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Monday, March 29, 2004

more wonderful techology 

www.daisers.blogspot.com
almost every cool american grrl i know is, or has been, a librarian

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you can make it if you run 

i apologise for my confusion about dates and time and the space continuum; i dont fucking know what day it is anymore (spot the difference there then) but i do know everyone in manchester is in for a treat if they hotfoot it to britons protection tonight (monday) the wonderous chris mills is playing - one of my favourite song writers ever - and he will be more than ably supported by everybodys favourite threat to national security matt hill. please go if you can; it almost makes me wish i was home on the whalley range

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high on life 

i'm in new orleans, at daisy's house, and i'm having a fabulous time. today we went to the swamps at tickfaw (not as i just called it pickshaw) it was eerie but yet another kind of beautiful. we saw wild turkeys and snakes and lizards and bright orange caterpillars. crickets and frogs were singing loudly and susie (daisy's supercute puppy) was totally adorable. we also saw strange people hugging in the road, and slaughterhouses and lots of churches and we took a wrong turn into an rv park and got shouted at for driving too fast ar 10mph

we've just spent a couple of hours laughing and drinking white wine and getting stoned and talking nonsense; its probably quite dangerous to be near a computer, as we;ve just been discussing what dogs think of their tails.

my heart is bursting with love for life and in particular the bsn family, which is funny because for mostly technoligical reasons i've not even been a lurker for the past year or so; when i do check in there's tons of people i don't know but i met so many good friends that way; all that shit about the internet being dangerous and full of psychos... its about free speech and crossing boundaries.

another great thing about the internet: we can talk about people we have crushes on and then google for pictures (maybe that sounds sinister when i put it like that, but it isnt; not everyone appears but most people i know do) daisy is going to teach me to flirt (easy to say when i'm on this side of the ocean) we are also planning trips to museums that rhyme. oh, and beer bottles here have jackets on them. its great to be with such a good friend; theres a kind of relaxed you cant be around strangers.

tomorrow i get to go to the dermatologist and sort out some boring stuff. I'll post my sxsw reviews and stuff too; i'll be near a computer for the next couple of days so its a good time to write me (hint hint)

take care y'all
love morag xx

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Thursday, March 25, 2004

just to let you know i'm all alive and well, currently in san antonio which is very pretty and spanish and threatening in the peculiar 'don't mess with texas' way they have here, the civil war really wasnt so long ago. I'm going to new orleans tomorrow on the 6.00am train; i'm assuming communication from there will be easier, and this being ostensibly a music blog i shall post my sxsw reviews. I've been enjoying 3 nights in a private room with a comfy bed and tv (tv!tv!tv!) but its kind of spoiled today by the manager being an arse and not letting me get breakfast until he saw my id; i left and cried for a bit becuase i suspect it was due to the way i look today; the rash i had has come back with a vengence, my face really hurts and is all scabby and sore. I'm going to give in and see a doctor for some serious drugs. anyhow, i may not feel quite as glamourous as usual but its not stopping me enjoying myslef, i'm about to go for a long walk along the river and then buy a new bag (oh how exciting..greyhound broke my trusty old rucksack. grrr) I just got the 5min warning call, so as ever i'm in rush to say far thee well - love m x

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Monday, March 15, 2004

today is my last day in new mexico. truth or consequences is quite simply the strangest place i've ever been, and not just becuase its named after a tv show (forgive me if i'm repeating myself, blogger wont show my previous posts for some reason today) Its a tiny wee place (6000 people) in the middle of the desert with turtleback mountain on one side (And yes, it does look like a sleeping turtle) There are two main roads with a handful of interesting shops, run down supermarkets and slightly scarey looking bars. It is the site of some hot mineral springs which have been a place of healing since Indian times; these days the town is populated by a mix of rednecks, artists, cowboys, hippies and policeman. This might all sound like a recipe for disaster but its possibly the friendliest place i've ever been too; people stop in the street to say hello, cars let you pass and everything moves real slow; i've totally lost sense of time and space. I planned to do a lot of reading and writing here, but every time i find a quiet spot someone will come up and check i'm ok and start chatting; all the folk i met here have such interesting stories to tell i've given up trying to work and decided to just go with the flow and suck up some inspiration for future use. I feel like i've made some really good friends here at the hostel, theres really a community atmosphere, perhaps its about losing your inhibitions when you're soaking in a hot tub watching shooting stars and listening to coyotes howl.... i've been laughing a lot and sharing food, stories, music and hugs with the women i've met here who are so amazing... i hope i get time to share some details. I did a chi gong course over the weekend too; that was so energising and there was a lot of laughter there too, but not when the teacher talked about 'bringing home your inner smile" oh how american. I lost my cardigan yesterday on the way to the cactus ranch and it turned up hanging on a sign saying 'Gods help is just a prayer away'; its typical my spiritual revelation is to tie knots more tightly round my waist. I hahdnt realised how jaded and cynical i'd become; last week a posse of teenage girls blocked the road when i was walking acatually more a dust track than a road) and i assumed a defensive position; all they wanted to know was where i got my socks from. i climbed to the highest point in town (the painted water tower; this counts as a tourist attraction here) and there was a huge unlit bonfire; my head was filled with the wicker man soundtrack and i felt somehow ashamed, although i had just been told about the friendly local serial killer and the massively hight domestic voilence rates (of course these dont count when the ultra low crime rates are calculated) and there is something hugely surreal about the place. People are always stopping to offer lifts when you walk around; no i havent although i do have a story it will have to wait. I'm getting the middle of the night greyhound to austin; i'm very sad to go but really looking forward to south by south west, If anyone has any suggestions of bands i must see i'd love to know. I can't wait to retox....someone else needs the computer now so i'll say take care, love morag x

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Thursday, March 11, 2004

word of the day 

ramshakle. yes. that says it all, when sang with a grin

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Tuesday, March 09, 2004

is el paso as scary as i keep getting told? i have a 5 hour wait in the bus station and i'm wondering if i dare go outside

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truth and consequences 

is messing with my preconceptions, but in a good way. i'm off to sit in the hot springs and then i think we're having a barbeque in the sun. Being in the smallest, most desolately beautiful place i've ever seen means not a lot to do except read, write, snooze and talk to people. tough life, this travelling lark.

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Sunday, March 07, 2004

why do all the best stories - funny, sad, great or terrible, include the sentence "and then we had a drink"

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you know how sometimes you get a feeling in your stomach and a tugging at your heart and you just *know* something special is happening? I had that flutter when i stepped off the train in flagstaff, despite the fact it was 6.30am and snowing and i couldn't remember which direction to head in....

like i said before, trust your instincts, this is a magickal town and the hostel feels more like home than any other i've stayed in, so many cool people and so much laughing. On Thursday i wandered the town and stumbled upon lots of interesting shrines and pretty cats and some really good beer (there was also an incident where i got stuck in the toilet of an oirish pub, but perhaps i'll refrain from sharing the gory details) anyhow its the kind of place where time doesn't matter and its impossible to feel down for long...

Friday I went to the grand canyon, wasn't sure about the tour from the hostel but I'm glad i did it, such an inspiring bunch of people. There was me, four hungarians (gabor and gabor and two women) a fireman from Bromley called neil, (flagstaff is full of people from bromley, i was going to say strangely enough but i would rather be here than there) bruce from london, latoya from Seattle and the tour guide mike. The drive up was fun and then we did this cheesy covering your face with your hands and holding on to the person in front of you business so we all saw the canyon in one go. Yes, i felt a twat but oh gosh it was worth it, i've never heard such an intense, awe inspired silence. No words can be adequate but i cried a little bit. we walked around the rim a bit, trying to comprehend it all, then after lunch it was time to hike properly. I opted out; i was craving solitude and beauty, in the end latoya came with me but she was great company and we also went our separate ways a little bit. We stayed near the rim it was so so wonderful.

the evening was almost as great, i don't know why some groups just click, i suppose its chemistry in various senses of the word. Gabor and Gabor are both studying wine making; they organised a wine tasting for us (minus the spitting part) and things went downhill, happily, from there. We were all supposed to go to a party at the sister hostel but at 3.30am we all kind of realized we were still in the lobby of our place sharing stories and swapping jokes and making plans to travel eastern Europe.

Gabor2"this is the highest point of my life, i think it is all downhill from here"
Gabor1"If you jump please give me your camera first"
Gabor1 "this is so humbling and great, i wish to build a model at home in my room to always remind me"
Gabor2"yes. and the ladies would like to see your canyon. they will say it is great and look, i have the rocky mountains (mimes breasts)
Then they had a long story about pig hunting in their village and the importance of vodka in their lives....

Yesterday i went to Sedona with two charming little old ladies (Sisters from Guernsey and Wales, like the odd couple as envisaged by Marchant ivory) and in the evening Bruce drove us to Lowell observatory where we saw venus and saturn and mars and more stars than i ever realised were possible; they have rules about light pollution here. I'll write some more later i hope, i'm going to see a Hopi guy talk about Kachinas at the museum this afternoon with a girl i just met and then I think I'll go to some bars on route 66. I think there may be a vortex ubder this hostel, its a place with hugely positive vibrations. I'm sad to be leaving tomorrow but I'm hoping for eavesdropping as great as i got on the way here - there were 2 guys playing cards, neither met each other before, one just left prison and a rehab programme, the other was a young bloke on his way to bootcamp. he'd just seen the mel gibson movie and discovered god. I don't miss tv now i feel well again.

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Thursday, March 04, 2004

deep breath and go..... 15 minutes to spew days of wonder and magic and (surprise!) romantic disillusionments. I'm in Flagstaff, its almost unbearably cute in a small town, pictire postcard way and so friendly i keep waiting for the monsters to appear. I'm having some transport issues - all my smug car avoidance has come crashing round my head, i really want to get to sedona but the bus only runs when enough people want to get on it. i suspect its for the best and i'd get riled by new age shysters - they always avoid the messy bits of magick and life. I am going to the grand canyon tomorrow, can't wait, but i fear i'm going to be a spaz and forgoe the hike i am yearning for; my body really dosent feel good at the moment although my heart and soul are better than ever and if theres one thing i've learnt in recent years it's to listen to my body and my instincts. so i'll be going and sitting and writing and dreaming - not so bad, really. I've also found out the train from austin to new orleans takes 5 days and goes via chicago (!) so i may have to fly, whatever my plans are jiggling a bit but i need to get a grip soon or things cost so much more.

If daisy and sarah (US vegan one) are reading this, please can you call me on 303 345 7302 or email me with your phone numbers because i want to make sure your around when i hit town and my email time is really limited here (i am still in love with everyone that takes the time to write though - thank you so much. If anyone has any books that they would recommend i'd really appreciate suggestions, the great thing about 24 hour trains and no work is catching up on literature and right now i am craving good stories)

my last couple of days in san fran were fantastic, i went on a ridiculous and beautiful day trip to yosemite (where i remebered why i hate organised tours, people were so bloody whingey about faciliites and weather and all - they didnt seem to notice the too beautiful for words waterfalls and mountains and wildlife. i saw a coyote and some deer; they are one of my totem animals i think and i struggled not to cry at the beauty of it all) I also saw the oscars at beckys house which was hilarious - red wine, nice frocks, wonderful company - really a good time. Whilst feeling ill i found myself missing tv which was a bit of a shock, nothing specific just a need to veg. I am really missing radio 4, and the gaurdian, but its also refrshing to opt out of politics for a bit. Not that you can. I was talking to people yesterday about palns for fake snow in the mountains nearby so they can become a beougious ski resort. Its the place where the Navajo belive the Kachinkas live, plus theres been a drought here for years and this would take a lot of water, but it seems money beats faith and tradition anyday. I'm getting my fire back and i'm hoping hermitiing and truth or consequences will help me to focus that in some way. 30 seconds left so no time to spell check again; its my typing not my spelling, honest.

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Tuesday, March 02, 2004

its 5.45am and i'm just about to catch a train (or rather lift/bus/train/bus/train) to go to flagstaff. San Fran has found a place in my heart, although I think i'm alergic to it; lots of bugs and minor mishaps here and it feels like time to move on. I've had some great times and got some really good friends here but I need some quiet time to detox and refresh. I'll be in Flagstaff for a few days, including a trip to the grand canyon then Truth or Consequences in New mexico where I plan to do nothing except read, write and enjoy the hot springs. After that the pace will no doubt quicken because I'm going to Austin for South by South West (sxsw.com) and then.... who knows. Take care, I'll write when I'm near a computer (less often than I imagined actually; its great when life gets in the way of the internet). love from a very sleepy morag x

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