Goffer's travels

God Bless America!

2008-08-04T18:42:00.003+02:00

Having spent 77 days in the Unites States of American and lived at various hostels, some definitely better than others, in five cities across the country, I can do little else than say that it has been a remarkable journey for me, full of crazy, fantastic experiences but most importantly, full of wonderful, friendly people whom I will never forget.

And to me, the friends I've made over the course of my trip have definitely made great impressions on me, more than they themselves might think. I had expected to meet a lot of people, but this really surpassed any expectations I might have had. So, this is more than anything a tribute to them, and I have nothing more than great, great admiration for them.

So, how is my general impression after merely two and a half months in the Land of Opportunities? It is a strange, vast, wonderful, brilliant, terrible, creepy, capitalistic, funny, patriotic, beautiful place. It is impossible to find a single word that can perfectly sum up this country. But going here is like the start of a nasty habit because you impulsively want to go back to it.

However, I am looking forward to returning to Denmark and seeing all my family and friends again. I have longed to see them all again, yet it feels like I haven't been far from home due to the relative easiness of maintaining contact through the Internet. The only problem has been the time zones, but even that has been easy to overcome.

Now I have to pack my bags and leave. I do it with great ambivalence. I'll try to keep it short:

I really don't want to depart, but I really want to return.

Cheesy as well as tacky, wasn't it? But it's the God's honest truth.

Lastly, I want to thank all of my friends who have contributed to my great, wonderful trip. I love you, and I look forward to the day that ours paths will cross again. Thank you all for reading my blog, and the day I once more embark on another trip, I will likely continue my writings on this blog. Until that day, I wish you all well, and thank you very much for the support.

Comic-Con - Wow!

2008-07-28T00:42:00.003+02:00

For the last four days (five if you include the preview night where those who paid for all for days got to see all the booths before anyone else) I've been attending the Comic-Con here in San Diego. It is a immensely massive gathering of people who come to see comic book artists and writers, TV and movie producers, writers, actors and directors.

I've seen Zack Snyder who directed Watchmen, 300 and the upcoming Watchmen, Kevin Smith who did Dogma, Chasing Amy, Clerk I and Clerks II among others, Frank Miller who did Sin City and the upcoming The Spirit, Judd Apatow who made The 40-year-old Virgin, Knocked Up and produced a hell of a lot more movies. The actors I've seen include Benicio Del Toro, Samuel L. Jackson, Billy Crudup, Seth Roegen, Jaime King, Elizabeth Banks among many others. Last, but not least I've met some of my favorite comic writers and great idols of mine, Brian Azzarello and Brian Wood who did 100 Bullets and DMZ respectively.

Nearing its end, I've managed to learn a lot about comic book writing and the ways to get into the industry. It's not at all as easy as it seems. Daniel Knauf, the writer of the amazingly awesome TV series, Carnivàle, said that you had to keep writing, but one of the most recurring pieces of advice was that it was likely that you'd need to publish a novel before getting into the comic business. This complicates matter further for me, as I'm unlikely to ever publish a novel here in the US (hopefully, it'll happen some day in Denmark and if that ever happens, it's unlikely that any of the big comic companies will ever know of it). But I haven't lost hope yet, and there may be a time when I'll try to pursue writing a comic book. Perhaps some day in the future when I've written a movie script that's been picked up (yeaaaaaaah right, keep dreaming!).

In any case, I'll enjoy the last couple of days here in Comic-Con before returning to L.A. where I'll stay for exactly one week before going back to Denmark August 4th.

Busy doing nothing - and Six Flags!

2008-07-19T00:48:00.002+02:00

For the last many days I have done nothing more than sit on the couch here in Loftstel and just enjoy life. I've been partying and hanging out with people and writing, and basically also been busy doing nothing, if you can say that :-)

However, yesterday I went to a massive amusement park, called Six Flags - Magic Mountain, with three friends. It consists of numerous rollercoasters that can either give you the trill of a lifetime or a scare for life, depending on your nerve and courage. Some were better than others, of course, but none of them were particularly bad. The park itself doesn't compare to anything I've experienced before, and I'll never forget it.

In four days I will sadly leave Los Angeles. However, I will be going to San Diego which will most likely prove to be an awesome experience as I will visit the 2008 Comic-Con where a myriad of comic writers, artists and fans will unite, and as if that wasn't enough, several upcoming big-budget blockbusters will be presented by the actors, directors and writers, so I'm definitely looking forward to that.

Script-wise, I must admit that I've stalled the project temporarily as I've reached a point where I don't really agree with the structure of the story (not the entire script, just this point particularly), and I'm trying to figure out how to make it more tight. But I'll have four days where I'll probably concentrate a bit more on the screenplay.

Fourth of July!

2008-07-07T21:42:00.003+02:00

In the days up to Fourth of July, I got to see that some Americans saw it as a big deal. I knew it already, but it was fun to see how they all got a little more patriotic than usual, some even stating that it was the day of the year when they could feel good about being American. However, as it was a holiday, I had expected that to some degree. When the day finally came, I went to the Manhattan beach (not in Manhattan naturally) to drink and have fun. It was a really fun day. The currents in the sea are extremely powerful, and it was fun to challenge the waves. Surprisingly, I didn't get sunburnt even though I was at the beach from noon until midnight.

After the Fourth of July, I've been a little more laid back, as I received a tip from a couple of screenwriters here in the Loftstel about a software program by the name of FinalDraft. It is a program that takes care of all the technical details of the script, e.g. how it has to be lined up and how you need a heading for each scene and how you need to have another margin when writing dialogue. It makes everything ten times easier than writing in Word (and I got the feeling that the other two screenwriters thought me to be crazy), and I've already started my second draft of my currently 70 pages long screenplay in that program.

Today I will probably stay in and continue my work, as it is going all too well.

A little Russian Turtoise walked up the road in Los Angeles...

2008-07-03T00:32:00.004+02:00

I stayed at the USA Hostel in Hollywood for a total of four days. My opinion of it certainly improved over the course of the stay, especially because I met a lot of really friendly people and I severely enjoyed partying in the bar. At first, when I arrived, I didn't really feel welcome. Most were travelling in groups and, therefore, were more interested in seeing the Los Angeles area. I'm not blaming them, my entire trip in Washington D.C. was basically only to see the place and not really getting to know people. However, the parties greatly improved my impression because people got a lot more connected, and thanks to perhaps half of the staff (because the other half were not that helpful and considerably rude and crude), they managed to attract a lot of people to their parties and I might be repeating myself, but that made the stay so much more worth it.

I was sad to leave, especially with all the opportunities to party there, but then I arrived at Loftstel L.A., a newly made hostel in the Loftstel 'chain'. And I cannot believe how welcome I felt here when I arrived. During the day and the night, I got a warm welcome from everyone and I have yet to experience the feeling of just being right at home on the day of my arrival. So, I am very impressed by this place and the people, and I expect this stay to be just as pleasant as most of the other hostels.

And the random anecdote of the day begins with me just going outside the door to my dorm room and getting called upon to go outside to help with something. Because the washing machine is broken, I figured I was supposed to help them take that in, so I gladly agreed to. However, it turned out that a turtle the size of my fist was walking in the grass right outside our hostel. We took it in and actually found an aquarium tank in the yard (and what are the odds of finding a random aquarium tank in the backyard?) and put it in there, yet sadly it couldn't stay as no pets were allowed in the hostel. We did, however, discover that it was a Russian Turtoise, and it stayed most of the day. But it has to be the most random event of the day.

In Los Angeles!

2008-06-28T22:48:00.003+02:00

After a 'quick' stay at the Sahara hotel which was sadly subpar and didn't measure up to my expectations, except for an awesome pool where I relaxed whenever I had the time and met a lot of cool people, I have now arrived at USA Hostel in Los Angeles. The hostel is on a side street to Hollywood Boulevard, so you can walk right up and see the Walk of Fame, and there are a lot of great stores and shopping malls perhaps half an hour up to an hour's walk from the hostel, so everything is very near.

The trip from Las Vegas to Los Angeles with a Greyhound bus was perhaps the worst bus trip I have ever experienced. So many things just went wrong due to sad circumstances, and it seems that because it is an inexpensive trip, it just attracts all the freaks of the world. I think I'll have to save the sad, miserable details, but in retrospect I would not even consider any other way of travel as it has provided me with multiple bursts of laughter whenever I think back.

After an entire day's sleep the day before yesterday (due to the fact that it was simply impossible for me to sleep on the bus), I kicked off my stay with a good night's drinking, and I suspect tonight will be very similar. Nobody gives a shit about I.D. around here, apparently, and that keeps me happy. :-)

Keep commenting!

Dear, oh, dear...

2008-06-22T03:38:00.003+02:00

Well, I'm sad to say that I have forsaken this blog greatly since I left Washington D.C. It has never been my intention, but not only have I been extremely busy since I arrived in Las Vegas, I have also had limited access to the internet.

So finally, as I'm sitting on the Sahara hotel where the internet connection, which is just as bad as the one in Washington D.C., costs twelve bucks for 24 hours, I have time to settle down and write a post about my many adventures in not only Washington D.C. but also in and around the Las Vegas area.

After my last post, I went to the National Archives, the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial. It is certainly quite a walk, and also due to the intense heat, a trip on foot like that drains you completely. However, I still had fun on my last night before I left.

When I arrived last Saturday night, I went out directly to see the Las Vegas Strip on which all the colorful hotels and casinos lie. It is a magnificent sight, but we didn't make it long, as we, naturally, managed to get a bit drunk and just hanging out with people around the middle of the Strip.

Before we followed up with another night of drinking, this time a little heavier, we went to the Stratosphere Tower where there are three rides at the top of the tower. After that, we went again to the center of the strip. Though I'm still too young to buy alcohol, it certainly helps to have friends that can. And there certainly are places where they don't care about age restrictions, especially in places where the cheap beer is in high demand.

However, there was one incident that really made my blood boil. We were walking around with beer and we wanted to get on the bus. Not knowing we weren't allowed to bring alcohol on the bus (seeing as how the rules in Nevada are different and you are allowed to drink beer and alcohol on the streets), the bus driver said to us, while we were paying, that the bus was full (although it clearly wasn't), and he said: "Good luck with those beers on the next bus." Instead of simply telling us that you can't have alcoholic beverages which would have prompted us to leave the bus without any trouble, this piece of white trash bus driver apparently had nothing better to do with his time than be rude and attempt to humiliate people (he failed by the way, as it's impossible to feel embarrassed among strangers).

Still, it was the first time I really experienced American rudeness (and I suspect it won't be the last).

The rest of the night went smoothly, but it was the second night in a row I came home late, around 5 a.m., and this resulted in a severe lack of sleep.

Monday, we went on a long bus trip to the Grand Canyon. Not only was the trip a lot of fun, the sights were awe-inspiring and massive. I got some great shots I hope to share with you when I get back, if not before. It was really a fun day (despite the fatigue which really took a toll on us) and our bus driver was hilarious and had the coolest accent, like an old jazz singer.

I spent most of Tuesday sleeping because of the incredible lack of sleep I had suffered under, and I got refreshed. Wednesday I made sure to go all the way down the strip to get all the pictures I could as well as shoot a movie of the fountain show at the Bellagio, although it is much nicer in real life.

Thursday, I went out and looked at a few stores, and I bought myself a new adapter to the laptop, having forgotten the original one in Washington D.C. (this definitely being me in a friggin' nutshell). Also, it seems that every city I've been to, getting to the smaller places and the good shopping areas, you have to travel quite a while and with most metro systems or transit systems generally lacking, you need to walk a lot, and it takes almost the entire day to get around. At first, it's frustrating walking the 7,8 miles to get to the specific mall to get to the specific stores, but at least you burn all the fat you gain when you eat around here.

Friday, I spent relaxing at the hostel, that being my final night before going to the Sahara hotel. I just watched some DVD's and wrote a bit on my screenplay (now 1/3 finished and a lot more will be finished in the days to come due to the solitary hotel room where you can't meet new people like at the hostel). I just hope it'll get done before L.A. In any case, I hope I'll be able to post a bit more in the following days.

And please do continue commenting 'cause I really do love reading them.

A little late, but... Tribute to New York!

2008-06-12T20:37:00.002+02:00

I apologize for the late post. Explanation coming up...

After three weeks in New York City, I sadly had to leave Loftstel Greene Avenue. I had an awesome time there, and as I've written several times before, I have nothing but praise to that hostel and its staff. I've met a lot of interesting and friendly people that have made the stay extremely enjoyable. I really hope I'll be able to stay in contact with most of them.

So, a big thank you to all the people I've met on my trip so far! I hope I'll see you all some day.

I've had a great time in New York, yet I still feel like I've had way too little time. I know for certain that this will definitely not be my only visit to the Big Apple. I would certainly recommend everyone to go there, just for the experience.

So, the reason why this post comes so late is due to the Internet connection here at Loftstel which is terrible. You have to time your actions, so you don't click on a link when the connection disappears for a few seconds. It's annoying, but I suppose you get used to it.

Anyway, Loftstel here in Washington D.C. is very different than the one from New York. It's much more laid back, and as I'm only here for six days total, I'm not able to get to know the people here to the extent that I did in New York.

Yesterday I went out and saw the Washington Monument, the White House and the Capitol. I got some great pictures of those places, and I hope to post them as soon as I get the software for my camera installed. Anyway, I'm off to see some museums now (if I make it in time).

Art vs. Alcohol!

2008-06-06T06:44:00.003+02:00

My posts usually start out: "So for the last few days I've..." However, I'm not going to start out that way today because nothing much has happened since my last post. Instead, I'll try a different approach as I've just been hanging out at the Hostel and still managed to do several things.

On two separate occasions, I've met up with my brother's girlfriend who's a flight attendant, and both times have been wonderfully laid back. It's fun to get the feeling that nothing is really that far away, and that home is still close.

Mostly, I've hung around at the hostel, and people are coming and going all the time, but it's completely fascinating to meet new people all the time and especially getting to know people that are here for a longer period because they come to seem like regulars, and thus they have a larger impact on me as I get to know them better. The people here are just so diverse and I've never experienced such variety before.

Today, four days before I leave for Washington D.C., I've had the pleasure of going to art galleries. I've never understood the idea of serving alcoholic beverages at these places because it seems to defeat the purpose. I mean, do we really need to get drunk just to understand the art? Still, it was a very enjoyable day, and we got to get free drinks, so it was all in good fun.

Other than that, I still haven't seen Coney Island, and that is an absolute must even if I have to go alone. As far as the progress of my script, I've gone absolutely nowhere. Nothing amazing or extraordinary is happening, yet there is still so much going on that I haven't written for quite some time.

Jazz On The City

2008-06-01T02:18:00.002+02:00

In the last few days I've stayed at another hostel, Jazz On The City. Compared to Loftstel, it was pretty lousy due to a few number of factors. My main complaint is the small bed. My feet were sticking out, and though I did manage to fall asleep, it was in no way comfortable. Still, it was nice to be so close to Central Park and midtown which I went to all the time during my stay.

I'm glad to be back in Loftstel. It really is a great place to be, and the people here are absolutely great. And of course, I kicked off my stay by joining a party which was really, really fun. Most definitely one of the best nights I've had here.

I've seen most of the main sights in New York City. All I'm missing now is Coney Island. As I've seen most of the city already, I'm lucky to just be able to spend time with all the great people at the hostel, and I can continue the work on my script which has been temporarily and involuntarily on hiatus.

Drinkin' In Brooklyn...

2008-05-26T17:31:00.002+02:00

So, for the last three days I've mainly been drinking the nights away. I actually thought America was strict about buying alcohol, but it turns out it's not that bad at all. Maybe I'm blessed due to my height and general appearance (yeah, right), but thankfully it's really easy.

It's weird how I've been able to drink heavily and still be able to go out and check out the city. The morning after the first night of drinking, I still managed to join up with some guys here and we went all sorts of places. I saw Soho, Little Italy, Canal Street, The Financial District, Ground Zero and the Brooklyn Bridge while being really tired.

Then yesterday I went to Central Park and the huge area surrounding it. All in all, we covered a lot of New York already, but there's still much to see and do, so my time still feels limited.

Today I'm leaving Loftstel for Jazz On The City, but I really hate that I can't stay in one place, but it's just my general laziness that is the real problem. Well, I better get the place clean, so I don't get banned from the place.

It's very nice to read all your comments, I really appreciate it! It's like a slice of home over the internet, so just keep commenting, so I won't feel like I'm too far away from home.

Exploring Manhattan...

2008-05-23T18:24:00.004+02:00

The last couple of days I've been walking around Midtown Manhattan, spending loads of money, which has prompted a feeling of guilt due to the large amount. However, I know I probably shouldn't be worried at all, and now that I've got most of what I need, I don't need to shop around for all that more (except perhaps movies).

I've been spending the evenings talking to the people at my hostel, Loftstel, and hanging out with them. It's exciting to hear where they're from and what they're doing. Some are here short-term like me, though most are here to stay long-term, and it's very interesting to meet all the new people. In three days I'm actually leaving Loftstel for another hostel, Jazz On The City, which is in Manhattan, before returning. I couldn't stay at Loftstel because it was fully booked for those four days, but it's also good to move around a bit to see the city from a different perspective.

Today I'm taking a day off from venturing out 'cause I feel slightly exhausted, and I feel obligated to continue writing my screenplay. I didn't manage to get all that much written on the plane (because it was actually pretty cramped and a fat woman next to me limited my space even more(!)), so I really need to get something done.

Flights and arrival!

2008-05-21T17:42:00.002+02:00

So, I've finally set foot on American ground. I landed yesterday at around 20:30 local time (and that's 2:30 for all the people in Sweden and Denmark), so when I arrived, I was completely worn out due to jet lag. Then, it took a while to find the hostel, and before I got settled in, it was around midnight.

So far, the trip has gone smoothly. The last flight was a bit of a bore, but that was probably because I was in mood for being talkative while the people next to me weren't. In contrast, the first flight was far more enjoyable as well as the few hours I spent in Heathrow Airport because I was able to talk to someone from Denmark the entire time, and that was a real pleasure.

The hostel I'm living at is actually pretty nice. The neighborhood looks a bit gloomy at night, but I don't mind that at all. There is free Internet, it's spacy, and there's plenty of locker space which is quite nice. The people here are extremely friendly, and I'm looking forward to stay here for the majority of my stay in New York.

Anyway, I'm off to check out the rest of the city. Leave a comment!

America draws nearer...

2008-05-19T16:20:00.003+02:00

After leaving Denmark Friday morning, I arrived in Sweden together with my dad to visit the great nation of Sweden. With (presumably) no need to introduce Malmö which we Danes have slowly, yet gradually invaded over the last few years (in an attempt to make a hostile takeover in the years to come), I went here to wind down and relax in the company of my family.

In the last few days my dad and I have had the luxury of staying with my brother and his girlfriend in their apartment, and we've had the fortune of being in the company with them as well as my sister every day since we came.

Without my sister, I probably would be a gigantic question mark, wandering around in complete ignorance. She travelled as backpacker around the globe some years ago, so she knows a lot about what to do, what to expect and what to bring for my trip, and if it weren't for her, I'd probably never have been this prepared.

I must admit I feel very tranquil about the whole ordeal, much calmer than what I would have expected from myself. It borders on being disturbing because I probably should be worrying and wondering about a whole lot, but that just isn't the case, it seems. Whether this is good or bad, time will tell.

In my blog posts, I will also be adding a bit of updates about the screenplay as well as the comic book I'm writing. While I've temporarily shelved the latter for the time being, writing the screenplay is both exhilerating and fun because I'm in the process of adding better content and deleting irrelevant content. It just keeps evolving into areas I never imagined, and yesterday I managed to give the movie an entirely new addition in the ending, making it end on a bittersweet note which hopefully will be slightly more satisfactory and a little less gloomy.

The next time I post I will probably have arrived in New York City at a hostel called Loftstel where I'll stay for a week or so, but more on that later.

Launch! Purpose!

2008-05-13T14:57:00.005+02:00

Today is the official launch of my new blog, entitled Goffer's Travels. As posted in the description above, my intention is to write about my travels in the United States of America to which I'll be leaving in precisely one week. Stress, excitement and worry are daily troubles now, as I have to have everything ready for Thursday when I'll travel to Sweden to visit my two crazy siblings, which I'm very much looking forward to.

This being my first post in the blog, I suppose I should explain why, o', why I got the crazy idea to leave little Denmark and visit the USA. Furthermore, people are probably wondering why I'm doing it entirely on my own.

To tell you the truth, it's a multitude of factors that have led to this idea. Since I was a kid, I've always wanted to visit the Land of Opportunity. America has always been this mystical place where cultures and foreigners have, through much adversity, united to form a country. Another source of fascination is the power the land possesses, for better or worse, but the most interesting thing about the place has to be the people which are as diverse and interesting as the country itself. When I go there, I'll have the pleasure of meeting these people who live there and talk to them about the place.

The USA is the quintessence of grandiosity, and there are numerous places to see and visit. By comparison, Denmark has very little to offer on that area. Therefore, as the USA have been subject of my fascination for a long time as well as having a variety of sights and landmarks, it was an obvious choice to go to.

Anoher motive may lie in the fact that I'm a writer. Having written stories, short and long, since 7th grade, I've always hoped to be able to publish a novel at some point. But for the last couple of months, I've been working on developing a film script. Though I have neither hope nor ambition to the script ever making it as far as going into film development, the possibility, however small and insignificant, is there. I have always loved films, and if it ever happened, it would be a dream coming to life. And if it doesn't happen, I would at least have the experience as well as the exercise in writing a movie script.

Also attributing to me being a writer, I have been working on a comic book script as well. Admittedly, I am also a fan of comics that somehow go beyond simply having good guys and bad guys being pitted together and fighting. Having read some interesting comics that are not only aimed at children but an adult audience as well, I am a firm believer in the fact that comic books can be just as challenging as a regular novel. Most people just don't know where to look for the right graphic novels and have a prejudiced understanding of what a comic book really is. My intention is to further develop comic books that are complex, moving and thought-provoking.

Finally, there is no real reason why I've decided to travel alone. It was never a conscious choice I made when I decided I wanted to travel somewhere, but having decided, with full determination, to visit America at some point in my sabbatical year, travelling alone made it easier because my plans could be very flexible and changed at will without having to worry if a possible companion would find it convenient as well.

The next couple of days will probably not be all that interesting with me still being in Denmark. I'm leaving May 20th for my first destination, New York, where I'll stay approximately three weeks. Until I reach that date, I'm probably going to be nervous as hell, but when I'm sitting on the plane, most of my worries will be gone. Christ, a week sure seems like a long time.

Oh, and you're very much welcome to leave a comment, especially when I've left Denmark.

:-)