Campeones!

So take that look out of here, it doesn't fit you
Because it's happened doesn't mean you've been discarded
Pull up your head off the floor, come up screaming
Cry out for everything you ever might have wanted

-Big Country

Espana won its first title in 44 years last night.

It was bonkers. The partying went on all night.

I watched the game in a bar with my friend Cara, her Spanish husband and his family.

Her husband's is Itor. How cool is that! Like By-Tor and the Snow Dog, the Rush Tune.

It was a great night. A historic one with many possible implications. Spaniards don't normally celebrate the flag. It's seen as a symbol of the PP Party (the right). Catalunians see themselves as Catalans (Barcleona). The same with Galicians and the Basques. I've witnessed a national pride i've never seen in a year and a half here. So who knows? Maybe it's a step towards unity.

Or just one hell of a party!

Galicia and forward

Photo: Ponte Vedra Beach


Your time is gonna come
-Led Zeppelin


Well, Summer Tour 2008 begins with Jul 1,2,3 in the North of Spain, the part that hangs over Portugal. I will be taking a night train on Monday night. I'll be playing Ponte Vedra in the Province of Galicia. I'll just hang on the beach and then write and get my skull together for the upcoming tour. It's supposed to be green and lush and it's the Atlantic Coast.

"The water is very COLD!" my student Maria told me.

Fernando replied "Yes, but he's from New York. He's used to it."

Damn straight baby. Damn straight.

And i will be out of pocket for La Wackadoo's birthday.

Wile - e Coyote -- super genius!
-Looney Tunes


So i am doing all my laundry, cleaning the flat, getting ready for the trip, coordinating with Darth, accountants and the like. It's madness really. I think i liked work better!

But tomorrow is the big day with the Euro Cup Final! Que bien!

Fucking hell. It's so hot.

Plus: i needed to give the grill a hell of a cleaning because the grease pours into the coils - stupid! - and was causing grease fires below the grill part. I let it soak overnight with anti-grease stuff. Much maintenance to be done. You use much with uncountable nouns and many with countable nouns. HA! So there! Still winding down from the year...

I also need to sew a lot of buttons and get to the market if i'll have anything for tomorrow as all markets are closed on Domingo in a quaint throwback to the Dark Ages. The Domesticated El Dude. So lots to do. Just the precursor before a lot of exciting stuff goes down.


SUMMER 2008 "Hot as Balls" TOUR

Jul 1,2,3 - Pontevedra, Galicia
Jul 5 - Madrid 4th of July Bash
Jul 9 - Has Hghts NJ
Jul 10 - Sunny Ansonia CT
Jul 11 - Wilton CT
Jul 12 - Has Hghts, NJ
Jul 13 Washington DC
Jul 23 -26 Vt
Jul 27 - Boston, MA
Aug 20 -27 Madrid
Aug 29,30,31 Moscow

Calor

How you know it's hot;

-The alert on your browser that tells the temperature has a little red thermometer on fire and says “sunny and hot!”

-Your ass perspires

-Your work pants look immaculately pressed because sweating through them makes a lovely crease

-Dogs won't even go outside to pee. They'd rather hold it

27 de Junio

Spain smashed Russia 3-0 to go through to the Euro Cup final on Domingo! The National Team is looking for it's first championship since 1964! That's before even i was born. It's seems like nothing big has happened before i was i was born anymore. It will be Germany vs. Spain. It's an all "we used to be fascist in the 30's!" European final!

The streets were filled with people in red and yellow before the game. And forever afterwards. Lots of car honking. It really is ridiculous. They adore being loud. When i was at Plaza Colon watching the game outdoors, there were many guys with bullhorns. You must have an itzty bitzy teenie weenie if you need a bullhorn to be loud. I thought they were for seniors.

School is out for summer!

Yesterday was a nice day!

Still hot as hell's boiler room. I had some home-made Gazpacho last night at Alphonso's (the guitarist) while we watched the game. That helped. He had AC too. I kissed the air filter grill when no one was looking. I love you!!!!

higher learning

Photo: dog biscuit, Mr. President?

This fan is my life....
I am dead without my fan
-Full Metal Jacket (as adapted by El Dude for Spain)

AC is an amazing invention. I only wish we had some. We really live in some kick ass luxury in the USA. I will be back in 2 weeks.

Time is an ice cube, always melting. Melting.

As Season 3 of the Spanish Exile comes to a close, i think, what have we learned?

-All women i date eventually take a mental bungee jump. Some just take longer than others. It must be something with my aura

-Don't ever put the charger for your phone in the llavadora (washing machine)

-Some cockroaches are bigger than others

-Always pee before you get on the Metro

-If you want a really good steak, go to the States

-Never speak Spanish to a Chinese person

-There are many parks named for San Isidro in Madrid

-Don't pee off of the terrace. There may be people down there. Angry people.

-It is possible for your elbows to sweat

-Pants suck

-There are so many hot topless chicks at the public pool that if it was a book in the Bible, it would be a reading from the book of Heuteronomy

-El Dude is old

-George W. Bush is Satan's Toy Fox Terrier

Thank you for playing along at home.

Change in the weather

Fuck you and your book too
you can have it back
-Porcupine Tree


Last night i was cleaning the grill and getting it hot. I thought i saw little flashes in the sky, very faint. 5 minutes later i figured out it was lightning, something we don't see much. It was like heat lightning. So i just brought the grill in the kitchen because i could see clouds to the west. 15 minutes later the wind was slamming doors shut. Then is began to pour. Then I heard stuff 'pinging' in Chema's room. It was hail coming in the window. Little bits of rock hard ice. It sounded like the sky was falling. The terrace was filled with bouncing little balls of ice. It was one of the craziest things i have ever seen. And then it was over as suddenly as it came.

Even the weather is nuts here.

And the heat is killing me. 95 Degrees! The air is like off of a roasting full-grown pig. The air from Africa. That continent is really starting to piss me off.

I forget it beats on you for the first week. And I estimate now that I walk a minimum of 5km a day. And in long pants. I'm sweating like John Candy. I do have very light pants - the khaki linen ones are like pajamas! Linen pants rock.

Cold drinks get warm in five minutes. Drinking gazpacho daily has helped. It's all fluids and vitamins. It's like 500 year old Andalusian Gatorade without all the sugar. it's wild - i feel better 5 minutes after I drink it.

The Russo-Spanish Conflict
I heard from my buddy Tripp today and he's in Russia on business, so he's going out to watch the Spain - Russia semifinal on Jueves in Russia. That will be a blast.

The Cuatro, which shows the games, is asking everyone to wear red on Thursday.

The Euro Cups are a big F#@king deal man. I read that Spain beat Italy for the first time since 1920!!!!! Italy has won 4 World Cups since then.

The way out
is the way in
-Rush

Boomerang

From the point of conception To the moment of truth
At the point of surrender
To the burden of proof

From the point of ignition
To the final drive
The point of a journey
Is not to arrive
-Rush

What comes around...


Well Irlanda was here. Now she's gone again. She said "she just wasn't feeling it" and decided to go back to Ireland. I've been here long enough to see people come and go - it's just usually not the same people!


"I hated the idea of tellin' ya" she told me on Friday.

"That's okay. You're like an Irish boomerang. You always come back."


Podemos!

In a brutal 0 - 0 game against Italy that went on forever, Espana finally moved to the European semi-finals for the first time since Reagan was in power ('84). When Spain scored the winning penalty kick, the entire city errupted. It sounded like The Siege of Madrid in the late 30's! Fireworks. Car horns blarring. Shouts of exultation. We watched the game here and could even see fireworks from the terrace. Now where a knucklehead gets fireworks like that, I do not know. But they didn't look endorsed by the Ayudamiento of Madrid!!!


And they have been so snake-bitten no one believed they would win. But they did.

I didn't live here during those last few Euro Cups.

So now it's Russia on Jueves, who played excellent against the Netherlands. Whoever moves on faces the winner of Turkey - Germany for the Cup. Turkey is depleted, so it will be Alemania.

Podemos Espana (we can do it)!

That's been the big marketing pitch for the tournament on the Cuatro TV channel. I don't expect to do anything except drink a few beers, so i don't really understand the 'we' part. Whatever. If I can help, just let me know.

No Class
My classes next Lunes got cancelled, but i still get paid. So Jueves is my last day! Difficult to comprehend how quickly a year goes by.

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

18 de Junio, Miercoles, 10:58

Look at everybody naked and disfigured
nothing's shocking
-Jane's Addiction

I said goodbye to my first class this morning, as they stop a week earleier than everyone else because they switch to summer hours. If you love something, set it free! Fly fly my pretties! Go out amongst the masses and speak English! I've been with them since September. Crazy!

QUARTERFINALS

Spain will face Italy on Sunday night in the beginning of the knock out phase for the Euro Cup. It should be a smackdown of a good time if both teams play an open game. I normally root for Italy but as I live in Madrid, I will cheer on Spain. The nice thing is i will definitely have a team in the semifinals. Portugal plays Germany tomorrow.

MASTER OF HER OWN DOMAIN

American Laura finished the school portion of her masters in EU law yesterday. Next follows an internship somewhere as yet to be named, until December. We're going out to celebrate on Friday with a bunch of our crew.

19 de Junio, 0:02

ALL IN THE FAMILY

This is indeed a most disturbing universe
-Doctor Julius Hibbert, The Simpsons

Laura and I met last night at an Irish bar near her. She asked me about La Profesora, so i told her all i wrote in the blog. Then i told he one more thing.

“Jesus H Christ on a cracker! Are you fucking serious?”

“Yes.”

“You know I have plenty of baggage, but that is be all, end all fucked!”

“Thanks. I just needed to bounce that off of someone.”

“Block her email. Run!”

“Block email. Gotcha.” I paused. “One more question?”

“Shoot.”

“When you said 'Christ on a cracker', did you mean like, a Ritz, or did you mean a Southern American? Like Virginia?”

*

So here it is....

*** WARNING***

The following information is disturbing. Mum, this means you!!!! For the love of puppies and baby hummingbirds and lollipop houses, just turn off the computer! Walk outside and forget there was ever a blog entry for June 22^nd. All of you.

***WARNING***

I watched those ships burn
and i knew i could never go back again
and i forbade the crew
to talk of the time before then

Ships burn
Ships burn
-Wayward Platypus

I can't do this now. I need to sleep. If i tell it correctly i should relive it (so that you can maybe live it if i do my job correctly). The lights are out except for the Buddha candle and i am listening to a chilling live version of The Doors The End. It began with two minutes of Jim Morrison ringing a bell and calling bring out your dead! I can't do this right now.

Run away! Run Away!

Liars and Tigers and Bushes, oh my!!!

Hasta Pronto.

Jun 21 - Summer solstice

Ha Ha! That wasn't so long, was it?

I got a call last night that was just a number, which is unusual. I was hanging my laundry, which takes like 15 minutes to dry in this infernal heat. I was about to answer it when i recognized the first three digits as La Profesora's. I clicked the phone shut.

The measure of the moment
In a difference of degree
Just one little victory
A spirit breaking free
One little victory
The greatest act can be
One little victory
-Rush

So here's the rub;

Somehow it came up – “what the hell were you and Gelles (her sister) doing in my room?”

“No, no, no..., You'll write about it!”

“No i won't,” I lied. I figure that since my days with her are over, i don't owe this mad woman anything.

She told me her sister and her stopped at their favorite sex shop. Now i have perused these places with her before. They have a lot of cool stuff (whips!). They also have a lot of stuff that looks anatomically impossible.

They both got little vibrators that you can put down your pants and then run by remote control. They then realized that they were both on the same frequency, meaning, they could start each others vibrators.

Disturbing. A little too Alabama for my taste.

I remember at one point she was hopping up and down against the wall. “Do you have to go to the bathroom, little girl?” I asked.

Little did i know.

The Seester has often called me a freak magnet. “Do they just float over and hit you in the ass as you walk down the street?” she asked.

Maybe they do.

“You sure can pick 'em,” Kristen always says.

Life is much stranger than fiction. Fiction imitates life. Inmates run the asylum.

22 Junio

It's been hotter than El Diablo's Culo (the devil's ass) this weekend. I'm going to meet Laura at the pool and then the big Quarterfinal match tonight; Italy vs. Spain. Should be fun. Germany, Turkey and Russia are already through.

Vamos Espana!

8 days completely La Profesora free!

Adios my dear bloggees.

Resurrection

photo: Peruvian Dinner - American Laura, El Dude, Selene - opposite Peruvian chick, Brazilian chick, Duarte

Now i'm free of what you are
-Audioslave

48 hours completely La Wackadoo free. My hair looks shinier. My teeth straighter and whiter. My butt more firm. My schlong looks larger.

Ah.... burning bridges. Mum told me never to do it but i only listened to approximately half of what she said. Sorry. Let's say 51%. That's more than half!

Mama always told me not to look into the sights of the sun
Oh but mama, that's where the fun is!
-Bruce Springsteen

The paper today said that it's going to get hot because of the summer African winds. And just where the hell do I live that the weather in Africa affects me? How did this happen?

PS. I hate Africa! It's a shithole!

How you know it's time to visit the US;

• My gel deodorant is down to nubs. I need to bootleg more back when i return

• I could possibly kill for a piece of real southern fried chicken

• My skin is so dry and itchy, just begging for some humidity

• I had a dream about mooning Shrubby on E Street in front of the White House

• Baseball on the radio sounds like Demi Moore eating chocolate and reading Playboy Forum aloud

  Hell yes. Time to return for a spell.

She dodged behind the sofa,
She tore down a curtain rod,
But Victor came slowly after her:
Said; 'Prepare to meet thy God.'

He stood there above the body,
He stood there holding the knife;
And the blood ran down the stairs and sang,
'I am the Resurrection and the Life!'
-WH Auden

twlight in the garden of good and evil

The way she powders her nose
Her vanity shows and it shows
She's the worst thing in this world
Well, look at that stupid girl
-Rolling Stones

Round Two

I was pounding away yesterday on the laptop, some 1,500 words written ,when Deidre texted me to see if i wanted to go out.

This is good. Fresh air. Sunshine. Life.

But on the way there, I realized i had dozens of texts from La Wackadoo still in my phone. For reasons beyond my simple consumer powers of comprehension, the good people at Alcatel (which used to be Lucent) decided it is unnecessary for me to be able to delete all of my messages at once. So i had to go through one by one. But the fuckers made me look at each one before i erased it. The process went something like this;

Hola Guapo! See you soon!

Bitch!

Delete

tic tac, tic tac, the clock goes – you'll be old soon, I mean mature :)

Ha! ... Whore!

Delete

I am late- soon you soon baby!

Puta!

Delete

Wash, rinse, repeat. Wash, rinse, repeat.

One morning I woke up and I knew
You were really gone
A new day, a new way, I knew
I should see it along
Go your way, I'll go mine and
Carry on

-Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

But I did see Turkey rally from a 2-0 deficit with 15 minutes remaining to score 3 goals and oust the Czechs. The Turks at the bar went apeshit.

And on Saturday, while i was at Plaza Colon, Spain scored in the 92^nd minute to defeat Sweden 2-1 and win the group. They now play a meaningless game with Greece on Miercoles, while they await Italy, France or Romania next Sunday. Que Bien!

And Saturday is the summer solstice. It'll be light until freaking 23:00 here. Let's coordinate something pagan on both sides of the Atlantic!!!!

If only you would use your powers for good instead of Evil
-Mum

Good bye Pork Pie Hat

Goodbye to you
-Scandal

Joder. This quote brings me to an all time low. But it's approriate. I saw La Profesora for drinks and she is nothing but a psychopathic flirt who digs having men fall all over her. Well not this men. She brazenly brought my attention to her boobs, and they're very nice boobs. And i thought. This is fucking insane. Loco.

So I was getting on the Metro after i said goodbye (we had later met up with Laura, Mark and her cousin who is studying here for the summer) and I erased Maria's telephone number from my movil phone.

HA HA!

Those precious few moments when blowing up a bridge is both appropriate and prudent. And the drama is just divine!

Speaking words of wisdom
let it be
-The Beatles

I have some clothes at her house I have been trying to get, along with some paints and a canvas, but i'm ready to call it a loss.

Into the great wide open
-Tom Petty

In other news, i went to Plaza Colon to watch Spain play Sweden on the big screens. The crowd was bonkers, awash in yellow and red. The push of the crowd, The pull of the crowd. The inescapable buzz of noise across the throng of bodies. The bittersweet smell of sweat and beer. The many gorgeous pairs of boobies for me to watch without the head games or emotions that would follow later when I met La Profesora.

Writing is going well. Once I finish this chapter (12 in all) I will edit it and get Buying New Soul out to all of ye who wish to take a long disturbing journey into what looks like my life in a parallel universe. But it's funny too. Or at least i hope it is. I would settle for entertaining.

And lastly, happy fucking birthday to my boy, Frippy, is 9 years old today. Sweet collard greens! How does time go by so quickly? I remember when he was a little runt whose ears were too big for his head (he still has the same size ears, his head just grew into them). Happy birthday little buddy! We'll celebrate in July and I'll take you to CT to see your brother! And happy birthday to Mully too! Who's older, we don't know.

Eat well, brush your teeth. Laugh Often.

Portents

Buying New Soul is now 30,500 words.

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
-WB Yeats

Okay- while you're digesting the dark, creepy and ominous passage above, the sun came out. I is going to da poooool.

18:17

Off to cheer on Italy.

SABADO Jun 14

Nothing terrible happened on Friday the 13^th here. Maybe that's because they believe in Tuesday the 13^th. Why this is, i do not know. I believe our belief in Friday the 13^th being portentous has to do with the Knights Templar being slaughtered on such a day. But I don't believe in the Knights Templar.

Italy played to a very exciting 1-1 draw with Romania and Holland waxed France, so Italy may be able to get to the quarterfinals with a win over France on Martes.

Spain can virtually wrap up a quarterfinals spot with a victory over Sweden today. My student, Ruben, flew to Munich yesterday and is driving to Innsbruck today for the game. Que bien!

Summer is arriving. 28 C today.

So, i will clean, write, watch the game....and then not sure.

I am reading Chuck Palahniuk's Survivor, about one of the last remaining member's of a fictitious Nebraska suicide cult (but if i was going to kill myself, Nebraska would be the place!). It's fantastic. Apocalypse, apocalypse, apocalypse! I can't get away from it. My friend Carl gave it to me for my birthday. The end of the world is everywhere I turn. But I'm down with that.

666 is no longer alone,
He's getting out the marrow in your back bone,
And the seven trumpets blowing sweet rock and roll,
Gonna blow right down inside your soul.
Pythagoras with the looking glass reflects the full moon,
In blood, he's writing the lyrics of a hip brand new tune.

-Genesis

dancing in the ruins , part 2

Like a song
Out of tune and out of time
All I needed was a rhyme for you
C'est la vie
Do you give
Do you live from day to day
Is there is no song I can play for you
C'est la vie
-Emerson Lake and Palmer

There comes a time in everyone's life when we all ask ourselves, “Have I broken my brain?”

Maybe it's turning thirty, oops... forty. Maybe it's pounding drums all those years. Beer and martini's and all of that mind numbing television. Maybe it's reading too many apocalyptic books like Stephen King's The Wastelands or Pompeii by Robert Harris. Maybe it's just the time of man as Joni Mitchell once sang. The War in Iraq. The price of oil. That sour spot in your stomach that says the world is running down like in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner.

For whatever reason, Apocalyptic themes seem to be everywhere. Maybe i am just overly introspective as the semester ends and the weather is more like Ireland than Spain. Not that i mind it being cool. It's nice to not sweat when you sleep. I still have my winter blanket on the bed.

But Spain is cool and New York City is boiling. Something is awry.

The gardener plants an evergreen
Whilst trampling on a flower.
I chase the wind of a prism ship
To taste the sweet and sour.
The patterned juggler lifts his hand;
The orchestra begin.
As slowly turns the grinding wheel
In the court of the crimson king.
-King Crimson

But everything is still okay. The sun rises and the moon follows. Life is good. The new story is almost 30,000 words.

Or maybe it is just that I know my wanderlust is pulling me in some new direction. I'm pretty certain this is my last year in Madrid. Where next? The way the big wheel spins.

So what the hell am i trying to say? Be happy. Hug your children. Dance for no reason. Cook your favorite meal this weekend. Tie your lover to the coat rack on Friday night and tickle their ass with a feather just like they've always wanted. Because life is too short. Live people. Live.

I guess i'll see you dancing in the ruins
-Blue Oyster Cult

Living in the past

6 de Junio

Walking across the sitting-room, I turn the television off.
Sitting beside you, I look into your eyes.
As the sound of motor cars fades in the night time,
I swear I saw your face change, it didn't seem quite right.
...And it's hello babe with your guardian eyes so blue
Hey my baby don't you know our love is true?
-Genesis

Music to turn 40 by

Birds of Fire – Mahavishnu Orchestra
A Night for Baku – Djam Karet
Bridge of Sighs – Robin Trower
Rush – Different Stages (disc 0ne)
Joe Satriani- Dr. Satchifunkilus and....
His Greatest Moments Live – BB King
Keys to Ascension – Yes

Thanks for all of the birthday emails. Dude! My inbox was swimming in new emails. Technology is a beautiful thing. It's so nice to be in touch with everyone thru the Internet and all.

Soy un viejo. I am old. Oh well. So be it.

Today is party prep day. Lots of cleaning!!!!! Slowly my room had devolved into the waiting room from hell. So i clean. Spring cleaning. I'm 40 cleaning. Spanish flats are shitholes that never even get the most rudimentary repairs cleaning.

When i go back to the US it's like everybody's house was built last month and the place was sterilized that morning, to the point where you could do surgery on the dining room table if need be. Excepting Mitchell's old apartment.

7 de junio

Party day! Running around como un pollo sin cabeza (chicken without a head)! Chuleta de cordero (lamb chops), REAL Oscar Meyer hot dogs (not pollo o pavo), Asparagus and mozzarella and finally asparagus pizza for late night. So now i cook my ass off. Fun, fun, fun.

8 de junio

The party rocked. Everybody was ate a lot and had fun. No one fell off of the terrace, which is good. Irish people tend to do this, and Irlanda is back. Did I mentioned she came back to Madrid? She took a job here with a software company doing testing. I guess it's true: if you love something, set if free. She came back!

9 de junio

Happy birthday Mr. Tietjen!!!! Feliz cumpleanos, old friend. I remember him when he was only 6 foot 4 inches!


10 de junio

The air is electric as the entire country braces for Spain's first group game in the Euro Cup vs. Russia at 18:00. Vamos Espana!!!

Jimbo sent me an email saying that Judas Priest is touring this year, promoting a double concept about Nostradamus!!!! Ay Caramba!!! No me Creo! If you haven't heard their 14 minute epic Loch Ness - you're in for a very Spinal Tap-esque treat!!! I cannot wait.

Climatic Change

Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.
-attributed to Mark Twain (1835–1910)

Heat waves on the east coast. Flooding in the midwest. Cool and rainy in Madrid in June! El Dude turns 40!!!!! I know W. Bush doesn´t believe in global warming (although he does by all accounts believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny) but i do. The climate is jodido!

Do You Realize - that you have the most beautiful face
Do You Realize - we're floating in space
Do You Realize - that happiness makes you cry
Do You Realize - that everyone you know someday will die
-Flaming Lips

Just figured i would drop you all a line. The birthday was great (more about that next time as it´s on my laptop). I went straight to The Daft One after class to get paid. Then deposited the cash. Now just blogging before i catch the bus to the north. I will be home one month from today. Wow! Time just keeps on chugging by.

Euro 2008 has started. Italy plays tonight and Spain tomorrow.

All else is well. Status quo. Thanks for all the birthday wishes via email!!!!

Cuarenta

A thousand beautiful things
-Annie Lennox


19:27 Miercoles, 4 de Junio

In a few hours i will be 40. Yoo hoo! Getting old sucks but it rocks over the alternative. Thanks to all of you i have known and shared my life with. You mean the world to me.

I had one last martini while i am in my 30's. One last wank. One last jamon sandwich. One last time to write suck my balls! on the Blog

Memories.

So Laura and i are going out to watch the US play a friendly against Spain tonight. It's being played in the north, in Santander. This should be a kick, although i expect Uncle Sammy to get crushed as Espana prepares for their first Euro Cup tie next Tuesday.

Ruben, my Tues - Thurs evening class told me he can't make it next Tuesday. "You're going to watch Spain - Russia at 18:00, no?"

"Wow, you really follow football," he said with a smile.

Es verdad.

How do i feel about turning 40? I always said that's when i may feel old.

But no. Fuck it. Most of you who read this hideous, decadent, paganistic rag are already 40 and the sky didn't come crashing down.

I'm just going to keep on rocking, until the time comes that i can't. I am overwhelmed by feelings of nostalgia.

I stand to make A LOT of money in a few hours from a multitude of people who wagered I would never get to forty. Unfortunately i don't have a lot of contact information for people from high school and university.

Does anyone have Father Al Kelley's address?

Unseasonable

When the evil of a snowflake in June

could still be a source of relief

O how I love you, I once cried long ago,

But I was the one who decided to go.

-Genesis

Lunes, Jun 2

Just a quick shout out to let you know i am still here. Busy weekend writing, which is good. Still unseasonably cool and rainy. Very strange for June in Madrid. Global warming is a bitch.

Did you know?

Christopher Columbus is known as Cristobal Colon here. Why do we change names? Venezia is Venice. Torino is Turin. What the hell? You just don't mess with the name of a person or place. It's their freaking name.

I mentioned Columbus (For DC) in class and Antonio said, "Columbo, like the policeman on television?"

For fuck sakes!

La Profesora called yesterday asking if i fancied going to the cinema. I would have loved to have seen the new Narnia, but I couldn´t find it playing anywhere. So we wound up never going. Here's the wacky thing; she had lost her phone for three days. Then she found it and didn't charge it or something and it died out before we made any other plans. So she was going to come to my flat, so she said, since she knew i was home. I thought she had been in Getafe when i spoke with her, but she was here. Now this woman gets lost coming back from the ladies room. She said she wandered around for about 3 hours and couldn't find the apartment. She had only been to my new place once, and that time she took the Around the World in 80 Days route because she has anxiety about taking Linea 6 on the Metro. This is because it is so deep that you feel like a Sandworm from Dune. I would have bet my car she wouldn't find it if i had known! So while she was wandering around Calle General Ricardo, i just wrote my ass off. Which was satisfying.

Martes Jun 3

The new story is almost 27,000 words- almost a third of the way there. I hope to have an edited 30,000 word copy of it so far ready to go by next week, so just let me know if you'd like to read it and give me feedback. I'll email it along the wire.

I am going to be 40 years old on the 5th. Hard to believe. Did anyone see where i left my youth? I swore it was on this bench when i left the house this morning.

Sit down, stand up
Sit down, stand up
-Radiohead