Author: paulattinello
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¡Scorchio!
Evening: baked earth giving heat back to the sky…. I keep thinking of my relationship to heat, to summer and sun; linked of course with my usual wondering about my relationship with productivity, with writing, with aging, with feeling well, with being happy, with the many other versions of my life I can imagine, and…
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There was a conferencing…
The conference went well… the presentation was basically semi-successful; I realized that I’d gone about it the wrong way round (must be inductive rather than deductive – there are few ways to annoy people more effectively than generalizing about things), but there were still some good moments, and I think that my instincts about the…
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Going to Japan
I’ve never been to Japan before. On a crowded street corner, breathing the acid tang of the gray air, I look at the little hand-drawn map and try to figure out where north is. The oval, blank faces flow past as though they ride on swift, efficient engines, though occasionally one glances at me: gaijin,…
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Aesthetic
Continuing working on presentation – made a bit annoying by my body suddenly coming up with several small annoyances all overnight (a swollen lymph gland, a slight sore throat, my back got twisted last night and aches a bit on one side, and my gums hurt – slightly – all more like little, irritating warning…
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Vision
The (first) presentation went well; I was tempted into attending the big social climaxes of this first conference (dinner, concert), but while taking a break in the concert hall to work on the second presentation, I realized I needed to go home and really spend time on it. And so came home… spent the past…
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…scattered…
My guest has finally arrived; a charming, sweet, small man, very elegant and friendly. And although he has dramatic stories about the various and confusing mistravels (new word!) of the past three days, he is quite relaxed and un-stressed about it. (Caracas, Madrid, Paris, here – does that sound like a direct or convenient route…
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Discomfortable moment
Last night was the last HIV patient presentation of the spring/summer; it was an odd one – not like our usual casual, confident get-together with people we know well, talking easily to young students who are always fascinated and slightly appalled. This was an elaborate, rather stiff, formal presentation run by some people up from…
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Forecast: finer
Once again, the weather is better, and so am I. That Venezuelan houseguest is again delayed, and confusion reigns on that front; but his Latin American identity has somewhat influenced the whole situation, as I merely feel like: oh well, okay, no worries. (Now you can see how valuable it was for me to live…
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Easter
Dead men were Flung spreadeagled from the barricade. The fight drained from our angled wounds. We fled the bunnies And their flashing hatchets, Limped across the reddened curb Into the alley, Its end blocked by a spaceship Guarded by ducklings with long black knives. You said: Let’s fight, we’ll grab the ship and fly, Set…
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Analysis
Monday/Tuesday: the sequence of actions – (a) Awakened early, stomach in difficulties, feeling stressed. Attracted to dreams and sleeping (because of avoiding responsibilities, because of the pleasantness of relaxing, because it was chilly out), stayed in bed. (b) Received several phone calls, tried to ignore, let machine take messages. Finally answered one call on my…
Paul Attinello 