About

My name is Max.

I've never been too good at getting around.  Despite living in both Vancouver and Los Angeles for years, if you ask me how to get somewhere in either city, chances are I can't tell you-- either because I don't know exactly where it is, or I've never heard of it.

Maybe it's because I don't really pay attention when I go somewhere- I'm too busy observing more poetic, writerly things, like the psyche of the people around me, or the sweet lark of the nightingale. Maybe it's because I'm spatially retarded.

In any event, I became known as a "tourist"-- perpetually unaware of where I was or what was happening around me. I decided to change.

So now I'm traveling Europe in a sort of clichéd post-collegiate wanderjahre, trying to gain perspective and inspiration, abandon my comfort zone, and generally "find myself" in the overdone idealist-as-dilletante-existentialist sort of way. You know, the kind that comes back home as the insufferable dinner table philosopher that describes themselves as a "spiritual tourist," and tells you that we could redress all of the world's ills if we "just changed the way people think."

I see myself as a realist, though friends have described me as a pessimist. The irony, of course, is that of the two estimations, theirs is more cynical.

I occasionally grapple with insomnia and germaphobia, but that could just be the hypochondria talking.

I typically thrive on structure. I know the idea of "limitless possibilities" is supposed to be liberating and exciting, but it's always sort of felt like bullshit to me.

So now I'm traveling around, with no set agenda or timetable-- no guidelines or criteria. No structure. No destination.

Maybe I'll travel until I run out of money; maybe I'll end up working at a bar while I try to find work as a writer, and pursue my music career in my spare time.  I'm trying to hit a lot of clichés at once, here.

At its core, my being a "tourist" stems from the fact that I tend to develop only superficial relationships to places, and sometimes, even the people in them.  So, ultimately, I'm trying to learn to become a better citizen.

I started traveling with my ex-roommate Jordan in what he aptly described as the "We're Not Sure What We're Looking At But It Seems Important So We'll Wikipedia It Later" tour of Germany, The Czech Republic, France, and Italy.  Next, I spent a week in the UK, then traveled for three weeks with my friend Michael J. Saringer through England, The Netherlands, Spain, Austria, and Hungary.

And now, I'm traveling on my own, not knowing where I'll end up next.

I use a lot of big words.

-Max