-^-for posterity-^-

escapism.

i need to get away every once in a while. last time we were in ho chi minh city we went to one of the numerous shops that sells burnt dvds for a little more than a dollar. we bought an entire season of ‘the sopranos’. if you don’t know the show (i didn’t before watching it), it is a mini-series that goes over the trials and tribulations of a modern day mob family. it’s a soap opera with guns.

we borrowed a dvd player from a teacher, sat in the room with a bag of corn fried in butter and watched all afternoon.

it’s amazing what tv can do to your brain.

i haven’t watched tv for a very long time. i think my absence from the drug has increased its effect. i was magically transported to northern new jersey. i was a member of this mob family. my mind completely removed itself from my body and went to live in the television. my body was an empty vessel sitting on the bed.

after a few hours watching and escaping, we pulled the needle out of our arm and headed out to get something to eat. the reality of vietnam hit me square between the eyes. everything was dusty and moving. there were people everywhere and they looked nothing like the sort of people that live in northern new jersey. i drove my motorcycle through the crowded street making sure not to hit little old ladies as they warily crossed and felt utterly out of place. i wasted an afternoon and was confused to boot.