Saturday Update

I haven't written here for a while, and there's a very good reason for it. The reason is that I'm a lazy blogger.

My brother and I made the trip from Albuquerque to Mapleton, Maine in 43 hours. We alternated driving and sleeping (at one point, I drove 1000 straight miles, which was a new record for me). It was nice to drive all that distance together, and we had a really good time and a lot of laughs.

Here in Maine, it is C-O-L-D cold. It is absurdly cold. I mean, it's just stupid how cold it is. I've only been out to run three or four times, and it's a struggle, because it is so damn cold. I can't stress how unseasonably low the temperatures are. Outside right now it is absolutely arctic.

We have been busy for the past week installing a new heating system in the basement of the house, which we more or less finished today. My brother knows a lot more about this stuff than me, but I'm learning pretty quickly. He didn't know jack about it before, either, and we've come to the conclusion that necessity is not only the mother of invention, but the mother of skill acquisition. A human being has the capacity to store so much knowledge, and a lot of times we box ourselves in with expectations that society places on us or that we place on ourselves. We all have the potential to be renaissance men/women, and I think lack of money to pay someone else combined with a healthy thirst to learn new things helps us along that path. I could be just bullshitting. I do know, however, that my brother and I have learned a LOT of stuff thanks to inheriting this old farmhouse, and it's wonderful in a lot of different ways.

Did I mention that it is really freaking cold here?

I'm probably headed back to New Mexico next week for a 3-month temporary duty assignment with the NM National Guard down on the border with Mexico. It's pretty good money, and employment opportunities in Maine are a little limited right now. It seems silly to have driven all the way here for a couple weeks' stay, but I wouldn't have done anything differently. The trip with my brother, and the time we've spent working and hanging out together over the past days has made it all totally worth it.

Yesterday, just out of morbid curiosity, I decided to see how much I could bench press. I have lifted weights MAYBE 10 times since August, and 0 times since mid January, so I was not expecting much at all. It was more or less to gauge where I am and have an idea of just how weak I've gotten. It ended up being like when I ran a five-miler a month ago to "ease back into" running, and somehow ran the fastest five miles I have ever done (35:50). Yesterday my max bench press was 250 lbs. I won't lie...I was pretty damn impressed with myself, since the most I EVER did was 275, and that was back when I weighed 210 (I'm now around 165). I should really work WITH my body, if it seems to want to work with me.

Well, I don't know what else to write. Wish I had something profound to say, but I'm not feeling particularly profound lately. Be well.

Back in the Five-Oh-Filthy

I got back into Albuquerque on Thursday evening at 5pm Mountain time, which means I was in transit for a total of 23 hours. I'm used to the long trips by now, so the time went by reasonably quickly. I had to wait 3 hours in both Washington and Denver, but Denver had free WiFi, so it was not that bad. The flight from Buenos Aires to Washington was only about half full, so I had room to stretch out and ended up sleeping very well. As usual, there was a selection of movies available to watch, but I didn't even bother. Southbound customers had both The King's Speech and True Grit as options. Northbound customers like me? Transformer-type garbage. Anyway, I had tired myself out during the day (I had a private tour of the Congress building with my good friend Gabriel), so I slept like a rock on the plane. The trip was very uneventful.

Here in Albuquerque I'm staying with my friends Mary and Julio, who are awesome hosts. My brother will get here on Thursday, and we will take off. In the meantime, I've been trying to leave things in order here in New Mexico as well as get all the stuff I will take with me organized and packed. So far it has been no small task. I have a shit-ton of books, and I just don't like the idea of parting with any of them. Primarily what I have to take with me are books and clothes (including all the stuff the military has issued me, which is way more than I remembered), but the books are going to be priority. I really think that with some creative packing I can fit it all, but we'll see.

It seems that transferring to Maine from the New Mexico National Guard will be no problem at all. At least that's the way the readiness NCO made it sound, and he seems to be on top of his game, so I have no reason to doubt him. We'll see how it works out.

I just realized I don't have that much to write about. If anything comes up, you'll be the first to know, and I'll blog from the road. That's it. The end.

Stroll along Rivadavia

This morning, as planned, I met up with my buddy Benedict at the Plaza de Mayo so we could walk the 116 blocks (9.5 miles) that Avenida Rivadavia courses through Buenos Aires proper. After having some medialunas (and a Cindor for me...god, I love Cindor), we set out with our cameras to document the changing face of the city. Since we were planning on passing through some ostensibly "complicated" neighborhoods, we didn't take much money.

Within 4 blocks I had my very first "hassled by a cop" experience in Argentina. I was stopping at the corner of each block, taking a picture down the block, just as I'd planned. Unwittingly, I took a picture of the Israeli embassy, and there was a cop nearby watching. I had no idea that the Israeli embassy was there, I was just taking a picture. Anyway, the cop motioned us to go over to him, so we did. Now, the first thing you should bear in mind as you read this is that, on face value, I had no problem with the police officer wanting information from us. To begin with, after five months of training in military intelligence, I realize very well that people taking pictures of such important buildings are, whether they like it or not, "individuals of interest." Additionally, there have been terror attacks on Jewish sites here in Buenos Aires, including the Israeli embassy...pretty significant attacks in which many people died. So, I had no problem with the officer doing his job. But, of course, he couldn't just do his job and be decent about it. Below you will find a fairly accurate recreation of the highlights of my conversation with this representative of Buenos Aires's finest:

Officer: Why did you take that picture?
Me: Oh, I'm going to walk the entire length of Rivadavia and take pictures of each block.
Officer: Well, you just took a picture of the Israeli embassy, and there's a bank there, too.
Me: Oh! I had no idea the embassy was even there!
Officer: Where are you from?
Me: I'm from the US.
Officer: Do you have your passport with you?
Me: Actually, no. I never carry it with me. Should I?
Officer: (just gives me a look like I'm a complete idiot)
Me: Well, I have it back at my apartment. But since we're going to be passing through some complicated neighborhoods today, I didn't bring it with me, because I didn't want it to be stolen.

This is where things took a turn for the worse.

Officer: So the US doesn't issue passports, huh?
Me: (starting to get annoyed, because I'd obviously just finished telling him my goddamned passport was in my apartment) Yes, of course the US issues passports.
Officer: So, what? You think just because you're an American, and this is just Argentina, you don't have to carry a passport with you?
Me: (completely pissed off, now) Absolutely not.
Officer: So? What's your explanation?
Me: I already gave it to you. Let me ask you a question, officer. Do Argentines not take photos when they go on vacation? Or am I the first tourist you've seen here with a camera? Help me understand this, please.
Officer: (annoyed that I both speak Spanish and am not getting all nerved out and ready to offer him a bribe - or my camera) You know, if I want to I can take you into the station and make you prove who you are.
Me: (all patience gone) Oh, please, please do. Take me right down to the station if you want to make yourself look like an asshole. I have a half a dozen lawyer friends here, and I'm sure they'd be happy to come down and help me prove myself. Please, let's go right now. It'll make a good story for later.
Officer: Just get out of here.

Why, oh why, oh WHY could this guy not just do his job in a professional manner, explained his concern regarding me taking a photo of the embassy, and just let us resolve the problem in a civil way? It would have been too easy, because I was very, very sympathetic to his cause. But no, he had to be a jackass, and I've had it up to my eyeballs with jackasses. Plus, somewhere in the back of my mind I was thinking about how he's probably gotten off on making other, more Spanish-and-pelota challenged travelers quake in their boots, and it just got under my skin. Anyway, all was well that ended well, but seriously, WTF?

The landscape of the city shifted as we moved along the avenue, but so did the price structure. I could not believe it! A choripan (sausage sandwich) will probably run you anywhere from $3.50 to $5.00 in the more upscale/touristy neighborhoods. At a stand right there at the edge of the city, as we were finishing up our journey? $1. One. Dollar.

Anyway, it was a nice walk, I enjoyed it immensely, probably got a little sunburn, and got some exercise. I am uploading the photos on Facebook, and am still thinking of how I might display them in "hard copy."

Here is a picture of a classic automobile we saw towards the end:



Hasta la próxima...

Last week in Buenos Aires

I'm down to my last six days here in Buenos Aires. Usually, as I get closer and closer to leaving, I just get increasingly more sad. This time around I have pretty mixed feelings, but only because of other decisions I've made. Up until a few days ago, I was just experiencing the usual sensation of dreading the return to New Mexico. However, since I've decided to move back to Maine rather than stay in Albuquerque, I'm feeling a lot better about leaving Buenos Aires (thought still very sad).

Yesterday was overall a very good day for me. It started off a little rocky, because I have been eating like crap, and being extremely lazy with my exercise routine (comparatively lazy, at least) and was pretty disappointed with myself. As easy as it is to say, "Well, look, you're on vacation, you're taking advantage of the time you have to do other things, and eat the kind of stuff you can't get in the states", I am all too aware of how easy it is to get f-a-t FAT again, so I decided to move my ass over to the park for a run. It was meant to be an "easing back into things" 5-miler (the round trip walk to the park, at about 5.5 miles, was going to be an added bonus). As it turns out, I ended up running my fastest ever five miles. I'm not sure how that happened, but I'll take it. It's a good sign of things to come, I hope.

After the run, I went over to Recoleta Cemetery to take some photos. I was mostly interested in the statues, and anything else that might catch my eye. One picture, in particular, came out pretty nice, I think. I wasn't sure whether or not it would, but have a look for yourself:



The sun was right behind the statue's head, and I couldn't tell if it was going to look very good when I took the photo, but I think it's interesting.

Tomorrow I'm going to do another photo-project. I don't know if you all know, but Buenos Aires not only has the widest street in the world (9 de Julio) but also the longest (Rivadavia). A couple years ago I walked the length of Rivadavia from where it starts (near the Plaza de Mayo) to the outermost edge of the capital (the street continues well into the province). It was stunning to see how much the city changed as I walked along, so tomorrow I'm planning on taking a photo of each block as I walk the 10 miles or so that the avenue runs here in the capital. Then, I'll try to figure out a way to display them that gives you that sense of spatial continuity (and, thereby, showing the change). Hopefully it turns out to be as interesting as I think it will. My German buddy, Benedict, is thankfully crazy enough to accompany me.

So, yes, I decided that, since I'm going to be waiting anywhere from 6 months to a year to start my new job, I might as well be unemployed and looking for work in lovely, idyllic Aroostook County, Maine in my own house, rather than unemployed in filthy, dirty Albuquerque renting an apartment and spending what little savings I have. The only upside to being in Albuquerque, I think, is a stronger job-market, but there are a few things I can do in Maine, and I really like the idea of settling into my own place for a year (I say my own place, but it really belongs to my mother, my brother, and me). I'm looking forward to growing some vegetables, fishing, continuing to work on the house with my brother, and just generally being "home" and near family. Just taking it easy, doing what I can for work to get by for a while, and then engaging with the big wide world again. Anyway, here's a picture of the house:



I can't wait for spring!

Anyway, gonna go now, more later. Thanks for reading.