Pelagus travel news..

[Anonymous]

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travel story from 08.19.06 'til 09.03.06

i spent my last night in santa barbara mostly on the beach. Taking some last pix & listening to the sea. It felt peaceful.
Unfortunately, i did not meet neric on that night, but i got the chance to spend a few hours with him later during the week in la.
i got about 20 mn earlier even though the train left late & eventually found rick in the station. That was really great. We went to his appartment & talked a bit & prepared the garden for the party (lights & chairs). i took a nap & then his friends arrived to prepare a vegan chocolate cake, the people invited + from the building came all along the night. It was nice & some of rick's friends were quite interesting to talk & listen to.
The next day was dedicated to food not bombs so i got the chance to join the organization of the food distribution. i could take many pix while distributing, you'll find some in the album i made about my trip (http://pelagus.myphotoalbum.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=album01) & also feel free to check out la's fnb's website
That was really impressing & it really gave me the desire to have it to work better in paris. But the thing is: we really need more hands...
During the week i've been visiting the city with rick (he took some days off) & by myself. i discovered the central library where i've felt like home. So i've spent some time there... i should say a lot :P
thursday night, we went to see those chinese dancers, they were really amazing! All made of fire :D
We went to that old brewery where there are now a bunch of artists working. There are some exhibitions there but the day we went there, almost everything was closed.
i've been to some interesting exhibitions though.
Rick took me to the concert of one of his friends: emily wells, she's an amazing singer, i was blown away by her voice! You can listen to some of her stuff here. Enjoy!
i also met gary, 5 year of email exchanges & eventually, my durian man was in front of me :D that was really cool! He also got the chance to meet rick who joined us that night.
We also went to a swimming pool where i could swim a little while, it really felt good!! i felt like a fish again: thank you rick!! :D
Last week end was sunset junction fair. Concerts, booths of all kind -from clothing to activism. We saw some good bands; unfortunately, i got wrapped by some pod's smoke & got out of sentience... & that was just after the first song of this great rock band :(
i saw seng also. It was really wonderful to meet him again. We spent a whole day together & it was warm & soft to spent time with him again. Something funny actually happened as we were sitting in the park in front of the library: a flock of pigeons (about 50) suddenly flew to us, surrounding us. They stayed quite a while & i started talking to one right in front of me. S/He was funny because S/He was seriously starring at me as i was talking, as if S/He understood everything. Then, a few minutes later, i was relating an event to seng about a policeman who didn't want to let me go on a sidewalk & i spread my arms, this very same pigeon who was now on my right side jumped on my arm & stayed there at least 5 minutes. i asked S/He to get down, that S/He did. a few minutes after, i lifted my arm again, & S/He jumped again, this happened several times but every time i'd ask him/her to get down, S/He did. Funny/amazing anecdote.


So i stayed with rick one more week. That was so sweet of him to let me stay longer. Anyway, i moved last thursday & stayed with seng until today. He lives in el monte, about 30mn drive from la. We went for a couple of hikes. On friday, we went to that waterfall in the mountains, i think the name is stuvant, or something like that. That was so nice. i swam a bit, but the water was way too cold to stay longer than 15mn :( i then crashed on a rock, just likelezards do & fell asleep for a little while. i so much like this feeling of waking up after a while in the sun. But it was already shaddy when i opened my eyes.
Saturday we went to the african market, a huge market place with so many things & amazing people. There was the litterature part where i definitely had to hang out! i talked with some interesting people. They have a newspaper that looks pretty good. We talked for almost a hour & i got their 30 hours cd s about capitalism... i'll definitely have to find some time to watch it. By what they were saying, it is really interesting. We were also talking about coalitions & how to reach people. i'm hoping to keep in touch with them. They were very excited about the next protest in la against bush, unfortunately, i won't be in the us anymore since it is on the 5th of october. Anyway, i hope many people join, it has to be huge!!!
Later, i met this guy who works for a painter. i was watching the shirts they were selling, he came talking to me & gave me their card. i was really fascinated by some of the drawings. Eventually, he told me he'd give me one shirt if i wore it during the market & advertise for him; ie, just giving his card & direction to the booth while on the market... hey, i took the shirt & did :D i'm definitely in love with his work !
There was also this jazzy band, they played a lot of good stuff, but i did not get a chance to know their name. i took some pix of them though, i'll had them later on the album.
Seng & i then left & went for a walk in venice beach. It was pretty nice, some cool people (mainly homeless - such as everywhere) i went in a tattoo shop (there are thousands there!)to ask about their octopus drawwings. i got some good ones. Now i have a better idea of the shape i would give to the one i'd like.
i left el monte this morning. i sort of freaked out when i realized that there was no other way for me to get out of this place then seng's car or hitchikking... i just wanted to get out of there for the day & hang out on some other sides of la... so i left. i found some lockers at union station so my bag is safe. éhéh, the first thing i did once out was SWIMMING... how is that i always find a swimming pool/lake/ocean when i'm out of wack? Well, anyway, i did. This labour day week end seems overcrowded but dead for all the buses, trains, etc... i'll stay downtown until tuesday, then i'll take a train to san diego. At last. i think i've needed it so much & have been waiting for too long. i thought i could stay longer with seng, but my freedom seems more important then anything else. i realize how much i'm hurting people, but freedom is too important to me.
So after i send this email i should head down to union station to get my ticket.
The funny thing is, as soon as i get out of some "prison" -would it be human or physical- i'm feeling completely different & what seemed so necessary before, becomes completely meaningless.

More later :)
pelagus


travel story from 09.03.06 'til 09.10.06


something crazy happened to me... well, it might be something comon in certain spots, & i was still in la... but this guy, we got off the bus at the same stop, he followed me a little then talked to me in some very bad english... asking me if i would have sex with him against money!!! holy crappy shit!! i was blown away!!
i found a rid from la to san diego, or ocean beach. i used the train from there to san diego. a nice guy, steve. He used to be a vegetarian. i got an invite to stay in ocean beach, but really wanted to get to san diego. Maybe i'll go back there, i don't know... we'll see if i have time.
my first night in san diego was ok. It seems that santa barbara & san diego are similar on several points: like the lack of healthfood stores down town & the use of this ralphs stores as only food storage downtown. So i'm settling there for my night eatery. As i was trying to educate this mouse about prefering fruit to chicken bones (a hard stuff... she's way too addicted to the flesh now - sigh!) this guy stopped & sat with me. His name is john, he's coming from florida, he came here to surf. He used to be in the navy, it seems that it changed him a lot! But he doesn't seem too fucked though.
Anyway, my second day made me meet byron, a 65 yy dude who created pool queues. hmm... he was telling me about importing ivory queues... so i asked him about human bones queues... & if it could be a good idea... interesting discussions... he invited me for dinner on his boat...
Time in san diego went away so fast! Friday night, i realized the day it was & that i only had the week end left! So frustrating :(
Wednersday i went in the old town, nice spot. It looks typically spanish. Full of cacti, i loved it :)
On thursday, i spent the morning in a roses garden & an other garden full of cacti!! i was in heaven! i took so many pix, crazy & amazing cacti, i defenitely love them!! You can still see some of my pix here. i think the last time it stopped page 31, so you can start again from there.
i eventually made it to the beach on friday. The sea is amazing here, but too strong & i could not swim, the waves are way too huge... no surprise you find so many surfers lol! But her taste is delicious, so salty. Such as in sb, i fell asleep in the sun, so i got back to the colour i lost in la... Yes, even though the sun shines there, i was not much lying in the sun there, so i turned paler :P Anyway, a little time on the beach here & my colour is back. It might actually be the salt from the sea that makes it.
Anyway, saturday & sunday, i was able to swim a bit, even though the waves were much stronger then friday.
Saturday afternoon i met tony. We first searched for some fresh durian... but no luck, all the spots supposed to have it, did not :( He took me to ocean beach to sea the sunset. The beach was full of people getting ready to party, loud music, bbq, the late surfers getting ready to leave as well as families. This beach is quite different from that where i've been to swim: pacific beach. We actually sungazed, he's been doing it for several years, but stopped about 2 years ago. It was good & the sunset was wonderful. But i did not bring my camera... so no pic :( But we've had a good time.
In the evening there was a free concert, an experience festival. A lot of different musics. The end was more with things i like, the beginning was full of rap & other r'nb & hip hop... yuk! Anyway, outside the park, you could see all those vans, they were here to take people back home... free shuttles so people can drink during the evening... i could not believe it lol

San diego is quite a big city - 1.3million inhabitants - & i liked it a lot, but still, santa barbara is my favourite place to be. Because of the intimacy i think & the way you can quickly know everybody. Also the heat. i mean, the sun is warmer there... even though nights are freaking cold... where not that cold in sd... Another thing is, i haven't been that much into photography being here... not much inspiration... or maybe i should have spent more time on the seasides of the city? But it is difficult to be both downtown & on the coast since it is so far away (30 to 50mn) & the place where i stayed is downtown. It was already hard to find someone to host me, so i did not have much of a choice i guess.
Anyway, i'm taking off at 11.40... going to st louis to see eric!!! youpiiiiiiiiiiii!!! i just can't wait to see him again.
Just have to get my e-ticket printed before i leave... but soon, hopefully :P

ok, i'm off!

i hope you all have a great day/night.
pelagus

[Rudra]

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Good morning!

Let's see... more than 10 days since i last wrote... i'm back in ny & i did not get back to paris on the 20th as planned... i'll be here in the us until october the 3rd.
i got to st louis where eric was waiting for me at the airport. This is such a warm feeling having someone, a familiar face to expect where you get out of the plane.
Since he is back to school, we could not spend all the time together, but we've had a lot of fun :)
We went to a party on the night i arrived & played this game called "the village", i really enjoyed it once i got the rules ;) They play it every week, & it's a lot of fun. The next night, we went to that coop house where there was a vegan meal, followed by the showing of some movies about activism. Some really interesting such as how to voice your claims. i loved it! There are so many struggles down this earth & so many people... i'll get back to that later when telling you about ny.
Anyway, i also took so many pix! There are beautiful old building, & i got the chance to get in an area where there is this old building falling apart (a fabric). It was a great experience. A bit scary though... especially since night was falling, so i could not stay as long as i would have otherwise. Anyway, great images came out of it.
i wish i had figured out then that i'd stay here longer, so i could have stayed in st louis a few more days... next time :)
Ok, ny... let's see... after hours in the plane, wrong time, late planes, etc... i made it to the airport where slawek was waiting for me - again, wonderful feeling :D
His place has been a bit busy with couch surfers, but it is fun to meet all those people :) Last friday we had a party... about 12 people. Pretty cool & great people. All the food was vegan - a lot fruitarian. It ended around... hmm, i actually don't even remember what time i went to bed lol!!
Before that, there was this protest against bush -he was giving a talk- i joined the march & took so many pix of american activists. A funny thing happened. This guy talked to me, asking me if i was not in tompkins park in july (remember the punk concert?) Well he was there & had noticed me. We talked a bit then listened to the speakers. eventually after the gathering we talked some more. He told me about a meeting about the 9/11. It is the group in charge of denouncing the big lies surrounding this event. That was so familiar... i mean the meeting & making decisions... very similar to the FRAP organizations (for those familiar with it ;))
Tonite they show a movie called "ground for truth".
On thrusday i went to see danny nova performing. We met through one of those veg dating website. i met him the saturday before & ended up in nj where he has a house by a lake. It ended up a bit messy & i could not get back to ny as i wanted, but well... Anyway, he is an amazing singer & his performence was wonderful, except for the last song where he used one type of strip girl. What a pity because the song is actually my favourite & it fucked it completely :(
You can have a look at his website & listen to some of his songs here.
What else... let me think... i guess i forgot half of what i did - once again - but here are the basic ;)
oH, concerning my email with the argument i had with this dude in sb; i got some people feed back on that, it seems i did not express myself correctly: i absolutely did not mean people killed during the ww2 were guilty, that it was their fault & that german soldiers were sweet little guys who were not wrong: DEFENITELY NOT!
i was just talking about choices all around that & where this can lead you or not.

have a great day/night!

pelagus

[Anonymous]

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Back in paris *sigh*

my last week in nyc went too fast :( i spent most of my time doing activism, taking pix of activists for the 9/11 truth.Check out their website, there's a bunch of great info & interesting points. They have so much going on, it's great! If any of you happen to be in nyc any sunday night, they have a movie going on (starting at 6.30 at st mark's church). i would also suggest that you check out google videos: search for those 2 movies - loose changes 2 - 9/11 mysteries. The second is the best.
Anyway, being away from nyc feels empty! Great people & there are many i can' t wait to meet again.
slawek took me to baltimore since manu never returned any of my calls or emails. We spent the night at joice's place. slawek found her on couch surfing. She was cool, i slept pretty well, but have been very stressed the day before & the day of my departure. The trip was pretty short (6 hours) i almost did not see the time going. The only bad stuff was this little boy who cryed almost all the time. Since i came back, i've been having many odd/ bad dreams. When i think about something, i'm still in ny, thinking like a new yorker...
This morning i woke up at 3. i could not sleep anymore. i then thought about calling the apple center to ask about my memory's change... the announcement i got: "we are open from monday 'til friday, from 9 am to 5 pm"... holy shit! Far from ny where it it open 24/7! The only good thing was to go swimming. That's actually the first thing i did when back in my appartment, back at 2pm, in the water at 2.30! This morning i went to the one by the eiffel tower. One of the guys taking the clothes recognized me, he likes me because of my tats & was telling his collegue about it. Hmm... anyway! It's so weird to be here. i've been trying to catch up with a lot, i should have taken some rest though letting a couple of days going... i might wait until next week to do whatever i have to.
The guy i was supposed to host yesterday & tonight did not call... the girl i'm hosting tonight didn't call either... hmmm... people are weird!
Oh, i finished downloading the pix of my trip, so check out my album one last time... Just a little bit of all that i took, but a good selection i guess... Maybe i should try to be a tourist in paris?
On sunday, the antispeciesist collective is leafleting for the vegetarian day.

take care you all,
pelagus

[Rudra]

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Hello Pelagus, i am glad, that you are here. ons@

[pelagus]

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glad to be here!
i'll do my best to stick around :)

[Rudra]

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Dear Pelagus,
i saw your photo-gallery

http://pelagus.myphotoalbum.com/view_album.php?set_ albumName=album10

It was looking bit like chrismas, the vegan day of Paris.
All that home- and hand-made food, looks like loads of kitchen work.
I guess, most of the food had been raw preparations..

In my house we made a theater with a frugan - fruitarian buffet ...
It was delicious, of course..and a surprise, because "normal people came to join the show and most of them had omnivore habits. It made me wonder that our fruitarian food had been more than accepted. The completely surprised guests had been eating with pleasure..
The Party may go on..
Tell me, How you feel after your US.-journey?
Do you have some fruitarian news?
sorry that i replied so late..i saw it just today.. :oops:

[Cleo-Bella]

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Great nice!

[Rudra]

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