VAPE SHOP
As those of you who know me well may already grok to (holy shit - grok is a recognized word!) I need an 'objective' when I go out to do my 'daily constitutional'.
Today's was to go pick up some vape juice.
So I wandered for a LONG distance and eventually came to the vape shop. Second attempt - first one was closed down. Second one was inside of some other fucking shop making it difficult to find.
Why no, kind sir, you may not 'try before you buy' as you can in other civilized countries. You must buy then see if you have fucked up and blown your money on shit you don't want.
The price for 80ml of vape? More expensive than even England. 20 Euros.
"Why thank you kind shop keeper. I shall fuck well off now and not return. I feel I am already missing Eastern Europe."
ABODE IN NAPLES
So I go down to the front desk today. My initial two days here are up, time to pay for more.
My plan is pay up through the end of the month, see where I stand then. The room is fine except that it is noisy and claustrophobic.
When I try to pay for six days, the owner only wants me to pay for two. He is muttering about the hotel being full, needing to bring in workmen to fix the room I am in which does have a little water damage on the ceiling etc.
I'm thinking despite him and I having talked about "I might be here for a couple months" his plan was to have me here for four days - to squeeze out the most he can from the hotel room while waiting for the workman.
After a couple days of wandering around Naples however I'm thinking that it looks like lots of other European cities I've seen before and there is nothing really sticking me to this place.
"Run, bitch!" is going through my head.
Before, it was laziness vs claustrophobia - now it seems necessity is pushing me to GTFO.
After four days there, I (foolishly?) went to live in Pompei. The old town is Pompeii, the new one which surrounds it is Pompei. No idea why. Same volcano.
Anyway, the room is a little better. Still a bit cramped - like living in a midsized bedroom. I do miss the last house I was at in Ukraine where my work area and sleeping area were separate. But the room itself doesn't really bother me. The internet is good dial up speed. For 900 USD plus per month. Tell you, Italy is not shaking out to be the place for me.
Also, the area is pretty far dispersed. Nothing is very convenient aside from a McDonald's (yes, really) that I'd rather avoid. Everything seems to be a kilometer or two from me. It will take awhile to explore the surrounding area and find something I like to eat.
No idea whatsoever as to why Naples is so busy with tourists but I need to find a place that doesn't suck to hunker down for awhile.
Guessing that by the time I paid for here is done I will be well sick of this place and wanting to go elsewhere.
Pompei itself seems to be full of walled houses and pretty light on the sidewalks. While many of the countries I've been to don't have sidewalks, the host of the property was horrified I walked here from the train station (about 1.5 to 2 KM) because there were no sidewalks enroute.
Would I have come here if I'd seen it first or done better on my research? Probably not. But since I've checked in and paid a wad of cash I figure I'll make the best of it. If nothing else it should be quiet.
After a week or two here I'll see if I like it enough to stay in quieter Pompei or if I want to go back to noisy as fuck cramped living quarters Naples.
One of my big concerns currently is getting a place during Christmas/New Years as everyone seems to wander to a different place during those times.
IN POMPEII
Super windy mixed with rain today.
Since everything seems to be 2KM plus away, after walking my usual 5km I have gone to hide in my room.
Which is a pity as I've not yet gotten to go wander around this area.
My initial impressions of Pompeii (I'm just going to switch to the old fashioned spelling instead of the new one) is that there seems to be two town centers. One is the western - where I am - and the other - the eastern - is the tourist area.
The residents here are giving me some odd looks like 'why aren't you on the eastern side?'
I think I had one guy stop and demand money from me but I just said "I'm sorry I have no lighter" and walked on. He looked confused and eventually just left. No clue what was going on with that.
Note that if you ever need to say a fairly nonsensical thing it's always best to say something that even if that person ends up speaking perfect English (or whatever your language is) that it is not offensive in any way. You should not say "I have no fucking lighter" as the only word he may pick up on is 'fucking' and think you have insulted him. Also, you should stay away from any phrases that a stock reply can be used.
For example, never say "Do you speak English?" say instead "What do you think about the weather?" That will tell you a lot more because everyone knows the first question and can lie if they wish.
Anyway, when it stops being like some sort of power wash outside (welcome to Italy's rainy season) I want to go explore the town. The winds were so strong today that people were seeking refuge in doorways and stuff. I was wondering if they were going to blow hard enough to dislodge roof tiles and such.
WHEN SUDDENLY
Shit went nuts. I had to return to the USA unexpectedly and immediately. Reasons I don't want to go into in the blog but let us just say the next 36 hours were a montage of Logan sitting in various forms of transport or in abandoned train stations. Avoid Newark if you can.
Fortunately, I have amazing friends spread throughout the country and one of them - Mahmood - lived right in DC - on my route. Within walking distance of the capital and all that. So while I hole up here for a couple days on my way to Christiansburg, VA - I get to see a little of the capital. When it is not raining.
COSTS
Spaghetti with two big meatballs, a bread basket and bottle of surprisingly good house wine (which was 4 EUR) and tip, 15 EUR. Downside, the restaurant starts serving food at 7PM. Why the fuck 7PM? Italians eat dinner late.
As those of you who know me well may already grok to (holy shit - grok is a recognized word!) I need an 'objective' when I go out to do my 'daily constitutional'.
Today's was to go pick up some vape juice.
So I wandered for a LONG distance and eventually came to the vape shop. Second attempt - first one was closed down. Second one was inside of some other fucking shop making it difficult to find.
Why no, kind sir, you may not 'try before you buy' as you can in other civilized countries. You must buy then see if you have fucked up and blown your money on shit you don't want.
The price for 80ml of vape? More expensive than even England. 20 Euros.
"Why thank you kind shop keeper. I shall fuck well off now and not return. I feel I am already missing Eastern Europe."
ABODE IN NAPLES
So I go down to the front desk today. My initial two days here are up, time to pay for more.
My plan is pay up through the end of the month, see where I stand then. The room is fine except that it is noisy and claustrophobic.
When I try to pay for six days, the owner only wants me to pay for two. He is muttering about the hotel being full, needing to bring in workmen to fix the room I am in which does have a little water damage on the ceiling etc.
I'm thinking despite him and I having talked about "I might be here for a couple months" his plan was to have me here for four days - to squeeze out the most he can from the hotel room while waiting for the workman.
After a couple days of wandering around Naples however I'm thinking that it looks like lots of other European cities I've seen before and there is nothing really sticking me to this place.
"Run, bitch!" is going through my head.
Before, it was laziness vs claustrophobia - now it seems necessity is pushing me to GTFO.
After four days there, I (foolishly?) went to live in Pompei. The old town is Pompeii, the new one which surrounds it is Pompei. No idea why. Same volcano.
Anyway, the room is a little better. Still a bit cramped - like living in a midsized bedroom. I do miss the last house I was at in Ukraine where my work area and sleeping area were separate. But the room itself doesn't really bother me. The internet is good dial up speed. For 900 USD plus per month. Tell you, Italy is not shaking out to be the place for me.
Also, the area is pretty far dispersed. Nothing is very convenient aside from a McDonald's (yes, really) that I'd rather avoid. Everything seems to be a kilometer or two from me. It will take awhile to explore the surrounding area and find something I like to eat.
No idea whatsoever as to why Naples is so busy with tourists but I need to find a place that doesn't suck to hunker down for awhile.
Guessing that by the time I paid for here is done I will be well sick of this place and wanting to go elsewhere.
Pompei itself seems to be full of walled houses and pretty light on the sidewalks. While many of the countries I've been to don't have sidewalks, the host of the property was horrified I walked here from the train station (about 1.5 to 2 KM) because there were no sidewalks enroute.
Would I have come here if I'd seen it first or done better on my research? Probably not. But since I've checked in and paid a wad of cash I figure I'll make the best of it. If nothing else it should be quiet.
After a week or two here I'll see if I like it enough to stay in quieter Pompei or if I want to go back to noisy as fuck cramped living quarters Naples.
One of my big concerns currently is getting a place during Christmas/New Years as everyone seems to wander to a different place during those times.
IN POMPEII
Super windy mixed with rain today.
Since everything seems to be 2KM plus away, after walking my usual 5km I have gone to hide in my room.
Which is a pity as I've not yet gotten to go wander around this area.
My initial impressions of Pompeii (I'm just going to switch to the old fashioned spelling instead of the new one) is that there seems to be two town centers. One is the western - where I am - and the other - the eastern - is the tourist area.
The residents here are giving me some odd looks like 'why aren't you on the eastern side?'
I think I had one guy stop and demand money from me but I just said "I'm sorry I have no lighter" and walked on. He looked confused and eventually just left. No clue what was going on with that.
Note that if you ever need to say a fairly nonsensical thing it's always best to say something that even if that person ends up speaking perfect English (or whatever your language is) that it is not offensive in any way. You should not say "I have no fucking lighter" as the only word he may pick up on is 'fucking' and think you have insulted him. Also, you should stay away from any phrases that a stock reply can be used.
For example, never say "Do you speak English?" say instead "What do you think about the weather?" That will tell you a lot more because everyone knows the first question and can lie if they wish.
Anyway, when it stops being like some sort of power wash outside (welcome to Italy's rainy season) I want to go explore the town. The winds were so strong today that people were seeking refuge in doorways and stuff. I was wondering if they were going to blow hard enough to dislodge roof tiles and such.
WHEN SUDDENLY
Shit went nuts. I had to return to the USA unexpectedly and immediately. Reasons I don't want to go into in the blog but let us just say the next 36 hours were a montage of Logan sitting in various forms of transport or in abandoned train stations. Avoid Newark if you can.
Fortunately, I have amazing friends spread throughout the country and one of them - Mahmood - lived right in DC - on my route. Within walking distance of the capital and all that. So while I hole up here for a couple days on my way to Christiansburg, VA - I get to see a little of the capital. When it is not raining.
COSTS
Spaghetti with two big meatballs, a bread basket and bottle of surprisingly good house wine (which was 4 EUR) and tip, 15 EUR. Downside, the restaurant starts serving food at 7PM. Why the fuck 7PM? Italians eat dinner late.
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