So, I Get Along Without You Very Well.

I started working on a piece, a huge music project, a few weeks ago that was devouring my free time. I was filling a large notebook with this piece as I listened to dozens, perhaps even hundreds of albums. As of two weekends ago I was probably twelve full pages deep and only 25% done, if that. It was my musical brain child, and it was proving my mother wrong - I can absolutely live without the Internet.

Before I left for South Africa my mother put out her strongly evidenced argument that living without Internet (and Facebook in particular) would be extremely hard for me. She was wrong. Since getting to South Africa I haven't purchased South African data for my phone or had access to the Internet most of the time. What little time I spend on the Internet I use to catch up with home and download some more music and podcasts for later. My phone has just become a glorified iPod, and it's so gratifying to be disconnected. Cliché, I know.

And then, I was robbed, and along with my watch, wallet, and phone - they robbed me of my music. Which means they robbed me of my piece, my baby. For now, at least.

So, now you're stuck with whatever this blog is. I still have plans to finish the (super) project, just don't expect it until summer (U.S. time). In the meantime I've been as truly disconnected as a student can get in this modern age, left in South Africa with only my laptop (practically useless without WiFi) and an age-old iPod, which I've discovered has basically cleansed itself of all music. Seriously, here's the full, FULL, contents of my iPod:

• 1 Adele song (it's "Skyfall")
• 14 Beatles songs (and most of them are from Yellow Submarine. What did I do to deserve this Hell?)
• all of Lemonade by Beyoncé (what did I do to deserve this Heaven?)
• "White Wedding"
• "Little Drummer Boy" by Bob Seger (lol)
• "Eventually" and "Natural Woman" by Carole King
• 9 Bowie songs
• 4 Doobie Brothers songs (bigger lol)
• 3 songs by the Doors
• 2 Etta James songs which are titled in my iPod as - and I shit you not - Track 01 and Track 06
• 5 Everlast songs (none of which are the 2 that made it into my magnum opus)
• 4 songs by Guns N' Roses (3 of which are their best)
• "Trouble in Mind" by Janis Joplin
• most of At Folsom Prison but not all of it (goddammit)
• 4 Led Zeppelin songs (that's nice)
• 1 Phil Collins song (and it's SUSSUDIO, which - and I'm not exaggerating here - will make you insane faster than any other song)
• a single 30 second Pink Floyd song (you know, in case I ever want to listen to my iPod's full catalog of Pink Floyd and still enjoy the second half of that minute in silence!)
• 3 Police songs
• 18 Prince songs (bless up)
• "I Want to Break Free" by Queen (kind of ironic)
• half a dozen songs by the Ramones
• 4 Stones tracks
• "El Condor Pass" by Simon & Garfunkel
• 5 Tori Amos songs
• 7 random tracks from Quadrophenia 
• and the entire discography of Chance the Rapper, including every feature he's done before 2018 (thank god my iPod didn't delete shit from other apps, where I have Chano stashed)

And even though that looks like a lot written out, it's not great. The list of artists under "B" on my phone was about as long as that entire list. I'm essentially "desert island-ing" it with Chance and Lemonade. So, I decided since my big music piece must be put on hold, I'd at least try to put together some other blogs in the meantime. And I've toyed with some ideas. I even threw together a quick prediction on the rest of the Utah Jazz's season. I've also thought about a piece on what the American executive could learn from the early consuls of Rome. (Don't worry, I'm not writing that one.) I've considered playing the "Blame Game" with some NBA storylines right now, and who knows, you might still get that one. I've even considered - and hear me out - writing and posting about some of my amazing experiences in South Africa. But (!) I'm sticking to my decision about writing about it this summer when I come back to America, where I can put my thoughts together and tell a cohesive story, when I'm not still lost in the beauty of this continent. 

So, we're left with this - a 1,000 word update with nothing to say. Yes, I'm okay. I'm thriving even. And yes, I miss my music more than you could ever imagine. And yes, I'm still writing (even if it isn't about what'd you like). And yes, for the final time, I'm (still) having the best semester of my life, despite the soundtrack torn out of my life and despite all of the ideas constantly swirling in my head. I'm having an amazing fucking time. And, besides missing my music, basketball, and this blog (and Facebook, which I'm going to increasingly make an unapologetic platform for this blog) I'm so glad to be disconnected.

Oh, and I hope you enjoy the monkey as much as I do. It's one of the only pictures I've taken that I still have access to. Maybe if we're lucky I'll find the rest of my camera roll somewhere in the iCloud. Then you'll see the very next picture - when the monkey attacked me. Fuck, I guess I need a phone for photos too. I keep forgetting about that. Well, we'll get there. For now, I'm completely fine without one. I'm loving it. Or as Chet Baker once sang, "I get along without you very well."