August 30 2018

16 and a half months in the US now , feels longer . I was driving up Highland Avenue ( we once drove up this road on our way back to the airport on a once in a lifetime Holliday in the US , thinking we will never be here again ) one arm out the window , cruising in complete comfort . No anxiety about driving or getting lost . I guess it’s a sign that I’m getting used to things . It also gives you time to relax and draw in the scenery . You’ve seen those travel shows when they’re cruising along the Californian coast , palm trees , Lamborghinis , skateboarders, surfers , sunglasses and concrete . This is where it gets weird . You imagine friends in the car as you drive them through ‘your territory ‘ . You’re the tour guide , the worldly one who lives another life . Driving in traffic , on the other side of the road , complaining about drivers , just for the sake of it . You head down to the beach to show them where you go . To them it’s like a scene from Baywatch , with the blue life guard tower and the lifeguards dressed in red shorts and bathers , sunglasses on in almost permanent state of pose .There are times when little slashes of memory from tv shows in your past pop into your daydreams . I’ve seen this joint , that street, that person . I know it but I can’t place it . The little things like tipping are now something I’ve got a handle on . Only until recently I still got into a state of flux on knowing when and how much to tip . It’s even effected me in reverse as I now look for a tip after each person I massage in the schools spa . $20 is a bloody good tip for an hour . I have received this a couple of times . It’s never been a fear but mixing with Afro -American and Hispanic people is the norm . It’s something we just don’t get exposed to back in Australia . On Monday I headed inland to get a better deal on a set of tyres . I new if I headed East into the less desired areas things would be cheaper , and they were . All Mexican , little English spoken but fuck it , I think I got a good deal . I’ve been to an AIDS benefit to massage predominately gay men . I enjoyed it , it’s another situation I never thought I’d be in . We went to a women’s expo in LongBeach . A predominately black massage team and clientele. I wanted to video it .All the therapists and volunteers linked up in a circle and held hands . The lead organiser got down on one knee and sited a special prayer of goodwill for our group . I thought it hilarious , not in disrespect but more that I’d ever have envisaged myself in this situation . Big black dudes with gold chains , a whole community of mixed races selling their wears , a woman providing a sermon to thousands of other women , whilst they clapped, swaying their hips and cheering . Shit am I really here doing this ? Yep it’s weird , just reminiscing as I sit in reception waiting for Betty Doyle from LongBeach to come and get a massage . …. ….. No caulking here , who’d of thoughtSee that dude in black , he’s NBA basketballer Barban Marjanovic At 7 foot 3. Only earns 9.5 million a year . Just another neighbour . Am I really here ?