December 13, 2003
Fat Cops, Fit Cops, and Hairdryers
I watched SWAT last night and, although it doesn't really need to be discussed--being Mediocre but Entertaining Movie #746 this year--it did remind me of the book I just finished this morning. Tortilla Flat was Steinbeck's breakthrough novel; it made him popular and gave him enough money so he could go on writing. I certainly get that. It's a very entertaining read with solid, well-drawn characters and just enough of a story to create a thread. But I kept finding myself looking at the page numbers. The book is only a little over 200 pages long, but I just kind of wanted it to tell me what it had to say and end.
The book is about a group of paisanos living above Monterey. They don't work and they go about life doing good and bad deeds in what Stenbeck convincingly writes as some kind of holy quest. Somehow it all makes sense, and there were enough literary gags to make me laugh off and on. But when I've seen Travels With Charley, The Grapes of Wrath, and Of Mice and Men come out of Steinbeck, Tortilla Flat comes off as almost cute. It's obvious Steinbeck draws on his experiences and that he cares about his characters, but the novel seems to use them as the butt of Steinbeck's big paisano joke. Nevertheless, it was worth reading, and it's a shame to be back at the book crossroads again.
I kind of want to read Dickens' Hard Times, but as good as Oliver Twist was, a person kind of gets off Dickens a bit. Honestly, I've only read Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, and A Christmas Carol, so maybe I can't rightly judge. But when the first 80% of his books is always the best stuff ever written and the last 20% is a collection of coincidence-derived...um, stuff, a reader begins to fear being let down again. Anyway, I'll read Hard Times later and figure out something else to read in the meantime. Thanks to everybody for not leaving me with a shortage of choices.
I'm not really sure how other people get through books, never really asked. I think I'm a little more into monogamous reading than most. I start one book and will finish it unless it actively prevents me through terrible writing. Book by book, I'm always a slow starter. The first hundred pages usually take awhile unless they're stellar. In the middle of the read, though, something clicks and I just keep reading until the last part of the book keeps me in my room until the book is finished. Usually, the thing that clicks is the switch on a blow dryer.
There's a foggy history behind all this, and as in all cases I'll bet my parents had something to do with its beginning. I think the final push came when I had chicken pox as a freshman in high school and the dryer, when put to the spots, made the itching go away. At the time, I also set a small fire to my bed sheets after falling asleep with the thing on "high." That's always left me with a cautious streak when using a hairdryer.
Whatever the full history might be, I enter a zone when I read with a little hot air blowing at me with a load of white noise behind it. It's not necessarily a focus, but the world of the book becomes the only world around, at least until I get hungry or sleepy. It's strange, largely unexplainable, and it dries out my skin like nobody's business, but it's also incredibly relaxing and makes books a better read.
So how does all this work in Bulgaria? Well, I actually picked up a more-than-decent hairdryer at the department store here in Silistra, and its wattage demands don't seem too high. It also has a heat sensor that shuts it off if things get too hot. Bonus! The school pays the electricity bills, and I haven't had any complaints, questions, or concerns. I never use it for more than hour or so, and it heats the room, so it's really nothing more than a noisy personal heater, something most volunteers have, anyway. When the room is a bit chilly, book or no, I'll sometimes pop the hairdryer on to warm things up a little.
I didn't bring one of the little wonders with me because I was worried about luggage space, my lack of a converter, and that Bulgaria might not be able to handle it. It all seems okay so far, though. It's just a weird habit that I've grown used to having. And apart from the skin thing, it really isn't all that harmful. Not at all like cracking knuckles, picking noses, or smoking. It's just a hairdryer used a bit longer than usual.
So yeah, that's that. Today's picture is a preview of the Bulgarian Graffiti section, which I'll start work on whenever I finish the FAQ and project pages. "Fat Cop" can be found in the middle of a block complex a half mile outside of Silistra's center. Most students know it well, and I think the art in Chubby there can be pretty well appreciated. The red background has been completed since I took this photo. I don't think the police are currently investigating the defamation of their character.
ALSO...An old, good friend sent me this link to an article from a Bolivian Peace Corps volunteer. Since his experience is similar to mine and most people think Bulgaria is Bolivia, I figure it's worth reading.
Posted by Rob at December 13, 2003 04:43 PM