thought to landing

(heavy/deep sigh) the last few days have happened. they have included such things as karaoke, coffee shops, and a nice walk along the flood wall. although i love being in richmond, my mindset is on the move and i feel ready to be gone from this place. to have my body in motion again, the wind blowing through my hair as i encounter loneliness and hardship and whatever else the road south will bring me.

i am still undecided on my route and i dont think i can make a decision on it while i am here. just as when i was leaving portland the path south wasnt drawn for me until the tires were moving along the road, my copilot giving me options for our journey. then everything just happened, whatever plan i had built up in the days before i was leaving were absolutely scrapped. kind of like how everything is just happening now and the things that i have been holding onto and beleiving in - the future i have been thinking about - will also have to be scrapped.

heavy shit.

again, i dont really feel like recounted all i can about the past few days. muna and i went out for dinner at cedars - a mediterranian restaurant. that was nice, the owner worked for the government in jordan and talked up a storm to us,

muna

particularly to me because i am male, but everything he said was for muna's benefit. after that we went to the first friday art walk, which was unlike any i had really been to before.

it was on the main downtown street, which was 4-6 lanes, and featuring quite a few live bands, cops, and plenty of people. we meant to just make a quick stop at muna's friends show, but ended up seeing a few other things as well. including a one man band. apparently this person was a friend of muna's, he played guitar with one hand and drums with his feet and the other hand. he also "sang." it was pretty good.

then we went to karaoke. we went with robert, a new friend, and were met there by a person called jenny. the four of us found ourselves at liberty valance - richmonds most country karaoke bar. typical, i had to pump myself up before i could find the courage to drop in a song. the first one i did was "mmm mmm mmm mmm" by the crash test dummies. i dont really like the song, but it is easy to sing, slow and clear. i still tripped up a bit. but after that first song you want more and more.

i put in "my way" by sinatra, "ring of fire" as a duet with jenny, "under pressure" as a duet with muna, and "the sign" by ace of base. i only got to sing my way. but that went well, i know it is an oft sung song at karaoke but i am considering making it my signature. they didnt have the remix to ignition, they didnt have very much bruce springsteen, and they didnt have any songs that were on my "set list."

we closed the bar down and then drove home. i have been spending my days walking around, reading, and sitting at coffee shops. the museum scene is kind of old for me - and i have gone to all of the ones i really wanted to get to. so, basically just bumming around. but i am sedentary, this would be fine and easier if i were on a southward journey. instead i just find myself going to the same few places, caught in a rote and am too comfortable with the few places i have found to venture to new places.

i have also spent way more money than i wanted to. looks like someone will be living off of ramen noodles for awhile! yay!

the next day we went to the farmers market/brunswick stew festival. i had hoped it would be like the chili festival i attended in portsmouth, but no. we got there only two hours or so after it started and many of the places had already sold out of stew. this meant that the few places that still had stew featured super long lines, and we had to pay a dollar per sample! incredulous!

we had about five samples and muna bought a quart for her mom. then we went walking around, we started heading to slave trading center (defunct) and then a graveyard/slaughteryard for slaves. there had been controversy over this place because some people were trying to preserve it but the college (which owns the land) recently paved over it to make a parking lot. we went in there and walked around for awhile.

a fine ruins...

then we ended up by a fine ruins. i very much like ruins. it was an old railroad bridge that was a dump site for coal. there were hoppers off the bridge that would be filled with coal and then a truck would come underneath to be filled up. it was a really beautiful decaying spot and we took many pictures. it was getting late then and i wanted to check out the railway museum, which is only open on weekends.

we drove over to it but it was undergoing renovation. luckily they didnt mention that on the answering machine. luckily because after finding it closed muna and i took a long walk on the flood wall. it was really pretty and serene, we got to chat and just hang out. it was really nice. we walked all the way to belle isle and then turned around. it was getting late - and cold! at the other end we went up a ramp to overlook the river and downtown richmond. we sat up there for awhile, watching the world - the birds, the dogs, the traffic. and talked.

then we went back to her house, she wanted to rest and i went off to read at a coffee shop. however, i came back only a few hours later. i was pretty tired after walking around all day and not sleeping much the night before. i sat in the loft and watched a movie and then went to bed.

my time here is winding down. that is a good thing and a sad thing. it is good because it is hard to be a visitor for a long time, i dont want to make very strong attachments - i leave and sometimes i dont come back. so i am happy to leave so i am not stuck in this world of "almost here, but not really." and it is sad because i like it here alot and the people i have met and already know here have been pretty great. i can see myself coming back here for a time.