#gooination

[gooiadventures]

Live the Gooi life.

From my past blogs, I've hoped to have shown you what it means to be Gooi. Since I have been back in the States, I have been asked questions about my trip to Europe. 

One of my favorite stories to tell people is my trip through the Archipelago with Gabby, the ultra-cool Graphic Designer. We hit up three different islands and got to go explore and/or go on a tour. On the first island, we went on a tour for about ten minutes then decided to go and be 21st century Christopher Columbus'. We made it to the other side of the island and decided to take some artsy pictures to post to Instagram to show how hip we are. I had set my alarm for 15 minutes before the ship was supposed to leave again. My alarm went off when Gabby and I were trying to figure out self-timer on my Canon. We gathered our things and started our journey back to the mothership. We ran into a tiny problem - we couldn't remember which way we had come from. To make matters worse, Gabby thought we should go one way, and I the other. We went my way first and ran into a barbed wire fence. At this point Gabby, is having a panic attack and using all of her might not to yell at me so my name comes out sounding like "muhREEuh." Meanwhile, I'm laughing my ass off, trying not to pee my pants considering we're about to get stranded on an island in the middle of the Baltic Sea. The boat is sounding its horn to let us know that we have five minutes to get ourselves on the boat before it leaves. We finally start to go Gabby's way, and what do you know? She was right. (Surprise, surprise). 

So there we are, running across the island with Gabby repeatedly saying my name in a condescending tone to get me to stop laughing and run faster. However, I am not a runner, never have been and never will be. We run thru a pasture and get to a gate with a sign that read more or less something like, "Please shut fence completely so the sheep do not escape." Of course this fence is probably 286 years old so I have trouble shutting it and Gabby's already 20 feet ahead of me, still yelling and I'm still laughing. We come to a fork in the road (of course) and Gabby takes the lead and finally the ship is in sight and the two boat boys (or whatever you call them) are preparing the ship for take off. The rest of this story is history - we made it on the boat with seconds to spare and after about an hour, Gabby forgave me for being directionally challenged and after two hours, she finally could laugh about it. 

The point of that long story is that no matter how much you plan something, inch by inch, the best stories come from the unplanned. 

What I am saying, is that it's okay if a plan gets thrown off of its course. Just take a deep breath and relax. Laugh a little. Odds are the more horrendous the situation, the more hilarious the story will be. So why not laugh right from the start? If there is one thing I have learned this summer, is that every single thing happens for a reason. 

To me, living the Gooi life, is taking that terrible situation and turning it 180 into something that is gooi. Take what you've been dealt and go all in, what do you have to lose? Gooify your life. 

[gooiadventures]

food for thought for an angsty teen

It's almost 2am here in Stockholm and I just finished an hour long, intellectual conversation with Jon.

It started off with something along the lines of:

"Jon, can you just tell me what to do with my life? What am I supposed to study? I don't know what I want and I need some answers." 

After a long discussion about what I'm passionate about and what Jon has experienced in his lifetime, I have much to think about. 

He left me with this thought, "There aren't answers, there are only decisions to be made." 

Our world has become so fast paced that we go through life making different decisions every day. Whether it is right or wrong, eventually it will teach you something. Nothing you do is a waste. Some may say, "Well that was a huge waste of time," while trying to learn how to crochet. But really all that was, was you discovering that you don't like crocheting otherwise how would you know? 

Just some gooi brain food that my brain is still trying to digest. Thoughts? 

(p.s. it's still light here and it's 2:15...) 

god natt. 

[gooiadventures]

gooi @ sea

i’ve been having so much fun with Jon today in Sweden that I have neglected my blog. Please forgive me and watch this awesome video that is so gooi it hurts. 

Gooi @ sea 

[gooiadventures]

so long, farewell.

As I sit here trying to think of what to type on this blank screen, I decide that the best place to start is with some music, my usual first thought. As my beloved Spotify is starting up, I’m trying to figure out what kind of music I’m in the mood for, something that will inspire me to write about my experience in this wonderful city. Is there a playlist that consists of music to describe my somber, melancholy, grateful, infatuated mood? Probably not. I’ll try my best to find one anyways. Browse. Genres and Moods. Mood. I scroll through different playlists: Unrequited Romance, Deep Dark Indie, Just Cry Sad Songs, and multiple others that just put me in an even worse mood. This is clearly not the way to go.

Ding. What’s better than some Fleetwood Mac for my smorgasbord of feelings? Search: Fleetwood Mac, Shuffle. This is more like it. 

You can go your own way. 

Ya know when you finally find something that you are passionate about? I am so, incredibly lucky to have found something that I love doing in the past ten days. How am I simply supposed to pick up and leave? I’ve just now started to get the hang of things. I’ve learned that one of the main things people want is to be heard, to be actually listened to.

There are things that you can take advice for, things where you can learn from other people’s experiences, successes and failures. But some things you must do on our own, like flying 4,287 miles to a city where you know no one and don’t even really know what your mission is. 

In my last couple of hours, Bernie looks at me and starts to play the End Of The Road by Boyz II Men and he and Tom start to lip-sync and I can feel the tears stinging the back of my eyes. And now they’ve moved on to Without You by Air Supply and Tatiana has joined in. I’m going to miss this, but it will always be a part of me. But for now, I have to go my own way, all the way to Stockholm. 

[gooiadventures]

The Memory of the Global Nomad Lives On.

Yesterday, I went with my friend Elena to Hoxton Square. We walked around for a bit then headed into Bar Kicks for dinner and drinks. We decided to stay there for the World Cup game and represent the US.

We got there in the middle of the Korea Republic and the Algeria game. There were people there supporting each of the teams, causing quite a raucous. While that game was going on, I talked to Elena about the differences between Italy (her home country) and England. She mentioned some of the differences between southern and northern Europe. All of her family is still in Italy, in very close perimeters with each other. She also mentioned how people in Italy see dating in a different light. The gentlemen will show up with flowers and they’ll go to dinner and the cinema. Whereas in London (as well as America), it’s more informal, usually just dinner or drinks. I found the dating culture to be quite interesting. 

We started talking to two gentlemen who were standing near the bar, Juan Luis and Victor (above, respectively). Juan Luis had just gotten back from a cycling journey from London to Paris in four days, a total of 500 km to raise money for brain tumor research. The best part of the journey for him was the people that he did it with because they were all collecting money for different charities. When I asked him why he chose to do brain cancer research, there was a couple beats and a change in his ambience.  “My best friend, Tristan Cano, died after a year of fighting brain cancer in December. I had known him since I was six.” “What is your fondest memory with him?” “There’s too many. I’m starting to get emotional now. He was the best man in my wedding. His speech was about my family home, my parents, and all of the barbecues that my dad used to do.”  “Tell me more about Tristan, what would people most remember him by?” “He was the best guy in the world. Tristan was a global nomad, free spirit, constantly traveling the world. He was truly an inspiration to so many people. He was a lawyer and the most loyal friend I had ever had.” “How did he handle being diagnosed?” (to Victor) "He handled it amazingly - no one really knows how to handle it, but he dealt with it. He married an American girl in vegas months before he passed away. He blew me away because he refused to acknowledge that he was even ill.”  Juan then logged onto his Facebook account to show me pictures. 

“Did he know at your wedding that he was sick?” “No actually. My wedding day was the last day that we didn’t have a care in the world. He found out in November of the cancer and passed the following year. Look at how happy we are.”

"When a bunch of our friends and I went on a vacation together, Tristan managed to find this little doll, Ernie. However Tristan referred to him as Elmo. ‘Elmo’ was covered in booze and dirt and God knows what else. We kept telling him just to leave it or throw it away because it was so gross. He refused and squeezed the tummy and Elmo said ‘I feel great!.’ A couple of weeks later, we were gathered at his house and we spotted Elmo on a shelf. We were laughing so hard because he had brought this doll back to his house! Tristan was so proud that he had cleaned up his Elmo, it was almost as if he was a trophy. So when Tristan passed, I adopted Elmo and took him with me the whole bike ride so that Tristan would always be with me."

Juan practically had me in tears in the middle of this bar during the World Cup game with fans cheering in the background, it seemed like we were the only ones there. He gave me a link to where people can donate money, he has almost reached his goal of 4000 pounds. 

He then gave me a link to Tristan’s own journey. I read through it this morning and was completely blown away. I am filled with regret at the fact that I had never had the chance to meet Tristan. I’ve reflected so much on this in the short time that I have known about it. Tristan’s message hits home for me, and I hope it will for you too. 

"That although the opportunity will never seem quite right, there really is no time like the present to really start living and purchase that round the world air ticket.” ~Tristan Cano, September 16th, 2013 

Some gooi advice, from a gooi legend. 

[gooiadventures]

The Brick Lane Buskers

Today I went to the Brick Lane market. There were so many people packed onto Brick Lane. People had their mini shops open and running. Homemade jewelry, foods from just about every corner of the planet, vintage shops, records, and lots of antiques were available to purchase. My one purchase of the day was a pina colada in pineapple. There was chess tables set up where men sat and worked their brains. 

I walked along and saw many street performers. There was a DJ, a beat boxer, a reggae player, and 17 year old, lady killer, Sam Tompkins. Sam was performing an acoustic cover up Beyonce's Drunk In Love. While I listened I noticed two guys who looked like they were his groupies so I went up to them and we started chatting. Dextr is Sam's producer and produces for many other artists as well. Mattnovacane used to be a hip hop dancer but now works in music as well. They told me that Sam had been working with them for about 6 months. I asked them a series of questions and then when Sam was done, I asked him the same questions. The answers are below:

Dextr (left) and Mattnovacane (right) 

"What would you do differently if you knew that no one would judge you?"

M: I don't care what people think now, I wouldn't do much differently. 

D: Yeah I agree, I love my life. I love what I do. 

S: Wow, that's a really good question. I don't even know - that's a mad question. (after some thought) I'd walk around naked all of the time. Just be open with the world. 

"What's the funniest joke you know?"

M: I'm really bad at jokes. Okay here's one. 'What do gay horsees eat? HAAAAAAAAAY'

D: What did the police say to the chest? You're under a vest. Ive known that joke since I was like five. 

"What's the difference between surviving and existing?"

S: There's the surviving and the thriving. You're just surviving and then you're existing - walking through life aimlessly. Living is like I'm going to be the person that people will remember. 

"What's the biggest lesson that you have learned thus far in life?"

D: Don't trust anyone. People are going to disappoint you. you can't live expecting things from people. 

M: Believe the best in people until they give you a reason not too. 

S. Creativity can't be pushed out of you. It has to be natural - organic. You can't force creativity. 

Sam busking in front of one of the many antique shops. "You have to be yourself. People will have more respect for you." 

So there you have it, people with passions, people who have the goo. 

[gooiadventures]

Little Big Mouth

I went down to the 90 bar after I finished my blog for yesterday. I ate with some people from the yard. Then I decided to go interview someone. I ended up interviewing a man named Joe. I talked with him the entire night. When he mentioned how old he was, he saw the surprise in my face and jokingly commented, "I have aged well because I'm lazy."

Joe is in the advertising business, is a DJ and is signed to two record labels and runs one himself. Once we got talking, he told me the story about how he became a DJ. "I've been DJing since as long as I can remember really. I grew up in Manchester which is a really shitty part of London. I grew up pretty poor. One of my neighbors was a local gangster and had stolen a bunch of cassette tapes and kept them in his basement. I was over there and he told me I could take whatever I wanted. So of course, being the naive 8 year old that I was, I took all of the uncensored hip hop, like all of the originals. So while all the kids in primary school were playing hop scotch, I was listening to my hip hop. My player broke one day  so I had to teach myself to beatbox because I was so in love with the music that I couldn't live without it. I'd beatbox on my way to school. Grand Central Records heard about me and called me to audition. I eventually signed with them when I was 10. My name was "Little Big Mouth" because of my beat boxing. I started DJing hip hop then when I went to Uni, I used my first student loan to by new decks and speakers. I found people to DJ with me. I moved to London in 2006 and started working in advertising. I signed a residency with a huge club, signed records, and travelled doing what I love."

I then asked him what he thought the difference between existing and living was. "Existing is surviving, Living is choosing what you wanna do, making the most of it. It's as simple as that."

very gooi life. 

[gooibiz]

#Gooi goes Taipei