Nothing beats coming home after a few long days of work - taking a hot shower, getting into comfortable clothes, eating a tofurkey/tomato/fyh cheese/avocado sandwich with a banana for dessert, then laying in bed and listening to Ella Fitzgerald sing and sing and sing.

After talking last night and randomly being informed on a new visitor, I get to see Nick, sans cat, next week too! He's flying out here from Austin to hang since he's got some down time in his scheduling. I'm going to be spoiled seeing all my good friends from back home! I'm so excited. This is perfect timing.

Hangin' out is what we do best!

MY BEST FRIEND MIGHT BE COMING TO VISIT ME THE FIRST WEEK IN OCTOBER!!!

Today was kind of a bummer day. I was looking through some pictures from when I was younger with my family in Cape Cod and at my home in Connecticut which really just made me miss home a lot. I miss the familiarity of my house, being able to walk through every square inch with my eyes closed and know where I was going, waking up to my dad doing something crazy outside that I knew I should probably help with, my mom yelling about my laundry being left on the bathroom floor, and little Maggie just yelping and tick-tick-ticking her nails across the kitchen floor. I miss Dan most of all, and Lynn, Luc, Ashley, Paul, Will, Tim, even Kate sometimes; familiar faces. It's lonely being here. It's good, I like it a lot, but today was just a lonely day.

Getting anxiety about not being able to take more classes, which is what I really set out here to do, is really consistent. In due time, I hope - by next year, I hopefully will have citizenship in time in order to get the Bog Waiver to go to my classes for free at City College. Within the next month, I'm going to visit Berkeley and see what I can possibly do to somehow gain acceptance into their university.

HOWEVER - the good news is that DAN DIONNE might be coming to visit me in the first week of October, from the 3rd - 10th. I'm waiting to hear on Sunday what H&M says about him getting time off, but I would be so fucking stoked to have him here and hang out again. After spending 90% of my free time with him back home, its weird not doing it now. So, fingers crossed, I'll be going to pick up Daniel from LAX around midnight on October 3rd!!

We both look so young in this picture! If he comes, the week will consist of me gaining back all the weight I've lost since not eating with him six hundred times a day, fruit smoothies real late at night, him trying Blenders to complete the prophecy that is in fact better than Jamba, both of us agreeing to watch a movie together and then I'll fall asleep ten minutes into it, late night adventures in downtown, and hopefully getting in a fight around IV or Sharkeez at least twice with some drunk dude and his friends.

aerhioaroihjoiaah. Most confusing first day of class ever. So stressed out.

Day 2: Paddle Sports on West Beach. I love my life.

I went to a house show in Isla Vista last night with Casey. It was at the Pink Mailbox which is a pretty sweet DIY run house that holds all sorts of different touring bands when they roll through. It was all kind of a blur. I kept just wanting to be in a room full of my friends again and see Down to Nothing and Verse in Providence or Oiltanker and Hip Cops in Hartford and rage like normal. Well, pictures regardless.


Today was my first day of work with Paddle Sports, literally just sitting on the beach and hanging out. When someone comes up and wants to rent an ocean Yak, I help them bring it to the water and then help them come back in; that's my job! It ruled, obviously. I worked 9:30 - 5, then biked like crazy to get to my other job interview on State St which was scheduled for 5:00pm. It was for sumbody, an organic skincare company that is all handmade by this one woman and there are five stores in California. It's not some stupid huge corporation, profiteering off of the organic/"green" craze and they truly appeared to be concerned with consumption and the environment. With a room full of creams and minerals to make your skin prettier or your wrinkles less defined, I don't know how that fits in with consumption which leads into image and trying to turn back the natural clock and all of those awful qualities of Amerikan society. But, either way, I should know tomorrow afternoon how it goes. She was stoked on me for sure it seemed.


How could I ever want to leave this..

Greetings from California.

So, I've been in Santa Barbara for about a week now and it's been pretty stressful but it's going to rule. The past few days have been really good. I got here at 3am last Thursday and stayed with some new friends of mine for a few days - Chris, Dalan, Katie, and Eva. My good friend, Dana, luckily was able to introduce me to all of her friends from here which made the transition from back East to here that much more enjoyable and easier. Chris and everyone went to the 7 Generations CD release show in San Francisco (pick up that release) and so I stayed at The Arden House with another new friend, Casey, and her roommates which was also really nice. All of the people that I've met and hung out with so far have been really awesome and I'm glad to have run into so many good people early on.

Casey brought me to her roommate's job in one of the mountains one night where Rachel cooks vegan Indian food for this ritzy, expensive, bourgeois yoga retreat. It's buried in these huge mountains along San Marcos Pass and it's really nice. The food was amazing, of course. I've had the pleasure and total privilege of eating a ton of free food since being here. There were a lot of trails, and here is a look out point from one of the trails around the retreat -

I have been doing a lot of adventuring, a lot of bike riding, a lot of hanging out, and exploring of the city. I found a place to live a minute from one of the prettiest beaches in Santa Barbara, 1000 Steps, right on top of the Mesa near the organic food store here. I'm a five minute bike ride to my school, which rules. I am living with this really eccentric/awesome middle aged woman who lived in Mexico for ten years to get out of the United States. She made a stencil of Subcommadante Marcos for one of her design classes.

However, after moving in, I got a much better offer to 'watch over' this woman's huge one bedroom studio, fully furnished with all this really fancy furniture and top of the line amenities while her and her husband are in Africa for a year. It's only $700/month including everything, which is awesome. It's downtown, right near the beach still and a short bike ride to my school. So, I'm waiting to see what happens with that - if I can move in after my month-to-month lease that I signed here is up at the end of September. What do you think I should do?

Anyway, so I spent all day yesterday getting settled in my new place and moving all of my shit in, much thanks to Casey for assisting in doing so. She works at an organic farm with Chris, and will be giving me a huge bag full of veggies/fruit from her farm in a few minutes. Stoked! It's a good sized room in a great neighborhood like I explained. ENORMOUS closet, nice little nook that fit my bed, and everything else is just kinda hanging right now until I get hangers. Here's a few pictures, it's a lot more neat and clean now -

I have a job interview tomorrow for this organic/natural skin care place downtown which seems pretty legit and then I also start (crazy - literally just got the job today) tomorrow at this job to hang on the beach, sign people up to go kayaking on sit-on-top yaks, collect their money, and read. That's it, and it pays $10/hr. It's temporary, but who cares - it rules for now!

Everything is shaping up to be really good. I start my class on Tuesday - unfortunately only taking one class this semester which really bums me out and causes a ton of extra anxiety. But, I'm trying to make the best of it. It's a Composition and Critical Thinking Honors course, 111. Not even sure if I need it, but that'll get figured out shortly.

Been listening to a lot of Priestess, Oiltanker, Counting Crows, Pulling Teeth, Minor Threat, new 7 Gen, and Anberlin. I have hardly used my car more than twice (thankfully - since the problems in Colorado) and am loving it. So, things here rule. I mean, if you want to paypal me $10 or $20, that would be awesome - my email is clarkchristopher@hotmail.com. Also, if you want to send me a skateboard, finished or just a deck, that would be awesome; I'll pay for the cheapest shipping rate.

I miss my family and my room and my friends back home, but things are starting to feel more like a second home now here which is comforting. Home is what you make of it - my heart will always lie with wherever my family is, but home isn't Connecticut anymore. Talk to you soon.

Denver, CO.

I forgot to add these pictures of Denver that I wanted to share. I had a lot of fun in that city, it took a day to warm up to. It's a little bit too commercially and mally like other large cities in the United States. But the neighborhoods, the company and place where I stayed, the vegan food, and the views were beautiful. At any point while biking or walking downtown, you can see the Rocky Mountains sprouting up agianst the city skyline. The bike trails that embody the cities underground are great, too - they can transport you to any point in the city that you may wish to see. If you find yourself in Denver soon, make sure you're taking part in utterly dismantling the Democratic National Convention or roam around and find City o' City - a delicious vegan restaurant with an amazing buffalo grilled tempeh ceasar salad wrap and a full vegan bakery. There is a quick, not very detailed menu here and a bakery menu here.

I didn't get a chance to actually visit Red Rocks or any part of the mountains for that matter due to having all of my shit in my car. But next time, that will be my first place to explore. While leaving Denver at 5:30am in the higher altitudes and my car running on a much thicker oil than it's supposed to be, I ran into some serious car problems in Silverthorne, CO. My car wasn't running well and began smoking like crazy on the highway. I thought I was done and this was the end of my trip. To make a long story spanning two hours short, I let my little Saturn sit at a garage for a bit waiting for it to be looked at when I decided that since my entire life has been run on luck so far, that I might as well give it a try and see how far I get. So, I put some dry gas in it's tank, made sure the oil level was up, and started driving again. I made it to California so the rest is history. How is that for luck? Only me, only me.

Anyway, pictures are as follows:
First - when people talk about Denver being a natural and outdoorsy city, they aren't joking - this river runs through the city and around the bike trails that connect all over Denver.

Second and Third - two epic shots of impending doom that were huddled over Denver's sky the last night I was there.

Fourth - a shot of Arizona while driving to California.

I have no idea what I'm doing here.

I made it to Santa Barbara a few days ago. Denver ruled. The drive to Santa Barbara from there did not. I will update soon with some epic while-driving pictures through Arizona and Utah and Colorado, some pictures from Denver, and maybe a few from Santa Barbara.

Nervous. Unsettled. Curious.

Lawrence, KS

Sad to have left this little city. Had a ton of fun while I was there.


I'm in Denver, CO now. Currently sitting in this eclectic little coffee shop down the street from where I'm staying in the Capitol Hill area. I'm going to attempt to navigate my way around this city on my bike and figure out something to do. I always get nervous and timid when doing that.

Lawrence, Kansas

Today has, for sure, been one of the most surreal/awesome/weird days so far. This morning, I slept in super late and wound up walking in the rain up a big hill to try to find the museum on the Kansas University campus. I gave up and walked back down the big hill to get an umbrella. All of a sudden, I hear someone calling my name - it was my friend, Bea, from Chicago whom I haven't seen in at least two years, maybe more. She was staying with friends right down the street from me. How surreal and intense is that - having come to the middle of nowhere Kansas and seeing her here. Anyway, we hung out and went out to an Indian buffet. it was cool, not worth $12 though; total bummer. Never paying that much for a meal again this whole trip.

Afterwards, I went with John to a photo assignment for the newspaper he works for here. He went to shoot a horsemanship competition. Very odd that a vegan who feels strongly about animal liberation would find himself at such at a place, but it was still neat nonetheless. Completely different world than I'm used to.

After the competition, John and I went to his newspaper's office so he could edit some of his photos. It was a beautiful building, great lighting and great interior architecture.

After a little bike ride around the inner neighborhoods of Lawrence, we went to the bar/cafe called The Bourgeois Pig. I got an iced tea, John got a coffee, and we both relaxed outside for a while in the beautiful weather and talked. My stay with him has been great, totally hospitable and really down to earth dude.


Kansas is really pretty, Lawrence is a nice little close-knit city that maybe parties a little too much and has waaay too many frat/sorority houses. Not to mention, all of the gorgeous Southern girls who wear dresses are stealing my heart here.

Cincinnati, OH to Kansas City, MO and Lawrence, KS

The drive today wasn't too bad. Only about a ten hour trip total including a few stops and fill ups. For some reason, my car began using a lot more oil today. I can't wait to get rid of it, such a pain in the ass.

Illinois was a little bit boring to drive through - I couldn't really tell where I was. However. all of Missouri is really gorgeous. I really enjoyed that drive. Lots of lush, rolling green hills and a lot of beautiful farms.

I stopped in Kansas City for the museum this evening and I really wish I had enough time to have stayed there for a night or two. It seemed like a very vibrant and glowing city. Kind of super commercial and corporate, but it seemed to have it's positive sides. Regardless, these are the buildings I mentioned earlier at the Nelson-Atkins Museum.


And a few shots from the galleries inside, including the Human Nature exhibit about European landscapes.

Tonight, I'm staying at the Sunflower House Cooperative in Lawrence, Kansas with a very nice dude named John. He gave me a tutorial tonight on how to actually use my camera, what it's settings mean, and how to slightly edit in Photoshop. It's right near Kansas University and literally right along the same street as all the enormous frat houses. Frat row, bro. It's nice - I like it here. The midwest is a neat little part of this country.

I'm making a special stop tomorrow in Kansas City, Missouri in order to see the Nelson-Atkins Museum. It has two things that I am really looking forward to seeing: one being the Human Nature photography exhibit of modern European landscapes and the infamous architecturally stunning buildings of Nelson-Atkins which are lit at dusk, called the Bloch buildings. I'm probably just going to spend the night at the East Lawrence rest stop before actually getting into the city the next morning.

Bloch Buildings: website here.

It's been really nice back here in Cincinnati hanging out with Jason and his family. Unfortunately, Payten has gotten really sick since this morning - she has a high fever and a bad case of strep. Allie, his other daughter, spent the day at King's Island - Ohio's Six Flags. She failed her Latin test, but the school changed their policy and is willing to allow her to continue taking classes. She attends the Montessori school here. The entire city of Cincinnati has the choice between sending their children to regular public school or Montessori public school, both of which are free. I was pleasantly surprised and pleased to hear about this. The Northside neighborhood here is about the only neat place to hang out and really spend some time. Regardless, I'm having a lot of fun here.

Road Trip to California: Stamford, CT - Cincinnati, OH

So, I left home on Tuesday and drove to Stamford to hang out with D'arcy, Erik, Lynn, and Dan. We ate some Thai food and hung out for a bit. Of course, I fell asleep early while watching the new Harold and Kumar.

I drove from Stamford straight through to Cincinnati yesterday. I made a few stops in Pennsylvania, where I bought some fresh organic apples from a farmer's market off one of the exits with Starbucks.

Pennsylvania is a very weird place. I shook my head countless times driving through that state. I know three things for sure: they love god, they love making you try to love god, and they are really into their livestock. I love driving through their highway tunnels buried within the mountains, though.

Ohio was nice and flat - a very easy drive. It took twelve hours to make it from Connecticut to Cincinnati. I was exhausted by the time I got here.

I'm staying with my cousin, Jason, and his wife and kids. His two little girls, Peyton and Allie, are adorable. Allie has a Latin exam today for summer school, and whether or not she passes determines if she'll be able to take classes for 8th grade. And this morning, I woke up to Peyton playing Guitar Hero.


Today, I'm going to eat at the vegan restaurant in northern Cincinnati called Melt. The menu is here. I'm pretty stoked - the vegan chili sounds awesome. Later tonight, I'm going rock climbing with Jason. Then Saturday morning, I'm leaving here for Lawrence, Kansas.

More updates later..

I went to Cape Cod with my sister for four days before I leave for California last week. It was really nice and relaxing. We stayed in West Dennis and went to a few different beaches. Ever since I was four years old, my family spent a lot of time in Dennisport. So, for one of our last days, we spent some time on the beach near Dennis Seashores.

It was good to spend time in one of my last few favorite places on the East Coast with my sister - we don't hardly get to spend enough time together. Here's a few pictures. Still trying to figure out how to use my camera..