Yesterday

Since yesterday was Friday, it was a normal workday at the consulate, but I opted to take a day off. The day before was a national holiday (Corpus Christi) and I had taken off Tuesday and Wednesday also. For one thing, there was not a lot of work going on at the office; for another, during the week preceding the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (May 25-27) and the 4 days the US Congressional delegation was here for it I worked 10-12 hours a day - no overtime, so I figured I had some compensation time due me; and thirdly, the deadline for delivering the translation of a 22,000-word contract was only a week away, and I needed to get as much done as possible this week, so I spent my week at the computer.

There was one awkward moment during the time the delegation was here. Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado was one of the 15 members of Congress to attend the NATO conference. On Sunday night, he came into the suite we had set up as a temporary office for the delegation, where they could use laptops connected to the Internet. He is one of 10 or so candidates for the Republican nomination for President, and now and then he appears on the TV (such as the debate the other night). On that Sunday night, the TV in the control room was on CNN International and the Daily Show with Jon Stewart came on. It's a compilation of pieces they do throughout the previous week in the US, and wouldn't you know it? Rep. Tancredo was still sitting at the computer when Jon Stewart ran a clip of Tancredo's statement on immigration and proceeded to take him to task in his typical satirical style. How odd! Seeing the same man twice in the same moment. How awkward! Do you dare laugh at such political humor when the "victim" is sitting 6 feet away from you? To tell the truth, I didn't even hear what was said on the TV, but Rep. Tancredo did turn in his seat and comment he "had seen it already". I'm sure he had.

Back to yesterday: one of the goals for the day was to get through another couple of thousand words of translation. On that score, I struck out. Never even got to it. But I did end the day with what I considered four major accomplishments, and in this order: 1) I filed my US tax forms. No, I was not late in filing. Taxpayers residing abroad have an automatic 2-month extension to file, so it was only due next Friday; 2) I repaired the flush mechanism in the toilet tank, which involved a quick trip to the neighborhood hardware store for a replacement bolt, followed by a not-so-quick replacement of rubber washers in a couple of the faucets in the bathroom to complete the bathroom repairs; 3) We went to the supermarket and bought groceries. - If you don't think that's a biggie, then I won't try to explain it to you; and 4) I finished reading a book.

Reading a book? That in itself is an accomplishment. It wasn't "have-to" reading on theology, pastoral counseling, or a Bible commentary; and it wasn't purely "recreational" reading either, a novel or collection of short stories. But it was thought-provoking and creatively written, and quite apart from the challenge it presented to set ideas I might have in regard to my relationship with God, I found myself delighting in the turn of phrase and imagery of language. It appealed to the writer in me. Last year alone, I got paid for translating over 200,000 words, which I figure makes me a professional writer. Of course, that's merely putting someone else's ideas into another language, so is that original thinking and writing? Is that creative?

Maybe that explains why I blog. Obviously, you are reading this. But even if you hadn't read it, the writer in me would have written it, anyway.