Author: paulattinello

A little bit in the way Many people, of course, either through a mis-fit in a family situation or by advancing age, become the slightly awkward one in a social/familial nexus: the peculiar aunt or uncle who doesn’t quite fit in, who has their amusing side, but really is just a bit in the way…

Repetition and Acquisition A pleasant day, if one that is philosophically suspect: Susan and Rob and I went in to Barcelona, and walked and shopped and talked and ate and drank…. What is odd about it is that almost everything was familiar from previous visits: lunch was again at Santa Maria, a mild example of…

Disgruntled In travel, in holidays, in being somewhere else, there is often a point where it all becomes hopelessly and ridiculously irritating: the mild sunburn, the mosquito bite, the change in food – the need to decide when to make the big trip into town, the anxieties that one’s favorite outings won’t happen, the worry…

Filing cabinet This second day: struggling with the different structure of the day (unbearably hot in the early afternoon, which means I should have gotten up earlier; trying to sleep, then wake, at peculiar times – I remember the gnomic statement made by Dennis, years ago: “No one knows when the Spanish sleep”); but struggling…

Beautiful children; and parasites Outside at a café, waiting for a table next door at my favorite tapas restaurant: an utterly drunk and obnoxious South African is railing at two people about beauty. First struck by his appalling behavior, I glance up at the objects of his ineptly seductive harangue and, oh my God. You…

Apparently I do have wifi here – at the moment, at least. For blogging, convenient; otherwise a little dismaying, though – it means that e-mail can reach me here. Oh well: once in a while a pleasant e-mail does show up, among the noise and work and spam; and at least there is not a…

Off to Spain tomorrow – so depending on wifi access, I may be offline for ten days. Sitges, and of course Barcelona; with Susan and Rob, and seeing Chris, and possibly Dennis. Sun, stunningly handsome men, fabulous fish and garlic and chorizo, little streets, shorts and sandals; a little apartment of my own in the…