Trip to Cambodia-- Phnom Penh, Part 3

Today was animal day! We were venturing out to see The Phnom Tamao Wildlife Refuge, I was a bit wary but the websites all said that all the animals were rescued and even though it had the word "zoo" in the title that it was better than what a standard zoo is.




As we wrapped our heads up in our dust protection and mounted the tuk-tuk, we giggled and attempted to take photos of the crazy traffic in Phnom Penh--that I found to be safer than the stuff in Korea because everyone drove much slower in order to deal with the lack of rules, but in Korea it's official policy to honk your horn and switch on your hazards as you zoom through red lights or make illegal left hand turns. We rode through the city and out through the country for about out an hour and some change before we got to the zoo. We paid the $5 for foreigner admission (as opposed to the $1 local admission) and went in. No body was there to hand us a map, tell us where to go, or offer us an official guide. So, we did what the boys trying to get us to pay them $10 for a day of walking us through a huge park told us to do--we just went right in. With in seconds, Wendy and I were nervously laughing as we realized we were in an enclosure and that we had no idea what kind of animal was in there with us. Turns out, it was a larger enclosure around smaller, more depressing ones with lots of macaques. Lots of them. These macaques were used to being fed by dumb tourists who bought the sugar cane bits from the boys for 50 cents. I did not want to feed the monkeys as I know that monkeys have sharp teeth and attitudes. This all goes in to a later part of the day that Wendy finds amusing and I find terrifying and stupid. But I digress.

We were walking and laughing at the idea that we had no idea where we were going and how this would never happen in the lawsuit happy States, when we saw them. The macaques. A small family group of them, and they were approaching. Wendy and I started walking faster to try and get out of that area. Wendy grabbed a stick.
I started to retreat. Then our savior, a local kid (actually around my age) who went to school occasionally to learn English so he could do the tourism thing came in and was able to guide us to a place the monkeys would not bother us. He knew the names of the animals and their temperaments, so he was totally worth the $10 we paid him. Aside from the fact that he saved us the trouble of finding a clean hospital in which to get rabies shots should he have been 5 minutes later in intercepting us.

We wondered around the zoo, I was upset by the size of the enclosures for most of the animals. Particularly a sad, lonely, cateracted gibbon who was so starved for contact that it was safe to hold his hand.

Wendy paid the 50 cents for sugar cane so we could toss it to the monkeys, I was nervous as I didn't want them to get impatient and jump us, bite us and take the cane we weren't dishing out on time. We fed some deer-like things and all was well, until... We left the big enclosure (the macaques wander free through out the park) and started feeding them outside the gate. Wendy handed me the bag of cane ("Oh, shit, no!" was all I could think after I recalled all the warnings from my anthro class from 5 years back) and laughed as I struggled to throw the cane out faster than the macaques were circling. I did not enjoy my brief adrenaline rush.

I was happy with the Free the Bears enclosures, inside of the zoo there was something I would actually call a sanctuary. The bears had plenty of space

, and Wendy and I were able to watch some cubs playing and having a great time in their enclosure. There were lots of enclosures for the bears rescued from being used for their bile or other parts used in dirtier and cruel Chinese medicine (it's not all just useful herbs). Free the Bears is run by an Australian woman and is top notch.

The elephants broke my heart. They were taken out for walks a few times a day, but most of the day they were kept in stalls. They also make the elephants perform on Sunday in order to pay for a prosthetic foot for one of the young elephants. While I agree with the cause, there are better ways to go about paying for it. The elephants should have a bigger enclosure during more hours of the day, but I am happy they get to walk the park and bathe in the lake a couple times a day. I cried for the newly rescued bull elephant who was chained because he was so afraid of the animals who had abused him all his life (humans) that he had killed seven of them. I don't know if he's still alive, he was at risk of being euthanized if he killed an 8th person. His eyes were full of sorrow and fear.

The lioness and cubs were also an issue for me, the male lion was lounging comfortably in a huge enclosure, but the lioness and cub were in a small, concrete cell because the lion didn't "like" the cub. Supposedly, all the animals are rescues, so this place is better than where ever the animals came from but it could be run in a much better way.

The birds didn't have enough space to fly. This is one of my biggest problems with some of the best rescues, including Currumbin in Brisbane, Australia (I've emailed them and talked about the bird enclosures, the reps have offered to Skype with me to discuss their cages), the birds do not have enough space to do what they do. At best, there are a few feet of gliding space in a low enclosure. I understand wanting to keep the "attractions" where people can easily see them, but wouldn't seeing them flying be cooler than seeing them sit?

I don't really recommend this place, unless you're going to the Free the Bears place (their program is more expensive than admission, but I feel better about what they're doing).

On the way back to the road to get home, Wendy and I got sexually harassed by a girl who was picked up by our tuk tuk driver without our permission. She was trying to get money from us, was eyeing our purses and then started to try and massage Wendy and me on the knees and thighs...multiple times, after we clearly said "No." She popped my fingers and tried again with the leg grabbing and purse leering.

That night, we ate at a restaurant that was touted as being vegan friendly and awesome. Wendy got sick that night and I was sick the next day (like bundled up in 85* weather with humidity sick, and needed to be not five seconds from a bathroom at any given time).

We paid to bump our tickets out of Phnom Penh up to the next day, happy to leave the madness and disappointing nature of the so-called attractions of Phnom Penh behind. So worth it!

Plastic State of Mind

Sneak Peek!

Upcoming topics:
Adventuring in Siem Reap! Follow Wendy and me as we:
--> Climb ancient temples! (One of them was used in the filming of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Dooooooom!)
--> Help orphans by watching them dance and return the next day to teach them to play spoons (Wendy) and sweep up leaves (me).
--> Bike to a lotus field and stuffing our faces with lotus seeds!
--> Fail at getting good massages!
--> Visit a zoo (boo!) and sanctuary (yay!)

Buddha's Birthday! My friends Erika and Allison came with me on an adventure to a temple that is only open to the public for the night before and day of Buddha's birthday. It was beautiful!

My second temple stay! Allison and I stayed at a temple this last weekend, we did 108 bows and my thighs still hurt.

My current reading! I'm reading "Crazy, Sexy Diet" by Kris Carr and really loving the book (though, not all of the ideas are really easy for my gluten/sugar/caffeine/alcohol loving self to implement).

I promise to post at least twice this week.

Love!
Sarah

Trip to Cambodia-- Phnom Penh, Part 2 (aka "Don't look 'em in the eyes!")

More on Day One:
When we went looking for live music was pretty sad, we had just gotten terrible massages from Seeing Hands Massage and it was really awkward and the massage was not good. Despite what the reviews say, I would not recommend anybody go to this place. Wendy and I called ahead, to make sure they could take us and when we got there we had to wait (I should have known something was up given the odd vibes in the room, everyone seemed uncomfortable or anxious) we were separated--Wendy went upstairs and I went to this room in which three other people were getting massages, that's fine I thought it would be like a clinic at a massage school just in a room that looked like a prison shower or something like that. We were given loaner clothes to put on. I was told to put my belongings in a locker, but not told where to put the key, so I just kept it by my head. The massage therapist (they are all supposedly trained) didn't speak English so there was no, "What areas do you want me to focus on?" and since we couldn't gesture at each other to speak I just settled in to receive whatever I would get for my $7. The massage was okay, not great and not what I would expect from a trained masseur nor something that was raved about on websites all over the place. The massage therapists were chatting to each other as they worked on us folks, and occasionally someone would announce something over a loud speaker or come in and tell the Seeing Hands folks something (I'm assuming checking to see who would next be available as the guy working on me would check the time each interruption). At best, it was a subpar massage. At worst, an awkward way to spend an hour. So, not bad, but I wouldn't recommend it. Wendy had a more dynamic experience and would probably be happy to demonstrate the vigor with which she received massages in Cambodia. It's not pretty.

When we departed from the super weird massage place, we opted to check for the bar Equinox, which was advertised (yet again) on Lonely Planet's site as having live jam sessions. It was because of this recommendation that it jumped to the top of both of our lists. We got in a tuk-tuk, again thinking the driver would know where something was--especially since it was marked on a map--and were thankful that everything is a flat fee. The driver was asking directions and checking different streets for a while, before finally dropping us off at Equinox. When we got inside, it was dead. No music. >.< When we asked what time the jams started (on the Lonely Planet website it was listed as something like 6-9), the women working the bar informed us that the jam wasn't happening that night but the next night (the website had also said it was every night--it looks like it's been updated since). So we walked around the tiny street it was on to check out what else there was in the area--nothing. We followed the map we had toward a park we had passed on the way out. People were doing dance classes in the park! To crazy hip hop tunes! We had to check it out.

We bumped into two girls from Europe (one Russian and one German) who were looking for a restaurant in the area and we had to join forces to figure out where it was, the map wasn't that great, but I did figure it out for them. ^_^ And Wendy and I were off again to find the dancing crews.

We came to this large round about, I believe it was the Independence Monument or something, and couldn't figure out how to get across--there was no cross walk, no overpass nor underpass for pedestrians. We were stuck. Would we have to flag down a tuk-tuk just to get to the other side of the traffic circle? How did people do it?

While pondering these cultural questions, a German(?) man in his 50s (?) came up and asked if we needed help. We said, yes and that we had no idea how to cross this lane that led into the traffic circle and we just wanted to get to the park. His advice? "Don't look them in the eyes." He went on to explain that the Cambodian driver mentality was that if you made eye contact you were going to yield, if you didn't make eye contact, it fell on the other person to work around you. This stranger basically told Wendy and me to blindly walk into traffic! Wendy and I laughed hysterically thinking he was joking. But, no, he was serious. We asked him to join us on this death inviting action, and he gladly did. Stepping off of the curb and into four lanes of oncoming traffic. We followed. (Dad, please breath, I survived)

Sure enough, the drivers didn't hit us--I have no idea how close they got since I didn't dare look up. I was too busy scampering across the road, mentally bracing for impact and laughing and shrieking from the absurdity of it all!

When we got to the park, the dancers were gone, so we got a tuk tuk back to the hotel and crashed (fell asleep, not automobile accident crashed).


Day Two! The day to tour the major sites of Phnom Penh. Wendy and I went down to breakfast and made sure our driver was on his way. The servers were so sweet, the coffee was good, the fresh fruit delicious, and there was this astounding homemade jam (my favorite was, surprisingly, watermelon- it had something like cinnamon making it more savory than sweet). After eating our fill, we gathered our things to be touristy and see the darker side of the history of Cambodia. Neither Wendy nor I had known anything about Pol Pot before coming to Cambodia, but we quickly learned how nearly everyone 30 years or older had been directly affected by the Pol Pot regime and those in their 20s had siblings, cousins or other family members who had either been murdered or tortured by The Khmer Rouge. Our driver had a brother who was taken, since his father was a professor (or maybe a secondary school teacher) in a village. He was lucky to be left alone, since even toddlers were brutally beaten to death by this regime, and that his father was allowed to live.

We started our day at Tuol Sleng Prison and Genocide Museum, which used to be a school but was converted into a prison during the Pol Pot rule. The grounds were actually beautiful, there were magnolia and palm trees in the courtyard
and the skies were clearly visible and blue. The weather was warm and beautiful. The buildings felt out of place in the natural beauty of Cambodia.


Inside the rooms were photos of some of the victims, ranging in age from infants to the elderly, and in some rooms there were loops still sticking out of the tiled floor with bits of chains still attached (I kept tripping on them). Pol Pot killed an estimated 1.7–2.5 million people because he wanted to restart civilization, he chose these people as victims because they had shown some form of intelligence and free thought. All around the grounds where signs requesting people keep a somber mood (or that's what I'm assuming since I can't read Khmer):



In some of the rooms, there were cots and photos of how people were tortured and killed in the prison. Electrocution, burning, bludgeoning, bleeding and all sorts of forms of torture were used. Here's the (poorly translated) rules of the camp:



After this light-hearted affair, we went out of the city limits to visit The Killing Fields where trucks of people were brought to be killed and buried. There were many disturbing things in this area, the stupa
full of the bones and clothes of many of the victims found in the mass graves, the tree that was used to break the skulls of toddlers and small children, the ditches that were once full of dead bodies and the tree that was used to hold loudspeakers that would play music to drown out the groans and screams of the victims. We ran into the two Euro girls there, Phnom Penh has a small town feel if you're just hitting up the touristy things--like sites of mass murder.


Next, we headed back into town to see the Royal Palace, it was nice and big like palaces are, but I wasn't that into it. There was a Pagoda/Temple on the grounds that had silver tiles on the floor (This is the Silver Pagoda), but the tiles were mostly covered by rugs.Buddha told his followers not to make statues and riches in his name, but monarchs will be monarchs and they built this gaudy place to celebrate an aesthetic monk. Wendy nearly fell into a display case trying to stand in front of a fan, that was pretty awesome. ^_^ We were laughing pretty hard during the day--trying not to do so too much at the more somber locations, but not always succeeding.




Finally, we had planned on trying to take in The National Museum, but we opted for lunch then heading back to the hotel to try and catch the Apsara Dance performance again. We had lunch at a place that looked popular, again being underwhelmed with the food, not that it was terrible, the service was kind of shotty and they were really bad about the veggie thing.

We failed at going to the dance place, but we opted to go to a pretty awesome restaurant near The Tuol Sleng Prison and Genocide Museum, The Bodhi Tree. The Bodhi Tree had good food and good wine, it was directly across from Tuol Sleng, so that was a bit creepy at night, but the grounds themselves were beautiful and the service was pretty good. A little slow, but they were super chill and I think they were just hanging back to be non-obtrusive. They covered the tuk-tuk since I only had big bills ($10s and $20s) and neither the restaurant nor the driver could break them, and just added it to the bill. Pretty cool. I'd recommend this place to anyone looking for good food, it was a little pricier than other restaurants, but was delicious.

Blog Work Ahead

I'm typing up my first days in Cambodia. I didn't take enough photos, so I'm going to do my best to describe things, but I'm not a refined writer so work with me.


In the mean time, check out these cute animals!

Trip to Cambodia-- Phnom Penh, Part 1

Lunar New Year, the halfway point (nearly) of my contract! I had been looking forward to this trip to Southeast Asia since I found out the dates of available vacation time (and that I wasn't, contrary to the assumptions of all teachers here, able to just choose when I would go) and the plans were in the works! My plan left Incheon at 11pm, so I went home and dumped my work stuff, baked some no-sugar, hemp protein pumped banana bread and headed to the airport.

On the longer flight to Malaysia (all Air Asia trips are routed through there), I had planned to sleep, and did for a bit but the plane was super bright for a lot of the trip and everyone else seemed to be awake. I was sitting near a Russian family, so I was trying to eavesdrop and decipher their conversation in between naps. Oh, the exciting travelling I do.

Landed in Malaysia at 5 something in the A.M., and walked through their super low security airport, found a Starbucks--it didn't have chai in any form WTF?--the heavens opened and I grabbed a latte. For whatever reason, the woman checking passports in the line I was in, was super slow and five people in the longer line would pass by the time she opened the book of one person in ours. Whatev's. I got on the plane to Phnom Penh on time. On this shorter leg, I sat next to a couple of Aussies on their first trip abroad--they were 17 and pretty cool.

We landed at 7 or 8am--I felt like it was closer to 3pm, and I parted ways with my plane buddies. Despite Phnom Penh being the capital of Cambodia, its airport is super tiny--not many tourists hit up this city. I was picked up by a driver from the Le Biz Hotel (Wendy graciously made the hotel arrangements ^_^, so I was already pumped because I wasn't going to have to deal with potential hostel drama--rare as it is) and relaxed into the beauty of the surrounding area.

Then we hit the city. Holy crap. The traffic! It seems there are no rules in Cambodia with driving, but I still feel safer than in Korea because folks drive much slower and will stop if someone doesn't seem to be paying attention (more on that later). So many motorbikes and tuk-tuks (a motorcycle with a 4 person trailer on the back)! It was a sea of people and pollution. The skies were blue, the air was warm and everyone was beautifully brown. I felt like I was home.

I got to the Le Biz and they were touching up the breakfast spread, and they had an espresso machine! Oh the joy! After settling in, showering of the travel funk (in the simultaneously future and aggravatingly not separated from the rest of the bathroom shower with voyeur window), and doing a quick taking of the room, I went down stairs for coffee, fruit and baguette. I didn't need a parka. I didn't need thermals. I didn't need long sleeves. It was 80* at least. So nice, when I left Korea it was just below freezing. I sat outside in a skirt and tee shirt! Checked my Facebook and email using my iPhone and the hotel's wifi and waited to set out and collect Wendy that afternoon.

Phnom Penh seems most comparable to a touristy city in Mexico, lots of street vendors selling food, trinkets and such. Buildings not quite up to any code, teeming with life, clothing out to dry, cars and noise everywhere. I wondered around the area by my hotel, immediately felt that this area wasn't as safe as Korea but that I would be okay in the daylight. There were monks in saffron robes with yellow umbrellas weaving through the traffic of the streets to go pray and beg for food or money at the hotel and surrounding restaurants. There were several auto repair shops in the area, and lots of bakeries but nothing really worth checking out, so I went home after wondering down an alley that had tiny stands and shops. I accidentally walked through some sort of Buddhist (I'm assuming) ceremony (there were monks sitting on one side of the alley and a restaurant on the other with people folding fabric while others watched--I hope I didn't ruin a wedding).

I napped for a bit after working out in the room, then headed out to the airport to meet up with Wendy.

Wendy had had quite a trip already, and was telling me all about her adventures through Laos and Thailand--it all sounded pretty cool, and I'm hoping to be able to experience the massages and food of Thailand come August. ^_^ The hospitality of Thailand sounds like something I'll really enjoy, and other vegans have told me that Thailand is one of the easiest places to be vegan in the world.

We got back to the hotel and made a plan to take in the Apsara dance show after dinner, so we set out to find the recommended restaurants by the Mekong river. We couldn't find the restaurants that were on the map (later during the trip we did, but it turns out our tuk-tuk driver didn't know where anything was) so we just went to this huge restaurant on the side by the river with an extensive menu. I handed over the list of things I don't eat and they said "no problem," then brought out spring rolls with shrimp in them. Grr, shrimp was on the list. They switched them out (or removed the shrimp, I don't know) and Wendy and I dove in. The food was okay, the wine was alright but the company made the meal!

After eating, we flagged down a tuk-tuk and tried to get a ride to the Apsara Dance Academy touted as amazing in Lonely Planet, but unknown by any of the people at the hotel as well as this tuk-tuk driver. He didn't tell us he didn't know, he just drove around asking everyone for directions. It ended up being too late for the show anyway, so we went back to the hotel (or maybe this was the night we tried to find the live music, but I think the music search happened the next night or later).

So far, not the best tourist experience, but it was warm and I had a familiar face near me! I was enjoying myself despite the hiccups.

Eric in Korea: The Final Days

So, I'll just quickly sum up the rest of Eric's visit. I'm sure most of you have looked through the Facebook photos and heard about it via talking with either me or Eric.

The day after we came back from Jeju, we went to the DMZ. We had to get up at the crack of before the sun came up to get to the USO office in Seoul by 7am. We were tired during the outing, but it was a great experience any way. The snow added to the surreal nature of the DMZ. We were told of skirmishes and all the land-mines still buried under the preserved land. Our tour guide was a humorous Philipino-American who kept apologizing for his pretty perfect English. Eric and I were able to stand on North Korean territory, it was pretty cool. I napped on the bus rides and Eric crashed when we got back to my place at 2 or 3 in the afternoon.

The next day, Eric and I met up with my friend Allison to get lunch and hit up the Korean War Museum then the Picasso exhibit at the Modern Art Museum. Korea's war history is pretty fraught with losses, but the museum stands triumphant and proud as the people in this country. Our lunch was delicious Thai food in Itaewon. When we got to City Hall and found the Picasso Exhibit, it was getting darker and colder. We got some Ho Ddeok (cinnamon and sugar filled pancake-things) and entered--a palace? Turns out the Modern Art Museum is inside the grounds of a smaller palace in Seoul. The exhibit was pretty awesome. Loads of artists packed into a tiny three story museum. When we finished up at the museum, we stepped outside to a glorious view of Seoul. Skyscrapers lit up with scaffolding and flashing, huge television screens in the background, and directly in front of us the buildings of the old palace, tastefully lit so their traditional architecture and painting highlighted at night. On the steps of the art museum, viewing the hodgepodge that is Korea, the stillness of the snow and the silence of the palace grounds, as we exited our fairy tale land of painted interpretations of life, hit us as the encroaching and imminence of modernity roared in the not so distant outer world. I don't know if we got dinner, but I'm assuming we ate something. ^_~

Next day was New Years Eve, this was an epic adventure. Eric and I started out in Bupyeong with my friend Jeffery and his friend (whose name I'm totally blanking on) got dinner at the local (only) Indian (Nepali actually) restaurant. From there, we headed into Itaewon to meet up with a group at The Wolfhound (they have alright veggie burgers there--not that we were eating again-- and beer that tastes good!). After we had a couple beers, we followed Jefferey to City Hall to see the celebration he said happened there every year (I think it actually happens at Jongo 3ga, but hey, I trusted his experience). We got there and there was nothing happening. There was a giant digital clock, but no seconds. A small crowd of Koreans was gathering, so maybe there had been something there last year. Eric pulled out his iPhone and we counted down despite the lack of pomp. After trying to buy wine but realizing the store didn't sell corkscrews, we opted for cheap beers from the 7-Eleven (yes, they're here too) before heading to a rockabilly show in Hongdae (the partying place of Seoul).

The RockTigers put on an amazing show and I have a crush on the lead singer whenever I'm at the show. She's a Korean woman with short hair! Unheard of, the men like women with long, straight hair, so until they are safely married the young women straighten out their long locks--then chop it all off and perm it when they turn 50. And tattoos! Tattoos are taboo and illegal to get in Korea (though there is an underground community of artists here), so you know people with them are bad ass. All the band members have tats. They are great musicians and all the male members (everyone except the singer) have Pompadours. The bass player has an upright with flames painted on. Amazing.

After the rockabilly show, we followed some slightly annoying girl to my favorite place here (though, I've only been there this one time)--Club 500. 500 is like a scene from Matrix Reloaded. The club looks like a cave, you're supposed to remove your shoes usually but on New Years they had us keep them on, and there are little alcoves for the dancers to find sanctuary. Trance, dance and pop music blasted from the speakers and there were instruments for people to jam on. At one point there was a jumprope game using a string of flags someone had brought in. The only down side was the bar kept closing so the folks could take breaks, so I had to walk to the local Family Mart (or possibly a 7-Eleven) to get water.

After we were all (except me! and those I cared for enough to share water with) dehydrated and tired, we headed to a norae-bong (singing room) to wait for the buses to start running again (5:30am). They had some impressive music, "Origin of Love" and "Gay Bar" were two of my favorites. They had bad beer, so I was sober pretty much after The Wolfhound, I'm such a stickler for taste. I was exhausted though, and the company was not top notch at that point--we had picked up a few stragglers and a couple of them were pretty annoying, despite most of the folks being solid.

Eric, Allison and I departed from the Norae-bong at around 6am to find the buses. Allison used her mad knowledge of the subway (aka, her subway map and having been to the station we were near before) to get us to the bus stops we needed. Eric and I had to stand the whole 45-60 min home, Eric fell asleep standing up. We passed out just as the sun was coming up at 7:30. Woo. Happy New Year.

New Year's Day 2011. Sleeping until 2pm. Anxiety over sleeping when I want to be awake and spending time with Eric. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Meeting up with my friend Erika and her awesome boyfriend Lucas for drinks, then their friends Danielle and Lise joined us later. Then home again, home again to crash.

Sunday. Souvenir shopping in Insadong. A memorable anniversary (4 years! Crazy, right? I was 19 when this thing started, now I'm 23) dinner with Eric at Namsan Tower's revolving restaurant. They custom made a vegan menu for me. Everything was delicious except the main dish--stuffed red pepper--sadly, it was basically rice with some over-powering kim (seaweed) inside of a tasty pepper. We sat down to dinner just as the sun was setting and we got to watch Seoul light up as night fell. It was amazing. Totally worth the $100 a piece. After dinner, we had to rush back to Bupyeong to meet up with Allison to catch Tron. That meant I had to do my homework the day before and watch the original for the first time ever. I loved the original for not taking itself too seriously and it's complete adorableness. The re-visitation; however, left me feeling bleh and disappointed in the hype over the visual and music. I don't regret seeing it, just felt like it could have been done better. It was pretty and I'm sure Daft Punk had put more into the soundtrack than the overplayed overture.

Monday. The dreaded Monday of separation. We slept in, then ran around Bupyeong collecting random things from the Underground Market, lunched at First Nepal (I had meant for us to make it to Sandal Baram, but we didn't have time after waking up around 11). We got back to my place and had to head right back out to get Eric to the airport. Emotional goodbye.

Then I was a wreck for two weeks. Insomnia and depression hit like heavy-weight champ.

I'm all better now! I do miss everyone a hell of a lot, but I'm doing well out here. I'm gonna look like a rockstar next time ya'll see me in person.

<3