Thursday, April 14, 2016

forgive and forget



6:14pm

I brought work back to the guesthouse last night and aside from walking to the markets to buy veggies, milk, butter, oil and cookies, I stayed put and made pancakes for lunch.  Once the Roshan classes resume I won’t have any of these mid week days off and for what it’s worth, I got a lot done here.  One doesn’t need to be in ‘office’ to be productive.

I was also reluctant to go in because I’m just not feeling great.  It must be the spring weather, rain showers, sun, the temps are still thirty degrees different between morning and afternoon.  A raspy throat, clogged nasal passages and just a general blah kept me close to the bed most of the day.  What can I do but rest and if the opportunity is there, so be it.  Rest.

I finished Grisham’s ‘Calico Joe’, a sweet ending to this small book it was, and so easy am I to get sentimental with good writing, and then started ‘The Best of American Travel Writing for 2015’ and read two stories, one was lame, odd it was chosen to start the book, and the second a story of TE Lawrence’s Arabia.  I’m kind of bummed when I realize in my ten months in Gazientep just thirty minutes east is the famous ancient city of Carcamesh which I didn’t visit and I didn’t know Lawrence had spent considerable time there.

I’m a little embarrassed to admit but the copy of Moby Dick sits waiting and is wondering when the heck I’m gonna tackle it.  I’ve been carrying it around since I picked it up in Hikkadewa, Sri Lanka. Don’t be afraid to not understand it, just read it slowly.

Last July I went into a bookshop in Amsterdam and asked two elderly employees if they had a copy of Christopher Alexander’s book, ‘The Pattern Language’.  Today I got a reply and they will ship it here once I give them my credit card info.  The 1000 page book of architecture and QWAN has spell bounded me for seven years.  Why?  Quality without a name, I don’t know why. 

Another email today came from security outlining what to do in case of an earthquake.  Just a week late, my friend and may there be no more of those nasty events.  I’m also aware of the one year anniversary of the terrible ‘ba-kumba’ in Nepal coming up.  A terrible time for so many.  God save us all.


They’re talking about politics and the constant shifting of the aura of inevitability. What?  If people are so unsure with two candidates who are incredibly frightening, here’s the aura of inevitability: neither of them will ever come close to the Oval Room.  That is the inevitability I know everyone knows. 

It’s really too bad it’s only April.  What a depressing scene.  Does the media have to report all that is bad in the world?  Ha ha, you’d rather they ignore the bad and just present the good?  The media would have nothing to say, why do people feed on the bad?  Is it just a matter of feeling better about oneself because one is not the subject of the story?  Certainly not.

I think it’s time to sleep.

4.14.16

I went to work.

4.15.16

8:25am

Darks in the load, the Hong Konger lurks in the tv room.  When he sees me coming he moves out of my sight, ha, he thinks I don’t see him.  Why is he such a willy-nilly I don’t know why.  It is unfortunate this islander is not friendly with anyone.  The women scorn him for his selfish colonial huffing, I haven’t heard him say anything offensive but his habits are definitely misaligned with common sense.  Oh well.  We mark our territories and there it be, we respect each other’s space, a careful approach we must have in the kitchen where I wash dishes because it’s the right thing to do and he doesn’t.  It’s Friday your cleaner isn’t coming in, buddy, wash your bowl and the cutting board, I’m gonna use it today.

So, what’s the plan?  Tomorrow a trekking outing is being organized, whoopee sign me up.  But for today, I got work I should do it, I don’t want to procrastinate.  The business class begins again on Sunday, the article I wish to submit looms large, two weeks to get it in, a test next week for the afternoon classes has to be made and my bathroom needs a cleaning.  Spring in Kabul is very nice, what a shame it isn’t being exploited.  In Kandahar it is 95 degrees.  Without air conditioning.

Have a productive God-fearing day.


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