I think we all at one time or another have posited the question to ourselves and our friends, “Gee golly, when we grow up and have kids, I wonder what OUR children will have to do to shock us.”
UPDATE: Don’t you worry, they’re working on it as we speak. And it looks like they’re doing just fine.
…to hit.
I’m leaving on Monday morning to spend the summer in Belgium. Within 24 hours of arriving I’ll be helping Annelies move into her new apartment in the center and then I’ll be scrambling to find a phone in that time to teach a few of my phone classes in France. I imagine I’ll hang up a few minutes early so I can help Annelies with the packing and work my hardest to speed up the moving process so that we’ll have a couple of hours to spend walking around the city looking for a job for me. I imagine we’ll both end that day exhausted and stressed. That part I can foresee. But it’s around ‘Day 2′ that everything becomes fuzzy.
But I have a good feeling about this summer.
It’s funny how much of our lives are planned in advance or dealt out by the hands of routine. Most things that come our way are expected and we’re there waiting for them with a clipboarded checklist ticking them off as they fly by.
An interesting thing happened when I was shafted out of a job by my summer employer: I was left without a single plan. The original plan took care of my summer months’ time, all the money I would need to pay for school, a flight back home for a friend’s wedding that I’m best man for, food, shelter, all the good things money can buy. But shattered were those plans I had and slim were the pickings that were left for me afterwards. Most jobs for July are already taken and any teacher knows that August is a black hole, here in Spain. I know I probably won’t make enough money to pay for school, I don’t know how I’ll get home for Jon’s wedding, and if I can’t find a good paying job in Belgium, then the next 2 months’ work will cover the rent of my apartment in Madrid that I’m not allowed to sublet.
And I’m OK with that.
There was disappointment at first, and I must admit that I stared at the empty space where those plans once were for some time after. But the funny thing is, when the checklist in my hand no longer meant anything and I managed to chuck it aside and look at what’s around me, I found a wealth of other opportunities milling about, coming and going, flying by at 100 mph towards someone else’s checklist but within my reach for a split second, I’m sure.
And I took one: I’m going to spend the summer in Ghent with Annelies… which is a great thing. I’ll be out of Madrid – which I need very much so. And I won’t be teaching English – I can’t WAIT to be a bartender. Screw dangling participles.
So, I have no idea what to expect from my visit to Belgium; but I’m mighty looking forward to it.
Here’s to the silver lining.
And here’s to everyone canceling at least one plan on themselves this summer, just so you can see all the things waiting for you outside the walls of your routine/plans.
Peace
It’s time for another edition of ‘From Which We Came…’
In this segment, I go deep into my websites statistics archives to see exactly how people got to my page. If they don’t already know me, most people get here through links that can be found on friends’ blogs. But sometimes I pop up under a random Google/Yahoo search and people decide to pop in for a visit. Little do they know, but I know exactly what they were searching for when they stumbled upon my site, and never fails to make me giggle. So, let me pass on a ‘tee-hee’ to you.
This Edition: Internet Porn
‘Deep Though Fuck‘
Oh please, is that how we’re spelling ‘Throat’ these days? And why bring the Nixon administration into it?
‘Not Too Deep‘
I like it when you tell me what to do.
‘Fuck So Deep‘
And love you loooooong time!
‘So Deep So Good Galleries‘
Say it aloud. It’s kinda fun.
Honorary Entry: Because it makes me smile:
‘The Most Depressing Thing About Tennis‘
Tune in next time for the next exciting chapter of… From Which We Came!
I’m a Simpson!
Hooray!!! I’m a South Park-ian!
Hooray for free time…
-Peace
Well, Last Wednesday’s news certainly ended up being a bomb with a 2 inch fuse tossed into the lap of my summer plans. And as the dust starts to settle and the debris finally takes leave of its flight and comes to a rest on what’s left of the floor, I find myself standing with a dumbfounded look on my face, a one-way ticket to Belgium, and no real solid plans of what’s actually going to happen there. But I think it’ll most likely involve busting my ass as a waiter/bartender during a 2 week music festival in an outdoor bar, hopefully bringing in a few decent bucks.
Once I know what the hell is going on, I’ll be sure you’re the first to know… But if you figure it out before I do, be a lamb and let me in on it.
Peace
