November 25, 2013
thoughts on general life advice that was given to me at an earlier time and place
but you know actually, i agree with gustavo that everyone should work at some farm for at least a month every year so that later, when they come back to the city they don't take for granted the food they eat every day
and my granfather also was right about something. He always told me I should learn a trade, like carpentry, plumber or something so that I can always find work in any country, he said i should eat lots of fruits and should learn how to play an instrument, unfortunately i only listened about the fruits.
uncle said I should master the english language at a young age, it's the basics of the basics. and he was right of course, but when he said I was just teenager so didn't care much.
thanks to english i had access to all the information available on any subject, plus communication with people from everywhere, plus better job and life opportunities.
mother said i should finish highschool and that was the only thing she asked me, she said it would help me in the future to find a job. that one was wrong, but i understand her because she did it with the best intention. but i've had more than 40 jobs so far and not even once they asked me for highschool papers, and anyway i lost them many years ago
but actually mother said many many things, as i grew up with her, she was by far the most influential behavioral example i could observe while growing up, all the patterns both positive and negative, that worked and dint work for her, so i would make sure not to make the same mistakes again
or.. make them consciously, and knowing why you i made them
once i know why i make a mistake then i have 4 options:
accept it and face the consequences (I have a hang over because i drank a lot last night because I'm stupid)
disguise the fact that i made a mistake by justifying it or rationalizing it so it wont look like a mistake at all (I have a hang over because social conventions dictate that's the optimal way to socialize with your peers, either at school or at work, it's perfectly normal to drink till you drop and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that)
ignoring it (I didn't drink last night)
accepting it and learning from it (I drank too much last night as a way of coping either with some repressed emotions or with the fact I'm not so happy with my life or the circumstances around me. From now on I'll deal with my problems instead of looking for ways to temporarily escape them while harming my body at the same time)
November 22, 2013
whatever 18
what do you do for a living?
I'm a french maid
really? i don't believe you, you look like middle eastern or something
can be a french maid still
i don't think so, do you even french?
no, but i maid
do you even gee?
gee gee gee gee?
i knew someone like that
a girl i hope
yes a girl, she was lovely and i often wondered, how many people get to feel something like this? i know many people date a lot but they never get to feel this.
when i walk with her every guy envies me and when i tell them how i feel about her, they envy me even more. with her i dont need to look at any other girl because i have the best one already
you're like... so romantic...
have you ever felt like that before?
i don't think so, well maybe i did but she didn't feel the same way, so i had to just let it go and hope the feeling comes back again some day in the future
was she a nurse?
hey, how did you know?
i think you mentioned her before, when we were talking about the hospital
oh, that was a different story
about the hospital that gave you cancer i remember
yes, because there were people smoking everywhere
you mean at the entrance of the hospital?
yes and that gave me cancer
just that?
not just that.. hospital food was so bad, and didn't account for any of the daily recommended dose of anything, and instead of having treadmills or exercise machines, they had couches for people to sit, despite the hundreds of papers written and research done on the subject. they all found sitting was the worse you can do to your body, and still the hospital really wants you to take a seat. and wait sitting, and use sitting toilets even though they know it's very difficult to do No.2 in that position, and...
ok ok i get it i get it, you're a system buster, and you don't like the hospitals and you don't like anything
i liked that nurse
i know that's not true. you just like yourself
whatever
November 20, 2013
hello another way
since i left new zealand, almost 4 months ago, life for me has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride
lots of ups and downs, went back to australia and lots of things happened there in a very short time
and now back to KL and thinking about writing here again
but before i get to anything new ill have to clear out lots of drafts, almost 300, mostly from the time in taiwan
i feel sorry to have abandoned them and not having found time for them
my lost children, abandoned drafts that are probably not even relevant to my life anymore but can't just leave them behind
and they occupy some space in the attic of the mind, like a book you bought but never found the time to read, like a son you had but couldn't feed so he just hangs out around the house, indirectly shooting awkward glances at you and making you feel guilty for not feeding him
or like a japanese old playlist that no one listens to anymore because everyone likes korean music now
lots of ups and downs, went back to australia and lots of things happened there in a very short time
and now back to KL and thinking about writing here again
but before i get to anything new ill have to clear out lots of drafts, almost 300, mostly from the time in taiwan
i feel sorry to have abandoned them and not having found time for them
my lost children, abandoned drafts that are probably not even relevant to my life anymore but can't just leave them behind
and they occupy some space in the attic of the mind, like a book you bought but never found the time to read, like a son you had but couldn't feed so he just hangs out around the house, indirectly shooting awkward glances at you and making you feel guilty for not feeding him
or like a japanese old playlist that no one listens to anymore because everyone likes korean music now
September 11, 2013
August 28, 2013
A good experience
While hitchhiking, got picked up by this guy
he was 82 and told me the story of his life
he had been working as a sailor and got to go to many countries in asia and south america
and was thrilled to meet people from distant lands
lived by himself in a very remote area of new zealand
only 20 people lived in his town
so he was feeling a bit lonely
invited me to stay at his place for a few days and offered me some cookies and coffee
was so glad to have someone to talk to
someone to keep him company
after some time, thinking about that good experience
i remembered other experience i had with the elderly
it was about 3 or 4 years ago, when i was in perth
just finished some meditation at the budhist temple and on the way back steeped into someones front garden
a very old guy came out and stared shouting "GET OUT OF MY PROPERTY!!" in a hostile tone
this leaves me to wonder how will I be when I'm 82
will i be like a greedy person who is afraid of strangers or would i be a friendly guy who picks them up and invites them in to have some cookies?
if I'm the first one I have to say sorry to you all
you have to understand I'm this way because i'm afraid of other people, specially people who have less than me, because I'm afraid they will take the things i worked so hard to achieve
I'm afraid they will take my precious
and if i'm the second guy i should say welcome to my house, this is my address: "---" and you're all always welcome
i've been helped by tons of people through out my life
been given money, food and shelter in countless countries
been taken care of when i was sick
they kept me company when i was lonely
and gave me a jacket when i was cold
my experiences taught me I'm not alone
we have to be kind to each other
and now it's MY time to pay it back
because it's just the right thing to do
August 23, 2013
August 22, 2013
The now cup
The now cup is a coffe cup, a mug that has the word "now" written on it, we use it to remind us to live in the present. Every time someone forgets what's important and start worrying about silly things.
I would make a cup of coffee or tea and the cup would remind them it's now, not yesterday, not tomorrow. there's just this, and this is what matters.
August 20, 2013
The one hour training program
The one hour maintenance program consist of 4 parts of 15 minutes each
15 minutes cardio, run or whatever to warm up and keep your heart healthy
15 min strenght work, pull ups, push ups, squats, etc
15 min strecthing, holding every stretch for at least 20 seconds
and finally 15 minutes meditation to calm down
why not trying it for a few days and seeing how it works for you?
August 16, 2013
About kachu tenshin amaguriken
火中天津甘栗拳 was a technique in Ranma 1/2 that let ranma get some hot chestnuts out of a very hot place, he had to do it very fast otherwise he would burn his/her hands
I learned that special move as a teenager after watching ranma doing it and practicing it a bit, never really thought it would come in handy though.
Until this year in New Zealand, i had 2 jobs where i actually had to use to kachu tenshin amaguriken. The first one was at a farm picking kiwis, we were paid per bin, so the more kiwis we picked the more money we got in the long run so i just went berserk sometimes and picked them like a monkey.
other job was at a chocolate factory where I had to place chocolate bars as fast as possible on a machine that would pack them up. In this case I didn't get paid per amount of chocolate, the thing was that they kept coming and coming all day so if i missed one chocolate it would get accumulated and had to be put twice as fast afterwards, and after a few hours of laying chocolates it could get a bit tedious. but it was thanks to ranma that i got confidence to
do those repetitive mechanic jobs.
thanks ranma and thank you takahashi rumiko for drawing ranma so he could teach me.
August 14, 2013
Sitting is death
All recent scientific research shows that sitting in a chair daily for long periods of time is the single worse thing you could to yourself. Maybe even worse than
smoking. So during the last 2 years I decided to spend as little time sitting as possible.
My only excuse for sitting is recovery time, when too tired after strenuous exercise.
First problem I faced was the internet, as most of you I spend too much time in front of the computer, writing stuff like this. This was easily solved by starting to use my
laptop while standing. Would just find a shelf to put it, or pile up a bunch of books or stuff for it to be higher up.
This helped my stretches also, as many times
feeling tired after sstanding for a few hours my body would naturally adopt a leg split position, not that i'm addicted to the painkillers my brain releases while stretching. no no no, this has nothing to do with that.
my second problem was people of course, as they would just not understand that sitting is bad for you and they would keep saying "why don't you have a seat?" or "get yourself comfortable" because they think sitting is comfortable and standing is not. And so many people just didn't understand and thought I was being rude.
Others saw me as an idealistic and that was cool :)
We have to literally stand for what we believe in, even if it means going against the current, don't we? maybe.
August 12, 2013
About K-pop
Why do you do the things you do?
like what?
like everything, most things you do, they are things most people wouldn't even dream them possible
I'm not most people
I know but there has to be more to it
alright, it took me a while to figure it out but I think it's because I'm constantly high
high on what?
on k-pop of course
how's that even possible?
you can get high on anything, whatever makes you tick right?
I guess, but k-pop, really?
when something makes you click you don't care what it is and don't care about anything else, in my case, I often think the only reason I'm in new zealand is so that i can
save money to support myself in korea while auditioning till i get a part on a drama or become part of a boys band, kind of like those people who move to california
with the expectation of getting discovered and making it big in hollywood
you know what, that kind of makes sense actually, I can see you as part of a korean boy band, except because well you know, you're not korean
that's like saying I can't be a samurai because I'm not a 12th century japanese noble male in his 30's
that's exactly what I'm saying
but becoming a korean pop star is my purpose in life, that's why I live, you know?
but you're not korean!!!
so?
you can't be korean if you're not korean duh
I can try though
yeah but that's just crazy
and that's why you love me right?
guess so
August 10, 2013
About Jenny Puisto
Jenny was not the best in many ways, she was a very nervous girl, always biting her finger nails and sometimes would complain that's too cold or that we have to sleep outdoors in the dark cold night
but jenny was unique in her own way and was the best in the sense that she would always encourage me, even though things I do were quite difficult, dangerous or
just plan insane, she would always encourage me and say I can do it no matter what it was
and that's why i liked her~
August 8, 2013
Veterans
???????: That's pretty rude, my father was a veteran you know.
Bruno: Yeah soldiers are the worse shit.
Veteran's son: They sacrifice their lives for you, for your freedom and you say they are shit?.
Bruno: Worse shit ever, they don't sacrifice anything for anyone, they go to wars and kill people. They think they are the good guys, but guess what, so do their so called "enemies". Your father was a piece of shit and so are you for supporting the army in any way.
Common friend: Wars are a problem, and soldiers are a part of it.
Bruno: No, they are not part of the problem, they are the problem, paid assassins mercenaries who kill people for money like your father.
Veteran's son: My father was a hero, the piece of shit is you.
Bruno: Yeah? Why? Because I don't kill people?
Veteran's son: Wars happen, but my father fought for peace.
Common friend: You know what they say...
Bruno: Yeah, fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity, and wars don't just happen, they happen for a reason, and you know what's that reason? Your father is that reason. The reason there are still wars is not the oil or the politicians, or the economical interests, or the borders or the religion. There are wars because soldiers go to war. People go to war, you know the politicians or presidents wouldn't go to war themselves, wouldn't risk killed or getting killed.
Veteran's son: You are pissing me off, I'm gonna break your neck
Bruno: Alright good man, come on punch me. You're just gonna prove how retarded you are. Can't have a serious discussion, can't win an argument so have to resort to violence.That's very mature.
Veteran's son: I'm gonna kill you.
Bruno: Go ahead. You are no better than those soldiers. You kill because you loose an argument. So come on go ahead and prove everyone how intellectually inferior you are. Show me your big muscles big boy. Grrrrr. Guess what your father was a piece if shit and so are you for thinking violence solves something.
Veteran's son: ...
August 6, 2013
Why no more japan
Why don't you like japan anymore?
Because people i've met there have no empathy and are oblivious to everything around them, makes me think it's exactly the opposite im looking for.
Is that the reason you don't watch anime anymore?
Oh, about that, I also don't watch movies or anything else anymore either. Don't feel the need to be entertained anymore and value my real life too much
to waste it sitting in front a computer screen the whole day. So no more videogames either.
Makes perfect sense, and it's quite surprising actually, as most people I know still feel the need to be "entertained" by games, movies, tv shows, etc
I used to play monster hunter a lot, loved the part of gathering ingredients and materials, digging, climbing drilling and just seeing what you find, heading out
there and hoping for the best, plating the seeds and growing lots of food for your cats to make meals for you, yeah you make get eaten up by a dinosaur
sometimes but it was totally worth it! so now I would rather go gathering to the forest or to the beach nearby where I am, scavenging and getting lost.
Monster hunter is based on a prehistoric world but countries I live in, new zealand, south east asia are actually not so different from those prehistoric worlds.
Used to play lots of final fantasy when I was in argentina, dreaming of this mysterious new places, being an adventurer, doing every day something new and meeting
new characters every day, that was the life I was dreaming of, and now is the life i have, what else could be better?
when I was at simons place last week they always asked me what was I looking forward to, and i always said nothing, this is it, this is as good as it gets for me.
And developing relationships with those people you meet like in the game persona, and letting them join you on your travels like in suikoden, and getting
scared while exploring your city at night like in silent hill
and going dancing on the streets like in audition, bust a move, miku hatsune, in taipei is very easy to join the street dancers near sys memorial hall, and in osaka
they get together in namba.
Possibilities are endless once you get off the couch and leave your place, I realized getting out there has limitles benefits.
Once you are out of your house you get adventures x10, out of your city is another x10 and out of your country is another x10, thats x1000 more adventure chances
just fore leaving your confort zone, just for being out there, now if you're actually looking for adventures you get even more bonuses, you get a x20 if you start
talking to strangers everywhere, a +5 if you're wearing something cool, a x10 if you sign up for random jobs or courses, another +7 if you carry an animal
companion with you, another +30 if you learn to use couchsurfing, meetup and other websites for getting together with people.
There's no limit to it, really.
August 4, 2013
About a warrior
Driver: Where ya heading mate?
Me: Heading far towards the horizon, where the forest meets the sea, light fades away and shadow shapes the landscape
Driver: Whatever, jump in
Me: you have my gratitude and therefore shall be rewarded for your troubles
Driver: Where are you from?
Me: from the forgotten territories
Driver: Where's that?
Me: It's a different world, full of thieves, dwarfs, magicians and assassins
Driver: And what brigs you to new zealand?
Me: nothing but the unrelenting search of a warrior's true path
Driver: are you a warrior?
Me: a warrior i am indeed
Driver: yes you are
August 2, 2013
July 28, 2013
July 26, 2013
July 24, 2013
July 22, 2013
Forgot some stuff
What did you do today?
Just watched some movies
Movies? Really?
Yes, 2 movies
Was that it?
Yes, why?
Well, that means you forgot the cardio, forgot to build strength,
forgot the meditation, forgot to train your brain with some equations, forgot
to improve your creativity, eat some fruits, forgot to tell your friends you love
them, forgot to go for a walk to clear your thoughts, forgot to write your
diary, forgot to visit a new place, forgot to learn a new language, Bruno
forgot so many things!
Yeah, I was planning to do those after the movie
I don’t believe you
It’s true! look, I even wrote it in my calendar:
8 am: watch the new rurouni kenshin movie
10 am: watch monoke
hime (again)
1 pm: going for a run
2 pm: doing 50 pull ups (or more)
3 pm: vipassana meditation
4 pm: solve for x
5 pm: paint a free representation of a yet undiscovered
world resting inside the mountain (and his inhabitants)
6 pm: tell Taiwanese people you love them
7 pm: eat 10 fruits
8 pm: go for a walk around lake Matheson or lake mapourika
(you get to choose)
10 pm: write the story of a stray puppy on your diary
11 pm: hitching a ride across a transatlantic heading
towards eastern island (?)
Sometime after that: learn the islander’s language, maybe.
July 21, 2013
July 19, 2013
July 18, 2013
Ellen knows!
The thing about Ellen is that she has the mind of a child. While
most of us complicate our existence overthinking every little thing that
happens, Ellen sees the true nature of things.
Some years ago, when we were in her car, I think she asked
me how do I make money.
So I just told her the truth, that I usually find it on the
street.
After that I explained where, when and how I usually found
it.
She replied “oh now I know why you find money on the streets”.
‘Why?’ I asked, and she said “because you’re looking for it!”
It was so simple but yet I haven’t really thought about it
before, she saw right through me and just said it with that striking confidence
of hers
*surprised*
July 17, 2013
July 16, 2013
about 30
Man, I’m almost 30
You’re not even 29
Almost 30 is terrible!
Why?
Well, I’ve been wasting my life, I don’t want to turn 30 and
realize I’ve never cycled around south America, never took the transiberian
across Russia, never climbed Kilimanjaro, never saw the northern lights
That’s crazy, what have you been doing with your life?
I don’t know, time just slept away somehow
Just like that?
Yeah I don’t know what happened!
It’s not too late you know
I know, but still
There’s still time!
July 15, 2013
July 14, 2013
Evolution of hitchhiking
Shall we use a sign?
Signs are for beginners, we are pros now!
We don’t need one?
When we started hitchhiking we used signs because we were
shy, we didn’t know what to do or where to stand and wanted the sign to do the
job for us
And now?
Now we are pros, we don’t need a sign, or a backpack to look
like backpackers, or a map to show our driver where we’re going, or a compass,
nor we need those books and glasses we used to carry around while hitchhiking
to pretend we were harmless students
So what do we need now?
A drink of course
You mean an alcoholic drink?
Not necessarily, any drink would do it, sometimes even a
fruit or vegetable, carrot and apple specially because they are not messy
And how to do it now?
Drink in right hand, left thumb up facing the cars you want
to stop
That’s it?
That’s the magic of it you see, same as at a party, the
drink conveys the message that you are very relaxed and they should pick you up
because you are awesome
Or drunk
Either way
July 13, 2013
About Ariel
Probably no other moment had a greater impact in my life as
those 10 seconds when I was walking around the pedestrian street in Rosario and
saw a familiar face walking towards me.
It was ariel gutierrez, he was listening to some song with
his headphones but he wasn’t just singing along, he was shouting the song, so loud
everyone was staring and creating an opening for him to walk through as they
thought he was just some crazy person screaming on the street.
But I knew him, I knew he wasn’t crazy; he was just special,
like me.
And he didn’t care that everyone was looking at him or that
they thought him crazy. He kept walking and singing and smiling and doing a
little dance.
And I thought that’s the person I want to be, I used to
admire him.
I thought I want to be happy and sing without caring what
others would think.
I want them to know I’m special too and they should open the
way for me, because I’m also coming through and don’t care if they think me
crazy.
I’m coming through anyway.
Note: ariel gutierrez was my best friend for a while,
someone I would tell everything and trust my life to, then we fought because of
some silliness and never saw each other again. He was probably also the reason
I stopped eating meat. And I used to have a crush on his sister, who also had a
crush on me, but nothing ever happened because when I was in argentina I was
afraid of talking to girls, and she was also afraid of talking to guys, so we
never talked, Just blushed and giggled nervously.
July 12, 2013
July 11, 2013
Someone’s hiding in the dark
I’m always hiding behind some bushes at night, hiding from
the people and the police because I find it sickening the fact that I live in a
society that has to pay for sleeping, and frowns upon those who refuse to do
so.
Often wonder if there are others like me, people hiding, in
the same city, maybe in a nearby bush, people who are also wondering if there
are others like them
Probably there aren’t, well there millions in poor countries
like india, but those are people who don’t have a choice, so I don’t really
feel as they are the same as me. Because I do have a choice, I do have a bit of
money to pay for rent or for a hotel, and even if I didn’t I know couple of
hundred people that would let me crash in their couch.
But still I choose to sleep on the street, or hide because
it’s my nature. Because it’s something I instinctively do, when I’m just
walking around somewhere I always keep an eye out for places to sleep, where I
would be concealed from people, protected from the elements and the wildlife,
where I can have a good night sleep.
And it’s not about the money anymore, it’s not about saving
money it’s about doing what I feel like doing and about being by myself,
because most days I don’t feel like socializing and talking to people, most
days I just feel like walking around during the day searching or gathering food,
and find a shelter for the night.
That’s what feels right, my body wasn’t designed to sit and play
league of legends for 14 hours in a row, it was designed to look for food and
shelter, to survive the cold, the night, the predators (now we call them police), to adapt and thrive in a hostile environment.
It just feels right somehow.
July 10, 2013
July 9, 2013
About rainbows
This days I saw lots of rainbows in the glacier, because it
rains every day, and was thinking what did our ancestors thought about
rainbows? and northern lights? and earthquakes? And those fireballs in laos?
they should have been so confused!
I wonder if they were humble enough to admit they hadn’t the
vaguest idea what they were, or maybe they just rushed to attribute them to
some supernatural source, because hey, they were always high right?
Or maybe they weren’t, I’m not an anthropologist but I
suspect they were always eating some hallucinogenous roots or mushrooms or
fermenting some strange alcohol, because why else would they invent all this
crazy stories and rules, gods, sacrifices, they had to be like really high 24/7,
right?
Humans just started recording history accurately around 100
years ago, before that we have some sort of idea what was going on, but there’s
lots of guess work involved, like with the voynich manuscript, we understand
there are some drawings of some plant and its parts, some recipes, and the rest
is just speculations, hundreds and hundreds of pages of sweet speculation.
July 8, 2013
July 7, 2013
Whatever 17
Why do you always talk to yourself?
Because I’m crazy?
You are peculiar, we agreed not to use the C word, remember?
Ok, then because I’m peculiar
And why is that?
Because I’m not good with people
And you know why?
Because I’m different somehow?
We are all different in some ways
But I’m special
In which way?
In the way that I enjoy conversations with myself more than
with other people
And why is that?
I’m not sure, maybe because I get to ask myself the right
questions and challenge them, like a psychologist would.
And maybe also so that you don’t need to put the effort to
get to know, interact and understand other people?
Maybe, but this way seems to work alright, so why should I
change it?
Because people need you, they need to be in touch with, they
need to understand you
People know me too well already, they know I say what I want
and I do what I want, they understand I’m not so good with people that’s why I
talk to myself
But some people need you to take a break from talking to
yourself and talk to them also, they need attention
They are old enough already, they don’t need me at all
It’s got nothing to do with age, they need to know you are
there for them; they need to know you care
They know that already, people who read this know more or
less where to find me, they know how to contact me and they know if they ever
need anything I’ll be there for them. But I can’t keep in touch daily because I’m always traveling and internet is
a luxury in NZ
They know that, but they think when you do contact them you
could try to be nicer to them
I’ll try to be nicer then
But not in a condescending way
I know, I know
You’re not better than anyone else and you know that
I know! And I’ve never implied I was, I know I’m a prick
sometimes, but I’m trying to change that
Thank you for your honesty
I’m glad we understand each other, I need you, you know
I know, you need me to tell you the truth and broaden your
perspective of events and people around you
And to be there for me
Alright, you’re not getting emotional are you?
Never
At least 50 times a day
You’re right, who am I kidding, I love you man
Have a good night
Whatever
July 5, 2013
Friendly reminder to myself
I know many people get offended when they read my posts,
because my outlook on life is quite different from everyone around.
I know also I’m not the nicest person around and my lack of
tact often hurts people, so I’ve been thinking about ways to change that.
The easiest way would be of course to just stop talking, but
that can be quite hard when I live in a society where people talk to me.
Other way would be thinking twice before speaking, that
works well in the short run but after sometime you just forget about it and go
back to your old ways.
So I have designed a way to remind myself to be nicer to people,
live in the moment and think twice before talking, ok ok, I haven’t really
designed it, just copied from the film inception.
A reality check, a 10d, and when I see it, will trigger the
best on me
Hope it works!
July 1, 2013
backpacker hotels in new zealand
why dont you want to stay at the backpackers hotel like all the other foreigners in new zealand?
because they are lame
but it's the norm, young travelers here are expected to stay at the backpackers hotel, didn't you hear?
actually i did hear it, but it's still lame, I'm not gonna pay for sleeping, at least not for sleeping in a filthy crowded place, for that i can just sleep on the street. when one pays for a hotel one pays for privacy, if you're not gonna get that why paying in the first place?
as i said, social conventions dictate that they HAVE to stay at the hostel, share the room with many people, and socialize with them of course
that's non-sense, I don't want to socialize! what am I supposed to talk about with all this people?
I don't know, you'll think of something
and what if I can't afford it?
in that case you borrow money from someone and stay there anyway
crazy, do you even know how expensive those places are?
yeah, anything between 20 and 35 dollars for a dorm room depending on the city
alright lets say its 30, that's almost a thousand dollars a month for a dorm room, it's just too much
well you're not in asia anymore
regardless of the country, lets say it costs 25 per night, and they have 15 rooms with 4 beds each, that's more than 40.000 net profit a month. and they don't pay taxes, they give you no invoice, they don't pay their employees because they always have someone working for accommodation, they charge you for things that are provided free in any other country, like internet and towels. There's is not one hostel or backpackers hotel in new zealand that provides free internet and that's like the very basic thing they should provide for travelers, well besides the bed of course.
how do you know so much about this places if you don't use them?
alright alright, i did go to one in auckland when just arrived in new zealand, they said it was 32 dollars and then they said it was 5 more per day if i wanted internet.
alright, they are a bit overpriced, but i think most people who stay there don't really pay for the bed, but for the experience, they get to meet so many people in a very very short amount of time
like speed dating
exactly like speed dating, you know they are young, they are on holidays and they want to have fun. what is 30 dollars if you can meet 50 people of the opposite sex in a relaxed environment and hook up with some of them
I see, so they pay to hook up. that means I've been doing it wrong all this time.
it's ok you didn't know, you thought they were just paying for a place to stay because they are rich and too good to sleep on the streets
well, whatever, I'm not all that into promiscuity anyway
you don't have to, you can also meet that special someone there and you know you can actually find so many free stuff there, things people left behind like tents, sleeping bags, laptops, lots of clothes and gadgets
who would leave their laptop behind?
they just forget them or get tired of carrying them around so they leave them there
so if i pay 30 i can get a girl, new clothes, tent and laptop
and more, sometimes people left behind food and shoes,
food, girl and laptop? really?
really
but still, 30 dollars, oh man
you could always sneak in, worse case scenario they kick you out, they're not gonna call the police, doors are always open and the staff doesn't know most of the people staying there
you and me? sneak in together?
yeah and him
him too?
yes
alright, this trio could work!
June 29, 2013
About vanuatu and my life
The other day I got picked up in a van that was carrying 10 people from vanuatu and I felt like i was back in asia when they started playing this party music very loud and singing along
they told that in vanuatu they can't leave someone on the street, so when they see someone hitchhiking they HAVE to pick him up, because of their upbringing they can't choose not to pick him up.
when they see someone without a place to sleep they have to take him in. that reminded me of some other experiences I had in other countries, like getting denied service in china for being a foreigner. being harassed by japanese and australian police, being robbed at gun point in argentina and many more. Man! In japan met just so many people that wouldn't just not help you out, but they would actually go way out of their way to make your my life more troublesome.
well the night went on and after the ride they invited me to stay at their place, i found they were living in dorms with 60 people from vanuatu and in that village there were 400 of them, most people in the village were from vanuatu. i found that they lived in precarious conditions and got exploited by some kiwi landlord and contractor, same as me when i just arrived in NZ. they didnt have internet or phones, but they were so happy
of course they shared their food and drinks with me. the special drink from vanuatu is called cava. its not alcoholic but they extract it from some kind of root, it makes them very relaxed and calm, like smoking week, they said its like drinking weed
when i tasted it it was just terrible, terrible taste, so i asked them why dont they put some sugar on it to make it taste sweeter , they said noooo and they laughed at me, but for me it was just the logical thing to do because that thing tasted so bad, like vodka, I don't understand how people can drink vodka, tequlia, sake, soju by itselfs, its just disgusting
there are many many pacific islanders here in new zealand, picking fruits and doing farm work, and i remember that before i went to korea i had had the chance of visiting many other countries, but after living in korea for 9 months i thought korean people were the nicest people I had met, then I moved to taiwan and changed my mind, taiwanese were by far the best. and now if i had to make a chart with the most hospitable people ive met it'd be something like this
1 pacific islanders (tonga, samoa, vanuatu, fiji, cook, etc)
2 muslims
3 taiwanese
4 korean
5 others
and still many people ask me if i miss argentina or if i plan to go back there. I always say I don't know, but what I actually want to say "probably no, or maybe just on holidays" but that's a very cold answer, people don't like cold answers even though they are honest
the thing is that I've been to just so many other amazing places, places where i felt welcomed, places where i don't need to live in fear of thieves, guns and corrupted police, places where not everyone's out to get me, places where i can go out at night without worrying about coming back alive, I can find a job and don't need to constantly look over my shoulder to make sure no one is following me to mug me
tourists keep going on and on about how marvelous a place argentina is, well of course it is if you go with foreign money that is worth like 5 times more there and you stay for just a few weeks or a few months, but if you have to live and work there oh man!
and after I say I don't know if i'll ever go back there, they ask me "and what about your family?" the answer I usually give is that they are alright and we manage to keep in touch online, but what I actually mean to say is that my family will have to understand that their son, nephew, grandson, etc, is happy somewhere else and that is not because of them, is because of me.
traveling is not just something I do, is part of who I am
something i have to do for myself and has nothing to do with anyone else
and me leaving argentina had nothing to do with them either, it was just something that needed to be done
the reason I chose to live at the edge of the knife, to jump from the bridge to the cargo train instead of running behind it and hopping on the last wagon. digging a hole in the ground to sleep and swimming to the other side instead of taking the ferry is that actually I enjoy the thrill of the fight, i enjoy the challenge, the hardship, it makes my life more interesting and it makes me somehow happy.
but hey that sounds just so dramatic, doesn't it? Sorry about that, here's a rainbow~
June 27, 2013
No1
the first korean song i heard was probably valenti or no1 by boa which was not really korean, was probably japanese, because she is korean but sings in japanese for some reason
heard it by accident because it was part of the song selection of the game pump it up that we were playing every day, and I thought, whoa, what is this fresh sound, so easy to listen, so, just so bubly and cheerful, there was so much, i don't know magic on those songs
now its been, i don't know 5 or 10 years I dont play pump, but whoa, we had so much fun with boa, novasonic, mozart, djdoc, the songs sounded so crazy, some songs it was just people shouting random words we didnt even understand, but we still danced and jumped like monkeys
but probably it wasn't the game or the songs it was just a reason to get together, to do something fun and meet new people, well not really, we met the same people every day but that was cool because we were there and boa was singing and there was always a crowd around us and we felt like superstars even though we were teenagers and had no idea what we were doing
June 25, 2013
about the christian family
as i said yesterday i will try to post more about daily life stuff
when i was approached by this people from the christian religion i talked about int he last post, i was a bit scared, but not so much
because by stating your religion as soon as you first meet someone you're establishing a difference between the 2 of you and bringing up a subject that is likely to make the other person feel unconfrotable
if i were in the US, I'd be afraid that the person talking me about christianity is a gun freak that has just voted for bush and hates me for being a foreigner, but in new zealand religion usually means good news, at least for me
families here had at least 10 children, one family had 11, and it really helped to see how happy all this children were, they were all running around, playing and having fun. and the parents seem to really care about them
when i came home with them they told me the childrens were all being home schooled, and the all learn some trade, electricity, carpentry, etc by the age of 20
and I thought I wish my parents had cared that much for me, and had taught me a trade when I was young
well I'm sure they loved me their own way
June 23, 2013
a night at burguer king
23/6/2013
I have decided to talk a bit less politics and talk more about my daily life, feelings and thoughts
of course sometimes i feel down and a bit worthless like most people do, but then i think about it and i realize im actually really lucky and most people actually envy my lifestyle
is unique and strange, but quite interesting also, because i chose to live without using money, or using way less than everyone else, I'm usually in different cuntries or different cities within a country, try to live in the moment and learn something new every day
i know what you're thinking, living without money = freeloader, but actually is not like that, not at all! but more about that later
also i meet many new people every day and learn from them as well
yesterday it was saturday, the 22nd, i was stuck without a place to sleep, as usual. well not as usual, but it does happens a few times a week.
and as i cant pay money for accommodation for reason i will also explain later, my options are usually 4, couchsurfing, knocking on the door, finding some other place (abandoned building, car, empty room) or sleeping in the bush
yesterday i got stood up by my cs host after waiting for 5 hours int he cold, so gave up on that one, it was way too cold to sleep on the bush and I knew it would have been quite dangerous as it was literally as cold as it gets in new zealand. very windy and dry air that makes it hard to breath
so i found a burguer king along the highway, get in and asked them what time do they close, hoping they would stay open all night, and I could have just stayed there and sleep next day in some park
they said they close at midnight, and I thought "oh man, I am fucked in the ass" as there was nothing else around, it was 8 pm, so i said well at least i still have 4 hours off the cold
sitting on a stool for 2 hours, thinking and dreaming, then i was 3 hours, and there were just 3 other guys sitting on a nearby table, looking at me.
I thought, hey, it would be nice if they invited me in to stay at their place, but then i thought ufff, they actually dont look so friendly and i would have to socialize, and then we would find all the things we don't have in common. but i thought what the hell is that or no sleep, because i knew i would have to walk all night, because its hard to knock on people doors after midnight, people are scared, providing i could even find their house in the dark
but well anyway the 3 guys left and i switched to imagining a different random scenario.
I imagined there was a big group of about 50 people, mostly teenagers, and a few adults, like 5. I noticed that many of them were heavily over weighted, so i instantly thought they were australians on a school trip. but hey at a random burguer king on the highway, at 11.30 pm, no that's not possible, its past their bed time, well anyway. 6 of them sit on my table and the adult in charge of them strikes a conversation
hey man where are you from, he said, i'm from argentina i replied
he seemed a bit confused that i was the only person there and had nothing on my table, no food, so he asked, are you waiting for your food?
i said, well... not really, it's just a bit cold outside so i was just hanging around, i found that many people laugh when i I say a bit cold, because actually is terribly cold
I was aware of the fact i have this homeless vibe around me, with the beard, greasy hair, tired eyes, wearing lots of clothes and a filthy sleeping bag next to me, so he asked, have you got nowhere to stay?
'this is my chance' I thought, and I said, yeah, I'm just waiting for that to.. to come along, so he said i could stay at his mate's place, other of the guys who was ordering burguers there with them
that'd be awesome I thought, but decided to go a bit japanesy about it and politely refuse, i said no, don't worry, I don't want to cause any trouble
there's no trouble he said, come ans stay with us, so i said 'are you sure?' he said of course
we kept talking and he mentioned they were from a christian church and were on their way home from some inter churches school event, when he said that i thought 'oh man, religion? what am I getting myself into'
the he said ' I don't believe in religions, but have you heard of jesus crhist' I said yes while reminding myself choices were thin on the ground tonight
soon after that i found myself in a van surrounded by 10 kids ages 10 to 16 screaming around about who score more goals on the game they had just played, while they were shouting i started calculating the odds of what had just happened, so came up with a kind of drake equation for it, some of the variables included the amount of sports events they participated yearly for the ones they had to leave their city, amount of children that played, amount of nights i find myself sitting in a fast food restaurant in the middle of nowhere before they close, and some of the constants were the number of fast food restaurants along the highway, the number of tables on this one, the number of adults, etc, and then i lost count, but well there were like 15 tables, more than 100 seats there, and just a few adults, chances one of them sitting next to me was easily 100 to 1, and while calculating and with some kids staring at me i thought to myself 'this night took an unexpected turn'
now is the morning after, i had a great night sleep in a warm bed with clean sheets, a nice breakfast, a hot shower, and the time i was fearing came, they said, we are going to church, would you like to come, so i politely explained them I was not really into religion and felt a bit unconfortable going to church, thank them for everything and said i would be on my way and may try to make it to queesntown before nightfall
they said, oh its alright you can stay another night if you want to, you dont need to come to church
i said cool, and now is almost noon and I'm typing this while they are in church, used the first hour to clean the kitchen and to do all the dished of the dozen children who had breakfast before leaving, so now can sit on the computer without guilt
i did learn a bit from this big family, but that's another story
May 30, 2013
The cities where people have no souls
I don't want to go to auckland, people usually say. if i ask
them why not, they say people have no souls there, and I'm like what?
it's like sidney in australia, it's just not a nice place to
be
everyone hates sydney, everyone hates auckland, and those
who live there always complain and dream about moving to wellington or
melbourne, you know the cool places
wellington and melbourne are where all the cool kids go, you
know those who smoke weed, wear hoodies and play in a band
auckland and sydney on the other hand are where your boring
old cousin lives, you know the accountant who works at a bank, watches tv, plans his holidays one year in advanced and is always complaining about how he has to wait too long in traffic. The one who
hates his life and goes knocking on his neighbor door because their music is too
loud. They are trapped in the routine of a mundane 9 to 5 job, secretly jealous
of his hippie cousin who live a relaxed life in melbourne or wellington. yet
they don't seem to have to courage to change his life, and would never admit they want to
anyway.
for me though, as a foreigner in australia and new zealand,
I don't really care much about neither of those cities, and if i were a city
I'd probably be Perth.
no one really cares much about perth, its
isolated, far from everything, not many people get there
because it's just too far and there's nothing there
Perth is like that cousin of yours who moved to other
continent decades ago, and no one has heard much about him since
They know he's there somewhere, far away, they know he's
alright, minding his own business and without causing much trouble
They know he is happy living life on his own, in his own
world, in his cloud, with his dreams who are totally different from everyone
else’s
He doesn't want to be an office worker in sydney but doesn't
care much about those hippies from melbourne either, he just wants to be left
alone
Neither too cool or too boring, perth is the place to be for
those of us who don't really fit anywhere else
Perth doesn't try to look cool, or impress you and doesn't
care about his big brothers
Perth is just there
And he just doesn't care
May 27, 2013
About totororoto
Lets take the bus
na, I’d rather walk.
why is that?
I just don't like the bus.
What, are you too good to use public transport?
No, I'm just too poor to use it. It costs a lot, so as long
as I have feet I'll walk, run or ride the bicycle, if I ever get my legs cut off,
I'll then maybe take the bus or the train.
But do you know how far is it?
Yes, it takes 4 hours walking from here.
How can you walk so much?
That's because I don't see walking as a waste of time, like most people do. For me it's nice, I get time for me, time to think, saves me money, get exercise, meet people, find stuff on the way, discover
new parts of the city, what could be better?
With the bus I have to spend money, and spend so much time
sitting, sitting is the worse, also as with most other posts, the idea for
this post came up while walking alone aimlessly.
Best ideas come when you are walking alone, without music, without
distractions, just you and the road.
In the bus there's always people bothering me, they want to
hug me, or take a picture with me.
It's actually quite tough being famous, because sometimes
you just don't want to talk to people and smile and be polite, sometimes you
just want to be left alone.
Sometimes you just want to walk, at night, through the park, thinking of rainbow dash, or thinking of a girl you used to know,
thinking of what kind of bird it is, the one that's singing that beautiful song you hear in your
mind while you're making spaghetti, that songs that goes something like this
"totororototo totorororo
totorororo tororototo tororoto tororoto rotototo tororo
tototo".
May 24, 2013
That guy
what happened to that guy?
which guy?
you know, "that guy"?
which one?
You know, that guy who carried a notebook with him
on the train, sat across a cute girl and started writing something, when she
looked at him,
he blushed and shyly looked down, what happened to that guy who was always doing the naruto
hand signs, carrying pokemon cards everywhere just in case he finds a
challenger, that guy who got all the weapons, cards, summons, materias in all the final fantasy games, used to try to transform into
super sayan daily and was afraid of talking to strangers, what happened to that
guy?
I don't know he moved on I guess
oh, alright then
May 22, 2013
About pull ups / chin ups
Today is a special day, the most special day this year.
Today is the day I made it to 25.
25 pull ups in a row.
That was actually my goal last year, but made it this year
instead.
What's so special about pull ups you ask, well nothing
really, it's just my way to feeling better about myself.
As that's pretty much all I have, not gonna win an oscar
anytime soon, have no money, no friends, no job, no girlfriend, no house, been
sleeping in a tent for over a month now.
I'm technically a failure in
every possible way, pull ups are all I have to feel good about myself.
Something I can say I'm good at.
As I've never crossed paths with someone who could do 25
pulls ups in a row before, some guys I've met could do 10, but that was it.
Everyone you meet is better than you at something, and i
want to be better at something also, i want to feel healthy, I want to feel
strong, want to feel proud of myself.
pull ups are the best because you don’t need to go to the
gym, just need to find a tree, or some stairs, they are like the squats of the
upper body, if you are jogging and stop for pull ups they
will give you that push you need to continue jogging a while
longer and if you are cold or lonely and stop for pull ups you'll get warm immediately.
pull ups are the single best thing for those of us who need
to fill their empty and meaningless lives with a false sense of achievement
that would help them sleep at night and make it through another day of immeasurable solitude.
May 20, 2013
From here and from there
Where are you from?
I don't know, from here, i guess, from everywhere.
What do you mean?
Just can't limit myself to a town or a country or a planet
or a solar system, or a galaxy. I'm one with the universe because the atoms in
my body originated
in the stars, I'm made of star dust and when I die I'll go
back to the stars. I feel one with every person, with every animal, plant, with
every inanimate object,
they are me and I am them. Can't say I'm from here or from
there because I'm from everywhere. the countries have been here for very short
a time but
a part of me has been here for billions of years already.
A sense of unity, it's just beautiful.
are you high?
yes
May 18, 2013
About Tommy
Tommy, is a japanese pop/rock/punk singer i used to be
obsessed with some years ago.
her name is kawase tomoko, used to be the lead singer of the
brilliant green, then went solo, got other band, then went back with the
brilliant green, she's not sooo popular, but most people in japan would know
some of her songs.
first time i heard her songs i thought they sounded so cute,
a new sound, like nothing i had heard before.
got even more into her after watching some of her concerts,
mostly because of her stage presence, she looks just sooo awkward on stage, like she doesn't know what she's doing or like she doesn't want to be there at all
it's like she doesn’t care about the audience at all and
that's actually quite awesome, considering most japanese singers always suck up
to their audiences
and some rock singers pretend they don't care but their body
language betrays them and you can tell they actually really care
tommy has a nice voice but always sings like she's annoyed
and doesn’t really want to sing
it's strange but that's also what makes her special i guess
don't really know why i like her so much, but I'm am glad i
do, because she makes me feel stuff i wouldn’t feel otherwise, endorphin, adrenaline, oxytocin, i don’t know, just that
rush you feel when you are in love, makes you invincible
may she be the reason i like older woman? Probably not, as
she doesn’t really looks her age and appears to be quite childish and immature
or maybe i like her because she looks like she's got even
more issues than me
or her attitude, she's always like "ufff" and i'm
like "ufff" and wonder why she's like "ufff"
then she coffs, sighs and yawns on stage, most times she
just looks down and i wonder why she does that
what is it that's annoying her so much, why is she so bored
on stage
why is she singing if she doesn't want to sing
i don’t know but maybe apathy is the new sexy?
Probably not
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