I will yet tell you all about my adventures in NYC and Toronto, but figure I should update you at least with a phone number. I had decided my prepaid plan and turned up to Fido Wireless in downtown Montreal today at about 4:45. I was a little confused for a while, not sure how to interpret all the people standing around and the two ticket queues labeled in French. After a while I realised these queues were going very slowly and I had better take a ticket, and also identified “service technique” as not something I needed. So I joined a queue, number 318. They were up to 241 or so. I waited some time, and decided waiting was a waste of time, so I went and did some shopping, dragged it back to my room, and at 7pm hurried back to Fido. They were up to 315. I still needed to wait 10 minutes before being served, but I finally got a number.
And here it is (call me!): +1 514 6594 506.
For those of you who are extraordinarily attentive, the last 6 numbers are the same as on my mobile phone in Sydney. A box from Sydney has also arrived in Montreal as I have, so I will soon have a mic to Skype with, among other things, so please catch me there (it’s a lot cheaper than the phonecall).
While I’m getting annoyances off my back, I thought I’d mention a few others. One is the use of the street as a garbage bin. (more…)
A little bit of madness has put me on a train to Long Island at 5:11pm on a Friday afternoon. A little bit of madness was a direct result of my overly laid-back attitude to planning ahead and some assumptions that I could have checked but didn’t (always thinking of them at the completely wrong times). (more…)
I got into Baltimore at 9pm. From the view of Baltimore that met me, it was a pretty empty and lifeless city. (more…)
I landed in New York’s Laguardia airport on Wednesday the 9th of August with the knowledge that (a) I was staying somewhere in Brooklyn with Hadar’s dad (another friend who went on exchange to Sydney- Hadar, not her dad); (b) She would be in Baltimore, Maryland; (c) I would be leaving for Washington sometime the next week. And I also knew stuff like New York is a Big City, with a Big Subway, and that Brooklyn and Manhattan were different parts (“boroughs”) of the city. More than that, I’d need to work out. (more…)
one, two, three, four
small heads on
small boys
look out as
i pass by, on a
wooden seat, on a
concrete platform
fastened
while to them,
faces-pressed-to-panes
i move, with the
tracks, with the
sky
with the tan man
with foreheaded sunglasses
that checks his wrist-watch
with the pale bearded man
devoutly whispering each word
from a hand-held dog-eared book
with the young woman
standing, conversing
with the older woman
frowning, leaning
head-on-fist
elbow-on-wood
wood riveted to wall
wall above tracks
where carriages pass
one, two, three, four
mothers
keep their arms and eyes inside
the vehicle at all times,
avoid others
dose out a
small slap on a
small wrist of a
small boy
if ever he makes
(back-turned) a
small movement, a
small sound
disturbing a gentle equillibrium
of mixed-flavoured men waiting for
the city street
to open up before them
So I of course arrived an hour and 15 minutes late to Chicago. Not because of my regular impunctuality, nor from major traffic, but because we had climbed onto the bus most of an hour late in Memphis. (more…)
I’m sorry about being a number of days behind in blogging. One disadvantage of staying in peoples’ homes is that I don’t necessarily have internet access. So while I have photos and a blog entry written up on my computer, at the moment I have no way to access the internet directly from my laptop. So, I’m now in Brooklyn, New York, having spent 5 days in Chicago prior, and I’ll tell you more about it later. For now, sleep.
Memphis, the one destination on my itinerary not equipped with hostels (ie dorm accommodation under $30 a night; the 15% hotel tax there doesn’t help). They do have camping grounds, and that’s the optimal solution for some backpackers, but they only become worthwhile with both a tent and a car to hand. So while I was frantically browsing the web in New Orleans to work out what I would do, an opportunity presented itself on Monday night, a day and a half before my bus north. (more…)
