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June 13, 2002 - DISCUSS THIS ARTICLE



The Luck of the Ir...anian-Japanese?
So for the umpteen-billionth time the other week, I won a radio call-in contest, this time for some CD's by artists featured in the UK's legendary Glastonbury Festival. Just the other day, my name was placed among hundreds, maybe thousands (who really knows in these days of promotion-sharing between stations?) of others. And on very very short notice, I was told that I'll be travelling to Great Britain as the winner.

This is huge. Not only because I'm an obsessive freaking music geek with all sorts of interests and would basically consider Glastonbury my personal 7th Heaven, but also because I haven't been overseas in 22 years. Sure, I've driven over to Canada on a couple of occasions. I even walked into Mexico a few years back to enjoy cheap cervezas and even cheaper tacos. (Not to mention super-cheap prescription antihistamines, but we'll keep that on the QT for fear of the narcos worrying about me taking my sinuses into my own hands.) But for me to hop on a plane and go over a body of water wider than Lake Tahoe? Unprecedented in the last two decades.

I moved to the States after living in London for a couple of years, so it's only appropriate that I'm flying back into the very same foreign airport that I last set foot in. And in my first passport photo since those heady days as a globe-trotting five year old, I have the same hairstyle back (hey, it was the 70's). Around that time, Star Wars had become a global phenomenon, I'd just gone to see the Spiderman movie in the theatre, and I was living with my parents. Hmmm.. I guess some things never change. [Note to self: Please change that last part soon. Pretty please with a cherry on top.]

The Liabilities of Winning
The other thing that makes this trip so momentous and huge is that it will be my first real, paid vacation since I started working... back in high school. Certainly, I've taken days off here and there, and I've had enough time on the dole to relax and work on my tan for a lifetime. But I haven't taken a serious, real, goodness-to-life vacation in something like ten years. I'm not a workaholic, by any means. I've just been unlucky. But now I'm blessed enough to work for a company that will give me time off on two-weeks' notice.

Unfortunately, no one else is in that position. Or they don't have any vacation time left. Or they just started a new job and can't jeopardize it. All very valid reasons not to be my travel companion on this trip, and if anything, that was the bitterest pill to swallow in regards to winning a trip like this. I do a lot of things alone, but I love sharing big experiences with my friends. Alas, because of the incredbily short notice (I had to recruit someone within maybe 12 hours or so of winning), I'm going it alone.

Going alone should be interesting - I'll be forced to make new friends along the trek from San Francisco to New York City to London to Bristol to Glastonbury and back... I also won't be tied down to anyone else's level of fatigue, ability to put up with fields of mud, or funds. Say I want to keep shaking my ass to Orbital, play in the mud during Garbage, or sneak off for a day of lager-loutism in a quaint English town, I can do it. My destiny lies in my own hands, which is great! (Don't worry, I'll come back with plenty of pictures of whatever I choose to do - you can be sure of that.)

Travel Jitters
Besides the prospects of traveling alone, I'll admit that I am mildly nervous about the upcoming journey. My cell phone won't work in Europe. I'll be on a very tight schedule between cities to make sure I get back to the Bay Area on time. I'll have to budget my money wisely. I need to figure out power conversion, currency conversion, and pommie slang. I have no freaking clue what to wear. And, oh yeah, there's that underlying post-September 11th thing that, no matter how tough or rational or composed you are, thoughts about that seep into your head.

It's not that I'm at all afraid of getting on a plane. I know that my chances of being in a fatal car wreck during my commute to work are far greater than my Boeing 777 falling out of the sky. I know that if should something to occur on a plane or in an airport or what not, I'll lead the charge to fend off any attackers, in the full knowledge that everyone would have my back.

No, the thought that does creep into my mind every once in a while is "What if I get harassed for my complexion or name?" Let's face it - in these days of search-and-seizure without warrant, I do have a somewhat valid reason to be afraid of getting harassed by the authorities. I mean, if a German couple honeymooning in New Zealand are fair game for US immigration officials, what kind of fun could they have with a half middle eastern guy traveling alone between SFO, JFK and Heathrow? Don't think it's just a coincidence that I shaved off a good portion of my facial hair before having the passport photo taken! I simply don't want any trouble. At least not that kind.

The Good Kind of Trouble
That's what I want out of Glastonbury. The good stuff.

I want to have a few too many Boddington's and end up making friends with a group of Brits huddled up around a 4" portable TV to see how England's doing in the World Cup.

I want to lose my way back to the hotel and end up partying all night with some Scots who caught the rail down for the festival.

I want to get a leg stuck in the mud for a minute with a bunch of other ill-prepared clowns and see what manner of comedy ensues.

I want to be accosted as a "bloody Yank" and an hour later be sucked into a UK vs. USA pint-draining contest.

I want to forget who I hung out with or who I saw on whatever stage and remember everything all over again when I look at the pictures.

I want a crazy adventure.

And after some of that, none of that... whatever happens, I want to share it with you. Those of you whom I couldn't take with me to join the madness that will be my first trip overseas in over 20 years.

Omid is currently in search of spare digital camera batteries, memory sticks, etc. to make sure that everything is properly documented so you can vicariously live this trip through the web site... Donations or lent equipment gladly accepted! ;)