From here to there

So there I was sitting at my desk, waiting for something to happen. As usual nothing happen, and just another day at work. Each day I got in at eight in the morning, and did virtually nothing until ten.

Ten o’clock, supposedly at this time I did some productive stuff, but actually I started to get anxious and bit my nails. I had this routine for a few weeks, until one day my fellow worker companion told me my nails looked really bad, I mean scary bad. I did not care until he said the ladies did not like bitten nails, specially like those in my fingers.

So I decided to stop bitting my nails. A few weeks passed, and I felt better, good looking nails, I felt I was on top of the world. I mean, I went to buy new clothes, flashy new shoes, smile on my face, I was living the dream.

So it was Friday night and some friends and I went to this bar, I mean THE bar. I was really looking forward, since I was on top of the world and well ladies like that. We ordered some beers and invited some girls to our table. There we were, chatting, laughing, having a good time. It was then, that I heard the girls say something, you know those times when you pick up a word from a conversation you’re not supposed to be part of, and you act as if nothing happened just to keep listening. Well I paid close attention and heard the following: “his hair” then a response: “eww”. I did not know who they were talking about, until they left and one of my friends said to me, that they were disgusted at my hair. At first I did not understand, but then I recalled that every morning at ten I started eating my hair tips.

So I decided to stop doing that…..

Grasshopper

Every animal has its own trait, owls fly at night, ostriches are half snake, half bird, and so on. Animals, also have their own characteristic name , a horse, a crocodile, a shark, etc, and we all remember them well; although we do not know the nature of their names, we seem to accept them as they are. But there are some animals that just fail to do it, have an original name, for example the grasshopper.

It appears to be that when scientists were deciding what to name this peculiar alien like insect, they ran out of ideas, and although they named it Caelifea  (its scientific name), they struggled to come up with a popular name. After a long time, they finally made it, and named it a grasshopper. Apparently that is the best they could come up with, grasshopper. Today millions of people know what a grasshopper is, and the name belongs to that insect, but  what if someone really does that for a living, he can not be called a grasshopper, for that name is reserved for the insect many love. Today people who want to grass hop, have to fight society to be accepted as actual grasshoppers, some succeed and some don’t. But we have to live with that reality, names that do not belong to us; grass-hopping is reserved for others, the species called Caelifea.

A waking vegetable

Have you ever woke up having that urge? The urge to go and pick up vegetables. Recently it is happening all over the world, and as the day passes by, the numbers are increasing very rapidly. It is amazing to watch how everyone wants to go out there an pick their own vegetables!

The randomites

The randomites characterized theme-selves as highly genuine material. They considererd their race the most authentic of all; with no logical behavior pattern, no one knew what the randomites would do next. Upon their arrival, they started to infest the most important cities of earth, from Rio to Riyadh, and from London to Taipei. In the beginning they were welcomed in most of these cities, for they were humorous and people were distracted from their daily routine.

Randomites lived in harmony with men for a long period of time. A month passed and the randomites were not random anymore. Scientists discovered their behavior pattern, and proved that the randomites were not the most authentic race out there. The randomites were in for a big fall, people no longer appreciated them, no longer laughed at their randomness, no longer……

Time passed, and people forgot them. Three weeks later, a new race known as the Randomians, and well, they self proclaimed the most authentic race out there…..

Being part of something

Some of us, sometimes, feel as if we were left out, of a team, a friendship or a crew. Some deal with these kinds of situations with pain, others don’t really care, and others just form their own team. But it is never the same, sometimes you really want to be part of something, and they just don’t invite you; you start asking: Was it me? Am I not pretty enough? What’s wrong with you people? Whatever you ask yourself, sometimes you just do not find the answer, and it is frustrating. AFter many attempts, you finally achieve being part of a something, and then you forget about all the pain and agony, and you start behaving as part of that something. Soon another one comes and wants to be part, but strangely you reject him, he, the rejected one, goes and forms his own something, and he calls it: The “being part of something” group. This group, is for all those who never got the chance to be part of something. So the club is a huge success, in America, Europa, and even Asia, but soon not anyone is accepted. So the story goes, and you may imagine where this goes, so if you start a group, don’t say anyone can be a member, just say: almost anyone.

The greatest idea of all

Lou was hanging out in Fernando’s house, of course he was with Fernando. Suddenly Fernando got really excited, went out the room and returned with a small blackboard.He then wrote: “The greatest idea of all:” He then asked Lou: “Do you know what I just came up?” to this Lou replied: “The greatest idea of all?” Fernando was surprised, and then thought if Lou came up with the same idea, how could he? “So?” Lou asked. Fernando blacked out and forgot what it was he was thinking. “So what?” he replied to Lou. “What is the greatest idea of all?” …..”I don’t remember.” Fernando sat down with Lou, they both got lost in their thoughts and never talked about that days’ incident. We will never know what was Fernando’s great idea, and maybe it is for the best that we don’t ever know, but one thing’s for sure: we’ll remember that day as the day one brilliant mind came up with the greatest idea of all.

The boy in front

What was he doing? I kept asking that same question all over again. Each time I came into the room and sat down I found a boy in front of me. I could not see his face, in fact it was impossible to get a clear look at his face. I was sure he was doing something important, for he was very focused on what he was doing, as if nothing else existed, in fact it made me look like a worthless worm. I proposed myself to find out, and I was willing to go to the end of the world to seach for that answer; well just to the other side of the room.

I did not know the boys’ name so I decided to name him Esteban. It was wednesday and I was back from work, I was exhausted, but as soon as I saw Esteban sitting in front of me, I realized that my day at work meant nothing compared to that thing he was doing. I sat down and called him: “Esteban, Esteban, what are you doing?” After a few minutes of silence, I asked again and again, yet there was no response.

I was frustrated, and about to give up, when I decided to stand in-front of Esteban. As I got near, I could feel Esteban was aware of my presence, for the first time in my life. Yet I decided not to be directly in front of him, I decide to back off, I could call it a day, Esteban was aware of my existence.

The next attempts were similar in results, although one time I did stand directly in front of Esteban, I could never figure out what was he did. I did not matter anymore if I found what it was Esteban did, in fact I never attempted to discover his doings. The only thing that mattered was that he knew I was there, and that soon he would be eager to find out what it was that I did. And I don’t know but I called him Esteban, a good name, maybe he would call me Jean Pierre.

Ekute e paradio ey?

Paradio et lavin es kie vanmin astrnigoy. What? As far as Wan was concerned, this had to mean something, but he did not know what. He was in a place he did not know, and he did not speak their language. The weeks passed, and apparently no one understood each other. Nevertheless things seemed to work out fine. The roads were paved, the grass trimmed and the market was up everyday. But how? Wan did not understand, and since no one understood each other, he decided to play along and make things work.

Walk

The day started at six in the morning. Soon I was on my gear and ready to go. Today’s stage was about 30 km, and I knew I had a long way ahead of me. I started to walk with my 15 kilos of gear, the sun waking up, but fortunately it would be another hour till it was completely out. It was ten in the morning, and my legs started to complain, they needed rest, my back needed to stretch, and virtually everything my body was crying for rest; but still my mind keep telling me just a little more, little more.

I took the first break, for I needed to get a snack, fuel my body, just a little bit to keep it going. My body entered a complete cool-down, and apparently my mind was cooling down too, but I needed to continue, and there were still ten clicks to go. I finished my snack and geared up, in less than a minute I was on my way; I could not stop and think about it, because the take off would be very slow.

Five clicks remaining, and my body luckily was in one piece. On the other hand my mind was falling apart; kept telling myself I was not going to make it. It was that side of my mind that wanted to give up, that said: “you’re done for the day lad”. But I kept trying, my walking pole was the one thing that kept me standing and leaping forward, at times my whole body reclined into that single pole. It told me how much more, every step, around 30 to 50 centimeters closer to the goal.

I knew I was near, I felt it, I smelled it, I even tasted it, but only thing that kept me going was that idea: just a little bit more….

Bert and the Iluans

Bert was a small member of the Iluans, a rare fish specimen. The thing is he did not know this until his adoptive parents told him he was a Iluan. Bert received this shocking new the day after his graduation from Cape High, and so he decided to look for his species. Bert spend about five years looking, and nowhere could he find them. Until one day he found one of them, he was Edd, and he was all by himself. Bert then asked where all the others were, to this Edd could not answer, for he too did not know where they were. Bert then asked if he could join Edd in the search for the Iluans, but Edd replied that it would be easier and far more effective if they separated, Bert agreed and they went their separate ways. Bert never saw Edd again, and it had been ten years since he parted off for the search. It was that day that he decided to go back to his hometown. As he arrived, he felt that he could not go back, for it had been a long time and who would remember him, so Bert decided to roam alone in the ocean for the rest of his days. Back in his former hometown, Bert’s adoptive parents always dreamt about the the Bert would return to them.

The veteran

Everyday, thousands of post its, invade offices around the world. Their life is an endless battle of who is going to be on top and the most important of the day. But today the honor goes to that post it, that did not make it to the top, that has been hiding in the shadows for countless amount of time: the veteran. In its time the veteran was just like the fresh post its, young, bright and full of that sticky substance which makes it a post it. Soon, the veteran felt it no longer played the duty it did days before, to remind. As things that loose their use, the veteran soon was forgotten, and the only thing it could hang on was its glorious day as a piece of use-full material. Hours, days and months passed and the veteran was lost in oblivion. Darkness overcame the veteran, for there was not a single space where the light could come through, the veteran grew bitter and lonely. One day the veteran was awaken by horrible sounds, soon the veteran felt warm again as if above it something was disappearing; fast! The veteran soon realized that its companions were being slaughtered, and amazingly he felt some joy, for the veteran was going to be important once again, back in duty. Finally the veteran was the last one standing, not shiny white anymore, but the message was still there: “Clean this mess”. The veteran was not forgotten after all.

Extra nothing

Fast food culture is more popular as the day passes, I mean it is amazing how a new place opens where you once thought it would never. Everyday they are full, and well their profits seem endless, I wish I had a part of the share, but that is only doable in dreams. Ironically hunger is one of the main problems the world population suffers, but these guys, fast food guys, don’t seem to realize that. So you are in the counter and the sales man asks you if you want large everything for just a fraction more of your money, the pressure is so much that you don’t have the time to process that information, and your answer is yes. So you get extra food, and pardon me, but it’s a waste of food, since you asked for the regular combo and now you got the big combo. Probably you will eat all of it, if you are much into fast food unhealthy food, but many will dispose it in the garbage, the extra soda, extra french fries, extra everything. More money for them, lots of fractions of money plus lots more, well it’s about many millions, and many tons of food wasted. Unimaginable amounts of food wasted and unimaginable of hungry people out there. Think about paying that extra something, that huge extra nothing.

Your time is going to come

The other day someone said to me: “your time is going to come”. That left me thinking for a while, is it really coming? I had no idea when, but sometime. I was so concerned that I searched when was it going to come. I could not find any answer, I asked other people in the street, in the bar, in the ocean, everywhere, and no one knew, but they kept saying that eventually my time was going to come. So there I was sitting in a tea house, having, tea of course, and some one sat with me, I did not know him, but it was okay, it did not bother me. So he starts talking about how he treated this other guy terribly, and so I said: “your time is going to come”. He was silent for some minutes, then he gazed at me and asked: “when?”. I did not know but “eventually”.

The ghost

Big cities are full of big problems, whether it’s crime, traffic, pollution or just plain vastness. Big cities attract peoples from all around the world, whether it’s for tourism, making business, etc. big cities are the hubs of virtually everything. 

There is the given assumption that big cities are the places of opportunity and success. This can be true in many cases, but in most, people find theme-selves struggling to survive in the vastness of the city. Where to live?, the cities offer a wide array of places to live, but which one is the best, and most important what can I afford? Big cities are expensive, so lots of people have to settle in cheaper less better looking zones.

Often one arrives to a city alone, the irony is that big cities tend to have millions and millions of inhabitants, but one feels all alone when he/she gets there. Furthermore, this loneliness, often makes the newly arrived, to go and find a place where he can feel safe, a refugee, a shelter, making the loneliness even greater. The new resident, rides the metro with thousands more, and the other thousands act as if there was no one else in the metro. As if one passed in front of you and there was not the slightest reaction, as if you were a ghost. The new resident is a ghost.

So there goes the ghost, trying to find a job, blending in, and just trying to get past through the day. People are dodgy and doubtful of everyone, and so everyone acts selfish for they are afraid of just talking to another ghost. There is noise and movement all around, everyone is doing something for the city needs to work. The ghost does not understand why everyone is working so one part of the city can look glamorous, while the other parts are not taken care, and forgotten, and these are where the majority of the people live.

The ghost then goes to the region where there are palaces. In there he feels like another kind of ghost, one that really scares, one that is seen but also ignored. He asks who lives there and if he can work there but people react very defensively, something not new to him, but this time he realizes that they are actually scared, and in a hurry to get away from this ghost, from him. He realizes that these people, these ghosts, that live in palaces, are most afraid of the majority of the ghost inhabitants of the city, and they are the least seen, but the most seen in the city, for they are everywhere and control everything, but are sheltered in their palaces, that make more resemblance to fortifications than to palaces.

The ghost finally understands that the big city is alive, but this life is given by death souls, ghosts, that only create a facade of life.

The rock that doesn’t fly

According to popular culture, rocks don’t fly. Scientist have created reasonable explanations. On the other hand, everyone’sdream is to fly, so are doomed as the rocks are? Not long ago, we made our dream come true, thanks to various individuals who helped us achieve our dream; with the invention of the hot air balloon, airplanes, helicopters and space shuttle. But why do we still dream about flying? Sigmund Freud tried to explain it through his theory of the unconscious, but still many want to fly and dream of one day being able to fly. So maybe scientist missed that part: we too are rocks and we can’t fly….

Right Eye

Ever wondered which of your eyes is the right one? I have been trying to answer this question for a long time, which is the right one, the preferred one, the one. So I started switching between left and right, and could not reach a decision. Then when I talked to people, I tried to figure out which eye they where staring at; this too I could not tell. So which is the right eye? Probably we’ll never know, and it’ll remain a mystery, but I am sure of this: sometimes it’s the left and sometimes it’s the right eye.

Headaches

Headaches affect many people around the globe. In recent times, Internet has helped many people know what they have, through online medic sources. What are the symptoms? So one goes ahead to see if their symptoms match the ones in the web page. Sometimes I really do not understand where they get the descriptions, e.g. “it is like a hammer inside my head” I know they said “it’s like” which implies it is something similar, but I don’t think it is near as bad as feeling a hammer inside the head. Back to the headaches, go and search the web and gaze through the descriptions of the symptoms, if you have felt nails in your eyes, flames inside your mouth or something similar around your head, it is probably not a headache, it is probably you doing something ridiculously insane. Just an idea.