Maji's blog: "Majifornia"

After 67 days on work travel, Im back in what seems to be my residence.

The house seems, strange, stale. Echoes of the toss-about of hurriedly getting ready to leave 2 months ago, frozen in time. Much reorganizing to do.

After driving from Ventura to Palm Springs to San Diego earlier in the week, I had one afternoon/evening left  in SD to go walk about. Tired of course, but still feeling the obligation to fill every moment with, something.

So on a whim, I rode down Tijuana.  That was, ....an experience.

The place has its own, aroma. An ever changing climate of wafts shifting between between musty old city concrete, with clouds of street fajitas drifting by, followed directly by the sewery pungence of the aqueduct.

The vendors are very persistent, and hungry for a dollar. The streets are lined with miles of trinket shops, and bartering abounds with every step down the sidewalks. Mexican Monty Halls, all up in your face, lets make a deal. If they say something is 35 dollars, just start walking away, it quickly becomes 6 dollars.

I parked and walked in the border, vs driving, which turned out to be a good decision. The re-entrance was a traffic jam of epic proportion, and plus the street traffic is very bustley and aggressive, and pretty much ruled by lil taxis zipping around everywhere.

I made it to the end of Revolution Ave, where the city's huge Mexican flag is in plain sight, and then over the plaza where the monument arch is located.

I only had one slight altercation, where a young marketer agreed on a price of 8 dollars, handed him a 20, and he tried to do the flip over with one dollar bill in hand, and inform me that he needed 7 more dollars. I caught him by the other wrist and asked him to unclench his fist before he could get it back in his jacket, revealing the 20 I handed him. He ensued with the ole family to feed bit, and we kinda laughed it off, to which I changed my offer to 4 dollars, and he stopped laughing, paused,  I turned to leave, and he agreed to the latest offer, with an "ok, I guess I deserved that" scowl upon his face.

After much apprehension, I finally became subdued to the fantastic smell of the real mexican food in the marketplace, and braved a fajita thingy, cant remeber what they called it. So far, no gastric upheaval, looks like I survived.

Then back to the Hacienda, hotel in SD from my pics. Took a qucik walk thru Ole Town again, and after a few bars coolapsed back in the very nice room.

Yesterday morning, I embarked on my journey home, a 10 hr flight connecting in my rabbit foot airport Atlanta. Once again, I landed within eyesight of the escalator bar, and plopped down for my 3 hr layover. After about four 12" tall mugs of draft I was humming along pretty good boarding the last flight.

My band mates picked me up for the airport, and soulful reunion to top off a long day. I really missed, my car. I sat in the lot getting to know her again, and apologizing for leaving her alone for so long, to which she warmed up finally and settled down into her very attractive low end rumble, to which was an affectionate purr to my ears.

My long-term fee was 476 dollars. My travel dept is going to shit BBs. I am prepped for next week to remind them that I drove to the office that very morning to ask if someone would like to take me to the airport, to which they directed me to just use long term and they would square it up when I return. That however was under the original pretense that I would be gone 2 weeks, not 70 days. Its gonna be interesting.

Today, Im a lagged frazzle of a human being, adjusting to 3 hrs in the future, to which I have to prepare for tonights gig, a festival in an adjoing county, of which serves as a reunion of my former popular band. We are headlining, last, with absolutely no rehearsal, just an emailed set list. A live practice in front of a crowd. We've done this before and it always clicked, and we got in the groove. Of course, I was not in the cloud that I am now, so Im hoping I will be on my game, wish me luck.

So anyway, less than 20 hours, I am packing once again, only different. Guess what I will be doing Sunday?? .....phew