle, and it's marvelous. The thing that sucks is that I'm leaving. I get on a plane for Raleigh on November 5, after Day of the Dead in Michoacan.

I can't even begin to talk about how adjusted I've become to this place. I keep remembering these things I've read and heard about people who get released from prison or sent home from the war, and then long for the bars or the bombs.

It's not been that bad, really, I'm very happy. However, several experiences have allowed me to be more ready for the US. A while ago, I was groped on the street. A guy ran past me in front of the main entrance to my apartment, grabbed my thigh, and said "Nice legs," in Spanish. Two weeks ago, I was walking down a very safe street near a large intersection in the middle of the afternoon, when I was accosted from behind. This guy shoved me against a fence, pinned me, and groped EVERYTHING. When I finally found a way to get free and try to beat the shit out of him, he spun and ran away. I was too shocked to say or do anything, so I just threw up right there in the street. Since then, I've been dressing like a boy. A few days later, I was walking through a pretty sheisty area of town, and I felt a guy trying to rob me, so I turned around and clocked him. Square in the mouth.

There's this thing called Tianguis, in Mexico, all the cities have it. It's a huge market day, when people from surrounding pueblitos come and sell stuff they've made, produce, goods, etc. It's really cheap, completely unorganized, and crowded as hell. In Toluca, it's one of the biggest in the country, and it's located right against the bus station. Bus travel is one of the main ways people get around here, so on Fridays you can't get anywhere. Traffic is ungodly, and it's pretty dangerous. The government decided to just move it near the airport, but without warning. So, now there's a major standoff between police and the Tianguistas, vendors, impoverished people, and several separatist/anarchist groups. There are major protests and it's insane.

I'm freaking out about coming home, but I can't wait to see you guys. I'm going to be traveling a lot, come the end of this year/beginning of next year, but I'll have a few months to catch up. I can't explain how much I've missed all of you, and I'm sorry I'm leaving again, but it's something I've got to do. I don't want to wind up resenting my life, I can't settle yet, and Raleigh's such a settling city.

What's been new in your worlds?

...

I can't really.

I don't know.

Goodbye, Raleigh.

I'm moving to Mexico on Thursday. I've been partying to say goodbye to people. Here are some pictures!

( PICTURES! )

It's been good to see everybody, thanks to everyone who's come out so far!! I'll be super busy during the day today and tomorrow, but tonight & possibly Wednesday evening I'll be out, so if I haven't seen you yet give me a call. I've got to spend today moving most of my stuff to my parent's place, because I'm only taking 2 suitcases & 2 carry-ons w/me to Mexico. Tomorrow's dedicated to cleaning.
Oh, I'm gonna miss you guys. :*(
When I come back in October, the plan will be to save enough money to move to New York. Yeee!

and took a picture of the moon.

So, missed the bus today. Goddamned alarm clocks. I'm actually leaving tomorrow, arriving in NY around the same time as I was scheduled to today. This means I have time for laundry and other assorted chores before I leave, so it's actually worked out for the better. Unfortunately, I will miss Jarrod's birthday party, so we'll have to throw another one. :) I'll cook, to make up for the travel jinx.

The party is officially Saturday, May 27th. It will be a going away party for me and now Michelle as well, because she's moving to Greensboro in June. This thing is going to be massive. I'd really love to see everybody, so please make an effort to come out and say goodbye. If you're gonna be out of town (which I know several people already will be), we need to plan to hang out before/after my party to make up for it.

Financial woes seem to be ebbing away, which is a very good thing. My car is on its way to being sold, which is really good. Also, the work I've been doing for Anole is paying off, and there's more on the way.

The rest of this month is reserved for seeing people and cleaning/packing. I'll continue to be a busy little bee, and keep myself busy so I don't actually realize that I'm moving to another country until I'm on the plane.

I will miss you all so much. I love you guys more than I probably tell you, and I wish that were not the case. Either way, please know that I do love and appreciate your presense in my life, I grow and change thanks to you people. :MASSIVE GROUP HUG: I don't know how to word this so it's not trite and cliche, but I mean it. Thank you for being in my life.

RALEIGH KIDS: So, first of all, the party is probably gonna be the last Saturday in May. That's how I'm trying to swing it. It may be this coming Saturday, so I'm not sure, I've got to talk to Michelle about it first. In any case, I'll keep you all posted via LJ, phone, and the myspace if I have to.
If I know you, I expect you there, having a good time.
NEW YORKERS: I'm trying to get to NY. I might leave Thursday and come back Sunday. All depends on money. It's Jarrod's birthday, and I haven't seen him or Casi in a while.
FLORIDIANS: As I will be relatively close to you, and will surely have a substantial amount of vacation time and be saving tons of money whilst working and living (rent-free) in Mexico, I will try to arrange a trip up to see you. I miss you dearly.
VIRGINIANS: G, it is indeed a crime that we are so close geographically and don't see one another except in freaking New Jersey, which is far away from both of us. This should be remedied either before I leave or after. If you want to come to Mexico, it's cheap as Hell and easy to find an English teaching job..
My life has suddenly been made easier, as I've sold the car. Now I have money! This makes me happy. And it makes my hair pick my nose.



Oh my, it's just started storming outside. I think I'll go play in it.
Happy Mother's Day to all your moms, tell them I'll see them later. ;)

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