I'm going out for dinner with my family tonight. We prepare to splinter again. Then, tonight I will burn Pinochet in Bastión, while they burn an Alvaro Noboa here (they bought his paper body, and have since added a paper bible stuffed with monopoly money, and bandages on his knees from all the praying. He was the presidential candidate who lost the elections here in November. We didn't like him much. Pinochet isn't finished, I got lazy with the paint, but he has a head) GUYS! I'm moving continents! I should be more scared, right? It is going to be hard to say bye to some people, but I will do it. It is going to be harder to be away from them, but I will be ok. Classes start on the 4th. I promise to be a better blogger once I feel my mind is more connected to my emotions, and my emotions are more connected to my countenance. I feel like I'm not allowed to say the things I'm feeling right this instant. HAPPY NEW YEARS, ALL. HORNE/BETHANY MS > CO 708Y 02JAN GUAYAQUIL NEWARK 750A 227P > CO2723Y 02JAN NEWARK HALIFAX 555P 856P

happy xmas

Hey guys. I'll see you all after the craziness, my family is going to the mountains for the first half of the holidays. We always go away for Christmas, the only tradition still standing.

Yeah, the thing about my dad really happened. I wouldn't joke about stuff like that. Half of the people inside the church saw the whole thing. Fortunately, my mom and my uncle Paul didn't see, otherwise it would have been worse. My dad was more shaken than most people think.

Recent

citizen kane. requiem for a dream. amélie. ghostbusters. kiss kiss bang bang. the godfather.

In Block 10, a drunk and drugged guy pointed a revolver at my Dad's head in anger, pulled the trigger three times. No bullets came out. Dad tried to wresle the gun from him. Drunk guys friend pulls out a huge knife. Dad walks away.

Thus stands Pinochet:

The campfire went well. Thank you. NYE old man is coming along nicely, as well.

W.T.

campfire tonight, with the park guys. galo said he was going to help me build my New Years Eve old man afterwards (I'm going to make Pinochet, I think). No "lame parties" for ecuadorians on NYE...that's not what it is about. It is the biggest night of the year, and it is a community affair. Also, its the real spirit or renewal I like. Its the countdown, the "0"...then, breath again. The "continue!"... Also, some of the guys may come over to play Spoons before-hand. I hope I don't have to sing "Silent night" to the guards again, like yesterday...though it was funny. If you pray, pray for the campfire time...pray that God's purposes are made clear and that a few hearts are softened, that a few minds are made, that the food doesn't run out, and that I don't cry when I read the thing I wrote, or do anything equally dumb as that. The real point of it is to finish of the year with them, this year that has been such a rollercoaster for all of them...get back some contact, get some good fun times together...and it is a goodbye, too...for me, for my dad. closure would be the working title.

19 days left in 2006. Doesn't that make you tingle? I don't enjoy Christmas, its all too much I think, but New Years is a holiday with a real purpose, with real depth. Christmas is so empty right now, even the "remember the true meaning of it all" whispers are so empty.

you will thank me in the morning

i should add, i am pleased about the results of the ecuadorian election (as well as the venezuela one...and not the mexican one) If you guys hear that the Ecuadorian president has dissolved the congress, believe me, it is a GOOD thing...though I'm sure the media up there would spin it as an anti-democratic action from an anti-american president. It was his campaign platform (in addition to not signing the Free Trade Agreement with USA)...dissolve the congress and form a Assembly to draft a new constitution. It is his only hope to outrun the corruption. It is the only way, really. I hope he sends those fat asses home. --------------------------------------- And: its getting hotter. So go the seasons here...we warm up as you cool down. Mostly its getting more and more humid. Last night was terrible. My parents house seems to be worse than mine...i want RAIN!

And what when love is the only currency you have to make someone do something you want them to? It doesn’t feel right, thrusting it in people’s faces…the words, I mean: “I really love you, you know” …doesn’t make it ok. Doesn’t make it more palatable to be bossed around. Doesn’t make you owner of anybody. So HOW DO YOU GET THEM TO DO WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO DO? I mean when it is really important…not just “Katie, get me a cup of water” “No” “I love you, you know?”…I mean like “Please, come on off the train tracks, the 11.15 is just around the corner” Love is not the word to negotiate with. Love is not to be cheapened like that. But what when it is the only thing that motivates you…and you can’t use it to motivate them? What then? it isn’t the only thing that motivates me. selfishness, competitivity (?), cultural blueprints…all these things motivate me. But it seems that the part that loves is the part that hurts and wants answers to this question. The other parts just get angry or confused or whatever it is they do…when things don’t go their way.