no shlop shelng

9.00am--The light that indicates city electricity is here went off as I was hanging my laundry on the gazebo railing.  And so goes with electricity an internet connection, but after you’ve checked the box scores, news, social media, email, what else is there to do aside from going to youtube for some background sitaring or five minute clips of Stephen Colbert. 

Last night Rezek took me shopping and I found fruit behold and loaded up on bananas, grapes, pomegranates, two oranges, two peaches, I passed on the apples though they looked ok, and a large bag of dried mulberries.  Shall I make a large salad only I will probably eat or just consume it in the next five days.  Saffiq leaves today for all of next week, which means no egg and bread for breakfast and no lentils for lunch.  I also picked up a loaf of bread and a loaf cake that I had two slices of this morning with a little bit of peanut butter, and oh if there is power in the morning, the toaster, and the toaster would toast that cake loaf up real good, like pound cake and melted butter.  If only I had butter. 

7.59pm

This afternoon’s lunch was brought into the blue room by Hannukah.  A huge chapatti and sliced potatoes cooked in oil and eggplant in its own right prepared as a I don’t know what, but it was good and I gave the eccentric man a Ziploc full of dried mulberries which aren’t as good as fresh ones. 

‘you shlop shelng in Nepal?

No shlop shelng in Nepal.

Woa

Schlop shelng in Dubai.

Dubai Schlop shelng, ah…yes. Dubai big schlop shelng

Thanks to solar I had two toasted peanut butter and banana sandwiches and an apple Barbican.  I started reading Gilead and…with focus, a comfortable chair, and quiet, I am in a small town in Iowa.  Marilynne Robinson’s period prose reminds me a little bit of Conrad Richter. 

I wonder if I’d like reading ‘the trees’ again?  An influential work indeed. 

I didn’t grade too many essays today.  I might have two classes tomorrow, the women and children and strangely older men and two teenagers, geez its practically a home of sorts, and then the second toefl class so I can’t lay around like I did today. 

I think ten minutes of Stephen Colbert a day is more than enough.

I am day five into the novena and foresee standing on a mountain, a clear night, to observe a double celestial treat.  I don’t want to think what will or will not happen because the very second either way I am disappointed.  Assume nothing, expect nothing but continue to practice morning rituals, meditations and chants, and moments of silence.  The intention of the novena isn’t to receive, it can’t be, but that’s why they call it answered prayers, dummy, I know.  The intention of the Novena isn’t to receive anything, it’s to prepare.

“I know you haven’t heard anything really too crazy from me in a while but I actually lived next door to this Mexican-American fella and the spirit of Abbie Hoffman, political activist in the 60’s, found a place to roost in his soul, in his mind, and there were a lot of Jews as well who flew out of his flat and through my living room during the purgation, sorry, puja.”

It would be nice to speak to someone about the significant and insignificant symbolisms that left most, probably all, scared out of their wits.  I told two psychologists in Pittsburgh, ha, and they wished me well.  I told three  colleagues in Buraimi in the only bar in town and there was the collective glassy eye look, wow, I haven’t the faintest idea of what you are talking about, but wow.