Tuesday, June 19, 2012

tuesdays in turkmenistan: where june is more than half done

It's June you say? Where have the last two weeks of Tuesdays in Turkmenistan been you ask? They've been trapped inside of Turkmenistan! Metaphorically of course for an idea can never be held in a physical location. Except the brain. That's where ideas are stored.

Today marks 11 weeks since I departed from SFO. Eleven long weeks. It is somewhat odd that this feels so long, considering that I have certainly spent much longer periods of time elsewhere without a break. I went eight months between vacations from the time I went to Congo/Gabon till the time I had a vacation. And that included five straight months of being in Gabon, book-ended by my move from Congo to there as well as a 2-day trip to Paris to see a client. This has been a strange rotation. From the beginning, it was never going to be seven weeks. I had planned on working eight weeks as part of a future schedule plan for some weddings later in the year. But business needs are what they are and schedules invariably change. My own schedule can probably be pushed back on course with some finessing.

Not only is this an egregiously late TinT entry, it is also the first entry of the entire month. Let's just say that I reached a certain fatigue level that has just sort of carried for a few weeks, only to be interrupted by a thrilling four days in Ashgabat where I wondered the mysteries of 3-ring binders in an office with no 3-hole punch. Along with the A4 vs Letter paper size dispute, there is a predilection for an even number of holes in paper. Almost everything is either 2- or 4-holes. Is this fundamentally superior? Does it offer a more pleasing type of symmetry? Is there a subconscious desire to avoid discussing socially awkward 'third-wheel' situations? These are the mysteries that we must plumb and understand. Or not.

In about two hours, I will head to the airport, pass through four security check-points, three of which are useless, and then travel for nearly 24 hours. My plans: sleep and watch as many non-terrible movies as Lufthansa is showing. See people soon, sort of.