Aristo! Aristo! A la lanterne!: And now for something completely different.....

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

And now for something completely different.....

.
We are away, in a strange land. Strange for me at least. Not as many people here speak English as I had hoped, and I am hopeless with Spanish. Thankfully, nonverbal communications work very, very well.

I had expected to have my magical mystical crazy smart phone for so many uses. GPS to find our way, a translation program for when I got really stuck, maps, internet, OH the JOYS of modern life! Sadly.... all those wonderful data-driven life enhancing services are dead here. Nothing works on that blasted pocket computer BUT the phone, and the camera. When I checked with Verizon they assured full coverage on this island, including 3G. They lied. A lot.

So.... we make do, and it's not that big a chore. People are kind to idiots, and life is a little looser here in many ways.

Here I am.... understanding maybe one word in 30, no link to the world in my pocket, cut off from support and data. It's not the wilds of Borneo, and there is no real problem... but the isolation will be an interesting study in the coming weeks.

More later, when I am able. Ya'll take care now, and keep a light on for us, ya hear?

1 comment:

Bob said...: Have fun! Or as much fun as you can in that sweltering place in July.; July 6, 2011 at 8:02 AM

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Robert Heinlein

"Do not confuse "duty" with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect.

But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible. It is easier to deal with a footpad than it is with the leech who wants "just a few minutes of your time, please — this won't take long." Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life are painfully few. If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100 percent of your time — and squawk for more!
So learn to say No — and to be rude about it when necessary.
Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you.

(This rule does not mean that you must not do a favor for a friend, or even a stranger. But let the choice be yours. Don't do it because it is "expected" of you.)"