“Yesterday” is playing as I write this now so it explains my mood somewhat. Gets me all…

I would say this about my friends – they really care about me. Those who know about my upcoming madtrek are worried some form of mugging or dismemberment will happen to me on this madcap backpacking trip I’ve decided upon.

They’ve regaled me with tales of being knocked out in Madrid (apparently being Cantonese doesn’t make you invincible, as my Hong Kong friend Alex found out, no matter what Jet Li says) or of the Basque terrorism (don’t ask me, I have no idea what that is).

Just everything you need to hear a couple of days before you set off for four weeks of solo trekking and all out chaos. Wunder-friggin’-bar.

Of course, it’s not all naysaying. For one thing, you can always trust Marco to have a different spin on things:

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I see. I see the worms of madness digging their way into your devastated brain. I see that strong hallucinogenic psychotropic entheogenic drugs can be fun. I am glad to see it all happen.

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I’m not sure if that’s actually better than all the “You’re gonna die!”-s, but I’ll take what I get. And since I’ve started, it’s time for another round of snip-and-paste with me pal’s private correspondence with yours truly treacherous.

Taking a walk across America, I find first Gosia, who with her pet mongoose Manuel, had their own slightly less controversial trek (Boston, washington, Philadelphia, New York, Niagara Falls):

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So the WHITE HOUSE is indeed white, full of police and different kind of scary-looking security guys. We missed George but at least we found out where does he sleep.

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How reassuring. And that’s just a snippet from Washington. She promises me more, including dirt on New York. Speaking of dirt on New York, here’s Herr Wehrle:

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Help me! I miss my love. She was the one and only for me. I need my Augustiner. Of course I was talking about my beer you jackasses.

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He gets this way this time of year. That prolly explains the annual exodus of Americans to Oktoberfest. While we’re on beer, his comrade in such, Mssr. Stone, has an amazing discovery:

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I just keep meeting Germans everywhere on campus (I never knew we even had Germans around here).

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Illuminating. Like this little recipe by The Other Mike:

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I just topped off a jug of G.I. Joe’s Platoon Punch (survival beverage…vitamin fortified). Found it at the local supermarket at 50 cents for two sizeable olive drab canteens. With the added bonus that you can shake it up and throw it as a fragmentation grenade if you’re ever in a tight spot. Now that’s good shit….

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And lastly, for the line of the century, from The Other Mike’s apartmentmate, our favourite Ms. Downey, completely quoted out of context, like everything so far:

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I must say for the record, I really like boys.

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That’s a wrap, folks!

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Copyright © 2002 Kenny Mah Ying Fye.