Halifax and environs

CHG and I went to Halifax! We left MTL on Thursday, slept in a rest stop and arrived on Friday evening. This first things I saw upon arriving in the city were (in this order): a circled A on a cafe wall, a punk with a ton of crotch patches and a skate board, and a dumpster full of pita bread and hot dog buns (which went nicely with the hotdogs in CHG's pack that a that a trucker gave us on the way).
Anyways there's a ton of ridiculous stuff that happened and was great, so much in fact that I'd rather just be lazy and make a list of it all instead of writing pages and pages of wonderful prose. Yea, so, behold:
Wonderful things that happened while going to, coming from and staying in Halifax, NS:
Hitch hiking
Sleeping in a rest stop chair
Getting a pack of hot dogs and chips from a trucker
Dumpstering donuts and a sack of potatoes from a truck stop dumpster
Having great conversations with various drivers
Getting free books and a cd from a ride
Rolling into Halifax
Permaculture Work Party!
Dumpstering cookies and chocolate in Dartmouth
Meeting rad ass local punks
Hanging out with people I haven't seen in probably a year
Meeting musicians who's music I know and love in a social setting
Dumpstering a fresh pair of boots
Sneaking into a fort (kinda)
Cat shit
People smoking cigs
Peanut butter and ice cream cones
Hanging out in rad punk houses
Talking about politics and feeling good
Open mic night
Hitching to Fredericton
Racist trucker giving us a ride and racist discourse
Surprising Ice Cream and sleeping at her house
Hitching all day and getting stuck in the rain
Trying and failing to sleep in a motel for free/work trade
Sleeping in a tent behind some dumpsters behind a restaurant on the side of the highway
More hitchhiking
Getting dropped off a block away from my house
Food, bed and cuddles at home!!!

Toronto

Toronto was awesome, since I did too much to write it all out I'll use bullets to cover the highlights:
*Hitchhiking, including riding in an awesome chrome truck
*Food not Bombs at an awesome skate house called Soybomb
*Really Really Free Market in Kensington Market
*Scamming public transit
*PWYC vegan brunch
*zombie walk
*realizing everyone is vegan in Toronto (Chibi was happy very about this)
*sleeping on the most comfortable legs ever on the ride share back to MTL
*Staying at Awkward House with awesome people
*Getting a facial
*watching a bad chick flick
*dumpstering and then making apple sauce
*being that rad house guest/traveler kid
*looking dirty in a clean cut city
*impressing school kids by standing at the side of the road with a sign
*getting a stack of zines and punk CDs for free
*just generally hanging out with Chibi
*Talking about anarchist scenes in NY, MTL and TO
*Getting a bike rack for $10
*exploring a new city
*meeting awesome peeps

Too much for a single title

Probably the best weekend ever, way too many ridiculous things happened. Spent most of it with Igs. I'll start on Thursday. After eating some food at the Potato with Igs we decided to spend time in the greenhouse and try to check out the roof, her friend from geography was there, we all went up to the top part of the roof, this time a worker wasn't there so we didn't have to sneak away. Free roam to the top of the roof! We found this strange structure that can't seem to serve any purpose other than being a hot tub and steam room. We climbed to the top and hung out in the steam, then we opened a small door on the side and removed our shoes socks and/or pants and got in the water, which was super warm. After a long while we came out and got our stuff back on (we were soaked) and went back inside for a bit only to go back up later with a different friend and hang out in the steam. We went to a group meeting, ate nachos and were very bored. to make up for it we ran into a friend, shoplifted and ate a tub of ice cream and hung out in the back room of Frigo Vert until we all biked home in the rain or went to class.
Friday, waking up was shitty, I always want to sleep more, but totally worth getting up. I packed my towel and swim trunks and biked out to meet Igs at Concordia. We went up to the roof and were very disappointed to discover our secret hot tub was cold and very not steamy. However the fact that we already had come with out stuff for the sole purpose of hanging out in some body of water was enough motivation to try to find some substitute.
We tried to get on to the roof of a nearby building but only ran into locked doors, office buildings are hard to blend into with mohawks, dirty clothes and dreadlocks...
We walked around downtown looking for a hotel with a roof pool that we heard about but instead found an outdoor pool protected by a small fence. We kept in mind the location and went to eat at the potato scheming to return and re-appropriate for our own hedonistic desires, which of course is totally okay since, no one was using the pool anyways.
After a quick (free, vegan) meal I put my swim shorts on under my shorts and we set out to swim. Once there we opened the gate, jumped in the water and had the best swim of our lives, except not because the water was freezing cold and the shower room locked and under construction, while we rushed our towels and began to dry off, a security guard asked us what we were up to, "we're leaving, it's too cold to swim..."
We walked back to Concordia barefoot with only towels to cover us, people smiled.
Rhizome is another coop, not too long ago we had decided to go there, we stopped at my house and the coop and the pharmaprix dumpster before getting there. The dumpster stop of course resulted in our eating some rice before heading to Rhizome. While we were biking toward Rhizome we passed a train yard and rode along side it and felt very inspired, the trains moved so slowly you could walk to keep up with it. The trains were so close we could almost wipe the grime off them.
After getting lost a bit we found Rhizome and hung out there a bit. There was a workshop, and a drunk guy talking about apple picking and a community lighter and a huge library with all kinds of zines and books about politics and diy and all that, we spent a good chunk of time sitting in there talking about becoming radicalized.
Before leaving Rhizome they coopers there gave us these small cards, buy 4 get a 5th coffee/tea/hot chocolate free cards for a certain chain convenience store, with three rows and the first four coffees stamped off, they had stolen a stack of them and probably would drink free hot chocolate forever.
On the way back we stopped and checked out a train yard, and almost got caught writing on on trains. We biked out after that, but got kicked out when we were about to leave anyways. Was a close call since I think my name is on their security file and they gave me warning a while ago.
Back at the coop we planned to attend a punk show and found a free one. However, Ool was going to a party in the West Island and she wanted us to come with her. The distance issue was remedied with a car, and we were assured that we would return in time to see the punk show. On the way to the party we stopped a certain chain convenience store to get beer, me and Igs decided this would a great time to grab a stamp to go along with our little cards. The party itself was okay, we were the dirtiest kids there, so we danced and were soon joined by a lot of others. It wasn't enough, we wanted to flail and be wild and loose and unrestricted by slow music or social norms. We took some cookies on the way out and rocked out in the car all the way back to the coop and then all the way to the punk show.
The band was setting up when we got there and for the first few songs people mostly nodded their heads but after a few we started a mosh and went crazy. We left after they finished playing and people went to the car, Ool, Igs and I decided to walk home which was awesome because we saw/painted a painted van, ate free food from the trash, tabled dived, danced in an awesome bar and danced to buskers music.
Finally got back to the coop. We though we'd go to sleep but me and Igs ended up checking the internet and the next thing we knew we were on the roof hoping to see a sunrise. Of course the weather was cold and the sun was slow so we never saw it break the horizon because we wanted to sleep and all that.
It's Saturday, I told people I'd teach them parkour, I didn't want to get out of bed, not enough sleep, not enough energy. Nothing motivates better than a promise of free scammed hot chocolate however. Igs and I walked to a certain chain convenience store and got two hot chocolates for free, one left handed one scammed, tried to left hand some kinder eggs but they were noticed and I played it off that we didn't want to buy them anymore.
As we walked back to the coop, we passed a restaurant were a ton of people were talking over food that was probably getting cold. Shortly after discussing this situation we were sitting at a nearby table with more leftover food than we were able to eat. Best breakfast ever.
Parkour was good times, I was teaching QKF a friend I met the week before, later in the day Kiwi showed up as well. We trained, walls were run up, hands bled, grass was rolled on etc...
On the bike ride home me and Kiwi talked about what you wanted, and poly and feelings and relationships. Good talk to have, especially if most of it takes place while we ride bikes. Looks like there's room for me to regain my ridiculous amount of self confidence/self-esteem and see someone casually at the same time.
Picked up gear at the coop, went home, wasted time, went back to the coop for their party. It was kinda suck, me and Igs and Bum (who had came to the party) left to TKJ's house but he wasn't there and the party there was kinda lame. We almost snuck into a church party be realized we were ridiculously underdressed and decided against it because we'd stick out like sore thumbs.
We ended up checking out an underground venue where we found out there wasn't any shows happening, however we ended spending hours there listening to music, eating pizza and listening to crazy stories with the owner, who was an old hippie.
Went back to the coop at 2.30 in the morning and milled about a bit before going to sleep.
Nothing too ridiculous today, just free food in the trash and a great appreciations of the sun.

Thoughts and events since my last post

I'm writing from a hotel room in San Diego, California. I'm here with my dad, he got us here for free with his frequent mile.
Stuff I did so far: Eat large amounts of unhealthy vegetarian and non-vegetarian food.
Visit a friend at Occidental (free water bottle)
Dumpster some bread and popcorn
Think about Evasion
Spend large amounts of time in a car
Think about stuff with Ithaca
Think about the year I'm going to spend in Montreal
Watch a lot of Miyazaki anime
Finish the zine "There is a Danger"
Meet family members that live in California
Go to a beach
Visit Tijuana, Mexico
Go volunteer/watch a movie at the Che Cafe at the UCSD
Hang out in downtown San Diego
Explore sexuality
Eat a bit more healthfully
Tomorrow we'll maybe go to the zoo or the beach or ride horses...

thoughts from the dirtiest kid on the bus

I' on a greyhound right now, headed to NYC. When I get there I'll head home a tiny bit then I'm off to Cali later in the day.
I was in spending the weekend with Ithaca, which was bumpier than I imagined it would have been, but overall a good time and definitely a learning experience.
Ithaca feels we're to dissimilar to be in the same type of couple relationship we were in before, I didn't take it well at first, apparently it's been on her mind a bit but she couldn't bring herself to tell me or something along those lines...
We went out with some friends of her's and I felt jealous and sad and anti-social and insecure the whole time. It didn't help that we went to a loud bar to stand around doing nothing. I eventually left and climbed and explored the area on my own, I just couldn't stand it.
Yesterday was much better we watched a movie, hung around the house, went to an anti-fracking social thing. In the night I accidentally fell and broke a stair, Ithaca's criticism affects me so much more than most other people's would and I didn't tell her but still feeling pretty insecure about myself and feeling like I was getting shot down all the time I almost cried just from getting criticized, :(
Things finished on a good note in the end and we've agreed to stay good friends, I definitely need to have some close friends I can count on, I was thinking about it and what I need right now is more core self confidence in the sense that I generally feel good about myself, having spent so much time with Ithaca made that an external thing coming through outside affirmation when originally it was something completely internal in that I could feel great in a room where everyone hated me. The other thing I need is good friends I trust and can talk to about everything, I mean at the moment, besides Ithaca and a few random friends I periodically reach out to, there isn't any one person I can talk to about everything, no person I feel comfortable enough to cry in front of or ask for a long hug from when I feel like shit, I want friends who come to me with their issues if not for advice then at least for support. I can't just make those overnight, but it's def something I'm going to try to develop.

movement

Flo is here still, she's leaving tomorrow morning, I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon. I'm headed up to Ithaca's place for the weekend, then I head back here to catch a plane to Cali for a week. After that week, I'll be back here again and either Ithaca will drive me up to MTL or I'll take a train.
I have a shit ton of zines from printing them at work (fo free!!!) so I'm excited to read them all and show them to peeps. The squat garden got shut down, showed up the other day to find the composter taken apart and half the lot completely cleared, I'd stick around and keep using it and fight for it and all that, but I'm not around here long enough for that, since I'm you know, leaving tomorrow...
All my stuff is packed, I'm not sure what to expect at Ithaca's, I feel that distance and both of us leading busy yet relatively uneventful lives has somewhat deteriorated communications, though we're making an effort, I'd like to think being around each other physically will make things super awesome again.
The free store is blowing up a lot, news stations from other countries wanna do things with it. It's too bad that I met T and got into a bunch of cool anarchist projects only to leave so soon, I'll definitely pick it again when I'm here for the winter. Solidarity.
Oh, also I made a cool bracelet out of an old brown shoelace I had lying around.

Local, organic, mutual aid and travel

Went down to the garden about an hour ago to water the plants, a neighbor and her daughter saw us walking with the watering cans and came along to see how the garden was. She was telling us about getting grants and possibly buying the lot from the city or owner for $1 since it's been abandoned for years. After we finish watering it we're standing around talking and some guy rolls buy on a skate board and asks who's lot it is, it's a squat. He tells us he's down to help out and has a truck and experience and some people who would be down to help out which is cool. I passed him my number and later he called and we decided to set something up for later in the week. It's cool to just get help like that, visibility helps a lot I guess.
Also talked to Cipher a bit and we're gonna travel around a bit in August, set aside the 1st until the 20th. We want to do the Anarchy Summer Camp (http://selfdescribed.org/?p=447) and then do the Western Maryland Zine Fest (http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20100607002621901) then come home. We'll probably hitch there and back. It's be cool to find some people heading there or back to NY though to make things easier but if it doesn't happen than whatever.

(re)discovering NYC

I've been up to quite a bit since I got here on Sunday and it hasn't even been a week yet. I have a bike, it broke a few times, I fixed it a few times and now I hope it'll be fine.
I went to the Bluestocking cafe on Monday to hear a talk about the summit that took place in Cochabamba on climate change and I learned a lot and a lot of issues that I knew existed became a lot more interconnected in my mind. A big idea I learned besides interconnectedness of issues is that the cause of probably the majority of problems is capitalism, yea maybe I'm a little bit late, but now I know...
At the Bluestocking I met a guy called Joey that told me a lot about the activism and punk scenes in NYC and what I should look for. From what I can tell and the protest I went to (more on this later) the scene here is docile and composed mostly of people older than myself, (I prefer/am used to a youthful militant scene; see Montreal circa now). We talked about anarchist groups and various issue groups and just politics and stuff in general, it was good to hit it off quickly after getting back into the city. Even found out about a free punk show going down Sunday, so I'm excited about that.
After leaving the Bluestocking I called Crisis since I knew he was in the area and we met up, he was riding long boards with his friend from out of town. We crossed the Williamsburg and got lost in Queens trying to get to downtown Brooklyn to dumpster, which was pretty lame but in the end I brought home some fruit from a dumpster that I ran into by chance. Crisis became pretty punk since the last time I saw him, long boards and mohawks.
I hung out with the old park slope crew a bit and it made me realize how much I've changed, M:tG and video games don't interest me nearly as much as they used to, I wanna do activist stuff and sneak around and mosh at shows and dumpster and share with my friends. I went to go see Cipher and he's doing okay, still playing WoW, lol. We talked about our summer plans and he isn't too sure about hitching and would prefer a car :-/. We've all experienced deterioration in our ninja skills since neither of us (or Crisis either I suspect) have been keeping nearly as sharp a vigil on our skills as we used to.
Yesterday I went to a protest against Pacific Rim wanting to mine (read: poison drinking water) in El Salvador, not being able to (because no one wants to drink cyanide) and suing the government because of that (I mean it's only reasonable to go after people who don't let you poison them, right?). I was disappointed when I first arrived and didn't even join the protest, I sat and watched as about ten protesters handed out pamphlets to passersby and spoke close to their table and held up a sign, FROM BEHIND A POLICE FENCE! In Montreal protests are so large that they could never be contained within fencing and I'm sure if police attempted to conflict would erupt. Maybe I've been spoiled by the Montreal scene, I hope I haven't been. As I as sitting to the side watching I saw a friend from high school and we talked about travelling and bikes for a bit then he left and I went to help with the protest, no point not helping, there was a little bit of street theatre towards the end but it was very cheesy and cliche, in the end before leaving I traded contact info with this photographer so I'll write him an email soon asking what's up and how did the photos come out (can I have the ones with me in them?). Joey from Bluestocking told me I should be organizing shit instead of joining it since I'm used to wilder things and I'm starting to think he's right, so far the things I've seen and heard about activism seem too tame in my view. I'll see what I feel after Sunday, and when I know more about my summer, I'm supposed to work for the month of June, I wanna travel to the west coast and squat beach houses with TKJ, Rainbow, Australia, Domin, and Rainbow's friend, they wanna hitch from Toronto after the G20 which I also wish I wasn't missing. Just found out I can't register for classes in winter and fall until I get "special permission" because I didn't do well in school :-/ so that may play a part in something as well.
The plan for Sunday is to do food not bombs at ABC no Rio and then head to a free punk show at Tompkins Square park afterward (ABC no Rio serves there anyway so I'll probably be able to go straight there after serving). It'll help me get a feel of the food not bombs and maybe find people who are down for something more invigorating than what's happening already...
We'll see what happens, either way I got some posters that I've passed to my mom to photocopy at her work, I'll wheat paste them around when she brings them back. I ordered Expect Resistance from Crimethinc last night and I'm excited for it to come and all the posters and zines and stickers that'll come with it :D. I'm also happy and curious to see what happens when Ithaca gets here, but I'll probably have to add more padding to the bed since I almost sleep on the floor and she'll probably want it softer.

Back in MTL

I just got back to Montreal. The break was alright, last years was better; no buildings climbed, no parties successfully attended (the cops shut them all down), no crazy adventures for the most part. I showed my parents dumpster diving and they're alright with it. Planned the traveling summer trip a bit with Cipher and Crisis, it should go down in August, we'll probably head down to Key West and then come back up taking a total of 4 weeks. Cipher doesn't seem too down with hitching around which surprises me, there's stigma around it I guess, but riding trains is dangerous shit if you don't know what you're doing, so I'd wanna learn from someone before hopping out on my own.
Now that I'm back here I'm gonna be diving food again, and exploring new places to dive with my bike :). I also have to make up for the vacation's lack of parties...

Trash craft, trash trades, and trash pics among other things

I think it's fair to say at this point that I Heart Trash. It's pretty cool, I'm all over craigslist trade it off left and right. I'm trading the speakers and blowdryer I found for some sweaters, and I made a pair of jeans that I actually like (baggy-ish work jeans + cargo pockets + hand sewn = Win Pants). Also made an Xmas gift and found something that I'm going to give as one also. Here's what I got last night, complete with bad laptop webcam pic:

Here's what I got:
12 Bags of Various Kinds of Chips
1 Bottle of Vitamin Water (not shown)
1 Bottle of Some Kind of Italian Spice Mix
1 Tube of Toothpaste (with fancy sparkly things in it)
1 Container of Taboule
2 Containers of Tzatziki
2 Containers of Onion Dip
1 Bottle of Cough Syrup
1 Ionic Blow Dryer (probably gonna trade it or pass it to Kunoichi's house)(trading for a sweater)
9 Boxes of Nut Thins (Pecan flavor for those of you that voted for that in the poll)
I'm also gonna get a bike on the cheap from craigslist, so I can move around to further spots on the dumpster maps and hopefully get even crazier finds, but only after I attach a milk crate to the back, and make the bike darker. Gonna be in NY soon, can't wait to dive there and scheme with the BSC guys about traveling this summer, Crisis and Cipher seem down with the idea, we gotta make more concrete plans if anything's going to happen though.

Year one and some pics

This blog has been up for a year at this point, rejoice a year of ninja adventures, mostly in cities. Also last night I found a ton of foods AND took a pic with the webcam, enjoy the deliciousness that is trash:

Not shown eggs and milk
4 Blocks of Cheese
Talked to Cipher and Crisis, they seem to be down for traveling this summer. We're all going to get together and plan it out this winter break maybe over some snowboarding.

Garbage for Gear

Not too long ago I found a new messenger bag in the pharmacy dumpster, the lining was loose underneath the flap so I sewed it up. I realized I didn't need it so I put a barter ad online to trade for some travel gear. Today I met up with a guy who traded it for a waterproof jacket. I'm happy with it, it's a dark blue Blind jacket that you just pull over. The guy was pretty cool and says he might be able to get me a tarp as well. We're gonna keep in touch.
Later today there's gonna be parkour, me and Kusa and maybe some other Frozen Monkey guys.