Going Home... I Wish.

Ibby • Jul 4, 2006 12:41 pm
Goddammit, it looks like the next time I'll be going back to Maryland to see my girlfriend and my other friends will be september, if not later.

Anyone wanna donate to the Give-Ibram-Cash-So-He-Can-Buy-Plane-Tickets Fund?

Feel free to send cash to:
4170 AIT Taipei Place
Dulles, VA
20189-4170

I wish I was kidding.
xoxoxoBruce • Jul 4, 2006 12:43 pm
What do you think about masturbation now?;)
Ibby • Jul 4, 2006 2:03 pm
I never had a single thing against it
richlevy • Jul 4, 2006 2:55 pm
Wait a minute, you're in Virginia, and you need a plane ticket from Maryland?
Ibby • Jul 4, 2006 3:03 pm
I'm in Taiwan, and I need a ticket TO Maryland.

That VA address is the AIT building in the states, any mail sent there for the overseas residents is sent by dip bag over here.

Oh yeah, address the envelope to Jason Shepherd.
footfootfoot • Jul 4, 2006 10:34 pm
Did you explain how you came to be in Taiwan and I missed it?
Ibby • Jul 5, 2006 2:16 am
I know I've mentioned it elsewhere, but I moved here in January, long (well, not that long I guess) before I found the Cellar. My dad is among the first like, five US military personnel assigned to American Institute in Taiwan (the embassy-in-everything-but-name).
Pie • Jul 5, 2006 9:56 am
I know you stated it somewhere on the cellar before, but how old are you, Ibram? I know, I'm nosy.
Ibby • Jul 5, 2006 10:12 am
I'm an indeterminate age somewhere older than 13 and too young to drive.
Pie • Jul 5, 2006 10:27 am
:thumb: You give me hope for America's youth.
Ibby • Jul 5, 2006 11:44 am
Psh, thats good, cause I've lost all hope for America's youth.
footfootfoot • Jul 5, 2006 12:43 pm
Maybe plthjnx can hook you up if you buy the gas.
barefoot serpent • Jul 5, 2006 3:59 pm
footfootfoot wrote:
Maybe plthjnx can hook you up if you buy the gas.

gas, grass or ... oh, n/m:p
footfootfoot • Jul 6, 2006 9:06 pm
See now if he were in Thailand, now that would be a horse of a different color. You know what I'm talkin about... [/stoner dude]
Ibby • Jul 7, 2006 2:14 am
Hahaha, while I was in Thailand a couple months ago, me and some of the dudes I was with were actually offered some ganja. We couldnt, though...

Taiwan, on the other hand, has a death penalty in place for all drug dealing (and having anything more than like, one joint is considered dealing).
footfootfoot • Jul 7, 2006 7:39 am
I'd say the death penalty is enough of a deterrent for me.
zippyt • Jul 7, 2006 9:37 pm
They don't play in that part of the world ,
I once saw a public execution in Pnang ,
slang • Jul 11, 2006 4:57 pm
Ibram wrote:
I'm in Taiwan...


Could you post some photos from there?

[SIZE="1"]Or maybe you have and I didnt see them. [/SIZE]
Ibby • Jul 11, 2006 6:07 pm
As a matter of fact I have some cool pictures I took at the National Center For The Preservation Of Culture or whatever it's called...

...somewhere...
Ibby • Aug 27, 2006 9:44 pm
13 days.

I am finally going home.

13 days.

I'm overjoyed beyond words.

I'll only be there four days... buuuuut...

How many of you live relatively near DC? [SIZE="1"]And have room for a runaway to crash?[/SIZE]
breakingnews • Aug 27, 2006 10:35 pm
Wow, are you making the trip just for four days, or do you plan to go somewhere else longer? That is a long fucking flight for a weekend getaway, although I completely understand.

I've got an open-ended return trip but I have no idea when I will use it. I also at this point have no clue whether I will buy a one-way or roundtrip ticket when I come back ...

What airline you flyin?
glatt • Aug 27, 2006 10:42 pm
Ibram wrote:
[SIZE="1"]And have room for a runaway to crash?[/SIZE]


I'm near DC, but can't help you with that. Sorry. How many laws would I be breaking to help a minor to runaway from home over international borders?

What's going on, Ibram? Is everything OK?

If you somehow find yourself in DC and are low on cash, there's a decent Youth Hostel near the new convention center. Two weeks from now, summer will be over, and most youths will be back in school. They should have plenty of rooms.
Ibby • Aug 28, 2006 10:02 am
Eh, I was mostly kidding. I dont think I'm gonna run away. I wish, though.
footfootfoot • Aug 28, 2006 10:04 am
In your other thread you said you were queer, and in this one you miss your girlfriend. What gives?

Not that it matters to me, just trying to keep things clear.
MaggieL • Aug 28, 2006 10:31 am
Ibram wrote:
And have room for a runaway to crash?

There's always Blue Grass Airport. Oh wait...you said "run-A-way".
Stormieweather • Aug 28, 2006 11:38 am
footfootfoot wrote:
In your other thread you said you were queer, and in this one you miss your girlfriend. What gives?

Not that it matters to me, just trying to keep things clear.



If I recall, Ibram is bi and his girlfriend is bi. He also likes the androgynous look.

Did I get it right?

Stormie
Ibby • Aug 28, 2006 11:20 pm
Got it.
Ibby • Sep 6, 2006 10:15 am
Oh man, four days.

I have now nominated this thread my blogthread like a few of you have going, so I'm gonna use this thread to take down thoughts I have. For future reference. If a mod wants to rename/move it or whatever, coo'.

Today I actually conciously realized what's been kinda semi-bugging me for a while about the cellar...

It's older than I am.
Pie • Sep 6, 2006 11:12 am
So are most of the good things in this world. ;)
Don't worry; you'll catch up. Then you'll wish you were back where you started.
Ibby • Sep 6, 2006 11:58 am
Oh, I'm sure, but I never really think about how young I am. I live in the past, 1980's is recent to me and I wasn't even around then! I prettymuch think in terms of time like this
Fuckin' Old (Pre 1960ish)
Early 60s
Late 60s
Early 70s
Mid 70s
Late 70s
Early 80s
Mid 80s
Recent years
breakingnews • Sep 7, 2006 3:55 am
embrace the new millennium. you'll want something you can call your own at some point. you'll never really have been part of those eras, as much as you might try.
</dumb-bored-at-work-comment>
Griff • Sep 7, 2006 7:11 am
My brother has a convoluted pop music theory explaining the need to know the historical music before moving out on the edge.... he's kinda full of crap. hmmm... might be genetic.
Ibby • Sep 7, 2006 7:31 am
I just have utter contempt for about 98% of post-1989 music. And utter contempt for about 98% of things that arent music.
Spexxvet • Sep 7, 2006 10:15 am
98% still leaves a whole lot of good music since then. About 20 years ago I stopped studying recod jackets, album covers, and memorizing words. I also don't go out and buy a CD just because it's by an artist/group that I like (the last Bowie album I bought was Tonight). Nowadays, a good tune with a nice hook and some pleasant vocals can make me happy. Meaningful lyrics are a cherry on the top. Since '89, I've liked work by Third Eye Blind, Good Charlotte, Sublime, Beck, just off the top of my head.
9th Engineer • Sep 7, 2006 12:00 pm
Out of curiosity, what makes up the 2% of recent music that you don't think should be ritualisticly destroyed? I have close to no musical knowledge, so if it's obscure I'll have to google it.
Ibby • Sep 7, 2006 11:24 pm
Most of the 2% is not stuff I like, merely stuff I don't dislike. I do like Tally Hall, Lodger, The Darkness, Dragonforce (google them, amazing power-metal), Wolfmother, a bunch of bands that just refused to die (shredders like Vai and Satch, the Stones, you know), Primus... and I have a soft spot for shitty 90s pop like Sugar Ray and Smash Mouth.
Griff • Sep 8, 2006 7:08 am
Ibram wrote:
Most of the 2% is not stuff I like, merely stuff I don't dislike. I do like Tally Hall, Lodger, The Darkness, Dragonforce (google them, amazing power-metal), [COLOR="Red"]Wolfmother[/COLOR], a bunch of bands that just refused to die (shredders like Vai and Satch, the Stones, you know), Primus... and I have a soft spot for shitty 90s pop like Sugar Ray and Smash Mouth.

They've been getting a lot more play here. Great sound!
Ibby • Sep 8, 2006 11:13 am
I'm not a huge fan, but theyre just classic rock-ish enough for me to like.
glatt • Sep 8, 2006 11:18 am
What do you think of Rusted Root?
Ibby • Sep 9, 2006 12:35 am
never heard of 'em
Ibby • Sep 9, 2006 2:53 pm
Well, this'll probably be my last cellar post for about a week or so, the plane leaves in a few hours, and the van picks us up here in an hour.

Wish me luck, people.
Spexxvet • Sep 9, 2006 4:11 pm
good luck, have fun, don't run away.
wolf • Sep 13, 2006 3:11 am
glatt wrote:
What do you think of Rusted Root?


I dig them. Ibram, you need to hear these guys.
Griff • Sep 13, 2006 7:02 am
I agree wolf, but I'm thinking Ibram isn't ready for them. He has to work through this Ziggy phase first.
Ibby • Sep 16, 2006 1:14 pm
Aaaaand I'm baaaack!
Clodfobble • Sep 16, 2006 4:53 pm
How was your trip? Did you get to see your girlfriend?
Ibby • Sep 16, 2006 7:27 pm
Of course I saw her, that was the whole point of the trip...


...but leaving never does get easier.
xoxoxoBruce • Sep 16, 2006 8:15 pm
Welcome back. :D
glatt • Sep 16, 2006 9:49 pm
How was it? Did you spend enough time with your sweetie?
breakingnews • Sep 17, 2006 10:56 am
yeah, how many times did you hit it? hope you got it out of your system for however long it will be until the next time.
Ibby • Sep 17, 2006 1:59 pm
Hahaha, thats funny.
Wait, you were being serious?


She wont even make out with me yet, for reasons unknown to either of us (though I have a suspicion that it's because i want her to). However, she doesnt mind a good bit of, uh, attention given to her chest, and as long as i'm not in her pants, then... other reigons are okay too.

However, I had the stunningly terrible luck of getting there the day her period started, and the one day I was there that she wasnt on it (and therefore completely ready to kill me if i put one toe (or in this case finger) out of line), she... wasn't in the mood, to say the least.

Oh well. So it goes. Thats not whats important anyway. Being in her arms is more important than being in her pants. In fact, I'd completely rather get none at all as long as I live than be with someone else. And at this rate, that'll turn out true.
breakingnews • Sep 17, 2006 9:11 pm
sorry <enter bitter disenchanted quarterlife-crisis refugee>

How old are you? I remember that exact frustration with my first girlfriend (frosh year of high school), using the SAME exact justification with my cooler, more mature friends who had already had the fortune of dropping their v-cards to slutty sophomore and junior chicks desperate for attention during those hazy high school booze baths. To my credit, this girl was in fact very pretty and had ENORMOUS tits, and at the time I was wholly satisfied just making out and handling her funbags. And by "handling" I mean MJ-style molestation: I'm surprised they didn't rise after I kneaded them like pizza dough.

It only took a year to get a feel of the furry thing she kept downstairs! There's still hope for you, my friend.

Sadly, I have to say that everything changed once I got a taste of the "real deal." By senior year of high school and certainly first year of college, sex was no longer an issue: either you were hittin it, or you dropped it like a bad habit. I do not mean to trivialize the emotional aspects of relationships as an adolescent, but that was the fact of the matter. There were the exceptions, but how much was "put out" unfortunately became directly proportional to my interest in a girl. My friends would all say the same thing.

Then you go through that whole episode just after college, with the pregnancy scare and that weird purple rash that hasn't quite gone away yet, and you begin to understand the benefits of long-term monogamy. The emotional support isn't bad either, especially after a depressing three-day coke and liquor binge. But I wouldn't know anything about that.

</hasn't-gotten-laid-in-a-while rant>
footfootfoot • Sep 17, 2006 10:13 pm
BN calling it.
Rock Steady • Sep 17, 2006 10:43 pm
Ibram wrote:
... Oh well. So it goes. Thats not whats important anyway. Being in her arms is more important than being in her pants. In fact, I'd completely rather get none at all as long as I live than be with someone else. And at this rate, that'll turn out true.


Even in their fifties, the cuddling is what women want most. Men want sex, but some of us are flexible. But, I got ignored so much after our second baby that when our second baby became 16 yo, I finally had to remind my wife of men's priorities. She was apologitic and said that she really needed to hear that reminder.

It's always a struggle in any relationship, even a long term one. But, one can't be a doormat either, I have to take care of my own needs, otherwise resentment builds up.

With the kids home all the time, we take hotel "vacations" just two miles from home. Sometimes, one has to be creative to make things work.

At your early stages of relationship, your flexibility and patience is a great virtue. It will serve you well.
Ibby • Sep 17, 2006 10:57 pm
Well, its gotten me through... 1 year, 8 months and 11 days so far, so hopefully it'll hold up longer...
Ibby • Mar 25, 2007 6:50 pm
Home in four days.

Busy month for me, no?
breakingnews • Mar 26, 2007 2:53 am
How long are you going for and what are you doing there? Details details ..
Ibby • Mar 28, 2007 5:59 pm
Between my PC crapping out yet again and the flight leaving TOMORROW (!), I probably wont be on much at all until the eighth or so.
TheMercenary • Mar 28, 2007 6:09 pm
Rock Steady;266397 wrote:

With the kids home all the time, we take hotel "vacations" just two miles from home. Sometimes, one has to be creative to make things work.


Ha! we do that.:love:
Ibby • Apr 7, 2007 3:56 pm
I go home to visit my girlfriend... and she dumps me. Fun.

I may be a little out of it for a while, guys. Bear with me.
xoxoxoBruce • Apr 7, 2007 4:22 pm
And you didn't think she'd find out about your Parisian crush. That sucks big time but not unusual for long distance relationships. Don't be looking for someplace to pin the blame. It's not your fault, or hers, or your folks, or the US Government. It's just the way it works, despite the fact you feel like somebody stomped on your balls, broke your guitar and gave you the flu.

On the up side, you'll have a much better appreciation for the blues and a better grasp for the lyrics of half the songs ever recorded. Time will help and in the mean time get on over to the pluckers.
Clodfobble • Apr 7, 2007 6:16 pm
Sorry to hear that, Ibram. :( Don't be too much of a stranger, we're pretty good at helping out the emotionally destroyed around here.
TheMercenary • Apr 8, 2007 11:13 am
Ibram;331714 wrote:
I go home to visit my girlfriend... and she dumps me. Fun.

I may be a little out of it for a while, guys. Bear with me.


Sorry to hear that mate.
Ibby • Apr 8, 2007 1:09 pm
Actually bruce I do blame myself... For having a cock, for being a guy.

And you thought I had gender identity issues before...
Griff • Apr 8, 2007 7:01 pm
Ouch man, that was a cold homecoming. Write a song and eventually move along. good luck
Ibby • Apr 8, 2007 9:07 pm
Nah, I'm still her best friend and we're still on good terms; it was about as 'mutual' as getting dumped can get. I'm the one who encouraged her to come out of the closet, because the closet isnt a nice place to be. I just want her to be happy. She's still really upset about it, possibly more so than I am, and so shes not doing so great (and really, really sick to boot - its between strep, lyme disease, and fucking lupus at this point)... but as soon as she starts feeling a little better about it I may too. But I know I don't really want to move on - not in a stupid pathetic live-in-the-past way, but because I want to be there for her always, because I always want her to be happy, because being her best friend with a crush is better than moving on and losing her.
Beestie • Apr 8, 2007 9:35 pm
Ibram;332061 wrote:
...But I know I don't really want to move on - not in a stupid pathetic live-in-the-past way, but because I want to be there for her always, because I always want her to be happy, because being her best friend with a crush is better than moving on and losing her.
Do what works for you but I never thought much of that idea.

Don't make an emotional commitment to someone who won't make one back. Its just not a good idea. Its like riding in the trunk.
breakingnews • Apr 8, 2007 10:07 pm
Really sorry to hear it bud.

But that is the way the cookie crumbles. Growing pains - you'll look back in a couple years and laugh, followed immediately by a bit of tingling nostalgia.
Ibby • Apr 8, 2007 10:53 pm
Beestie;332069 wrote:
Do what works for you but I never thought much of that idea.

Don't make an emotional commitment to someone who won't make one back. Its just not a good idea. Its like riding in the trunk.



But I mean, we're still like, unbelievably close, and she said herself that it might be, that she hopes it is, a "phase". I personally say its probably not, but... we're still best, best friends, and she still loves me, just 'not in... that way...'.

Even if it is the wrong, uh, course of action... it's the one I want to take, for her.
xoxoxoBruce • Apr 8, 2007 11:53 pm
So you really want to be a lesbian?
Ibby • Apr 9, 2007 12:06 am
Wait, what?

I wouldn't want to be monosexual of any flavor. I'll never understand monosexuality.
Note that that doesnt mean monogamy.

Where's that even come from?
xoxoxoBruce • Apr 9, 2007 12:17 am
You said you were hampered by having a dick and the chick came out of the closet.
Ibby • Apr 9, 2007 12:59 am
Yes, that is what happened. I still dont understand what you meant, but... okay then.
Clodfobble • Apr 9, 2007 2:28 pm
He's just saying that if you were a lesbian, then she'd still want to be your girlfriend.
DanaC • Apr 9, 2007 2:32 pm
Ibram, I think you are probably one of the most emotionally mature youngsters i have encountered. A lot of lads would have turned away from her entirely at this point and I think it's to your credit that you are still willing to be her friend. She's obviously going through a lot right now and I would hazard a guess that your friendship is probably one of the most valuable things she has.
Spexxvet • Apr 9, 2007 5:09 pm
xoxoxoBruce;332135 wrote:
You said you were hampered by having a dick and the chick came out of the closet.


Kids today!
Ibby • Jun 28, 2007 7:22 pm
As of about one hour from post time, I'm pretty much incommunicado until mid-to-late July.

San Francisco, Clarksdale Mississippi, Alabama, and Maryland. Whoo.
BigV • Jun 28, 2007 7:35 pm
Safe travel.