Not So Deep Thoughts

“The most depressing thing about tennis is that no matter how good you get, you’ll never be as good as a wall. I played a wall once, they’re fucking relentless.”

-Mitch Hedberg

Wednesday = Fucking Relentless

Uff… I gotta tell you… Vacation is great.

But coming back home and having to make up for the time lost during your absence blows goats.  Seriously.  I had Sunday to decompress un poquito, and then Monday hit me mercilessly.  Then Tuesday.  And Wednesday is going to be the worst of them all, I just know it.

I’m getting worried about writing my “Paul’s 500 Words Or Less On His Vacation In Japan” blog.  I’ve had to tell the story so many times now I can say just how awesome it was and how great is was to see my family and how much I learned about a strange and foreign culture, effectively reduced to only a grunt.

Now only to figure out how to grunt in writing, and I’ll be all set.

Hang in there, I’ll get around to it.

Peace.

Well, I’m back… I believe it’s Sunday… and I think I just slept through the morning ’til middle afternoon, but my idiot clock says 9AM. I would love to start recounting my adventures in Japan, but my body and mind aren’t up for the task yet.

Every time I travel thinking I know Jetlag, Jetlag finds a way to blindside me upside the temple with a baseball bat shaped clock.

Maybe it’s because besting jetlag is more than just sitting in your seat on the plane, squeezing your eyes shut and repeatedly whispering the mantra, “It’s X:XX o’clock in ________________ (insert destination here).”

As much as the short circuits of your internal clock may have their way with you, I think jetlag is more cerebral than anything. You arrive in this strange and exotic land and find yourself completely out of context, and immediately you start trying to compensate for all the differences you see around you. The way of communicating, the food, the currency, the customs, the culture, the history, being viewed and treated as an outside, etc, etc… The little workmen in the operating center of your brain start working double shifts to achieve some semblance of equilibrium again. The nice thing though, is that everything is still so new and exotic and this process has the potential to be very enjoyable, entertaining and educational. That’s why we travel, no?

But once back on home turf, the process of re-equilibration starts again, this time trying to catch up with where you were when you left off… because things didn’t stop moving on when you left. I haven’t been up and at’em for long at all, but I see that one of my favorite restaurants disappeared and was replaced in the 8 days I was gone, my roommate got a haircut, new neighbors moved in and the Spanish still have no idea how to let people get off the metro (well, at least SOMETHINGS haven’t changed.)

Like the whiskers on the face of Madrid which have gone from 5 ‘o Clock Shadow to Scruffy since I departed, only now do I notice the difference due to missing the Fuzzy part of the process. (Pause to reflect on the depth of that simile… answer: 2 cm)

Update: since starting this entry, I’ve had breakfast, talked on the phone with Annelies for an hour or so, watched some robot chicken on youtube and drank an entire pot of coffee; and now I’m feeling much better. I’m trying to remember why I was in such an off mood this morning… thinking… recalling… must have been the prescription strength Ambien I took around 1AM this morning because I couldn’t fall asleep. Those little buggers can knock the hell out of you. I mean, really twist your brain up into a sheep shank.

Anyways… Day 1 – Back in Madrid - Feeling much better now. And I’ll get around to the pictures and the blog ASAP, but for now I can tell you that it definitely was enjoyable, entertaining and educational.

Peace

Today is my brother Chris’ birthday and I’m really psyched to be here to be able to spend it with him and the fam.  (Wish you were here Michael!)

All’s good and well as we set off on Day Four of The Gladi Do Japan Tour.

I would also like to take this chance to wish a happy happy birthday to Peter Bagley, another great man who was born on a good day.  We owe each other a birthday lunch sometime in the future, be it in Europe, the US, Africa, or anywhere else.

Peace!

Well folks, welcome to the 21st century…

It is early morning on day 3 here in Japan on the “The Gladi’ Do Japan” 2007 Tour, and if you would like to see what we did yesterday while we’re doing today, you can just go to my sister’s flickr page to get the goods.

God, gone are the days when you invited all your friends over to sit through the slideshow of the 6,235 photos you took on your trip projected onto a white sheet draped thumbtacked to the living room wall.  I can’t say that realization isn’t a relief, but the social part of being together with people in the same room to do an activity instead of doing it alone on the internet isn’t so bad either.

Here’s to day three.  Cheers!

Well, I’m here in Japan!

And the whole famn damily is here too (minus Michael )

I arrived at 8:45 this morning, dropped off my bags at my brother’s place and hit the road running, Chris making an excellent Kyoto tour guide (except he had no idea where The Protocol nor the United States’ signature on it was.)

After a little afternoon siesta to ensure my inner clock was completely fucked up, we greeted Mom, Guy and The Sister at their hotel, just having arrived from a 30 hour walk-in-the-park trip over.

Japan is amazing folks… Every 10 feet I have to stop to have my mind blown by something that is not western, and of course, shoot a crudload of photos. I won’t have time to go through them all until I go back, so to keep you entertained, you can check out daily photos of our trip on my sister’s flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chionwolf/

Ciao for now!

I’m taking a much needed break from the vigorous packing job I’ve been tackling for the last 6 minutes to report that Pauly needs to get his ass to the clothing store… (Cue incessant nodding - I know exactly which ones of y’alls is doing it too)

Out of 10 pairs of Wear-In-Public-able pants, 2 are too hot for this time of year, 5 are no longer wearable (damn you love handles!) and 4 are just right (I know, that’s 11, but one pair is dirty)

So yeah… Salvation Army here I come!  Once I get back from Japan, that is.  See you on the 26^th!!

As for updates…  I need to get back to packing, so I’ll let my friend Jacki fill you in on the Nazi at the BBQ story.  Enjoy!

…or woebegone, I dunno… surely one of the two.

sigh

First Item on the Agenda:

Good News!!! One of the secretaries from the school happened to be listening in on the conversation I was having with the other secretary about the question of my eligibility to apply for that scholarship. It struck her as odd, so she made a few phone calls to the association. Next thing I know, she’s telling me that it’s all taken care of and my nationality will no longer be an issue. I’m legally a resident in Spain, and that’s enough for them. Thank you Marisa, you’re an angel.

Second Item on the Agenda:

You never know who’s reading your blog. When I write an entry, I write it for you. To make you laugh, to make you cry, to make you roll your eyes at the screen, to make you feel that much more normal for not being me. Any way you cut it, you get a different perscpective on Mr. Gladis than most people who don’t know me see.

So, I’m in the middle of an e-mail correspondence with itishBray ouncilCay whose summer program I’m applying for. The woman I’m talking to seems nice enough and is interested in having an interview sometime this week. It‘s been a while since I’ve sat in the hot chair, trying to convince someone that I’m the right man for the job. What are they looking for? What do I wear? Should I shave? Basically: Which of my best qualities can I distill and concentrate into a 20 minute conversation with my possible future employer? And which ‘undesirable’ qualities should I send to go play in traffic?

But all she really needs to get a good idea of this guy she’s thinking about hiring is go to Google and type ‘Paul Gladis’ (maybe even other keywords like ‘Madrid’, ‘Spain’ or ‘Rather Dashing.’) It’s not like you have to weed through a bunch of pages to score gold. I’m right there at the top. And that’s what prompted me to write this entry. If she were to come here this very moment that I’m ‘scribbling’ my words onto my monitor, (later, I type it out and erase the marker) her first impression of me would be that I’m the type of guy who tells Enya to go to Hell. And who wants to hire a guy that would be that crass and mean spirited?

So, if you see her coming by here, maybe send her this entry. I think I’m kinda funny in this one, and cute in the way a man who doesn’t know any better can be. Plus, it shows I’m resourceful. Employers like that, don’t they?

Just make it look natural, ok?

-Peace

This morning, I left the house with a spring in my step.

I’d already been up for almost 2 hours as I left for my 8:30AM class. I followed the usual routine as I walked out the door: papers/books – check; keys – check; cell phone – check; guitar – check; mp3 player – check; keys – check; keys – check; aaaaaaaand keys – check.

I flipped on my MP3 player as I thumped down the stairs, and the first song up at bat was Ebudae by Enya. As I slowed down my pace to match the cadence, my heartbeat along with it, the first thought that passed through my mind was, “This is how every morning should begin.”

Download link

Listening? Isn’t that just so nice? I don’t have any idea what she’s saying either, but I don’t care. Probably some Elvin language that they speak in the forest glen where she lives, tucked away in her castle, raising unicorns and collecting fairy dust… when she’s not frolicking through fields of wildflowers that is.

I felt at such peace as her satiny voice swirled around my head, casting away any hint of disgruntlement that may have accompanied me out the door. I vowed that I would make this a daily ritual; a regular present to myself.

“Today’s going to be a great day!” I whispered to no one but me.

I couldn’t wait to get back home and tell y’all about it so you can try too; maybe make your day all that much better.

Well here I am, telling you about it…

My eyes are almost swollen shut, my nose hasn’t stopped running in over 10 hours, and I’ve had three sneezing fits that stopped strangers in their tracks… My head is this (pinching thumb and forefinger together so tight the skin around them has turned white) to exploding, my mouth is hanging wide open because it’s the only place through which I can breathe and I’m keeping as still as I possibly can as to avoid falling over and breaking myself. The only place I truly feel comfortable is curled up in the fetal position, bound tightly in my comforter. Whimpering.

Fuck you Enya… I hate you. This is all your fault. Go to hell.