Days 183-189 – NY, NY - Week 3 - Starting the Next SIX Months

I cannot believe it's already been half a year… How is it possible, that time flies with such unbelievable speed?

I can safely assume that I'm not the only one who is fascinated by the change in our perception of time when we are children versus when we grow up. Nabokov, for one, says the following on the topic of fast-moving time in his "family chronicle" Ada, or Ardor:
"… of course, at fifty years of age, one year seems to pass faster because it is a smaller fraction of my increased stock of existence and also because I am less often bored than I was in childhood between dull game and duller book." I love how Nabokov never suggests anything, he knows. There are no "maybes" for him, there are only "definitelys". I have never read anybody more arrogant, more obnoxious. Never have I read anybody more elegant and delightful. Incidentally, Ada, or Ardor is my favorite book of his, although at the same time this is the most difficult book I have ever read. Given that I'm pretty fluent in English I didn't understand probably 35% of what he was saying. To be fair, when I originally read it in Russian (Nabokov, by the way, wrote it in English and then translated it into Russian himself, like he did with a lot of his books), I didn't understand a big percentage of words and constructions either. Reading it was like a dream – a blurry vague narrative mixed with bright moments of light-bulb understanding. And when you do understand what he is saying, IT IS ALWAYS GORGEOUS! Reading this book was a true love-hate relationship experience for me.

When I left New York six months ago, I honestly believed that I would grow tired of not working and being away from my routine… I thought that after my MBA adventure (Mexico/Brazil/Argentina) I would be eager to find a new job… NOT AT ALL! I'm not ready to settle back. I am absolutely not done with my journey.

I have thought of a new approach to my travels now. I want to go back to Mexico or Argentina (or both) and live there for a while. Find some absolutely unlikely job (unlikely for me that is; in other words something that does not constitute a career-oriented move). Learn to speak Spanish fluently. Learn the culture. Travel a bit around the country of choice. Eat. Sleep. (Dive). Quoting Elizabeth Gilbert from her awful sequel to Eat, Pray, Love titled Committed, I would like to try the "travel that isn't even really travel anymore, but rather a willingness to be ingested indefinitely by an unfamiliar place." At this point, it seems like a grand idea. We shall see how it pans out.

Highlights of the Week

• We celebrated Dima's birthday* at a reputable New York steakhouse The Capital Grille. It was delicious. By New York standards… My taste buds have not forgotten the real Argentinean asado, and sadly, the comparison is not in favor of NYC… But the company was unbeatable! By any standards!
  
  

  * For the past several years there has been some confusion around Dima's age, started by his ex-girlfriend organizing a huge surprise party for his 29th birthday, thinking that it was his 30th... This big celebration set a new clock for his age, and although he is 32 this year, we all think he is 33, and somehow it is impossible to reprogram.

  
  
• In The Witch of Portobello by Paolo Coelho the main character says, "You should acquire knowledge on a specific subject only when you have the need for it." In other words, there's no reason to be an erudite unless your job is to write encyclopedia articles. I had to re-read those lines many times this week in an attempt to convince myself that it is OK to be so unbelievably ignorant as it turns out I am. You see, when I went to watch the documentary The Radiant Child, I had no idea who Jean-Michel Basquiat was. And then it turned out that not only he was one of the most important pop-artists of our time and a dear friend (just friend) of Andy Warhol's, but also that the whole world - except for the ignorant me and a couple of equally ignorant friends of mine (let's not name names here, you know who you areJ) - knows about him and his amazing life story. Really, how can I live with myself after this?
  
  
• We celebrated Michael's book finish at The Beer Garden in Astoria. Pictures are worth a thousand words, aren't they?
  
  
• I haven't had a migraine for over two months now, so I guess, it's inevitable that I would have one at a most inconvenient time. Well, there's never a really convenient time for a headache, but frankly, I would prefer to have it during the week, when all my friends are busy working, than during the ENTIRE WEEKEND, filled with lots of fun hanging-out plans! Not fair! I have been bed-bound unable to move for two full days starting Saturday morning. I have to admit that when I was in a migraine pain non-stop for months, my attitude toward it was much better, more optimistic. Nowadays, when I get a migraine fairly rarely, I get either pissed at myself (for not being able to get rid of this pain once and for all) or utterly depressed. Today, I'm pissed.