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Saturday, April 03, 2004 Part of the reason I've posted so little this last week (apart from fleeing the country last weekend): it's been a time of heavy input. Far, far more input than output. And with reason -- there's been so darned much going on, on all levels, micro and macro. Huge amounts of stuff to absorb, taking up so much of my central processing unit's multitasking capability that there's been little mental power or focus to spare. Not that anyone's asked why I've posted so little lately -- I'm assuming it's weighed heavily on many, but everyone's simply too cultured, too urbane to ask yo, wassup? I've paid little attention to TV news lately, having gotten my fill (and then some) in the week or two after the March 11 bombings. I glance through a morning paper, I listen to the radio some, that's about it. Then yesterday I got together with one of my intercambios* -- a good guy, works as a news anchor on Telecinco, one of Spain's few free-TV networks. We meet in a local hipster spot, in an area of this barrio far too reminiscent of Soho NYC -- a café/DVD rental store, a concept that actually works better than it might sound. He was late due to parking difficulties, I sat at my postage-stamp-sized table reading/writing. When he finally showed, he settled into a chair, looking frazzled. Some of the first words out of his mouth: earlier in the day another bomb had been found along the high-speed train line between Madrid and Sevilla. You've probably heard some version of the details, I won't flog them here. News reports are now going on about rising fear and tension in the country, and I have to say: blah blah blah. Of course people are unhappy about all this. Now they have to wade through time-killing, column-inch-filling news reports telling them how unhappy they are about all this. And all of this just as Semana Santa (Holy Week) gets underway -- spring break, religious observances, people heading to the coast or the mountains or to visit family. Big traveling time. For everyone but me, apparently. Many of the locals will bolt the city beginning on Thursday, leaving Madrid quiet, with rumors of fine spring weather heading this way. (Though that could be the weather types lying through their teeth.) A good time to stay put, enjoy some unaccustomed peace and quiet. Conversation with a news anchor gets mighty interesting. He not only has close-hand experience of the big personalities here in the country's capital, from politicians to media folks to the royal family, he has strong opinions about a lot of it. Feels a bit like a keyhole into a level of Spanish life I might not otherwise have access to. Daylight savings time arrived last week, the fall of darkness now holds off until after 9 p.m. Late winter slipped back in a couple of weeks ago, bringing unseasonably cold temperatures, gray skies, rain, and loud complaints from locals jonesing for more user-friendly conditions. That's begun giving way during the last couple of days, and when I stepped out of the café around 8 o'clock, plenty of light remained, the sky shone with the day's last sunshine, blue sky, tattered, cartwheeling bits of white clouds. The kind of conditions that get me feeling pretty fine, a state in which I often find my feet moving in unanticipated directions, through Friday evening streets busy with folks out enjoying themselves. Today brought more of the same. I think I can live with this. *Intercambio (literally, interchange): when speakers of two different languages -- each studying the other's language -- get together for conversation, speaking one language for a while, then the other language. Generally an excellent opportunity to teach each other bits of slang and street language, often resulting in fits of hilarity. Madrid, te quiero. rws 4:00 AM [+] |