By the way...

If anyone is wondering how to get to the 'Lost berber surfer' thing where I've been pasting chapters of some story I happen to be working on, well, wonder no more.

All you need to do is click on 'view my complete profile,' when visiting the main blog page. Then once on the profile page, if you scroll down, you'll find links to both blogs...

Otherwise, I'll eventually put the whole thing on the website -but that is a long ways from now.

About this novel I am working on... I am still trying to pick a title, and until I do come up with something suitable, I'll just go on calling it 'Story.' Although, I've been considering 'Cursed in Casablanca.' It sounds pretty intriguing -I think. Plus, the story is about a curse, and, Casablanca.

I have to admit that Story, or 'Cursed in Casablanca,'is an odd one to put out there, because there is too much of myself in it. It was the first novel-size story to come out of me. I think I was trying to figure myself out, while working on it, more than anything else.

I remember writing the bulk of it, a rough version of it -at least, from beginning to end, give and take a few large missing segments, about eight years ago. Most of it was hand-written, a couple hundred of pages unnumbered and all over the place, a messy thing to revisit... Not only that, but this draft of a novel happened to spawn a shorter story about a nun, who instead of being just a prop in the background, insists on taking claim of center stage -so much for modesty.

Otherwise, I am swept by the leading planetary energies as they move from one interesting configuration to the next. Yes, we're all heading towards a sea of change, but, still... And honestly, I find it really hard to stay centered, which I guess might just be because I've been so for off center for quite some time.

I know how I am and how I function. Yet, I keep on putting myself in situations that are completely against my nature. My choices often seem quite counter-indicated for my own well-being. So, why is it that I do what I do? Why do I agree to go against my best judgment and intuition, over and over, and especially, in matters that really, really, matter? Its almost like I'm wrestling myself in the name of peace and happiness -go figure.

And that is that, except if you want to talk about Obama's cabinet in the making, Illinois governorship, shoes thrown at the President in Iraq, Obama soda cans in France, the economy, the weather -which is brutally cold here...

So, be well and try to live one moment at a time, and if you can tango with grace and passion through the whole darn thing.

Sitting on a bed of rusty nails -and I'm no fakir by the way