Shooting Canadian industrial / dark electronic artist Glenn Love's At My Door video was an interesting exercise in creativity. The idea was Dyno Mike's of Mikey Brand Productions. He proposed that we work together to create a music video based in surrealism. We weren't certain what Glenn's lyrics meant but the two of us would team up to manifest a dream-like moment in time based on them. I've dreamt this Many times before. You've come again Standing at my door. I hate you - The original intent was to surprise Glenn with the video but that was eventually partially scrapped as I had completely forgotten and mentioned something to him about shooting … [Read more...]
TRAVEL MEMOIR - LAURA DAL FARRA
You've found my nomadic journals and muay thai training memoirs. My style of living the nomadic life is one of fully living in the present, while investing, not grasping for the future. My mode of travel is one that focuses on quality experiences rather than travel materialism where the quantity of destinations override the experience. I also like to get silly sometimes.
Devil’s Night – An Indie Film That I Was In
The document I began after playing the lead in Devils Night, a five minute horror film by Mikey Brand reads: The morning after acting in Mikey Brand's submission for the 48 Hour Horror Film Challenge....I'm left with red and swollen toes from wearing 8 inch (plus?) stilettos for hours on end, my right hand is bruised from beating a dingy basement door and one of my lower teeth is now left jagged and slightly chipped from swigging Cuban rum from the bottle...suffering for art can be a lot of fun! Ha! Looking forward to the final product. Stayed tuned people, the raw footage is indeed that, raw. Let me take it to the beginning. Sometime in October … [Read more...]
I’m Still Here
A number of you have sent messages inquiring about my whereabouts. What have I been doing? Am I okay? Is the blog still active? I want to thank you all, including those who remain silent but continue to check in for new content. I never would have expected to deviate from posting twice weekly on MBSB but the reason for it all has been rooted in the positive. I've been living in the present. I've gotten lost. In June I returned to Toronto, a city I previously lived in after an approximate four and a half year hiatus. I spent an estimated ten years of my life here and this is the first time I've been able to experience it in the way I truly desire. The … [Read more...]
Full Circle Cuba – Returning To The Roots Of My Nomadic Life.
Four days ago sand filtered between my toes in Jibacoa, Cuba. Nine days ago lightening hit and blasted my ears in a boxing ring in Havana. Eleven days ago I said good-bye to my roommate in Toronto's Bloor West Village. Today I'm writing you from a new Toronto neighbourhood. A new home. A new landscape to dig deep into. It seems fitting that dancehall from a parked car mingles with the clicking of the keyboard as I write you. Tasting the sunshine in a downtown lush backyard is a rare event for me in Toronto. Over ten years of my life spent here within the past fifteen and this feels decadent. The decision to travel to Cuba was spontaneous. An invite from a … [Read more...]
A July Update
There's a blackout in my building. Thunder. Tiny explosions of water on the balcony. A distant mechanical hum. Today is a lazy day for me. The blinds are drawn and the white light of my laptop brightens the room. It's time for an update. I've been in Toronto, Canada for over a month now. This wasn't the plan. I arrived in late May to attend a conference for a number of days. Protocol was then to move to the city of Peterborough to live with three girls I'd never met. The thought of being surrounded by cottage country was appealing. It was there I planned to write my book. It can be crazy how life unfolds and if … [Read more...]
The Next Chapter: Windsor – Toronto – TBEX – Peterborough
I'm currently writing you amidst piles of my possessions. I'm downsizing. Again. I arrived in North America from Asia with two suitcases and two carry-ons and I've decided to drop back down to one suitcase and two carry-ons. I tend to find the process of collecting my items and my thoughts in anticipation of a change of locations as though I'm preparing for a little death. I make peace with my present life, I appreciate those around me and I get ready for a new chapter. In roughly two and a half weeks I'll board a plane and arrive in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for TBEX (Travel Blog Exchange). The conference offers a venue for bloggers, writers, new media content creators … [Read more...]
Why I’m Not Currently Training Muay Thai
Since returning to North America I'm continually asked about my present muay thai training - where I'm training, how my training is going and if I'm teaching. The answer to it all is that I have yet to train or teach muay thai. I need a break. The break isn't from the art of muay thai, the art in itself remains beautiful to me. Rather, the time away necessary is from the current culture of the sport of muay thai. This culture differs greatly from what is idealized in the West and what by some, is considered the only truth. There are aspects of it and at times I had access, but when I think of stepping into any muay thai gym on any continent at this point in time, what I feel most, … [Read more...]
A Breather – The Update
It has been quite awhile since I've written a proper update. Going through the site, I now realize I haven't written one since September 23, 2012. It's currently January 24, 2013. Four months. In short, I'm in limbo. Not lost. Not in a state of futility. Rather a state of regeneration and gestation. Unlike a number of people who publicly write about their experiences in Thailand and South East Asia, my time spent there did some damage both to my self esteem and my view of humanity. Damage had I realized was occurring to the extent that it was, when it was, I would have departed earlier. The way I choose to live my life, intensified by being a female … [Read more...]
Gratitude Sixteen Weeks Post Thailand
It has been approximately sixteen weeks since I removed myself from Thai soil and set forth on North American dirt. Three weeks have passed since I've escaped most days feeling like a leaky headed sideshow monkey, or perhaps, rephrased, I have reveled in three weeks of freedom from re-entry coma. In previous posts I had discussed the maladies and surrealism of my re-entry shock, today I will reflect on the improvements living in Thailand has made to my daily life. Note, I continue to have moments of less than linear thought, short attention span, extreme social anxiety and exasperation at the English language. I often take once comprehended words or phrases as rigid … [Read more...]
Racism in Thailand: The Lasting Effects After Exiting the Land of Smiles
The following was inspired by a recent comment by Alan Reid on Racism in Thailand: A Day in the Life of a White Woman in Buriram. Alan describes instances of discrimination he has encountered in The Land Of Smiles then concludes with: I try to smile and be friendly to the Thais everyday, however I have this bitterness and hatred built up inside, the same as you. This struck me deeply, not only out of empathy but also due to the fact that eleven weeks after leaving Thailand, what remains and what I continue to combat is negativity within. Negativity towards other people. Negativity towards myself. The forms of this corruption were not in my heart before leaving Canadian soil in … [Read more...]
Re-Entry Shock: Over Ten Weeks In
I had left for Asia, thus the commencement of my nomadic life in early 2009. In mid to late 2010 I returned to my native country of Canada to clear up some loose ends and finalize the selling of my condo in Toronto. As memory serves me, the transition was easy. I flew in, I hung out for approximately one month and I left elated. However, in August 2012, roughly ten weeks after I landed on North American soil, I'm writing you, feeling like a freak (in my parents' basement...which doesn't help matters). In a previous piece, Re-Entry Shock: Feeling Like A Foreigner In Your Native Country, I detailed my experience. What I didn't realize at the time was how long this … [Read more...]
The Nomadic Life: Boxed In
The process of condensing. What little stored in my childhood basement. In boxes. The imperative is to edit. To rid of all that is climbed through daily in search of meaning. Flawlessly. Without distraction. Cut the extraneous until that which remains is Beauty. This is how I see the nomadic life. Read the next memoir, Re-Entry Shock - Over Ten Weeks In, here. Read the previous memoir, Feeling Like A Foreigner In Your Native … [Read more...]
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