Goodbye, California

I have been waiting so long to put this song onto this blog. I figure that it was a great, poignant song to say goodbye to California to for awhile. Say what you will, but I still dig that Queers album "Grow Up." Really raw and excellent. I still imagine that this is what I sing every time I leave the state for any stretch of time.

But yes, my bags are packed, and I will be honest, I am more nervous about routing the airport than the actual trip. I have the paranoia that comes with my fears of abandonment. I fear getting on the wrong plane or not having someone there to meet me. I assure you that Alex and Vivian Watts are expected to be at baggage claim, so there shouldn't be an issue. In fact, at the time of this posting, it should be a little over 24 hours (though only in terms of minutes) to when I land and hopefully, depending on the rest of customs and that, I shall be with them on the way to Sussex. 

It is odd what I assume that I'll miss. Exception to family, my cats rank high. The culture ranks high. Even my worry that I will be surrounded by a lack of minorities bothers me. I know it sounds weird, but I know very little about England's population. America is a melting pot, and I have come to enjoy that. I don't expect England to be entirely white washed, but the minorities oddly felt like  a concern. Also, I worry that there's something about the accents that will make me homesick.

Don't get me wrong, I really want to go and I am expecting to have a good time. I don't know what is going on still, but that is the fun. I am not really making this trip the must-see event. I just want to spend time with Alex and see why England is special to him. 

So, with my suitcase all decked in penguin tape (thanks, mom), I am kind of ready to do whatever happens on a 10 hour flight. Truthfully, that may be why I am up getting the loose ends of my blogs all tied up. In fact, I may just end up sleeping for most of it. That is really how I feel, realizing that my flight will land at 10:40 AM, which means that I will have a whole freaking day ahead when I land to do whatever it is that Alex wants me to do.

However, as I have teased... what movies will I hypothetically watch? As I have stated before, I have checked the New Zealand Air website, and from the selection, I have narrowed it down to, presuming that I hold interest for just two: Pitch Perfect and Pirates! Band of Misfits. I know the latter sounds crazy, but after an Oscar nomination, I am really excited to give that a peek. I am just proud that stop motion dominated the categories this year. I wonder if British people care at all about the Oscars. That will be another big deal.

So, what did I do to prepare? I packed my suitcase and watched a bunch of episodes of Girls and Tiny Furniture. Basically, four hours of Lena Dunham. I am currently in one of those "Lena Dunham is a genius" phases, where even Tiny Furniture seems more poignant. I don't know, the whole mid-20's-and-lost thing is really hitting me right now. Also, Alex Karpvosky is pretty much playing himself, but damn is he great at it. I really wish that Ray and Hannah were somehow together just because they are so great together in Tiny Furniture.

I found many connections to the series and the movie, and I won't bother you with all of them. However, I am really sad that I am going to have to hold off on Girls season 2 now. Lena Dunham is just so great. Definitely worthy of joining the Criterion Collection. 

So, my bags are packed, my iPod is pretty much full (though rapidly changed since whenever I published my list last), and I even have Girl Walk // All Day on there! I haven't watched it in a few days, but I am sure the gloom and doom will force me to have to watch it and cheer up. Also, I am planning on dissecting the Best Original Score category on this trip. That Skyfall nomination is bullshit.

Anyways, I am sure that I am not prepared for the weather. I have packed jackets, every pair of pants imaginable, and even a hat. However, if the weather around here nips me, what will it do over there? I am wondering what it will be like. Maybe this?:

Yeah, that is exactly what I expect. Snow is supposedly going to fall on Monday. I haven't seen snow in years. I am not sure if this is a good thing or not. 

But yeah, a quick trip down memory lane to close off this blog. When I was last out there, it was 2002. While we had e-mailed each other a lot leading up to the trip, it wasn't until we saw each other that things really clicked. Everyone on our bus couldn't figure out who their English caretaker was going to be, but I almost spotted him immediately. It was quite something. We went to see a stage version of Bugsy Malone that the school was putting on.

That's when I met Viv. I forget all of the conversation, but the part that fascinated me most was the little ticks. It wasn't even British culture, it was just the mannerisms. I brought this up to people later, but they immediately dismissed me like a loon. Basically, there were a lot of close ended questions. When I answered "yes," she would reply "yeah." When I said "yeah," she wouldn't respond, at least in that fashion. It was quite peculiar, but remains one of the most vivid things from day 1 of knowing the Wattses. 

Alex was fun and essentially became my pal. He introduced me to Kerrang, and there was a commercial for this magazine:

He actually did that zombie thing where he approached the screen with lust. He played guitar, and even introduced me to a mash-up song featuring audio from the Simpsons posted over Linkin Park's "One Step Closer." The fade out with "No, I will not pay you $100 for sex" always stands out as the gem of that piece. I also remember that we used MSN to talk to my family, and they used my account, so I made a big deal when the screen would say "Tom is typing" when it was really not me.

That was when I discovered Bowling for Soup's "Girl All the Bad Guys Want," which was a good year and a half before it hit stateside. I even got into dancing because of New Found Glory's "My Friend's Over You" video. I thought I was cool until Alex debunked that rumor.
However, the greatest part about that stay was that we would play a bowling game and it had this Mexican character who would say "Holy Guacamole!" when things went awry. The way he says it sticks out in my head and I still occasionally bring it up with Alex. However, the part that always manages to make me smile (and I cannot find a picture for it unfortunately, as I don't know its name) is at the end, we see the Mexican saying "Holy Guacamole" while holding two bodacious babes. It really made us want to play the game over and over and over.

Before we continue, I will admit upfront. I mostly got into Green Day to impress Alex. Before that trip, I didn't own a single album. My first was "Shenanigans" bought at an HMV somewhere in that country. I tried to act cool, and tried to repress my desire to state "I didn't know that Green Day did 'Basket Case.'" I own most of the albums now, and I like it, but do know that I mostly did it to try and impress him. Years later, and a brief glance at him in "Bullet in a Bible," and he kind of dislikes them now. Go figure.

We played basketball and went on trips where we made lame jokes and picked on other kids. It was only a few days, but damn was it the best part. Years later, he would visit the states on numerous occasions, but those aren't quite the same as me going out there. In a way, this is a nostalgic trip just as much as it is a chance to clear my head and enjoy life.

So yeah, I hold that time fondly, and pictures of Alex as a young boy sit in my mother's closet. I have post-it notes on the back that say "Alex waving," because my parents thought it was important to describe the pictures I took. In retrospect, I wasn't really inspired with my choices. Still, it is a trip to see how he looks then and where he has gone now. In a sense, the era that he's passionate about seems to be of that time. I wouldn't disagree, as I like a lot of the same records. Still, part of me feels like we're compensating. He likes the Beach Boys because of his lust for California and I like weird shit because... well, movies are weird, okay?

So, I'll leave you with a song that I remember hearing a lot and never have heard outside of Youtube since. It was oddly addictive, and I remember him saying that his mom liked it. Yes, it was a fun time that even lead to us throwing poppers at a car that caused a guy to pull over and talk to us about how his brother died that way. We did a lot of weird things, and an odd amount of S Club 7 was involved. Still, the song that I remember from our trip was this:

Yeah, they blurred out the last bit, so I never knew what God couldn't do at the end, but I still hum it every now and then. I doubt we'll be watching Kerrang that much when I'm there, but at least it gave us this memory.

Thanks for reading my soft launch and all of the nonsense. I hopefully will be writing more thoughtful stuff daily starting either Monday or Tuesday. I cannot wait to go back and see him. I'm sure I'd rather sleep when I get there, but that's what the plane will hopefully be for.

And finally, a round of thanks to everyone who helped me get prepared for the trip: My mother, for helping gather supplies and most of all busting me out of a tight spot with the $250 to buy the correct plane ticket. Thanks to my sister and father for also helping and giving me advice as well as putting up with my nonsense. I am over analytic about this stuff, so I can be a little much. To everyone who gave me advice along the way, to grandma for helping to fund my trip (at least I hope that's what the Christmas money was for), and to the Wattses, who will hopefully treat me right and make the two weeks away from the American world a great experience.

Until I'm in Europe, adios.