Well some of you might remember a while back I asked for some advice regarding my contemplation of moving from Missouri to the West Coast to do some crazy stuff with a guy I met online.
Some interesting and unexpected events have unfolded since that post.
To sum it up: On October 13th I leave for Seattle on a Greyhound. My family is being fairly cool about it, although since 4 months ago I was in a hospital as a result of severe depression they are also very worried and scared.
Basically I wanted to say goodbye to some of you… some of you are just the coolest, and I’ll always remember your wit and wise words.
Anyone have suggestions for entertainment for my 2 1/2 day bus ride? One esteemed poster here has already sent me a cassette tape of music which will keep my hormones racing, but I’m trying to tone down the whole sexual thing. How about books, games, anything like that?
With any luck, I’ll get another computer when we get settled in the West. If so, I’ll check back in here and see who and what is new.
-Dye your hair blue and you’ll have no problem entertaining yourself on the bus. . .
-Keep a journal (for the trip through Kansas, it will mainly consist of ‘Cornfield, cornfield, tree. . . (repeat’), but then later it will consist of interesting items like “Can’t that Korean guy with the walkman understand that we can hear him singing?”
-David Foster Wallace is a good contemporary writer who can keep ya busy for a while.
-Arts n’ Crafts. . .do you sew/bead/macrame/ loom? There’s never been a better time to get those Hannukah potholders done. . .
“There is nothing you ought to do, for the simple reason that you know nothing, nothing whatever- make a mental note of that, if you please.”
-V. Nabokov
Officegirl- Good luck to you! To kill time on a long Greyhound trip:
Read- Try “Tommyknockers” or “It” by Stephen King. Those will keep you reading for a while.
Either that or sleep. A lot.
Also, watch your stuff on there. My husband once did a several day trip by bus and there were people who went through his things when they stopped for food. Keep your valuables on your person. Good luck!
Hope to hear from you soon-
Three years ago I moved from NY to SF on a Greyhound. It was quite simply the coolest thing I’ve ever done in my life, and I loved every minute of it (well except for Ohio).
Just don’t forget to bring Handi-wipes and a big bottle of water. The trip will be much less pleasant without them.
The O-Girl’s coming to the west coast! YEA!!
You’re going to love the Seattle ferry, Pike Place Market, some of the best malls in the country, a great nightclub scene at Pioneer Square. And buy a good umbrella!
Not to be nosy but are you riding the Off-color Dog because you don’t like flying or for financial reasons? Because if it’s the former, I’d say skip Greyhound and take Amtrak. (If it’s money, stick with the bus: Amtrak isn’t any cheaper than flying.) You can walk around, sit in the lounge car, the washrooms are bigger than a phone booth (unless you pay the extra $ for a sleeper compartment, and then it’s your own separate bathroom so you don’t care), and they serve food (real food, not like the airlines).
What on earth? Why don’t you take a plane? No guy could be so cheap to make you sit 48 hours on a bus with all sorts of weird people on it.
Plus, no showers & the toilets on those things, big bowl of green liquid stuff you hope won’t splash on your butt, ah so gross. Might want to bring your own toilet paper & some way to clean the sweat off.
I took a Greyhound cross-country once. Let me tell you, there is nothing quite like being warned by everyone you know about all the weirdos on Greyhound buses, then discovering that there’s only one weirdo on the bus, and it’s you. And then getting harassed by all the normal people. Fuck that, next time I go anywhere, I’m either driving myself, or putting up the extra cash and taking a plane. OfficeGirl, when you arrive and tell us just how hideous the experience was, you can expect that there will be tremendous waves of sympathy exuding from this direction.
I was going to ask what handy asked, but I figured she’d left. Maybe she’s afraid to fly. Maybe we should take a poll?How many people have never flown? I don’t feel like starting a thread, but…
Thanks for all your responses of sympathy, empathy, etc, and to answer a few of the questions…
My decision to take the Greyhound had many contributing factors. I could easily afford a plane ticket, and maybe once I’m halfway across the country I’ll be cursing my decision, but for now I’m really glad things are happening this way. I never would have thought I’d develop such strong feelings for someone from the internet, and from THIS board… but it’s happened.
anyhow, it looks now as if i’ll be settling in the Seattle area, probably redmond wa, and will post to let everyone know how terrible or how cool my bus ride was.
maybe i’ll start a little mini-adventure with some stranger in the middle of montana. who knows.
Ah yes, but of course read up on the Internet relationship messages.
I saw one happen locally recently. The guy came 5342 miles from England [not on the bus, though]. Their little ‘thru the internet nest making plan’ seems to be falling down a bit mostly cause she did not figure in what he would be like emotionally. lol. details, details.
My first take on you, OG, was that you’re as dizzy as the other Internet romance stories I’ve witnessed. A quick read of your poetry says otherwise.
Of discouragement:
Online Does Not Equal Real Life. I invested two years in a relationship that was mostly e-mail and chat (long before these were mass-market). She loved Richard Bach as much as I loved Ayn Rand, maybe that should have tipped me off. When we actually spent time together, she decided I wasn’t ideal and sent me packing.
Seattle, it is said, is a lousy place for depressives. By my family history, I should be one too. But I’m not. I love the rain (the Gray Season started three days ago here).
Of encouragement:
Redmond is not like the computer writers depict it. It’s far more normal.
If the sun comes out, drive east into the foothills. Stop somewhere. Sit down in the woods. Welcome to Washington Territory, 1887.
You’re striking one more blow against the quiet-desperation league. Good luck.
I know it’s too late to change the ticket, but you should’ve gone Amtrak. Get up to Chicago and take the Empire Builder across to Seattle. We can still run trains here, until the local transit authority replaces the mighty Burlington Northern yard with a toy-gauge tramway.
It’s a fun mental exercise when going someplace unusual (usually through,) to convince yourself that you’re NEVER going to see this place again. Makes the mundane a little more fun.
“You can’t tell me what sucks!” - Beavis, a true Objectivist
