December and a bit of November

Entered: in vim on Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 | Date: 20211221

Florida

I am writing you today from the Florida panhandle. Florida Man was on flight here. During the flight attendant's spiel about masks at the beginning of the flight, he piped up, "I think we ALL know SHE's not from Florida!" Good ole Florida Man...

The other thing I have learned on my many trips to Florida is that shoppers in Walmart are even slower than usual elsewhere. The upside is I have met some good people in this state.

Maryland

I was in Baltimore last week. Pretty sure the guy I was working with was antifa. He had the related tattoos and was at the protests, etc. This information did not take away from the fact that I legitimately liked him. We really do need a class war, not a false right/left fight. I agree with Varg Vikernes' assessment of the true opposition to the system - it is the anti-capitalists. Lip service to either side does not matter, but screw with the monetary system and you'll find out quick.

Texas

The Houston area is never a favorite of mine - sure there's Whataburger, but I can get that in New Mexico / Oklahoma / Alabama / Florida... what you do end up with is hellish traffic, toll roads (which you expect on the east coast, but always seems weird in Texas), and city culture that never quite seems Texasish. I lived in west Texas for 18 years, but southeast Texas is a different beast.

New Jersey / Pennsylvania

The never ending urban sprawl, punctuated by forest, inhabited by people who claim to be country and outdoorsy, but who drive 2 hours a day back and forth to their jobs and spend $10 daily in tolls doing so. I do not see the appeal. There are distinct regional nations in the United States, each seemingly foreign to the next. Compared to the east coast starting around DC, Californians are ultra-normal (looking through a Rocky Mountains lens).

I have met some characters in this area though. I had a guy attempt to explain theories to me that I read on /x/ years ago while I was in a plant's smoking area...

> "I know about that, man..."

> "NO WAY!"

> "Yeah, but give me your take on it..."

Makes you feel like there are pockets of alrightness everywhere. At least it has done that to me.

Empathy

I have gained some. Feels odd. I may start microdosing to increase this some more. There are other benefits besides. We'll see. Maybe having my family whole again has contributed. Well, that is one hundred percent the case, but meeting people from one end of this country to the other has helped too.