hitting the rails

[karma]

hi. my names robert bergin and i did speech last year. though i was lucky enough to get into berkeley a few months ago, i was accepted for the spring semester and thus dont head to class until january. obviously, this has left me a lot of time to sit around my boring *** white suburban town and do whatever boring *** white kids do (reading, working, twiddling thumbs while everyone else is off at college, etc.).

this was cool for about two days. no. it wasnt cool period. so one day i was sitting on our pretty green lawn reading this book called the dharma bums, which is about this guy ray who travels around america and writes about his experiences, and i realized: 'y'know, **** this. this town sucks.'

so i've decided to use my summer job money waiting tables to purchase a 30 day pass on amtrak and hit the road. i'm leaving the 18th, and i have a general idea of where i'm going and what stops i'm hitting, and there are some people i'm planning on meeting and catching up with, but beyond that i have no real plan as to how to spend my time beyond reading and writing a bunch.

if youre still reading this, thank you and i love you. i'm not really too hot on calling up some cheesy travel agent and asking where i should stop and what i should see. not very interested in all the grand canyon-y stops yknow? so, after recalling that i posted here a bit in the past couple years, i thought i'd go to the speech community for some tips, mainly since speech was cool for me mostly cos i got to meet a bunch of cool kids who seemed to really know what was up (politically, musically, life-ly).

so i'm asking you to tell me whats up in your area.

i'm heading from SJ to LA through the southwest to Houston and up to NY and boston, then west to toronto and hopefully chicago, then up through minnesota and along the border to washington and then back down. basically a huge *** circle.

so whatever wisdom you can bestow, i'd love to hear it. wheres the best place youve ever eaten? cool record stores, little rivers, good hills to climb with awesome views, any good live shows coming in the next month in your area. neat venues. honestly, whatever.

thanks so much for any suggestions you can offer. i'll repay you any way i can. have fun with s&d this year. take it easy.

[thecrazypirate]

Like, Robert Bergin of "Dispatches from the 10th Circle" fame? That's pretty cool if you are, you were hilarious. If you remember Jordan, who did "The King in the Kitchen" at Berkeley finals last year, and then remember his tall, blonde friend Brandon, whom you talked with at Nationals, I am Brandon's duo partner, Dexter, whom you didn't really talk with all that much in either setting.


Anyway, your idea sounds super cool. If you happen to head through Las Vegas on your trek through the Southwest, um, just don't stop. There is nothing unique or special or niche-y about the town whatsoever.

If you must stop, um, just take advantage of all the free entertainment Vegas has to offer. If you've never been, I'm sure it can be an experience in itself just walking along The Strip and taking in the majesty of it all, even if it is fake, plastic majesty. The Bellagio hotel has an art exhibit that is usually showing rare Monet's or Renoir's or whoever's.

Good luck, though, no matter where you stop. You'll probably learn a thing or two on such an expidition, and it'll probably be immensely valuable no matter what it happens to be that you learn.

[karma]

dexter duuude! yeah we never talked at all but em, hey your duo partners rad! and yeah, nevada's not really part of the plan, but thanks for the kind words. s&d for me last year was a total blast.

and doesnt brandon go to usc? cos theyre totally getting rocked this saturday. :D

[thecrazypirate]

I'm actually going to visit him and watch the game this weekend. I will be cheering for USC.

I mean, if I want a Nobel Peace Prize I'll go to Berkeley, if i want football, I'll stick with USC. :wink:


And yeah, S&D ruled last year for me too. Like, I didn't really realize till it was over how much fun it was and how much of an impact it had on me, I think I was too caught up in the whole competition aspect.