| i gone done and plum forgot it |
[Jan. 11th, 2006|09:43 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  nostalgic | ] |
| [ | music |
| | us and them | ] |
here is two songs i wrote tonight, i have to post them quick before i hate them and tear them up because at the moment i am quite pleased. I wrote the music awhile ago but the lyrics for both came to me tonight maybe it was due to a blot of bad mustard. I have about 8-9 tracks im recording at the moment on a friends computer on protools most are my own some covers so i've been trying to zone for inspiration lately needless to say tonight was a good night finally. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE comment with whatever you got.
"Love in the Time of Preoccupation" (this title is a play on the title of one of my favorite books and was originally in another set of lyrics but was the only line worth keeping so im using it as a title and it kinda fits the content which follows)
Is wine enough for me
to let me skip your rocks through my blood
My heart lays in the clay
where the sand released the sea here comes the waves
how do we move from here
pinching the pants under father time's cloak
And once you clear your head
will you please come back to bed
if patience has been my luck
then karma's a bitch who doesn't give a fuck
your kiss will be hard to forget
an angel in tow understand my regret
we'll meet in the afternoon
each note i write is inspired by your eyes
and we'll bottle up from the cold
the echoes lost around the world
Ok so this next tune has a ryan adams-y feel to it, in that it is a jaunty alt-country feel but i rock out on this temendous built to spill/wilcoish jam at the end although not as good. It's the first song i've ever came up with where i said i was going to sit down and write a song and a half a minute later i had 75% of it completed.
The wolves (working title)
Are you willing
to feed the weight of the world
to the wolves outside your door
Am i just seeing
the fabricated love in the eyes of a girl
who can't take anymore
is it my desire for connection
or your unconscious need for protection
(Chorus)
You tear me up so tenderly
i cannot give you up
in the flesh you talk so dirty
i need you so much
here we are
shaping our vocal chords
to talk in a world more sober
as time thrills
inhiebriation builds
to the point i barely know her
politiking your cause
with such hungry paws
chorus
upward spiraling
as the boiling points rising
here i am thinking her thoughts of love
crash crash crash
all day with me
we'll count the stars on the ceiling above
release in the dark
release in the dark
So yeah nothing brilliant and not as ambiguous or mysterious as i normally write but definitely some of the most honest stuff i've written in a while. I hope it's not too in your face all the girl problems i have going on. Poor me right. I have another one at school i didn't bring home which is more about my trip and one about being lost in Beijing which actually happened and was pretty scary but surreal experience. Maybe someday i'll post and you'll read if anyone still reads this thing |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 9th, 2005|01:45 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  exhausted | ] |
| [ | music |
| | jeff buckley | ] |
I am Matt's continuing Livejournal Hiatus Part 2-
Here are a few things i've been up to if your interested in knowing-
-AIDS
-Fighting Good Fights
-Finding My After Graduation Wa
-New England Revolution
-Thoughts on Volunteerism Possibly Peace Corps
-Z
-Moodswing Whiskey
-Thoughts about India
-Favorite Songs of the past month - It Beats for You by MMJ, Superconnected- BSS, Glossi- Sigur Ros
-Prince
-A year and counting since last slip show
-bookstore
-Tangueray and Tonic
-Denver Colorado
-Counseling
-I have 2000 durex sitting in my room right now yet not close to using one
-Thoughts on Cambodia
-Roomates watch entirely too much tv and i have entirely too much work
-Crash
-Missing my Family, brother esp. hope he visits this weekend
-Rents have a FES from Spain for a month, pretty damn random of them
-Completely out of shape, burnt out, trying to find my place back in the states and slowly coming to the conclusion its not where im at
-serious thoughts about becoming a vegetarian again
-havent talked to friends from home in months probably think im dead
That's all i can think of right now, i'm sure there has been more since my last update ooooooook peace out!!!! |
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| show last night |
[Sep. 1st, 2005|09:49 am] |
Last night was one of those rare musical experiences for me. Frankel and some of you might know the kind. The out of body stuff that only the most committed listener will recieve. I knew what to expect but i didn't. Before leaving the apartment i had a tanqueray and tonic, a shot of soco and a shot of absinthe. I was starting to float around without any music, not in that obnoxious way though. I was having a great time talking to my friends excited for the duo to come on, excited for my friends to see what i've been talking about for the last 8 months. We had a few beers, played pool, just all around good time. I went outside to call colleen and tell her to get her punk ass down to tammany stat because there was talks of it selling out. Tammany is one of the smallest clubs/bars in town and one fo my favorites therefore i was psyched that one of my favorite up and coming live bands was playing there. As i got of the phone i realized i was standing right next to marco and i told him how much i enjoyed their set at allgood this summer and i enjoyed his little menage with marc friedman and andrew barr in providence. He was really gracious and i told him, (in a relatively un-gay way but really how could it not sound gay)to come find me inside and id buy him a drink not thinking about the bands free drink tab. He actually did find me and offered to buy me the drink, really really stand-up guy.
People's Republic of Monster's opened and they were pretty tight. Sounded very similar to soulive and the guitarist even looked like krasno. Good mix of funky soul with a good voice in between.
The duo took some time to setup because they got there right before the show started and had to bring everything in through the front because tammany has no backdoor. They opened with Becky which i expected, not my favorite song of theirs but it does rock and they kept it short and to the point. After that came Sunny's song which really took off, definitely some interplanetary landscapes marco was painting and joe russo is like that ADD kid on drums but everything he did was coherent and ingested that split second after he plays it which blows you away so much more because he's that much smarter a musician than you. After that i'm not sure what was played but i remember it being a little more on the jazzier side, bringing it down a little to show their chops, i'm pretty sure the first 4 songs where from best reason to buy the sun. The fourth was definitely welcome red which i had been waiting for. It being my favorite duo song and they played it really well. I've seen them play it 3 times and it gets better everytime and being in such a small venue it was great. They totally rocked the littled coda and seagued into a longer rocked out song i didn't recognize but by that point it was over for me, just the right amount of intoxication of booze and music really took me there. I haven't been to that place in a while and i was in total bliss last night. I didn't say but a few words for the rest of the show to my friends. I was totally in it and at that point i didnt care about anything else excet closing my eyes and dissecting the music. It was magic. Other highlights were a new song they said they never played live were rocked really hard, my pet goat was really cool, a nice little cover of paranoid android and another radiohead song which i believe was knives out, though i could be wrong, which went back into android, also the set closer and now probably my second favorite off of best reason; 9x9 it really worked for me and kept me malingering in that place for the rest of the night. I'm glad they didnt play scratchitti, i find that song a little annoying but maybe live it's more rockin. All in all another great show by marco and joe, they are quickly rising to be one of my favorite bands to see and last night they definitely took me to that special place in my pants. ha just joshin.
In other news went to a GRE seminar last night- FUCK THAT. Such bullshit i don't have time to take that fucking test which tests me on shit i leanrned 5 years ago give me a break. I don't even know what program i wanna go into or what school i wanna go into. I don't even know if i will be in this country next year. Frankel been seriously thinking about out west though let me know what your thinking. California seems like it may be a good fit for me but i digress, i haven't had much time to research.
And other news getting my job back at the second largest indie bookstore in the country today. So yea im working at school, at tatnuck booksellers and interning at Aids Project Worcester this semester while taking 5 classes. Great senior year so far, at least my roomates are crazy and won't let the dream die. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jul. 19th, 2005|11:03 pm] |
Here i am. Finally getting around to this thing. Just got back from the allgood festival in w. virginia. It was fun got to see a few friends from semester at sea which was awesome. I miss them a lot. I miss travelling. Even though i only went down the coast a bit, it made me miss change so much. This year for me had a lot of change. I was super impressed by les claypool's set and flaming lips were amazing. Benevento/russo kicked it as they always do, they are probably my newest favorite of the genre whatever that is. Yonder was sweet too.
I realized that i cannot be apart of the jamband scene anymore. It didn't die for me with phish, i still love the music but i just don't think i can do the festival thing anymore, i don't want anything to do with some of the people. It sucks too because i don't wanna pigeon-hole the whole scene but fuck man it yields some of the most irresponsible people ive ever met. I mean i like to get fucked up but some of these people totally go way too far. I mean thats what its about to them. They don't even stand for anything except how fucked up they are. I saw a mom place an ounce of mushrooms and molly on top of her baby's stroller. That's not the kind of environment i wanna be in anymore and it's not the kind of crowd i wanna be grouped with. It sucks, i feel as if it let me down or maybe i was just too idealistic too see through the bullshit and notice that this was how it always was. For me, as i am sure it is for some still, it's about the music and being connected with universe surrounding but when that universe is filled with people too fucked up to realize that you can accomplish this sober than maybe i need to find a different universe or none at all, or one that is mine and only i say what goes. Yeah that sounds right.
But really, this has been a long time coming. I fucking love some of those bands the slip, the duo, soulive, mmw, wsp and i mostly have no problem at those shows but when it comes to the down and dirty festivals, i just can't do it anymore, i can't relate anymore. Fuck man that's hard. Music is everything to me and i thought that scene had all the answers for me in the way it combined life and music and psychotropic drugs in a moderate blend of a pseudo-utopia and it was pseudo because now the drugs have taken hold of the scene. It may still be around in a few years but i doubt ill be there helping it on life-support im just so sick and tired of the shit that goes down. I think the only festival youll get me to is ACL or if the slip do something small again. Oh well, that's that.
Venting much
In other news my friend leah wrote me an email which yielded some of the strongest remarks about me ive ever heard. I miss her so much as i do all my friend from the high seas, i don't think she'll ever know how much her words mean to me.
ahhhhhhhh ok i m don ee |
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| (no subject) |
[Jun. 12th, 2005|01:54 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  confused | ] |
| [ | music |
| | ryan adams-cold roses. | ] |
hey everyone haven't updated in awhile. I'm back from my trip though i don't really feel like getting into that in depth just yet. It isn't as weird to be back as i thought, it was like a 3 month long dream and now i'm thrown back into my life in rhode island which has been ok. I'm head lifeguard at my pool club which means i have more responsiblities. Almost all of my friends are 21, finally. However turning 21 has made me see how unique and different my friends really are. The places we choose to go sometimes frightened me. I have no idea how the people i love so much could choose to immerse themselves in places that i detest. Total greaseball machismo institutions with usher on and they are still playing that nelly it's getting hot in here song. These places are sexual dens for the kind of people who dress incognito because they think this is life, whoring themselves out to satisfy their ego. It's not, they just don't know how to talk about the right stuff. I know i'm being totally overcritical but if you were there you'd agree and i need to vent sometimes. Socially drinking is one of my favorite things to do especially with friends however the clear division of my friends brings some of us to places we'd never venture and ends up creating drama between us then the lines are sharp. I accept our differences but it makes me wonder if these are the people i will continue to hang out with. Sometimes some of them piss me off and make me realize that they never inspire me. Some of them love money more then humankind. Do i wanna be immersed in the presence of such mindsets. I know i don't so why do i still hang out with them? loyalty? I do love them but since making so many friends with such good souls around the country and the world it makes me wonder why i'm still here with the same people with their same differing mindsets. IT's frustrating but i guess i have to live with it for now. OH well.
Brett are you at bonnaroo?
If you are im fucking jealous.
Also Thanks for turning me on to the arcade fire that album hasnt left my player much. Drop me a line soon i wanna hear from you. Peace |
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| where i'm at |
[Apr. 19th, 2005|08:32 pm] |
I am writing this email because the past few days, in returning from
Brazil, its been a little emotional. In just 12 days Ill be back on US
soil after traveling the world for 3 and a half months. I am writing this
because I was excited to come home and I still am but I am all of a sudden
really confused. Some heavy shit is hitting me right now and I think I
need to explain myself. I am not going to explain Brazil it was amazing I
went to a soccer game(championship), backpacked through some beach
communities and sprained my ankle teaching some kids Frisbee but so's the
breaks. The fact is these emails are words and stories and they cannot get
everything across. I am writing this email not because I have changed into
a different person because I am still the same person but this trip has
added a lot and became a part of me. I am writing this because when I come
home I am afraid of being misconstrued as being completely pretentious.
Let me clarify: I am the luckiest person in the world to partake in such a
great adventure, I mean one week Im at the great wall the next nam, the
next the taj mahal, the next in a hot air balloon over the Serengeti in
Africa then at a soccer game in Brazil. See doesnt that sound pretty damn
pretentious. Well I think so but when I think about it I realize that this
has been my life. I have seen the most beautiful of places, met some of
the most amazing people and seen the poorest of poor. How am I going to
come home to tv I havent watched or cared to watch or to Michael Jackson
trials and money? How do I come home to whining and complaining about the
little things (I am talking about me too) and getting drunk and throwing
away food which people in brazil would gladly take off of my plate? The
truth is that I am really confused as to how it is going to be. I am by
no means knocking our way of life I am thrilled to get back to my life, our
life, all of you and hear how you have been and what has gone on but there
is going to be a barrier there you have to understand and have patience
with I will need this patience too. Sounds completely pretentious huh?
Well, its the truth and I am sure the same will go for our other friends
who are abroad. I hate writing this because I know coming home is going to
be incredible and I dont want to make yall think I am some holier than
thou friend. This trip has taught me the confidence and patience I never
knew I had. I am coming home stronger, happier, sadder, more hopeful,
more excited, more fat and more appreciative than I ever have been in my
life and all of you have helped bring that out in me so far so seeing you
all will be even more the balance I need but home is gonna be hard too. I
wish that I could be clear of what I mean but I cant. Morgan told me this
before leaving, that I will never be able to explain what has happened to
me and she was right. So please understand that I am not pretentious and I
dont think I really was before this and if I was I am even less now
because of what I have seen even if it seems that I am if that makes sense.
Its just my life has been pretty crazy for the past 3 months and I just
cannot put it in words its in the experiences, its in the people I met,
its in the smiles and the conversations and the love and the hate and the
poverty and the beauty that I have experienced. Also add on the closeness
to a death in the murky depths of the Pacific to the mix. Just know that I
love you all and I cannot wait to see you, if I am a little weird at first
its probably because I am all over the place and I am trying to take in
all that I experienced Im sure Ill get over it. I am changed but I feel
even more myself then I ever have been. I cannot wait to hear your stories
and listen to what you have to say and I cannot wait for the summer. For
all my hippies ALLGOOD FESTIVAL 7/15-7/17 W VIRGINIA lets start thinking
we aint got no phish. I am psyched and ready to come home but I have to
get through Venezuela and the amazon with a sprained ankle first. I hope I
havent offended or scared anyone and I hope you all see the reason in me
having to write this. If you dont thats fine too but please just give me
the benefit of the doubt and respect the fact that I needed to write this.
I love you and I miss you all.
Peace
Matt
- what would the scientific purpose of killing it be?
- Revenge? |
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| India |
[Mar. 10th, 2005|02:47 pm] |
India- I believe that this is one of the ports that makes this program so successful. I hated this place at first. There is not much to like here. All you see is poverty and filth. Every motor rickshaw driver in this country takes you to only where he wants to go (usually to fancy jewelry stores in which they get commission for bringing tourist.) Everyone tries to scam the white man here. Things that cost 2 dollars start at 20.
However it is a place in which I and I think lots of people needed to see. I cannot sum up or even begin to describe the mystery behind this place. This is the most foreign place I have ever been to in the world and in my life. I hated it at first and by last night boarding the boat (slightly intoxicated\) I realized how important this port has been and how much I enjoyed it. I know this place will affect me immensely in the long run of things and will be not easily forgotten. We were drilled in global studies class that this country is a land of contrast and opposites and that is an understatement. Never have I seen a place so ununified as India. I traveled in 3 cities (Delhi, Agra and Madra (Chennai)) and in each place I have seen the poorest of poverty to the most lavish palaces. However it is the people who are the most confusing. These people live their live absolutely 100 percent different then we do in the US and also a lot of the people live their lives 100 percent differently then other people in India. It’s hard to describe you really have to see it to yourselves.
This whole culture is not urine shy either. People go to the bathroom on the streets. They eat, drink, sleep, have sex and beg on the streets. The untouchables literally live on the streets. This place has brought more tears to my and all of my other friends eyes, more so than any other port. Seeing what I have seen here I know most of you would react the same. To be indifferent to this place would be complete ignorance. And this place was ugly for me at first but by the 3rd day I realized that it was just my ethnocentrism which made it that way because there is so much beauty to the mystery behind this place. This place smells yes but it could smell good at times. The food made us sick (they call it Delhi belly but I don’t really like that) yes but that was to be expected and Indian food is damn good and spicy. The people are strange and uneducated yes but when they talk to you there heads bobble from side to side and it could be the funniest thing I’ve ever seen mid convo.
My second day here my group took a flight to Delhi and we stayed at a pretty nice hotel for the night. We woke up early and took a train to Agra where we checked into another nice hotel. We did a lot of sight seeing and saw a lot of temples and old structures that were made for kings. All we saw was really awesome and fun. The hawkers were relentless and hassled us to the bitter end. The trick was to completely ignore them. Becca and I turned it into a game in that each hawker we passed was 200 points if each second they continued on with you was a ten point penalty. It really did become a game to go unnoticed and that was hard because Indians are dark skinned and Americans are not. I was excited to see the Taj Mahal but nothing could prepare me for seeing it. Walking through the sandstone gates and facing that wonder of the world gave me more chills then I’ve felt this whole trip. It was the most beautiful thing I think I’ve ever seen. Everyone was completely awestruck. During sunset I just sat on the marble platform before the doors of the tomb and their looking up I definitely had what Abraham Maslow would call a peak experience. Everything was good. I wished my family was there but I was glad to have the time to myself for the better part of a half hour. It was very peaceful and definitely was one of the best things I’ve done so far. It was made in honor of one of the king’s wives which could also be one of the most romantic things I’ve ever seen or heard of either. It was amazing and much better than anticipated.
I’ve started taking pictures of my feet standing on really important things. I think my favorite has been my bare feet on the marble floor of the Taj. Later in the week we went to a Sikh temple, the Ghandi Museum which was really moving. I took a picture of my feet standing in the last spot Ghandi stood alive. Going through that museum made me realize how much goodness there is in some people maybe all we are all just lazy or too self-conscious to let it out. We went to an orphanage setup by mother Teresa and played with the children for an hour. I went to 2 orphanages this port and they could have been the most fun and moving times I’ve spent not only in India but on the whole voyage. The happiness and gratitude of these kids are something that only children can exuberate and that most adults need to be reminded of. Overall it is really sad to see. The children beggars (and there were plenty) not only asked for food and money but also shampoo and that I think was the saddest thing of all. A small girl came up to us and started rubbing her head asking us for shampoo. Shampoo something I take totally for granted is desired by someone, it seems unthinkable.
I guess coming from Vietnam and having so much fun there I was ready to keep that rolling. However, by the 2nd day I realized that India is not a fun place. It can be fun at times in the motor rickshaws (which is my 13th form of transportation on this trip). India is just India. My perception of it was totally wrong and I’m glad I got to experience it. I still feel incomplete with it I still need to see more maybe someday. I don’t know how I can talk to you about it, maybe you will go then we can have a conversation about it but I’m sure we would still all be more confused even after being there. I realized that is why I loved it so much; because it encompassed nothing I am, nothing I’ve experienced or seen and nothing I’ve ever dreamed to be apart of. Now it’s a part of me like it or not. I feel blessed by it. Thanks again mom and dad.
On the plane ride home from Delhi we experienced horrible turbulence and were in the air an hour longer then we needed to be because we had to slow down. At the end of the flight the pilot said something that I think could apply to the whole visit in various ways: Thank you for flying air India, I hope you will have a better flight next time when we see you again. That is India- a place I can’t really describe, a place no one can really love but a place no one can hate either. Right now I am on my way to Mombasa! What? I’m on my way to Mombasa? Kenya? Yes, Kenya I’m on my way to Freaking Kenya, The Motherland. To partake on a 4 day camping safari complete with hot air balloon ride at dawn. I don’t think my life could get any better right now. I’ll talk to yall soon and hope all is well, I miss you all and wish you were here with me.
Peace
MATT
Keep writing to me!!
PS- if anyone is planning to see Trey in NYC in May please let me know if your gonna pick up tix. |
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| the moped diary |
[Mar. 1st, 2005|11:03 am] |
Hey all,
I really haven’t had much time to write because I’ve been flying around Asia for the past 2 weeks. I will do the best I can to recite what I’ve seen but I’ve seen a lot so you won’t get it all. First, San Fran. I was there for 9 hours and visited the grateful dead house on height ashbury. It was cool. My friend Sean said how funny it was that what happened in that house basically shaped the way we are, well at least all those who listened to what came out of that house. It is definitely true and it was definitely a great pilgrimage to make at 4 am while you have 9 hours in San Fran.
Next Shanghai, 13 hours to get there and only spent 14 hours actually there. My roommate in shanghai and hong kong was a cool Texan named Harrison really nice guy. IT was his 20th birthday the first night in Shanghai so we decided to celebrate the Chinese New Year along with his birthday that night. We went to 2bars the first was really expensive so my friend Moody and I went across the street to another one. While crossing the street we had to dodge all the fireworks being set off by the people who were still awake. In walking into this bar Moody and I were surrounded by 4 girls each whosat and massaged us and treated us like celebrities. We were pretty sure they were prostitutes but they were nice so we ordered a beer. The beer was Tsingtao and it was very good. Harrison and his party followed shortly after and they were welcomed the same by the Chinese girls. They played the worst pop music America could offer but they loved it. WE had a great time our hosts were very gracious but Moody and I left early. The next day we flew to Beijing which could be the most desolate, barren and communist place I’ve ever seen. Apartments were skyscrapers and could fit hundreds of families. MY group stayed at Singhua University and the first day Moody and I got a tour of the campus with 2 of the Chinese students. Talking to the Chinese students was probably my favorite part of China. IT was really strange to meet people with such different views. Mostly all of the people I met in China were members of the communist party and content with their government. I’ve been keeping in touch with 2 of the girls from the university who showed us around, they were and are very accepting and friendly. The second day (valentine’s day) we went to the Great wall and it was pretty great I met a girl from our trip on it her name is Becca and we’ve been hanging out a lot she’s pretty great, it’s good to have someone to share these experiences I guess we’ll see where it goes. After the Great wall we visited the summer palace and later that week we saw a Chinese acrobat show, tienanmen square and a Buddhist lamasery- all were great.
After China, we flew to Hong Kong. It was a horribly turbulent flight and I thought I was gonna die again but that’s turbulence. Upon getting off the plane I felt feverish and took some layers off but that didn’t help I was scanned and had to get my temp taken I thought I was going to have to be quarantined in hong kong that would not have been too good. Turns out my temp was 100.8 not enough for them to detain me so I made it through. Hong Kong was cool, greatest subway in the world, I had a hotel party one night because it was hard for me to go out with a sore throat and cold. We had class in our hotel so I didn’t get to spend much time exploring although it had a beautiful yet ritzy countryside and the city was pretty much like any big city in the world.
Now Vietnam. There is just too much to say about this country. This port definitely took me by surprise. Morgan told me it was one of her favorites but I had no idea what to expect from this country. Imagine all the motorbikes in the world multiply that by 10000 and you have the streets of Nam. Crossing the street was scary at first. You have to forget all the rules your parents taught you, if you hesitate in traffic you will get hit, if you keep walking into traffic the drivers will drive right around you. Everyone in this country was so friendly, it’s hard to explain but they were never hesitant about smiling at you and saying hi. There was absolutely no anti-american sentiment whatsoever (granted we were in Saigon, South Vietnam) but these people treated us like we were famous and they were great hosts. I visited the Mekong Delta which was great, made Apocalypse Now a reality. I went to the Cu chi tunnels which was the base for the Viet Cong and the tunnels were pretty cool, bats were whizzing by my head in the pitch black 80m tunnel which was freaky. They were very hot so my friends Tim, Moody and I got a few beers (the local beers there were unreal, so good) and then they directed us to the firing range. We shot ak47sand shotguns with beers in our hands. The American Dream. But it was also very moving, along with the War Remnants Museum it makes me really sad to think that anyone could fight a war under false pretenses such as communism or for today’s sake unfound WMD. I’m not gonna get preachy but when homeless people deformed from agent orange ask you for money on the street it makes you think about this stuff. Seeing dead babies in jars at the museum and pictures of the brutality of war really makes you look at things from a wholeheartedly humane point of view and there is no humanity in war and there is no peace in war. I just hope I never have to go. I was sad to leave Vietnam. I could tell you so much more about this country but I’m running on already. This country will definitely be the basis for each port I go to until I reach one better. I never thought I could feel like home in a place further away from my home then I’ve ever been. I hope one day to go back and urge anyone to make it out here.
Right now I’m back to classes. The past 3weeks I only had 4 days of them now it’s kinda tough sitting still everyday through them. My lack of writing has also made this email a mess but I’m too lazy and busy to revise so sorry. Next is India and I’m ready for it. However, first we will be bunkering in Singapore and must be inboard through the straits of Malaysia because supposedly the threat of pirates is really strong. There’s a rumor (one of the million that circulate on this boat everyday) that the crewman fire hoses through the strait to spray them off the boat but there is also a rumor that there are 2 dogs chilling on the second deck. Oh well, with our luck if we are missing in a week it’s probably piracy. I’m gonna go play some ping pong as the Chinese call it. Peace.
MATT |
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| On Leaving Hawaii |
[Feb. 8th, 2005|02:00 pm] |
Hey Guys,
This is my final few days in Hawaii then they are going to start flying us out to Shanghai. They are going to be putting us up in hotels in China
and Hong Kong and the ship will meet up with us in Vietnam. I am pretty psyched to leave Hawaii although i haven't fully appreciated it until the past few days.
The first few days here it rained every five minutes and i didn't really get to see the tropical paradise i was hoping for. Luckily, the past 3 days have been awesome.
I have quit doing the touristy stuff because it was getting annoying and i don't feel like a tourist but more of an anthropologist with an affinity to nature. So i've spent
the past 3 days at various beaches. I went up to the North Shore of Oahu and took in all it had to offer. It probably was one of the most beautiul places ive ever been to.
It was rich with local surfers and majestic horticulture that I have imagined Hawaii to have. The beach my friends and i went to was the beach that they shot the show Lost
at. It was awesome and we followed it up with some great Mexican food and some tequila drinking. I've partied a few times here but most people aren't 21 so it's been
a little pointless. I really enjoyed Hawaii the past 3 days but i am ready to venture onward. China will be the ultimate test of adaptation. The other night i jammed with a few friends
it was pretty tight we have compiled 3 guitarists, a bassist/mandolin, saxophonist/mandolin+other stuff, and a tight piano player our little jam session the other night consisted of the
following stuff: The Weight>Moondance, Eyes of the World (led by myself)> Mike's Song, Waste, Stand By Me, Amazing Grace and an all out bluegrass revival jamboree which lasted
for about 10 minutes good stuff! Well i am at an internet cafe so i gotta sign off now but keep writing and as soon as they get the internet back i'll be sending out more personal emails.
I really love hearing from you guys so keep them coming. I will post port addresses as soon as i can becasue some of you mentioned writing to me in port. Thanks a lot everyone,
love you all and hope your all doing well, i went surfing after class yesterday that was cool.HA. Ok peace.
MATT
PS- Colleen, Chubbs is doing very well she is gettign a tattoo today and being really lacksidasical about writing to people. I am glad to hear you are having a good time
i wish i was there with you, it's weird not having you around being that we used to be together nonstop. Keep writing and ill get back asaican.
PPS- Anyone else thinking of bonnaroo this year?
'And so we came forth and once again beheld the stars.' –Dante, Inferno (thanks for the quote tasoula its perfect) |
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| The Bastard Pacific Part 2 |
[Feb. 1st, 2005|12:39 pm] |
Dear Friends and Family,
By the time you will be getting this I will already be in Hawaii. I will have my cell on for a limited amount of time there so try me if you’d like. I am not sure how great of reception there will be there.
I am not sure what everyone knows about my SAS trip but last Wednesday the ship, on it’s way to Korea in the mid-Pacific, headed into a hurricane. The Shipboard community woke at 3 am by the violent rocking of massive waves. The captain pulled us out of the storm but by 6 am we began to experience even worse conditions. My roommate and I awoke with our beds sliding across the floor and everything we owned was on floor and bouncing around the room. The waves were unreal, it was quite a sight from my window. I’m on the 4th floor of the ship and the waves towered at least 15 ft above my room. By 6:15 the executive dean came on the PA and asked us to get our lifejackets on, 5 minutes later in a voice of complete panic he asked everyone to head to the main floor on the 5th deck. This was not good. For the next 6 hours the shipboard community was gathered in the main halls and waited out the waves which violently rocked the boat, many of us believing it to be close to capsizing. Many feared for their lives. I tried to enjoy what could have been a very dangerous situation by making jokes, playing games and trying to put at ease other passengers. As we pulled out of the storm, the increasing damage forced us to head toward the Midway Islands where we could re-fuel and assess the damage. However we are now going to Hawaii.
At 6 am a 50 ft wave hit the bridge and busted through the window knocking out the engines and all electrical equipment on the control panel. The library was a mess, most of the campus store was a mess and glass broken, the glass tables in the union lecture hall were almost all broken and chairs were ripped and broken, computer lab was taken out as well as all navigational systems. We are using a compass! Many more superficial and serious damage occurred but I won’t get into that.
The point is that I would like everyone to know that I and everyone on this ship is ok. With few injuries we escaped a very scary situation. The whole time I tried to make the best of the situation and am very grateful for the experience. Not everyone gets to face death the way I have and it is something I have thought about and smiled at in the hours and days since. While I was sitting waiting for what the next wave would bring I couldn’t help but think about all of you and the good times and all that you have taught and given to me. How I have such good memories that death could not take. Overall I was not scared of death at all that day and I want to thank all of you for that. I was able to be at peace that day and help others who needed to be helped. I hope all is well back home I miss you all. If you hear things on tv and such believe me everyone here was so mature and cooperative during this experience that if you were here you would have felt completely at ease and comfortable I would like to applaud the shipboard community for that. I am proud of all my new friends and this experience has brought the community closer. After most helped with cleanup the very next day things went back to normal and they have been that way since. There is no need to worry for us. As you read this I am on our new destination HAWAII probably surfing, eating pineapples or getting drunk. I definitely need a drink. The only disappointing thing about this experience is that it is very unlikely I’ll be going to Korea and Japan. However, I do believe that this experience will make this trip much better. I am intrigued with the thought of not knowing what comes next, I am living for that. I feel like Indiana Jones or something. Plus I’ve never been to Hawaii and it’s starting to get warm I am psyched to arrive. EAT THAT WORCESTER.
I have been on the Pacific Ocean for 2 weeks and have faced the awesome forces of nature but right now as I look out the window I am seeing the sunset. I guess that is what its all about. I almost died yes but fuck a lot of people almost die a lot and not in such adventureous circumstances. In looking at the Tsunami disaster in India I am able to grasp the feeling pretty well and my compassion is totally with them, the awesome forces of nature has put a lot of things into perspective for me and I hope those people have been able to find some peace too. I consider myself lucky to be alive though, I mean that is why I am on this trip because this is life and I want to perceive it in every way possible. I am not scared to die and I am sure as hell not scared to live and so I am making every moment of this trip worthwhile; bigger things will come from it and it’ll taste sweeter in the end with all we have gone through. Don’t worry for me I’m fine. I’m probably doing better than you sitting on a beach in Hawaii. I will try to write to all of you individually if you wrote to me but it will take time, hopefully they’ll get internet back up on board soon. Till then I will try and email you all as often as I can I can’t wait to hear from you keep writing you guys kept me alive the other day and hopefully your all living hard too.
Peace
MATT |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 24th, 2005|09:35 am] |
Hello family and friends,
It’s me, 5th day deep into the Pacific. I am still alive and well but it has been quite an experience already. I have not experienced much seasickness with the exception of the first night which was extremely rough waters. That seems to be the theme thus far. The rocking of the ship has been both gentle and violent. We have hit a few storms and since we are the guinea pig class we don’t know what lays ahead. Guinea pig because SAS has yet to cross the Pacific in the winter. Waves swell at an average of 15 ft a day. Tonight supposedly we may get 30 footers. It’s not easy to sleep. We have to wedge toilet paper in our drawers to keep them from crashing out, it gets annoying. It’s funny to watch people walk like they are completely wasted. Eating at tables is difficult and sitting in class swaying back and forth can be daunting but it’s interesting nonetheless. Other than that, it’s been a good time.
I have made some decent friends. It’s kind of tough because no one is really that close yet but I’m sure that’ll come in time. My roommate is cool, his name is Ross he is from MI and goes to U of M. He’s a frat guy but he is really nice and really artistic too. We don’t hang that much we have different sets of friends but he’s easy to live with which is all I could ask for.
So yeah there is not that much going on everyday is pretty much the same. 3 meals a day, classes everyday on the ship (including weekends) which is cool because all of my classes are awesome. There is bar night which is almost every night but unfortunately there is a limit to how many drinks we can drink so it’s not really worth spending the money. I go but most of the time I don’t drink. Oh yeah and every night until the 26th we gain an hour of sleep. We have gained 4 hours so far. But the kicker is, the 26th is a lost day and we never live it we go from the 25th to the 27th. Wild stuff.
I am getting really excited for S. Korea even though we won’t see it for another week. I am doing all independent travel for that with a bunch of people. I believe we are going to hang in Busan for a few days and check out the fish markets, parks, temples and nightlife. Then I think we are going to head to Seoul, the capital for a few days and stay in a hostel or something. Don’t worry I have it figured out back at the room. Man the whole computer lab just shook so hard that a computer fell of the table. That sucks.
Overall there is not that much to say yet because all there is is ocean. I cannot wait to see land. Everyday I am learning a lot but it would be nice to be on land. My Religions of Asia wrote one of the books for the class and it is amazing this guy is very smart I’m really enjoying his stories, my other 2 professors are really fun too. Global studies is pretty much lecture which is ok but there is a ton of reading for it which is not easy to do. My room is at the front of the ship and whenever the boat hits a big swell the front gets air and crashes down causing an earthquake in my room. Everyone is used to it now but it is still annoying. Someone stole my toothbrush? What is with that? Who does that? We have stewards who come in and clean the rooms everyday including bathroom, bed and laundry but I am cool with him I doubt he would’ve taken it.
Oh yea Justin I am really good friends with this kid Tim Clement he said you used to play him in high school. He’s a good guy we’ve been having a good time. Ok I guess I’ll sign off. Mom and Dad I guess I’ll call in Korea which will be in a week. Hope all is well with everyone and that the snow isn’t getting yall down. Trust me those conditions aren’t nearly close to what I’m going through. I miss and love you all. Stay good. Write back
Having a great time,
MATT
Push on til the day |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 16th, 2005|11:26 pm] |
tomorrow i leave for Vancouver, Canada where i will depart for
Busan, S. Korea>
Kobe, Japan>
Shanghai, China>
Hong Kong, China>
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam>
Chennai, India>
Mombasa, Kenya>
Cape Town, South Africa>
Salvador, Brazil>
La Guaira, Venezuela>
Ft. Lauderdale, FLA
So yeah i will see yall soon, hopefully ill be able to update but don't count on it. If you drop me a line at mfreitas@assumption.edu, i will add you to my email list and try and get back as much as possible. If i don't get a chance to talk to you have a great spring everyone and be good to each other. Peace
Matt
KEEP PASSING THE OPEN WINDOWS |
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| There ain't no place i'd rather be |
[Jan. 12th, 2005|05:51 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | fuck | ] |
| [ | music |
| | clementine- the meters | ] |
Read it and weep Brett!!
You're Tennessee!
A vibrantly musical individual, you probably know how to play multiple
instruments. At the heart of your love for music is the guitar, though you have a soft
spot for violins, which you refuse to call anything but fiddles. Fiddlesticks aside,
you are very thin and have excellent posture. If you ever run for elected office, you
won't even be able to get your hometown to support you. I guess that's why they call it
the blues.
Take the State Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.
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| our lands are green and skies are blue |
[Jan. 1st, 2005|10:47 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | rockstar | ] |
| [ | music |
| | spacehog | ] |
Haven't updated in awhile..... getting ready for my trip......i drank way too much last night and consumed too many drugs but it was new years..... I am not feeling so well today but i had a great time with everyone last night. I am so proud of my friends and will miss them all dearly, there are no other people in the world that act the way we do we are all completely original and you all never cease to entertain and impress me, thanks for making last night one last great rockstar night before my trip. I love each and everyone of you....... Wow that got a little emotional....i kinda wish i saw wilco/the flaming lips in NYC or the slip again last night the set was sick but i had a great time and if i drunk dialed and made a fool of myself i am not sorry but i hope you all had a good laugh at my inebriation (sp?). So long for now. Peace out
MATT. |
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| end of the semester |
[Dec. 13th, 2004|10:39 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  full | ] |
| [ | music |
| | the slip | ] |
Considering this is the last few days of my semester and next semester i will be travelling the world i guess i should make a few observations.
1.) First and foremost everyone who isn't watching Arrested Development on fox is missing out.
2.) Burts's Bees' beeswax lip balm, although euclyptically tasty, makes your lips more chapped then they originally were.
3.) Sierra Nevada Beer makes one more drunk then any other beer out there.
4.) Inside lights on sunny days are overrated.
5.) No more DP Dugh ever period.
6.) Within 100 years if the majority of the world's populus isn't vegetarian then we are doing something seriously wrong.
7.) Fredrich Nietzche would like to hang with me.
8.) However he would start to believe in a God after he discovers Resses Peanut Butter Cups.
9.) Natilie Portman
10.) Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots is one of the greatest albums to listen to (STONED).
Seriously though i am gonna miss each and everyone of you while i'm away. I have no idea what to expect but all i know is that going away is right for me right now. I cannot wait to share with you my pictures, stories and revelations from my journies. I am not sure what my e-mail will be but if anyone wants to leave me theirs ill do my best to get back to them over the next 4 months, probably in the form of a long excerpt that will be sent to a lot of people, but none the less it will prove that i am alive and my whereabouts. If i do not get a chance to talk to any of you then have a great semester and we will catch up when i return. |
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| moist green organic that my feet tread upon |
[Nov. 30th, 2004|12:08 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | a little freaked out | ] |
| [ | music |
| | the neverending coral maze | ] |
ok i tried it again with exactly what i would put if i could do it twice and this is what i got:
this is getting a little freaky........i freaking love the vu and nick drake.
thanks to my TN peeps for this one.
PEACE |
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| Bid you to have any spike man? |
[Nov. 30th, 2004|12:05 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | content | ] |
| [ | music |
| | run run run run run run run run run run run | ] |
this seems a little too fitting
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| this is life |
[Nov. 12th, 2004|09:28 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | awesome | ] |
| [ | music |
| | season of the witch | ] |
i rockstarred it last night. Brett took one too many shots for you buddy. Time and sleep are vital in my condition its the only known cure. Classes? I am in no state at all to appear at those. Just hope i am able to present myself at work later today. No regrets though, had a great time, first time I was able to go out in awhile. Bonded with the roomates, socialized, made a few friends i'll never remember. But i had an epiphany once on a strong mushroom trip that THIS IS LIFE and that is what i am going through and its great. |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 26th, 2004|11:42 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  okay | ] |
| [ | music |
| | elliott smith- from a basement on a hill | ] |
I am Matt's continuing livejournal hiatus.
sorry....i've been really busy but i'm doing ok. I'm a little lost. I've been going back and forth between classes, papers, mid-terms, work and getting ready to go away so i've hardly had time to sit back and think about myself which sucks because that's what college is all about. Once i get a minute to clear my head i'll come back to bed. |
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