Tag: roaches

Mac’s moving curveball

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Turns out I wasn’t the only one…

It wasn’t long after booking the trip to the states that I upped and left my apartment for greener pastures in Perth’s northern suburbs.

The move was a significant one – just 25 kilometres in distance but providing a greater, roach-free space to work in and towards my goal of meeting Mac DeMarco in New York in October.

Planning is what I’ve been doing in my spare time since – the trip has provided something significant to look forward to and proven a welcome distraction from all my other responsibilities.

HOWEVER, all the planning in the world couldn’t have accounted for the fact that DeMarco – an adult human in his own right – would also move house between booking the flights and setting off.

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Turns out even famous people move house, and Mac’s move – a 4500-kilometre relocation from the east coast of the US to the west – probably has my move north of Perth’s surprisingly divisive Swan River covered in terms of significance.

With six weeks to go before boarding the plane to New York the move is a curveball which has left plenty to think about.

The options from here are as follows.

Option 1: Contact Mac, go to LA

Pros:

  • Could lock something ahead of time
  • Get to see another part of the US
  • Achieves what I set out to do at the start of the year
  • Would be a serious adventure
  • Generally more inclined to wear Chucks than Ballys

Cons:

  • Where do you start – I’ve sent an email?
  • Could be expensive and disruptive to the overall trip
  • Would only have a day or two to pull it off

Option 2: Make no contact, go to LA

Pros:

  • Would pretty much be the ultimate story if it came off
  • Adventure factor high
  • Get to see more of the US
  • Generally more inclined to wear Chucks than Ballys

Cons:

  • A casual 3.9 million people in LA. Wouldn’t know where to start.
  • Expensive, disruptive and pretty much impossible

Option 3: Stay in NY, visit the tenants at Mac’s old place

Pros:

  • Quirky, pretty neat if it works out
  • Fiscally responsible

Cons:

  • I have no idea who lives at the house, what if they don’t drink coffee?
  • Lack of physical Mac DeMarco
  • Generally more inclined to wear Chucks than Ballys

Option 4: Stay in New York, have a sensible holiday

Pros:

  • Fiscally responsible
  • Ample time to do self-guided Ghostbusters walking tour
  • Accommodation already locked in

Cons:

  • Significant lack of Mac DeMarco
  • Sensible
  • Still more inclined to wear Chucks than Ballys

At this stage option 1 is the preference. It was never the intention to make contact ahead of time, but the game has changed pretty significantly.

I’ll let you know.

Roaches and records

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Note: A lot of blogs I’ve read open with a cheery welcome post. Through no fault of its own this one doesn’t, but it picks up. 

It was an unbearably warm Saturday evening spent alone in a roach infested two-bedroom flat in Perth’s southern suburbs. The apartment – my apartment – had helped me back on my feet, but a lot had changed during my time there and things felt really stale.

The recent changes – a relationship breakdown, a loss of interest in my only hobby and the cancellation of my plans for the evening – added up to feel heavier than the sum of their parts, and as such, things were pretty flat.

I was moving in a few weeks time and most my stuff was packed, but instead of making new plans that evening I sat among the roaches and the boxes and tried to keep the roaches out of the boxes and honestly felt really sorry for myself. It wasn’t a great night.

Pretty much the only thing I hadn’t packed was my record player, and having spontaneously picked up a copy earlier in the day that was when I first listened to Mac DeMarco’s Another One.

I like DeMarco’s work, but I’m no fanatic by any stretch. That said, there was a moment on Another One which particularly stood out. It wasn’t even a song. At the mini-LP’s conclusion the Canadian crooner, now residing in some weird part of New York, blurted out his address and invited the listener around for a cup of coffee.

Normally an invite to anyone who cared wouldn’t elicit a second thought, but in these circumstances it did. I’d never had any motivation to travel to New York before so I slept on the idea, but within a week I’d booked my flights to JFK – initially in September by accident but eventually in October like I’d intended. And so began a plan to travel several thousand miles from the world’s most isolated city to one of its most populous and drink a cup of coffee with a complete stranger.

I’ve read that people have made the trip before, but I’ve not heard of anyone going from Perth to do so. Provided he’s home I guess I’ll know for sure in a few months’ time.