Lara's Exploits

June 2, 2001 im still in barcelona, i know i was leaving and im still here coz i met the entire population of street performer punk anarchists and got taken in, so im living in a squat, which rocks, we stay out all night dancing on the beach, drums and fire puoys and juggling and no ones had a shower in weeks, but i went to the beach and had one there, fuck it, and we got chased by the secret police and jumped the metro all day and see the sun rise from our highrise scenic sqaut at dawn as we break in over the wall to the ex military zone we are occupying. very exciting. gonna go to london tomorrow anyway, samia said i could stay. yay, be great to see her again. i¥m just loving it, its total anarchy - no stopping us. great people and i fit right in, getting better on the puoys, thanks for worrying and keeping me in your prayers everyone. i¥d given up on this place, but now im just really glad to be here and having constant new fantastic adventures and barcelona is awesome. i cant decide if my life is like some of the more impressive using stories <8without the using, or just my best fantasies. love you all, lara June 10, 2001 hi everyone, especially michael, mum, kelly, bridget. well its raining in london, suprise suprise. i took a night off work, as i could barely stand and sooo tired i couldnt focus, everything felt surreal and 2 dimensional and my skin felt like a velvet suit, it was quite bizarre. it should have been another night like the last, where i start at before the sun goes down and ride my pedicab around the streets of london for 10 hours, hopefully getting fares and not too many uphill, long haul jobs. many of my customers get off and push, i guess i must look that knackered, then i take a rest, cool down, it gets cold so i keep moving, trying not toget lost, and before i know it, its sunrise and i'm crossing the thames on my way back to the base. the other rickshaw riders are a crazy, international mix of squatters, travellers and illegals, not a nornal haircut amongst us. great crew. so last night, megan and i walked into brixton, past a car crash and a burnt out house, asked a cop for directions and he said, keep going past the drug dealers on the left and you're there, and we got dinner and caught a movie called croupier (check it out michael) and went to a cafe i went to last time i was in brixton (8 mths ago) where i met a guy called abdel, who took me out dancing and let me call australia on his mobile (remember that sat morning call on your mobile kel?)-well he walked in and we met again last night. i feel much better for the rest (like you mum) and am keen to get working again tomorrow night with load of energy and fitness, this time. i am having a hard time getting enough food and rest into me to compensate for all the energy im outputting. will definately have xena thighs soon. June 28, 2001 hi guys, it's 3:35 am and i'm in London city, taking the night off but being nocturnal now... i'm working 3 days only this week, and it seems to be helping my knees. i'm one of those exceptionally good earners so it's not too much of a drama. the only downside is that ive had to hang around the squat, or avoid the squat actually, and that has been trying. but today i picked a flat to move into. I will get the lock made tomorrow, and move my stuff in then all i have to do is sort out the electricity, water and gas. a good supportive little community in these flats, squatting is quite a subculture here. so i'll have my own place. it's bare but fairly clean and the carpet is in good condition. the toilet and sink are another matter (smashed up), but i will have access to perfect ones in the trashed flat adjacent. i get really happy about simple things, like a hot shower (after a few days without), toilets with lights, paper and doors; being part of a fun scene (rickshawing) etc. the writing is going well. some if it is just writing itself: my dreams follow a narrative and continue in installments and all i have to do is write it down. beginnings and middles i can do, but endings are proving to be more difficult. i feel very positive about where i'm at, where im going and the infinate potential of life. think i'd like to do a week as a buddist monk while in thailand, collecting food in the mornings, and living a simple monastic life. it's encouraged. got plans to learn to surf, go snowboarding for a season maybe, be a writer and run the sydney marathon. travel around a bit in oz, as the seasons suggest. more tattoos. ahhh, getting tired. gotta go. lots of love whereever you are. Lara Aug. 2, 2001 hello everyone, i just wanted to write to you all to tell about what i did today. i just turned 3!!! i finally got my tattooist happening and spent the day at his place getting art work on my leg. i just let him do it freehand without a sketch, because he knows what i want and i have confidence in his work.... and after 5 hrs under the gun i have emerged with the biggest most wicked vine design up half my body: it;s so much more than i could have imagined, and cost an absolute fortune (you dont want to know). and the drama that i went through to get to this point with him, you'll have to wait to read about it in my memoirs... but it was worth the money and worth the wait and the worth the crises and sacrifices. it's not coloured or even shaded, like i said it's huge. but i can get the colours and shading done somewhere later (and less expensive)when i have my pain threshhold back. what was interesting was the different sensations that various parts of the body have. for instance, ankles are an intense but enjoyable pain, back of the knee feels hot and excrutiating, front of knee area shoots pain up into the stomach, thighs are climb the walls and sing ouch, hip bone is screaming sharp agony, and one part of the back of the leg feels weird, like a drumming reverberating on the muscle pain, and calfs hardly hurt at all, except on the shin bone. so i have just undergone this total experience where i put my body as a canvas in the hands of someone else to create, and let go of the controls and just was at one with the physicality of my body on a primal level, and some seconds stretched to infinity as the sensations overwhelmed me and all i could do was breath, and wait for those endorphins to kick in. ok enough of me sharing my tattooing experience with you all. last week in london.. its raining, imagine that. I'd better do some work or at least try to ride in this state. before im out of here and land in thailand, then on to laos and vietnam etc. thats me. thanks for letting me tell you all about it guys. lots love,l Sept. 12, 2001 today i met a caged cat who looked the size and shape of a domestic cat, but was wild and had spots. she hissed and glared at me for a while, then calmed down and told me her plight - poor caged feral, and i offered to give her freedom through my eyes via her dreams - a kind of astro dream projection vicarious travel thing that one is apt to master after long periods of confinement. im reading a book called mr nice an auto biography of howard marks " he was britians most wanted man. he has just spent 7 years in america's toughest penitentiary. You'll like him." it's great. i think i'll have it finished easily by thailand and can give it to inmates at the prison there. in vietnam so far, hue was pretty cool, i saw some groovy sights on my bicycle ride: ducks wading in a gaggle thru mud, little piggies running around, verysmall children on very big bikes, old old ladies selling their wares, and pig motorbike delivery services. hoi an is not much more than dress shops that don't interest me and pretty architecture, and a crazy surf beach. i hired a motor bike and rode there and swam in the hot ocean in the rain,fully dressed, before riding back into town and smashing my bike straight into this big wall. i just seemed to accelerate into it. no damage, no drama. i visited an orphanage and hung out with the kids, gave them crayons and they smiled, laughed and screamed, my heart went out to the little abandoned special needs kids. all in all i had an amazing time there, met and hung out with some great women, young and old, most of whom don't speak any english. i can count to 100 in vietnamese, say im a vegetarian, i'm sick, and the usual social niceties now. on the beach that they all rave about in nha trang, i counted 5 shoes, an eggplant, dead filleted puppy ( ithink), loads of rubbish and shit and no waves. i love travelling alone. it dont matter how fond i am of my travel companion (mum, claire, michael ) i still prefer to be alone in my exploring. ifind it easier to just see what happens. im eating alot of garlic (?!) and inviting any one dining alone to join me. these are new directions for me. i would normally not sit down to eat alone, now it's an opportunity to meet interesting people. oh my god i just read that and laughed - it sounds like i'm keeping my new companions at a safe distance, but no the garlic is to deter malarial mosquitos and make my horrible flu subside. am really looking forward to the buddist retreat, in thailand in a few weeks. it's a 10 days of silence affair. am in dalat now. it's cool, so my fever isn't the source of constant sweating, fresh veges are the region's specialty. thats all for now, lotsa love, lara Sept. 27, 2001 michael, i think it's a great idea to write a story about your adventures. that's my whole philosophy on life after all. i like the bit where i go having adventures in order to have some good material, and the rest sort of takes care of itself.... just returned from a day at ankor wat: it's a 3 day affair seeing the temples and very draining physically, but then there's such awesome power in these thousand year old immense architectural masterpieces, that it's kindof energising at the same time. i wasn't expecting anything, just figured i should see one of the 7 wonders while i was in the neighbourhood, and i must admit i was blown away. the sheer size and magnitude of these buildings, not to mention the intricate and incredibly beautiful carvings- i close my eyes and see nagas (multi-headed serpants) and godesses and mandalas in sandstone. i did half of the time barefooted - a tactile treat in the mud and soft stones. it is the wet season here -so very few tourists - some of the temples i was all alone, most are deep in the jungle and covered in bright green moss and huge banyon trees growing up through the buildings, twisted roots strangling and collapsing the stones like giant hands from above. and gigantic faces in stone in every direction, eyes closed, serene smile... made me smile and had a very peaceful feel to it. wow. Oct. 29, 2001 nice to hear that the place i bailed out on (krapi) was indeed crappy. i flew through malaysia, the perentians were paradise but after that i found myself in kota baru and it was a steaming pile of crappiness indeed! but kl rocked, i knew someone there but hadn't got their contact details and arrived spontaneously too, so it was pure luck that i ran into them with in 12 hrs of arriving. that way i knew a whole scene of underrground alternative diy punk rock anarchistic dudes. we hung out. and i met the funniest guys on the train and alternated company and joined forces etc, had a great time. but thennit was time to leave for singapore and i hadn't had any luck with my travel agent to change my ticket to go to brisbane (without sacrificing large sums of money, all my ongoing flights and my firstborn child), so i rocked up at the airport with a ticket to sydney for the morrow and sed, let me on the flight to brisbane today. ok. fuck, that wasz easy. so here i am. it's so beautiful here this time of year. all the jacarandas are spilling purple allover the streets, the sun is out and clouds are fluffy, the breeze is cool, i can run for 1.5 hrs and not want to stop because the sights, smells, sounds are so delicous... botanic gardens, city scape from the kangaroo point cliffs, new bridge, riverside, southwank, i'm so blown away with being here. and the crazy ex boyfiend from hell is fantastic! all healthy and together andvery in love and treating me like a prize gold plated princess gem goddess, as it should be. no i didn't do the marathon, but will be going to sydney this weekend by thumb, to spend a week with my dad, who's due out of hospital soon. so there ya have it everyone, lots of love, lara