my plans for the rest of 2009

hello all!
there have many questions and confusion regarding my upcoming living situation and travel plans. instead of continuing to answer everyone back directly, as i have been doing, i decided to fire up the 'ol blog once again (about time!). this way, i can direct any people who are interested here. plus it might help me keep my shit together.

anyway, enough set up.

i am going to be in my studio apartment on beautiful marathon street (aka "the peace sign street") in los angeles until the end of april. on the 19th, i am having a shindig here in my soon to be ex apartment for people to come over, grill out, drink beers, and take my shit. i am getting rid of a lot of furniture, mostly because i will not be getting my own place until february or so and i don't want to store a bed i've had for 7 years; time for another! i'll be renting a small storage space for books, art, some kitchen stuff, etc. all else is up for grabs. no prices, just maybe drop a couple bucks in the donation jar (this will go toward new furniture when i return from my travels.) i've lived in this apartment for 3 years and it's served me well. i will not, however, miss hearing every little nuance of my neighbor's life.

may through july i will be living in a house in the highland park area, watching friends' cat while they are overseas doing some shows. it is a great little place: two bedrooms, plenty of sunlight, a pool, a turntable for listenin' to rekkids, and a great cat named harald. so don't cry for me, argentina: it's gonna be a sweet summer.

during this time, i will still be working at little flower and 826LA, plus all the other random jobs i do that are too numerous to name (let's all cross our fingers that i get paid to dress as a crack whore with jack black again, please) in fact, i'll need to work as much as i can as i will not be working for a couple of months.

first couple of weeks of august i will be watching another friend's dog and staying at her place in the jensen's building, steps away from 826.

at the end of august, i head home to georgia to visit home for the first time in over a year. i am very much looking forward to it, and so is my family. i cannot wait to see some friends i haven't seen in ages, and their new houses, pets, and children. i will also go to kentucky to see my grandparents. ah, madisonville. so, so far from l.a.

sept 10th i leave atlanta for denver colorado for my friends patrick and jaime's wedding in lyons. this wedding is going to fucking rule. fun folks in beautiful colorado-it's been too long since i've been to this majestic state. a bunch of friends from georgia will be joining in the trip over.

after the festivities and when all have gone back home, i will ship all of my extra luggage home to los angeles, and hop on a flight to belize with just a backpack. i'll hang out in belize for a little bit, and make my way by land all the way down to costa rica. my friend meredith will be meeting me at a point TBD. we will fly from costa rica to lima, peru, where we will be joined by beth. we will then head to machu picchu. i plan to do the trek up machu picchu on my 30th birthday, october 25th. after that ordeal, we'll retire to some nice resort type place for a few days to revel in our adventurous spirit. then...home? though i really want to try for easter island. so far, all travel there seems expensive, but i am still searching...

when i am in central america, i'll be doing typical backpacker type travel: cheap hostels, camping, changing course last minute. i plan on hammering down the details for machu picchu, though-the exact dates and hotels-so as to invite others who want to join us. i have found that sometimes it takes latching on to other people's plans to get us going on an adventure. i say latch away!!!! if you have some free time at the end of october, why not start looking into flights to peru? just sayin'...

when i return home, i have a few more housesitting gigs, and along with friends letting me stay with them in the small amounts of time i won't be looking after others' homes, i don't need my own place until mid-january/february.

i cannot tell you the feeling of freedom and fear that accompanies the act of sending in an intent to vacate property, turning off gas, electricity, internet....the mind reels. but it makes sense to me. lots of people think it's crazy (namely my family), but when i lay it all out like i just have, most people seem to understand. i am not going gypsy on ya, not getting rid of my wordly possessions in a mad dash for buddism, not trying to make a statement by going off the grid. i just have to wander around from time to time. if i have the means, why not?

i hope to keep up with notes about my plans as they come into focus more, so stay tuned.

much love!!!