Two days of
rain, my goodness, drinking rum to stay warm, but it’s too early, what have you
eaten today, not much, soon I’ll make some salmon wraps and perhaps I’ll have
another dr. pepper and rum, Lord have mercy what is going on.
Acha, tired
of listening to the negative, it’s got me spewing what I don’t want to
spew. Good thing about chatting with
someone far away, just cut it off, listen to melancholy, wait for darkness, and
think of something good to say.
I have not
slept well for the last two nights, thinking too much one night, congestion the
other. I went into work today wearing
the raincoat and at my desk with the window behind me open I wrapped myself in
a shawl because when someone opened the door in the cool breeze came right on my
neck and that’s why I left early yesterday.
I felt feverish and so I returned to the grotto but threatening skies
tempted me so I took some advil and a zantac and left with the camera, driving
around the neighborhood, looking for reflections and I wound up on the road towards
the hanging gardens I visited 22 years ago but still can’t locate it nor can
anyone else around here, strange, but I continued to drive, turned left and
followed the ‘wadi sharm’ sign, 11 km and I found the village and I know next
to the village is the wadi but I didn’t drive to the village so I turned around
and headed back and checked out the village of Madha with its pink mosque and
the skies threatened so I headed back again and returned to the grotto just as
the heavens opened up. Amazing timing I
have to say! Was it just luck or did someone,
something know when the big rain would begin? Anyways, I think I got one or two nice
pics.
In 1990 I
asked a university representative for the definition of human rights in
China: Chinese people have the right to
exist. Seventy years under
communism-atheism-the state is always right and you will grow up not respecting
a tree, or a stream, or birds in the air.
Survival is the primordial response for people without souls. Brainwashing, surveillance, distrust,
paranoia, the garlic in life’s kitchen says Pynchon, torture, murder, poverty,
starvation. Pay the neighbor to spy, you
never develop understanding, mutual trust, companionship, security. And one generation after another
produce zombies who eat their pets. An interest in
Buddhism is growing you say, sure, the fat jolly fella who will grant you
riches and good luck, that’s all he’s good for.
Why not, we have suffered enough, it’s good to recognize your suffering,
because it comes from Beijing, right?
But Buddha isn’t a shortcut to happiness and wealth, understanding your
desire will never bring you contentment is the first step.
It’s too
early to sleep but another rum and coke is doing me in quickly. So, under the influence would you like to
discuss inhibitory circuits. No. Anymore on China? No.
Though I hope this old friend who is in my thoughts is well and hasn’t
gotten large knocking back shots of Yorkshire pudding in Liverpool.
This week I
try to reach the office by 7:30am and I’m one for three so far, two days to
improve the average, but after 15 weeks of evening teaching it ain’t easy. Even though I am getting up relatively the
same time then as now, the casual, relaxing morning is gone when I have to eat
and shower and dress before the sun rises.
I woke up to heavy rain at 6:30am and wondered if the ‘campus’ would be
under water and if anyone would show up but I didn’t hesitate to make it there
by eight and everyone was in, even students who don’t know what to do with
themselves. A few of mine came by and I asked
if they wanted a lesson, a review of what was on the final and a big no thanks
from happy smiling girls was it. They
hit this ceiling, and perhaps a smidgeon of confidence is all they’ll
need. I pushed them to understand and
trust their instincts, in Arabic ‘ba-dey-Hah’, if you study well the first
answer that comes to mind is usually the correct one. So, there it is.
Tomorrow I
will go to Hili and try and renew my border pass. I don’t have a copy of my diploma with an
embassy stamp on it because a colleague said it wasn’t necessary for renewal
but I know these folks and they treat everyone differently, based on their
amount of sleep the night before, and the color of my skin and passport, I hope
what I have will be ok, otherwise I’ll have to drive to the embassy in Muscat
and I am not keen to do that at all. We
will see.
No comments:
Post a Comment