Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Russia's new cold war weapon

And people laughed at me when I said that moths were my nemesis, my greatest fear, my ultimate revulsion, my... well, you get the picture. Check THIS out:

MOTHS EVOLVING INTO VAMPIRE DEATH CREATURES!!!

Now, I may not agree with all those nutty Creationists out there (if you are nutty, no offense, by the way). But this may get me me start classifying evolution as "evil" alright. Just imagine. Moths starting to suck blood. I mean, it is bad enough when they are eating my clothes, stealing my money, and assaulting my women. But sucking out my life force?! I wont let them! You may think I am overreacting. You may be thinking, "c'mon ryan" mosquitoes, horse flies, and the IRS has been sucking the life out of you for years"! Yes, but those things wouldn't do this to your daughters!


Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Life in the slow lane

Life has moved forward quite quickly during these past few months. Time, however, has not. It some ways, it seems like the August-October period has been much longer than a mere couple of months. This is due to several factors. On one hand, I think that when one's life is filled with a lot of change, time seems like it expands and stretches to accomodate the magnitude of the transitions. I have had a lot of changes.

Physically, my environment has shifted radically from being a large apartment shared between 5 roommates, to a quiet 3 man set up. This has been a huge change. Living in a clean, quiet, private home has had a huge psychological impact on an introvert like me. I mean, in the last house our house was packed with visitors every week. Even if each person only invited people over one weekend a month, that still meant that it was going to be full every time. The fact that my house was downtown and large didn't help it become less of a place for everyone to use as a hostel. Needless to say, all these people didn't create a very quiet... or clean, place to live. So after 2 years, I decided that I needed a change. The house disbanded and several people went their own ways (amicably). Two of the guys joined me and we got a nice little apartment. As I mentioned, the effects of this change cannot be underestimated. I have been more relaxed, rested and happy since the change.

The move also affected my social life a bit, though it is the least of the changes in this area. Other things have changed on the social/friendship areas of my life. Groups have shifted, friends have gone, new friends have been made, friendships have blossomed into other wonderful things... These changes have also contributed to my life seeming beautifully full and long.

Paradoxically, if these months have seemed long due to being so full of nice new things, they have also dragged on for lack of things to do. I am fortunate to have had so many positive changes in my life to keep up my spirits in a time of virtual unemployment. I have dcidd that my current situation as a freelance translator is not stable enough. I miss the stability of a set paycheck. I am tired of the feast-or-famine nature of freelance work. So, in september I began to look for a new job, or at least one to compliment my translator work. I will admit that I didnt really know how to go about it for a while, and that my objectives and methods have changed considerably since I began my job search. Initially I wanted a no-brainer, easy job to cover basic living expenses and allow me time to work on other interests. Now I am not so sure, and I would like to have a job that will make me feel more useful. We will see what I end up taking. I have some freelance translation and interpretation work for the next couple of weeks, which will give me time to hear back from some of the many places I have applied to. The only employer that has called back is Starbucks, which fits into the kind of work that I am not so interested in anymore. But if I don't have any other options in a few week's time, I may be forced to take it. I don't usually ask for people to keep me in their prayers, but if you remember to ask for a good job for me, I would be most grateful.

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Night thoughts

My mind wanders at night. My mind wanders during the day as well, but at night it really takes off. I have done a fair bit of night walking during the past couple of weeks. I have spent a lot of time down Madrid's empty streets, flooded in that orange city lamp light that I have come to love so much. This town was made to be savored after dark. During the day it is like any other European city, but at night... it is something else altogether. Especially late at night.

A few days ago, as I was walking home around 3 AM, I passed a girl who was walking in the opposite direction. She did that thing that girls do when they are trying to act like they are not nervous, puffing herself up, chin in the air, though avoiding eye contact and picking up her pace as we met. I felt sorry for the human race then. What would it be to live in a world without fear? A world of perfect intentions? Imagine being able to walk down dark city streets without an inkling of temerity. How many times have I thought of just taking a nap in the park, or lying on a bench and watching the sky all night without the concern that I will be pick-pocketed or worse? Imagine a world where we wouldn't have to fear each other; how many things which now make people uncomfortable, like dark city streets, could suddenly be enjoyed openly?

It took me a few tries to find which night bus I can take to get me home from the center of town since during the week the subways close at night. I have found two routes which work. One of them goes to Ciudad Pegaso. I don't really know where that is, since my stop is way before the final destination, but I like the name. Pegasus City. I couldn't keep myself from picturing what such a place must be like. Some sort of enchanted valley with horses taking to the skies on giant wings. Alas, I think the reality is much less glamorous, but I enjoyed toying with the idea.

I was on a different bus the other night when two very drunk girls got on with two of their gay friends. The gay guys, slightly embarrassed about the girls' loud tones, sat towards the back of the bus, while the ladies sat at the front. However, from time to time, the guys would goad the one of the most inebriated of the ladies, "show us your nipple ring!" The girl stood up and said "no! I only showed it to you guys because you are gay. I'm not showing it to the rest of the bus. They aren't gay." Then she peered back and the people on the bus, squinting through her blurry eyes and said "well... ok, there is one more gay guy." I admit that I turned around, along with the rest of the passengers, to see if we could tell who she was talking about.