A Story of Staying, of the Best Hosts

Posted on 19 November 2014

I am currently sitting in a hotel in Boise, Idaho. Hotels confuse me; they put me on edge. I feel kind of like an imposter. “We need to see your ID and your incidentals.” —My what? And I feel isolated. I have an enormous room, bigger than my soon-to-be apartment, and I linger in just one corner. I know there are people around but everyone is in their own rooms, their own strange bubbles. And all hotels look kind of the same. Last night I was in Laramie, Wyoming. The night before, Kansas City, Missouri. All entirely different cities, but I wouldn’t know from my lodgings. This is a result of me rapidly moving—as in, actually moving, my car is packed up with my…

Categories: Travel

Tagged: baltics, friends, hosts, lithuania, music, patrick wolf, travel, vilnius

A Momentary Change of Tune: the Liebster Award

Posted on 14 May 2014

Apologies for my absence, but I have been traveling! More on that soon, but in the meantime I wanted to gratefully accept KleesButterfly’s nomination for the Liebster Award. I’m going to break the rules a bit though–for I say rules should go if they hinder improvement. Or, you know, my self expression at this very moment. So, I’m taking the Liebster Award rules I was given and combining them with rules I have seen elsewhere to generate my own little acceptance post. About the Award Blogs with under 200 followers nominate one another to answer eleven questions about themselves, and increase interaction between new bloggers. To the people I’ve nominated: the rules are that you make a post about the award; answer the 11 questions…

Categories: Life, Travel

Tagged: finland, flowers, iceland, liebster award, life, memes, patrick wolf, travel

Silly Decisions Can Be The Best Ones

Posted on 2 February 2014

It’s cold, it’s dark, and I’ve been standing outside for almost eight hours. My friend Sara is sitting on my feet in an attempt to provide some smidgen of additional warmth on top of the thin canvas of my Chuck Taylors. My thin, white jacket – more cardigan than coat – is meaningless at this point. I’m fidgeting, bouncing, and my poor left arm has turned partially blue. Crazy girls standing out in the London winter without proper attire, I’m solidly among them. An instigator, in fact. It was actually a very good decision, contrary to appearances. December 2007 was a month of hastily made, silly choices, which filled me with an excitement that proved too much for the confines of my dorm room.…

Categories: Life, Music, Travel

Tagged: cold, concerts, england, friends, life, london, music, owen pallett, patrick wolf, travel, united kingdom

The Irreversible Act of Leaving

Posted on 15 December 2013

If you venture elsewhere, almost inevitably you must leave. You may return, but your actions were irreversible, cannot be undone, for the place you left never will be exactly the same for you again. Time passes, things change, you change. And when you love an experience, a place, or just simply know that it has shaped you, departure feels like doors closing slowly. The world has many, and they won’t all stay open for you. Seinäjoki, Finland, June 2007. I clung to my friend tightly at the train station. It hurt so much to leave. Finland was my place; I had found it. We had enjoyed the long, bright days and twilight nights of Provinssirock, the revelry of Juhannus, and the tranquil comfort of…

Categories: Life, Travel

Tagged: austin, concerts, england, finland, huanchaco, Kenya, leaving, life, london, music, patrick wolf, Peru, seinäjoki, texas, united states

“Kill the King, Crown the Witches”

Posted on 29 September 2013

On April 24, 2009, I attended a Patrick Wolf concert in St. Petersburg. For those who aren’t familiar, Patrick is an English musician who is difficult to pigeonhole in a specific genre. He plays a wide variety of instruments and has a rather devoted fan base, which includes me. I considered myself very lucky: this was his first concert in the city and the venue was a short five-minute walk from my homestay—a far cry from the plane ride from Kentucky to London I took to see him previously. Fact is, I was very lucky but not because Patrick Wolf for once played a concert in the city where I was located at the time, but because I had the opportunity to attend his…

Categories: Life, Music, Society, Travel

Tagged: concerts, deviance, LGBT, music, patrick wolf, pushkinskaya 10, Russia, Saint Petersburg, society