I'm back.
it's nice.
really don't know if I have the energy for burning man in two weeks.

yes, I'm actually looking forward to being home.  while toronto and new york are amazingly compelling, I've still found nothing in this wonderful country that's going to get me out of my cozy little life in SF.  the trip's been fun, and continues to be, but I'm a little tired. 
more stuff on vox

thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes, it was nice to get the love from all over the country, particularly being all over the country myself. 

new blog stuff on my vox blog.

stupid thing ate my last attempted posting.  grrr.  I'm moving to vox.
http://rubricizeme.vox.com/
see you there, maybe. 

so I'm home. or hometown anyway. yesterday kinda sucked. I don't like new jersey (sorry suzanne). but it's my fault for not planning a reasonable route; I forgot that when the background of the map is yellow instead of white, it means "urban area," which means traffic light after traffic light, and lots of cars that want to pull out in front of you. but I'm retarded/stubborn and refused to get onto the parkway until the very end, and only made the 6 o'clock ferry to delaware.

actually, the ferry was kinda cool. a bit surreal. apparently the wednesday 6pm ferry is the "family fun ferry," complete with a live band playing stereotypical island music (i.e. buffet), kids activities, and some guy dressed up as some sort of muppet-y pirate. the muppirate really freaked me out when I first saw it walking through the skyway between the ferry and the terminal -- I just catch a glance, from probably 200 yards, of some sports-team-mascot-looking thing, amongst a throng of people disembarking the ferry -- I thought I was seeing shit, it didn't make any sense to me at all. anyway, I ended up talking with this girl who was just visiting cape may for the weekend with her sister, she went to school at st. johns but was home for the summer in bethesda (?). we talked math (she was studying philosophy and so approaching it more historically than methodically) and other such bullshit. never discount the positive social aspects of smoking. and as they crack down on where you can and can't smoke, it only counts for more.

today was another basic slog, four lane highway most of the way, because I was too lazy to find something else, despite it being horribly boring. I'm promising myself I'm gonna try harder from this point forward. we'll see.

but it is nice to be home, see the folks, get bitten by my parents' dog (she was really spooked by the motorcycle, and when I jerked to shake off my riding suit she took a little defensive nibble -- good thing I was still wearing the suit; it's cool, we're friends now), have a home-cooked meal (which I actually also had on sunday night, thanks link!), and almost immediately become bored by the fact that I'm out in the country, 20 minutes away from anything. sigh.

my goal tomorrow is to find kids I knew from high school who actually still live around here. the only kids I've kept up with from high school (I think there's about three or four) all left. but apparently some did not escape the black hole. used to be, I could come back and slide back into some level of familiarity based on kids from the university that I still knew, but even the most determined slackers have finished up and gone (excepting two, one of whom apparently cannot leave the state after bouncing a check buying a gun, the other whom I intend to check up on).

regardless, as I said, it's nice to be home. but it's not my home. and that's good, actually.

if you have seen the movie "harold and kumar go to white castle" (or not) and have never actually been to white castle, PLEASE go at your very first opportunity because it is a fucking american institution (for better but mostly for worse) that everyone should experience., ideally not when sober.
oh yeah, it'll hurt tomorrow, but it's so good now..... god fucking bless america...

so tuesday I booked it from toronto to ny, roughly 550 miles, with a lunch stop, a wait for the ferry to wolf island, and a couple gas stops. 13 hours all told, and I still had energy enough to catch up with link over several drinks. he was leaving either wednesday or thursday (ended up the latter) so I wanted to make sure I got here before he took off...

staying with nick, who has graciously hosted me pretty much every time I've been out here. I don't think I could enjoy ny without a comfortable pad to retreat to. pretty much just been drinking and meeting random people the last couple days, since everyone I know here is working (too much). did finally get to spend some quality time at strand books; last time I was here my hostess dragged me in, bought a tshirt and then we left. sorta always felt phoney wearing that shirt.

spending the weekend here, then heading down to va to see the parents, stopping through PA to see greggie.

people really are better looking here. really.

god I love this city.  I realize that being in "vacation mode" makes me more receptive to the random shit that makes for great experiences, but there really is something to the whole cliche of canadians being so nice.  also, this neighborhood, kensington, is possibly the most integrated and diverse neighborhood I've ever seen, it is just absolutely fantastic.  watched the france/brazil match today, at a bar which has a strong portuguese element -- they were of course all elated at portugal's win over england, and were quite happy to be facing france instead of brazil in the semi-finals.  but it was just fantastic seeing so many different types of people, enjoying a soccer match, drinking beer on a nice day, fucking magic. 

last night I went to an electro party at this pretty chic club (sonic: $14 redbull vodka, fuck that, I'll do the $7 beers.  sigh.).  the first two DJs I caught actually played more what I wanted to here, the first headliner was a little on the droning/boring side, so I bailed for a better offer... 

wednesday night was rediculous fantastic, a bit less chichi place (footwork) doing a drum n bass night, and it was good stuff I was stoked to dance to (not too dark, pretty fun, very driving) -- it's been such a long while since I've danced to dnb on a good sound system.  they closed down around 3, which apparently was pretty early for a dnb night, but it was a wednesday after all.  somehow I ended up talking to these kids as soon as I walked out the door, and ended up going back to one of their places which happened to be not but 3 blocks from the hostel I'm staying at.  had a beer or two more, a wee bit of smoking, and then it was time to hit the pool; one of the kids has keys to a pool down the street, so I find myself skinny dipping a lap as it's just starting to get light out -- super fantastic, really.  got back to the hostel around 5:30am maybe, and was stoked to recall that I had some leftover pad thai in the fridge...  was able to in some way repay the graciousness of my hosts by spending a bit of  thursday afternoon working on her computer to clean out some adware and other assorted kruft. 

friday I was up early to ride up to newmarket, which was the nearest place (40km?) that could fit me in for some new tires -- had a slow leak in the rear, which I really can't complain about since I've done over 3000 miles on a plugged tire.  yeah, that was stupid, I should have gotten new tires before I left, but it all worked out. 

tonight they're having a BBQ at the hostel, so I think it'll be a more economic night, which is well needed.  today is canada day (like july 4 in the states), so the beer stores/LCBO's are closed (no corner liquor stores in ontario, you have to go to a state-run establishment), but fortunately the girl who runs the hostel (who is absolutely delightful, with a scottish lilt that kills me) was able to warn folks yesterday evening.  I bought a case and a half, hopefully that'll help a bit...

so I'm now planning on heading out either monay or tuesday; I got invited to a house party on sunday evening, we'll see how I'm feeling monday AM.  how I got invited to this party is a good story: I was at insomnia, a nice restaurant/bar which has a kitchen open to 2am, on tuesday night.  at some point, I feel someone giving me a friend rub/pat on the back, and I turn around and they are mortified -- "so sorry!  I thought you were someone else!"  no more than 20 minutes later, an arm around my shoulder and the same story -- so I end up talking to these girls, apparently from the back I'm a deadringer for one of their friends, what with the hat and the tight t-shirts.  anyway, I stop back in on thursday and see one of the girls (I guess she's the hostess there) and mention I've decided to stay the weekend, so she gives me a napkin/invite for her house party...  I cannot but follow up on that sort of randomness -- it's worked so well so far! 

just got into toronto, and managed to find the hostel I stayed at when I was here I think 5 years ago. I was able to namedrop the owner, who is the brother of the guy who runs/ran balmy gallery in SF and I think I even had dinner with both of them in SF 5 years ago; probably they would have let me park my bike in the back anyway, but it's nice to make connections. we'll see if he even remembers me if/when I see him tonight...

pretty uneventful since chicago. indiana I found strangely depressing, but was through it pretty quick. I took 12 and/or 20 out of chicago (after lake shore and south lake shore drive), avoiding the tollway. not because i'm cheap mind you, but because it's a pain paying tolls on a bike, wearing gloves, etc. anyway, that takes you through some more interesting parts of chicago. nothing oh shit scary, but definitely a bit more down at the heel. and I looove tank farms, yay natural gas!

camped in michigan last night, $30 all told between the vehicle permit and campsite. geez. seems like I could do a room somewhere for that. I also had the somewhat surreal experience of sleeping on a picnic table at a rest stop, in my helmet as suggested in something I read. it actually works pretty well, with head/neck support and a little noise reduction, though I have to imagine it looks kinda freakish; the article I read suggested writing a note, "I'm not dead, just sleeping," and putting that next to or on you.

pretty much slabbed it the whole way here, 69 to 402(?) to 401. at the border crossing it was clear what their main fears were:
- stolen vehicle (what state are your plates from?)
- guns (any weapons?)
- trying to make a canadian buck (what do you do? how much money do you have? how long before you have to be back home?)

I have to wonder how the questions are different for canadians going south. mebbe I'll find one here and ask.

sufficiently vague on where to from here. I've checked in for 2 nights, with the possibility of an extra night. considering going northeast from here and taking some ferries to get back into ny, as opposed to down through niagara. longer, but more scenic (more canadian), I'm balancing this against wanting to be in nyc before the 4th, and going through boston before that. I also want to ride through the adirondacks, and mebbe the catskills. we'll see. as I said to mitchy on email, not having a schedule is actually kinda therapeutic for me. I'll say it again, one's poison is another's cure.

wanna go dancing while I'm here, last time I was here it happened to be during Up, a house music festival... we'll see if I can get as lucky, now that I actually really like house...

getting ready to head out again, now I've got it in my head that I want to go to toronto, where I haven't been in 5 or 6 years, but a place I rather enjoyed. a bit wet this morning, we'll take it nice and easy, and hopefully leaving around 11am I shouldn't have to deal with too much traffic in chicago.

but before I go, and before I forget, I should braindump on what sort of trouble I've managed to get into...

lots of hanging out with marilyn of course, who has been a fantastic hostess, selflessly schlepping me (and Tom) around in her truly grandma grandma car, and ensuring I consume or experience all the requisite chicago things: chicago-style pizza, the green mill (al capone's old hangout), super jumbo polish sausage, the lounge at the top of the hancock tower, the magnificent mile, and drinking until 5am on a saturday. okay, actually SHE didn't make it until 5am on saturday, but someone else stepped in to pick up the slack, and for that I am eternally grateful.

saturday I went to pick up Tom from midway -- he basically flew out for the purpose of eating at his friend Elliot's restaurant, The Avenues at The Peninsula hotel. and since I'm on a motorbike, traveling lightly without the weight of nice clothes, he brought out stuff for me to wear ("tie and jacket highly recommended"). anyhow, we ran around the city Saturday in some neighborhood I can't actually remember the name of (went to the tee-shirt shop Strange Cargo, I declined to get my BASS TARD shirt made there, though), and then Marilyn dropped us off at Tom's hostel. we got dressed up all nice and talked about how phoney it all felt, but there's no better way to finish off an ill-fitting ensemble than with an unselfconscious smile, so off we went.

I cannot do the meal justice, not with the time alotted, nor with my lack of general cuisine vocabulary and understanding. but perhaps I can convey the magnitude of what we experienced; they brought us out menus, explained them, and then proceeded to tell us that we werer free to order from them, but the chef had a plan of his own if we were to allow him to run with that. and of course we did. Tom and I lost count during the meal, but on the way home we figured it was 17 courses, from a mushroom pudding, to a deconstructed caesar salad, rack of lamb with a "curiously strong" au jus, foielipops (foie gras lollipops with pop rocks. no shit, pop rocks, like from middle school, seriously), kangaroo, squab, a cold pea soup strained through a britta filter... unfuckingbelieavable. finished with a '74 port.

yes, I spent more on that meal than all foregoing meals on this trip combined, and probably the hotels too. and yes, it was worth it at twice the price. jardiniere can suck it. seriously. it's fuckin art, man.

yesterday we went to the intonation music festival, although not until rather late, so we only had the opportunity to see the last three bands. pretty much ignored dead prez -- I dunno what it is, but I can't handle the stridency, they simply are not, nor will ever be, public enemy -- along with most everyone else it seemed. but intonation is an indie-fest, and everyone was shifting over to the other stage for bloc party. not to be a dick (right), but I can't say I have particularly high expectation for their next album, and think they might be cursed as a band which can do phenomenal work in the studio but has a hard time replicating the experience live. also I was standing too far stage left, and some of their stuff is rather stereophonic. but they still almost made me tear up, some of their songs are that good.

I need to get packed and get a move on... but probably I'll add more tidbits later on as I recall and recompose on the ride. likely I won't be back online until I get to Toronto, for which I'm allowing two or three days.

thanks for reading.