david taus

There and Back Again (Again)

music: Toots and the Maytalls- Funky Kingston

One year later, some new twists, same story.

I feel very fortunate to be able to take off for two months at a time and travel to fantastic places. Big thanks to Brad for being my OZ resource and mahalo to Parker for being my island tour guide. People have been asking how the trip was; it’s not the sort of thing you can really answer. the July archives from Australia tell some of the tale. Unfortunately Hawaii is not so up on the backpacker scene, as most people stay in hotels and resorts so internet access is more limited. But as an attempt at explanation for the past couple months, pictures of Australia and Hawaii are posted on the anize photo gallery.

Doing an extended trip solo is an incredible thing. Some people understand the impulse because they have done similar or have the urge to, but most people are sort of shocked. I had moments out there, halfway around the world, where I wondered what I was doing myself, and there were lonely times, but for the most part it was excellent. Australia was absolutely no problem as there is an enormous backpacker culture there; I actually had to make a point of spending time by myself. You need to after spending a significant amount of time bouncing in and out of 8-share hostel dorms. Most people who go to Hawaii aren’t backpackers though, they are staying in resorts and hotels, so I spent most of my time alone on the islands. I realized out there in the middle of the Pacific that the solo journey, for me, is not a challenge. It’s easier for me in a lot of ways, especially when backpacking, to be on my own. The places I went this summer were places that I’ve been burning to see, and so I chose the experience of being in those places over the need to share the experience. There isn’t really any other place I can think of that beckons me in that way (although there are plenty of places I’d like to go) so for the near future I expect my travels will be with other people. Were it possible to compare this summer with last summer I might take the cross country road trip with AJM over my wanderings in Australia and Hawaii. Maybe because it was an exploration of my big backyard, but probably because it was a shared experience. We made music nightly. This summer I didn’t even have an instrument.

So I’m back in Boston.

It’s funny to be home in the late afternoon on a Monday when everyone else is at work.

I find myself in much the same position as I did at this time last year: sleeping on my couch. My subletter, who I understand will be moving in more permanently, is still occupying the pumpkin room off the kitchen and I’m still picking the same clothes out of my backpack. But I have some things back: my computer, my phone (didn’t miss either all that much), my guitars (missed a lot). I’ve already had a jam session with the band down in the Biosphere. I found, to my horror, that the leather strap stored next to the Gibson’s neck wore through the finish enough to cause a couple small indentations. Very, very not good. I’ll take the Gibson into the nearest authorized luthier in the coming weeks. But really nothing happens until I get back into my room.

the 1-2 is a flurry of activity; almost everyone is in transition. Marla is already gone, to Berkeley for grad school, and tmo is in the process of clearning out his stuff, on the precipice of his own extended solo journey. Claire has been gone. Ron is roadtripping somewhere in the midwest. JZ is moving into tmo’s room. Upstairs Chuck is gone, and Anna now occupies the third floor She had us all up a couple nights ago and seems to be down with the whole-house ethic. Matt and Gina seem to be the only ones not in transition. Peet is moving downstairs, and when he moves his stuff Gabe the subletter will be able to move his stuff into Peet’s room, whereupon I can move back into my room, set up Mission Control, and begin to get set for school and the coming fall. But an interesting thing has happened in all this shuffle, I realized: I have two new roommates on the second floor. Unexpected, this is.

There are boxes and piles and stuff moving in and out and all over the place. It’s a project trying to keep your stuff together, especially if you have to move it. We have a house meeting on Thursday night so hopefully things can be made more clear then. What I do know is that things here are changing and rather quickly, which at once is unsettling and at the same time opens up all sorts of possibilities for how things are going to go down this next year. One thing is for sure, though: the solo excursion has reached its end. Being back reminds me that I have a community, I have responsibilities and a sense of purpose, and I have a lot of work to do.

Posted by davidtaus at August 22, 2005 03:35 PM | TrackBack