everything in between

when the day comes that the sun runs out of batteries:

i will be sitting cliff side on the far away limits of a distant village.
heart heavy.
control of my breath like a cricket.
laughing at the nothingness of things.
shifting my bare feet on the rocks and sand.
questioning nothing.
talking to the cardboard cut-out moon.
counting the bones in my back without touching.
half awake.
wondering how strange it is that i ever worked a day in my life.
counting seconds on a clock with no hands.
tossed into the wind the thoughts of everyone ive loved.

stews and swims.. as of late..

so this is western asia. on the far left side of the map we have İstanbul, which is where i currently reside. on the far right side of the map is Kyrgyzstan, which is my ultimate destination several months into the future. this entry is in concerns to the swims i have in line for everything in between.

when you live in this corner of the world its hard not to be tickled by the thought of what else is out there. İstanbul is a complex place drawing forth a great mix of people who bear a long and fascinating history. in the irony of how this city draws people in, it too contains the same force that draws me out: curiosity. this curiosity is fueled by endless conversations with my students and local friends alike who shame me by my lack of knowledge about this side of the planet. i am, admittedly, a product of my poor education and to most people from my country places like azerbaijan and turkmenistan bring confusion..

i have a grand voyage i want to stew over for the next many months of my contractual obligation to English Time (my loving organization). as i write this i wonder if it is bad ju-ju to draw the path i set before me or rather let people wonder how i plan to get to Kyrgyzstan. these things take time, money and discipline as well as a fairly large pair of testicles. for now i wait and stew, soaking up the juices of wanderlust and marinating in the seasoned flavors of fish who have swam before me.









in the time being i have two other swims ahead of me in the very near future. the first trip is for this next bayram holiday on November 20th when i will be going to bulgaria. its a short trip for only a week but a break is needed and ive always wanted to see bulgaria. more on this later. the second is a place ive really really always wanted to see. over christmas break, myself and a small handful of very dear friends of mine are going to Egypt. our marination for this trip has been tossed around in various ways since we first met and as a proper and slow cooking leads to a fantastic meal it can safely be said that this will be a feast.







between those two major sets of swims i will continue to reside in İstanbul while seizing every oportunity to embrace the world around me. ive got some thinking to do and a great deal of listening both to what speaks to me in my ears and to what speaks to me inside. the transmigrational patterns of a mookfish.

English Time level 3!

cheers, Curly

A shit afternoon at first. Just in a weird mood among a choatic vibe in the air and nothing really went my way. Went to bab i ali by myself to have a moment and of course the glass my Efes Büyük came in had a crack around the lip that i had to avoid. No problem. İ sat there in humble disdain taking in the sights and sounds when Curly came up to me and offered some fast turkish i could hardly understand. İ wasnt on my game and he must of caught onto that. He mumbled something to me and to a confused look on my face he muttered the translation in englsh: life is beautiful. Thanks curly, that made my night.

the music and the strings

feels good out today. feels like that day i went to my first detroit festival of the arts a few years ago. not a cloud in the sky. drinking a morning beer and not wearing a shirt. friday is my sunday out here because of scheduling but i dont mind. its a rad day. so ive been playing a lot of guitar lately. more than i really have since i was very young. funny thing is that im here figuring out songs that i used to struggle with when i was younger and all of a sudden something beautiful overtakes me. i realize what it was that first inspired me to see more of this world: music. the feeling is good. it is as if i have seen an old friend for the first time in ages and he hasn't changed a bit.

so what song was it that did ths to me? metallica's orion covered by gabriela y rodrigo.. thats right.. metallica. i've nailed it. i can play almost the entire song in the flamenco style which has been covered so beautifully by the mexican duo. it inspires me. i went out last night with a haze over my eyes and my left hand mimicing the complicated solos as if my guitar was still in my hand. and this followed me everywhere. i wanted to find more musicians and other travelers with their backpacks full of memories and experience to share with one another via melody. i felt like this before; my first time in China. that time around it was sick sad world by incubus as i had just mastered the solo days before getting on my longest plane ride yet. it was the only song stuck in my head for the entire time i traveled and i took it with me like a photograph. in china (shanghai if i remember right) i bought an instrument called a pipa and together we learned the complicated bends and traveled the dense fretboard. i wanted more. i always want more.

this takes me, many travels and many years later, to İstanbul - a whole new world to me. financial setbacks and a pricey addiction to wanderlust have both become minor obsticals between me and the next instrument i wish to conquer: the Ud. but i cant complain. i have with me my oldest and dearest type of friend and his six strings never let me down. i am not the best guitarist and in fact i never want to be. i marvel in the belief that there is always something to be learned and that thirst for knowledge has taken me to many far reaches of the globe.. it does not stop here either.

cool

very very cool :)

the nothingness of things

in the world's beat up road sign i saw new history of time

Araf

dying cat.. how i love you..























delicious videography!





machine guns..

19 abdullah