Colin's update 19 October 2021, near Fréjus, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
Escaping the USA take two or three or four depending on how you count. And, as it so happens, free "banane passion" tropicana jus was involved.
It's been over a year and a half. In that time certain things happened it is better just to consign to that part of the mind where things go to be forgotten. And to be spoken of as little as possible.
At least that seems to be my approach. Certain more productive members of society are doing something about those things, and I'm grateful they are. While I continue to do my best to live in never-never land. Yes, if you can only take ten people along to survive nuclear winter/(disaster of your choice here), taking them would be the wise choice.
July 26, 2021, I hand wrote an update for this list. The recording and pdf can be found here (box), and here (mega). That was written in the Mono Basin, east of Yosemite, near the California/Nevada border.
Recently, freshly escaped from the US, I've been writing updates which are indexed here.
Now these updates could be a time of reflection, revaluation, conscious thought about what I've been doing and what I might do.
I used to do that quite a lot as I was reminded just today as I read some of my old website, experienceart. (But was that conscious or the ramblings of a madman?)
So maybe let's take a stab at that. I'm 45 I think. My preferred way of life seems evident from reading the recent travel updates.
No joke though, I was happier when Andrea was along though that was hard. But hard in a way that felt very alive.
It's pretty cool to think that someone's for you, even if they may just be for themselves by being with you. And it helps if I think she's cute, or for whatever odd reason “I'd be happy following her into the woods.”
I've continued to be amazed by life though. What I don't think possible sometimes happens. But to lay it all out there, I'm a somewhat lazy lover, not as capable or as motivated as others, and I have certain proclivities related to food and to the uses of my time and way of life that few potential partners look for in their potential partners.
But I know they're out there.
And I'm lazy about finding them.
Which means the status quo is really not that bad, as it must not have been since it's generally been how I've been living.
So yes, universe, find me someone I like as much as Andrea who wants to and is capable of wandering like this again. Amen. Not exactly growth motivated, but yearning-for-company motivated, but not too much so because I know how difficult and rare that can be.
I have gotten to spend good time with two friends this year, one old, one new. And a third who is old (Saad/Mike).
Yes, well, I don't know how things will pan out going forward. But perhaps there will be more.
I've also kept posting to Instagram. That's probably the place I'm most likely to update more frequently.
I do spend the vast majority of my waking hours staring at my phone. I seem to like this. If it wasn't that, it would be reading. And maybe more writing. Hence the benefit of living this way. Exercise and modicums of discipline are thrust upon me from without.
No need to emulate the gung-ho-ness of navy seal x when to find a good hiding spot in the woods sheltered from noise, from bad weather, and with a cell phone signal requires effort. . . And my time there is limited by the amounts of food and water I can bring, electricity I can generate.
And when I must leave it is always to somewhere new. No need to motivate myself to do the same beach walk and ocean swim I've done 100 times before. . .
And any annoyance with my surroundings will be transitory, not an ongoing source of stress.
And, the honest truth is, this way of life lets me live like an animal, a wild animal, or a raccoon perhaps, and that is something I seem to enjoy.
So why friends, why in this day and age are you all not giving up your motor vehicles and living this way too?
Yes, I suppose someone has to support the infrastructure and supply chains that make my way of life possible, and I *am* grateful for the free juice.
Could I ever enjoy a more civilized way? Do I need a retirement plan? I've been grateful to know plenty of old travelers. They do eventually die. Perhaps after living in a van near Isla Vista for some years. It's not always pretty but it is prettier than some more respected alternatives.
I spend a lot of time, or I have been recently, trying to figure out how to get rich. Richer, really. In all honesty more is pointless now and it's just a game, partly because in the US money is a proxy for respect and vehicle for power. (I don't need more, but in the absence of something more compelling to pursue, I pursue more money). It's sort of a base motivation and I like to work with those, simply because they're easier and simpler to sense. And, I guess, it gives me something to do that's a step up from playing mobile phone games. I sort of wish I was involved in a more elevated use of my humanity. But I'm also quite simply happy just to feel motivation. And i find reassurance or justification in Kurt Vonnegut's “we’re put on earth to fart around and don't let anyone tell you any different” quote. (Just kidding. . . Everyone wants to be a driven hero. Or at least I do.) So that's pretty much a fail for all those looking for other growth-oriented individuals. Were I to blame something in my past for this outlook it would be praise for being smart and belief that I'm smart rather than praise for hard work and belief that I'm capable of hard work. I am capable of hard work. What's relevant though is that the reward structures of modernity are different from those we evolved to work within. And we really must create our own that work for our own proclivities and accept those proclivities as worth exploring.
So I am. On that note, do you know about
OLIO? It's a free app that lets you give away (or get) free food and household items so they don't go to waste. You can also buy/sell handmade crafts & homemade food from your neighbours too. Pretty awesome! www.olioex.com
(Somehow they've got some serious venture capital funding.)
We respect more though those who live in and work with more refined motivations.
A painter, for example, or someone who writes songs, or who builds playgrounds for poor kids in Morocco or Africa. Or even someone who just wants to complete a marathon for the first time.
For me, the closest I might get to that these days is reading a book. Bicycling across countries is sort of refined. Though when I just loll about Israel for 90 days with a bicycle, if they let me, well, that's pretty much just what it will be.
Oh, and writing these updates is a slightly more refined use of mind than seeking food, money, companionship compatible with my habits. Though that latter effort is fairly complex.
So, yes, as you can see, while I have a mind, the need and motivation to use it in complex ways is relatively minimal.
Until next time.
And Ahmet, I think I may try to find you in Turkey at some point, assuming you're still there. I'm guessing next fall not this one though.
And no I have no plans to go back to the US. But it is easy enough to do so should the time come.