notes from divinity

8.9.14

5.15am-Mosquitos and bees rule the morning, bites on the feet, legs and buttocks, how they got there I’ll never know.  A dull gray morning, no sun to speak of but as we see day after day the sun will break loose later. For now it’s fighting the flying hell mongers.

I bought a cool t-shirt yesterday, a locally made organic cotton print, extra large to be cautious and the damn thing is too small.  I have no luck with shirts anymore, two larges in Thailand too small and now this.  Should I just wrap leaves around my body for crying out loud?

It is dead calm.  The sun blasts through before seven.  This is good.   Good enough to lay down again.

2.25pm

Yesterday’s trek took more out of me than I knew, a long nap today interrupted on occasion by a few, it’s the heat, it always has been.  Give me nine days in January instead of two hours in August.

A group of Chinese are coming, taking maybe two or three rooms. Chinese tourists ahead of me in a shop in Lakeside heard a local say ‘chaina’ which is no have in Nepalese, and three of them start chirping away to decipher the curious word.  I woulda intervened but was kind of tired at that point.

Suraksha wore her $80 shoes today.  They’re nice, I wish I had a pair for myself, though I’ve never paid that much for my own shoes.  So, you ask, do $80 shoes feel better than $2 shoes? 

I gave Ram the $8 XL organic cotton shirt that didn’t fit me and then Laxman and I took two of his ratty homeless shirts and tore them into rags.  Funny how even at a young age men become attached to clothes.  My long sleeve shirt is twenty years old, I told the other Ram, Maya’s brother, not a hole in it and is a connection between my brother’s ex-wife. 

And at least 85% of the sky this afternoon is cloudy and the sun finds its way through.  Some of the big Da Vinci clouds appear fearsome but they continue on.  For the past two sunsets big rain and fog arrive. 

I’m glad to be able to upload a few pics on this blogsite.  It doesn’t work in Oman though in ten months there I’ve taken about a dozen photos, three of them of my empty chamber.  Text and photos can’t be done said this pompous person in Seattle ten years ago but he never heard of Wilfred Thesiger. 

Dark high clouds from the north enclose the mountain and head to the city.  Perhaps these are scout clouds to a mother ship.  And one wonders about the other mother ships who appear to come from the east and then there's the meteorologically marvelous moment they develop in the valley and then on command proceed and release their fury.  The rain begins easily enough.

I haven’t given much thought to the Middle East in the last few days.  The Chinese come, sitting in my underwear and they’d better keep their eyes on the rain.  Four check out room six, please take one and two.  They’re taking pictures at the end of the terrace and they’re happy it’s raining.

Yes, the war that never ends.  A religious war, an ancient war, a tribal war.  The roots are deep I tell ya, it’s not like Sudan, it’s not like Tibet, and it’s been going on a little longer than Northern Ireland.  I think I’ll listen to the best of Bread for a few songs.  The internet works strong enough in room five for the first time in almost three weeks.  Music is welcome with nature.  They complement each other and sometimes work together to reveal, to console, to encourage.  Notes from the divine, it is appreciated. 

A large youthful Chinese boy man walks past towards room six while I hold the hookah.  I found medicine in Yunnan province, grown by the ethnic minorities.  I was very grateful then and am now that I can practice compassion and be, generally speaking, a nice person to this group.  All they have to do is behave.  Meanwhile Ram speaks to the man boy and the Chinese doesn’t have a clue if he’s speaking Nepalese or an English whose vowels are not where they’re supposed to be.

Fleetwood Mac is coming through the smart phone in room five and I’m still not convinced its coming with me and I’m kind of glad I lost the signal.  It wasn’t working today, Nicki.  I’ve counted six Chinese so far, they go between six and one.  If you mess up room six and decide to go elsewhere we’re gonna charge you.  In compassion of course. 

I should have bought some Tibetan flags for display.  Hmmm, maybe we will do something.  I see now, a mother ship hovering above us and the valley.  And it’s going no where.  Time for tea?

5.43pm

Milk tea, black pancakes with curry and a glass of lassi.  A very nice afternoon meal while the rain hammered the dining room and the six Chinese were all on their smart phones.  Bu Hao you’re missing it.  They did put their nipples down and gathered on the roof with the tower and one bright guy decides to climb until he stops at the top seating area and comes back.  I asked Suman if he remembered five years ago I climbed that new tower and draped it in Tibetan flags.  I think everything was a fog to him.  What does he remember?  Maybe I’ll ask.

If I had to choose between ten fingers and one finger, I mean, sure I could take this as a challenge to learn how to text message quickly with one finger on an alien that is unmercifully slight and I guess I said ok sync away but there’s a lot of photos and contact numbers on this mobile phone and that feels like, wow, they went into my system and took contact info that should be private, ya know, and if I leave this I gotta delete all of this. 

11.01pm

Never been up this late by choice.  All rooms full, one man in room four sleeps with the windows and the door open.  No fear of leopards or mongoose and mosquitos no problem?

I walked down the private road to the newly paved road and walked for ten minutes to reach a viewpoint of all the mountains and there was some nice post storm sunset shrouding and decided to walk through the village where I went up again via Ram’s steps and a man yelled out my name and he was too far to recognize but he was older and traveled with two women who as well said they remembered me and…and I hadn’t a clue.  And in the last three days there have been three people, two locals and Robert, who knew me but I hadn’t a clue who they were.  I would like to remember a face once in a while.