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Archive for February, 2007
Antequera.
Feb 13th
For five days, a window was opened. This time it was opened into my brothers’ new life. His girlfriends’ new life. Their life together in the South of Spain. Their house, view, table, routines, supermarket, area, frustrations, their life. Maybe that’s what my life is. Looking through windows to see the life of others for short periods. Besides the point.
Over the years I’ve noticed I don’t write as much anymore about specific events, a chronological overview of what happened. Again, I won’t do this. I’ll just say it was incredibly amazing. Where they live, how they live, it is so beautiful, exactly how anyone would imagine the South of Spain, except that it is still a bit nippy (nothing like a Dutch winter though). Their area is full of parks, flamigo’s, mountains, just in general things you’d normally need to devote an airplane flight to before you can see something like it (if this is not the case for you, count your blessings).
Somehow especially yesterday will stay with me. Working with them. Digging holes. Breaking a shovel (me macho strong man big muscles shovel look like toothpick next to biceps). Whacking limestone with a pickaxe. From the corner of my eye keeping an eye on my brother, my blood, and smiling. Except for when he would look my way of course, I was too busy working really hard. Yup, for four hours we worked hard in surroundings that would make a Hobbit say ‘Yeah, I know, but I just don’t want to move all the way here’. Lovely isn’t it? Four hours of work can create a memory strong enough to last you a lifetime. Ha, even a split second can do that.
I also took a book from my brother. Short stories and lessons from good old Paulo Coelho. Funny how my brother shares my views on books and how they should be passed on, and that even me Coelho agrees with us, in one of his stories in the same book (you know, they should be read, people with bookshelves full showing off their semi intelligence, the usual things).
I’ve been reading a lot of Coelho’s stories. Some of them I skip, some of them I read five times. No, I’m lying. I’ll read it twice and take a moment to think. Which normally doesn’t work, because my brain is too scattered. So basically, I skip some of them. One thought keeps on popping up in my head. How does he know he is right? He advises, he tells, he teaches, but at what point in his life did he decide that his truth cold be others’ too? Don’t get me wrong, I find it amazing, but personally I have problems imagining it for myself (my advice tends to stretch no further than ‘whatever you do, do not, I repeat, do not listen to anything that passes my lips). Maybe I am young. Maybe he’s old. Maybe I’m an idiot. Maybe he is. Maybe all of the above.
Again, besides the point. The beauty by now is, there is no point. Ah yes, there is one. Thank you once again you two, for making me feel at home in your home. For many new memories, and for now having images when you speak of your new home. Hou van jullie.
Waah!
Feb 8th
Guess who is flying to the south of Spain tomorrow at 6 am (argh, the alarm is set for 3:50, sleeping is for the weak) to slap the spit out of the mouth of his brother? Waahaa! For five days I am going to visit my dear brother and his girl, who somehow moved to Spain about two and a half months ago. Without any security, and real plan, any job. Considering my personal history and views in life I fully disagree with stupid ideas such as these. Very irresponsible. You must understand, I am flying there tomorrow for the sole purpose of trying to talk them into going back to safe Holland. No wine, no fun, no sightseeing. It will be rough days. Wish me luck.
Let me leave you with two amazing quotes of the past weeks, one posted on a big flag, the other I unluckily heard with my own two ears.
“Why call it tourist season if we can’t shoot them?” (Maybe then you shouldn’t live in a house at the entrance of Park Guell in Barcelona. Just a thought.)
Marius: “Hey, here in Madrid it does stay light a bit longer”
Amazingly smart fellow model boy: “Yeah dude, we are further inland”
Hoi
Feb 6th
Mag ik jullie voorstellen aan Yvell (links) en Wendy (rechts). Yvell is dus degene die zo’n beetje alles geregeld heeft voor de eerste periode van Niels en mij in Barcelona. Wendy is officieel ons eerste ‘echte’ bezoek (Marius kwam een paar uur eerder aan in Barcelona, maar die telt niet als bezoek maar als bewoner). Maar dat niet alleen. Ik ben bijvoorbeeld ook samen met Wendy afgestudeerd. Maar goed, ik kon het niet laten om deze foto te laten zien. Het laat zich raden waarom: ik ben gewoon extreem trots om met twee zulke mooie dames op de foto te staan. Binnenkort meer steekhoudende verhalen; uiteraard ondersteund met videomateriaal.
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Feb 3rd
All I can do today is sit with my arms crossed. I’d cross my legs, but my ankle won’t let me. Somehow I leaped back into my musical history and for the first time in ages I must listen to Jack Johnson. Just that. I realized I know every word he sings, yet in most cases I have no clue what he sings about. I don’t want to have breakfast, just because in my head I am having a cigarette with my coffee. My mind races past every day since I graduated from Uni. Actually, my mind skips many days since then. It all melts together doesn’t it? Somehow my mind is stuck on a day before finishing Uni.
January 1st, 2005. Swakopmund, Namibia. A hangover bigger than any of those dunes, a giant friend struck down by it, and a smaller friend unaffected by it (the bastard doesn’t drink). We climb the dune, we slip, we slide, the colors are brighter than any sunglasses, which I wouldn’t wear in the first place. On the edge of a dune I feel a pang because our camera stopped working only hours earlier, in the green strobes and human dune bowling, yet it was okay this day. Many pictures make things look better than they are (I wouldn’t have a job otherwise), yet sometimes you know a picture could never capture a moment or feeling properly. Or maybe I am just not good enough. I see Dave in front of me, balancing on the edge of a massive dune. Laughing. We both can’t believe we are there. And I can’t believe I am stupid enough to climb a gigantic sand dune in the African sun on the one day a year nobody should be allowed to leave the couch. We sit. We think of things to say, yet we don’t. Time to shut up. A perfect moment.
Yes, that’s what I’ll be thinking of today. The perfect moments. Today it is time to forget about today. About I should call him and see her. About what should I eat. About when will I work again. About taxes. About friendship. Not today.
Today I sit with my arms crossed. And I grin like an idiot. And you, you’re reading this. And all you are wondering about is how could he type all this nonsense with his arms crossed.
Twee weken Barcelona
Feb 1st
…en het begint een klein beetje te landen. Niels en ik hadden – onder het genot van een paar wijntjes – vannacht een goed gesprek over hoe we de eerste weken beleefd hadden en hoe alles nu is. Het was allemaal wel wat drukker dan gedacht, zoals altijd onderschatte ik het geheel een beetje, maar we kunnen niet ontkennen dat we heel erg goed terechtgekomen zijn. Ons appartement is werkelijk geweldig, ik blijf het zeggen (googlemaps linkje hier). En met alle mensen die we hier nu al kennen is het echt supergezellig. Maar nu begint het echte werk: Niels begint met zijn studie aanstaande maandag, en moet voor die tijd vloeiend spaans leren, en ik heb een aantal deadlines voor mn werk aan mijn broek hangen. Oftewel: de dagen zwijgend achter de laptop zijn begonnen…
Ohja, Niels heeft een fantastische foto gemaakt van ons uitzicht vanuit ons achterbalkon (klik op het plaatje):
En uiteraard het nodige bewegende beeldmateriaal:
Lunch feat. Marius – Bekijk filmpje >>
Housewarmingparty – Bekijk filmpje >>
