Reading (For Dummies)

Myoho renge kyo

It's autumn, my right wrist is dying of carpal tunnel, the weather has gone rotten (raining), I'm sick for the first time in over a year (some kind of vaguely cold-like sinus pressure, and I've been sleeping 12 hours a day too).

Ah the colors

Probably rock climbing for three hours on Friday morning didn't help my vague sickness condition. Yeah, I was still sore from all the climbing and bouldering and crap. I was a little bit afraid too...these Germans don't know how to climb safely. While at the gym, I watched a guy take a 20' fall because his partner didn't know how to belay right, or wasn't paying attention, or something. He looked like he sprained his ankle something terrible...I checked my partner out before climbing, though...He was an Austrian that spoke pretty decent English...climbed up about 5 or 8 feet and hopped off the wall. He stopped me right away so he checked out.

On the recommendation of my friend Stephen, I decided to read Siddhartha the other day. Interesting little book, took me only 3 hours to read. I've had a mild interest in Buddhism before, but tonight I actually called the local folks and hope to meet up with some Dresden Soka Gakkai. The more I read the more questions I have, though...language is such an arbitrary thing so why bother choosing any particular construct as a chant? I have my doubts that they'll explain that one to my liking...

So yes, I have found an (actually several) bookstore with an english section. So I bought Siddhartha, of course, and also The Catcher in the Rye, and a few Shakespeare plays. The bookstores do have English language sections, but they're outrageously expensive unless the copyright has expired on the book. The Catcher in the Rye is funny because it has little notes in German on the bottom of some of the pages.

I think I found a dying bird, too, while I was outside the bookstore.

He barely even flinched

So today I slept mostly, and I'm tired again at 11pm. Maybe I got mono from the Apfelschorl (some kind of very large very alchoholic beverage that tasted slightly of Apple, my roommates and friends were passing the bottle around before heading the Werkpalast last week..).

The bathroom

By popular request, I'll be posting pictures of the apartment for the next few entries. This is a close-up of the bathroom sink. It drips a drop of water, about 2 every second. Tightening down the handles has stopped working...so I'm going to take it apart and replace the washers soon. I already rewired all the switches in the kitchen and hallway so they work again. Not too bad to be slightly handy...

When I'm better I'll make a real post, I promise.

Posted by reid at October 21, 2002 05:29 PM