Going Continental!: June 2006 Archives

Mom meant my workout but that "it" implied all of everything else we discussed yesterday afternoon. Comps, travel, home, history, relationships. Wow. One cool part was her telling me about going to Tripoli - must have been in the 1950s (?) and Jerusalem in it's Christian configuration. At that time, she said, folks couldn't travel between Palestinian and Israeli areas. She mentioned that you couldn't enter Tripoli if you had an Israeli stamp in your passport. This applies to Iran, still. I haven't been to Israel so that's one hurdle I don't have to jump. (No word on authorization yet except that it is officially in progress.)

Yesterday was so full! I managed several important phone calls (procrastinated since forever) and some radical thinking. :-) Had a couple of serious/fun appointments...then was invited to dinner (spontaneously) and had the most wonderful time in the midst of an Indian-AfroBrazilian-American jazz jam session. Delicious food, happy people. It pushed me past my bedtime (!) and cut into some writing time but I have no regrets. I think I needed the break?

One amazing thing. There were two or three moments during the evening's festivities when I felt "this is enough." The impulse wasn't attached to preferring to be somewhere else or occupied with something else, it was about capacity: I'd taken in as much as I could. Each time the experience was shortlived; what struck me is how the sensation of being maxxed-out paralleled - exactly! - the feeling I had during acupuncture yesterday morning. The "IA" (intuitive acupuncturist) poked me only in two places (right foot and left wrist) and then left me alone "to cook" for at least 45 minutes. There were two or three moments when I felt, viscerally, "I'm done now."

I know it's an accomplishment to keep stretching beyond the limits of capability, capacity, endurance . . . I keep coming up against the conditioning of the past. I have the image of Dan as Macbeth, roiled by voices; the transformations of Professor Lupine turning into a werewolf, and other movie-generated images of painful metamorphosis. But, I'm pleased to report that the IA also said my "energies are balancing out." I've observed my reactions to some recent events that historically would have triggered me or otherwise inspired some form of acting out. And I didn't. :-)

I'm gonna need some help on a few details, please? What's the Turkish word for the type of dream in which a dark lump settles down on your chest, preventing movement?

And what was the name of that most fantabulous mini-Australian dessert? Can a non-chef make them?

The luminaria ushered me in, as part of the second wave of guests to a combo-birthday, defense, summer solstice celebration.

Highlights abound (noteless, we'll see what I recall).

The defense queen greeted me, aglow herself with success. I think she raked in a bundle too (although there was a slight question regarding whether two donations in particular actually arrived to the envelope).

Luscious was on the hunt for nationalistic fandom. I know someone wishing for a Brazil-Argentina final. Arturo (from Mexico) and Maria (from Argentina) preserved their relationship on the agreement that whoever could beat Germany should win.

Fascinating thing - talking about my (anticipated!) trip to Iran - was Arturo and Maria's concern not about my going, rather about my ability to return. Will US Customs allow me back in? Do I need to fill out paperwork with them, traveling against the State Department's advice? Lord help us all if such is the case.

Greg and I had an extended discussion about French pessimism and US optimism; with the caveat that there are stupid people everywhere. :-)

The dream analysis was cool, although there's no doubt someone had a secret agenda in offering an interpretation. Mine, I'm sure was no better, being, as Florencia noted, so incredibly qualifed to offer definitive opinions!

I missed Raz. Folks ask me about him at each event.

JC told me the blog looks "very professional." I wonder if he'll change his mind when he reads that I got to fondle a young hunk's six-pack?!

There were other conversations, esp with folks I just met and/or only briefly said hello to before either I or they were spirited into another discursive direction. All-in-all, it was a blast, and was still going strong when I left just before 1 a.m. Did you beat last year's record and make it to the dawn?

Yesterday I inquired about the cost and timing of mailing my entry application to Iran via Federal Express. Guess what? "Service temporarily suspended." FedEx is not going to Iran these days. THEN I checked in with the on-campus travel agent, got a decent deal on the airfare to Turkey (as in less expensive than any other option, although I have a "forced overnight" in Madrid on the return), but from Istanbul to Shiraz? There are "no participating carriers." Of course there are existing flights but apparently (?) not being sold to US students? I did get info from another travel agency, so I don't think it's impossible...although she also informs me that

"Please also note that in checking further about entering Iran, you will be required to have “several” copies of your passport picture and well as copies of your passport and will need to check in with the local police within 8 days of your arrival. You may want to verify this further, but this is information that I was able to find within my system."

It is getting hard, eh? And after all the seduction from the universe to get me to leave the country this summer...geez!

Gotta get the passport photo changed in Boston.

I was introduced to the granth at a gurudwara last night, ate langar (delicious!), and made eye contact with the granthi. The latter happened twice, once while I was veiled (during the service, happy), once when I wasn't (departing, not so?) The veil hides my hairstyle, y'know? :-o

The most fundamental principle of the Sikh religion is seva.

Need advice? I'm feeling a bit out-of-place this morning, so I decided to "take hukamnama: I received Page 721.

The granth is written in Gurmukhi.

I have to re-do my passport to include a photo with me respecting the Islamic dress code. Opinions? I grinned for the camera but then caught myself - maybe I should not look like the goofus I often am?!

The young man who took my photo first said I couldn't wear the scarf but when I said I had to he didn't object. We'll see what trouble I have at the Passport Office.

Meanwhile, a three week deadline has been set for Iran to respond to the incentive package and stop enriching uranium. They resumed such enrichment the same day that the incentive package was delivered, as if "to underscore its often stated determination not to be bullied into accepting any deal requiring it to end activities related to uranium enrichment." I have to say, it makes sense to me that they want to preserve their own "inalienable rights" under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. However, there do seem to be hints of willingness for some kind of suspension as long as the rights are not infringed.

What's frightening about the whole situation is the prospect of a second Cold War in which the threat of nuclear attack is perceived as the most effective line of defense in a battle along ideological lines. Part of what feeds fear, too, are concerns about connections between Iran and Iraq.

NPR reported this morning that Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, responded positively to the offers of trade incentives with the US, although he also identified some parts of the proposal as "ambiguous."

Of note regarding Iran's cautious reaction to trade incentives indicates a continuation of a shift in dynamics begun last week when President Bush finally conceded direct talks were necessary.

(also the tentative title for the longest overdue incomplete paper in my own personal academic history)

From May 31, Iran wants to talk. And surprise of all surprises, Bush has agreed. We'll see how long it lasts (?) since he considered talks a last resort. (Hello?) The question is whether it's real diplomacy or simply public relations.

As the rhetoric continues to unfold, pending sanctions sought by the US from the UN Security Council have been frozen. Iran dismisses the condition of suspending uranium enrichment but it seems evident that a breakthrough of some sort has occurred.

Today, the Iranians reassert some of their bedrock principles, Iran Won't Bow to Pressure, which the White House dismisses as a "negotiating position." According to the timeline sketched in articles the past few days, the offer of incentives hasn't even officially been made, and once it is presented the Iranian government will have some weeks to consider their response. Pundits here aren't slowing down with their own assertions about the so-called "only ...resolution worth talking about".

My host of last evening, a Gardenfaire, turns out to be a travel agent (who knew!) and turned me on to more info about getting a visa to Iran.

I need to be invited (1) via "special authorization in the form of a reference number issued by the Foreign Ministry in Tehran."

I also need to renew my passport (even though it is still in effect) with a new photograph: "Women must wear a headscarf (covering their hair but not their face) in the photos or else they will be rejected."

Time may run out :-( but I hope not . . . the recent change in US policy makes this an even more opportune time to go.