So this was a burger with bacon and eggs, Chipotle on a croissant bun

The new vampires

Last night I was hanging out with my Couchsurfing host and her other three surfers, two of which I want to write about briefly. They were people I wouldn't have encountered had I not couchsurfed in the South. I soon realised that they actually lived in Raleigh, and were couchsurfing because they were 'between places'.

The pregnant couple's names were Alana and Herb. Alana was a 33 year old Caucasian woman, 7 months pregnant and easily 350 pounds. Herb was a 24 year old African American man. Herb was out in Raleigh looking for work, so that Alana 'would have time to heal' after the pregnancy. I saw that Herb had marks all up and down his arm, and considered the possibility that he was a junkie. We got onto the topic of drugs, and he said that he was boring and didn't drink, smoke, or do drugs. I asked him, with a candor that is unlike me, what was with all the marks on his arms if he didn't do drugs. He replied that he donated plasma. I asked for how long. He said it had been his and Alana's primary income source for 8 1/2 weeks. He said that CSL plasma in Durham, about half an hour from Raleigh, paid more than Biomach in San Diego, but BioMat gave you cash instead of a debit payment.

Both wouldn't let you donate more than twice in 48 hours, otherwise I am sure Herb would've donated more frequently. He said he knew people that donated year round. I asked whether they both donated, and Alana said she would once the baby was born.

I asked him whether he was concerned about donating that much plasma, and he refused to even entertain the possibility that it was doing damage to his immune system. He said the only thing that bothered him was they make you stay 4 hours but don't pay you by the hour. Then he told me that for a while he felt like he was doing good by donating as regularly as he did, because he was helping sick people. But one day, he asked the nurse where the plasma was going and she said that it was used by pharmaceutical companies, to make tylenol, and by the military. Again, he said he didn't want to think about the enormous amount of plasma he donates being used to make bombs. The idea visibly upset him--his eyes glazed over and he stopped looking at me as we talked. Eventually I had to walk back to my surfer's house (I had stayed with Stephanie, their host, the night before) because it was too upsetting. I told them that I would stay in touch on Couchsurfing, that I would add them as friends, and that I wanted to see some baby pictures, and this made them happy. They squeezed my hand as we said goodbye. They were that glad to have made a friend.

I don't think they realised how disturbed I was by their story.

TRIP UPDATES

I Leave Brooklyn for DC on Wednesday. It's been an interesting 18 days.

I've got a Couchsurfing host lined up in DC for 3 days. I'll visit Georgetown and a few museums and then be on my way south to Asheville NC via Raleigh NC, also by bus—price tbd since they fluctuate so much based on gas prices. As the south is generally cheaper, I will be able to live more cheaply, but not as much if I only stop in major cities which I kind of have to do since I haven't got a car.

Buying a car is cheaper in the South, and I've decided that the best place to buy a car will be Texas or Arizona. Someone I met told me about Amarillo, a small city in North Texas near the New Mexico border that supposedly has a thriving used car market.

I could also buy a car earlier, in Louisiana, which would allow me to see more of the South. My mum tells me one of our family friends said she would let me use her truck, which will allow me to drive to sellers. The ability to drive to meet sellers is apparently really important because good value cars are sold within hours of being put up on craigslist. If my grandma in Arizona let me drive her car to sellers, that would be similarly advantageous.

Here's what the next 2 months will look like

https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Brooklyn,+NY&daddr=Washington,+DC+to:Raleigh,+NC+to:Asheville,+NC+to:Atlanta,+GA+to:Athens,+Georgia+to:Pensacola,+FL+to:New+Orleans,+LA+to:Houston,+TX+to:Phoenix,+AZ+to:Los+Angeles,+CA+to:San+Francisco,+CA&hl=en&sll=39.368279,-117.685547&sspn=9.626577,21.643066&geocode=FRBFbAId0JyX-ykJIXyUFkTCiTGGeAAEdFx2gg%3BFQh-UQIdsoRo-ylb5PZa3sa3iTEqXYjUIkVSwg%3BFcDWIQId6hFQ-yn34FGfL1qsiTGt8BGKUraQZw%3BFTIjHwIdQV0U-ykJbw88qYxZiDFdOjQGwTHvlA%3BFQP4AgIdclf4-imNCZNpXQT1iDELYwuZL97-Zg%3BFTAJBgId26sH-ym5M7S0GW32iDF8YZ3WAnJ0TQ%3BFT0x0AEd7SzN-im7qsusRb-QiDF8ZXkxbprGpw%3BFVoEyQEdFJ6h-illghGyVKQghjG00yJe6FsG2w%3BFcEaxgEdUsdQ-ikBhY1ItLhAhjE7BWXz3gINyg%3BFblh_gEdy-JR-SnLeaFQ7RIrhzGsG0o1-MdpjA%3BFYqYBwIdm77z-CkT2ifcXcfCgDH0CEYlb98v4g%3BFVJmQAIdKAe0-CkhAGkAbZqFgDH_rXbwZxNQSg&oq=San+F&mra=ls&t=m&z=4&source=gplus-ogsb

Also, my instagram profile is http://instagram.com/2gram430

Told a girl last night at a bar I thought she was selfish for wanting to have kids and it did not go over very well at all

HAHAHAHAHAHA

Heard a group of Brooklyn hipsters going on and on about bitcoin the other day. One of them had bought some thinking he was the new Gordon Gecko. I'm almost glad to see the bubble finally burst.

So i've been staying in Brooklyn for the past 10 days, and it's been fun. I've been going out a lot.

I also met a cool girl that I might stay with for a while. She's in Cleveland until Friday.

Besides that i've just been getting by, keeping costs low, reading and writing as much as I can.

I also got a haircut.

I hate it when Spotify tells me I like Mumford & Sons like I have no say in the matter