Open letter to…

…people who travel with me on public transportation.

Or just travel in general. It doesn’t have to be with me.

First off, if you sit down on a long distance coach, and see that the unused seat next to has been left fully reclined by the previous sitter, fix it. I really don’t care if your bag is tired and needs to rest its head, I don’t care if your child’s imaginary friend is feeling sick that day and can’t sit up straight.

If there is a lack of butt touching fabric, there should be no seat back touching my knees.

Along the same line, if you are sitting in front of me, and recline your chair far enough to hit my legs, don’t start bouncing up and down to try to make it go further. I cannot suck my thighs back into my torso. Besides that, you are not my honey, babe, sweetie, nor sweet cheeks. You are a stranger. Get off of my lap.

If you have some sort of entertainment device, be it phone, game, or movie of some sort, then enjoy it! You brought it with you, so, please, entertain yourself silly. YOU brought it with YOU. Entertain YOURself. Let me sleep, let me write, let me think. I don’t want to hear your movie, TV show, Candy Crush game, or music. I hate it if it’s music I like, I abhor it if it’s music I don’t like. If I have to listen for a few hours straight, I will do something drastic. I will walk past you and cut the cheese. I will fall asleep in a way that I know will make me snore. I will sit behind you and breathe loudly and creepily through my mouth. Put earphones in. Make it quieter. Keep it out of my life.

If you’re a traveler that gets hungry along the way, please, snack away. With your mouth closed, burps contained, and odors limited. Those who know me also know that I call burps air-vomit. They don’t sound great, they smell funky, and have no place drifting past my face. I understand that you think its funny. I understand that you find it relieving. It is a bodily function that produces odor, and in a public place, that sort of thing belongs in a bathroom of some sort.

On that note, I finish. It is time to go to bed. I continue the job application process tomorrow.

Cheers.

Long time no see

So it’s been exactly a month since I’ve come back home, and that time a fair amount has happened. There’s been a snow storm or two, I’ve visited the natural history museum, gone to lake placid, gotten the news that Matt is going to the air force in February, started a temp job, finished a temp job, applied to lots of other jobs, and to round it off, had a nice, earth shaking arguments. All in all, I think it’s been a well rounded month. It’s been like the education that liberal arts colleges say they give, just in real life, and I didn’t have to pay 50,000 a year to experience it. Actually, I’ve just signed up for an online course about nuclear engineering that starts in March, with exams and everything. If anyone has a copy of Nuclear Engineering Theory and Technology of Commercial Nuclear Power that they’re willing to send me, I will be willing to return candy and chocolate and lots of gratitude. You know you want it (but not in the Robin Thicke way).
I’ve been thinking about social media and blogging, vlogging, etc, and I’ve come to a few realizations. I will never be a Twitter hound, despite the fact that I actually do have an account. Maybe I’ll actually install Twitter on my phone, try again… But I do believe it will be a fail. I enjoy blogging, but I will never be a good enough writer to actually gain a good amount of readers. Although videos are cool, hamming it up to a camera is hard for me. I like instagram, but I’ve taken and posted one selfie to date (pics with Frodo don’t count). And I pretty much only use Facebook for messenger and the occasional Facebook stalk (hey, you have to know who you are dealing with. It’s not like I mail horse heads to people’s houses. EVERYONE DOES IT, OKAY?). All in all, I’ve discovered that I’m a failure of a “modern day, connected young adult.”
I’m perfectly fine with that.
Anybody who knows me a little better will tell you, I hate being in crowds, hate being in loud places, hate being overwhelmed with simulation. However, I live in New York. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but I have to deal with the aforementioned things every time I go outside. So when I’m away from it all, I like to actually feel reprieve from it. I don’t need it sneaking through on my phone, or through my computer.
Although I do like the YouTube culture. Don’t judge me with your reading eyes.
Anyway, this has turned into a brain fart. Here’s a picture of Frodo :

He had a crazy night.
Cheers.

Back to life

So I am back in the States, and it is cold, snowy, icy, and…well, it most certainly is much more. But maybe I’ll leave that for my notebook. 

I’ve never been much of a talker. I think it’s why I do so well while travelling on my own; in situations during which others would go stir crazy, I can deal, especially if I have my notebook. Not to say that I don’t enjoy company. I seek it out while I am travelling, as meeting new people is always a pleasure. I can talk small talk: weather, schools, work, all simple things. Anything more, and I am gone. A gray buzz fills my head, and it is all I can do to muddle my way through a conversation.

My inability to engage has always been a sore point for my parents. They don’t understand my problem with answering broad questions, why my head gets muddled and why my words trip over my tongue as they leave my mouth. They tell me that it will make my future difficult, lonely.

I know. And that’s why I am scared. It’s something that I’ve been running from. Being back here in the states makes me panic. Too much panic, and I go numb.

So now I guess this blog will be about figuring the rest out. Less of a travel diary, and more…well, I am not really sure what to call it. I’ll see what I can get myself involved in. See what atypical things New York has to offer. 

I’ll be more lighthearted next time. Cheers.

Hey there!

So, there is only one more post to fill in, but as of today, the Jameson and Book of Kells post is up! The last day post is being written. Check up on it and…
Cheers!

Poznań, ho. Also, commentary

Parents, relax and don’t call me out. You don’t have to agree.
So I’m on the road again, to visit the other half of my family residing in Poznań. It takes a little bit of traveling around the world to see how Poland is still… well, let’s say it’s a very big contrast to places like Sweden and Norway. In all of the European countries I’ve been to, if they invest in anything, is they’re transportation system. Central stations more closely resemble shopping malls than they do places of departure. In Łódż, the station, Kaliska, is currently dug up, with no direct connection between the intercity buses and trains. There is a building by the train platforms where you can by a ticket or a hot dog, but there is no way to know, other than asking at a window, which position your vehicle, whatever it may be, leaves from. Most other country’s stations rat I’ve been in, even the noncentral ones, have at least a departures board that someone updates manually. Not here. It may be only Łódź, which is currently trying to renovate the city with money it doesn’t have. I’ll see soon enough when I arrive in Poznań.
By the way, if you couldn’t guess, the renovations have been going on for forever.
I love this country, I like this city. It has so much potential, the foundations are there, and a large part of the younger generation is informed, energetic, and willing to bring the country back, make it relevant again. There is so much history here that outsiders just don’t know about.
They just don’t really have the resources.
But more has been done with less. So read about Poland’s involvement in the wars, about Pope John Paul II and why the country loves him, about the Warsaw Uprising… or, read about the lore, like the dragon in Wawel Castle… or about Oświęcim (Auschwitz) and Brzezinka (Birkenau). America has a stereotype of the Polish being stupid, only working in housecleaning and construction. I myself heard it when I was younger. So many influential people have come from this country. So, foreigners, the more  you call others ignorant, the more you show how silly you yourself are.
So be informed. I know that I also have a lot of work to do.
Cheers.

Old Polish textile factories…

… are the hip place to be! My family, on my mother’s side, lives in this little city called Łódź. Little is, of course, relative. It is the third largest city in Poland, and was a pretty big textile manufacturer before the second war. There are a few such abandoned factories around the city, but there is one that, if you ever visit, you will find of particular interest.
The place of wonder, magic, and the color orange is now pretty much the center of the city. The orange-ness of it all comes from the color of the restored bricks, and it makes the place quite noticeable. No matter what night of the week, it is full of people shopping, eating and movie watching. I myself spent two hours over a cup of Costa coffee, catching up with a friend.
By the way, a cup of UK Costa coffee buys you two cups in Poland.
And on that bombshell…. Cheers!

Who knew? Stories of travel

Rather, one story. Of waiting. And yelling children.
Parents, if your children can’t understand that sometimes they need to sit still for the good of all the people that are cooped up with them in a cramped, pressurized, flying vehicle, which in some circles is also called a plane, then you have two options: 1. Admit that they are too immature to travel, and leave them behind with family, or 2. Knock them out. I’m a fan of number two, considering that I am 23 and take it upon me to knock myself out. I’m a fan if Nyquil.
Fun tip, drink it once you’ve checked your bag, right before security. Even if you pass out at your gate, they’ll make sure they’ll get on your plane. They have to, once they get your property in their hands.
Anyway, because of a flight signal problem, caused by strong winds in London, all the flights were delayed. Mine was delayed by a glorious three hours.
And, well, that’s about it. I waited those three hours out, say through the three hours of screaming children on the plane, and made it to Poland in the dark. Right when it started snowing. And since my grandparents had decided to drive to pick me up, my grandfather had to drive us back in the snow.
In any case, I made it to Poland! I am fed, warm, and child free.
Cheers!

It’s my birthday! (For another half hour)

There’s been a ton I haven’t been writing, mainly because I’ve been coming home so tired… Vegging in front of the TV after dark is really killing my productivity. We left Galway on Saturday morning, and headed straight to the Cliffs of Moher. They deserve more elaboration, as does everything in this post, so that will be left to the drive tomorrow. We are headed into Dublin, and since we only need to take two major motorways, I will neither be gawking out the window, nor being a hopeless failure as a navigator.
In any case, there will be more elaboration on the Cliffs tomorrow, as well as the cabin (for real) that we stayed in during the weekend, the  disappointment of Travel Republic, Limerick, the Ring of Kerry, and Cork. For today, though, it’s my mother flippin’ 22nd birthday, and it’s another long day tomorrow… I have to save my energy for going crazy in Dublin!
Again, sorry for the low  productivity, but all stories will, ultimately, be told. Cheers!

…happy birthday to me…happy birthday to me…happy birthday, dear sowa…happy birthday to me…(slow clap and the sounds of snoring)

More pictures are up!

 

And happy day after Thanksgiving! The pictures can be found in the drop down menu, on pages titled Glasgow & Edinburgh, St. Andrews and the Scottish Highlands, and Giant’s Causeway. Peruse and enjoy. Cheers!

PS: More videos are up on the YouTubes.

 

Streets in Edinburgh are inexplicably slippy…

… and if a Scottish person would like to tell me why, it would be brilliant, as I’m quite keen on knowing.
Today was Edinburgh day and the city is, indeed, wonderful. It’s quite large, with an interesting mix of commercial and historical tourism. Once we have back the car at Edinburgh airport, we caught a bus back to the city center for a very cheap 3.50 GBP a person. The ride to Waverley Station was a quick one, no more than twenty minutes, and the subsequent walk to Edinburgh bus station would have been even quicker than the ten minutes it did take if we hadn’t gotten lost. We had decided ahead of time that we would leave our bags at the station, since we have currently just left for Glasgow from there, and so we rented a large, 12 hour locker for 8 GBP. Laden with nothing more than our documents and camera, we set off to explore.
The very first thing we did was try to find food. Matt and I both get tetchy when hungry and stressed, so in the interest of peace and happiness, we made it a priority.
That was accomplished quickly, and in good time we made our way to Edinburgh castle. It’s in the very center of the city, and is quite large and well preserved. It houses the Scottish Honors, which consist of a scepter, sword, and the crown jewels. The exhibits are well explained, and the museum curators put a visible amount of work into the paintings, illustrations, figures, and plaques that were displayed throughout the museum. As well they should, too; the castle ticket cost a whopping 16 GBP a person. We justified it with a, hey, we came all the way here, and we only need to see it once. Nevertheless, it was painful.
Interesting tidbit-along with the Honors, we got to see the stone that both the Scots and the Brits use at coronations, and that the Brits had nabbed for a while. We saw the coronation chair in Westminster, but no stone, so seeing it today rounded off the trip on the particular island quite nicely.
The rest of our time was spent wandering around. We walked a bit of a way to check out the Parliament building, wandered through a Christmas carnival, complete with rides, and went on yet another adventure to find cheap food. It was really a very enjoyable experience.
Now, though, I’m on a bus to Glasgow, and have a limited amount of time to grab worry free sleep tonight.
It’s going to be a long two days.
Cheers!