Well, I’m finally back at home in America. Or, rather, whatever is close enough to what “home” has historically been. My parents just sold our childhood home, so for the first time, I’m back in the town I grew up in, but it doesn’t quite feel like it did. Perhaps that’s because I’m a 31-year-old crashing on my parents’ couch for the next few weeks while the rest of my friends are getting married and owning houses. But hey, I shot an RPG about a week ago in Cambodia, so are things really that bad?
It is funny to me that my steam
for travelling has dampened so drastically in these past few weeks. A mere six
months ago, I might have told you I was going to travel for the rest of my life,
moving place-to-place in a constant drift to keep the ADHD need for variety
satiated. But stepping foot back in America marked my fifth country in the past
week, and I don’t think it’s anywhere near controversial for me to say that’s just
simply too damn much. Despite my best efforts, travelling from place-to-place
really has started to seem like moving backgrounds.
Don’t get me wrong – I love
travelling, and I am excited to do more of it in the future. But think of it
this way. I remember listening to a Duncan Trussel podcast a few years ago
where they were talking about some proto-acid hippie community being visited by
a guy my recent Google search revealed as (probably) Timothy Leary. Upon seeing this pile of dirty dishes stacked up in the
sink, the reporter asked, “Who’s going to do the dishes?” Basically, in this community’s goal of escaping
into expanded consciousness or utopian visions, they neglected basic, often
unglamorous tasks necessary to sustain life.
That’s
kind of where I’m at now. Have I transcended reality into a buddha-like higher
being, with my third eye fully open as my mind bridges the dimensions? No, I
only had one pizza in Cambodia. But am I good enough to start trying to get
back into regular society, with a more traditional job? …Okay, no, maybe not
that yet, either. I have a couple more things to take care of before that. But
I’m definitely closer to that than I have been, and as far as travelling goes
(or, rather, “vacationing” like I’ve been doing lately) I’ve gotten my fill of
that for now. Moving back to Tokyo next year is exactly what I’m looking
forward to – a stable place, still in an exciting enough environment where I
can hopefully stop feeling like a tourist and start trying to become a local.
But in
the interim, I’ve got about a month here, and I just wonder how I’m going to
bide my time until my flight back to Japan? I’ve got a few spicy ideas.
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