Something extraordinary happened to me about 9 days ago, I returned home from a full days worth of entertaining my students to find my computers power cord dead, fried to a crisp right on top of my favorite blue sock, both now rendered useless including my computer until I can find a replacement Mac power cord. I guess I have been over working the poor power cord, whom I will call ‘Jim’, since I had internet installed a couple months ago, supplying the necessary energy for continuous day and night downloading, but why on my blue sock… I have now only two pairs left.
I can remember myself before that point feeling very stressed and in a rut. School was moving along just fine and there was nothing really to complain about, except for maybe the large white van blaring traditional Romanian music outside my apartment for the up coming elections. It was this daily routine I somehow found myself in which involved mostly me and my computer which I hadn’t recognized until ‘Jim’ decided to burn out before his time, ending my dependence on this ‘tool’ and thereby pulling myself out of my rut. Of course initially I cursed who ever was the author of my misfortune and spent a brief period in morning hunched over my cold powerless device, but then maybe somethings happen for a reason, or perhaps, we attach reason for somethings that happen. I couldn’t watch the new episode of ‘The Office’ or listen to my German audio books of Heidegger, or find out about the newest catastrophe on nytimes.com, I had no internet, no FinalCut, no movies…no problem! I needed some ‘me’ time anyway. I figured if I can no longer use my computer this might be an opportunity to try to go without other things I have been depending on so I tapped all of the light switches to the ‘off’ position and bought 8 candles for the equivalent of 3 dollars which have lasted for now almost a week and a half. Just light a candle and watch as shadows dance and mingle with everyone else appearing as if there was always some lively party going on behind the scenes rendered insensible by the cold bright light from above that I had always used without thinking before. I spent one night with my candle just focusing on Van Goughs painting ‘The Potato Eaters’. The more I contemplated this picture the more I appreciated life, the artist, history, the senses, and I felt relieved. I just gained time because I had less places to spend it. I don’t need a computer to see this painting on my kitchen wall; I can connect to it without one. With my computer and the internet I am lost on an infinite road leading everywhere, I shot myself into space with galaxies of information, my ship can take me anywhere and I am on a search for new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before, but new knowledge doesn’t satisfy, being just a hitch hiker on the road to everywhere. Just arriving and staying seems to be more Zen and purposeful, if there is such a thing. I am forced to deal with time and have been using the struggle and boredom to my advantage, directing it toward observations and ideas, lots of reading and writing with good ol’ fashioned pen and paper. Anyway I could speak of this forever, and my school will be closing soon, so I will move on.
So much has happened since I had stopped updating this blog and its because my focus has changed and so must this blog if I am to be able to keep using it as a means of connection and self expression. I am shifting toward turning my ‘Blog’ into a ‘Vlog’, yes a video log, which I have already written several scripts for but without my computer I can’t do anything yet but enjoy the time until my power cord arrives. Soon big things will be happening and I hope to be ready for them. I have my secondary project lined up and once in place with the necessary funding and participation, which hopefully shouldn’t be to difficult, I will have produced with my kids a full length documentary film about Abrud, the town that I live in, dealing with issues that lay behind the surface of this once prosperous town and what a sense of ‘community’ means and how it might have changed since Romania moved from a communist to a capitalist mindset. I am in contact with the director of the NorthWest Film School who will be providing some much needed advice as to the steps required in script based production. Now it’s just spending the time in writing grants and NGO’s for some funding, and time is all I have back home.
The next update will come with a video accompaniment, please check these two quick videos I made before I lost my computer. One is me just going through the process of fire making and the other is a series I am doing with my advanced students which we plan on submitting to our Pen Pals at Stadium, Tacoma Washington. Let me know what you think.
2 comments:
jesus,
the first video had me pissing myself. i can't believe how funny you can make something as simple as waking up and making a fire (or trying to).
Good work.
You should do a video on the local shitty bar and what goes on there.
Had me in stitches man. I also liked how each video ended with some good old fashioned Romanian culture. At least I think the end of the first was Romanian, really they looked Spanish or something due to their wacky sleeves.
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