If we took a holiday
Took some time to celebrate
Just one day out of life
It would be, it would be so nice
-Madonna
Well, you know reality is on it´s ass end when I quote Madonna. But it´s true. I do need a holiday.
So i am filling out all my facturas now for the schools i work for so i can get paid when i return. Looking forward to seeing the Martian and Kobenhaven again. Seems to be an annual trip, but this will be the last because he moves back to Dublin in April, which will be a nice place to visit too.
All else is well. Tooth is recovering. Just crazy busy. And every place i look for a flat say they want someone for March. So it´s still early. I have a few pans in the fire, so we´ll see. Have a great weekend all!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Weird scenes inside the Metro
Meanwhile in the great indoors
Pizza boxes on the floor
Prescription junkies pass the day
TV actors screw around
Wrapped in silk and dressing gowns
A grown up drama for a day
Oh you dreamer
Is this the way that you believed your life was gonna turn out
Oh you dreamer
Is this the better world that you were making all those plans for
-Big Country
Yesterday morning at 7:45, i was in the Metro and saw a guy with a Depeche Mode t-shirt and a Depeche Mode baseball hat was carrying a gym bag with a boom box in it, playing - you guessed it - Depeche Mode. He was singing in tone deaf English at the top of his lungs. WTF?
The other day I was on linea 10 going way out to Boadilla in the west and i saw a young dude with a mega-mullet, shaved over the ears and straggly long in the back. All of his finger nails on his left hand were girly-long and painted black. He also had the obligatory Doc Martens and surplus army jacket. He was one ugly bitch.
On the same train, there were two really fat ladies. Spaniards are quickly becoming as obese as Americans, which is disturbing. We knew they needed to catch up with the rest of Europe and the US, but not in fat! Then i realized the younger woman held a neon green shopping bag that said www.prenatal.com. I figured she must be knocked up, which made me feel better about her rotundness. As i got up to give her my seat i saw a round locket around her neck. It was a bronze little ball. Rosemary´s Baby!, my inner mind screamed with Homer Simpson -esque shrillness. Ruth Gordon gives Mia Farrow the locket filled with Tanis root, or devil´s root. I changed cars.
Growing up
growing up
looking for a place to live...
-Peter Gabriel
Well, I saw one place. No doors, no sink, no stove, no refridgerator, no furniture - zippy. Dust and drywall going up everywhere. And no salon - because the owner will live there. They called me later - it´s yours! It will be ready by next Miercoles (wed.)!
My ass! Maybe the first Miercoles in May! Even if you could get a stove, this is Spain. It might take three weeks to get the gas company to come.
Back to the old drawing board
-Wille. E Coyote
As far as I know- the above quote is the only thing Wille E. ever says on-screen. The Chinese mob had already cut out his tongue for unpaid Baccarat debts by the time he and the Road Runner had made it big.
Looking forward to Kobenhaven this weekend. "You really need a vacation, baby," Maria told me. It has been a crazy few weeks.
Its 45 F and rainy in Kobenhaven and 63 F here. Oh well. There are many ways to keep warm.
"Brings boots," the Martian told me.
"I live in Madrid. I don´t have boots!"
Speaking of obesity, I have been showing one of the advanced classes Super-Size Me!, Morgan Spurlocks frightening documentary about eating nothing but McDonald´s for 30 days. I figure it´s a nice bit of American Culture for them. Some of my students really thought all we eat in America is hamburger! Untrue, of course. And bitterly ironic as all they eat here is pig! Anyway, I tied it in with an articel about the haute cuisine served aboard Air Clinton and Air Obama.
You know there's a house on Victory Street
Where no one wipes their feet
A car is rusting in the yard
Mommy scrubs and daddy scores
Keeps his stash beneath the floor
Under the bed of baby blue
I need a guide book
Get me a map
Not even Indiana Jones could deal with that
The tank is empty, a wheel came off
How can someone find me if no one knows I'm lost
Hey if no one knows I'm lost
-Big Country
Pizza boxes on the floor
Prescription junkies pass the day
TV actors screw around
Wrapped in silk and dressing gowns
A grown up drama for a day
Oh you dreamer
Is this the way that you believed your life was gonna turn out
Oh you dreamer
Is this the better world that you were making all those plans for
-Big Country
Yesterday morning at 7:45, i was in the Metro and saw a guy with a Depeche Mode t-shirt and a Depeche Mode baseball hat was carrying a gym bag with a boom box in it, playing - you guessed it - Depeche Mode. He was singing in tone deaf English at the top of his lungs. WTF?
The other day I was on linea 10 going way out to Boadilla in the west and i saw a young dude with a mega-mullet, shaved over the ears and straggly long in the back. All of his finger nails on his left hand were girly-long and painted black. He also had the obligatory Doc Martens and surplus army jacket. He was one ugly bitch.
On the same train, there were two really fat ladies. Spaniards are quickly becoming as obese as Americans, which is disturbing. We knew they needed to catch up with the rest of Europe and the US, but not in fat! Then i realized the younger woman held a neon green shopping bag that said www.prenatal.com. I figured she must be knocked up, which made me feel better about her rotundness. As i got up to give her my seat i saw a round locket around her neck. It was a bronze little ball. Rosemary´s Baby!, my inner mind screamed with Homer Simpson -esque shrillness. Ruth Gordon gives Mia Farrow the locket filled with Tanis root, or devil´s root. I changed cars.
Growing up
growing up
looking for a place to live...
-Peter Gabriel
Well, I saw one place. No doors, no sink, no stove, no refridgerator, no furniture - zippy. Dust and drywall going up everywhere. And no salon - because the owner will live there. They called me later - it´s yours! It will be ready by next Miercoles (wed.)!
My ass! Maybe the first Miercoles in May! Even if you could get a stove, this is Spain. It might take three weeks to get the gas company to come.
Back to the old drawing board
-Wille. E Coyote
As far as I know- the above quote is the only thing Wille E. ever says on-screen. The Chinese mob had already cut out his tongue for unpaid Baccarat debts by the time he and the Road Runner had made it big.
Looking forward to Kobenhaven this weekend. "You really need a vacation, baby," Maria told me. It has been a crazy few weeks.
Its 45 F and rainy in Kobenhaven and 63 F here. Oh well. There are many ways to keep warm.
"Brings boots," the Martian told me.
"I live in Madrid. I don´t have boots!"
Speaking of obesity, I have been showing one of the advanced classes Super-Size Me!, Morgan Spurlocks frightening documentary about eating nothing but McDonald´s for 30 days. I figure it´s a nice bit of American Culture for them. Some of my students really thought all we eat in America is hamburger! Untrue, of course. And bitterly ironic as all they eat here is pig! Anyway, I tied it in with an articel about the haute cuisine served aboard Air Clinton and Air Obama.
You know there's a house on Victory Street
Where no one wipes their feet
A car is rusting in the yard
Mommy scrubs and daddy scores
Keeps his stash beneath the floor
Under the bed of baby blue
I need a guide book
Get me a map
Not even Indiana Jones could deal with that
The tank is empty, a wheel came off
How can someone find me if no one knows I'm lost
Hey if no one knows I'm lost
-Big Country
Saturday, February 23, 2008
pissing thru rainbows
we believed we´d catch the rainbow
Ride the wind to the sun
Sail away on ships of wonder
But life´s not a wheel
With chains made of steel
So bless me come the dawn
Come the dawn
-Rainbow
Sabado 21.56
The pain goes in and out, but mostly i have been okay. For those who have never had a root canal - they basically open up the tooth and go in there with a small coat hanger, gouging and scraping til they get the nerve. No wonder it hurts. But they gave me some some medicine, that coupled with the ibuprofena work alright. Much thanks to Dave, who gave me some movies when i saw him in London this summer, so i just watched movies for 12 hours, slept and then watched for 6 more. I don´t think that has happened since a tropical storm hit DC in ´99.
I saw THE GOOD SHEPARD, which was about the CIA in 60´s and made me feel bad about the past. Documentaries LOOSE CHANGE (which theorizes that 9/11 was done by our own government) and THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO (three innocent guys tortured in the US prison camp), which made me feel really awful about the present. And CHILDREN OF MEN (it´s 2027, everyone is sterile and there hasn´t been a baby born in almost 19 years) which painted a terrifying picture of the future. My head was a scrambled egg by the time i was done. But that´s better then sucking eggs thru a straw with ice cream, which i´ve been doing quite a bit of lately.
Manic depression
its a frustrating mess
-Jimi Hendrix
Life rolls on. Looking at a flat on Lunes which sounds too good to be true and probably is. Then Kobenhaven (Copenhagen) to see the Martian on Friday. Yeah hoo! And then it´s March -whew!
It was 16 celcius today. Trees are starting to bloom. I took some shots of some trees flowering white, something similar to cherry blossoms or dogwoods in in the US. And it´s started to rain a bit - which we need desperately and also means SPRING!
Ride the wind to the sun
Sail away on ships of wonder
But life´s not a wheel
With chains made of steel
So bless me come the dawn
Come the dawn
-Rainbow
Sabado 21.56
The pain goes in and out, but mostly i have been okay. For those who have never had a root canal - they basically open up the tooth and go in there with a small coat hanger, gouging and scraping til they get the nerve. No wonder it hurts. But they gave me some some medicine, that coupled with the ibuprofena work alright. Much thanks to Dave, who gave me some movies when i saw him in London this summer, so i just watched movies for 12 hours, slept and then watched for 6 more. I don´t think that has happened since a tropical storm hit DC in ´99.
I saw THE GOOD SHEPARD, which was about the CIA in 60´s and made me feel bad about the past. Documentaries LOOSE CHANGE (which theorizes that 9/11 was done by our own government) and THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO (three innocent guys tortured in the US prison camp), which made me feel really awful about the present. And CHILDREN OF MEN (it´s 2027, everyone is sterile and there hasn´t been a baby born in almost 19 years) which painted a terrifying picture of the future. My head was a scrambled egg by the time i was done. But that´s better then sucking eggs thru a straw with ice cream, which i´ve been doing quite a bit of lately.
Manic depression
its a frustrating mess
-Jimi Hendrix
Life rolls on. Looking at a flat on Lunes which sounds too good to be true and probably is. Then Kobenhaven (Copenhagen) to see the Martian on Friday. Yeah hoo! And then it´s March -whew!
It was 16 celcius today. Trees are starting to bloom. I took some shots of some trees flowering white, something similar to cherry blossoms or dogwoods in in the US. And it´s started to rain a bit - which we need desperately and also means SPRING!
Friday, February 22, 2008
Semana Loco
There´s no place like home
-Dorothy
Just a quick note to let you know I survived the root canal this morning. Man, did that suck. Oh well, I need to wait 3 hours then i can eat, drink, take medicine and go to bed.
All else is fine, if not loco. I had the pleasure of going to the UEFA Cup game last night - Atleti vs. Bolton Wanderers from England. It was 0-0 and The English side won on aggregate. Bastards! So Athletic Madrid tumbles out of Europe and teeth tumble out of my head. Hillary is tumbling out of the race and i could use a tumbler of scotch.
Same as it ever was
-Talking Heads
-Dorothy
Just a quick note to let you know I survived the root canal this morning. Man, did that suck. Oh well, I need to wait 3 hours then i can eat, drink, take medicine and go to bed.
All else is fine, if not loco. I had the pleasure of going to the UEFA Cup game last night - Atleti vs. Bolton Wanderers from England. It was 0-0 and The English side won on aggregate. Bastards! So Athletic Madrid tumbles out of Europe and teeth tumble out of my head. Hillary is tumbling out of the race and i could use a tumbler of scotch.
Same as it ever was
-Talking Heads
Monday, February 18, 2008
in the shuffling madness....
We're all a part of God's great mistake
The problem in the plan
We're all a part of God's great mistake
We get home if we can
-Big Country
Lunes 18 de Febrero
Lunes are the same all over the world- i am here in the locotorio (trying not to lose my eyesight with the flourescent bulbs overhead and the freaking hallogen street light that points through the window and into my eyeballs) taking care of bills I took care of six months ago and are bogus - one verizon and one some mystery doctor bill. Even here, i am not beyond the long arm of the annoying.
Ritual
My new morning ritual is squeezing fresh orange juice - yum!!!! It´s so fucking Little House on The Prarie!
I believe that democracy is meant to keep us free
I believe that Jesus Christ is who he's meant to be
I believe a living Elvis will soon appear on my TV
Put the cat out and take off the phone
And leave a light on for the last one home
-Big Country
I´ve started looking for pisos, but it´s too early. I´ll find a place to live. Somewhere. I know a good bridge to live under by the Atletico football stadium. I could be a troll!
The weather is seasonably cold and raw. We actual have a drizzle of rain today. I didn´t even own an umbrella and had to buy one- that´s how little it rains here.
The problem in the plan
We're all a part of God's great mistake
We get home if we can
-Big Country
Lunes 18 de Febrero
Lunes are the same all over the world- i am here in the locotorio (trying not to lose my eyesight with the flourescent bulbs overhead and the freaking hallogen street light that points through the window and into my eyeballs) taking care of bills I took care of six months ago and are bogus - one verizon and one some mystery doctor bill. Even here, i am not beyond the long arm of the annoying.
Ritual
My new morning ritual is squeezing fresh orange juice - yum!!!! It´s so fucking Little House on The Prarie!
I believe that democracy is meant to keep us free
I believe that Jesus Christ is who he's meant to be
I believe a living Elvis will soon appear on my TV
Put the cat out and take off the phone
And leave a light on for the last one home
-Big Country
I´ve started looking for pisos, but it´s too early. I´ll find a place to live. Somewhere. I know a good bridge to live under by the Atletico football stadium. I could be a troll!
The weather is seasonably cold and raw. We actual have a drizzle of rain today. I didn´t even own an umbrella and had to buy one- that´s how little it rains here.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Love, dentistry, football and perjury
I went downtown
I saw miss brown
She had brown sugar
All over her booga-wooga.
-Bob Marley
Hello! Happy Valentines to all of ye. All is well here. I am recovering nicely from root canal part 1. La Profesora and i caught up last night for Vantine´s. I cooked my famous angel hair and anchovie pasta - except the angel hair was just spaghetti. We had a great time. Maria had a rough week (her boss is insane!) and took some kind of stress medicine and was basically out of her head! It was quite amusing.
She´s at lunch at her mom´s and i am just hanging in Getafe, as these lunches are always the three chicas (her mom and sister).
UEFA CUP
It was a disaster. Aguero, Atleti´s best player got a red card for spitting. Not at someone - just for spitting! Bolton scored 60 seconds later and Aguero is out for the return leg this Thursday in Madrid, down 1-0 on aggregate.
What else - I cleaned the flat- preparing slowly for the big move. I´ve got some feelers out and got some bites, but it´s still early yet. Apartments get rented in less than a week in Madrid.
Oh my darlin´
Oh my darlin´
Oh my darlin´ Clementine!
You are lost and gone forever
Oh my darlin´ Clementine!
- (As arranged by) Huckleberry Hound
We fans all thought the ball was juiced. Well, we were close.
However, I do feel Clementine deserves to be castigated for
- being a liar (steroids, "McNamara took me out of game 6 at Shea!")
- a conniver when it comes to contract negotiations ("I want to be on a winner! Trade me" - then why did you decide to sign with
- A bad professional and a bad teammate for throwing people under the bus in an attempt to clear his name
- For being a headhunter (though not in
- For throwing a broken bat at Mike Piazza
- For buying his son a yellow Hummer
Houston... we have a problem!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
The Fucking Nerve...
Drain the pressure from the swelling
The sensations overwhelming
Give me a kiss goodnight and everything will be alright
Tell me that I won't feel a thing
So give me Novacaine
-Green Day
Well, the dentist started a root canal yesterday. Happy happy!!! But at least they moved my appointment up. I would have been in bad shape waiting two more weeks. They´ll do the major part next friday. Plus i want to be in good shape for Feb 29th. I´m returning to Kobenhaven to see the Martian again before he returns to Ireland.
All else is good. I keep getting more teaching hours. I´m over 20 hours a week now, which is what i always shoot for. I´ll have to teach on Friday morning, but whatever. I had Fridays off the last few months.
Looks like Obama is pulling away in the race. Hillary´s ship is sinking. But Obama´s more electible and has a better chance to win republican states - at least that´s what i teach in class!!!
It is crazy that in a presidential race it is better to have no record than to have a long record people can nit pick apart.
When i see how little tax the majority of Spaniards make (mostly because they earn nothing - the salaries are so low) and that they have universal healthcare - it is insane that a country as rich as the US does not have some kind of plan for all. It´s a disgrace.
That´ll all change when i run for President in 2016!
The sensations overwhelming
Give me a kiss goodnight and everything will be alright
Tell me that I won't feel a thing
So give me Novacaine
-Green Day
Well, the dentist started a root canal yesterday. Happy happy!!! But at least they moved my appointment up. I would have been in bad shape waiting two more weeks. They´ll do the major part next friday. Plus i want to be in good shape for Feb 29th. I´m returning to Kobenhaven to see the Martian again before he returns to Ireland.
All else is good. I keep getting more teaching hours. I´m over 20 hours a week now, which is what i always shoot for. I´ll have to teach on Friday morning, but whatever. I had Fridays off the last few months.
Looks like Obama is pulling away in the race. Hillary´s ship is sinking. But Obama´s more electible and has a better chance to win republican states - at least that´s what i teach in class!!!
It is crazy that in a presidential race it is better to have no record than to have a long record people can nit pick apart.
When i see how little tax the majority of Spaniards make (mostly because they earn nothing - the salaries are so low) and that they have universal healthcare - it is insane that a country as rich as the US does not have some kind of plan for all. It´s a disgrace.
That´ll all change when i run for President in 2016!
Monday, February 11, 2008
The Book of Lost Tales
The Book Of Lost Tales 3
Finally. This stuff is a week old – if it was fruit it would stink by now.
I am particularly gassy today, for reasons I cannot quite assess.
Martes 22:36, 5 de Febrero
-Iron Maiden and the Bible
Dubliners was SO crowded on Sunday Night (Really Monday) for the Super Bowl that it was unreal. It was hard to move your arms during the first half. Then the gawkers went home and left it to the hard core NY and NE fans, and we New Yorkers were way louder. I watched the game with Sydney. By anomaly, she is a Dallas girl who likes the Giants (thanks to her step dad). Unfortunately all the Pats fans left in a hurry, like Belichek. Shame as I wanted to lick some tears. Oh yes i did.
Freak Show
Last year's Saturday of carnival was fun, but not that many people were dressed up. NOT SO in Getafe. Maria wore an exotic mask and I went as a hippie / the man with two faces from Harry Potter – Pictures forthcoming!!!!!!
There were people dressed like Mahou beer cans (Classic green and red Five Star); chicks dressed as policia with batons and everything (grrrrrrrrr!), gansters, knights (this is the land of El Cid) a hundred pirates, but the best of all was the woman who dressed in white like a nun carrying a banner of Jesus. She came in. put in down on the ground and started kissing it! We weren't sure if she was dressed up or a right wing nut. I discovered she was just having fun when we talked later and she told me to repent. “Im- poss- i- bleh,” I told her.
Viernes 0:32 8 de Febrero
Moving Pictures
I will survive
I will survive
-Gloria Gayner
I'm soooooooooooooo confused
-Vinnie Barbarino
I remember now. Yo mierda en su leche! (i shit on the milk of your mother!) Spanish is so vulgar. Don't you love it?
But alack – after Darthgate, babygate, Spanish Lauragate and riotgate, it's kind of all the same to me.
Put one foot in front of the other
and soon you'll be walking cross the floor
put one foot in front of the other
and soon you'll be walking out the door
-Chris Kringle, Year Without a Santa Claus
So Nikos and I are going to throw a few parties.
Let's give 'em something to talk about
-Bonnie Raitt
But if he doesn't stop talking about himself in the third person, he'll have his skull smashed with the ironing board by Tuesday – Nikos go then end Marsh. This no problem for they provocate. Is no right, Jay. Is no right!
Put a bullet in your brain
and it takes all the pain away
-David Bowie
Perhaps I am to old. Perhaps I am immune. Perhaps Freddie Mercury was right and nothing really matters. Or perhaps, change takes place when needed, even if not forseen. I lived in the North of Madrid. Then the East. I guess South must be the next parada (stop) on this here train.
You can't always get what you want
but if you try sometimes
you just might find
you get what you need
-The Rolling Stones
I believe I've broken a record for most song quotes in one blog. Also a record for farting and I'm not wearing any pants on the world's most uncomfortable couch (it was 60 F today and is still warm). These people really picked the wrong guy to fuck with. Wait til I start doing fencing moves on the terrace in the buff with a broom stick!
Great reads:
I don't have the Internet and can't check the blog- did I mention Middlesex by Jeffry Eugenides? Fantastic.
And The Road by Cormac McCarthy. An bone chilling apocalyptic tale about a father and his son crossing a scorched America, rife with ash, zero wildlife and cannibalism. Terrifying but beautiful. I read it in a day. Then I soiled myself and then wanted my blankee.
1:08
Joder. I have to teach tomorrow.
Viernes 20:38
Had some sensitivity in a tooth and went to the dentist today – I definitely need a feeling and may need a root canal – Hooray!!! at least its' not that expensive here. But i have to wait 2 weeks to see this Dr. Ugh!
Oh and it never rains around here
it just comes pouring down
-Dire Straits
speedball!
I have five minutes left at the locoturio after all my business
-Rush losing Best Rock Instrumental to Springsteen is a bunch of bung. Pla eeeese!
-Obama is more electible than Hillary because he does better in the conservative south and midwest. Hil also polarizes people - they love or hate her
-It´s 60 here again. Al Gore warned us. ANd he gave us the Internet. What a dude!
- Atleti beat Santander 2-0
-Work is good
-Long story, but i have to move again
-All socks should be made one color so you never need to match them
-Rush losing Best Rock Instrumental to Springsteen is a bunch of bung. Pla eeeese!
-Obama is more electible than Hillary because he does better in the conservative south and midwest. Hil also polarizes people - they love or hate her
-It´s 60 here again. Al Gore warned us. ANd he gave us the Internet. What a dude!
- Atleti beat Santander 2-0
-Work is good
-Long story, but i have to move again
-All socks should be made one color so you never need to match them
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Zorned!
Holy shit!
-El Dude
The Redskins have hired Jim Zorn as their head coach. I feel old. Sadder still that I hate the Skins and will have to root against him.
I am alive. This has been the first chance to get the Internet (i´m in Getafe.) Busy busy busy. I have much written and will try to post tonight. You´re not going to believe any of it!!!!!
Thanks for all your great emails!!!!!
-El Dude
The Redskins have hired Jim Zorn as their head coach. I feel old. Sadder still that I hate the Skins and will have to root against him.
I am alive. This has been the first chance to get the Internet (i´m in Getafe.) Busy busy busy. I have much written and will try to post tonight. You´re not going to believe any of it!!!!!
Thanks for all your great emails!!!!!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Landlord Blues
Wynona's got herself a big brown beaver
and she shows it off to all her friends.
One day, you know, that beaver tried to leave her,
So she caged him up with cyclone fence.
-Primus
The days go by. Taught 6.5 hours yesterday, teach 6 today, 4.5 tomorrow and 1 hour on Fri to make up for the Super Bowl. Looks like the Dem race is still close and McCain is a lock for the Republican nod.
Things are cool, with the exception of my landlord. I teach him and his kids, and know his sister well. He´s actually a good guy but just a lousy business man (like most of Spain and all landlords here) That and his father never wanted to move out of the flat anyway, so he´s always causing trouble.
He told me last week he wants Nikos to sign a contract too, which is ridiculous. It´s my flat, I´m responsible and i sublet to Nikos. That´s the way i want it, so it´s my place and I can have midgets and hookers over whenever i want.
Also, I never required Nikos to stay a required amount of time. I told my landlord that this was ridiculous. His answer was “My lawyer wants him to do it.”
My reply was, “That wasn´t our deal.”
“My lawyer wants him to do it.”
“That wasn´t our deal.”
Nikos is an easy housemate. He´s a furrier and a contractor and doesn´t want to sign the contract and i don´t blame him. What was ind of nuts was that he started talking in the third person.
“If they no want Nikos to stay, Nikos go. No Problem. They want to provocate I go!”
Sweet Christmas! How did i get here?
So tonight I have to tell them that if they insist, he´s leaving. They knew i was subletting, so it´s bullshit. So if he leaves, I leave, because I´m not looking for a new housemate and I like living with him.
Then what? I´m not sure, but I´m looking for a place where i can settle and be comfortable. If this isn´t the place then better to know now. But I´m betting they topple like a house of cards once i lay some New York on them.
That or it´s back to the road.
Now Wynona took her big brown beaver,
And she stuck him up in the air.
Said "I sure do love this big brown beaver
And I wish I did have a pair."
Now the beaver onces slept for seven days
And it gave us all an awful fright.
So I tickled his chin and I gave him a pinch
And the bastard tried to bite me.
-Primus
We are quiet and I pay the rent on time. I don´t know why all these landlords are such a pain in the ass. Just leave me the fuck alone. The Spanish are a bunch of amateurs when it comes to business.
Plus, he´s the brother of my friend and I hate to get her caught in the middle.
Never a dull moment. The wheels keep on turning and the rubber keeps on burning. And me, I guess I´m along for the ride.
Wynona loved her big brown beaver
And she stroked him all the time.
She pricked her finger one day and it
Occurred to her she might have a porcupine.
-Primus
and she shows it off to all her friends.
One day, you know, that beaver tried to leave her,
So she caged him up with cyclone fence.
-Primus
The days go by. Taught 6.5 hours yesterday, teach 6 today, 4.5 tomorrow and 1 hour on Fri to make up for the Super Bowl. Looks like the Dem race is still close and McCain is a lock for the Republican nod.
Things are cool, with the exception of my landlord. I teach him and his kids, and know his sister well. He´s actually a good guy but just a lousy business man (like most of Spain and all landlords here) That and his father never wanted to move out of the flat anyway, so he´s always causing trouble.
He told me last week he wants Nikos to sign a contract too, which is ridiculous. It´s my flat, I´m responsible and i sublet to Nikos. That´s the way i want it, so it´s my place and I can have midgets and hookers over whenever i want.
Also, I never required Nikos to stay a required amount of time. I told my landlord that this was ridiculous. His answer was “My lawyer wants him to do it.”
My reply was, “That wasn´t our deal.”
“My lawyer wants him to do it.”
“That wasn´t our deal.”
Nikos is an easy housemate. He´s a furrier and a contractor and doesn´t want to sign the contract and i don´t blame him. What was ind of nuts was that he started talking in the third person.
“If they no want Nikos to stay, Nikos go. No Problem. They want to provocate I go!”
Sweet Christmas! How did i get here?
So tonight I have to tell them that if they insist, he´s leaving. They knew i was subletting, so it´s bullshit. So if he leaves, I leave, because I´m not looking for a new housemate and I like living with him.
Then what? I´m not sure, but I´m looking for a place where i can settle and be comfortable. If this isn´t the place then better to know now. But I´m betting they topple like a house of cards once i lay some New York on them.
That or it´s back to the road.
Now Wynona took her big brown beaver,
And she stuck him up in the air.
Said "I sure do love this big brown beaver
And I wish I did have a pair."
Now the beaver onces slept for seven days
And it gave us all an awful fright.
So I tickled his chin and I gave him a pinch
And the bastard tried to bite me.
-Primus
We are quiet and I pay the rent on time. I don´t know why all these landlords are such a pain in the ass. Just leave me the fuck alone. The Spanish are a bunch of amateurs when it comes to business.
Plus, he´s the brother of my friend and I hate to get her caught in the middle.
Never a dull moment. The wheels keep on turning and the rubber keeps on burning. And me, I guess I´m along for the ride.
Wynona loved her big brown beaver
And she stroked him all the time.
She pricked her finger one day and it
Occurred to her she might have a porcupine.
-Primus
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Votar!
Meet the new boss
It´s the same as the old boss
-The Who
I voted today as part of Democrats abroad, via Internet. Prety cool. We have 11 electoral votes, but i don´t think we´ll be counted til the 12th. I guess they just pool every democrat out of the country and make us a state. Pretty cool. My vote was given a number that was emailed to me and then i needed a pin, so it was pretty secure.
I voted for Obama because his website was positive and Hillary´s was all angry -¨"He misquoted me here! I never said that!" Of course, there is the concern that I have more government experience than Obama (Downtown DC, Georgetown) but it looks as though its down to him or the Hill. Alack, I guess it doesn´t matter much. Even a drunken lemur would be a better president than Shrubby. Or at the very least, quite similar.
Ma and pa look back at all the things they used to do
Didn´t have no money and they always told the truth
Daddy didn't have no toys
And mummy didn't need no boys
Wont you tell me
Where have all the good times gone?
-The Kinks
It´s the same as the old boss
-The Who
I voted today as part of Democrats abroad, via Internet. Prety cool. We have 11 electoral votes, but i don´t think we´ll be counted til the 12th. I guess they just pool every democrat out of the country and make us a state. Pretty cool. My vote was given a number that was emailed to me and then i needed a pin, so it was pretty secure.
I voted for Obama because his website was positive and Hillary´s was all angry -¨"He misquoted me here! I never said that!" Of course, there is the concern that I have more government experience than Obama (Downtown DC, Georgetown) but it looks as though its down to him or the Hill. Alack, I guess it doesn´t matter much. Even a drunken lemur would be a better president than Shrubby. Or at the very least, quite similar.
Ma and pa look back at all the things they used to do
Didn´t have no money and they always told the truth
Daddy didn't have no toys
And mummy didn't need no boys
Wont you tell me
Where have all the good times gone?
-The Kinks
Monday, February 4, 2008
Super Monday
Dia de la Mamota
And now you find yourself in '82
The disco hotspots hold the charm for you
-Asia
Groundhog's day! Significant only because La Profesora calls me groundhog because of how well i sleep (and sometimes how long).
It is also the Saturday of Carnival. So people will dress up, party and get drunk – so different from all those other weekends.
SO welcome to February; land of a thousand faces, Super Sunday, Super Tuesday call the super because my sink is backed up. Seriously – Niko and I had to take it apart last night. Luckily its a good design and had a catch – which was filled with crap.
Jay's Saturday Soundtrack as chosen by my iPod
Best of Jefferson Airplane
Snakes and Arrows – Rush
The Book of the Taliesyn – Deep Purple (This is fantastic – my student Fernando, who likes Marillion – made this for me. I thought there was no point in Deep Purple without Ian Gillian – I was wrong!)
Turbulent Indigo – Joni Mitchell
Elephant – The White Stripes
Marbles by the Sea - Marillion
In two classes, one with upper intermediates who are very sharp, and the other with Antonio, the biggest Rush head i have met in Europe, we did Rush's Xanadu. Very fun because it borrows whole lines from Coleridges Kubla Khan, poem – which also has a link to Lost Horizon, the novel. So we discuss the idea of immortality, and would you really want to live FOREVER. Sure maybe a few hundred years– but FOREVER. We also then discussed it with Anne Rice's vampire books and the Highlander movies and TV series, which also explore immortality. Fun, fun, fun. Someday i will teach literature. Someday I will go to Japan. Someday I will learn how to fly. Boo Yeah!
I asked them what they wanted to do next month. “How about The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust?”
“Zwiggy what,” said Gaspar.
“David Bowie?” I asked. No one knew it. “Or maybe Quadrophenia?” Blank stares.
“I couldn't believe it!” I told Maria. “Do they live in a box?”
“We have a much longer history in Spain than you to learn. So we don't really learn all that music.” I had to laugh.” And maybe not much people know music like you.”
I love these Saturdays, just writing. If only i could make some $ off this blog. Oh well. Maybe then it would be a chore instead of a labor of love.
Nah, fuck that. I'd like it even more if i could make money off it.
Colder today, about 8 C. This week was so freakishly warm. It must have been warm air from Africa. A lot of them have their mouths open with the Africa Cup going on. Ivory Coast and Ghana went undefeated in group play and the quarters begin tomorrow.
Atleti got bounced out of the Copa del Rey on Wed. by Mallorca. They won 3-2 but lost 3-3 aggregate on away goals. Getafe however, moved on.
Day of the Triffids
I finally found two house plants, one on the floor, one hanging. Since Nikos is Greek and I have Greek blood from the Sicilian side (as the Greek colonized them thousands of years ago.), I named them Daedelus and Icarus, respectively.
It's really cold out- even in the sun.
Okay- i need to go take the recyclibles out to the park. Brb.
I need to dress up with Maria but i have no idea what to go as. I'd go as a mamota, but of have no idea how to pull that off. I need some Austin Powers chest hair.
He pissed in their fireplace
He dragged them through turbulent indigo
-Joni Mtchell
16:43
The Internet is gone. Floors clean, kitchen, clean laundry almost done, recycling gone and back broken. It sucks to get old! Imagine how our parents feel?! (Sorry Mum).
Okay- time to quit while I'm behind. Happy Carnival!!!! Showertime, then down to Getafe.
Did u know there's an Asia reunion going on? Crazy!!!!! Did the world really need this? However, file it under guilty pleasure, because I am anxious to check it out. Oh dark shameful past!!!!!
Lunes, 3 de Febrero
The Giants won the Super Bowl. Spank my ass and call me Gwen! I couldn't believe my eyes. I got home at 5am. I call Mel – “did that really happen?”
She laughed. “No, we're not fucking with you – that really happened.”
And so, El Dude called the biggest upset in Super Bowl history.
SO here's what we're going to do. We're going start taking up a collection to help me stay out of the country so that the Giants can win more Super Bowls.
Please make all checks payable to:
Giants Celebration / El Dude Expatriation Fund
32 calle Vincente Espinel 3a
Madrid, Espana 28017
Give til it hurts. How much do you REALLY love the Giants???? Thank you for your support.
And thank you NY football Giants for giving Bostonians everywhere a well needed slap across the ass. That should shut them up, at least til April. They get so uppity I expected them to chuck tea in the harbor if the Pats won.
I also got very lucky in that my afternoon classes all got canceled, which never happens, so i got to sleep til 2:30pm
I'd rather be lucky than good
-Mum, circa 1979
Friday, February 1, 2008
The days of my Life.
Two entries in one day(2nd one below). The Internet has arrived at my house unexpectedly, so I give you the joys and screams that were last week!
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
-Bob Dylan
26 de Enero
A rare Sabado at home. Quite nice. I cooked up some Spanish coffee in the little metal dealie. It's like expresso. Then you add more than half milk. You need to warm the milk or it will cool off the coffee and this is almost the only time i use the microwave (i have to heat it in a pan at La Profesora's - so rustic!).
I hope these little insights, while maybe not gripping, give a glimpse into what it's like to live in Madrid in 2008. It ain't fucking Kansas! That's for sure.
Ooh, i hear my laundry landing. It's about 12 or 13 out (55F -ish) so i can hang them out on the line. Spring is coming – i can feel it in my toes.
The toes knows Susie. The toes knows.
-Mel Proffit
Anniversaries
On January 3rd The Spanish Exile blog turned one year old. Feliz Cumpleanos! January 7th made it one year ago that I came to Madrid. Tempus Fugit!
While the latter is a reminder that my Spanish blows, I finally have learned and processed the past and future tenses to add to my knowledge of the present tense. So now, like Billy Pilgrim in Slaughterhouse Five, I can travel forwards and backwards in time.
I am 3 years old and tasting pork chops for the first time. “Goddamn! This is fine!”
I sit and look up words to expand my vocab. I converse with la Profesora in Spanish and constantly ask her “como say dice...?” Thusly, my vocab grows, albeit quite slowly.
The sun comes through the salon window. Time to check out the terraza. Ooh, and do all those dishes from last night.
There haven't been any intensives, so i need to get out of Madrid for a day. Maybe next weekend.
16:50
Internet all day today. Hooray! Chatted with the Seester for a while. Apparently there was a TSR reunion (Requiem for the Damned) and many people have been in touch. A few asked about me and she gave them the scoop that i live in Madrid.
Melissa said I should write Fairfield Now and let them know that I am teaching in Madrid.
“Oh yes, I can see it now,” I said.
“Class of '90- Jay Greco: Currently teaching business English in Madrid, Spain. PS – Annie Greco is NOT his child.”
That should have the Jesuits spitting out their morning coffee.
I am listening to King Crimson in Central Park, July 3, 1974. Absolutely scalding!!!! Awesome stuff.
Increible!
I just went to washingtonpost .com and saw the Caps are one point out of 1st place! Holy shit. I guess firing Hanlon was a good move!
Boston is a championship city, with another possibly on the way in the Pats. Undefeated no less! The Giants and Eli (not Payton!) Manning are in the Super Bowl, and the Caps are a point out of first. A black man or a woman is going to be a presidential candidate. Has America gone loco???? I can't believe any of these things. I would like to believe them all, excepting the Boston thing (they were such fantastic losers!- it's really their strength), but alack, i cannot.
Okay- on further inspection the caps are not in the top eight. There division just sucks. Why is there a southeast division in hockey? Why not have a South American Division? It's just stupidity.
28 de Enero 17:29
Enero 2008 slips away faster and faster. By the end of the week, this year's first month will be kicked. Incredible? Well, time waits for no one. There are few things that are certain in this life but one is that time keeps moving forward.
Except for me. I can move forwards and backwards!
Stadium arcadium
a mirror to the moon
-Red Hot Chili Peppers
Our buzzer just rang. I hoped it was Correos with my medicine. It sounded like the voice said “have information,” but that was all.
“Correos?” I asked.
“We have some information?”
“Are you Correos?”
“Do you speak English?”
“Yes. Are you Correos”
“No. We have some information for you.”
“What kind of information?”
“Bible information, we have a copy of WatchTower Magazine for you?”
Oh great. I cross the Atlantic and they still found me?
“No thanks, we're cannibals here.”
“Excuse me?”
“Cannibals. No thanks.”
“Maybe I no understand you. Did you say... cannibals? Like you eat persons?”
“Yep. Not just people. We eat babies, with a little olive oil. Seen any?”
The intercom buzzed off and there was silence. That should keep them from coming back.
God, I love when people here can speak English!!!
Stranger things have come and gone
both before and after noon
-Red Hot Chili Peppers
29 de Enero 10:38
Is it getting better
or do you feel the same
does it make it easier on you
know you've got someone to blame?
-U2
Odds and Ends
My espanol is improving!!!! I took a walk last night once i realized the Correos was not bringing the sello (stamp) i needed to go get my medicine at Barajas airport. It was a lovely warm night and after a two hour walk i stopped in a bar that had exotic beer signs. Wound up talking to an old man with a droopy eye who was drinking Sam Adams in a bottle. I started by saying, “Es uno de los mejor cervezas in Los Estados Unidos.”
“Si,” he said. Then he was off to the races. He spoke really fucking fast, but i somehow managed to get the jist of it. I was so psyched. But after 20 minutes i was exhausted and happy to leave. He never seemed to realize that my Spanish was at a low level.
It was nice to explore my neighborhood. I live about 20 minutes (walking) from the Plaza de Toros, one of the most famous bull rings in all the world. Unbelievably, right now it is home to the Circus Americano, a travelling circus. Ay Carumba! Doesn't America get enough bad press without enslaving animals and making them do stupid stunts? Can't we just impeach Shrubby and make him sit, stand and roll over. Better yet, have him play dead.
I finally went to the little book store across the street. It looked like they have kid books and I wanted to see if they had some in English for my kid's class. I've never seen anyone come in or out and it's always dark. When I tried to enter the door was locked and they had to come over and open it. What the hell? They didn't have much of anything and the man and woman inside were ancient. A perfect drug front, i thought.
I'm an animal trapped in your hot car
I'm all the days that you choose to ignore
-Radiohead
I need to get some new furniture. This couch is breaking my spine slowly.
Things are changing. I am somehow transforming from a passer by to a resident.
I start a new class tonight – a teacher friend of Maite's. Yahoo!
Tomorrow is the return leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals and Atleti is down 1-0 on aggregate. The game is here in madrid, but i work so i'll watch it on tv. Atleti has gone 3 games without scoring a single goal. Ughhh!!!
Okay. Time to shower and get ready for afternoon classes.
Great Reading:Wolf of the Plains- by Conn Igulden. Don't know if I ever mentioned this one. It's about a young Ghengis Khan. Spectacular!!!!
I wanted a plant for the house and all i could find was a stalk of bamboo. It's fucking impossible to find plants and flowers around here. I have only given Maria flowers twice, because i've only seen them twice! So many other terraces are overflowing with plant life. Do they import them from Afghanistan? Que estreno (very strange).
The more I see the less i comprehend.
Nothing really matters
anyone can see
nothing really matters
to me
-Queen
How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?
-Bob Dylan
26 de Enero
A rare Sabado at home. Quite nice. I cooked up some Spanish coffee in the little metal dealie. It's like expresso. Then you add more than half milk. You need to warm the milk or it will cool off the coffee and this is almost the only time i use the microwave (i have to heat it in a pan at La Profesora's - so rustic!).
I hope these little insights, while maybe not gripping, give a glimpse into what it's like to live in Madrid in 2008. It ain't fucking Kansas! That's for sure.
Ooh, i hear my laundry landing. It's about 12 or 13 out (55F -ish) so i can hang them out on the line. Spring is coming – i can feel it in my toes.
The toes knows Susie. The toes knows.
-Mel Proffit
Anniversaries
On January 3rd The Spanish Exile blog turned one year old. Feliz Cumpleanos! January 7th made it one year ago that I came to Madrid. Tempus Fugit!
While the latter is a reminder that my Spanish blows, I finally have learned and processed the past and future tenses to add to my knowledge of the present tense. So now, like Billy Pilgrim in Slaughterhouse Five, I can travel forwards and backwards in time.
I am 3 years old and tasting pork chops for the first time. “Goddamn! This is fine!”
I sit and look up words to expand my vocab. I converse with la Profesora in Spanish and constantly ask her “como say dice...?” Thusly, my vocab grows, albeit quite slowly.
The sun comes through the salon window. Time to check out the terraza. Ooh, and do all those dishes from last night.
There haven't been any intensives, so i need to get out of Madrid for a day. Maybe next weekend.
16:50
Internet all day today. Hooray! Chatted with the Seester for a while. Apparently there was a TSR reunion (Requiem for the Damned) and many people have been in touch. A few asked about me and she gave them the scoop that i live in Madrid.
Melissa said I should write Fairfield Now and let them know that I am teaching in Madrid.
“Oh yes, I can see it now,” I said.
“Class of '90- Jay Greco: Currently teaching business English in Madrid, Spain. PS – Annie Greco is NOT his child.”
That should have the Jesuits spitting out their morning coffee.
I am listening to King Crimson in Central Park, July 3, 1974. Absolutely scalding!!!! Awesome stuff.
Increible!
I just went to washingtonpost .com and saw the Caps are one point out of 1st place! Holy shit. I guess firing Hanlon was a good move!
Boston is a championship city, with another possibly on the way in the Pats. Undefeated no less! The Giants and Eli (not Payton!) Manning are in the Super Bowl, and the Caps are a point out of first. A black man or a woman is going to be a presidential candidate. Has America gone loco???? I can't believe any of these things. I would like to believe them all, excepting the Boston thing (they were such fantastic losers!- it's really their strength), but alack, i cannot.
Okay- on further inspection the caps are not in the top eight. There division just sucks. Why is there a southeast division in hockey? Why not have a South American Division? It's just stupidity.
28 de Enero 17:29
Enero 2008 slips away faster and faster. By the end of the week, this year's first month will be kicked. Incredible? Well, time waits for no one. There are few things that are certain in this life but one is that time keeps moving forward.
Except for me. I can move forwards and backwards!
Stadium arcadium
a mirror to the moon
-Red Hot Chili Peppers
Our buzzer just rang. I hoped it was Correos with my medicine. It sounded like the voice said “have information,” but that was all.
“Correos?” I asked.
“We have some information?”
“Are you Correos?”
“Do you speak English?”
“Yes. Are you Correos”
“No. We have some information for you.”
“What kind of information?”
“Bible information, we have a copy of WatchTower Magazine for you?”
Oh great. I cross the Atlantic and they still found me?
“No thanks, we're cannibals here.”
“Excuse me?”
“Cannibals. No thanks.”
“Maybe I no understand you. Did you say... cannibals? Like you eat persons?”
“Yep. Not just people. We eat babies, with a little olive oil. Seen any?”
The intercom buzzed off and there was silence. That should keep them from coming back.
God, I love when people here can speak English!!!
Stranger things have come and gone
both before and after noon
-Red Hot Chili Peppers
29 de Enero 10:38
Is it getting better
or do you feel the same
does it make it easier on you
know you've got someone to blame?
-U2
Odds and Ends
My espanol is improving!!!! I took a walk last night once i realized the Correos was not bringing the sello (stamp) i needed to go get my medicine at Barajas airport. It was a lovely warm night and after a two hour walk i stopped in a bar that had exotic beer signs. Wound up talking to an old man with a droopy eye who was drinking Sam Adams in a bottle. I started by saying, “Es uno de los mejor cervezas in Los Estados Unidos.”
“Si,” he said. Then he was off to the races. He spoke really fucking fast, but i somehow managed to get the jist of it. I was so psyched. But after 20 minutes i was exhausted and happy to leave. He never seemed to realize that my Spanish was at a low level.
It was nice to explore my neighborhood. I live about 20 minutes (walking) from the Plaza de Toros, one of the most famous bull rings in all the world. Unbelievably, right now it is home to the Circus Americano, a travelling circus. Ay Carumba! Doesn't America get enough bad press without enslaving animals and making them do stupid stunts? Can't we just impeach Shrubby and make him sit, stand and roll over. Better yet, have him play dead.
I finally went to the little book store across the street. It looked like they have kid books and I wanted to see if they had some in English for my kid's class. I've never seen anyone come in or out and it's always dark. When I tried to enter the door was locked and they had to come over and open it. What the hell? They didn't have much of anything and the man and woman inside were ancient. A perfect drug front, i thought.
I'm an animal trapped in your hot car
I'm all the days that you choose to ignore
-Radiohead
I need to get some new furniture. This couch is breaking my spine slowly.
Things are changing. I am somehow transforming from a passer by to a resident.
I start a new class tonight – a teacher friend of Maite's. Yahoo!
Tomorrow is the return leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals and Atleti is down 1-0 on aggregate. The game is here in madrid, but i work so i'll watch it on tv. Atleti has gone 3 games without scoring a single goal. Ughhh!!!
Okay. Time to shower and get ready for afternoon classes.
Great Reading:Wolf of the Plains- by Conn Igulden. Don't know if I ever mentioned this one. It's about a young Ghengis Khan. Spectacular!!!!
I wanted a plant for the house and all i could find was a stalk of bamboo. It's fucking impossible to find plants and flowers around here. I have only given Maria flowers twice, because i've only seen them twice! So many other terraces are overflowing with plant life. Do they import them from Afghanistan? Que estreno (very strange).
The more I see the less i comprehend.
Nothing really matters
anyone can see
nothing really matters
to me
-Queen
That´s Spain, part II
(Photo: El Dude with the Smith Boys: Jan 1, 2008)
But nothing changes on New Years Day
-U2
As I believed i mentioned, i have been waiting on some medicine from the USA for a month now. Mum sent it UPS just to have it get to Madrid, sit for 5 days, and be sent back.
So mum sent it again via the US Postal service, to link with our local service, Correos, as we were instructed. It got here at 1am on January 21. I waited and waited. Then I searched for a number to call to contact them as I never received a notice or a call, but could only follow the package thru USPS online tracking. While my Spanish gets better, talking on the phone is still a bitch, especially with civil servants who could not care less. They talk too fast and use slang no matter how much you ask them to slow down or be helpful. La Profesora, using her Spanish and her womanly charms, found out that the package was cleared by the medicos (doctors) on Thursday the 24th and that i should recieve the slip for it soon.
By monday i was out of one medicine and and still had no slip. We called again. I found a half crushed pill in my knapsack and took it on tuesday.
I guess it should come as no surprise to anyone that i am mentally irregular, so i will divulge that the medicine i waited on was serataline or zoloft, which i started taking 4 years ago for OCD. When you come off it, you are supposed to taper off, as it is considered dangerous not to (don´t just stop taking your meds!!!!).
I was trying not to. On Wed., they told Maria I could go out to customs near the airport and attempt to retrieve it. All they could give her was a streeet name and no street number. Bienavenido to post-Franco Spain!!!!
No one knew where the street was when i arrived at the eastern most metro stop on the line. People were deformed with smashed in faces- grotesque and hideous (this was real - i hadn´t been off the meds that long). I went from building to building. Person to person. I found a cab and asked him to take me.
Ït´s muy cerca (very close)!¨
I told him i didn´t care, to just please take me. He refused because it was so close and pointed off in the direction.
I couldn´t find it. I stopped another cab. It was over the highway. He finally delivered me to what we figured was the right place (with the yellow Correos sign). Then he tried to rip me off for an extra Euro, which i caught. I got in and their were tw o long lines. I read them both to Maria over the phone, and even she was puzzled!!!!! I picked a line, talked to the lady and waited.
¨You can´t believe how many complaints there are on the Internet about how difficult it is to get a package!!!!¨Maria told me.
Can I play with madness?
-Iron Maiden
I waited. The phone rang again. It was Maria.
"Okay, I just talk to the man there again. You not going to believe but they tells me the package is back on the way to the United States." I almost dropped the phone.
"I tell him this is crazy because they tell me last week it was approved by the medicos!¨
We boith hoped that this guy was wrong. And then the lady called me.
"Vuelta. (It´s flying)".
"Adonde?"
"Los Estados Unidos"
Thankfully, Maria had prepared me for the shock, or i would have killed the woman. ¨That´s exactly why i call you!" she told me later that night.
The doctors had rejected it again.
I walked out, wondering what the fuck i would do next. The insanity is that last year i received medicine twice by mail. Once they just delivered, once I had to go get it- both sent by the US postal service.
I had to wait to get a cab across the highway.
He told me in Spanish that he didn´t know where the Metro was. How can you drive a cab and not know where the Metros are not have a GPS!!!!! I directed him.
"Collectively, this bario is the stupidest group of people I have ever seen,¨I said in English.
"Si Si," he said.
Now i am walking back to the metro. I see a farmacia. I have the empty bottle with me. I figure i´ll ask him what kind of doctor i need to try and see to get him to write a prescription. But first, like MacBeth, i try the last.
I hand him the bottle, say i am from Los estados Unidos, and ask for it.
"Ah, setranlina." He comes back with a thirty day supply, says its 18 Euros, and gives it to me - a prescription only drug.
When i called Maria, she said, "Yeah, that´s Spain. Just keep trying and you never know."
I bought some cheese and bread and boarded the Metro for the long ride to Boadilla, far to west of Madrid, to teach at 2pm.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
