2008, baby!!!!!!!!!

Fun Fact No. 4a: Junkyards. Stuff gets stolen here all the time, and it's really random stuff, too. Like my gas cap. My motorcycle is a bit of a piece of crap, and the parts are hardly worth anything. (Let's face it. The motorcycle itself is hardly worth anything.) But someone stole my crappy, already second-hand gas cap. So I headed out to Tacorra, the junkyard, where you can buy stolen junk. Including gas caps. For about $3 I bought a (new) gas cap. For all I know, it might be the one that was stolen from my moto. Oh well. Kind of funny, though, because I bought it from a lady who runs a stall selling (stolen) toilet seats, chains, irons, blenders, hubcaps, and scary baby dolls with eyes that open when they're upright and close when their prostrate. Creepy.

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We are now in the year in which I turn 30. Wow! I've been thinking about that a lot lately and I don't know why. I'm excited: I think that when I'm 30 I'll have to consider myself a grown-up, right? I feel pretty liberated, like I've made it this far and whew! 1978, baby! And now, all of the sudden, 2008. How time flies!

New Year's was just as chill as Christmas, although I did manage to stay awake to see the sunrise at 6am. I played with Explosion a couple of salsa tunes that I have never played before, which challenged my improvisation skills. It was only in front of 3,000 people. Are you kidding me??? Jeez Louise! But it went well, I guess, and then I just danced for a bit before going to my friend Wendy's for a glass of wine, music, and the sunrise. There's nothing like the sunrise over the Amazon river!

I really try not to take anything for granted here; I try to make everything last because I just don't know when I'm going to have the chance to come back. Furthermore, I really wish that I could just record everything to show you all. The motorcycles, motokarros, the little old men and women doubled over under the weight of a huge bushel of plantains, the river traffic, the smells at the various ports, the dogs in the streets, the unpaved roads, the full-serve gas stations, the kittens in our kitchen, even our kitchen and how it has no walls and you have to be careful not to fall in the river. This place drives me absolutely nuts and yet I am madly in love with it. I notice all these little details every day, and I want to bottle them and remember them forever: funny accents, weird hats, crazy markets, ugly mannequins in the stores, rainstorms, sunny days, ceviche, aguajes, coconuts... I'm really thrilled that this trip is going so well, so that I can have something to really look forward to the next time around.

I had a really interesting interview yesterday with a sound guy from Dinamita, another group here in town. He really made me feel great about my project, because he confirmed a lot of theories that I have about music processes here in Iquitos, and it was nice to know that I'm on the right track. Plus he was just fun to talk to. Hooray!















Here's a picture of me and the girls on New Years - Cindy, Zeudy, Wendy, and yours truly. We had a ball - the reunion tour as it were.

Happy New Year, everyone! This year is going to be wonderful!