Lemons Into Lemonade


So, I got evicted from my apartment in New York City.  It was nothing of my own fault; my lease was up, and the new owners of the building—a fancy developer group who’s built most of the celebrities’ houses in the affluent Hamptons—have decided not to renew my lease so that they could kick me out and convert my humble studio bachelor pad into a “luxury apartment”—a standard increasingly becoming the imposed norm to so many residences in New York City.  (Whether or not that is a good thing for the future of New York is a completely different debate, but let’s not lose focus here.)

Anyway, I must say that the past two years using New York as my base camp was great, it having served as a meeting point for many previous characters of ”The Trinidad Show.” The past couple of months I’ve played host to my Singaporean Connection Zac and Carol (we bought matching Nintendo wii’s); Sebastian (or Dave), whom I met in Morocco and visited in Vancouver, and is now a med student in Montreal; Aviv, Sebastian’s housemate in Vancouver, now at MIT in Boston; Sam, friend of fellow Londoner Zoe, from the surreal Bolivian salt flats tour; and, most recently, Rob and Leisa from the tornado chasing tour in the “Twisted" blog.  Ironically, after our search for Frito Pie all over the mid-west, Leisa and I finally got our taste of the delicacy of Fritos, brisket, chili, cheese, and other fixin’s (served in the bag) at tex-mex restaurant Cowgirl in the West Village, which also had an amazing and impressive ice cream sundae in the shape and colors of a baked potato! (picture above)

But I digress.  The point is, I got evicted from apartment, which is the perfect excuse for an aspiring travel writer to skip the country and blog again.  Right now, at the time of writing this, I am technically homeless, without a place to call my own, couch surfing and crashing at my folks’ house in the suburbs—a place where I’m preparing for a two-month jaunt back on the road. 

“Where are you going to live when you come back?” my friend Carina asked me.

“I don’t know.  I’ll figure that out when I get back,” was my reply.  Many of my concerned New York friends were worried about my new homelessness, but like Indiana Jones, I’m just “making it up as I go.”

“I really admire that,” my friend Ray said.  “That you can just bounce like that.”

“That’s the cool thing about you,” said my friend Gail, a copywriter that sometimes resorts to old adages.  “You’re given lemons, and you make lemonade.”

The proverbial lemonade, as it is, is a two-month concoction of adventure—sometimes sour, sometimes sweet—as I first hang out with my girlfriend Stephanie for a week at her new base camp in Ann Arbor, MI (where she attends grad school at the University of Michigan), followed by a long weekend excursion in Colorado for a friend’s wedding and a quick ride on the slopes.  Then, just before Thanksgiving, when most Americans are prepping up for meals that will most likely put them to sleep immediately, I will fly off to Central America—a region of the world I have not yet explored—and wander the expanse from Belize to Bogota, Colombia for six and a half weeks, getting into adventures along the way in signature Global Trip fashion.

You die-hard blog readers should be happy to know that this trip will go back to basics: it will primarily just be me, my gear, my laptop and my blog—the way this travel blog began four years ago—602 entries ago(!).  While I leave NYC on November 12th, the new blog won’t start until the 21st, when I land in Belize City… so stay tuned!

And so, four and half months since the last journey, a new Global Trip begins again, the result of me turning lemons into lemonade—although I would have preferred to make potatoes from ice cream if I could.


Next entry: Sisters

Previous entry: Encores


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Comments for "Lemons Into Lemonade"

  • Here we go again!  Subscribe to my RSS on the right side column!  Spread the word on the boards!

    Posted by  on  11/06  at  07:21 PM


  • Bon Voyage!!!  First after Erik!

    Posted by  on  11/06  at  07:41 PM


  • my work starts again the 21st…

    Posted by  on  11/06  at  08:36 PM


  • OMG - I’m so excited… except that my track record of late isn’t very good in terms of being able to read on a regular basis… Anyway… YAY!!

    Posted by  on  11/07  at  04:13 PM


  • Yea!  I’ve been waiting for a new blog!  Too bad we missed each other when you chased twisters, but I’ll look forward to reading about your Central American adventures...it’s one of my favorite places.  BUT, you’re going to Colombia, can’t wait to hear about it...it’s where I want to go next.

    Posted by  on  11/09  at  04:00 PM


  • SHERIE:  Great to hear from you… Alert the boards, and everyone else: The Blog is coming back! smile

    Posted by  on  11/09  at  05:23 PM


  • have a great time in central america, when u go to el salvador remember this....Horchata to drink, pupusas to eat (Pupusa de chicharon [shredded pork], de frijol [beans], de queso [cheese])

    oh and go to the black sand beaches!

    Posted by  on  11/09  at  05:55 PM


  • Have a blast ET.

    Posted by T.  on  11/11  at  10:46 AM


  • erik, i’m going to bogota too...bogota, nj

    Posted by  on  11/12  at  11:25 AM


  • Looking forward to reading your adventures!!  Bon Voyage!!

    Posted by  on  11/12  at  01:05 PM


  • I can’t wait to read all about your next adventures. I’ll just have to deal with NYC without the flavor of Trinidad. I do have you RSS’d on my google homepage. Go Erik!

    but i’ll miss you. *sniff*

    Posted by mia  on  11/12  at  01:31 PM


  • Excellent news! 

    Can’t wait to start reading the new blog entries.  I wondered when you were going to save me from working again!

    Posted by  on  11/13  at  10:23 AM


  • IAIN:  Yup, I’m back.  Spread the word!

    Posted by Erik TGT  on  11/13  at  11:43 AM


  • oh wow! Make sure to stop by in El Salvdor. Can’t go to Central America without eating pupusas!

    Posted by  on  11/13  at  01:37 PM


  • too bad we can’t meet up in DR on 11/30 when i arrive at 5am and head straight to the beach… props to your new adventure and your nomadic tendencies. i totally relate and appreciate!

    Posted by  on  11/13  at  03:11 PM


  • I’ve been to cowgirl and had that frito pie!  yum

    I’m going to be in Guatemala over the holidays - In Late Dec/early Jan but you may have already moved south by then.  I’m sure we’ll hit some of the same spots!  I’m looking forward to more blog.  Are you going to make some Mayan people play the village people on their musical instrument of choice?  Will we get a poo pic?

    Posted by sara  on  11/13  at  06:18 PM


  • SARA:  Poo pic?  Maybe, just because you asked. wink

    Posted by  on  11/13  at  06:21 PM


  • hi eric, you inspired me. you made me even more proud to be a Filipino. I hope you’ll also be able to travel the beautiful places in the Philippines that you’ll not find in other parts of the world. proud of my country huh? Happy travels! =p

    Posted by Irene  on  11/13  at  11:20 PM


  • if you see any boxes in central america, you know what needs to be done.

    Posted by  on  11/14  at  06:16 PM


  • oooh ooohh so nice to have someone blogging again! anyone want to place bets on how long it takes to get thrown in a central american jail?

    Posted by  on  11/17  at  04:53 AM


  • Congrats Eric,

    Now that I am stuck at home for a while I can’t wait to read about your adventures.

    Posted by Rob  on  11/18  at  12:15 AM


  • Hi Erik, I’ve been following your blog since 2003, your video “Would You?” inspired me to plan a trip of my own after high school (still inspires me to this day), but then I wasn’t quite ready, too scared to go at it alone, needed to grow up a little more, etc.. so here I am 4 years later planning again, finishing up my english degree and then heading out for as long as humanly possible (possibly doing a little english teaching along the way for cash). I just wanted to say hello and goodluck on your next journey, sorry to hear about the apartment but traveling is better anyhow =) Look forward to reading about your travels. Thanks for the inspiration and if you are ever here in the Nashville area feel free to stop in and crash on the couch!
    ~Kailani

    Posted by  on  11/18  at  11:25 PM


  • KAILANI:  So glad to hear from you… Glad I could provide inspiration for four years, if not longer.  Gear up and travel safe; perhaps our paths will cross one day…

    Posted by Erik TGT  on  11/19  at  09:16 AM


  • HELP!  I have yet to come up with a name for the upcoming trip blog.  Some titles that have swirled in my head are:

    “Slipping On The Peels Of Banana Republics”
    “The Banana Republicans”
    “Mayan Gringo”
    “Belize to Bogota”
    “The Central American Eviction Tour”

    These are all okay, but nothing has really struck me as THE title.  Help me… please post your suggestions below ASAP!

    Posted by Erik TGT  on  11/19  at  09:23 AM


  • it’s not good but: El Bel-te-ma-la-du-ras-nica-rica-pan-ota

    Posted by  on  11/19  at  02:27 PM


  • Can’t wait to start reading about your adventures!  Good luck and travel safe!

    Posted by  on  11/19  at  06:38 PM


  • I’m gonna have to go with “The Central American Eviction Tour”. I know it’s cruel but it makes me laugh. haha.

    Posted by  on  11/19  at  10:57 PM


  • How about “The Wanderings of the homeless Gringo”

    Posted by  on  11/20  at  10:45 AM


  • oh shiet...TdOT back in the hizzouse…

    Posted by  on  11/20  at  11:08 AM


  • how about “Pass the Hot Sauce, Por Favor”

    Posted by  on  11/20  at  11:11 AM


  • “The Evicted Gringo”?

    So far “The Central American Eviction Tour” has a nice ring that three people have responded too already… any other ideas out there?

    Posted by Erik T  on  11/20  at  12:34 PM


  • Wouldn’t you be the Pilipino, not the Gringo?
    I like the Central American Eviction Tour, though - that’s a good one…

    Posted by  on  11/20  at  02:12 PM


  • another vote for eviction tour. 

    I see that a lot of the old blog hogs are back!  yay

    Posted by sara  on  11/20  at  09:18 PM


  • Yes - CAET that’s my vote!

    Posted by  on  11/21  at  12:15 AM


  • Alright… the blog hogs have spoken… “The Central American Eviction Tour” it is!

    Posted by  on  11/21  at  12:19 AM


  • Excellent choice!

    Posted by  on  11/21  at  08:22 AM


  • hey hey, we love the apartment, memories of our NY holidays. Happy to know you re traveling again. =)

    Posted by Carol  on  11/21  at  01:16 PM


  • Ok, its the 21st!  Where are you?

    Posted by  on  11/21  at  03:07 PM


  • GREETINGS FROM A HAMMOCK, on the beach, under the ocean breeze and moonlight, on the lovely laid back Belizean island of Caye Caulker.  Yes, they have free wifi here and it’s awesome.

    According to my regular blogging schedule, daily posts are written and posted the day after it happens… I’m still in my first day of TCAET and should have something posted by tomorrow.  In the meantime, Happy Turkey Day everyone!  I’ll be at the Blue Hole… (Google image search it.)

    Posted by Erik TGT  on  11/21  at  10:04 PM


  • I’ve always wanted to see the blue hole.

    Posted by mia  on  11/21  at  10:10 PM


  • Way to go Erik =) Have lots of fun.

    Posted by  on  11/21  at  10:43 PM


  • yipppeeee!! i (finally) get to be part of the global trip:)

    (i’m 1/2 jealous)

    Posted by  on  11/21  at  10:57 PM


  • OOOH! luck you!!!! in a hammock in caye caulker!! love it there. that was one of my favorites. your mission: eat at jolly rogers - the biggest, best lobster and other goodies for $10, snorkel/dive w/raggamuffin tours, go to the i&i;bar (swings, tree house) and find gold tooth roger (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39PXpHXPjOk) & tell him i say hello.

    (i’m 1/2 jealous)

    Posted by  on  11/21  at  11:28 PM


  • for those too lazy to google it:

    http://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/galleries/belize/photo2.html

    Posted by  on  11/21  at  11:37 PM


  • very jealous! but remember, don’t let the bot flies bite! and if they do… steak.

    Posted by  on  11/22  at  01:18 AM


  • On the road again… Happy Thanksgiving Fuzz-E. Can’t wait to follow you through Central America. Love the title, would’ve been my 1st choice. Will you be away for xmas? I may need to write another “12 days” TCAET-style.

    Posted by  on  11/22  at  12:12 PM


  • Thanks for the link markyt (aka “the man behind, the man behind the blog")

    Posted by  on  11/22  at  02:47 PM


  • I’ll raise my gingerbread martini to you!!

    Posted by  on  11/22  at  03:56 PM


  • Looking forward to reading your new adventures!

    Posted by Charl  on  11/22  at  08:27 PM


  • Hey Erock - your blog inspired me to stay at home, burn my passport and play with my Wii. I don’t need to travel anywhere because you can do it for me!

    Posted by Ryan D  on  11/22  at  11:40 PM


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back to top of page

Next entry:
Sisters

Previous entry:
Encores


This blog entry about the events of Thursday, November 01, 2007 was originally posted on November 06, 2007 on the trip blog, "The Global Trip: The Central American Eviction Tour* (*with jaunt to Colombia)." It chronicles a six-week journey through Central America, with a jaunt to Bogota, Colombia.


FUN FACT:

The baked potato ice cream thing is made of vanilla ice cream surrounded by sweet cocoa powder for the potato skin.  The sour cream is actually whipped cream, the chives are food-colored pecans, and the pat of butter is frosting.  It is delicious. Cowgirl is at 519 Hudson St. in NYC.  Their margaritas are good too.



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