good light

7:33am—An annoyingly sore throat remains and a resurging headache on a brisk morning, the space heater cuts the cold, coffee is at hand.  A writing sample for KU plods wearily.  The urgency I have is tempered with the return of class preparations and life in the house in Aino Mina.  I hung the Tibetan door cloth in front of the door, giving me a tad more privacy while keeping the door open.  I bought the cloth seven years ago when Keith and I visited Nyima for the first time and only now do I put it to use.  In front of me taped on the wall the 2016 calendar.  Another month of cold I’m told and that is ok because when it gets hot it will be inescapable. 

I held a TOEFL introduction class last night and two students came.  I think there has to be a minimum of ten but these two are so eager I don’t know what we will do.  Right now I have one afternoon class and we will wait to see if others come now that a real live American is back in the house.

I didn’t keep the journal very much this last holiday.  Talking to people, watching television, getting out, whatever thoughts ruminated then weren’t worth remembering, sort of like this blog sometimes, eh?  What is worth remembering, probably most of what I say here isn’t, but living alone it’s either the dark and depths of silence I will go where nothing said is , or I figure out how to improve my academic writing which will take some serious effort and there’d be nothing wrong in starting now.

Ideally the time in silence should generate ideas for academic writing, right?  Ideally.      

8:40am—city power comes on and there is no one here.  Work in Kandahar is the most reserved place to work.  The sun comes into the room and it is a good time to spend a few moments de-stressing by coloring a mandala.

Granted this isn’t how to become successful, is it?  I want to finish this KU writing and I’m thinking of ditching it and doing something else completely unrelated.  But for now, let’s think of nothing and get something done.

1.19.16

9:10am--I should finish Byron’s ‘The Road to Oxiana’ in a few days, to travel like he did eighty years ago would be a treat and yet when I was his age at the time of writing this seminal work I travelled as boldly as he did only I didn’t know anything about Islamic architecture and my notes pale in comparison to his elegant prose.  I’m sure I would have benefitted from a few more writing classes if I had gone to Oxford.

Another brisk morning, I remained under the covers until the morning light, it’s pointless to get up at six if there is no electricity. 

I have no excuse, there is now ample time to complete what I have to do and then…what then?  If my direction on the compass points west then so be it do what you want to do and what do I want to do in a house that’s too cold to move around in?

I do miss having a normal breakfast of yogurt, toast, coffee and maybe a bowl of cereal once in a while.  McDonald’s new steak mcmuffin was ok a few times, their orange juice always refreshed.  Orange juice!  Rezek brought in a bag of oranges and I explained I’d need at least ten oranges to get a tall glass of fresh orange.  He scoffed.  Eat one orange.  I wish I could eat more oranges but my hands are too cold. 

4:25pm--“Is it remotely possible on the island of Patmos John consumed magic mushrooms in order to receive the message, a rather long and crazy ass message if you ask me.  But is it possible?  Of course it is and the first rule of thumb if you believe this is to immediately un-plug yourself from 21^st century high octane cognitive rationalism simply in order to understand and accept the practices two thousand years ago.

And I can guess the reason there is no recorded mention of John using anything to place him in that state to receive the transmission. For one it wasn't necessary.  Two, if it were mentioned we would have had a few more thousand denominations advocating the use of 'entheogens' and there'd be abuse and cosmological avarice and fraud everywhere.

Word has it the local government is close to making an agreement to offer 24 hour electricity every other day, I am joyful, but Said Wali says people are complaining and want the government to pay for everyone’s electricity.  If you have a job you will pay in some form or another and for the masses of unemployed, well the big houses in Aino Meena and businesses will have to cover that necessity.  Give the poorest light and help them rise from the mud of poverty and conflict.

We haven’t used the big solar, the generator and no city power today so when my pc battery ebbed at the end I took it to the new office and it charged enough to use it again.  In the meantime we had lunch outside and back in the office I colored flowers and geometrical mandalas strenuously at times with small figures and I had to constantly adjust the page because the pen is in front of the space I wish to color so I have to constantly swivel the book for the best angle but being in the sun room was nice, much nicer than the chilled blue room and that helped to see.  Good light is good.

And at five darkness closes in and temps fall, on comes the space heater. How am I going to spend this evening?  How many hours will I sit in front of this computer?  Once the big solar is turned on six or seven hours.  I think a movie would be good.