A day elapsed between the “Tavern” and now (Monday 3 August), and I am not sure how much there might be to tell!  Yesterday was another wake up at 1330 day.  This time, though, Jeff acted as our alarm clock, hopping into bed and demanding that we go to lunch.  I was, I think, still intoxicated and completely unwilling to get up and go do.  However, I dragged myself from bed and showered, only to find that Jeff had now fallen asleep and Patrick hadn’t woken up.  I took this opportunity to go for a walk around the sunlit streets of Reykjavik, and a walk down on the Saebraut.  I found the most amazing place to do yoga.  I really would like to be able to go and shoot some video down there – Viking Vinyasa Yoga.

After a short walk I headed back to the apartment to find Patrick and Jeff now up and about.  We left the apartment around 1600 and grabbed some lunch/early dinner, and then went back to the apartment.  I, frankly, enjoyed the downtime of just hanging out before another night of drinking.  Sunday is generally a low-key pub day, but today is a holiday, so more pub action was in order.  I watched the second season of Dexter while doing some more editing, and attempting to get the “Tavern” entry finished.  I think I set a personal record for commenting on the level of light outside — it was 2330 and not even dark.

We returned to Bar Bara (or Barbara, take your pick), and ended up chatting with a Canadian returning from the out games.  We were determined to not make it a late night.  So, instead of 0600, Patrick and I arrived home at 0300.  We crawled into bed and fell right asleep.

Patrick and I keep joking that we want to move here.  I don’t know what motivates that comment.  I think part of it is the newness of the place, the friendly attitude of the people, and the sheer blood-alcohol ratio that this place inspires.  It is a bit of an international gateway, but so, I think, is any foreign country.  Siem Reap in Cambodia swarmed with foreigners; Reykjavik seems to attract the European and Canadian set looking for a short getaway.  It’s like recycling, on an international level.  They come in, they drink, they leave.  I think that being abroad also allows us to feel more free in our choices about what we can or cannot do.  Siting in a fully furnished apartment, overlooking the city, and not having to go to work feels a lot better than what the reality would be.

At the same time, though, and as Act said, you have to grasp for your dreams.  What would my dream be?  I love what I do — Education — but I don’t always love how I have to do it.  That is, perhaps, what Icelanders might mean about honesty.  I think that we have so many barriers to communication in the US — afraid that we might get sued for defamation, harassment, etc.  There’s a need to be appropriate, yes, but perhaps if we were allowed to say what we feel without taking it personally we might all be saving a lot of money on anti-depressants and therapy.  As for myself, I think I would love to be able to do what I do while  feeling less personally invested in what I do — to be able to separate self-identity from work.

What would it be like, say, to move to Iceland, teach yoga, and work in education, and go out partying every weekend?  It would be no different than my life now (well, except for the partying).  The only difference is that I would be able to disconnect from all the perceptions and current issues that “I” face in California.  Those quotation marks are deliberate.  Wouldn’t it be easier to just simply stay in California, and pursue a course of honesty and hard work and hard play while still saying, “I will never be diminished by what others think?”  Does it truly require a move across oceans and countries to accomplish the simple task of being truly happy?

*Sigh.*