well.....

I've been back in Rota over three months now, hating to move again and going through all of my boxes that I originally packed when I departed here over four years ago. Actually, I've been on strike now for some weeks - boxing and packing can be very depressing....

but I've been going out to snap the sunsets a few times, including tonight when I saw the wispy clouds from my bedroom window... so I went extra early to see if I could get some decent snaps....

Plus checking with an old friend who goes on little day hiking trips with a Rota hiking group, and I have decided when I return from the states, I'll try to sign up again and go on at least one hiking trip a month.... Andalucia is so gorgeous and there's so much I haven't seen yet.

The time always comes sooner or later.....

Rota sunsets are always gorgeous

... to make a critical decision, which I have made. My life, or what I perceive as a life, changes continuously, and now with my life in Rota once again, things have come to such a point that I have decided yet another important stage in my life must be made.

I am moving my stuff back to the states, and will eventually resettle in Eugene, Oregon. I love the greenery there, the people are just as friendly as in Rota (though they don't speak spanish), and the sunsets are just as wonderful. It'll once again be only the third location in my life where I will not have a ocean near me but after a curvy two hours' drive, that can be resolved.

As I type this, I am in Charleston SC awaiting a flight to Rota, after having gone through my boxes in SF and taken some things with me, and eventually left more of my Rota things in its place. This will be my life for the next year as I continuously fly back and forth to get my things back in the states. Eventually am hoping to sell my spanish apartment to resettle in Eugene permanently. The ash-cloud of mid-April was a nightmare for me and now I cannot get a refund for the unused portion. I expected that response though hearing it hits home sadly. I feel for those who are still away from their homes due to that event, as they possibly face the same fate.

It's not easy being a nomad, not in any life or country..... moving from one country to another is not easy and takes a lot of pre-planning. I just cannot wait to get back to someplace where I can call home and to continue to practice what is my passion: photography.

There are advantages to living in Spain and it's a gorgeous culture and life, but there's just so many things that I cannot tolerate, and a few of those is the constant smoking in restaurants and bars, and my inability to freely practice my love of photography. This has been an ongoing problem for over a decade, and I am putting an end to it. Does it mean I will never return to Rota/España? No, I can return anytime I so desire and I will....

there are other places with sunsets just as gorgeous

Now I just have to get accustomed to speaking english all the time!!! hahahaaa

Sunsets remembered

Spanish sunsets.... this is what I remember most about Rota, Spain. Otherwise, it's been a first week back home and delighted recently to see a really nice sunset.
I am on strike again as I look at 25+ boxes filled with my Life and memories from three years ago, then realizing that there are 20 more boxes just as full waiting for me in the states still, that I won't see for about a year. It's so overwhelming to have so much stuff, and to do it all alone. Guess one could compare it to a climber looking up from the depths at a steep sheer cliff.... how?
I've already started my reapplication for my residency permit, but dealt with more paperwork to get and submit, have decided to wait till I return sometime after May to resubmit. You wouldn't believe the stuff I have to go through this time: I actually have to get a city official to visit my apartment to ensure my living conditions and standards are acceptable! Such a change from the last time!
Now that Semana Santa has started, am hoping to get out tonight to catch one of the pasos and processions. I'll be out tonight late to snap some pixs, something I haven't done during this time in over three years!

Enjoy the fotos and here's to a wonderful Holy Week celebration, maybe without rain this year (yeaaa right).

wheeeew, boxes are heavy!!!

first sunset wasn't a set, but a cloudy day I loved anyway

these two pixs show a little of the gorgeous makeover of the BCN airport! wow!

My first full day has started in my apartment. While it isn't the nightmare disaster I expected, it's still going to be a lot of work. Most of the work will be concentrated in the small bedroom where I still have over 25 boxes full of my past life, and readying that to mix with my current life. What will I do with the those 20+ boxes that is waiting to cross the Atlantic later this year? Such decisions and work....

I don't have butano (like propane and heats the water and provides cooking heat) in my apartment, and this means no hot water for me after three days of planes and airports while carrying 15+ lbs on my back, plus getting those three heavy 50lb suitcases an the big box weighing 74lbs. My microwave still works fortunately so I can heat water for a tea but cannot cook. I am in my apartment, the floor is so clear and clean, and even where the floor is filled with boxes, a few couples can easily dance their time together, manuevering and weaving through the wide expanse of floor space I lacked in SF.

I have already unpacked the folding bicycle and it withstood its trip well. I rode it around and seems the front tire is almost flat. Otherwise it's handled its journey better than me - I have red and blue bruises on my shoulders from carrying that heavy knapsack on my shoulders during those three days.

I discovered the refrigerator doors shut, resulting in a bit of work of cleaning out a lot of mildew but otherwise all seems well.

It feels great to be home, though there's lot of work to be done. A friend in Utah had sent me a letter last Monday and was shocked after going through all my "mail" dating back over a year, to find the letter had beat me!!

NOTE of 22 March: Finally got my butano Saturday night and took my first long hot shower!!!! yaaaay!!

blah blah and blah... what a great life you lead....

Mr. Fototaker. yea right. I wish everyone could lead a month in my shoes. In the two plus years in San Francisco, I walk around with no money in my pockets, because I didn't have any. I would ask for pocket money from my sister but that was always used to buy things for her....

Now I am returning to my empty apartment in southern Spain. Yeaaaaa, you're thinking what a great life. Well, I've been saving up my money (wot money) over these last few years in the states so I can do the maintenance I need to get my apt back to living condition again. I just paid a small fortune (seems that way for me) to ship my stuff to the East Coast and later hope to fly in the winter months to get my stuff, two suitcases at a time. yea yea yeaaaa, what a great life!!!

I just shipped out 20 damn large boxes, suitcases and plastic containers full of my USA life. I thought it would be NO more than 10, so when did this stuff all come from? Plus I never have money to buy anything,..... where did it all come from? To enlighten you a bit: my "souvenirs" are usually my own photos or a receipt from a bus ride, the entry fee paid to enter a state park, etc and I do have a LOT of those; or a free brochure from some place I stopped at.... wow!! this guy's got some great memories!!!!

Yea, yea, yeaaaaaaa what a great life!

So, now everyone thinks I got this great free "benefit" of flying any where free. "Come visit, you can fly free".... yea right.

So I sit in a military terminal in the middle of nowhere, can't go anywhere because I'll have two huge suitcases to watch and lug around! How fun.....

What a great Life!!!!

So, I sit there waiting for a flight and it may take a day or a month (it's happened before) but heck: it's free!!! I love sitting there reading too dam many books, not taking a shower for days/weeks and hey, I don't have to dress down or get dressed every night or morning!! Plus those airport bench chairs are sooo comfortable too!!

Yea right. What a great Life!!!!

Let's see: 560 lbs of stuff shipped to the East Coast. Two suitcases to fill up.... wait for another flight, sitting there all day and it's not open at night, so I have to leave each day and go "somewhere". Maybe a shady tree on the runway would be nice? It shouldn't take more than a few years of flying back and forth, right?

Yea, yea, yeaaaaaaa what a great life!

ooooh, go stuff it!!!! I am goneeeeeeee (but still not done packing nor cleaning!!!)