nineteen.

berlin, germany

some of the best decisions you ever make are ones that you make on the fly. they're the kind of decisions that can be followed by a hearty 'why the fuck not?' and looked back on with a smile. one such decision of mine was to take a trip to berlin.

i've spent the past few years going back and forth between london and new york. i wouldn't go for a week or two, i'd temporarily migrate and set up home in [various parts of] brooklyn for up to three months at a time. but last summer i realised i'd had my fill and promised myself i'd see more of the world than the east coast of the USA.

my amurrrican friends that love london have always told me how lucky i am to have mainland europe, asia and africa pretty much on my doorstep. i never thought about it much because between frequent trips to the USA and the caribbean, i was so used to getting on a plane and going over the atlantic ocean that i forgot planes could go in other directions.

so this year i made a commitment to see other places, and the first stop on that tour was berlin. one of my very good friends [identity withheld due to her belief that internet peoples are dangerous] and i went to see berlin for a weekend and had stupid, stupid fun. she loves berlin and wants to live there; and me? well it was a pretty cool city from what i saw, but what really made the weekend so dope was the people we spent time with.

i guess this is a good time to talk about greg.


greg and i have been talking on myspace for a couple of years. nothing major, nothing deep, and oh so sporadic. still, i always had a sense that he was good people. [don't believe the hype: you can pick up a crazy person's energy online, and so newton's third law dictates that you must be able to pick a dope person's energy up too.]

when i said that i was thinking about visiting his city it was a no-brainer that i'd hang out with greg at some point. but not only did he share some of his time with us, he opened his home [and his lil old heart] to us too. i knew he was a nice guy, but imagine my delight when i discovered that he also had a great sense of humour and could take my poking fun and teasing...even better that he teased me right back. he was the sweetest guy you ever sawed, he carried my heavy bottle of water all day long and even reminded me to drink it. at 6'1" he is also the tallest man i've met in a while [i was beginning to think they didn't make them over 5'8" no more!]. yes yes, from the first hug it was instant, split-second friendship creation. the best kind.

the experience reminded me that we're not so different to others. that with every other human on the planet there is something you can talk about, something the two of you have in common. the experience reminded me that i'm a piece of thread on this patchwork i call 'the universe', and to separate myself from it through fear or apprehension robs me of friends, experiences, and most importantly my own grounding. for there's something about connecting with others that invariably snaps you into your own place.

oh yes. here i am. this is my piece of transition-intensive earth-space.

the trip rejuvenated me in so many ways. it made me want to talk to strangers and meet new people. i can only imagine how many amazing humans there must be on this earth. i want to know more of them.

in a few weeks greg is coming to london and i get to return the favour and open my home and heart to him: psyched is not the word.