a) the flights
flying turkish was a great improvement - the seats were relatively comfortable, and every now and then i even managed a few winks. between flights, my single-serve friend invited me into the lounge, so at least i had a comfortable chair and access to some rum (although i discovered that too late to really enjoy it).
three things bothered me.
the stewards and stewardesses were difficult to talk to, and they ignored us for most of the trip. so much so that for one of the landings, they were nowhere to be seen and we were with our seats back and our belts off.
if my experience with the airlines and the lounge is indicative of standard turkish fare, it's a country of people that don't eat anything until a substantial portion of it is cheese. not cool for lactose intolerants.
the fat dude next to me for the long flight.
i'm sitting on the plane pre-takeoff, and i still can't let out the breath i've been holding in for what seems a lifetime, and in some respects was.
since april's nightmare, the intensity of the feelings that returned to me one year ago [the disparity between my past and my future and the present that's bridging them finally increased to the point where it cannot be ignored any longer] have burned holes in the unnatural reality that i have chosen for myself, the slave-to-the-machine antithesis of my irrational sense of ideals, self worth and control of my life.
it confounds me to test the amount of activities i've busied myself with against the pain of a full system breakdown, to contemplate the possibility that the best and most wonderful experiences and achievements were in a way - or even in large - due to the constant stress of having unknown disasters looming over me and my immediate future in a relentlessly intimidating fashion.
the more i've grown the unhappier i've become with the present, and the more determined to stand up and be judged for doing what i know to be right.
no penalty could be worse than what i've suffered the past nine months - and no penalty could force me to take as much pride in all aspects of my life.
now it's time to play.
back of the plane? cool. but what the hell is up with all the big people with no sense of personal space going through half of the duty free's liquor stock?
at least my single-serve friend got me in the lounge - the food was dodgy but the americano + rum went down well. also, he had interesting advice for what to do about my roof...
an airport is an airport is an airport.
i feel invisible to turkish steward/esses. my friendly neighbour, flab-man, is spilling over the arm rest.
at least the reason i didn't get fed is a good one - i was passed out. [and they sorted me out with a meal afterwards]
the morning ablution routine on an aeroplane always feels surreal and staggered to me - it's the compartmental nature of the toilets plus the time-limited tap. [but compared to the toilets at the festival...]
shit - how the hell did i forget my poncho??
the guy who saw me stretching and then came and stood right next to me (limiting my movement) was annoying. [i'm still uncertain as to why i didn't say anything]
i keep waking up when there's food being served... weird.
if i was to write a hitchhiker's guide entry for turkey based on my experiences with the airlines:
"a strange people, very difficult to communicate with and unable to produce anything edible without using a significant amount of cheese"
the use of cheese is apparently so ubiquitous that it doesn't get a mention on food labels. for next time: what kind of special meal do i ask for?
hmmph. zombie mode: i haven't properly relaxed in far too long - i'm sure a solid stomp will cure that. in the meanwhile, the idea of massaging my temples too hard and breaking through them, to pop out my eyeballs and wiggle my fingers in the empty sockets like sock puppets appeals to me.
waking up in the middle of another bad landing; this time with shoes off, belt off and seat as far back as it can go - no staff in sight (i don't think they really care, anyway), and the screen displaying the view from the camera under the nose of the plane
this time, the cabin shook so hard on impact that a small stream of water gushed from the ceiling onto flab-man, producing the only communication between us (a puzzled look from him, a shrug from me).
a pirate bath and a clean shirt: i'm in summer! i hope south africans are as comfortable with my "if i could choose i'd be gay" shirt as israelis are - here i'm in a country where people read english. [definitely not a problem]
odd - flab-man took a call, began shouting in surprised russian, grabbed his hand-luggage and fled. i'm hoping his seat will remain unoccupied.
yay! the last leg was far more comfortable. it would have been even better if i'd been able to sleep: these flights define a very long time to be stuck in my own head, and i'm simply too exhausted (mentally and emotionally) to use it to deal with things.
*NOW* i'm on holiday.
i was exhausted on arrival. the nice lady at border control reminded me that my passport's almost expired. minutes later i discovered that my driver's license has already, which wasn't expected...
the first thing i said to my mother when i saw her: "fweeeeeeee - i'm not in prison!"
people had been giving me funny looks for carrying a blow-out off the plane, but it was totally worth it :)
my mother has informed me that it appears that the world cup 2010 will proceed smoothly, forcing me to take back my doom-saying. i hope she's right.
i came home for a shower, scarfed down a quick boerewors lunch, and got to packing. once everything was sorted out (and i was loaded with my tent, a full over-sized backpack, a plastic packet of party goodies and a cooler bag, we headed off to fill said cooler bag with rum, beers, iron brew and ice. the lot cost about the same as just the rum in israel :P
we missed the turnoff to the venue, almost getting lost in a township (we just entered it, and a few of the people who saw us made threatening gestures as we abruptly turned and skidded out), but found the queue safely. my mum dropped me off, and i began the walk up to the ticket booth. just my luck - the woman from delicious dee's was heading back in, and offered me a ride ^_^
itemized list
- finding protoplasm and r.o.b.o.t. and his wife.
- tent 1 goes up
- cousins arrive (me gripping onto side of their 4x4 while directing).
- tent 2 goes up
- firehair and the mask head inside with party tricks
- "you're old!" says a girl to me
- losing the head-lamp, finding it again
- tent 2 collapses
- the countdown - feeling good about the new year
- ... a night of milling around and psychologizing...
my nephew was there until just after daybreak, but i didn't run into him.
the chillout floor at dawn was intense, but had me stuck in my own head psychologizing until i managed to box some of my primary narratives and rediscover the source of my anti-authoritarianism (male biological overlord issues). - the gorgeous petit girl fluttering and everyone's mum (aunty em) and bum-stomping
- the dam (responsibly not diving into the ground, running into all the jews)
- mud craziness - "could you have more fun?"
- kipping on the grass & r.o.b.o.t. and wife leave; fudge-banana-almond crepes
- the girls (aeroplane's ex - springer), the mask (following people wearing my ski-mask while calling their names), more mud (a trance party initiation for springer's friend - mmm, and hooking up with her), the ex (a girl i dated for a while just before the millenium)
- *REALLY* sleepless, missing the mad hatter's set, hypothermia and rocky bruises, and searching for springer (whoops - she didn't do so well after we got separated)
- stolen shirt - who steals a shirt?! aunty em is anti-mud, claiming it drives the older generation away... now that i'm joining the older generation, i tend to disagree :P
- breakfast rolls, a little sleep (the mattress helped), coffee (burned tongue?)
- getting the cousins together
- mud-wash stomp
- zombie camp-breaking (moving very, very slowly) & time-warp toilet (using the port-a-potties required so much care for each movement that i couldn't tell how long i'd been in there, and it was *hot* inside)
- last stomp (more like a wiggle), man with orange juice on his bum (it irritated me that someone balanced the bottle on the guy's bum while he was passed out. not only was it demeaning and unnecessary, but it was my orange juice and the cap had tomato sauce all over it), dry ice (thrown into the mud, with one of those amazonian beauties covered in mud and dancing over the resulting smoke while blowing bubbles)
- quiet drive - too tired to talk
- emergency chocolate / ghost pops / creme soda
- make-up remover doesn't work on zinc
general experience:
i'm amazed that aside from the last set, no matter how exhausted i was at any given time i could be moved to full intensity by the wicked beats.
i drank a lot more of the rum than i'd intended. the responses to the spiced gold by strangers who didn't know what it was were great.
i'm shocked to have met a girl who i really like, who likes me, and who i could have a great time with without having to be attached to constantly.
i did some serious damage to my feet. mostly in the dam, with only one incident in the parking lot. the head-lamp that my mum bought me was incredibly useful!
after coming home and showering, i went with my cousins for hamburgers. that was fun. on getting home, i sat trying to educate my mum on the realities of misbehaviour - i don't know how interested she was.
breakfast with my sister and her boyfriend in their new house was excellent, and their boxer puppy and i get along extremely well.
lunch with my other cousins under the mountain was brilliant, and napping on the grass afterwards in the sun worked for me.
i watched under the african sky - a documentary about the capetonian trance scene - instead of sleeping some more. i went shopping with both mommies, and organized the important stuff (loads of chocolate and marshmallows). then we went for dinner with our cousin from the kibbutz's sad sister.
the evening was alright (the sunset view from their house was mind-blowing), but the lack of understanding she displays regarding the basics of being human and enjoying life made for an easy military comparison, so now my mother understands the kind of mentality i've been up against for the last couple of years.
overheard on the news: an oil spill. oil spills: lose - lose for everyone. depressing.
this morning began with cuz's kids and my aunt coming for a visit. we had a good talk, and i rode with them to the traffic department. wearing my "if i could choose" shirt started some funny conversations - although i was a bit concerned to discover that i'm having trouble understanding african accents :/
after getting my id photos taken, queuing, and filling out the form, the systems went down on a national scale so we all have to come back another day.
at least my housesitter faxed me my israeli license, so i can drive again :)
i walked to the police station looking for the taekwondo group, but couldn't find them. i bought expensive rum instead (havana club). i got sent on an annoying mission to find low GI bread, then met up with mmm. we went to her fish 'n chips store (i didn't realized it was hers at the time) to pick up lunch, then picked up springer's son (gorgeous kid) and took him to the castle while we ate. we picked her up afterwards and visited the bo-kaap farm.
let me repeat that: the bo-kaap farm. i didn't know there was one. it's incredible! we were greeting by pigs and dogs and sweet little worker's kids, then met the cows and the sheep, then some geese and the owner. it was such fun!
we had drinks and chatted at the cape manor hotel while springer's kid was looked after by the guests at the pool (everyone adores him), eventually noticing the time and having to go.
some of the new year's photos from protoplasm and r.o.b.o.t. are great. cadbury's coconut ice chocolate is too good.
the dinner shirt - i didn't change it, so that my bigoted, gay-bashing uncle could enjoy it... it did push his buttons :P
we ate at the restaurant on chapman's peak drive - the food was fantastic (i went with calamari, portuguese steak and prawns) and we had a great time. i drove home, and now that i'm done with this post (finally!), i need to pass out. i still haven't caught up.
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