France

I am in Caen France, as I have been for a few days now. I got here on Friday and am leaving tomorrow (Monday) fairly early. This town is pretty sweet - I guess 80% of the town was bombed during the 2nd world war, and so as a result it looks a bit more modern then one might imagine.

This town was the home base for William the Bastard ... yes that was his real name ... who was a Norman king, and the last to conquer England (1044). However, after conquering England he finally earned the right to have his name changed to William the Conquerer, which sounds better anyways. However, I will be usurping that name once I get my first million, and will build a castle on one of the hills in PT and it will be known as the castle of Michael the Bastard!

I am staying with a friend from high school, and she is doing an excellent job at showing me around, and translating what people shout to one another across the street. There are all kinds of gargoyles around here ... well ... to be more accurate ... there are a couple cathedrals that have many gargoyles on them.

Gargoyles are the coolest things ever, in my opinion. I guess on rainy days the water comes off the roof of the cathedrals and pours out of their mouths. Which begs the question, why didn't they make people statues that would do the same thing? Wouldn't that be more accurate and symbolic of the middle ages?

French people, as all people, are really nice. I can't speak for the Middle East, but as a whole, people from other countries don't hate Americans. I don't know where we all get that. In fact, there have been several people who have been exstatic to find out that I am American and have gone out of their way to be super friendly. So anyone my age reading this and thinking about traveling, don't buy a Canadian patch for your backpack - but maybe don't buy an American flag either ..

Now comes the sad disappointing news for those of you who have been hoping for this .... but I decided that I am not going to go to Paris or Amsterdam as originally hyped. After a few laid back days in France, I just decided it would be nicer to hang with the family over here that I wont see for awhile, and to maybe make a couple small ventures into Eastern Europe. What a tearjerker, eh? haha. But France is cool. I think when I go to Portland I want to take French lessons. Almost sure of it.

I am getting into the major reflection part of my trip now. I don't really feel confused about everything in life as I did before I came here. Because life is kind of like a train station. It's just about making choices, jumping on that train, seeing where it takes you ... and after all you just end up at another station and can make another decision. So I hope that I wont feel overwhelmed by the future anymore ... and I hope that I can manage my stress over things that I cannot control. Mike

Dublin Again

One of the greatest things about being in a large city in the morning as a tourist, is watching the people. You might be strolling down the street - admiring buildings, looking at chewing gum on the sidewalk - checking out your reflection in the window... but everyone around you is on a fast-paced one way ticket to somewhere and they don't have time to navigate around some tourist! There's literally thousands of these people walking down O'Connell street in the morning - running after busses, jumping onto moving busses, dodging cars as they run across the sidewalk, walking at a slow paced run. And then there's someone like me. Just woke up, wearing the same clothes as yesterday (perhaps the day before even?), yawning and stumbling at a snails pace in the opposite direction as everyone else. Such is Dublin this morning.

I have made it back to the land of expensive internet, but I figured it was time to give everyone a mini-update. I just spent the past ... I dunno ... Two weeks or so in both Curraun in County Mayo, and Glenfarne in County Leitrim. Mayo was a lot like Port Townsend if instead of the Puget Sound and clay bluffs, there were an angry Atlantic ocean blowing out gale force winds across chiseled stone cliffs that are said to be the highest in Europe. Glenfarne is more like your misty little farming town. I would go down to Clancy's in the morning for breakfast half expecting some Okie to serve me up a batch of bacon and eggs. In America, Clancy's would probably be called Joe's Cafe or something like that. I got to see where great grandparents were buried - meet cousins, great-uncles, great-aunts - it was just good times. It is an amazing experience to 'go back to your roots.' I can't say that it explains a lot about my life ... haha ... but I can say it was a real privilidge to see where my grandmother and grandfather lived - and to see how the sacrifices and struggles they had, helped to create this pretty burgeoise life that I lead. That is no discredit to my parents either - but you know what I am saying.

Anyway, I am back in Dublin and am flying to London on Friday. I just bought my ticket, and am preparing myself emotionally to watch all of my money evaporate. Argh, the pound! Why does Britain have such a strong economy anyways? Is it all of the Grail seekers pouring through the streets spending their old money in search of Mary Magdalene? I don't know - but I must add that I have been reading the Da Vinci Code and it is tripping me out. Whoa ... I just realized I am paying 10 cents a minute to use the internet and at the time that sounded like a deal, but I just did the math in my head. So that is all for now - I will maybe write more in London ... but don't be surprised if there is another gap. I will give you the unedited true version of all events in person. Mike

from Galway on to Castlebar

I am getting ready to jump off the face of the metaphorical technological earth.
I am heading to Castlebar and then some small town where I have some family in Northwest Ireland. I will be getting away from the internet for awhile I think - which will probably be good for me because all of this free internet has distracted from the actual enjoyment of traveling.

I think I am getting my second wind here, as the last 24 hours have been really fun. Last night I went to this concert by myself, where three different bands performed. I had never heard of any of them, but figured it was something to do. Turns out 2 of the 3 acts were from Seattle (Ian Moore and Richmond Fontaine) and the other one called the Amazing Pilots was from somewhere around here. The musical abilities and the sound were just amazing. I sat next to this guy who has a recording studio here in Ireland, and we talked about the Dylan album 'Blood on the Tracks' which is a personal fave of mine, and this guy Ken told me the whole story behind the recording session.

Today I hung out with a couple of Americans and a Swede - and we just had lunch and talked about American politics for three hours.
It got a little old - but one of the Americans is a grad student in law, so I learned a lot about our constitution and the way our government makes laws. It was like watching one of those 'Schoolhouse Rocks' videos ... only in a pub setting.

Galway has been my favorite town to visit.
I am sure that years from now I will remember the good times I had - and not the times I spent wandering around aimlessly, or reading 'the Grapes of Wrath' all day along the quay.

I've had some epiphany's about various things - but I have had so many of those lately that I am just taking them with a grain of salt now.
I have been relieved to talk to other lone travelers who have said they had little depressing emotional breakdowns. I am just glad that I didn't end up curled in a ball and crying in the middle of the Limerick bus station - as this one girl did that I met today. Mine have more to do with 'what am I doing with my life?' or 'what am I going to do when I get back to the states?' or 'ahhhhhhhh?'. I have found it interesting to sit back and think about how I delt with these situations after the fact. haha. But I am so used to having those feelings over the last few years, that I am hardly phased by them for more then a couple days. I can remember times in college or even in Port Townsend earlier this spring - where I had many sleepless nights and whatnot - but now it just comes and goes. Ebbs and flows if you will.

I am falling asleep at night ... And not peering over my covers and staring at the black ceiling for hours on end. So that is good. I am really starting to believe that everyone my age should do something like this. I don't even know what I am doing really - but I just mean striking out on their own and getting away from things they feel comfortable with. Because you learn a lot about life. And you really learn to appreciate what you DO have in a way that I don't think you can otherwise. I almost felt grateful for my college debt the other day. It was crazy.

But mostly - I am just hoping that something exciting happens soon so I can really tell everyone some great adventure stories. Maybe I will walk down the quay at 3 in the morning after the bars close, and then come back here and report to everyone what happens. I guess last night I did see a guy throwing up all over his shoes ... but I have seen that so much here that it is hardly exciting anymore.

The drinking culture here has a lot of life to it ... like a 800 year old redwood growing in the forests of Northern California. Yes, I think the drinking culture is somewhat like that.

Ennis, Galway

So I spent the past several days in Ennis, Ireland.
Not to be confused with Ennis, England - which I believe I will be hanging out at in the coming future. Man, I am very conscious of my American slang lately and feel somewhat guilty for having such a lazy tongue. I am in Galway now, and it is everything I hoped it would be and more. I am at a hostel called sleepzone that is supposed to be the 7th best in the world, but after my Dublin experience I am forced to ask, 'where are the Danish high school students?' Well, in fact, there are high school students here ... but they are really young and loud and I am wondering how I will sleep tonight. There is also an Aussie soccer team - and the fellas are pretty laid back, but not too exciting to talk to. Probably similar to trying to talk to an American college football team.

I stayed with a friend of a friend who allowed me to stay with only 4 hours notice.
I realized on Friday evening that every place from Cork to Dublin had been booked for the night. I desperately called, Conor, as he is referred to - and he graciously invited me up to Ennis. He is a man of his mid to late 40's - a vegetarian, a cross country runner, and an avid cyclist.

I ate better there in two days, then I had in the previous two weeks in Ireland.
He wouldn't have had it any other way. Connor's thick Cork accent made it hard to understand him. I cannot explain what it sounds like, but if you picture your typical American with a severe speech impediment mixed with a musical quality, then you have a Cork accent. Oh, and then add 'like' to the end of every other sentence. (although he didn't do that so much, it is a quality of the Cork accent) That isn't intended to be rude, that is just how it is. But Connor was really neat because he is one of those guys that went back to college in his 40's. He got his masters degree after studying in San Francisco, and came back to Ireland to be a guidance counselor.

Over dinner, he told me of his plans to set up programs in Africa to spread education to remote villages, as he figures education is the only way to really help those less privilidged.
Pretty cool, I must say. In Ennis, I was starting to realize what a change Ireland has gone through in the past several years. Connor explained that many of the locals jokingly refer to Ireland as the 51st state! From Dublin to Galway, all along the roads there is continuous development and improvement. Whereas the majority of the roads have been two lanes ... almost exclusively - they are adding new lanes in many places. Every city I have visited has been littered with cranes - and surrounded with new housing developments.

Connor said Ireland is approaching its pre-famine population for the first time since 1840 - with most of the immigrants coming from Eastern Europe.
I have noticed it - in every town there are many Romanians and Polish. I guess they are estimating the Polish population in Ireland to be near 250k - out of almost 4 million now. It is a very interesting time to be here for those reasons, but I have also heard that Ireland is second to the US in creating new millionaires over the past five years, with a continuing division between the rich and poor closely resembling the situation in the US. History lessons aside, I can totally dig Galway. I am referring to it as 'Port Townsend East'. This is to myself mind you, as I haven't found a good companion yet.

Today I met an American named Nick, who could play the fiddle like you cannot believe
- and I am hoping to jam with him sometime this week. He is the kind of guy where the only arrangements you can make are 'maybe I will see you on the street corner tomorrow?' Such is my life as of late. I went to the grocery store today hoping to buy fajita ingredients, only to turn back an hour later frustrated that the grocery stores have no refried beans OR tofu. Ireland is harsh, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

I am trying not to go to bed early tonight. It is only 10:30 or so ... probably not even that. The other American in my room is already asleep and I want to throw a bucket of water on him and say, 'hey you are in Ireland you idiot.' But he would probably just turn over and ask for a cheeseburger or something.
Mike

Conas a ta tu and Fenbi Status

Conas a ta tu = hello, how are you in Gaelic.
I am still in Cork. Last night I went to an Irish pub and performed for my first authentic Irish audience. I have never been so nervous, but I had a lot of energy, and people liked the two songs that I played. One guy even referred to me later as "the American Shane McGowan".

It is funny, because in America I always associated myself as being 'Irish' - but in Ireland I cannot get away with it. I am known as the American everywhere I go - even though I am hardly your stereotypical yank. In fact, every time I open my mouth, people are shocked that I don't have an accent - well at least not the one they expect. At a pub today, some Englishmen were talking to me for about two minutes (they thought I was French), and when I finally answered back one was like 'oh he's a YANK' - and they started laughing hysterically.

A town called Ennis.
Today started off on a bright note when some Irish people I met at my dad's church in Granada Hills this past summer came to the hostel and graciously invited me to stay with them in a town called Ennis, which is north of Limerick.

At the ole' internet cafe I got some bad news- my plans always seem to fall apart at the seams unless I have 100% control over them. In this case, my plans to move to Portland are not going to be as I fantasized - with old friends going with me. I am becoming more independent all the time and know it is possible to do a big move like that alone, but as a lone traveler, it is hard to be faced with the prospect of a lone move when a group move was sort of the beacon in the distance. No disrespect to my pals intended, as everyone is free to make their own choices, but I think I have finally learned that it is impossible to make any plans with other people unless you are married to them, or they are bound to you by law in some other way.

So to counter the sadness I felt, I went and cut all my hair off - it was really cathartic to me. I went in there and sat down, and said 'cut it all off.' I closed my eyes and expected to be this ugly baldy when she was done, as I have seen more and more hair in my comb every time I run it through my hair. But as it turns out, I am not bald at all, and actually look a lot better then I did with that mass of 6 inch feathery fluff. After that I walked the streets of Cork as a new man, with a new look-a new outlook-and more confidence!

Today, I helped my Italian friend Miercol find a job. In Ireland it is really hard to find work, because you need a 'safety card' to do construction (which takes 6-8 weeks) - and you need ridiculous other cards for other work. Miercol has a somewhat disadvantage as he speaks hardly any English - but he has an extreme drive to avoid going back to Italy. He is 27 years old, and I think he left his village to show everyone how independent he was and that he didn't need to live in a little 800 person village anymore - but now he is terrified that he will come back with his tail between his legs.

The phones of Ireland are so impossible to use, and cost an arm and a leg. And that's one thing that a new haircut cannot fix! There is a cute Spanish gal that invited me to go to a club, but I almost left that out of the letter because I don't want people to think my ego is inflating. The bag may not appear inflated, but air will be flowing through ... (that's what flight attendants say ....) Gosh ... no one in Europe understands my sense of humor either....

Fenbi Status
The band is going to take a different form as Orion is going to Thailand, and I am going to start it anew in Portland. It was a very interesting experience for us - to get to this point where we finally just decided it was the best move to go separate ways. To me, it shows how deep our friendship is - and even though it is sad that I can't share it with him, it is exciting that he is following a dream that he is really passionate about - which is going to Thailand and teaching English.

This is a reminder of what life is about - having dreams, setting goals - doing them - and there is nothing within reason, which one cannot do if they put their mind to it. It's kind of like what my step-dad used to always tell me! Now that I have done the college thing, am in Europe, my next goal is to play music in a stadium, (and no, Memorial Field in Port Townsend doesn't count), cause I already did that once.

Opportunity and the knife fights of Limerick. Today I feel refreshed and ready for some sort of opportunity to come my way. Maybe next email will get back to the knife fights in the back alleys of Limerick. Ha-ha. Until next time....

Cork

Well I have made it as far as Cork now. It is somewhat of an interesting town. It is really just a mini-Dublin in my opinion, but perhaps I haven't stumbled upon it's unique culture yet. It also reminds me a lot of Seattle, mixed with a bit of San Francisco.

This morning I walked to the top of a hill and looked out over the entire city and marveled at the colors and architecture and the brilliant green fields on the far hillside. I patted myself on the back for that one.

Well, last night I went out with this Italian guy I met at my new hostel. I have no idea what his name is, and he speaks very little English. He is from the Northern part of Italy and so he looks more Spanish to me. He has long hair in a pony tail, and when I first saw him I thought he was Native American. But we just went out, met some Spanish girls who are learning English here, so they were interested to talk to me because I guess the American accent is way easier for them to understand then the Irish alternative.

Just so you guys know that I haven't been a little Don Juan over here - the very first day I arrived in Ireland I got a huge cold sore on my lip. I think it was from the stress of travel and jet lag and not sleeping well for the first week or so. But if you add that with the in-grown hair I got on the left side of my lip, I look more like a walking anti-chewing tobacco poster. It is almost healed now, but all those nights in Dublin where I was running around with Danes and Frenchies - I have to assume that they must have truly just enjoyed me for my American wit and grace, because I was definitely low on the cool factor.

In Cork I have decided a new approach to things. I have been working on what I call, my Euro-face. God, this is how you talk when you have been by yourself too long. Anyway, this is what I am going to practice so that gay men and weirdo's stop singling me out. In America, I say hi or nod at almost everyone I walk past. But here, I am just going to do an empty stare, or even make it look somewhat menacing. I also shaved off the little goatee scruff I had growing under my bottom lip, in case that was somehow contributing. I almost cut my hair today, like shaved it - because it is just too long and stringy and annoying. Some days I walk around feeling like I have mange - because it is just so unmanageable. But, alas, in the spirit of rock and roll I held out and bought a scarf instead. If that makes sense.

Also today, I have just been feeling the frustration of doing this alone. It has been cool meeting all of these people ... but it is a lot of energy to always be putting yourself out there and going out of your way to find 'single use friends'. They are single use, because the next day they are off or I am off ... and then I just have to do it all over again. Kinda like what Edward Norton was talking about in Fight Club. And also, trying to speak English with people who aren't very fluent is very difficult. I am sure it is way harder for them, but man o' man. Just give me an American or a Canadian for a couple days - and maybe I will feel more motivated to go see Blarney castle ... but right now all I really wanna do is drink coffee and read.

Anyway, I have two more days in Cork before heading to Limerick. I just found out that my dad's Irish friend Vince, who I met in California, is in Cork. So I am going to try to give him a call. Using the pay phone ... that is a whole other story ....

The wild cats of Kilkenny

I've been telling everyone that I meet in Kilkenny, that the Irish band 'The Pogues' are what brought me here. They have a really good song called the 'Wild cats of Kilkenny' - and not one person has ever heard of it.

At any rate, leaving Dublin was more of an eye opening experience. As the bus pulled away, the grey turned to the green that everyone speaks of. It truly is the greenest place I have ever seen - and this is right after summer when most grass fields would seem to be brown anywhere else.

The town itself is beautiful, and I have already booked a second night. I don't really know how many people live here, but there are a lot of old buildings and a few absolutely amazing castles.

I spent all yesterday and all last night hanging out with two Swedes that happen to be my new roommates. Apparently if I had gotten here two days before, I would have seen two guys with hair down to their shoulder blades and dressed like the Nihilists from 'The Big Lebowski'. They even have the same accent and it is absolutely ridiculous. Anyway, they are trying to get work here in Kilkenny so they cut their hair short, and whined about it all yesterday. 'where has my hair gone? I have none anymore. Where there used to be lots of hair, I have very little now.' They are really funny guys. I have come to understand, that if it weren't the culture in Europe to buy rounds of drinks for the people you are hanging out with, I wouldn't be spending more then 30£ a day on my travels. But as a result, take last night for example, where I threw down close to 40£.

On the plus side, I am still spending way less then I had imagined from the states, but I could be a liiiiiittle more frugal. Last night we went to this bar called 'Paris, Texas' and we listened to an Irish cover band play all the new hits from the Bravery, the Strokes, Chili Peppers - and some old ones like 'where is my mind' by the Posies, I think? Something like that? I was just dancing away with one of the Swedes, and the annoying thing was that thing Irish guy who must have been close to my age kept pinching me and when I'd look over at him, he would put his fingers to his lips and make the 'shhh' sound. Now this has got me wondering, do I have some sort of gay beacon that the Europeans are able to pick up? Cause that is twice in two days, and really annoying.

Anyway, to counter this annoying man, I met some Irish gals who took me to another club - and they held me and sang me old Irish songs as we walked down the cobble stone streets. It was quite amazing. However, when we got to the other club, I did the whole 'ladies first' thing as we learn back in the states, and they rushed right in and went around the corner and were gone. I started to walk in, and the doorman said 'that'll be 7£ please' to which I replied 'f*$% that' - and I turned around and walked back.

I had a really interesting 2am conversation with the Irish guy working the door at the Hostel. He was probably late 20's early 30's and has lived here his whole life. Everything he said, he said so matter of factly and was just all around convincing. Course, he was explaining how this WWII video game worked, but he was explaining the tactics that his 'real time' German U-Boat was taking to scour the water of England. He would be all 'take this water for example, now that is real water - you can't just go around programming a computer to make water the moves like that. It is something else, I tell ya.' Then the conversation moved to Iraq as it often does around me, and he mentioned how he doesn't like that the US is the only super power, but said he would gladly have it be the US versus China or Russia. Which was a comment I had never heard before, and I thought to be very interesting.

Anyway, I just realized it was noon, and I have only been up for a couple minutes, so I am going to run out and explore Kikenny!