The Adventures of Matt Jelly in Mexico: Part IV

Well it's Mr. Mathew Jelly himself writing again. It seems he's been spending some time lately as a homeless man but all works out in the end! I'm hoping he comes back home soon frankly, but Matt's a big boy and he can take care of himself. He promised he'd grow me a beard for when he came back. Teehee.

Hi there.

After two and a half weeks, Alex and I rolled into San Miguel de Allende, by the thumbs and by the feet. First off I'd like to thank those of you who were worried; yes, I´m still alive. We arrived a week and a half ago and I'm just recovering now- 300 kms can take a toll on the mind and the body.

From Ciudad Valles we walked on, to the waterfalls at Tamasopo, where we camped for the night with a group of bilingual students, Rio Verde, where we stayed in a 50 peso hotel room filled with cowboys and vagabonds, on to San Luis Potosi where we were supposed to (but eventually did not) take part in an anti-war protest, and then down the road a bit where we slept outside a foul smelling fertilizer plant.

The day after waking up at the shit factory, we managed to swing a ride to Quaretaro, just an hour's drive from San Miguel de Allende.

Our ride into town was nuts. This total nutjob picked us up in a rickety lettuce truck that was just a bit too big for the roads we were driving on. He kept spraying the cab of the truck because it reeked of pot. Then he asked us to roll a joint. But alas we had no suitable papers. He ended up hollowing out a cigarette, filling it with weed, lighting and smoking it, all while swerving from one side of the road to the other. But anyway, it was good and it was free.

He let us out beside the San Miguel prison and filled our arms with lettuce, which we held proudly like bouquets of flowers as we walked into town, too stoned for our own good. A group of angry school kids chased us with a stick because they thought we were hippies, me with my bandana, month-old beard and painted right shoe.

( And more... )

Meme!

Swiped from lfkbear who swiped from ericdabear who swiped from...

1. Five nicknames you've had:
   
   
   • Brodskins
   • Brodatron
   • Broble
   • Brod
   • The school kids in the West Hamilton Strings just call me "Big Guy"
   
   
   
2. Five books you've read recently:
   
   
   • Blue Heaven - Joe Keenan
   • Fodor: Language, Mind and Philosophy - M. J. Cain
   • A History of God - Karen Armstrong
   • The Grapes of Wrath - Steinbeck
   • Designing Visual Interfaces - Mullet, Sano
   
   
   
3. Five quirky facts about you:
   
   
   • I read absolutely everything that comes into my mailbox. It's a habbit I picked up when I was a kid and we didn't have cable TV.
   • I snap, clap and tap to the beat whenever I hear a song I like, it's a musician thing I figure.
   • I can't stand coffee made with chlorinated water. I can seriously taste it. I can cope outta necessity though.
   • I require blankets over my shoulders to sleep soundly. I think it's a sign of an over attentive mother or something.
   • When I'm nervous I sometimes suck my thumb. I can admit it dammit!
   
   
   
4. Five people who have influenced your life:
   
   
   • Kosha Braun.
     
     She taught me to let out the music inside of me.
     
     
   • Ilona Spleit
     
     She taught me how to make that music sound good.
     
     
   • David Pishke
     
     For helping me to embrace my sexuality in an adult way while still having fun. I'm sure without him I'd be a lot less mature about things. Others have of course helped but he's been there since the beginning, nearly three years ago(?)
     
     
   • Uncle Marcus
     
     He teached me how to be a snooty and pretentious intellectual. What can I say, he's english from South Africa! But there's great value to these finer points in life. Stuff like antiques, gardens, wine and heritage.
     
     
   • Uncle Ben
     
     Like from Spiderman only cooler. He's the guy where I get any ideas of "beardom" from. The man is utterly connected to his physical environment and I swear he can communicate with his dogs telepathically. Masculine, commanding but also compassionate and intelligent.
   
   
   
5. Five things to which you're looking forward:
   
   
   • Graduating and moving out of home. It's been greatly delayed already but I'm getting closer and I feel I'm going to leave home an adult rather than a child having learnt lots of life's harder lessons in a safer way.
   • Finding love. I'm just a mushy romantic under the calloused exterior.
   • Performing my own music.
   • Doing what I love for a living.
   • Partying at my friend Jeff's 21st this weekend