50th

This is my 50th post for those who count. Or better said, those who are counting, because if you can read this, I assume you can count.

I kicked this site off somewhere around the 3rd of December if the records are correct. So that makes it just a shade under four months. Perhaps on April 3rd we shall host a party here, to wish the site a happy fourth month. If you think of it, and are into that kind of thing, drop a comment in the comment box that day. Let's make it special.

Okay, enough of being stupid. By the way, stupid in spanish is stronger than stupid in english. So think twice before you call a Spanish person stupid. As I am writing this in english though, and using english definitions for words, I don't feel it is too strong to use in this context.

I also haven't touch my novel since my last post which coincidentally was the same day I started my novel. I have however opened the file and left it on my desktop to inspire myself to do some work.
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On another note, I had coffee today with a Romanian and a Bulgarian, who occasionally show up at church every few weeks. It was a very intriguing experience. They invited themselves for coffee with me, only of course if I had enough money... And did it with such tack that I quite happily invited them along, without feeling the least bit obliged.

Emilio has good spanish, speaks 8 languages (not sure how well), just spent several years (unjustly) in jail, hasn't talked to his family for at least that amount of time, and doesn't have any work besides teaching one class a week to American Jehovah's Witnesses who are keen to learn Romanian. Angel, the Romanian, doesn't have good Spanish, so he didn't talk as much. (He also had had several beers before the 12 oclock hour this morning.) If you did notice, yes, the Bulgurian named Emilio is the one teaching the Romanian.

They are two guys who are just a couple of the thousands of Eastern Europeans who have left country and family because they have no money and even less hope there. Spain hasn't offered them much, not even work for most of them, but somehow it is still better here than there.

Talking with people like them keep my life interesting, but even moreso, in perspective.

I am blessed.

this and that, but in the end only this.

I haven't had a good official catch up on life and thoughts posting in a while. So let's remedy the situation. I'll write, you catch up.

Today I started my first novel. Have you ever sat back in your chair and thought how hard it would be to write a novel? Well while sitting back in my chair today, I was thinking how hard it would be to write a novel. This is of course after I decided to write a novel today in a fit of inspiration. Or was it boredom? I think it was the first. It was only two paragraphs in that I found myself doing the leaning back and thinking bit.

Anyways, in case you care, I won't be sharing here what my novel is about because I recently heard that good novelists don't talk about what they are writing while they are writing it. If that's all it takes than I'm going to try and keep my mouth shut and wait till I ride the NY Times bestseller list all the way to the top.

Needless to say I sat up, pushed on, stopped thinking such thoughts and kept writing. And a while later found myself two pages into it. I felt it was a good days work. I figure a good first novel should be about 212 pages. It has a good feel to it. Anything less that the 2 century mark for a first novel gives the impression that you've not got milage as an author. Or you write children's literature. As I am not writing children's literature I need to break that mark. To continue past the 250s gives the impression you are a rambler. As I am not rambling I decided 212 pages to be the length of my first novel.

So if I did two pages of writing, and I factor in a good revising and editing, than I probably have a good page and a quarter of material. That means that 169.6 days from now I should reach my target of 212 pages. That is if I work everyday. If someone wants to figure out what day lies 169.6 days into the future, they would be welcome. With my strong point being english, I won't attempt math on that kind of level.

Two pages in I have also realized that I don't know exactly where this book is going. Or headed. Nor where it will finish. Not having written something of this caliber before I don't know if this is good or bad. Maybe if there are experienced authors reading this, they could give me some pointers. Until then I guess I'll see where it takes me.

Having written about the beginnings of my novel on here, I now realize that there is a certain amount of pressure not to let it fall to the roadside. People may ask me down the road how the novel is coming along, and I might have to say that I am four and three quarter pages into it. That would be a bit embarrasing and would maybe tempt me to lie and say my hard drive froze. However I prefer not to lie and so would probably just ignore the question. That is just if I have let it fall by the wayside.

I am not sure I am going to write about the rest of life right like I mentioned in paragraph one. I feel like the kickoff of my novel dominated my day, and it would be hard work thinking about what else is happening in life. When it comes back to me I may decide to do another post. Until then, enjoy the thought of sunshine.

comment box

for regular visitors (or visitor, im not sure which) you may notice the new addition to the sidebar. its a place where you can leave comments without making them specific to any one article or posting. its also a nice way of sharing information with me. like good quotes and birthday reminders. those of you who know me know that i am bad at remembering birthdays. some would say i just don't remember them period. so if you are a kind soul, and it is your birthday, or will soon be your birthday, you could let me know via the new comment box. or email.

that's what i'll call it, the comment box. it is also a place to talk some smack during the world cup. i may be hoping for too much here. if you want to let me know the weather in your area... well the comment box is for you.

or if you wish to leave a comment that i cannot censure, the comment box is the place to do it. all else can be censured!

well i think i'll leave the comment box at that for now. and remember, as my friend barney says, friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate.

look closely, in a former life i was a saint. albeit one with very bad hair... 

thank you for your patience

so i was sick this past weekend. thats why i haven't written for over a week. i was out for a day and a half. vomitando y todo. i think even non-spanish speakers can figure that one out. to top it off my english classes have been dropping like flies drunk on pesticide. that may be a bit extreme but no joke, in the last week, i have been notified that three of my pupils cannot come this month. and a fourth i just haven't heard from. not that thats all bad. i can add other classes and i do have more free time. i just haven't been using it to write blogs. and for that i feel slightly guilty. its not that i haven't been writing, don't worry. it just hasn't been published. on my own blog. (that sounded very impressive until I added the bit about it being my blog) anyways i hope to refine some it it to make it post worthy shortly. thank you for your patience.

good etiquette

In bars it is considered considerate to throw your empty sugar packets, napkins and general trash on the floor.

So by the end of the morning or evening, a good bar will have an extremely dirty floor. And the owner will feel very proud.

It's how things work here. No wonder the streets are so dirty.

rubbish

I was walking down the street today, as I do a lot of days, when I suddenly noticed all the trash, rubbish and general filth covering the ground, like I do everyday. What provoked the sudden awareness was watching a young girl open a pack of sweets, stuff them in her mouth and then toss the wrapper aside.

See in Spain they have this problem. It's called littering if you haven't picked up on it yet. (Please notice the pun using 'picked up on') Supposedly there are fines, hefty jail sentences and occasionally hangings to be had for absently tossing aside your snickers wrapper. But these fines, sentencings and hangings don't happen. Like insurance claims don't happen.

Granted, one can argue that littering creates jobs. And that is true, especially here in Badajoz. Lots of jobs are created. People in green uniforms push carts with little dustpans hanging off the sides down my street every morning, picking up what had been dropped off the night before. And my street isn't even busy. The thing is, people buy things in stores. Then as they walk they unwrap them, take them out of the box, and happily leave the box and wrapping lying on the street, believing that they have just made some homeless person's day. It's just the mentality I suppose. One thinks that they would happily dump freeon and other chemicals that cause bird flu in the street because they know the green people will come the next morning to clean it all up.

That's all I have to say really. I just wanted to gripe.

Back from England. And it was quality except for the weather. They should do something about that really. But you can't have everything.

The conference was very good. Some very brilliant people spoke. One about Jesus, another about mission, and another about the importance of community. But the thing was, was that they all loved Jesus, that was very clear. They didn 't just talk about him, they knew him. I think most of the people there knew and loved Jesus. And that was really cool. I was challenged by their commitment to knowing God and seeking his presence daily.

It was like God reiterated to me just how desperate he is to reveal himself to people. And if God is desperate to reveal himself, the only thing that will stop him is us, ourselves. By not being willing to let him reveal himself through us. A God desperate is something to ponder. In me it builds faith. Even when it seems like God is absent, if we keep seeking him, he will not be long in showing himself. Because it's in his character to want to be known. And so when we as people desire to know him and have him reveal who he is, then we can be sure that he will.

Just what that looks like though is the part that may suprise you and me.

sin luna 

la luna 

The Card

Check it out. I am legal. Well I suppose I was legal before, but now I am even more legal. Almost legalísimo. The Spanish tack on ísimo when they want to say that something is really really whatever it is. So I have my residency card. Yay.

As you can see, I whited out some crucial bits of information so I wouldn't suffer from identity theft. If you are an expert at these things please let me know if there is something else I should do to prevent someone using myself. I prefer not to be used. The foto was taken last spring, so that's a bit out of date. I suppose my signature is up for grabs now, here on the internet.

I am off to England in two days. Will then be there for five days. Should be good fun. And I am glad to have this here card so they will let me back into Spain. I prefer not to be held in customs for a week while they sort things out. I would say the Spanish are generally good at letting people through their borders without hastle and questions, but I am scared of what might happen if I do that.

Okay, well I will be back here post England then... Adios.

I am official. 

What's in your head..?

Some random bits of information that sometimes runs through my head that if you aren't interested in please skip to the next blog...

I realized that I like to be organized and like to organize. The other day I moved my room around (and cleaned it) and I really like the new setup. The bed is not in the middle, its on the side now, and I have loads of room in the middle now. There now you know. Then yesterday I reorganized the office beside my room. I found a genius place for the two bookshelves and it really opened up the room. I must confess that I got a small buzz off that whole ordeal.

Now for slightly less sad thoughts.

I have a new profile. I figured since I change, then my profile should change with me. So I deleted some stuff and rewrote a bit and added one book to my list of favs. I downsized a bit. Simplifying is something I am liking more and more. I try and not accumulate stuff now. There are really only a few things I accumulate without ever really trying to downsize occasionally. They would be music, books and vocabulary. Even something like money, I hope that if I had an excess I would decide to share some. Heck maybe even share some even if I didn't have an excess. After a while I sort my clothes and get rid of a bunch. With pens I do the same. Even pictures are sorted and downsized at times. But the day I have an excess of music and books I'll just open a library. And one can never have too much vocabulary.

Some would argue that those weren't any less sad thoughts...

If I could choose my ideal mix of writers that I would like to imitate it would be, first and foremost CS Lewis for his amazing way of seeing and then explaining things. Then Dostoyevski for his way of portraying his characters and well and truly human. I would like to have Tolkien's imagination and granduer. Then Buechner for his love of the truth. A combo of David James Duncan and Donald Miller for their sense of humo(u)r. John Irving for his devastating storytelling. And kudos to Phillip Yancey for how he writes about any subject, whether on or off limits.

In case you missed it, please see the connection between my title and the Cranberry's song Zombie... And I know its poor when you have to point out things like that...

Clean air.

No cups of Spanish coffee have been given out, and I have resigned myself to the loss of my recent smoking thoughts... I'll deal, and while I am dealing, England will be as well. Today on the news I saw something about smoking being banned from pubs. It's spreading...

And again. 

And again... 

I feel all should be able to enjoy my "nephew" and "niece"... 

Another Monday but...

Today was the best Monday I have had in a while. I don't think I felt the normal blueness once. I will now try to rationally disect this phenomenon.

1. It was foggy this morning. I like foggy mornings almost as much as sunny ones.
2. It was not a cold fog. A warm fog is better than a cold fog.
3. It got sunny by lunchtime.
4. That led to 65 degrees, easy.
5. 65 degrees in February is worth is weight in gold.
6. Can you weigh degrees?
7. I accomplished things. I learned that el arrecife means coral reef and encuadronar or encuadronear or something similar means to make something into a booklet.
8. I thought about making a booklet on coral reef but instead settled for writing a blog.
9. Don't ask me that tomorrow though.
10. I had some really niced baked pasta for lunch only slightly preceded by a wicked chocolate donut.
11. I am still on a bit of a high from finishing this incredible book over the weekend.
12. My voice is still completely shot from nothing in particular. People look at me funny when I talk, but I am thinking of staying like this.
13. In case you have forgot, I am listing why today was not a blue Monday.
14. Baseball season starts in the forseeable future.
15. My english lessons went well.
16. The White Sox are reigning World Champions!
17. I finished a run of four consecutive bad hair days and managed something halfway presentable today.

There are more reasons but I fear I am boring you.

Reasons why it maybe should have been a blue Monday.

1. I have a small cluster of three zits just a bit south and to the right of my mouth. That is if you are me. If you aren't it appears as if they are a bit south and to the left.
2. They have now been there for a couple of days and don't seem to be in a hurry to leave.
3. Barcalona (my Spanish footie team) has lost three straight.
4. Real Madrid fans think this is funny and like to point it out.
5. I had several thoughts about my blog dying because of me not writing enough.
6. The blame rested solely on me and that was heavy.

So I decided to grab the bull by the horns and fix the last couple. So here I am writing.

I can't think of a way to end this other than to say that people need to read CS Lewis and Frederick Buechner, and I am just grateful that it was good Monday.

Missing...

I wrote something about a week ago about smoking in Spain and now it's gone and I don't know where it went. If you stole it, please return it. If you know where it is, please let me know. If you have a copy of it, would you send it to me?

Why someone would have a copy of it, I don't know. Why someone would steal it, I don't know. Why someone would know where it went, I don't know. And why it would disappear in the first place, I don't know.

It's disturbing. I could try to rewrite it, but I don't know if I could feel good about that. Trying to recreate something that was spontanious is never an easy task to undertake. So for now, I will just let everyone know that it is missing...

Residency Card

At last I can sit back and wait. As of yesterday I finally finished searching out, gathering, collecting, fetching, filling in and out, and completing ALL forms for my tarjeta de residencía.

Let me take you back through the process. It all started when I applied for a visa. See to live here, one needs a visa. So I collected my documents from the police, proved the health insurance, filled in and out several hundred pages of questiones about my mother's birth and why my father has a moustache, had some passport-sized photos taken, got some legal documents from Spain, wrote an essay on illegal immigration from Morrocco and why we should be using alternative fuel sources, and last but not least took a breathalizer. I think there were a few more hoops to jump through but I can't remember them. Once I placed all of these documents and results in a neat folder I boarded a train and went to Chicago where I handed them in between the hours of 9 am and 2 pm. Not before, not after. "You should recieve your visa in 4 to 6 weeks sir I was told..."

Six weeks later this statement was questioned and a phone call was made. "Oh I am sorry, you are mistaken. The type of visa you applied for takes somewhere around 3 to 4 months. It's the student visas that take 4-6 weeks..."

So I went to Spain and decided I'd just come back whenever it showed up. Well around Thanksgiving it rolled on into town. Chicago that is, and if I could come between the hours of 9 am and 2 pm I could pick it up. A bit of fog in Madrid, an overnight stay in London, a late arrival in Chicago all added up to me showing up there at 3 pm on Friday. "If you could come on Monday sir, between 9 am and 2 pm we would be happy to give it to you."

Three hours there. Three hours back. A headache from listening to too much music. And an official looking visa was finally stamped into my passport the following week...

With that I set off for Spain again. "Once you arrive, please go to the police where they will tell you how to start the process for your residency card..."

Now in Spain: "The first step is to go to the delegacion del gobierno, not the police. They won't know what to do with this. At the delegacion they can tell you what to do. "

Delegacion: "Why yes, we can help you, just fill out this paper, and make sure you have all the following documents. Then call this number and make an appointment."

Me: "Hello I'd like to make an appointment."
Delegacion: "What for?"
"I have a visa and I need to apply for a residency card."
"What sort of residency card?"
"The type where I am just allowed to reside, not work."
"I don't know what you are talking about."
"Look here, at the top of the paper which I was given at the delegacion it says application for residency card with a work exception."
"Why didn't you say that in the first place? You're appointment is January 24th at 12.30."
"You mean January 24th as in a the date that is nearly two months away?"
"Yes, have a nice day."

Two months later and with slightly more confident spanish I roll up for my appointment at 11.45. Better early than late. And am promptly ushered in where I recognize the lady who had given me my instructions two months prior.

Me: "Busy huh"
Her: "Yeah"
Thoughts of why I had to wait two months for my appointment, and then happen to show up find I am alone and they can see me early can't help but run through my head. Maybe people had forgotten about their appointments...

Her: "Oh! We seem to have all your information on the computer. We don't need these papers [that you spent hours collecting from various people and organizations here in Spain] just your passport will do. Sorry about that."
Me: "No problem." I just spent hours on them, no worries, it was good practice collecting various bits of worthless information. Something I have definately benefitted from. One can never be too skilled at collecting paperwork for the government. If you like I could run collect some more papers I have in Madrid and then drop by Hong Kong to get them photocopied if you like...

I was concentrating on remaining amiable when she then mentioned that all I had to do was go up to the fourth floor where they had everything ready for me. Ahhhhh that makes it easier to keep smiling...

Ana is very helpful on the fourth floor. She gave me my papers and told me to NOW go to the police where they will fingerprint me and get me my card. She then met with me three more times the following week or so...

Police: "Is this your correct address?"
Me: "Mmm, what happens if I say no?"

Ana helped me change my address two days later.

Police: "Do you have your letter of authorization?"
Me: "What letter of authorization?" No one thought this was important enough to mention.
Police: "I can't do anything without that letter, everyone needs one."
Me: "I don't suppose you could really and I suppose they do..."

Back at the delegacion I broached the subject with Ana.
Me: "Do you know anything about a letter of auth...?"
Ana: "Yes, would you like one?"
Me: "Yeah that'd be great since it's required." Thanks for telling me about it the first time.
Ana: "Just pop back in next Tuesday and we'll have it."

Next Tuesday I pop in and, small miracle, there is my letter!
Ana: "Here you go, but hang on a few days until the copy we send to the police gets there..."
Me: "I am tired of waiting, I am going to go anyways.¨

Small miracle occurs at police station...
Police: "Do you have your letter?¨
Me: "Yes."
Police: "Passport, authorization, and photos?"
Me: "Yes."
Police: "Okay, come back in 45 days and we should have your card ready, have a nice day."

In 44 days I should have a residency card... That is, if there isn't a list of documents that no one has mentioned yet in order to be able to collect your residency card. Never mind that it will have my photo on it. Forget about connecting the picture of my face with my real face. Not when thirteen forms of identification and a thorough family geneology are readily available to be demanded...