to the border

I’ve made it through security and am sitting in PBIA, waiting for my plane to Dallas, and then on to El Paso. Just being in an airport pleases me–the anticipation of travel! I love it. It’s been a hectic few weeks: we’ve received bad news, good news, no news…all that stuff that makes up life. Work has been bananas but will be much calmer when I return. I’ll be helping to write a research report on invasive species in South Florida, which should be interesting (at least judging from what I’ve read so far). The research report will make up the bulk of my work this summer.

Regarding the thesis: I’m meeting with Border Patrol agents next week for an informational briefing. They wouldn’t allow me to ride along with one of the officers because of violence along the border.
While speaking with one of the workers at the center yesterday, he told me he teaches a class for workers who can’t read or write in Spanish. I’m going to start attending his classes in hopes that it will help me with my conversational Spanish (I’m kind of comfortable with reading/writing, but not with speaking). I’m thinking his class may offer another essay for the thesis…the idea of being in an English speaking country, but struggling to overcome illiteracy in the native tongue (in addition to needing/wanting to learn English). Something along those lines…it’s still percolating.

I don’t know what my internet access will be like in El Paso. I’d think the city would provide wifi, but who knows. I’ll be missing Bloomsday celebrations this year, except for the one taking place in my head. It was this time last year I was making my way to Dublin. Ahh, the memories. In case I don’t have a moment to post for Bloomsday:

Jun 1

New month new new new

Today is the first day of June. It’s the start of the hurricane season. My friend from the labor center flew home to Nicaragua yesterday and I just learned that Nicaragua was hit by a the first tropical depression of the season on Friday (before the season, actually). I’ve been helping to organize a conference for the upcoming week and I’ve learned that I hate organizing conferences. I’m simply not organized enough, nor do I care to be that organized. I do not care to be in charge of a group of people either. I could never be a wedding planner. Part of this has to do with the fact that I tend to fret. Even though I’ve taken care of everything I was supposed to take care of, I fret over “what if’s”: What if the traveler arrives at the super shuttle desk and they don’t have his name? What if the bus driver can’t find the dorm? These are things I don’t really want to care about, but I do because I’m uber-responsible and they were my responsibilities to handle. And I did. I’ve done everything I was asked. But what if?

Today is the first day of June, which means my thesis writing procrastination is officially over. Starting today, I’ve got to work on it constantly. I have plenty of material; it’s just a matter of organizing and picking the right words to tell the stories I have so far. I leave Saturday for TX/MEX. I cannot wait. I still haven’t called Texas Border Patrol because I’ve been working overtime, and keep forgetting to call. I must do that Monday. I’m hoping to ride along with one of the agents, but I don’t know how likely it is that I’ll be permitted to do so. It doesn’t hurt to ask.

May 28

4.7 + 4.7= 9.4

Yesterday, I hit the odometer in my car to measure the exact distance to work. It’s 4.7 miles away. As I passed the first major intersection, I noticed gas was $4.03, which made me grind my teeth in aggravation. The question is this: should I start biking to work?

The pros:

* I’ve scoped the path and there is a sidewalk the entire way.

* I’ll get more exercise (especially if I ride my bike to the gym after work. The cardio portion of the workout would be taken care of before I even get to the gym)

* More time to work on my tan

* More time to enjoy the outdoors before sitting in an office for several hours

* The wind acting as my personal air conditioner (something I don’t have in my car)

* No worries about gas

The cons:

* being a sweaty mess when I arrive at the office

* crossing two major intersections

* people in cars and SUVs and trucks

* inhaling exhaust

Today, I’m driving, and I need to be on my way. But it looks like the pros outweigh the cons. Maybe I’ll do a test run this weekend to see how long it takes.

May 27

driftwood

I feel unmoored these days. I have major projects to work on: a collection of thesis essays and finding a full-time job. Yet I Can. Not. Focus. I’m experiencing nearly debilitating bouts of wanderlust, but I leave for Texas and Mexico soon, so perhaps that will satisfy the lust for a while. The idea of a full-time office job makes me want to gouge my eyes. Ideally, I’d like a job that is partly in the office and partly working hands-on out in the world. I went to lunch last week with with my boss and one of the center’s field researchers. The field researcher told me I could go out with him and the others to the Everglades to help them/observe them do their work, so I’m looking forward to taking advantage of this offer. As I mentioned in the last post, I’m studying Buddhism more seriously than I have in a long time. I find it helps me when I’m feeling lost. I’ve been reading a lot of Brevity magazine because I’m thinking of taking my thesis in the direction of short essays. We’ll see how that goes.

The Beatles always cheer me.
“Some kind of solitude is measured out in you. You think you know me, but you haven’t got a clue.”