Category: A Tramp’s Travelog

I live in a van. I traipse around the country. Where & when? Weary traveler, read on…

Travelog 191027 (Redacted Version)

JulianLeave a comment

Start: Parked on the corner of Marias & Governor Nicholls St, in the Tremé district of New Orleans, Louisiana. 

End: Parked on the corner of Marias & Governor Nicholls St, in the Tremé district of New Orleans, Louisiana. 

Exciting Events: 

  • Happened upon a New Orleans parade! They’re called “second lines”, and are essentially the parade of people behind the typical parade. 
    • Mine was for the Black Men’s Labor Union. No, it wasn’t a protest or a strike; just a parade! 
    • Later in the evening, overheard another parade. These things are everywhere! 
  • The outfits—absurd! Straight out of the ‘20s. 
  • Happened upon a birthday party on the sidewalk. Felt odd to this CA native. Seemed commonplace here. 
  • Wrote about my time in New Orleans & relationship to partying. 

Real Realizations: 

  • For a celebration to matter, you need something to celebrate. 

Quotent Quotables: 

  • “It’s the universal New Orleans excuse for being late: “I got stuck behind a second line.” -[Redacted].

Commonplace occurrences: 

  • Half-an-hour phone call with [Redacted]. 
  • Watched a few more episodes of Bojack Horseman. 

Delicious Delectables: 

  • “Shrimp po boy on french, dressed with everything.” 
  • Fettucini alfredo & pizza 

Alluring Activities: 

  • Getting back to the grind.

Travelog 191026 (Redacted Version)

JulianLeave a comment

Start: Parked on the corner of Marias & Governor Nicholls St, in the Tremé district of New Orleans, Louisiana. 

End: Parked on the corner of Marias & Governor Nicholls St, in the Tremé district of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Quotent Quotables: 

  • “Have you ever had a New Orleans sweet potato? You don’t have to add anything. They come out the ground sweet.” -[Redacted], my waiter at Willie Mae’s Scotch House. 
  • “I wonder if a Chihuahua with Parkinson’s just doesn’t move.” -Me. 
  • “People in New Orleans all get along. If you come to New Orleans and you can’t get along with anybody, there’s something wrong with you.” -[Redacted], my Uber driver. 

Exciting Events: 

  • Awoke at 1pm. My first Day in New Orleans and I was out til 5am… 
  • Wrote a reply to [redacted] letter. 
  • Ate incredible soul food in the Tremé district. 
  • I asked an Uber driver how the city is different after Katrina. He said “it’s not.” And pointed to a pothole that’s been here since before the storm. He evidently isn’t impressed by any political change. 
  • [Redacted]’s after-party
    • Apropos of nothing, a man [redacted] on the couch next to me, 
    • I ask a woman why she spends time around these people. She says, (paraphrase) “because all the women tell me I’m beautiful.” 
  • Halloween party with intense [redacted] demonstrations (like [redacted]), where the band played Pink Floyd for an hour. 
  • Video call with [redacted] both right before he went to bed (my 9pm) and right after he woke up the next day (my 5am). 

Real Realizations: 

  • The people I’ve met here live to party. It’s cheap and exciting and pacifying and hollow. 
  • I’ve been [redacted] but all of it feels empty [redacted]. 

Commonplace occurrences: 

  • Completed [redacted] outline: another [redacted]. 

Delicious Delectables: 

  • Fried chicken and sweet potato fries at Willie Mae’s Scotch House, New Orleans. 

  • The best chicken tenders of my life, at Key’s Fuel (the gas station near my friend’s house). 
  • All That Jazz sandwich: ham, turkey, cheese, shrimp, mushrooms, and a white sauce. So good! Shockingly so! I expected it to be weird from the shrimp but it was not.
    • Everything I’ve eaten in New Orleans has been delicious. 

[Redacted]

Alluring Activities: 

  • Afterparty with [redacted] tonite. Do I go? It only starts at 2am… 

Travel Log 191025 (Redacted Version)

JulianLeave a comment

Start: Parked on a public street outside Walmart, West Houston, TX 

End: Parked on the corner of Marias & Governor Nicholls St, in the Tremé district of New Orleans, Louisiana. 

Exciting Events: 

  • Went to a vampire masquerade party, last minute, on a whim. 
    • Carried a mermaid, because it was having trouble traveling on its own (the feet-together tail-hop was ineffective). 

  • [Redacted]
    • [Redacted]
  • [Redacted], Smidge used her pee pad! Yay! No pee on my bed! 

Real Realizations: 

  • Partiers go [redacted] HARD here. 
  • People in New Orleans put serious effort into their costumes. 

Quotent Quotables: 

  • “It is moister than an oyster.” – partygoer, on the copious amounts of rain. 

Commonplace occurrences:

  • Worked for two hours. [Redacted]. Yay! 
  • Phone calls with lotsa friends.
  • Watched the first four episodes of the final season of Bojack Horseman. 
  • Floofed Smidge in delight. 

Delicious Delectables: 

  • A brisket-stuffed burger. Yum! 
    • The Louisianan cashier asked where I was from. I told him to guess. He guessed Australia. 
  • A [redacted] 4am slice of cheese pizza. SO GOOD. 

[Redacted]


Alluring Activities: 

  • Crazy New Orleans happenings! 
  • Letter to [redacted]. 
  • Outline to the [redacted] guys. 

Travelog 191024 (Redacted Version)

JulianLeave a comment

Start: [Redacted], Pflugerville, TX 

End: Parked on a public street outside Walmart, West Houston, TX 

Real Realizations: 

  • I hear men jiggle the handle before removing gas from cars and women don’t. HILARIOUS. Must research further. 

Quotent Quotables: 

  • “It’s hard to mend the relationship after being brutally honest to someone with low self-esteem.” -[Redacted]. 

Exciting Events: 

  • Worked for three hours. [Redacted]. Yay! 
  • Left Austin, heading toward New Orleans. 
  • Call with [redacted] today. Love talking to him. 

Delicious Delectables: 

  • Ham & pepperjack & mayo roll-ups. Yum! 
  • A glass of white moscato. Also yum! 

[Redacted]

  • [Redacted]. 
  • [Redacted]. 

Alluring Activities: 

  • Traveling to New Orleans. Seeing [redacted] & his crazy parties.  
  • Making t-shirts with [redacted]?!?!?!

Travelog 191023 (Redacted Version)

JulianLeave a comment

Start: [Redacted], Pflugerville, TX

End: [Redacted], Pflugerville, TX

Quotent Quotables: 

  • “Even god couldn’t take the Israelites into the promised land. [It means], ‘you can’t get people to do things they don’t want to do.’” -[Redacted]. 

Delicious Delectables: 

  • Made poached & scrambled eggs using my sous vide machine. Delicious!
  • Ate ham & pepperjack & mayo roll-ups. Yum! 

Real Realizations: 

  • Hourly work that’s scheduled every day [redacted] is GREAT. I could do this for 6 months [redacted]! This must be what it’s like to have a job. Except BETTER! 
  • In school, teachers train you to wait until the last minute to do things (because they change the requirements so often). Turns out this is actually GREAT training for the real world [redacted]!
  • When you care about someone (and ask questions accordingly), they think you’re down to earth. 
  • People like people who care about them. If you stay in control and focus on them, you can get anyone to like you. 

[Redacted]

Exciting Events: 

  • Wrote a new recipe for my cookbook.
  • Talked with [redacted] for a while.
    • Smoked a cigarillo together. 
    • Discussed our old highschool passions. 
  • Phone call with [redacted]. 
    • Just joked around a bunch. 
  • Phone call with [redacted]. 
    • Talked about serious stuff. And our [redacted]. 
  • Worked on [redacted] for 5 hours. Made [redacted]. 

Alluring Activities: 

  • Traveling to New Orleans. Seeing [redacted] & his crazy parties.  

Travel Log 191022 (Redacted Version)

JulianLeave a comment

Start: [Redacted], Pflugerville, TX

End: [Redacted], Pflugerville, TX

Delicious Delectables: 

  • Mac & Cheese for dinner. ‘CAUSE I’M AN ADULT.
  • Sous vide steak leftover from yesterday. <- Very Adult.
  • 3 Lindor Lindt White Chocolate Truffle balls. ‘CAUSE I’M AN ADULT.

Quotent Quotables: 

  • [Nay, nein, nopes!]

Real Realizations: 

  • Emotions can come out via dreams, too! And be satisfied in a real way. 
  • I enjoy staying in one place for a while. Meeting people and immersing in their day-to-day life before moving on.
    • This trip is about understanding different cultures. I haven’t seen any of Austin (any!), but I’ve spent time living with a family and loving it!

[Redacted]

  • [Redacted].
  • [Redacted].
  • [Redacted].


Exciting Events: 

  • Woke up late. Had some caffeine at 9:30am, then slept until noon. 
  • Between 9:30am and noon, had a very strong emotional processing via dream. Felt like processing some very strong negative feelings about [redacted]. Spoke in babytalk in the dream in a really strong, healing way, like the childish wonder was spreading over the terrible feelings. 
  • Walked Smidge in the morning. 
  • Wrote up a report on my experience of Myschevia. 
  • Clocked 2 hrs into [redacted].  
  • Sent a joke to my improv group’s texting group. Enjoyed making & sharing it. They riffed on it, too. 
  • Called [redacted]. He talked about his depression and how his father abused him. Enjoyed helping him talk through it. 
    • Shared my methods for countering depression with him. Helpful, they seemed, and fun 🙂

Alluring Activities: 

  • Catching up with work. ALL CAUGHT UP SOON.
  • Daily meetings at 11 and 1. That means [redacted] on weekdays! Woot woot! [redacted] Hooray! 

Travel Log 191021 (Redacted Version)

JulianLeave a comment

Start: [Redacted], Pflugerville, TX

End: [Redacted], Pflugerville, TX

Delicious Delectables: 

  • Ate 4 cans of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup. 
  • Ate a handful of Lindor Lindt White Chocolate Truffles. 
  • Sous vided steak for David & Stephanie. Muy delicioso!

Quotent Quotables: 

  • [NAUGHT!]

Real Realizations: 

  • Didn’t go farther than 0.5 miles from the house today. Drank red wine.
    • Both contribute to my sadness this evening. 
  • [Redacted] got steak lodged in his esophagus. That’s 3 major dangerous events in my life involving people eating too large pieces of steak. Clearly it fucking happens. CUT YOUR STEAK SMALL, PEOPLE!

Exciting Events: 

  • Renegotiated the [redacted] deal. Now get [redacted] & the equivalent of [redacted] in equity. Feel fine about it. 
  • Worked on [redacted] for 2.25 hours. 
  • Completed an [redacted] chapter & sent it back. 
  • Defeated level 7 in Hogwarts Battle. KILLIN’ IT! 

Alluring Activities: 

  • Halloween in New Orleans! 
  • [Redacted]’s birthday party in St Louis. Should be OFF THE HIZZOUSE. 
  • Writing a response letter to [redacted]. I miss her. 

Travel Log 191020 (Redacted Version)

JulianLeave a comment

Start: [Redacted], Pflugerville, TX

End: [Redacted], Pflugerville, TX

Delicious Delectables: 

  • Lindor Lindt White Chocolate Truffles. ALMOST A WHOLE BAG. 

Quotent Quotables: 

  • “How good it is to have something it’s so hard to say goodbye to.” -Winnie The Pooh 

Real Realizations: 

  • Rules of the game “Freelancer”: 
    • The goal of the game is to win. You win by making the most amount of money in the least amount of time. That metric is called “hourly rate.” Increase it as much as possible. 

Exciting Events: 

  • Walked Smidge when I was all grumpy-like.
  • Performed two user experience tests for [redacted]: one each on [redacted]. 
    • Very fun process! Much more fun than I’d feared. 
  • Video chatted with [redacted] for two hours! 😄  
    • He recently attended a thanksgiving party at which he listed three things he’s grateful for. One of them was me! 
      • He really enjoys being able to sit with me in comfortable silence. Me too. And I want to become even more comfortable with him! 
    • I regaled him with stories of Myschevia and my other recent escapades. More than once, he was surprised; nay, shocked!
  • Bought [redacted] a succulent plant. 
  • [Redacted] returned from the renaissance faire.
    • They [redacted]. No wonder [redacted]! 
  • Walked Smidge again, just after it rained. It was wonderful! 
  • Teased [redacted] a bit. They said it was too much. I apologized. 
    • [Redacted]. 
    • Also, however, [redacted]. 
  • Played Slime Volleyball with [redacted]. Such a fun game. 

Alluring Activities: 

  • [Redacted] review tomorrow. 
  • Call with [redacted] tomorrow to discuss my hourly rate.

Travel Log 191019 (Redacted Version)

JulianLeave a comment

Start: [Redacted], Austin TX. 

End: [Redacted], Pflugerville, TX

Delicious Delectables: 

  • Bought 10 cans of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup. Ate 4 today, cold, straight out of the can. 
  • Domino’s Pizza for dinner. 

Quotent Quotables: 

  • “I think everyone’s more of a jerk when they’re sick. If you’re a genuinely good person when you’re sick, then there’s something wrong with you.” -[redacted]

Real Realizations: 

  • Having a place to use as home base matters. 
  • Living in a temperature-controlled house matters. 

Exciting Events: 

  • Made [redacted] for the first time in ~6 months. He doesn’t typically [redacted], esp not [redacted]. 
    • [Redacted]  
  • Woke up with a sore throat. Wasn’t sure if it was illness or just tired muscles from too much [redacted]. 
  • Negotiated [redacted] with [redacted]. [Redacted].
  • Played Hogwarts Battle with [redacted]. Fun game. I like co-ops. 

Alluring Activities: 

  • A relaxing day tomorrow. 

Travel Log 191018 (Redacted Version)

JulianLeave a comment

Start: [Redacted]’s house, South Austin, TX

End: [Redacted]’s [redacted], [redacted], Austin TX. 

Delicious Delectables: 

  • Sous vided two steaks for [redacted] and myself; seared it at the end. Was DELISH. 

Quotent Quotables: 

  • “I can’t even spell API.” – Me, making a joke after someone asks if I can help them get an API key. 
  • “Your bathroom does a great job of making people uncomfortable while they pee.” -Me, to [redacted]. 

Real Realizations: 

  • While scritching & belly-rubbing Simba ([redacted]’s cat) and sitting between him & Smidge, the feeling that I’m precisely where I’m supposed to be. 

Exciting Events: 

  • [Redacted] with [redacted]. [Redacted] fun. She [redacted]. Feels like I won. 
    • [Redacted]. I don’t mind, hey 🙂  
  • Worked on [redacted] for 2+ hours. Tried to get in touch with [redacted], presumably to discuss [redacted]. 
    • Decided my strategy in that conversation: 
      • 1. [Redacted]. Ask if we can re-approach [redacted] in the next quarter [redacted]. 
      • 2. [Redacted] in a graduated fashion. [Redacted]. 
      • 3. [Redacted]
  • Cuddled with [redacted]. It gave me the feels. 
    • Probably the first time someone’s asked me. “Can I kiss you?”. It was ADORABLE. Really cute. Loved it. 
    • Kissed [redacted] back, our second time. Felt too much, like [redacted] felt uncomfortable being not-in-control. If we kiss again, I’ll make sure [redacted] feels safe. 

Alluring Activities: 

  • Yard sale tomorrow? I LOVE yard sales!