One wild and crazy guy.

I don't even know where to begin but for a short explanation, a forward if you will. First things first. This is just a little journal to keep while making my way through a little part of the world. Um I ended up here in Prague, i guess, as the result of getting fired from my job. Long story there and lots of drama but needless to say I was right, they were wrong, and I was without a place to make a living for the first time in a year. It took some getting used to as a busy person suddenly having nothing that needed doing besides my own projects and plans. Fu** it I bought a cheap ticket and here I am. Two months from now I'll be flying home from Rome and that's my only definite plan.

At the moment I'm just having a hot choc at this great Hostel in Prague. Its sinday morning and I've finally gotten over my jetlag. This place where I'm staying is in a working class neighborhood that doent see a lot of tourists. THe hostel is great though: lots of friendly people here from all over trying to see and do it all. I've already gone out for some liters Czech beer with a few english dudes that were only here for a long weekend. THey were both 19 and told their parents that they were at a friends house in the south of England but bought cheap tickets to Prague instead. Actually the first night here I was out until 730 in the morning with these guys. I havent been on a bender like that in a while so long its been that I have to writw about as somthing important and amazing. Had a hot dog on the street at 700 in the morning which was a footlong sausage on a hogie roll with mustard applied with a paint roller and a pile of shreaded raw green cabage on top. At that moment I've never eaten something so delicious! THe beers and tram rides (trollies) are real cheap, 30 crowns for a beer ($1.20) and the same for a day pass on the metro system. Some imediate culture shock stuff: people smoke everywhere. They smoke in restaurants, in bars (thick haze of smoke where you have to burn your clothes to get rid of the smell smoke), they smoke in cafes, in the street, while doing gymnastics, in the shower.. you get the idea. THis neighborhood where I'm staying reminds me that 15 years ago it was deep behind the iron curtan and I can hear the "oh-ah" sirens of the KGB comming down the cobble stone streets to pick up a suspect and toss him in the back of their beamer never to be herd of again. Now its like a Williamsburg sort of place. Lots of coolies and young people opening bars and doing art projects every where. OH! I was at this bar last night called THe Cross Club ( look it up if you're bored) the owner had the place covered with these moving sculptures of metal everyting> Dismanteled carparts, utility parts, metal and circuitry of every kind all welded together to make moving mobiles and all the seating and the bar. Everything was moving and wired with LED's. It was soo cool. right up my alley for all that making shit passtime i have. He took computers apart and spraypainted the guts all silver them wired them with lights and used that to cover whole walls. It was like being in the matrix or inside the stomach of a robotic lizard. More weird culture stuff: They let you drink on the trams and let you bring your dogs onboard too. THey wouldnt go for that shit in NY. The trams dont check for tickets either. All you do is get a ticket at the hostel or wherever and when you get onboard just get it stamped in this little machine. But nobody checks. Theres a pretty stiff fine though if you get caught not paying.

-the packs of cigarettes over here have this giant black and white label on the front that says in bold type," Warning: cigaretts will kill you.!!!" not like in america where this little label from the Surgeon General who
-the food over here is not the benchmark of the society either. Not like the architecture which in the old town is pretty f'in magnificent. THe eats are generally big portions of meat and potatoes with lovely brown gravy on or under it. Yesterday I tucked into my first bowl of Gulash that had these bread dumplings with it (basicall boiled bread dough) and daubs of braised brisket. Whatever it was delicious and perfect for the cold.

-learning lots of Corckney rhyming slang form the brits. like if you say He's gone mental (crazy) you say," he's chicken oriental." It seems pretty open to invent whatever.

_the local language is impossible to read or speak. THer's fifteen consonants in a row and all kinds of double dots and v's and slashes over top of the letters. I cant make heads of tails of any of it. But most peopl are cool about me being a gringo and take it as an oppportunity to practice their english. Poor bastards.

I'm off. THere's flea markets and sights to see. Pick up a little Kafka and have a sausage!

dave out.