Cafe with Turkish Coffee Between Castle and Bridge, September 19 - The Castle Was Neat. Of course its not the places I go, but the funny little things I do, people I meet and musings I mull over in between that I end up writing about. I don't think I could write a decent paragraph about Prague castle. I'll just say this, it's pristine and well worth seeing. Being a tourist for me is all about pressing wherever I am hard to make an imprint upon myself. It's better to stay a while and let a place settle more comfortably on you. But that's a luxury of time we busy tourists cannot afford. So we take a lot of pictures and hope for the best.
As a lingered in Prague throughout the day, having seen everything close by and free that I wanted to see, I read. I read Life of Pi.
I have noticed that I write much better when I am reading a well written book. I mean I feel that I have a clearer voice, less need to be pithy and the process feels more simple and hopeful. More purpose, less agenda. I worry though that it's not my own voice that relates and reflects but that of some other more talented author. He tells about my day, through me. Sunlight and prism. I contribute a pleasant spectrum, assorted and arranged for viewing pleasure but there was no original creation. I bend it. My independence and ego are not satisfied with this arrangement. To hell with post-modern languish, I want to be it. The original, the base, the flour in your cake. But original goddamn creation. That's divine. But the harder one tries for such a thing, the more pathetic the attempt. Gothic spires and vaulted ceilings may be impressive in a given light and no one would say it wasn't a noble attempt. But it's pitiful when I look at it from a nearby hill. It's nice to get over myself now and then. It's the view.
The mechanism is now underway for an application to Grad School at U of Washington. Once you get this sort of process rolling, it's more or less unstoppable. I have to say I think that signing up for more school is a bit like enlisting in the WWI. Sure, it seems like the right thing to do and there are high hopes for the future. Glory, honor and purpose: that's the thing to get me on the happy track. And that I've signed on, I put in so much work! I feel validated when my superiors think I'm 93% fantastic. So if I get accepted I'll probably go. That's why men charge from the trenches. Momentum. Well that has a certain element of idiocy in a supposedly intelligent affair. Consider the following, you can make US wages and live where the living standard is geared towards a salary of $2,000/year and learn Arabic. Just move to Dubai. Being a native English speaker is to be born with a silver spoon in your mouth.
On my way back from the castle, it was dark outside and growing darker. Lamp posts along the Charles Bridge illuminated dirty yellow patches of stonework. Pigeons darted into and out of the otherwise invisible bubbles of bright. The buildings of any historic and aesthetic significance were lit from below all along the river and into town on both sides. The imposing rampart of Prague Castle with the aspiring spires of the Cathedral behind was particularly striking. A semi-circle formed half-way across the bridge. I assumed a statue was being toured (the tours do still run just after dark). But the epicenter was a jazz band. Lighting up cigarettes and faces with laughter. They played 1920s jazz tunes well. People danced, tapped toes and snapped shots. Once a tourist, always a tourist. I decided to let my tourist rest in peace for the night.
The moment was too good to be true and flash bulbs do not add to such romance.
PS: If it seems like I am saying the word "I" a lot it is because when I first wrote this stuff I wrote a lot of the generalities with you (e.g. But it's pitiful when you look at it from a nearby hill. It's nice to get over yourself now and then. It's the view.) I decided that being self-centered was better than putting words in your mouth.
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