Day in, Day out

She carries me
Through days of apathy
She washes over me
She saved my lifein a manner of speaking
when she gave me back
the power to believe
-King Crimson

Hola!
Reporting live from Madrid here, where the people are mired in yet
another holiday: San Isidro: patron saint of Madrid. So just how many
holidays are there? No one knows. The holiday is on May 15th and is
another Madird only holiday.

But I don't get paid when i don't work and it's the 3rd this month.But
I'll be fine.

Get this. The legend of San Isidro claims that the fountain in the park
named after him contained holy water that what cure whatever ails
you. So every March 15th, the people lined up to drink from the
fountain.

But the fountain is well water. It took the geniuses decades to
discover that the runoff came from the hill and that there was a
cemetary on the hill. UGGGGHHHHH! Welcome to Spain.
The miracle, they claim, is that no one got sick from this contaminated
water. Miracle or not, it's disgusting.

They now drink bottled water.

Madrid is growing and building at some pace. At least ten new Metro
stops have been added since i arrived. And then there's those three
giant towers to the north that they are building. The park we go to all
the time is brand new too. And beautiful.

The gals (Kristen and Syd) decided to have a picnic in the park on Sat.
so Stuart and I joined them: champagne, strawberries, oranges,
semi-cured cheese and fresh bread. It was about 73 degrees. It was
awesome.

It's half eight. I hear the birds outside, circling the quad. They fly
around other buildings to, as the sun begins to set.

Then the bats take over when its dark. The fly around the quad like
drunken skateboarders, barely missing buildings and poles. Oh well. I
guess they know how to get along just fine. I like to watch them.
What else? I have been involved in a torrid love affair with Stephen
King's The Stand. I got it at the J&J bar / used book store. I also got
the uncut addition, so it's almost 1200 pages! I have about 400 to go.
But Stephen King novels go down like coffee and chocolate, so it's a
fast read. Thanks all you people who told me I should read it someday,
especially Kevin. It'a tremendous read. Every time I read a Stephen
King novel, I'm amazed at what a great writer he is.

Work is fine. Life is fine. Summer is here to stay. Need to buy a fan
tomorrow.

No AC. No diswasher. No Cable. No TV. No worries!

It's an existence kind of like the survivors in The Stand. Except that
Randall Flagg isn't crucifying people to the west of Boulder.

That's good.

Speaking of crucifixion, it seems that this divorce thing is going to
take a while. Darth has pleasantly informed me that she is very busy as
"babies are a lot of work - continuous."
No shit. I have no children (praise Jah!) and I could have told her that.
But Annie seems to be doing fine. She calls Fripp the First Responder
her because he runs into the room the minute she starts to cry. That's
my boy!

He also likes to sleep on Annie's changing table. I suggested she pick
her battles carefully. Otherwise he's been awesome with the baby, as I
figured he would. He loves humans. Just loves them.

And I'll get my lawyer to attempt to speed stuff up.

I have work until the end of July, but I only have our place til the end
of June. Oh well. I'll figure something out.

Then a holiday for the month of August on the East Coast. Yeeeee
Hooooo. I can't wait to see all of your ugly mugs and shake your
flippers! I will give you my North American tour dates when I know
them. I know I'll be playing several dates in the Constitution State,
NYC, The Mother Land (NJ), Virginia, DC and Maryland. Then back
to Madrid. Back to teaching. Back to mine self-imposed exile.

It's been great. Stupid fucking Napoleon. He'd probably still be alive if
he had stayed on Elba.

I am in our little "Green House," a sun room off the kitchen that
provides glorious sunsets. It looks to the west and the mountains.

Gorgeous.

Once it sets, I'll go to the Locutorio and post this to zee web.
Now it's 9:38 and it's dusk. It's so freaking weird to have it be so light
in May. It's been this way since daylight savings began.

Here come the bats! Hello my little rabid fur balls. Fly my pretties!
Fly!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms out there, including my very
own. Happy day Mum. It's like i've known you forever!

I can now start to see the lights starting to glow in the shadows of the
mountains.

Our band is coming together - maybe. We have a lead singer, Ashley, a
guitarist, Juan. And me.

And we play shit you'd never imagine El Dude playing in a million
years: Sweet Home Alabama included. We play Zombies by the
Cranberries, which Ashley just kills. Also Strong enough to be your
Man, by Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raits Let's Give 'em something to talk
about, and Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time. Not really raging drum
songs, but I get to play. I play this fast beat to the Lauper tune, almost
like a drum machine - Eek! But it keeps me from getting bored. I need
to find a good prog rock band.

I had some paella for lunch and tried to watch the Atletico game, but it
wasn't on. I guess it was only pay per view. But I believe they won.

Been Listening to:
Rush - Snakes and Arrows
Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet
Porcupine Tree - Recordings
Marillion - Marbles
Blind Faith (extended deluxe edition)
Lou Reed - New York
Robin Trower - Bridge of Sighs
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (as well as my students)

Is that it? I guess so. Have a good night and a pleasant tomorrow.