revisiting BB

It's not Bed & Breakfast that I'm referring to, of course, but Bill Bryson, on whose firstly read book I was posting more or less one year ago, from the same location where I find myself at the time: folks' place; and again, this is not a tale of melancholically reminiscing scattered bits of one's childhood [mine, Mum's, BB's, etc..] but about funnily putting travel writing's beginnings into perspective:

The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America is a book by travel writer Bill Bryson, chronicling his 13,978 mile trip around the United States in the autumn of 1987 and spring 1988. This is the first of Bryson's travel books. [...]
Bryson's goal in this trip was generally to avoid tourist destinations, instead choosing to experience the real every-day America, stopping at small towns and forgotten points of interest. This book is an overview of the United States from Bryson's point of view. [...]

[as briefly put here; image credits go here]

It's worth confessing that this was not equally funny as last year's reading, as the writing seems to extend a tad too much at times; yet it has a certain degree of non-intrusive personal touch which made it worthwhile & agreeable: a funny companion for long plane/ train trips, thus meeting its purpose!

any [good] reason to fly

Lizzo Day 186

my internship's on hold since Sep. 15th [when it was supposed to come to an end but not really] & at the time I'm not too certain about the part-time I've applied for [which was supposed to be flexible but not really], so in the meanwhile I'm taking off for RO tomorrow afternoon, for a bit over one week.

so here's to another fast session of packing-unpacking-repacking-unpacking! (:

the irony of it all? taking off to the initial place of departure on the day, exactly 6 months later, after having landed in Lisbon.

Tea Time

Three years ago I used to go to this coffee and tea lounge on the Upper East Side of Manhattan ("Uptown") and study for several hours at a time. What made "DTUT" different were the "Downtown”-like, relaxed, non-pretentious atmosphere, patina-looking couches, amazing happy hours, great hot chocolate, free wireless and friendly but rather stoned baristas. Which was quite the change from the ubiquitous cookie-cutter Starbucks, both in form and content. Occasionally, a funny-looking old man, spiffy enough for his age, would strike out a conversation with the eternal: "My doctor recommended one glass of wine per day. I come here all the time… their house red is excellent for my heart." And you would, of course, indulge him with a non-flirtatious smile and acquiesce to the undeniable benefits of the DTUT alcoholic grape juice.

Last year, after 10 years of providing a much-needed chilling contrast to an uppity neighborhood, DTUT closed on account of high rent. A fancier, less welcoming coffee-and-wine place took over (including the obligatory Italian name, of course.) Today I went searching for a DTUT alternative in the area and finally stumbled into M. Rohr's, an 1896 establishment with laid-back atmosphere and rickety couches dating as far back as the 1970's, if not older. The same DTUT crowd and reading-friendly environment made my day. And to prove that while rent may go up and coffee places may close, some things never change - the same old man sat across the table from me and stroke out a familiar conversation "Your tea is getting cold. What's that, Irish? Oh, green... my doctor said it's a great antioxidant. I come here all the time, their teas are excellent..."

just got dismissed

today's morning mail:

Nu am primit nicun raspuns de la tine referitor la propunerea transmisa la inceputul saptamanii trecute privind cum solutionam criza ta si implicit acordul tau pentru solutia propusa, acord care nu a aparut. Serios imi vine sa te cert foarte serios pentru ca e a doua oara cand faci asa (vezi anul trecut) si nu am ce face..am incercat si eu si colegii tai s ate contactam pe toate caile posibile. .

Acestea fiind spuse, cu parere de rau trebuie sa iti spun ca, in [place of employment], date fiind informatiile pe care ti le dadeam atunci, nu s-a aprobat cererea de suspendare pe motiv de nerespectare a prevederilor legale. Asa ca...la intoarcere..nu cred ca mai ai post.

Cu mare parere de rau,

P.S. Alex, have had 2 consecutive nights with dreams of you in Brussels (?) inciting me to smoke (?) next to some Versailles-sort-of gardens & outlooks(?). so, how are you?