Some Wandering Thoughs

11/14/06

Quite an auspicious day for technology. I was drifting off to hazy sleep last night when my cherished bedside lamp appeared to turn itself off. The cherished but doomed American high-intensity 40 watt bulb finally plinked its last, and the room went mercifully dark. The second was the computer. It's never an encouraging sign when pressing the power button yields nothing whatsoever. But I have known for some time that the Compaq's days were numbered.

A little catch-up is in order. I am in Morocco; I have been here for about a year and a half. You can get some info here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Mashford)
if you insist.

I am in Rabat. Morocco generally works under a very different conception of time, which is mitigated somewhat here in Rabat but still predominates. The idea of an abstract extension into the past and the future is held as sort of irrelevant here. Now is now; that is what counts. Tomorrow may never come; the past may never have existed. Mektoub and insh'allah. Only the present bears effort and compulsion upon us.

This is the popular, comforting fiction, anyway. This is a kind of indulgence of irresponsibility; by this one rejects personal compulsion and ability. At worst, that is; it's important for me to note that I really do enjoy life here. People have a helluva time doing anything, but they're not miserable like in New York.

I was born in Ithaca, New York. My home was in the Village of Dryden, which is in the Town of Ithaca, but not in the City of Ithaca. Got that? The whole thing is in Tompkins County, which is about 4 hours' drive from The City. (If you ask which city, go get your eyes checked.) I lived (at first) near Cayuga Lake, slender and peaceful, its quiet depth indicated only by its tranquility.

I'll tell you more about this later on, including my recent bizarre medical problems.