Rehabilitation Day

The Hanging Gardens of Hernan Cortes, Madrideology vi

Well, my first day teaching the MBA program went very well. We look at the re-branding of Malboro Lights as Marlboro Gold in the USA. Phrasal verbs for business, Tell vs. Say, Make vs. Do, and what happens when 'green' products don't work as well as the former ones because of changes to the formula. Thrilling isn't it?

They are all in their 20's and i am old. Oh well. I can live with that. At least i hope to.

Marteen is at my feet. Crazy bastard. He has issues. He will suck my earlobe if i let him (i do not).

Mum's Mully is the only other cat i've ever seen do that.

Coincidence?

Fate?

Shitty luck?

It's hard to know.

Alright, time to do my facturas (bills) for the academies i work for. Then rehabilitate my room. Then happy hour. Then work out some songs with Pete. Then a party for Tamara's boyfriend, Andres, who is leaving for Swinden, England tomorrow. It's a hell hole and that's why Tam is leaving, for his job with Bose. Oh well. I'll talk with our potential new singer manana.

Go Giants! Texas winning the WS is just plain unacceptable.

Mountain Time

Okay. Monday is a holiday - All Saints Day. Maybe it's time to get out of the city. Go to the Mountains.

Maybe.

Maybe.


I should just sleep.

Nighty-night rabbit.

First Day

A Stick in God's Eyeball; Madrideology v

That's the Torre Picaso, where i work 4 times a week.

All is well. Exhausted, but having fun. I administered the oral part of the examination today at the University. No tongue depressors were involved although i'm not sure why.

I am listening to Rush playing A Farewell to Kings live in Tuscon in '78. Lovely. I taught Rush's Cygnus X-1 Books I and II in class yesterday. One gal had given her presentation on astrophysics and black holes and dwarf stars (and she's also HOT if you were wondering), so i had to teach Cygnus (For those of you who don't know, it is the story of and astronaut going through a black hole, and if you don't know, what the hell is wrong with you?) Mum is the only one excepted from this (she much prefers Limelight and the rest of the first side of Moving Pictures.)

I am in a walking coma state. It's good to be home. And whenever i blog, knowing that you crazy folks out there have been reading this for close to four years now, i am home as well.

Besos.

is it any wonder that the monkey's confused?
-Roger Waters

2 minutes

Listening to
Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac
Van Halen I - Van Halen
Diver Down - Van Halen
Absent lovers - King Crimson
Live from Largo, MD 1984 - Rush

Seahawks are up 9-0. It's raining like hell and it's going to be a "pound the ball" kind of game. The Seahawks Dfense has been pretty good for about 5 of the 7 games they've played (Denver and St. Louis the D was horrid.)

Jammed today. Did two new tunes, one original. The other one was 'Cocaine' by Clapton. Tamara and i will change the lyrics and the title will be 'In Spain.'

What i love about listening to the radio feed is that you get the hometown coverage. The Seahawks radio team is Steve Rable and Warren Moon. Hawks lead 19-10 in 4th. Nothing is easy for the Seahawks. Anderson replaced Hall at QB in the 2nd half and has been much better. SF and STL both lost close games. The Seahawks will be in control of the division (even if it is shite) if they win today.

Eeesh. I am tired. 5 classes tomorrow which is 7 hours. Start at 11:00, finish at 22:30. But i'll read on the bus/metro and eat lunch during that time as well.

Practice on Sunday kind of wears me out too.

So i ironed my clothes for the week while listening to the Hawks. Marshawn Lynch and Mike Williams of the Hawks are crushing for me in Fantasy Football. Olindo Mare just kicked his 5th field goal of the game and 30th in a row (going back to last year.) 22-10 Seahawks.

High of 72F today. High 60's - low 70's is the forecast this week. I love this weather. Fall is great in Madrid. Some leaves have just started to turn. A lot are still green.

The Hawks are at the 2:00 minute warning. They should soon be in 1st place, mid-season, for the first time since..., hell, i don't even know. A few years i guess. Hawks win!

Good Night.

Texas, a baseball black hole

The Yanks are done. They were out-classed by Texas. Texas. Did i just say that? But between great pitching and torrid hitting, the Yanks could not solve the Rangers. I hope San Fran beats both Phillie and Texas. If it's Philly vs. Texas then i hope they play 35 inning game 7 until Bud Slug dies of a heart attack and all the players drop of exhaustion and the 2010 season goes down with 1904 and 2004 as the only years without a world series champion. Why no WS in 1904? Because John McGraw, Manager of the NY Giants, refused to play the AL Champion Boston Americans because they played in a 'minor' or 'junior' league. McGraw also hated Ban Johnson, President of the AL. Who doesn't loving a good pissing contest?!

And now the ever-so-likeable state of Texas, gets another shot at their first WS. Houston went once and was beaten by the White Sox in 2005. Texas never even has won a playoff series until this year.

And Ron Washington, who's done a great job, tested positive for cocaine use in 2009. As a manager! Wow!

Can't we just give Texas their independence and call it a day?

The following has been brought to you by The Spanish Exile Blog, where useless knowledge lives.

Preparing for my first hour class at the university on Thurs. I have oral testing (that sounds gross!) on Tuesday. I better wear a body condom.

Been on a Yes jag all day. Listening to:

Closer to the Edge
Drama
Going for the One
Tales of Topographic Oceans (disc 1)

Lots of prep work. 26 hours this week. Maybe 28, if i can wedge 2 more in somehow. Tomorrow i'll prep for my regular classes. At least i didn't have to work Fri, Sat, or tomorrow.
We jam at 17:00 tomorrow. Then Listen to Seahawks/Arizona for the right to first place in the NFC West (also known as Worst, Weak, Worthless, Wart division.) But hell, i'll take it. They'll probably tie. Then work at 11:00 on Monday.

Eat, drink, teach, poop.

The ever changing river

Ugh. I am exhausted. Classes and meetings to prep for the University course that starts next week. A Jay's work never ends. House fine. Martin is fine (gato loco). Ahhh. i am listening to a live version of Squonk from 1978. I remember when we used to play that song with Homer and the Doughnuts.

I am old.

Off to meet Pete and happy hour. The band is changing. Tamara is leaving in Dec. and Pete probably in Jan. However, i've already contacted a potential new lead singer and new guitarist, both of whom i know well and have played with before. We'll have at least 2 gigs with tam, maybe three. If this happens i will be the sole 'original' member. I'll be like Fleetwood without the Mac! Well, it's cool. We'll see what Fernando wants to do. And then we'll take it from there. Nothing ever stays the same, does it? I guess that's good. I'd hate to be watching Happy Days right now. Seriously.

Okay. Left foot - right foot. Left foot - right foot.

Drown with Me

(The Endless River; Madrideograpghy iv)

Put a bullet in my brain, and it makes all the papers
-David Bowie

I hate banks. I hate insurance companies. Never ending phone calls. Never ending gaffs. I had to cancel my credit card at Citi Bank on Spet 30th because i canceled my Health Insurance at Kaiser Permanente (I have insurance now here through Sanitas (tied to United Health Care) for 1/5 of the price. But when i called Kaiser to find out where to fax my cancellation, they said they would still auto debit my account. I asked why.

"Because you need to give us 4 weeks notice."
"That's ridiculous, " i said.
"I'm sorry you feel that way," she said, reading off of a card.

"ANYONE would feel that way! A month to cancel an auto debit!" You would too if you weren't reading off of a script and had an independent or empathetic thought in your echoing skull. So i canceled the card. It took two phone conversations of over 30 minutes to cancel the card. I told them to send it to the same Citibank on Calle Orense that they've sent it to 2x because they were hacked. They said they couldn't look up the address. I had to look it up on the Internet, which is hard when you are in a phone booth at a Locutorio. When i went last week the card wasn't there. SO i called today. After almost an hour on the phone, and talking to six different people, each one more of an Epsilon Minus Semi-Moron than the other, i found out that they recalled it because they expected fraud. But they never called me, neither in Spain or at Mom's. This idiot woman told me, "we did try to call." What does TRY mean. Did the buttons give you trouble Tootz?

I said, "well what number did you call?"
"I can't give that number out."
"What! I've given you all my account info, the other person's name on the account and my password six times! Fuck!"

"Hanging up because of the language. Good-bye."

Plus they were all speaking so low and could BARELY speak English. They were all in Kentucky, or nation's asshole. It will take 4 days. SO then i had to talk to someone to be sure i could use my debit card. I have been waiting three weeks to get my new crown for my tooth, but i need my credit card to pay for it!

And then, the train to Arganda Del Rey, for my 4-6pm class, had an indefinite stop because a passenger got sick. I had to call Carmen and cancel. What a day. What a few weeks. What a life!
I live in a no-man's land between lunacy and exhaustion.

One scrap of good news; this class at the University is a graduate course on Business English and also prep for the TOEFL (Test Of English as a Foreign Language). Both of these things will be very handy on my CV my i return to the US. Officially now, i will be here until July 2011 as I have a contract through July 12 with the University. Unless I drown myself in the Manzanares River first.

Man. Two references to suicide in one post. Who am i, Bruce Springsteen? That's another crazy thing i've never been able to understand about the folks who want Born to Run to be the NJ anthem. It has two references to suicide. Don't we from Jersey have enough trouble with our branding?

Baby this town rips the bones from your back
Its a death trap, it's a suicide rap
- - -
I wanna die with you Wendy on the streets tonight
In an everlasting kiss
- - -
The highways jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive Everybody's out on the run tonight but there's no place left to hide

Damn. That's like three suicide references, really.

But some days, like today, merit it.

Thru the Eyes of Kurt Rambis, part II

Kurt Rambis (left)

Worked six hours today. Two got moved to Miercoles.

The Seahawks finally won away from home. A very important game at home next week vs. Arizona. The only way a team gets in the playoffs from that division is to win it.

Tired. Long day but it was good. Starting to get cold here in the morning. Like freaking winter. Then it gets to like 64 around two or three o' clock.

I was just ironing to Rush. I am such a nerd.

Happy Birthday Pat Smith! I always loved dinosaurs. Always.

So on an occasion as momentous as this, everything seems a bit wobbly. Like the world must look to Kurt Rambis.

Catnip and Gravy

The CAT who did SQUAT; by Dr. Sasquatch; Madrideology iii

That's Martin (MAR-TEEN, like 'Gangrene'), sleeping in my bed. He's a good cat. He greets me at my bedroom door in the morning. He's a heat whoor.

all i can remember is what i am
i cannot forget what i was
i try to be what i can be
and then the whole thing just kind of goes to hell
-Ancient Proverb of Atlantis (not Atlanta)

time has flown. Its mid-October. I love all of you people (anyone who has read this for over three years is really hard-core.) I spoke to Mum on the phone yesterday, which was very nice. Always nice to hear her voice. Hell, her voice IS my voice. I talk just like her. Same cadence, same lilt. Exact.

I just sound more like a Muppet.

I'm willing to live with that.

Speaking words of wisdom
let it be
-The Beatles

Univeristy Professor

Arbol y Pintada; (Plaza Colon) Madrideology ii

Things are looking up. After a rough week with 9.5 hours canceled because of Spain Day, It appears that i will have between 26 - 30 hours in regular week. Also, I am going to be teaching at a University in the North from 6:30 - 10:30 on Friday Evenings. It's a post/grad class. I need to buy one of those blazers with the ugly patches on the arms. It will be heavy on business and marketing, which is right in my zone. Wow. I am really stunned by this turn of events, but so happy! It's an escuela de negocios (a business School.) Me, teaching at a University/graduate level. Has the world gone mad?!! MADrid. Oh yeah. I guess it has. I'm so happy i could poop my pants. No, wait a moment. I just have to take the Poop D'Jour.

Return of the Giant Hedgehog

In the Mauve room, Madridiography #1

So this is part of my new photography project; Madridiography; a goodbye to the city that has hosted me all these years.

My head looks ginormous because my hair is so short. Que Pena!

Sadly, since this photo was taken, The Hedgehog was busted for selling coke. Oh how the mighty fall!

Go Rays!


listening to;

Santana III / Santana
Cosmic Egg / Wolfmother
Emergent / Gordian Knot

SPANISH DAY / soil myself

Cristobal Colon

Got just one class tomorrow, a make up from today. I have a few make-up hours on Fri too. I'll take all the hours i can. I love teaching. Money is good to pay for stuff.

Happy Columbus day! Same holiday as Spanish Day. They more celebrate the spread of Spanish / Latin influence. That was 500 years ago. Five hundred years! Damn, time flies. As is a constant theme in this blog, they just haven't done much lately. It makes you wonder how long the SPANISH (meaning Iberia) culture will last. But it's been here a long time. They were once the super power. It's hard for me to imagine, really. I mean, there's lots of stuff i really enjoy about Madrid, but, this country being a super power? No i can't imagine it, and i most certainly would soil myself if i did.

But they did pay for an Italian dude to discover a new route to the East Indies. And he discovered the NEW WORLD. Of course the natives and the Vikings already knew it was there. But he put it on the map for all of Europe.

I know all about the ugly pilgrim thing
Entertainers bring May flowers
-Liz Phair

Homeless No More

10/10/10

I feel so lazy. 16:32 and I haven't done a thing. Slept til 14:00. Just exhausted. Must set up room.

Tuesday is Spain Day (To celebrate Cristobal Colon)


music to decorate by-

A Trick of the Tail / Genesis
Black Country Communion / Black Country Communion
Strange Beautiful Music / Joe Satriani
8 Days Later / The pineapple Thief
Live from Paris Theatre, London, ) Oct. 3, 1971 - Pink Floyd
Axis: Bold As Love / Jimi Hendrix

17:43

A bit of headway. Putting fall clothes in drawers. Hanging up collared shirts. It should all fit but my room is going to look like an Escher painting. It will be Feng Shui -less. Ah... life as an outlaw.

Football and baseball start in an hour.

I should eat something. And get coffee. Sweet adorable coffee.

Cool and rainy. I don't think the heat is on, but i have my little plug in heater. I'll send you pics once this beast is tamed.

NO Seahawks today. NO Atletico (it's an international qualifying week.) Nothing enticing to listen to while i reconstruct. The South's Reconstruction was nothing compared to this. Time to get back to the Chain Gang.

20:05

Two cups of potent coffee, fried eggs, chips and chorizo. Switch my cleaning switch to on!

23:25

Elena kind of fought me about doing my own laundry. She did some of ours together. Whites etc. But it's kind of a pain in the balls. Just get the fuck out of my way and let me do the laundry. I don't need a mom to do it. I've done it for years. The last girl to live her still as her desk here but she's taking it. Elena gave me screwdrivers to take it apart (you're welcome.) However, it was from fucking IKEA, and needed an allen wrench. I abandoned the idea of taking it apart and just lifted it, and the top came off. Elena was freaking out. I was like, "i just lifted it, it's not broken." And maybe the other bitch should have cleared her shit out before i moved in.

Then i was hanging laundry and i could hear our temporary housemate, Jonas, talking about grad school historical shit ( He's here to research the Spanish Civil War - "i was like, what do you want to know, seriously.") Anyway, it was quite geeky and surreal.

When i went into the interior outside atrium we have to hang the clothes, she asked me to close the sitting room door because Martin (the cat) was alseep under the blanket and she didn't want me to wake him. Seriously? Okay, even if my Espanol is a bit off, you are crazy.

Why me? Why can't i find one normal person to live with? I just want to keep to myself when i am home. I'll stay in my room. You won't even know i'm here. Just let me be.

Obsessive people drive me nuts.

Ironic, I know.

Hopefully it will all blow over. If i have to, i'll just take the place by force. And then disappear. Because i don't exist.

I never existed.

I'm just a voice decaying in the wind.

Zero Hours

My Mac Book tells me the time now, on the hour, in a female voice. The cyber chick just said "It's 00:00 hours." Zero hours. That's fudged up man. It sounds like it's the dawn of time. The first hominid to smash another one in the head to get the last banana.

I got all my stuff to my place. It was raining which meant i had to wipe of all the drums when i got home. The i ate Chinese. Then i went to the first jam of the new school year. We were without our bassist, but it was fun. Then i ate some of Elena's homemade pate with bread and now i am chilling.

I rearranged my room this morning and tomorrow i'll have to tweek it to best fit my stuff and the drums. I met Sauron, the mover, at Maria's in Getafe. We packed my stuff and then went to Madrid (to Laura's) and got the drums. And then came here. I am exhausted. Haven't played drums in 6 weeks. That's unheard of. Wrist and elbow getting better.

We have a gig Dec 3rd and i think Nov 28th. It felt good to play those songs again. It's nice to play our songs.

Tomorrow is week 5 of Fantasy Football, which i love. 1/3 thru the regular fantasy season. I'm in first in our division, Kev in 2nd and Mike in 3rd. The other division is 2 dudes we don't know and Mel. Mel is in 2nd. But there's a lot of football left and those bye weeks and really throw a spanner in the works.

Winner gets ..... guess! Jamon!

I am watching Wall Street 2. Two songs from the last David Byrne/Brian Eno alb win in the film at the beginning. Very cool. Three actually. Wow.

Texas is up 1-0 in game 3 and looking to KO Tampa Bay. I never would have thought. I think this would be Texas' first time in the ALCS. I just checked it - yes it would be. Actually they've never even won a playoff series! They were the original Washington Senators.

"it's one hours."

The Rays tied it up. 1-1. I hate Texas. The team and the state. Arlington is a tin and plastic hell hole.

Strange overtones in the music you are playing
-Byrne / Eno.

Gollum's Grandfather

The Yanks won. Cheers to all you Yankers; Jim, Kev, Mum, Seester. I was able to listen to it on MLB.com for free! Thank you Bud Selig (Bud Slug). Now please go get your sheep's blood transfusion and vitamin enema so that you can cheat death for another ten years.

The Mets will rise again. Maybe 2017.

Jueves evening. Praise Jah. One class tomorrow. Then Tuesday is a holiday. Spanish Day or something. They rotate like every three years. Every day is a holiday here in Spain. There is a reason why they haven't been a world power since 1898. And don't forget 1588, that whole destruction of the Spanish Armada thingy.

But this is home. Or not. It's hard to tell sometimes. I have two homes, at the moment.

00:28 and i'm already in bed! Hooray. Weekend!

Two continents. Two pairs of clean boxers left. Two left feet. Too many classes and not enough clones. To clown around or not to clown around? That is the question. That's all folks.

Heaven
Heaven is a place
A place where nothing
Nothing ever happens
-Talking Heads

The Gathering of Stuff

The black queen chants The funeral march,
The cracked brass bells will ring;
To summon back the fire witch
To the court of the crimson king.

-King Crimson

Looks like we'll move my stuff on Sat. Gotta go to Maria's and Laura's and bring my stuff here.

I like Martin the cat. He's friendly, inquisitive and loco. I like that in a cat.

Listening to Van Halen II. They sure did a lot of covers in their career. Not their best album.

Classes are progressing. I have 23.5 hours a week, if some aren't canceled (seems like some always are).

I will actually have some time on Friday to buy some food and stuff like that. That'll be nice.

So who wins the World Series?

Not the Yankees. Not Minnesota. Not Texas.

Tampa in the AL, i guess.

Not Atlanta. Not San Fran.

I guess this Philly/Cincy series will decide it. - Whoa! Halladay just pitched a no-no!

Advantage Philly.

October

Still here. Long day. Then dinner with the younger Babylon Sister. Now home. Home. Por fin.

Still feels like i'm in a nice hostel. And i have to think to come home on the Metro. But then i figure it out quickly enough. I'm only one stop away from last year.

In ways, i'm only one stop away from lots of stuff.


i have always been here
-Pink Floyd

Home?

Home, home again
It's good to be here when i can
-Pink Floyd

After 117 days of homelessness, i am finally here. Thanks to all of you who put me up this past spring/summer/fall. "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." I am listening to Pink Floyd's Echoes, which is pretty good as compilations go. The window is open and the cool air feels good. Elena and i only speak Spanish, which is great for me. And i like Martin (Mar-teen) the gato. He loves me. All cats love me. And we have power! But after a month of traveling from Getafe to Madrid, and returning to Geta this weekend, i am tired in my soul. On a positive note, who knew i had one?

Ready Gas Masks

Well, it seems i was not unaffected by the strike. Although i made it to all my classes, it affected Fenosa, the power company. My landlady, Elena, paid her bill on an unlucky day. A new computer operated somehow did something so that NONE of the bills paid that day got credit. And Oct 1 was a Friday. So all those people have no power til Monday. So i got there with a suitcase to find that we had no power, which = no stove, no warm showers, - nothing. So i am back at Maria's til Monday. Luckily i always pack my gas mask with me. Escape from Getafe and Eartha Kitt seem impossible.