Last Post Stateside

Yesterday was a free day at SFMOMA so I spent the morning strolling through pop art, surrealists and Calder "Constellation" sculptures. I particularly enjoyed the building's architecture and the way light streams through the skylight above the 5th floor catwalk. Mostly, though, I realized how being in the museum made me feel distant from real lives being lived around me. Much of the art is conceptual or intellectualized and almost seems to negate the reality of human experience.

Contrast that with my afternoon wandering around Chinatown. My favorite part was a small park where groups of old men huddled around mah jong boards and gambled. At first I felt a little apprehensive about being the young white guy with a bandanna in a group of old Chinese men, but I reminded myself that to make the most of my experience abroad I have to set aside these fears.

Other than that I spent the day wandering around the city, enjoying the weather, and also battling the contradictory emotions within me-- excitement, apprehension, doubt. Mostly it's just sunk in that I already miss Kate. Yesterday I remembered so many travel realities-- aching feet, parched throat, hungry belly, endless walking. Muscles lengthening and becoming leaner, shoulders knotting up, skin bronzing and salty.

In the evening, Jeremy serenaded me with songs I remember from the Williams house-- old folk songs and Elliot Smith and Ryan Adams. We drank tall bottles of Kirin and listened to Elliot Smith's "From a Basement on the Hill," which I thought was brilliant. It was the first time I'd heard the album and underscored the fact that I will be without these American amenities for the next few months.

I'll be at the airport in less than 12 hours. Today I plan to rest up, be reflective and prepare mentally.