Entries this day: Dream Inspired_by_Ryan_McC

Dream

8:06am Saturday 10 June 2006

A famous musician had basically shut himself off from the world by staying in his room. He was still loved by his fans, but during his seclusion had apparently done some things that had triggered controversy about whether or not he was gay.

I personally didn't really "know" him, even as a performer, but I put myself on the list of people who supported his right to do whatever the hell he wanted to do.

I imagine that's why I was selected to meet him personally while there was an event at his house, or outside his house, trying to get him to come out of his proverbial and literal shell.

I was pretty much surprised and taken off-guard by being ushered inside. I had just been talking about him with Petra and someone else, when someone whisked me into the private residence.

The man looked different than I expected; he seemed a bit like the guy who played Frodo Baggins in the recent LoTRs trilogy. Though I wasn't ready to go in when I went in, I tried to say something useful that would help him.

I basically was like "we can live in this room or live out of this room and the whole world will not care, except for what they want to believe." I then arranged two playing cards on the table to represent the current room he was living in, and the new additional room we fans had been building for him to expand his private territory. So my basic premise was like "it doesn't matter what you do, so you might as well make yourself a bit better," and offered a non-threatening way he could expand his horizons.

I then was trying to think of a way to say that I imagined he had heard us talking about the rumors of his gayness, and relate that in the same way, basically "whether or not anyone else thinks you're gay, the truth is in your heart, and that's all that matters."

But I woke up instead.

Inspired by Ryan McC

Back some weeks ago, I asked Ryan this:

Yo Ryan!

Are you still in China?  I'm sure you are not, but I haven't heard
otherwise - where's the Ryan Updates??  I am now on a tourist visa in
Japan and have until June 28th to escape Japan (or become illegal) or
get a work visa.  I'm considering coming to China cause one of my
friends here said the cost of living is so low we can make tons of
money teaching there.

Is it true?  Is it worth it?

Thanks for your insight..  and if you have time, thanks for your update!!

  - Rob

It took him a while to reply, but I am beyond inspired!!

rizzob!

i am no longer in beijing, old chum- been living in san francisco for the
last eight months teaching flash and robotics at a middle school, and i just
got to seward, alaska as of yesterday to work with young jack van b. in
fishing trade. the rumor is that due to the low population up there is good
paying work if you can handle the demands of the job.

so. china.

this is something that i have discussed so many times since i have gotten
back as completely idle chatter, it will be difficult to distill the ideas
into the actual pragmatic advice,but as i am most eager to aid you in any
and all of your endeavors, i shall do my best:

china is basically divided into three parts, the north, the south, and the
west, (which is basically not china at all in any linguistic or cultural
sense).

the south, "guandong" (canton) is hot and more... not "westernized"... more
"international". the food is spicier,  and most of china's ethnic minorities
live there so it is more culturally diverse.

the north is where i spent most of my time, so here is the raw deal:

the exchange rate is insane. everything is incredibly cheap, you could
easily get by on less than two dollars a day. the pay is pretty good, with
no experience you can make about twenty dolalrs an hour, with you could be
making upwards of two grand a month, (with no living expenses to speak of-
most schools will provide housing)

the thing is china can be an incredibly dirty, ignorant, and disrespectful
country. people spit and litter everywhere, the subways are just stupidly
crowded, you are often treated as a circus novelty with people stopping on
the steet two or three times a day to shout "HULLO!! HEH HEH!! HULLO! HEY
FEOREINGER, HULLO! HEH HEH!", and the people are almost without exception
completely saturated with the chinese mentallity, generally being very
xenophobic of foreign ideas and cultural differences.

by the end of the trip i just wanted to punch every chinese person i saw.

so. to sum up:

cheap: yes
lucrative: yes
dirty: yes
soul-wearying: yes

that is the breakdown, in my opinion. maybe living in japan is the same in
some ways and thus you would already be hardened to some of these things.
personally i would rather get out of asia for a different experience
entirely, but by all means dig in if it so pleases you.

i hope you are well buddy. it does me good to know that there is another
buddy making their fortunes in the world. keep me posted-

r.

This is my reply; once I complete this entry, I gots to sit down for a second and get some thoughts in gear.

Misah Ryan....

holy shit!  It's so amazing to hear that you have lived in THREE
distinct parts of the world in the time that I've just been farting
around in Tokyo..  (NYC, North China, SanFran) and now you're off to
number 4!!  Fucking congratulations!

How in the world can Jack the vegan work in the fishing industry???
wow wow wow

Since I didn't hear back from you, I had basically removed China from
the realm of possibility.  I am now, however, inspired to re-realize
that I can go *anywhere* I damn please, including

hey, I just realized something.

How do you handle the stress of leaving old familiar friends (and
enemies) and start all over again with a new set of rules???  That is
one reason I have been loathe to leave Japan and not go back home
(which would be like starting over); I don't really want to *start
over* again an extra time.

Did you learn Mandarin enough to say you know Mandarin?

You taught robotics and flash?  How do you know enough about that
technology to teach it?  How do you know more than me??  Why do I
limit myself with negative beliefs??

I see your life as more inspiring than mine, and it's giving me a
crisis.  You keep doing the things I have dreamed of doing, but been
too afraid to Just Do It.

Please DO NOT STOP.  :-)

A good thing that I can say..  I have been to Seward Alaska,
http://robnugen.com/images/travel/Pb/49th_May-Aug_2005/the_rest/bear_cannot_see.jpg

and I climbed a good portion of Marathon Mountain
http://robnugen.com/images/travel/Pb/49th_May-Aug_2005/the_rest/self_portrait_on_Marathon_Mountain.jpg
http://robnugen.com/images/travel/Pb/49th_May-Aug_2005/the_rest/where_is_Topaz.jpg

This was my crowning achievement of the day:
http://robnugen.com/images/travel/Pb/49th_May-Aug_2005/the_rest/Rob_caught_a_salmon.jpg

-----

Thank you for leading such an inspiring life!!

I am going to re-think my next steps; see if I should stay in Tokyo /
Japan or get the hell outta here, and if so, where.

My latest news:

Just broke my clavicle 150km from the planned end of a ~1300 km solo
bicycle ride.  I was blessed with angels to get me back to Tokyo, a
doctor who reset the bone perfectly, friends and family to pay the
$4000 bill, and a new metal plate in my shoulder!

http://robnugen.com/images/travel/tjbike/kyoto2006/almost_finished/Page3.shtml

You're a good man, Ryan McCarthy.  Thank you for showing me the possibilities.

  Love and Respect
   - Rob!!!