• I have a horrible sick feeling in my stomach that I haven’t felt in a couple years. I don’t like it.

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Updated 5/12/2010 Food, Inc

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Submitted by courtnee in status updates - 08.30.10 - 1:14 pm

I am THAT GUY. Haa haaa

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Submitted by courtnee in status updates - 08.02.10 - 3:18 pm

Amazed both at how well my body held up this weekend and how exhausted i am. Basic math says 3 days, 9 hrs sleep, ~15 drinks, 18 hrs massage.

Submitted by courtnee in status updates - 08.01.10 - 2:17 pm

Leaving Las Vegas. TSA was combing over my bag looking perplexed. Figured it was the ninja badge. Turned out to be the etheopian leftovers

Submitted by courtnee in public - 07.27.10 - 12:33 pm

Sooo ready for Vegas. :D I’ll be massaging at DC. Check the forums for info. https://forum.defcon.org/showthread.php?p=114714

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Submitted by courtnee in status updates - 07.09.10 - 6:05 pm

leaving.

Submitted by courtnee in status updates - 06.14.10 - 11:27 am

Other than breathing some fuckers thickass perfume the entire flight back, thus wrecking my sinuses, SF was a hoot. Thank you for being you, Frank Ferrante

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Submitted by courtnee in status updates - 06.09.10 - 11:32 am

If I was young, I’d flee this town. I’d bury my dreams underground. Let the season begin.

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Submitted by courtnee in public - 05.11.10 - 12:58 pm

Wrapping up my European experience

See other entries regarding my first EuroTrip at http://neevita.net/tag/travel

nee-038 I’ve been back state side, for a week or so now. I took my vacation hair out on Thursday, which felt like a final nail in the pretty coffin for my first jaunt through parts of Europe. I brought a few things with me from the trip, ideas about life, and further understanding of what it is I value in my human experiences.

One of those things is food. I want more freshly prepared food in my life. A large portion of my meals come out of clif bar wrappers and the like. When I do cook, I’ve rarely eaten a meal at the time I’ve prepared it. Usually I cook for the week and refrigerate. I’m really just done with that.

nee-044 Another is time. I want more time for me between sessions, commitments and projects. Since 2007, I’ve been excessively busy. It started when going to school and working full time and just never stopped, until now. I want time to ride my bike in the sun to my office. I want time to stop and take pictures of the interesting things I see or jot something down in a journal. Since coming back I’ve reached for my camera a few times, and my journal as well, to find they are not there. I didn’t carry these things before, but will carry them now.

From the moment I touched down in Seattle, I went on an elimination diet. Which sounds awful I know, but actually it’s rather enjoyable to only eat good food. I’m making a concerted effort to create the time, space and reward to improve my diet and take more care for myself now that I’m back home, and to figure out just how much my diet is related to my ailments.

redec-jp They say that your first international experience is a big one, and I agree with that. This trip opened a lot of doors for me in many ways. I’m already thinking about where I would like to go in the world next, based on my likes and dislikes during my trip. I have very little desire to return to France or England. I feel fortunate to have visited, and I also don’t need to do it again for pleasure.

I will return to Holland at some point, and I am currently learning Dutch in some of the spare time I am slowly carving open for myself in my life. It’s an awesome language and it sounds awesome coming out of my mouth, too. I tried to learn French first, because I have a friend who speaks and can practice with me, but I really just didn’t like it. So if you know Dutch and want to practice once I get a little better, hit me up!

nee-005 Though I was generally indifferent to the city itself and I think the South of France is overrated based on my experience there, I really enjoyed the beach in Nice. This is interesting considering I have historically been avoidant of beaches and large bodies of water, and generally uncomfortable with the idea of weird shit living in the oceans. It was nice to visit a clean, clear water beach that didn’t smell like dead marine life. Majestic really. I guess it makes a difference if I can SEE the stuff in the water..

I’d like to visit Spain and Italy at some point. The Cinque Terre specifically. However, I’d like to visit someplace other than Europe next time around. I’d been thinking perhaps Bermuda, since it’s beachy and clear and clean(ish) and has less crime than Jamaica does. Upon further reflection, though, I really think I’ll be visiting Thailand next.

nee-031 It was my intent to go to Thailand to teach English this year, however financially that simply hasn’t been feasible and is even less so after additional expense in changing Europlans due to the volcano. The key thing though is that I’ve been drawn to Thailand for multiple reasons over the course of time, including my work, just as I’d been drawn to Holland at various times throughout my life.

The fluke stay I had in Amsterdam was by far the most enjoyable part of my trip and the woo in me says that’s probably somewhat connected to having been drawn to it in the first place. Having seen a little bit of the world and enjoying a growing appreciation for beaches, as well as requiring a much less expensive destination than the .eu next time, Thailand is a bit of a no brainer really.

bristol-005 Another thing I learned on this trip is a matter of welcome and chemistry. 3 days is the key amount of time I’d like to plan to stay in any one household with people I don’t know very well; Just enough time to get past the logistics and pleasantries and see if you actually jive with someone. In future travels, my rule of thumb will be a short stay with the potential for staying longer, rather than the other way around.

Also; After watching Twilight and New Moon during down time in Europe, I’m excited about Eclipse. I stand by my extremely rare guilty pleasure and I don’t care what no one’s got to say about it!

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Submitted by courtnee in public - 05.03.10 - 3:37 pm

Bristol? Why are you going to *Bristol*?

nee-018_1 When I first began planning my trip to Europe, I had a few people ask me why in the world I was going to Bristol rather than London or something. My answer was that it was the closest airport to the people who were putting me up the majority of my stay. Now that I’ve spent a little time here, I have some things to add to that.

Bristol is a pretty damn cool city. Honestly, I avoided planning to go places like Paris and London mainly due to their popularity and expense. I didn’t come here to be a tourist, I came here to see the world and facilitate personal growth by mainly being in another place and another culture. The touristy bits have been a fun part of the trip but not my main motivation.

bristol-014 The music culture is rich here, with Massive Attack and Portishead both hailing from these parts. If that doesn’t indicate why someone might want to come here, I’m not sure what else to say about that.

Bristol is a city of street art, music, squatters, artists and young people. It mirrors Seattle in many of the meaningful ways, including being enviroconscious and seeming to attract good intentioned, progressive thinking people, and the weather.

My couchsurfing experiment here has been a great success. Leila, Lucy and Louise are all very cool laid back girls and the house has tons of room. The first day I came here they had a small party and made more food than a heard of elephants could eat, which we’ve all been working at since. I had a lot of fun meeting some new people who were all really entertained by my story and getting strandedhad interesting backgrounds and fun stuff going on. Nice group.

nee-010_0 Later in the evening, a few of us decided to hit a pub for a pint. We went to where the clubbers go to work off their long weekends – a place called The Pipe and Slippers. Tall glasses, lots of people, mixed music, indoor-outdoor, worked for me. A Jamaican guy gave me a dready thumbs up, and there was much hat swapping. After closing the place down, we decided to find another rather than go home.

Turned out we ended up at basically a rave, which really isn’t my thing any more. The kids in Bristol take their partying seriously. I hung out for an hour or so and then made my way back to the house.

nee-001_2 My schedule in Seattle has been ridiculously full since Jan of 2007 when I started school. That is changing as of this trip. It’s been productive and a good change of pace to have a lot going on lately, and now I want time to meander places again. Not to mention more than one day off a month.

Today I borrowed Leilas second bike and biked around Bristol, to the city center, along the harbor, Clifton and the University. It was enjoyable and another indication that I may in fact be a directional ninja. This evening Lou taught me the basics of playing cello, a life-long dream of mine, and I spent as much time as my hands would allow practicing by ear and playing badly. It’s a gorgeous instrument that I’ve always had an affinity for but never actually played. Tomorrow I plan to check out the thrift stores, the first I’ve seen since being across the pond, and maybe head over to Portishead since.. well, why not.

bristol-010 My trip is winding down into a fitting and satisfying conclusion. Many lessons have been learned, knowledge gained and people met. Feels like I’ve cracked something open almost, some kind of travel kinship thing. I’ve definitely met a lot of like-minded people and become more comfortable traveling, maneuvering foreign places, and most importantly, being by my self.

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Submitted by courtnee in public - 05.02.10 - 6:11 am

Goodbye, Weston!

nee-006_1 I have a few more minutes to spare on the little internet terminal I’m using – Another reminder that I will need to get another EeePC for my next long trip somewhere. So, time for a little update.

I’m in Bristol now, heading to the home of the first couch surfer I’ve connected with since joining the site. It was nice to get to know C&J better and lovely of them to share their home with me. Julie and I particularly got along well and had a lot of nice chats about things. I am also ready for a change of scenary and pace. I leave in 3 days, so I’ve got a little time to explore a bigger city and get to know some new people.

nee-002 My favorite part of the trip so far was being in Amsterdam and meeting others in the hostel and through Zoe. I’m hoping for a bit of a boost from my final Euro pit stop before returning home later this week after feeling a bit of a downturn in the last few days.

I have been thinking about my Seattle return as far as Artful Touch goes, and also committed to a perfomance gig in June that I am excited about. Looking forward to my own bed, my own country,  my own rules, and my awesome cat.

Of the many things I’ve gained from this trip, one of them is a deepended appreciation of the life I’ve built for myself and why. After trying on a few different styles since being here, I like who I am, where I come from, what I am becoming and how I’m living my life. And that truly is a beautiful thing.

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Submitted by courtnee in public - 04.30.10 - 7:39 am

Parlez-vous Anglais?

nee-026 I went to the South of France for a couple of days, due to the generosity of Chris and Julie in inviting me along on their vacation, including flight and hotel. I’ve been thinking of ways to pay forward the hospitality and generosity Chris and Julie have offered me, either to someone directly or through generous habits or both, at some point in my life. Their contributions have shaped this trip greatly and I’ve found it affecting in many ways to accept generosity from people in a way I’ve never done before.

When stuck in Amsterdam and searching for lodging, I signed up to couchsurfing.org, which has shown itself to be a really nice community of people who want to enable others to travel. I’m considering how I may get more involved in that in part because of what C&J have done for me in Europe, as well as people like Zoe and the friends who’ve helped me when I needed it. I’ve decided while on this trip that with my office space soon becoming unavailable for use, I am once again looking for a new place to live, where I can see clients professionally as well. I’m keeping in mind the ability to host guests in my search.

nee-053 I’ve just returned to Weston after another small traveling confusion in which we were stuck in Nice for a night. Much like the other flukes since leaving the US, it was in small part fortunate for me that we were delayed, having been afforded the opportunity to walk the French Riviera beach at night because of it. As has been the theme of this trip, I enjoyed the experience of looking on the bright side and going with the flow of things.

nee-001 We stayed at the Hotel de la Buffa, on Rue de la Buffa and Boulevard Gambetta, a charming little family run hotel near the center of the Riviera stretch. Nice is an interesting, faster paced atmosphere than what I’ve experienced of Europe otherwise, aside from transit stations, and a bigger city than I was expecting. It’s busy, loud and well paved. My impression is that it is constantly under construction given how many detours and closed sidewalks I encountered milling around.

nee-008 Thankfully, people in Nice either speak some English, will attempt to try if they only know a little, or don’t mind if you don’t speak French while politely parting ways. I know very basic hello, goodbye, please, thank you, and do-you-speak-English type French and not much more.

I did pick some stuff up while in France, though it’s mostly phonetic and I wouldn’t do well to try to write it out. I learned how to ask where the bathroom was pretty quickly. My experiences in France lead me to better understand how people can still function in life while illiterate.

My first espresso in France was amazing, and it turned out that while I assumed it would all be awesome, mostly I lucked out. Daniele made me my first, and best decafe of my entire trip. In general, the food was really tasty, as was the weather. Some may say it was lekker.

nee-013 My best meal was at La Coupole on the Rue de France strip, where I spent most of my off-beach time. I had numerous tampas rafts and glasses of rose here. I had a really nice spaghetti bolognese in that neighborhood and learned to order fizzy water in French, as well as finding a few steeply discounted clothing items ($8-$20) and a few gifts for my peeps back home.

I was flirted with a lot while I was on my own, and quickly discovered the subtle joys in language barrier rejections. I also found that it’s ridiculously easy to bum a cigarette in France and they really don’t have a desire to let you pay for a single. A few people who I was mostly unable to speak English with approached me admiring my hair.

nee-028 With all this time off from massaging, I’d forgotten what it was like to have nails. Upon the recommendation of a lovely young lady who did the first manicure I’ve had in a couple years, I considered visiting Eze, Juan les pins or VilleFranche sur Mer. I made it up to the train station, but none of the upcoming trains interested me, so I ended up walking through Chinatown and sex shops back to home base.

While in Holland, I biked and tried some space cake. While in England, I drink lots of tea. So while in France, I drank espresso and wine. Interestingly, I never got hung over feeling. A point for Blanc and Rose over Reds which cause me to feel like death the next day.

Other things I noticed about Nice:

  • There’s lots of miniature dog shit on the sidewalks. It quickly became clear why I was the only person around in an ankle length skirt.
  • There are tons of flower shops, pizzerias and pharmacies.
  • They remove sewage by truck, during all hours of the day. I quickly learned to identify the trucks and flee.
  • They have cooked beets in vacu-packs as a standard in the produce section.
  • There are in fact very few hairy women, though they are rather clothed unflatteringly based on the shops I frequented. Hint: Women are supposed to have waists.
  • The French Alps, having seen them on the flight out, are majestic.

nee-039 The water on the French Riviera is spectacular, and pretty warm given how early in the season it is. However, should I visit France again, I want to visit a small mountain village or a more remote beach location. The parts of Nice I found convenient were full of tourists and little old ladies in cotton shorts, lots of construction and honking.

I’m not sure why, but it was decided to put the main, heinously busy roadway all along the length of the beach, which I think was a mistake. Even on the water, I was hearing traffic and road noise, though at one point I found an awesome little enclave inside a load of boulders which provided a lovely respite.

nee-057 The side-trip to London that we’d been talking about is shelved. I’ve had enough big city for this trip, though I am considering spending a day in Bath while I’m somewhat close. Just a few days left in England, and then I come home. I am beginning to look forward to that, and when I travel again will likely shave a few days off the top of a 3 week length. My sense is that I will be more than ready to leave after this weekend.

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Submitted by courtnee in public - 04.25.10 - 10:33 am

Thank you for driving carefully through our village

nee-001_0 I’ve spent a few days in Weston now and the pace is much more laid back than either Seattle or Amsterdam. My knee is improving slowly. I’m able to walk on it more and more as the days go by, managing to not re-injure it either. I spent much of Friday doing the house laundry while C&J were at work. The weather has been clear and mild and lovely.

Since I’ve been here we’ve gone sight seeing in quite a few places, starting with afternoon tea at Banwell Castle on Friday. The scones here are mammoth and filling, served with clotted cream, which is smoother and thicker than I would have expected, and strawberry jam.

nee-011 Banwell Castle is a family home/bed and breakfast. It has a nice ambience to it and great views, though I got very few pictures of that due to the haze that’s been on the horizon since I got here. I think it’s leaf burning season or something. As well, the lens on my camera is better suited for closer range images than far. The countryside is beautiful but all the pictures I’ve shot of it are flat and boring.

nee-029 It was a little odd to wander through such an ancient building to find white plastic chairs stored in overhangs and such, an almost disorienting migration of new and old. Sort of like walking through a catacomb to find a stack of ikea chairs in the corner.

Friday evening was spent vegging and watching movies. Apparently Guy Ritchie directed another Snatch-like film in 2008, Rocknrolla. It was enjoyable, and not anywhere near as good as Snatch, which we’ll be watching at some point since C&J have never seen it, and that’s a crying shame.

nee-020_1 I was unable to sleep, per my cycle, which I’m gaining a better understanding of as each day passes. So I watched the movie that came on after Rocknrolla, Changling, and I call tell you that of all the advice you hear in regards to getting to sleep when you have insomnia, you will likely never hear someone suggest weatching a Clint Eastwood directed thriller.

Saturday morning, I awoke to my cyst hurting quite a lot. I’ve had an abscess on my chin for a couple of months now. Within minutes of mentioning that it hurt again Chris was on the phone to a chinese medicine lady, and off we went to slip in a quick visit on our way out of the city to Glastonbury. I left with tiger balm, some detox herbs and a medicated plaster to wear at night. So far, at the very least, the thing is a lot less painful.

nee-010 The original plan was to see the Tor in Glastonbury, however with my knee being a bummer right now we decided against climbing a huge hill. We did however visit the 7th century Abbey ruins, the location of King Arthurs remains, and the Abbey that King Henry the 8th destroyed when they told him he couldn’t divorce his wife. It was was quite spectacular and informative.

After learning all about the murderous fuck King Henry, we ate at a pub that was established about 20 years before my country was ‘discovered’ by that murderous fuck Columbus. All kinds of murderous fucking going here. Good stuff. Now time for shopping!

nee-039 We wandered the Glastonbury shops, which seem to carry the theme of magic, gothic (the pagan kind, not so much the Tim Burton kind), too much insense and hare sculptures. It was here that I procured my first trinket of the trip – two elephants. They made me cry, so Julie got them for me. They are super cool, if I do say so.

After Glastonbury we attended a wedding reception for C&J’s friends Steve and Sarah, in Frome. It was very nice, in a small church. We didnt’ stay too long, having been pretty tuckered out and largely not knowing many people, but we shared a nice meal with some nice folks and had a few nice chats.

nee-046 On our way back, we drove the countryside. Lots of countryside. We drove through Wells, the smallest city in England, and by the Wells cathedral, which we were originally going to visit outright before I was delayed nearly a week. The picture to the left, which I snapped from the car, is mighty spectacular – you can see the scale of the building by comparing it to the people in the lower right of the frame. Sheesh. Quite the racket the Church had going on – and still does.

nee-049 After Wells, we hit Cheddar and drove through the gorge, and Priddy to see where C&J got married, and where Chris used to live. It’s amazing to me how many tiny villages there are out here, how much the landscape blends together and yet isn’t the same, and how utterly lost I would be if I were ever left on the side of the road in England. Even the roads are confusing. B3092 and A371 to A361 and so on. Yarg.

Today was pretty laid back. Chris’ sons, Tom and Sam, visited as they tend to do most Sundays. It was Sams birthday so we had cake, then later drove out to a nearby farm so Tom could sell a couple of his beautiful blue rabbits. I’m now taking a bit of time to pack and update about the trip and relax before we get up at 4am to catch our flight to Nice.

England is nice and has its appeals. I may come back for a day trip or two once I’m residing part-year in Holland. :)

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Submitted by courtnee in public - 04.22.10 - 4:09 am

The Beach

Today, between snacks and cups of tea, I took a slow easy walk along the Weston beach. The landscape is flat, simple and desert-like, with haze on the horizon and moist smooth sand that reminds me of fine brown sugar.

The beach itself provided few photo opportunities. Instead I got a few shots of some buildings, and artwork that was painted on the side. Now I am settling down for more tea and some movie watching before C&J return home for a pub lunch.

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Submitted by courtnee in public - 04.21.10 - 9:56 am

Mind the gap please

nee-020 I am now in Britian, my original destination, with my friends Chris and Julie. They have a nice cozy home in Weston Super Mare near the beach, with a fish pond and a love spoon hanging in their kitchen. We celebrated my eventual arrival by eating crackers with brie and pâté, and drinking Rosé out on the porch. Before doing so I took a quick hobbly walk around to snap a few photos.

Trains and boats were rather seamless, even the side trip to get my tickets went well. I am a criminal in the UK already – dirty rail hopper is me! – and it’s a good thing I got away with it because I didn’t have any Pounds handy to pay for the trip anyway. Being in Europe gives me size anxiety about our money. Sheesh.

nee-022 I barely remember the boat trip, which I ended up arriving rather early for due to my knee finally giving out on what was to be a long walk but ended up as a tram ride to Centraal. The neighborhood up there isn’t much for hanging out I found, so I just went down to Hoek Van Holland and got on my boat. Other than being impressed with the cabin, I did very little before I promptly got into bedclothes, jerked off and fell asleep.

Very mellow here, which my knee is grateful for, and I am looking forward to watching some movies and laying around a bit after the flurry of activity in Amsterdam. Still flying high on being in that place – Contemplting quite fiercely how I can enable myself to spend a chunk of time a year there. Really made an impression on me.

nee-021 It looks like our trips to Nice and Monaco are on as of now. There are streaks of planefluff all over the sky from the flurry of air traffic now that the airports are open again. Rather interesting looking, actually. I would bet I won’t have any problem getting home, either. But I’m trying not to think about that too much right now. :)

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Submitted by courtnee in public - 04.20.10 - 7:51 am

Closing the book on Amsterdam

nee-002 On one of the many journeys through Vondelpark, Zoe and I went to a teahouse she enjoys frequenting. A spiritual center in the park with tea, cookies and buddahs. I had fresh, real mint tea – literally mint leaves in water – and I don’t think I’ll be going back to the alternative any time soon.

I’m wondering how much of an effect the air ban has had on my experience here. It’s so quiet and beautiful – usually there are planes flying constantly in the sky. Along with the ground being so flat, it’s like I’ve been transported in time or to a floating city in space. You can see nothing but sky on the horizon.

There isn’t even really a skyline of the city, all the buildings are about the same height and the city is so dense you can’t see much beyond them. This makes it very easy to get lost around here, too, which I did mildly a few times. I purposely only went out when there was plenty of daylight left so I wouldn’t have anything to get stressed over, so it worked out well. I can imagine if I had somewhere to be in a hurry it could be a bit of a problem.

nee-014 On my last night in this city I went to Zuiver, a massive upper class spa just outside of Amsterdam. Had a nice bike ride to and from and spent quite a few hours in this gorgeous place. The air ban was still on while there – This was particularly lovely while being in the outdoor areas of the spa not to have any planes overhead.

Oh Amsterdam, how fortunate it was that we met. The culture, the architechture, the language and the quality of living seems exactly what my value system calls for in America and doesn’t receive. It seems almost like a universal pull brought me here and wants me to come back when I’m ready to really be home somewhere in the world.

I’m interested in how I respond to the other places I am going to be in over here. I sense much of the UK trip will be about Chris and Julie whereas much of my Holland trip was about Holland.

nee-019 I will spend the next several hours on trains and in train stations, much to the relief of my increasingly injured right knee. I twisted it on one of the various tiny freakishly designed staircases in Amsterdam and continued to tweak it on other various tiny freakishly designed stairs throughout the trip. We may have to wait a bit to start our walking tours in Weston Super Mare. Walking to the ferry was extremely painful and challenging. Being made to sit for a while sounds really good.

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Submitted by courtnee in public - 04.19.10 - 2:30 am

Amsterplan v3.0

img_2041 Amsterdam is continuing to be lovely and fueling, even in the face of unideal travel circumstances and, frankly, a fair amount of troubling debt racking up.

My friends in England are invaluable resources in navigating this situation and continue to support and perform small miracles. I hear from most people that the rail and bus system in Europe is a breeze, but I think they must be talking about getting from somewhere other than here to somewhere other than where I need to be, because it’s sort of silly how many hoops there are to jump through in my experience thus far. But it looks like we have it figured out.

img_2098 On Tuesday night, I tram to Centraal station, to train to Rotterdam station, to train to Hoek van Holland Haven. From there I take an overnight ferry to Harwich International, in which I will have my own cabin and bathroom! At Harwich I bus or train to Dovercourt station, so I can interact with the ticket machine there and get my tickets for Liverpool > Paddington > Bristol Temple meads > Weston-super-mare. I then bus back to Harwich International to catch the train I just bussed to another stop to get the tickets for. I may have as little as 6 minutes to do this. Insert manic laughter here.

img_2080 In the meantime, through the magic of facebook, I’ve been united with another BUSM grad, who was in the day class the same season I was in the night. It’s been transforming to meet and spend time with her at this intense creation time in her life. I’d seen her around the school a little, but not really interacted with her back then. Her wisdom, insight and open heart are inspirational and I’m really happy for her and the good stuff she’s got going on. We’ve had some good talks, about life, the amazing power of travel, relationships, all kinds of things.

Zoe set me up with her charming, awesome, rusty bike which I rode all over the city yesterday. It turns out part of my impression here was skewed by residing in the richest neighborhood in Amsterdam for the first couple of days. I have now seen cleavage and some amusingly unsavory behavior, and haven’t even bothered to visit the Red Light District. Rad.

img_2094 The locals I’ve talked with seem to find it somewhat stressful, while I’ve found biking in Amsterdam is a complete dream compared to Seattle. I took to traveling through the city on a bike like a pro, if I do say so. A tourist asked me directions (which I Was unable to give, but, you know.)! I really feel safe and comfortable here. Except for my ass. I’m saddle sore from riding on Zoe’s bike rack a few times when we traveled around together.

On my way around the city I checked out a monthly market that happens down Zoes street. Tons of merchants with all kinds of things at reasonable to downright cheap and completely inflated prices, lining the streets with tables. I splurged on a €1,00 bra that reminded me of the pretty awnings I’ve frequently adored on the buildings here. One of the straps promptly broke. Good thing I have a sewing machine at home!

img_2081 I also checked out another Coffeeshop with the intention of sampling spacecake, and sample spacecake I did. It’s very potent and disarmingly tasty, I could see how one could overdo it rather easily and it doesn’t taste at all like weed. I was smart to eat about 1/4 of it. Just right.

It’s been awesome to stay with someone in their home here. Zoe set up a wonderful bed of couch cushions in the kitchen and it’s beautiful. She has a wonderful sitting window facing the street that I’ve enjoyed spending time in.

In addition to Zoe herself, I’ve been introduced to a few of her friends.

A group of us from all over the world (France, Iceland, Seattle, Portland, Amsterdam) went to Indian food together last night. Somehow during the course of that meal, I ended up being taught some Dutch. I’m now a machine for it and am attempting to read everything, particularly simple things like tea packaging.

img_2115 I am, of course, awful – though my teachers are kind enough to say differently. It’s funny, I don’t “umm” when fumbling through Dutch words, I “auuh” with a very different sound. It’s sort of like being in a different audible gear, attempting to speak Dutch.

I’d been hoping to see an Amsterdam apartment inside, and I’ve gotten to see two! After dinner the group of us spent some time at Hans place drinking tea, listening to Hans play jazz on his piano and the ridiculous attempts I made at reading “Voor Jou”, a childrens book about giraffes in love. It’s the first book I’ve read since being here, though I’m carrying one. I am however consistently adding to my awesome little journal, often using the content as notes for these posts.

img_2108 Today? Who knows. I haven’t decided yet – though I was just offered a personal bike tour. Maybe I’ll take him up on it! :)

I will be back to this cozy place. Mark that.

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Submitted by courtnee in public - 04.17.10 - 6:28 am

Update on my Amsterdam sidetrip

img_2023 It is day 3 of Project EuroAsh in Amsterdam. I must say, though it is somewhat strange to be saying so given the circumstances, it’s about damn time I had a vacation like this. I’ve often mused about backpacking Europe and staying in hostels, but knew my limits in regards to how long I would want to travel that way. The universe gave me a taste of it and I’m grateful.

The night I stayed in the airport, they set up over 1000 cots for stranded passengers in the common areas. I stayed in one of the gate terminals, where it was easier to access computers and there were a lot less people around to potentially steal my stuff.

img_2022 About 24 hours after landing in Amsterdam, I’d gone ahead and booked the min. 2 night weekend stay at a Hostel near museum square. I chose that one for the computers in the lobby and its vacinity to a grocery store. It was also the cheapest I found – yay!

I got settled after an enjoyable bus trip chatting with the driver and fairly quickly finding the hostel. The Dutch are really friendly and helpful when engaged with and I’m really thankful for that.

img_2039 Things I noticed right away here were things like how flat it is, how modestly women dress and how short the buildings are. I’ve found it is very easy to get lost here without a skyline, but I have my wits and spirit (and a map) about me so it’s not been an issue, at least not yet.

I couldn’t have begged on my knees for better weather. My bunkmate, Jake, a rather charming Aussie, informed me that he’s brought the good weather. He also brought an EeePC, exactly the model I used to have, so I may even be able to upload my pictures off the cameras SD card soon!

I had forgotten how enjoyable it is to watch a big dog fetch a stick from water. Seeing it in Vondelpark, one of the places I’ve been hanging out a lot, reminded me of when we used to take Pecos to the lake when I was a kid.

img_2047 I’ve had quite bit of trouble with my credit card and trying to get money for things like.. I dunno. Food. I spent most of yesterday walking, attempting to gather information. Like the fact that “See ID” on the back of a credit card is a huge no-go in Europe, for instance, and they use PIN numbers with cards rather than signatures. If I have a PIN assigned to my card, I have no idea what it is.

They also rarely offer cash back on purchases ’round these parts. So with all of those stars aligning, having difficulty at the currency exchange, and getting in after breakfast at the hostel, I went nearly the entire day without food. Turned out Bank of America still sucks, and blocked my card even though I informed them of my trip last week. Figures.

img_2069 Once I was finally able to go shopping for food, it was like Christmas in April. I’ve found that many of the habits I’ve adopted since moving out of my wusbands house have prepped me for travel. Carrying a backpack with my essentials, keeping a tupperware and water bottle are all natural habits that have come in very handy these last few days.

Is it just me, or is the produce amazing here? Even the bruises on an apple simply taste like grape.

img_2065 I stopped into a coffeeshop on the Overtoom today. Sorta had to, you know? I’d walked by it yesterday but wanted plenty of daylight to make my way back, and decided against it.

This morning, around 11am, I was sitting on a coin operated computer (awesome business plan), smoking hash and listening to Lady Gaga on the radio, in Amsterdam. I’ll cross that off my ‘must do before dying’ list now.

img_2061 As for the little matter of my being stuck here: I’ve thankfully cultivated two leads, friends of friends, to offer a little support out here, which is really fortunate. The reason I could afford this trip was the kind generosity of my friends in England whom I had planned to stay with. I’ve been here since Thursday and the ash is worsening.

I’d been holding out for a flight on Sunday, particularly since that travel is paid for and a train/ferry is not, however that is looking increasingly unlikely as the situation in Iceland progesses.

img_2048 Thankfully, it appears I am about to be rescued. It looks like The plan is shaping up to staying put here until Tuesday, taking a train to Rotterdam, taking a ferry to England, then another 3 train connections through England to get to my friends. Oi!

I’d thought to possible tour Europe rather than stay here another 3 days, but I lucked out with an english speaking country to be stranded in, and with at least a couple people here I can call if my arm falls off or something, I’m thinking to stick around Amsterdam rather than tool around elsewhere.

img_2060 This place is beautiful and I enjoy it very much. Things are beginning to turn from enjoying being here to waiting to move on, though. I am ready to be on my way and making progress toward my friends as well as financial relief. A light at the end of the tunnel is good.

Also; The toilets in Amsterdam are really great for people who like to survey before flushing. :)

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Submitted by courtnee in public - 04.15.10 - 5:54 am

First .eu trip off to a booming start!

img_2009 Apparently no sooner had I left the states, an Iceland volcano errupted for the second time in a month, grounding air traffic all over the .eu. I’m been killing time at the airport in .nl after my flight into Bristol was cancelled with no indication when flights will resume. About 8 hours in, they shut down the entire airport, and apparently all air traffic in the european regeion now.

img_2008 Given my budget, and no refund being offered, I’m sticking it out here for at least a day to see if the smoke clears and I can catch another flight. Was thinking about training into town since I’m stuck here anyway, and will decide about that after I get some food and a nap and let a little time pass to assess the situation. There were hundreds if not thousands of people stranded here, clogging up the transit and hotels. I’ll bet it’ll be easier to find lodging or even a ride into the city tomorrow morning.

img_2017 As for the actual trip, for a 10+ hour flight in a middle seat on a plane that was peppered with little kids, it was remarkably uneventful and went along quickly. I am very glad I packed benedryl and have a tolerance for bad movies on planes (It’s Complicated, and Sherlock Holmes – both solidy mediocre). And now I know why were were an hour late even though we left on time…

I had a moment with the ticketing lady as I was getting my boarding pass in Seattle – “GOOD Girl!” was her response to my refusing to check any baggage. I’m feeling pretty deserving of that praise, about now. In fact, I’m rather unphased about all of this in general – My spontaneous trip to Italy didn’t work out, so I got one in Amsterdam instead. Thanks, Universe!

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Submitted by courtnee in public - 04.08.10 - 3:49 pm

Fake hair and Fiercelocks

Took my blonde A-line dreads from fiercelocks as a base, and added some accent dreads. Getting them installed Monday by the ever so awesome Jonquil. These are my Europe dreads.

eu-dreads2
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Submitted by courtnee in public - 03.25.10 - 9:03 pm

Ohhai, inner self!

Sometimes it hits me that I’m really going! I get this wave of awesome that sweeps across my skin, and permeates into my core. I get this happy, calm, purposeful feeling.

Lots of good things going on for me now. It’s the 25th and I am stable, focused, energetic. I think the maca is helping me, the awareness and attention as well. I’m finally well after a massive sickness, in which I discovered whole heartedly that I will indeed survive being bedridden ill without a partner to care for me. I’m connecting again with my body, my focus, my dreams (literally) and my rhythm. Remembering that I do know how to love myself, and that I’ve done it before.

journal-eu_ One of my favorite massage clients got me this journal and pen as a gift, after I shared with him my plans to get a journal specifically for my trip to Europe. It makes me smile. It’s been really nice to soak up the support and favorable responses to my doing something so fulfilling for myself.

Additionally, I’m reading “The Wise Wound” by Penelope Shuttle and Peter Redgrove. It took a bit to get into, it’s written in a manner that diverges from my aesthetic. I can tell it’s making a huge difference in how I perceive myself as a woman, and how that relates to my experience of life.

If every person, male or female, read this and took away a few nuggets of perspective, I think the world would be a much more reasonable place. Even better if every person had the inclination to read empowering things like this.

I’m even beginning to enjoy being alone! No wandering eye! I can spread out on my whole bed! I have to wash my sheets less often cause I don’t have another person mucking up the bed with me! I sleep soundly! And I LOVE waking up with my cat, who sleeps under my arm religiously, like a wing, sharing my heating pad with me.

This is about the time when someone has come along to fuck it all up, historically. Some tasty, emphatically irresistible obstacle course to frolick within. Not this time. I’m off the market until 2011, and that’s if you’re lucky. It may even be longer than that depending on how much fun I’m having.

It’s a relief to be connected, again.

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Submitted by courtnee in public - 03.14.10 - 12:03 pm

Bristol, 4/15-5/5/10 and Southern France (Nice/Monaco) 4/26-4/29

I have had it. I am leaving.

I want to see the world, and that’s not a new desire. When I was 20 I was going to see Europe before I was 22. Then I was going to do it before I was 25. Then I was divorced and broke and struggling through massage school. I’ve often been in relationships I wasn’t willing to set aside for a little while to go do this for myself – or even better, I was sitting around waiting for someone else to take me.

I’ve wanted to see the world for a lot of years, and have always given my self some reason why I couldn’t. Not enough time, not enough money, too many responsibilities, too much work to do – you know what, fuck it.  It’s time. There is nothing in my life that’s so god damn important it can’t be put on hold for a few weeks while I go fetch some perspective and experience how a part of the rest of the world does it. I’ve been running on fumes and I want some soul fuel.

I have friends in Bristol whom I am staying with, which is extremely fortunate and exciting as it’s been years since I’ve seen them, and also basically the only way I can do this trip right now. I let the Euro-dwellers suggest other places: I wanted to do Southern France for my first trip so it would be simple to hop over to Italy if I wanted rather than go to Paris which I can easily go to another time.

It’s about damn time gave that ‘travel’ tag some use!

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Submitted by courtnee in public - 12.13.09 - 4:52 pm

Carnival Elation: My first cruise

cruise09-052 I have now been to Mexico.

For our winter trip, Beau and I went on a 4 day cruise out of San Diego. Neither of us had been before, so we went with something inexpensive and short – San Diego to Catalina to Ensenada and back.

It was the perfect introduction to cruising, I think. I could tell that we were on an economy boat with economy food and economy entertainment. There are bigger better cruises for the taking in the future, yet all the while I was sound in the notion that I had most certainly never been on a cooler boat. It was a good tasting, and now I know I won’t get impossibly seasick or something.

I want to try an Alaska cruise from Seattle to avoid the crappy part of traveling and give the industry as a whole another shot. I am pretty sure cruising will turn out to be a bit too American Diet/Consumerism for my tastes.

cruise09-023 The Elation strikes me as being pretty old as far as cruise boats go, it’s like an floating version of Old Vegas. You know at one point the amenities were the cream of the crop. As much as you know and appreciate that, you are also aware that they are no longer thus. For me, that just meant that the likelihood of my cruising experience getting better as I try them was high. I think that probably had to do with the cruise cost being about $180 a person.

The service on the boat was the most impressive part of the trip. After being made to stand in the pouring rain for over a half hour, being corralled into a huge cold warehouse space and accosted by photographers before even getting on the boat, I was skeptical – but the service on the boat was exceptional. Those people work their asses off.

cruise09-019 The food was the most difficult part of the trip for me. I can taste and feel things like high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils, and am currently suffering from what I suspect will be about a week of CruisePoo(tm). As far as I can tell the entire ship was outfitted by Sysco, and that alone was enough to paint a layer of gross on nearly everything I ate.

I had a hard time with the amount of plastic bottles/cartons on the ship and suspicion of where the seafood and meat came from. But when it came time for the desserts, I frequently forgot about all that. They were fucking good.  It’s, at the very least, interesting to go on one of these cruises if you’re aware of waste, and have preference toward real, fresh food.

Honestly, the ports we hung out in weren’t all that exciting to me. I grew up in California, so the landscape wasn’t very foreign in either place, and both are very touristy so it felt.. I dunno. Hollywood. Less so in Ensenada, but Catalina was a joke. Beaus excitement carried me, though, and I enjoyed being with him in both places a lot.

cruise09-046 Even given the obviously Americanized nature of where we hung out, Ensanada was a great adventure and a lovely experience. We had the time to explore more in Ensenada and get away from the tourist places, but a bottle of rum and Disneys ‘Up’ (on a 17″ CRT or so, was suprised they didnt have flatscreens) took precidence, so we had a few beers and ate some lunch after walking the main shopping strip, haggling for trinkets and circus candy, and taking pictures of penises and horse shit signs.

The weather was pretty crazy the first night. The boat was being tossed around 20 degrees to either side, according to the level our dinner companion had on his iPhone. The winds were about 50mph, and I was only able to be comfortable while watching the water from our window. When I was able to see when we were rising and falling I was ok to lay down. Otherwise, I was mostly moaning and guhing and making weird noises, or childishly grinning and stammering around the boat.

cruise09-017 The best part of the trip for me was the window in our room. It had a shelf on it big enough for me to sleep on.  Beau used the second blanket to make a nest up there almost immediately upon getting on the boat. I spent many hours curled up there napping and reading. I really loved it. Had I not been in the habit, I doubt we would have seen the dolphins we noticed while anchored in Catalina, either. I hope to get rear facing rooms in the future as well. One of my favorite parts of the trip was laying in that window, contemplating how much real water looked like Brice 3D.

The spa and pools were both forgettable. The spa, in particular, consisted of two small hot tubs with gross stuff floating in them. They also turned my grey and black striped bikini into a brown and tan striped bikini. The pools were 5′ deep, and had a water slide, but it was a bit too cold to try it and it seemed really slow when I watched people go down it. Color me unimpressed.

We didn’t really see any of the shows, played a bit of trivia in bars and gambled some and were mostly low key. My understanding of the shows based on the people we talked with who had attended was that we didn’t miss much. Seemed accurate, since nothing that was offered really piqued interest from either of us.

I had a nice trip, and a nice stopover in San Diego after the trip to hang out with friends and tour some breweries. Unfortunately, the day we were in San Diego before flying home, Norda was struck by a car and killed. She is currently in a box in my garage awaiting cremation.

norda-bundled.jpg

Next time, I will fly home right after I get off the boat.

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Submitted by courtnee in public - 09.28.09 - 11:30 am

Nee turns 30, Monday Nov 2

I am turning 30. I am having a party. Are you confident I would not want to burn the house down upon your arrival, considering my guests collateral damage for wiping you off the planet? Then request an invitation from the facebook event to RSVP!

In addition, back by popular demand because you asked for it… wishlist for my 30th. See you guys on Nov 2.

Stuff I like..

  • Lunches
  • Massages
  • Baths
  • Tea (decaf or low caf)
  • Travel
  • Essential oils
  • Art Supplies
  • Music
  • Gift Certificates
  • Tall socks
  • Lacy things
  • Candles
  • Blank greeting cards
  • Handmade things
  • Corsets
  • Dark Chocolate

Stuff that’s crossed my mind recently…

A word about Money…

Money is a social necessity that becomes less and less of a priority as I age and develop my sense of what I find important in my life. I make very little, and generally do not have much left over after my modest monthly bills. One of my largest projects is a volunteer position as a founder of a non-profit, and often my performances are unpaid – I have chosen to do what fuels me, and have worked hard to reduce my financial footprint to where I can live how I want and not have to worry (too much) about making a lot of money or making my decisions based on that.

That said, money is a great gift for me. There are things I enjoy and/or would benefit greatly from that are difficult to acquire by means of trade or barter, and money is as versatile as my interests at the time. There is a stigma about money being a cop out gift, and in some respects I can see why. However, for me, money is great. I can use it to stroll the produce section and get my food for the day,  shoot myself into space, go see a movie with you, get some new paint colors, or pad the bank account for vita-arts.org. Neat stuff!

So if you’re stumped, strapped for time, across the country or whatever and a simple ‘happy birthday’ doesn’t float your boat, just send me a fatass check. I’ll totally dig it, and promise I will do something cool with it.

Here’s to making it this far!

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Submitted by courtnee in public - 05.28.09 - 10:14 am

Burning Beast, July 12 (Arlington)

3478_large.jpg Who: Myself, Dyno and Tamara are performing aerial

What: A an outdoor, fire-cooked feast of medieval proportions! Food comes off the fires around 6pm. Make a day of it – come early and stay late. Smoke Farm has 360 acres to wander and a river to dip in.

When: July 12, from 2 to midnightish!

Where: Smoke Farm: 12731 Smokes Road Arlington, WA 98223

Website: http://www.smokefarm.org

Burning Beast returns to Smoke Farm for its second, sure to be celebrated, culinary firestorm. The Stranger Slog called it “the worlds funnest and most delicious feast in a field cooked by Seattle’s best chefs.” Eleven star-studded cooking teams gather to prepare and master an assigned animal, vegetable and/or sea creature, whole or in parts, using fire, earth, steel and little else. The jaw-dropping list of participating chefs includes; Dylan Giordan (Serafina), Angie Roberts (Boka), Matt Dillon (Sitka and Spruce & The Corson Building), Garret Abel (DeLaurenti’s), Dustin Ronspies (Art of the Table), Gabriel Claycamp (The Swinery), Ron Jones (Jones Glassworks), Tyson Danilson (Le Pichet), Jonathan Sundstrom (Lark), Zephyr Paquette (Elliott Bay Cafe), Jennifer Alphonsine (Circa Alehouse), Seth Caswell (emmer & rye) – and more!

Entertainment included! Featuring aerial thrills provided by the amazing Zita, the incredible Dyno and Tamara the Trapeze Lady! Plus, music by ‘The Hallways’.

Atmosphere – outdoor casual. We encourage guests to THINK GREEN carpool, and bring along reusable plates, cups and cutlery (if you can). Plus – it’s a lovely place! Bring picnic blankets, swimsuits, comfy footwear, and healthy appetites. burningbeast@smokefarm.org for questions/info. See you there!

Tickets are $75, from http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/68737

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