this year's love
So Carlos and I were in the Madrid airport at 9am, sitting in a booth at McDonald's and trying to wait out the three anl a half hours we had until our flight back to Santiago. We were talking about something ridiculous, as usual, when all of a sudden there was a loud boom and the entire airport shook. Carlos went to see what had happened and said that on the floor below us, people were running crazily from one end to the other. We decided not to panic until we knew what had happened, but then a crowd of people rushed by and we decided it would be better to collect our things and get moving. We went to the window to see if we could see anything and there was already a large crowd of people out on the tarmac, milling about. The security guard suggested that we evacuate, so we went out onto the tarmac beneath the huge Iberia jets and waited. And waited. And waited. Nobody knew what had happened but there was a huge cloud of smoke rising from behind the airport roof and already the rumors were flying. It finally occurred to us to use Carlos' new mp3 to listen to the radio, where they were announcing that a car bomb in a van in the parking lot had exploded, taking out four floors of the parking garage and causing broken windows and doors in the airport itself. No one was killed, although a few people were injured and two are still missing. It was an act of ETA, the Basque terrorist organization that just a few months ago had announced a permanent cease-fire after forty years of separatist violence. It appears that the cease-fire is over. It was really strange that after numerous security checks and anti-terrorism measures, after taking off our shoes, our belts, and our coats, after separating liquids and turning off electrical devices and putting things in bags and through x-rays and metal detectors and customs checks, all some guy had to do was load 600 kilos of explosives in a van and park it next to an airport.
Anyway, I haven't posted in forever but I always post a New Year's update, just for myself. 2006 has been an interesting year, a year of big changes and big developments. Probably the biggest development is Carlos. We met in January and started dating in March, and now, nine months later, everything seems different. Now there are plans. Now there is Germany. Now there is direction.
However, as far as my resolutions for 2006, I have hardly kept any of them. At least not in any noticeable form. So again, for 2007, my resolutions are:
1. WRITE MORE. Carlos bought me a voice recorder for Christmas, which will help me keep track of my writing ideas so that I can actually, someday, write them down.
2. Read one book every month. I don't read often enough and I hesitate to buy books because books mean extra weight in my suitcase, but really they bring me joy and I can always give them away or sell them.
3. Get rid of those habits that have been haunting me for too long. I know what they are and they have to go.
4. I bet there are others but that's all I've got for now. At least now that they're written in Livejournal-stone, I'll feel more compelled to work towards keeping these goals.
Happy New Year, everyone!
Anyway, I haven't posted in forever but I always post a New Year's update, just for myself. 2006 has been an interesting year, a year of big changes and big developments. Probably the biggest development is Carlos. We met in January and started dating in March, and now, nine months later, everything seems different. Now there are plans. Now there is Germany. Now there is direction.
However, as far as my resolutions for 2006, I have hardly kept any of them. At least not in any noticeable form. So again, for 2007, my resolutions are:
1. WRITE MORE. Carlos bought me a voice recorder for Christmas, which will help me keep track of my writing ideas so that I can actually, someday, write them down.
2. Read one book every month. I don't read often enough and I hesitate to buy books because books mean extra weight in my suitcase, but really they bring me joy and I can always give them away or sell them.
3. Get rid of those habits that have been haunting me for too long. I know what they are and they have to go.
4. I bet there are others but that's all I've got for now. At least now that they're written in Livejournal-stone, I'll feel more compelled to work towards keeping these goals.
Happy New Year, everyone!