ReallyZen

We’re now 57. At age 25 my SO went to work for MSF in a really remote place - like, no road through the jungle, small airfield served by derelict Russian aircraft, and in the middle of that nowhere, a huge refugee camp serving 2 warring nations.

It’s something she needed to do.

The pay was shit, but the local expenses where null, with food and accommodation being provided; her entire salary went into calling once a week for about 20 to 30 minutes (if the phone lines worked). She wrote also, same rhythm like once a week, but I would usually get them as a bunch of 3 or 4.

I couldn’t write. Dunno why retrospectively, I just couldn’t. Not getting the phone calls was nerve-wracking of course.

She was good at what she did, so in order to have her stay beyond the scope of her original mission they offered a Logistics position to me so I could join her. As it happens, in these conditions that position was untenable & she didn’t want us as a couple to establish ourselves in such a hellish place.

She came back changed of course. But mainly, when she did move across the earth again a few years later, we went together.

Absolutely. And when bored (which is likely to happen), I’d visit Moorcock’s “Dancers at the end of times” universe, for the same carefree attitude, but in a much more spicy flavour

I work them, so I never just go and attend them - the experience is so much better when you’re “in”. I love the interaction, quite love the babysitting part of it even.

Also when I enjoy it, I will tell them & and it always work because artists know that if the local tech found them good, that same dude who see so much stuff day-in, day-out, it (probably) means something.

You meet jerks, of course. You learn to provide them with minimal service, but clean and decent for the public. You meet fantastic people who fail to make it through to the audience, and that’s heartbreaking. You learn to put 200% of yourself into a musical style you don’t enjoy because the dudes on stage are killing it and the audience is loving it - who cares if Jazz Manouche is the most boring, written down and set in stone style ever.

My most stupid interaction was, at the end of a programme that included both Chopin and Steve Reich, to tell the Reich’ piece clarinetist “sometimes, Chopin is boring. Especially in regard to Reich”. The Guy was in agreement lol.

Some magnificent pieces can be had for “only” used cars prices.

Lego’s (I can’t have enough, too expensive)
A full-sized bath (flat is pretty old, they did come with baths then, I love it)

In short, like anyone else:

He’s absolutely right, and utterly annoying

There’s this brand of organic yogurt at my local shop that says “probably best before xx/xx/xxxx, but after that just lift the lid and have a sniff”

I think I remember 6 weeks as being absolutely fine once, and 3 weeks didn’t some other time.