Impressions

I am aware that this blog reflects the intellectual laziness of "here's what I did today" rather than here's what I learned, or observed, or laughted at. I usually do it well past the posted date, so just remember my daily itinerary more than anything significant.

Today I didn't want to start with a list of 20 things to do, as I did last Saturday. I worked so hard this past week that I wanted time to move more leisurely, like a river on a summer's day. So Paddy and I went to Stormout to walk with a group of people from the neighbourhood. Some of them do the 5K Park Run and some walk their dogs. I joined the latter group and Paddy got to play with a rambunctious lot of puppies and dogs. And I got to meet some interesting people, like Rachel, who works in the prison service, offering prisoners activities such as storytelling and yoga and meditation, hoping they come out better than they went in. She said only a small part of the prison is segregated along sectarian lines, maybe 90-120 prisoners who are considered paramilitary terrorists for one side or the other. I thought it was much higher. One of the benefits of the social programs she's providing is that the "political prisoners" find their isolation on their sectarian wards less attractive--they can't participate in what's on offer for the regular criminals, who they see themselves as distinct from.

The Stormont walkers go back to Christine's after for tea, coffee, and scones. I ignored my mental list of 20 things and joined them (after running by the post office to mail thank yous, the charity shop to drop of unwanted clothes, and the house to wash muddy Paddy). I learnt that this cohesive group of neighbours is about to go skiiing in Austria together. The men go at the beginning of the week and the women--15, go later, sharing the same chalet as the men. What a lovely idea!

After doing a few chores at home, I went into the city and got a massage to address the burning pain in my shoulders, the headaches, the stiff neck--all a result of long hours at the laptop. I should say laptops as I've been working with two laptops, three keyboards, and three screens. It was a Thai massage and a bit scary. The woman got up on the table with me and manipulated my back and arms and legs fairly aggressively. There was a log of skeletal cracking going on--I felt like a noisy fire, popping and cracking as the hard wood released its energy. It is a measure of my desperation that I went to a nondescript building in a not-great part of Belfast and, stripped down and let a middle aged Thai woman punch and pull at my body parts until they surrendered to her various ministrations. Whenever I yelped, she'd say things like "little hurt, little hurt." She has been here 20 years, raised five kids, and it sounds like all she does is work, either at massage or food prep in a restaurant. I wonder if she is paid fairly or if she is some kind of visa slave--disempowered and unable to demand a fair wage.

All I know is I had to pay her before the massage, in cash, after which she disappeared to give the cash to the woman in the foyer--a woman dressed in black lace shorts and a black camisole. I know from working with Julianna, a young woman from the Ivory Coast who had emigrated to America, that your fellow emigres are the first to take advantage of you. You turn to them because they speak your language and they find ways to use you to build their own American dream. Rather than help you up the ladder.

I did a bit of shopping in Belfast then home to wee Paddy and a few more chores.

jan. 19