Au revoir simone

If this blog could talk (independently, at least), it would complain of occasional sniffles, some minor aches and pains, and acute neglect. Posts for December: 2. Depending on the time zone. 2 is a good number for socks, shoes, twins, earplugs, and other things that come in pairs, but in terms of creative productivity, 2 is rather pathetic.

I’m currently trying to write while watching TV. Which shouldn’t be too difficult, as women are well known to be good multi-taskers, and I am a proven master of multiple internet- and chat-windows. However, I am a babe in the woods when it comes to TV. I don’t own one (though, strangely, I do own a DVD player, which sits forlorn and unconnected under my desk), I haven’t actually watched one (in the sense of TV as an activity) in years, with the exception of the 10 minutes it would take me to eat my dinner where I would watch CSPAN or Food network (yes, I am THAT lame). But it makes noise, has pretty flashing lights and a relatively low standard of humor. The problem is, I have approximately the attention span of a hamster, and am good for about 18 seconds per station. I don’t watch TV, I channel surf. Occasionally I stare in fascinated horror at MTV or whatever other aberration of normality which has been exported from my country to the rest of the world.

Not that I often have a point, but if I did, this wouldn’t be it. According to my clock, there are 3 hours and 43 minutes left in 2008. That’s kind of a crazy thought, but then again, today is a day like any other, just like birthdays are. It’s hard not to stand on the threshold of a new year and not look back at the old, for some happy, for others sad, for others indifferent. But that wasn’t the point either. The point, the point, the POINT is (I can imagine Arlo Guthrie at this point, with the glossy photos and the bench W), I finally have the opportunity to leave Europe, trade in my beer and chocolate for mokka and sheesha and unidentifiable bits which I will likely be expected to eat. I have been convinced to purchase a variety of medications which I will hopefully not have to take but likely will, and will have six whole weeks of EGYPT before returning to the freezing temperatures and darkness of Europe. This stint is an internship and some semblance of a vacation, at least in the sense of a holiday from “life” (which seems to change entirely its form and location every few months). No books, no papers. Adventure, chaos, frustration, culture shock, bedbugs, new experiences, new people, work, camels, all of this awaits me, and I it. Wish me luck, don’t mail me anything, and come visit.