JamesDonovan

I distinctly remember a certain night in the summer of 2003 when I was waiting tables at Landry’s Seafood House. I took care of a table that started at disaster and then quickly proceeded further downhill. While I certainly could have avoided my own mistakes, many were honestly outside of my control. However, as any former or current server knows, you should never blame a colleague for your table’s gripes. As a result, my table berated me the entire meal; all to my face…but entirely in Spanish under the assumption that I couldn’t understand them. News Flash: This is Houston. It may not be Miami, but Spanish is pretty integral to getting by here; however cursory the exposure. Spanish is my second language, and I understood everything they said to me that day, but I played ... read more

Note: I wrote this at the end of the stay in Ubud, Bali. It is not intended to be a generalization of the island, nor the religion of Hinduism, in general. _____________________________________________________ I think Jenn captured it best, “I want to subscribe to the Balinese religion”, referring not to the island’s majority religion, Balinese Hinduism, nor to the country’s dominant religion, Islam. (At this point, if you haven’t yet done so, check out my blog entry on Jakarta, then come back and follow along. The Indonesian islands of Bali and Java are vastly different places). There is something so seemingly simple, yet fundamentally obvious about how the Balinese people live their lives. Strangers, upon greeting you, clasp their hands together against their chests. This symbolizes harmony between good and evil at the moment. They will also ... read more

Singapore to Brisbane (8 hours; Depart 9:30 am Sunday, Arrive: 7:30 pm Sunday) Finally into the last hour (#37 since I left my house) of this long journey. It could have been a lot worse, but I do kind of feel like I’ve been tossed about in a tumble dryer. Here are some fun stats from the trip: · Hours of sleep: 2+2+2 = 6 (I actually do sleep well on flights, but never really got into a nice stretch; flight attendants waking me up to eat still blows my mind. That “do not disturb” button doesn’t always imply what you think it does) · Hours spent working on music: 10 (mostly because I had to re-record failed attempts at two different sets – part user error and part “see above comment on Do Not ... read more

Houston à Moscow (12 hours; Depart: 4:50 pm Friday, Arrive: 1:50 pm Saturday) So, the fastest way to get to Singapore from Houston is actually through Moscow. If you fly Singapore Airlines, you take the same plane the whole way there and refuel for an hour in Russia. Gate to Gate, it’s about 24 hours total. I’m fortunate enough to fly business class on these long haul trips, so that makes it easier. (That said, SQ’s economy is still top-notch). Anyways, I started this flight by working on a music set to record for Jenn on my laptop DJ program. I am by absolutely no means even close to calling myself a DJ, but if I could be anything when I grow up, it would be a DJ/producer. Unfortunately, I only discovered this a year ago, ... read more

Back in 2010, I headed over to the UK to spend a few days working in Liverpool. It was a bit last minute and required a move that I’ve done all too often: the suitcase swap. When I have two adjacent trips, I’ll pack two suitcases and leave one in the car at the airport. Then upon arrival, run out, switch bags, and head back in catch the next flight. This time I was going to drop off the work gear, meet up Jenn, and catch a flight down to Costa Rica for my buddy Paul’s wedding. I had a few hours cushion, so it was tight but very possible. Unless of course, some freak accident occurred. When I went to check out of my Liverpool hotel, the clerk asked if I was going to the ... read more