Remember that time when King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard played a show in the capital city of Mexican controlled Southeast Asia?

I was on a road trip between Australia and Europe. I was incredibly nervous; I had no idea how to navigate in Asia and knew nothing about local customs. It was going to be difficult to navigate the web of bridges and ferries that would take me north though New Guinea and Malaysia.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I made it to the Mexican owned region between China and the Indian Ocean. Finally, a language and custom I was used to! I drove north to the capital city to catch King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard live in concert.

The show was rocking. It was a small town, so nobody expected a big name band to show up. The venue was overrun with fans. People were climbing up on the rafters, even the band was playing up there at one point. But something was off... The band members were all dwarfs!

It was soon realized that this was not the actual King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. Despite how great they sounded, there was an outrage. What a scam! The band was ousted. 

I later heard that the real King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard played a show after being petitioned by the city. Unfortunately, I was already on my way.

My trip to Italy

It's been a long time since I've been able to trip abroad. But alas, I finally found myself in Italy.

I arrived with Tay. We rented a car and were staying in a nice hotel, and we had plans to visit Florence the next day. She wanted to make an authentic Italian meal for dinner, so I set off to the grocery store. I was sent to pick up three things; prosciutto, pancetta, and this pre-packaged pasta dish that I have since forgotten the name of.

The store was a fairly small marketplace that primarily sold beer and wine - very clean and modern. It was a simple setup as a square around a central aisle. Impossible to get lost. However, everything was in Italian.

I could not find anything! I couldn't even ask for help! I did find some pancetta and ended up searing it off right in the store. I was frantically looking for the other two ingredients while trying to keep the pancetta from burning. I found the pasta and then left to find the prosciutto, and when I came back I couldn't find the pasta again! I checked every shelf, every aisle, but it was just gone! I snacked on my crispy pancetta. 

Tay wasn't very enthused with the whole situation, so we broke up and she left. 

I woke up the next morning in the hotel and saw the rest of my family. I caught my grandfather as he was heading out to Yosemite for the day. I ended up walking around town with my parents, aunt, and uncle. Uncle Brian was not wearing a mask despite previously saying how much he believed in them. (Note: he called himself a birther, but I think he meant it in the context of saying he was born knowing masks are necessary. I think.)

I hated driving in Italy. Everything was confusing to me even though I had rented a big American pickup truck. I was exhausted and looking for a parking lot to sleep in, and in doing so ran through a red light and almost plowed into oncoming traffic. After having some issues with my brakes, I was finally able to pull into a parking spot for some much needed rest. 

I had intentionally parked next to another large American pickup truck. I guess I thought I'd feel safer being in similar company. The area around my neighbor's truck was absolutely trashed; there were panties everywhere! I met the owner, who was very proud of his Italian "conquests".

The man was a surfer looking guy from Minnesota. I never caught his name, but he looked like a cross between me and Dave Grohl. Nice guy.