Moon Memo: Packing List and PJ Harvey
Pre-Note: This is pretty much the last moon memo, but a little different. I just needed something to do this morning, so I wrote this, and I wanted to share it. Mostly as I repack my back, and make sure I’m not forgetting anything. Thanks for indulging me again.
Hello from packing day. I leave on the train tomorrow at 10:20, arriving in Seattle about 2 p.m. Vacation protocols are fully in place right now. Checked into work yesterday, then deleted everything. Can't even download teams onto my phone this weekend.
I spent yesterday writing. Filled a third of a notebook with random poetic crap, and got about 3 total poems: 1 very good, 1 ok, 1 pretty shit. That's a pretty good ratio. 349 poems so far this year. I'll hit 365 within the next 2 weeks. Two and a half months earlier than expected.
I do these runaways pretty consistently, have done since I was able to afford the time off in my mid 30s. Get away from the people around me and just vibe for a while. I do them on the cheap, because I like the restriction.
This year, it's The Green Tortoise Hostel in Seattle, Washington. Bunk beds in the women's dorm. Right on the market. Busiest corner on the planet, and it's only 40 dollars a night. I want to spend my money on food and pleasure.
Traveling light.
1 bag: a medium size duffle. 4 outfits (tank top, bra, underwear, socks), 2 skirts, 1 sleep outfit (t-shirt and shorts). Clipboard. Tech pouch with a charger/plug in combo, 1 foldable keyboard for my phone (so I can type up drafts in the evening), extra pens, narcan. Doppe bag with travel toothpaste, toothbrush, razor, shaving cream, meds, and lipstick. Inflatable travel pillow. Extra notebooks and pens in a little pouch. A canvas Oregon Public Radio shopping bag in case I buy some books. Wear my boots and hoody on the train. Carry on sized.
Sleep machine: the truth is that I need a CPAP to not die in my sleep, so I have to carry it on.
Fanny pack: lipstick, flashlight, writing kit (notebook, pens, business cards, stickers), Wallet, Keys. No kindle this time. I want to take one book with me, and read only one book. I don't want to stare at a screen this vacation.
And that's it.
What do I do on these trips?
Often I have a project. I take a pile of poems, and pretend that I'm going to edit them. But this time I'm going kind of aimlessly. Just going to find small corners of the market to people watch, to think, to read. Eat delicious food. Think. Decompress after 2 years of being on call. I can't even look at work things. I have to escape.
Two years ago I found out on this trip that I got the call that I had gotten the job at Outside In. I was relieved, because I was running out of fuck you money that I got from the teaching job. And now I'm here. I don't have fuck you money. But I'm starting to get that two year itch. I'll probably stay. Because no one is going to pay me to sit in coffee shops and write poetry. That's not how reality works. But I can dream. And I can use this job to escape from it sometimes.
I'm returning to the Market. I'm different now than I was then. More confident. Happier. Sadder. Frustrated. Doing the best work that I can. Writing more than I ever have. This trip is a reward. It doesn't have to be for anything but relaxing. If I write. If I read. If I eat a lot of delicious food. If I stop to watch a street musician. If I. If I. If I. Not important. I'm just going to do.
Hope you are all well. See you later.
Misha Lynn Moon
PS Saw PJ Harvey last night. It was amazing watching a musician confidently doing her own weirdness for the majority of a show. The new album is strange, and she doesn't hide from it. She made her older songs conform to her newer experience. And that is beautiful. Just be yourself.
