a good one. lots of reading for you to do.

i've just read two of the greatest books of all time. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and On the Road. One of them is more relevant to my current path, or road you could say, but i'll let you guess which one. both however are brilliant. i'm happy to think that my travels across malaysia and australia can be linked in my mind to reading On the Road (row-add. hehe) on trains. and reading Fear and Loathing during the quiet days leading up to the reunification of myself and Dr. Mabeuf before the glorious World Cup. that sounds like a good way to remember things.
both books have put me in very exploratory mind sets. i'm ready and willing for whatever gets chucked at me. i'll dodge, dip, duck, dive and dodge my way clear of any obstacle. in fact- nothing frightens me. i've overcome obstacles within and from without. there is one nagging feeling however, and it is that all this will end. i know i know. i should just tell myself that there is no end! there is only another adventure. but i know two lives. the life i've had on the road for the past year or so and the life i had NOT on the road. when was i happiest? well, if you exclude drinking beer and playing video games with Malcolm on my lap, then yes, on the road wins. but a winner doesn't necessarily leave a loser. life back in the states was great, friends, money, security, dependability, and predictable weather. not bad traits at all.

i usually make fun of backpackers that keep books with them. certainly rob's obsession with his 9 hardbacks is a little crazy. but- these two light weight paperback beauties deserve a second reading, if not more. and maybe someday i'll meet someone who needs to read them. they were both hard to find at reasonable prices, but i managed. Fear and Loathing is NOT something you can pick up at a second hand store (and certainly not in Malaysia). so maybe i'll hold on to these two bad boys. any suggestions on follow up books? maybe catch-22 or something in that vein.



le sigh. maybe i'll just partake of some either and go listen to a wild bop cat blow his horn.
...oh god! the books have taken over!



Pretoria is nice. a little boring, but that is my fault no doubt. i didn't really plan anything beyond my flight here. sure i have a couchsurfing(.org) host to stay with, and a hotel with friends after that. but Beuf and i will be in deep shit when the 24th hits. unless it just works out. which of course it always does. Pretoria is working out, but it is a little dull. again, i could have planned a million things to do, but it is harder to do that now than i thought it would be. this brings me to a huge point.

travel = waiting.

that might be the biggest epiphany of the whole damn thing. sure, sometimes it means waiting in exotic places for exotic people and trains and food you've never seen. but sometimes it means boring. NO- not boring! just waiting. waiting can be good. i've learned to except it and not rush it. being impatient while waiting is a recipe for disaster. i'd rather get dropped into a random city in the world with only a twenty dollar bill than look back on a stretch of time and realize that i was rushing the waiting process. nothing good comes from doing everything at once. the only way to make this trip last is to stretch it out. to WAIT for events to unfold. similar to delayed gratification. this is delayed gratification squared. not only do you delay the specific action- you delay the event that IS the action, thus allowing the time in between the NOW and THEN to happen at a leisurely pace wherein waiting is the main activity. the pros of this system are clear: no money is burned. time seems to stretch on. the cons of course are: slight boredom. envy of those with less time and more money.

yes. less time. they squeeze everything in and every moment is a stupid sunset. but they've played their hand! ah ha! neverland only exists because the clocks don't work! captain Hook broke them all. (in this metaphor captain hook is either boredom or waiting. i don't know which. ask my attorney.) if you can't handle that, then you have to grow up! and people keep asking me, especially lately, now that my "sean sees the WORLD" title has more meaning and is more active geographically, "sean- how do you do it?!"

simple.
1. don't grow up
2. have an innate affinity for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. be able to live on less than you think you can live on a day
3. don't buy junk
4. (i wish i knew this one when i started) don't spend a thin dime your first month. get acclimated to your new life as a vagabond
5. couchsurfing.org. not only for the places to stay, but for the things you'll do and the people you'll meet. mostly those
6. travel light. you don't need all that crap
7. get used to waiting
8. wine is cheaper than beer.
9. write about every day
10. "don't take any guff from those swine"

there are more rules that i live by. rules. i guess. maybe just guidelines to be remembered when i'm feeling preachy. maybe i'll compile a list, a comprehensive list someday. but until then, you'll just have to watch in awe. or better yet, come join me. it isn't really that hard.