Monday, August 31, 2009
Pepa's mother died today. She lost the battle to cancer.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
The old Greek lady who lives downstairs greeted Maria and me this morning while doing her usual incense burning ritual. I’m not familiar to Orthodox Greek traditions, but I love to be around people that follow strict routines with such a passion. She speaks no English; she just repeats “good morning” (pronounced as “goo monin”) twice with a smile before leaving the incense holder by the front door. I’m not so sure people living in Manhattan get this kind of experiences each morning. They have a doorman.
Tomorrow I’ll travel to Mexico City. I haven’t been there in quite a long time and a part of me feels nervous. I’ve been listening to old songs for a week, recounting the last 10 years and trying to picture a timeline of important events and people. Where I started compared to where I am today. Where is everyone that influenced me or whom I influenced? Many things have changed, and surely they will keep doing so. Are we all taking the right decisions?
Sunday, August 23, 2009
I look around my bedroom and I suddenly realize I’m living in part the life I wanted: listening to good Canadian jazz, surrounded by art (which I brought from different countries) and getting a light breeze from my window. A few days ago Catherine was complaining about how different her reality was from what she had expected. Most of her friends are now married and living in the nicest neighborhoods, or single but working their dreamlike jobs. She is living with her Russian (divorcee) boyfriend and working as an executive assistant at an international finance firm. For many people her situation sounds perfect, living in New York with her steady boyfriend and a job that pays the rent; but for her it’s very hard to conciliate her expectations with the fact that times are hard both financially and for finding the man that will fulfill most of her desires.
3:53 AM
We just got home from Rosa’s good-bye party; she is moving back to Madrid in a week. The celebration started at Yucca Bar on Avenue A, and ended up at the Speak Easy of Avenue C. I haven't been at that place for years. We danced for hours, a mix of salsa and African rhythms, until our feet were in pain. Oscar is not home yet, his good friends from Montreal are in town and they must be at gay bar in Midtown Manhattan.
4:01 AM
Too tired to be inspired.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
I’m drinking a glass of cold South American Sauvignon Blanc while sitting on my bed and thinking about my US working visa. I need to renew it before November, and I’m a little worried since my boss hasn't approved it yet. For the first time in four years I begin to wonder if he is considering firing me. In any case, I just prepared a list with the reasons on “why I’m a great candidate to keep the position.” Hopefully it won’t be necessary.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Last night I bought my ticket to Rome. I will be there in October. I’m planning to visit Natalia and then travel to Florence, where my aunt Pili lives. She moved there at 18, after falling in love with an Italian leftist. As a kid I saw her and my cousin Stefania once a year during summer vacation, and was always excited to learn about their different way of living (and sense of style). I haven’t seen Pili for more than 16 years. For all I’ve heard she was very similar to my father, two aspirant communists against the rest of their posh siblings. I’m not a socialist, as most of the children born to Marxist parents. I’m influenced by their sense of justice, but it has mixed with existentialism, individualism, consumerism, (lots of other – isms) and certainly confusion.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
I need to make an important decision soon. How can you know something for certain? Does absolute certainty actually exists? As for today, I just know that I’m hoping for a good and relaxing weekend: gypsy music tonight, brunch and pampering sessions tomorrow, and moules frites on Sunday.