Living on your Lonesome

For the first few weeks of the school year, I had moved to a new apartment, only this time I had no roommate. Thinking the freedom and newfound sense of independence would be great, I was soon faced with the kind of situations that only Dr Steve Brule would replicate. I think he said it best when it comes to the challenges of living on your lonesome. 

Besides those sound pieces of advice, I've come up with a few tricks of myself. They may come in handy to those of you who have finished school and are trying to find your way in the very different adult world.  

1. Don't Be Alone
To keep the relentlessly-looming loneliness at bay, invite people over to your place constantly. You don't even need a reason, just keep a reserve of tasty food in the kitchen and outfit your living room with games ranging from Dutch Blitz to the Dutch Blitz 8 player expansion pack. If you can make food, use that as bait to entice visitors (which has the added effect of preventing you from eating a whole pizza/chicken/pumpkin pie in one evening). If that doesn't work, go outside and watch people do things until it's time for bed, just don't take too many pictures of them or they might get the wrong impression. In the case of an emergency, consider adopting three or more cats, who's presence should certainly be comforting

2. Make a lot of Noise
To prevent a surprise existential crisis, put on music and keep yourself busy with menial tasks. You don't want to be caught in the silence alone with your thoughts, that's never fun. If necessary, buy a good quality speaker loud enough to completely flush out the silence & fill the whole house with old-timey tunes. This also helps you to get familiar with your neighbours, who will quickly learn all about your musical tastes, and might even come knocking at the door to express their feelings about said music. 

3. Try not to be a Complete Idiot

Try to keep a healthy state of mind during each day's monumental weight of responsibility. Having a space that you alone occupy means that if you lose, break or consume (and then forget about consuming) something, it's definitely your fault. Your mother will also take far less sympathy on you, considering this is not even your first year living outside of the house and you're asking how to use a clothes iron. It won't take long for the truth about your life skills (or lack thereof) to surface. You''ll also have to check yourself more carefully before you leave the house. Does my hair look clean and groomed? Did I put deodorant on? Am I wearing a shirt that doesn't have multiple courses of dinner spattered across it?  If you've found that one or more of these things is not true, and you've wandered too far from home, then make a b-line for shelter and do your best to avoid anyone who remotely resembles an acquaintance. But if you really can't get a hold of yourself...  

4. Problem Solve  

Not having a roommate also means not having a consultant for important decisions; You'll be expected to figure it out by yourself. If you don't have internet in your apartment yet, because in Macau there is a 3-week waiting list for installation appointments, refrain from texting people with questions such as how swiffer rags onto the pad, or opening a can with those old fashioned type can openers. This is your opportunity to live and learn, and re-learn when you do it colossally wrong. If you don't know how to use the washing machine properly, my best advice is to press a few buttons and leave the clothes inside for a couple of days to make sure it's done its full cycle (make sure you take your earphones out of any pockets BEFORE you do this). If you forget to put soap in, that's okay, you'll remember for next week's load, today rinsed clothes are better than dirty clothes. Got whiteboard marker on your white shirt? Pour extra bleach in, unless it's too much bleach and it turns all your striped socks into blotchy pink socks.

I do not claim to be a smart man, except when I do. Living alone can be a real challenge, but so can living in general. I hope that this has been a help to you, because it certainly has been for me. Also I have a roomie now. 

The All-American Roadtrip

The combination of good people, well-laid plans and reliable transportation (ahem) have produced the opportunity for many a good time. They are the ingredients that make possible camping trips in the wilderness, flights to far-flung countries, and envious adventures that you so often see on your Instagram. In this specific case, it produced a 10-day, 5000 km road trip from Toronto, Ontario to New Orleans, Louisiana. 

A few friends and I had thrown around the idea of a big trip together about a year beforehand, we had all finished our degrees and wanted to travel somewhere that offered great music & atmosphere but was still relatively inexpensive. The aptly-named Kals' Pals Adventure Club was comprised of myself and three spectacular human beings from undergrad (AKA jazz school). Meet the team:

The leakiest and thirstiest member of the team,
the Buick

Shealagh found a new pet during
our tour of the Bayou

Kalya was especially excited about
the flight of craft beers in Buffalo

This is Murray. Yes, he's using tent
poles to prop up his smartphone. 

Ice cold A/C and the hippest playlists
that only a music degree can get you

While there were some who saw the the Buick and immediately doubted her ability to make the journey across the continent, I now invite them to sit down to a hot cup of 'I told you so' that I brewed fresh this morning. 

Everything fits in the Buick

Our first stop was Buffalo to refuel on chicken and stock up on important things like beer, gas and goldfish crackers. Once we hit the American highway system it soon became evident that this wasn't home anymore. There were a few visible differences between the states and the motherland. 

This is not Ohio.This is silk compared
to Ohio

As you travel from one state to the next, it becomes evident that each is a little unique and gives different amounts of care to their infrastructure. The highways in one state could me smooth and neatly painted until you reach the state line, and BAM! OHIO SHOWS UP OUTTA NOWHERE AND DAMN NEAR RIPS THE WHEELS OFF THE BUICK.

Eventually we reached Nashville, our first main stop in the trip. We rented a house within 'walking distance' of the core (maybe if you're an Olympic walker) where we could recharge between Bourbon whiskey tastings/torrents of fried chicken, and the nights out with live music and patrons pouring out of nearly every venue on Broadway. 

We found a candy store

Nashville certainly had a southern feel, but the type that you'd expect from a mainstream, rural (mostly-white) Southern U.S.

 While it may have not been the most diverse city that we visited, we ate well, we explored neat places, and we took in a nightlife that was vibrant, fresh and widespread. It was an absolute blast.


The next leg of our trip meant a drive through the deeeeeeep south. You start to notice the differences between Canadian and American culture as you travel deeper into the bible belt. The attitudes, the accents, even the different kinds of things you hear on the radio. Magnolia trees, SUVs, and ice-cold A/C that blasted you through nearly every entrance way. We got a taste of proper sweet tea, biscuits and gravy and a very interesting take on a garden salad (with more cheese than what the average deli has in stock). It almost felt like a foreign country (do we even have waffle houses in Canada?), and definitely had a different thing going on than our stops in Buffalo and Louisville. 

Murray picked the Airbnb,
he's proud as punch

After a long drive, including a time I almost drove off with my laptop on the roof of the Buick, we arrived in the Big Easy; New Orleans, Louisiana. To sum up the city for you, our AirBnb seemed like a complete NOLA experience. The house itself was in a neighbourhood that was a mix of dive bars, local bakeries, and the odd abandoned, boarded up house. Maps and old records decorated the walls, and the living room featured a Wurlitzer Organ, drum kit, all-steel resonator guitar and a collection of odd instruments some of us hadn't seen before. The host left us some local beer in the fridge and chatted with us about things going on in the city, as well as noting that we seemed like 'normal folks', saying that he was glad to have us as long as we didn't party so hard that we set fires in the house and play the drums at 3am with the doors and windows open (apparently that was a thing that had happened before). 

I suppose I could type and type about the different things that we saw and did, but I think I'll just let the pictures do the talking for now. 

 
 

mmhmm

 

The bayou

Cajun, Creole, Southern or just plain tasty

Someone even got to celebrate his birthday in town

 The St. Charles street car line was a personal favourite of mine. 

 Nighttime activities

New Orleans was an entirely and completely different city than what any of us had experienced before. A city that was both lively yet tired, beautiful and ugly, welcoming but at times seemed unfriendly. Without sounding too abstract, it's a place that in all its aspects seems thick and full with a diverse history, culture and people. We were definitley huge fans, and I think we'd all jump at the chance to visit again.

Between the fantastic food, live music, long drives, beautiful places and interesting characters, I'd say we had a swell time. If you have a chance to get on the road with a few pals and explore a new place, even for a couple of days, there are few things I could recommend more highly (even, I dare say, better than the Buick?). The possibilities that lie in a trip may seem unknown or unfamiliar, but it's a fulfilling experience that you'll carry with you always.  

Kal's Pals indeed

There's something to be said for travelling with your friends on a trip like this. Even when you've known them for years, there are times when you learn a little bit more about who your friends are, or get to share a moment in a unique setting. I feel pretty lucky to have friends like that, whether we shared a 10 day road trip, week at camp, or tasty lunch. It's pretty special.

In Mom's defense, it's hard to pose
for a photo when you can't see the screen

And so now it's time to get back to work on a new school year. I'll hear from some of you folks on WhatsApp, otherwise you can check up on the Interlude to see what colossal disasters I've caused (or find better uses for your time, of which there are many). The uncertainty of a new year with new kids, people and places is holds many possibilities, but the conclusion of the summer means the bittersweet trading one home for another. You folks take care of yourselves until I see you again (or don't, most of you are adults).