i'll be here and there, too

dear all, i have been just given a 61-page job. REVISED and UPDATED: it's 77 pages.
for more information: see the comments.
it means that my brain is occupied and is not supposed to let the Muse in. hm, which also implies that once it strikes, i will be more than pleased to receive its call.
and i will sure check your works and words too.
that's all for now :)

Four Women in The Night

for a short introduction, scroll down for Hi, I'm Pedro (part one and two).

if you want to skip it, that's okay. just read the four parts, and have fun answering the questions at the end.


---

Four Women in The Night (4*250 words)

Part 1. Thomas

His hands waving, Thomas walked loosely towards the bartender.
- Fine evening, huh?
The girl poured the drink, smiled, and returned to duty.
- So, how things’re going?
Thomas swung his arm, pushed himself up the counter and jumped on top. His tone was relaxed, with a sense of authority. He set his eyes on Laura’s.
A guy arrived.
Thomas eyed the newcomer. Then he leaned on his left elbow.
- I hear there’s a bar a few blocks down here. How’bout checking it out?
Laura was preparing pizza.
- Uhm, sorry, I’m quite busy now.
Thomas grinned, but his face was calm and soon he was smiling again. He moved the bowl of peanuts to the center of the counter and leaned even closer.
- I see, but this weekend sure is fine by you, hm?
He looked deep into the girl’s eyes. He was really close now.
Another guy appeared. His hands almost touched Thomas’s.
- Hey, watch yourself – Thomas exclaimed. - I have some business here and you disturb me.
The young man uttered something about working hard.
Thomas laughed at him and turned towards Laura.
- My dear, how about this weekend?
The young man abrupted again with some stupid remarks.
The girl was busy working and hardly focused on Thomas, so she asked:
- I’m sorry?
- This weekend, sure it’ll be fine, huh?
- I’m afraid, not.
Thomas raised his eyebrows:
- Next weekend?
Laura was calm.
- I’m sorry, but no.

Part 2. Orlando

Orlando arrived. He stood at the entrance for a while. He stood solidly, both feet on the ground.
There was only one man at the bar, sitting atop the left side of the counter.
Orlando approached. His steps were firm and deliberate, as if he was using space on purpose. He got to the counter and took the rightmost end of it. His soft hands rested on the shiny surface.
The other man looked at him, but Orlando averted his eyes.
With a calm tone in his voice, he greeted the girl behind the counter, and asked for something to eat.
- Tonight we have special pizzas. You may want to try them.
- You got me nterested. What toppings can I have, please?
Laura listed the possibilities.
Orlando watched her face. He listened carefully for her words.
The man on the left kept talking. He even pushed the peanuts to the middle, but Orlando did care to touch them. He was waiting for his pizza.
- Thank you.
Laura smiled back at him.
Someone else appeared.
A debate has started between the newcomer and the one sitting on the counter.
Orlando listened to their arguments. At times he stole glimpses at their movements, too.
Then he returned to look at the bartender. Head slightly tilted, he smiled.
- What are your plans for the future?
The girl smiled back.
- There are possibilities – she started but was interrupted by a noise. Laura turned around and adjusted the machine.

Part 3. Eric

Eric was waiting beside his coffee, while someone entered and headed to the bar. This man was soon gesturing wildly, leaning towards the girl. The girl was busy. She hardly seemed to stop.
Later on, another entered and took his place by the counter. The second man was relaxed. The girl was replying a lot to the first man, but attended the second one more frequently.
Rising from behind, Eric moved forward. He focused on the girl. He took the middle position between the two men. The one sitting on the counter spat that he should better mind his own business and harshly brushed Eric’s arms away.
Eric explained:
- I’m here just as right as anyone. Just look at how hard she’s working. Doing her best to serve us here and you are disgracing her.
The man on his left cared no attention to him.
The girl put the sandwich on a clay plate. Eric slowly pulled it closer and looked into Laura’s eyes. - Thank you.
His voice was deep. The girl returned his look. A smile was emerging, but instead she blushed and returned to her duties.
Eric ate the sandwich bit by bit. He was not hurried at all.
The man on the left kept picking on him, and at times he replied, which seemed to have bothered his rival.
- Man, I don’t want no trouble. Behave yourself and respect the lady.
Laura looked Eric once again.
A deep breath was on the rise.

Part 4. Laura (an interview)

- The first one was Thomas. What do you think of him?
- He had a definite man-like aura around him. He was confident. He was open about his intentions.

- Does it mean you liked him?
- Well, not exactly. He invaded my space, my physical world. He got very close. He thought too much of himself. He directly looked at my body, which I found rude. He looked fine and all but he was pushing himself too much.
- How was Orlando?
- Wow, the second guy was cool. Smooth and intellectual.
- What did you like about him?
- He was kind and paid attention to me. To what I said and how I said. He listened. He got the brains. He was a challenge to my mind somehow. Yes, I liked him.
- How do you think a relationship between you and Orlando would turn out (provided you chose him)?
- Calm and relaxing. Fine.
- And what about Eric?
- Strange. He just turned up - out of nowhere. But he acted as if he had been around here like a hunter waiting for prey.
- Like… offensive?
- No, he was cool! His manners overwhelmed me.
- Was he soft?
- Hm, no. Strange, isn’t it? He praised the way I was doing my job, he watched me, but he was not pushing it.
And he had that look, that shine in his eyes. There was passion inside. He reached for my soul.

---

QUESTIONS for my kind readers:

question1 - who did you think won Laura's heart? (why? - optinal)

question2 - which one did you think i played?

question3- any comments on the play, the writing itself, technical remarks, whatever (optional, but recommended)

-

bonus music: dead can dance's yulunga.

Hi, I'm Pedro (part two)

UPDATE:

Eric's part has been finished. Now I'm working on Laura's.

---

this is the introduction to part two.

i am to write about a role-playing game we got engaged into during last Sunday.

there were four players. one had to play a female bartender, and the remaining three were to seduce her into.. say... a nice evening, perhaps a movie, or a drink somewhere, possibly into some more... *winks*

each man had to do his best to get the girl.

the girl had to decide.

-

instead of a dry summary of the events in a couple of lines, i decided to write a 4*250 word piece, one piece for each character.

arriving one after another, each man appears and stays at the bar and acts according to his intentions.

the girl is the bartender. she watches them, might or might not analyse them for herself - but when the scene ends she has to pick one.

-

the girl is Laura, the men, in order of appearance are Thomas, Orlando and Eric.

so far i've written two, one for Thomas and one for Orlando.

once I'm done with Eric and Laura, i'll get back here to you.

-

writing the pieces is an exciting experience for me. i've been through the whole thing, so there's inspiration. after finishing the scene, we (the players) talked over our motives, actions, body movements. the one who played Laura gathered her reasons for picking the one she did.

all those who played the men explained their own behaviour and some of the interactions they had during the game.

it was fun, totally fun.

writing it is great fun too, because i have to stick to the 250-word limit and i try to stay as unemotional as possible.

-

i'm so not telling anyone which part i played. also i'll withhold Laura's decision. you'll have to guess these and explain it in the comments section. don't worry!!! it won't be difficult at all.

-

winter haiku

i.

a dead bird, fallen

frozen in the pile of snow -

the sunlight is cold

ii.

white flakes soar about -

a squirrel searches the snow

for hidden walnuts

iii.

a blaze of ice roars

through a row of barren trees -

skeletons' galore

iv.

a drip, another

ice melts drop by drop by drop

a puddle awaits

Pedro part two is on the way -

Hi, I'm Pedro (part one)

I'm from Bolivia. I'm 38. I am a native indian, but now I live in the city and work as a painter. I have no wife and no children I know of. I paint walls, but sometime in the future I'll be painting canvas.

-
so, I'm back from the training.
there were four trainers from Berlin, Germany; one of them originally came from the US and there were six trainees. out of the six, there was one girl form Belorus (she's studying at a university in Budapest), and the remaining five were Hungarians.
-
i did expect something else. if i had known about the real subject* of the training, i wouldn't have possibly taken part at all.

but now, having taken part, i think i would have regretted if i had missed it.

*it is a training basically for those who have the body of a woman, but feel uncomfortable with this. i don't think i want to go further into the subject.

-

i'm fine as a woman, and this training was basically not targeted at me. this is clear. i just took part b/c a friend of mine has asked me to.

what i learned was that while for a normal woman like me, it can be extremely funny to learn things about how men walk, stand, sit and eat, how do they behave, and how can you, as a woman dress up like a man, and mask your face to look like a man; it is not fun at all for some of those people i've met yesterday.

three of the Hungarian trainees were in some stages of transition. one of them is on hormones and has undergone at least one surgery.

for a 'normal woman' like me a makeup that made my face manly was interesting and fun. role playing was a great source of learning.

but for those people, let me call them unfortunate and/or desperate; these opportunities are of elemental need.

it was kind of shocking for me to see them suffer in the body nature gave them.

i've heard of tran_sse_xuals.

i even have ga_y and le_sbian friends. no problems with that.

but perhaps this was the first time i experienced their problem from so close a perspective. it felt almost like a first-hand experience.

-

in the second part i will recall one of the actual role playing games i took part in.

to be continued whenever i'm ready with my latest paid job in progress.

-

say goodbye

long was the night
a velvet, black ribbon
with lampions scatter'd among the bushes
shimmering, waning to ashes and sparkling again

soft was the light
honey dribbling over parched bread
teeth grinding, mouth closing, just another crumb

hunger and need

balance and solace

I can not
Propose
Be
To you
Your wife

never
and a yes, for ever.

i had a dream
but infinity ends here

i am to remain:
the reminder to stay
the rest.

---
(this to a relationship of 22 years)
- - -

anything might happen.

anything and the opposite as well.

just hand me another kleenex.

:)))

and no, i'm not letting myself into melancholy, because i have a great appointment for this Sunday - a short training program on discovering our inner self. about the feminine and the masculine within.

a friend of mine has talked me into this.

it's free and the instructor speaks only English. i might even have to translate at times.

we'll just see.

education

this post is about the education of my kids, a short review of the Hungarian educational system, and finally, some thoughts on (not) writing :)

-

I have started to monitor my kids' school activities, homeworks more closely. within a year, they both will have to apply to another school. it involves exams. I think we should better start this early.

my son's got the brains, but he refuses to use them.

a year from now, he'll have to pass written tests from Hungarian and Math and he'll have an oral English exam, too. the system will check his marks from Hungarian, Math, English, History at the end of the 14th semester (end of 7th grade) and at the 15th semester (halfway at the 8th grade). we are gathering points. the race is tough to get into highschool.

it seems that he has not learned how to learn.

we were too busy accommodating him to all those various schools he attended.

we were busy surviving in various conditions.

i don't know if it's too late or not, but i'll do my best to help him.

-

my daughter likes to play the dumb, which is she not. she's very slow, but can sparkle. she's fine in all subjects. she's in the 3rd grade now, which means that next January she's going to write exams from Hungarian and Math to get into a secondary school/highschool.

-

for those, who are unfamiliar with the education system in Hungary, here's a short review:

all kids must go to a preschool at the year preceding their first year of school education.

kids start school at the age between 6-7. some kids start at 6 sharp, some as late as 7.5. parents have the right to decide on the right time. parents are supported by the preschool nurses, and by various consellors in making the right decision about the *when*.

once a kid gets into elementary school, he can stay there for 8 years. that's the maximum amount of elementary education.

secondary education may start after grades 4, 6 and 8.

as you have guessed, secondary education lasts either for 8, 6 or 4 years, resp.

secondary education finishes around the age of 18 and the not-so-kids with the high school diploma (GCE) can head to obtain BSc, MSc, or some other, technical qualifications in universities, or in specialized schools.

-

on the writing front:

i am quite unsatisfied with the writers' group I joined a year or so ago. here's my rant.

at the moment I have some ideas in my head, but it's all in a haze. as if I haven't decided which should go first.

but for most of the time, my mind is occupied by fragments like 'the novel, belonging to the epic genre, where...' (excerpt from my son's Hungarian book); or 'the revolution failed in 1849 and all generals were executed on ....' (quote from his History book); and pieces of arguments like 'you have to learn more so that you have more options to choose from'; and 'there's not enough time now for watching a movie, because I have't seen your math yet'; and 'please let us review this passage again'; and 'I know you are not interested, but...'; or 'I want you to reach your highest potential' and so on....

-

but apart from that, be assured I read your blogs, which are definitely more interesting than mine these times.... and i trust one day the muse hits again... she just doesn't find the way into my dense mind :))))

I do try to find some time to read, though. i hope it helps.