Sasnak

It really feels great to be unemployed. I just finished my job here on Monday and this week I am hanging out here in Santiago doing things I was always too tired or mentally trapped to think about doing before. Unfortunately, I have several grueling tramites to deal with, as well. The tramite is a interesting generalization used here to describe any process or step one must take to get something, most generally a document of authorization from the government for something you need or rightly deserve, but that nobody is going to give to you without concensus from 50 other people...aka a bureaucratic procedure. A tramite involves going to different places around the city, most generally downtown, and waiting in line for hours to get sloppy signatures and stamps (stamps are most important) and certifications and legalizations from people who just don't care. Luckily, Domino's and half a million Cafe con Piernas are also downtown and that helps a lot but what is most intriguing about tramites is that they are a complete waste of your time and money, because in the end it's just the colorful stamps the final recipient is looking for and not the substance of any request. For example, I had to pay the government translation office $50 to get a one page document "legally translated" from English to Spanish and I am certain that nobody will ever read it except the person who needed 15 days to very poorly translate it. It can be real frustrating sometimes, but also a great test of patience and persistence. After all, once I get my Chilean pension fund rolled over to me (in cash!) I will feel like I have won a real battle. Then it'll be time to get outta this city!

Hahahahah. I just got a blog that included its first post and a bad picture. What more can I ask for here? Thanks Digs. Dragging your naked, drowning ass out of the ocean three years ago in Colombia is finally paying off, you took the words right out of my mouth. Unfortunately, my only friends I know of thus far in NOMADLIFE community are you and P-Drake. That will change. Let me tell you after the Aiesec weblog experience I never wanted to have another one of these things. But what the hell, I can surely muster up a story every once in a while. Can we cuss on this thing?

So, here is where it all starts. I am wrapping things up in Santiago, Chile after 15 months in a job that I knew very early on wasn't my high-ball of Blue Label. Problem solved. Now I have one immediate goal to accomplish and that's to PLAY for a short while. I am either going far far south for some fly fishing and cowboy life in Patagonia, or north for a journey by bus hacia mi patria. I'm not real sure, yet the plans and all...but after that it's definately back to the rat race, somewhere. I heard P-Drake offers his rug out to bums in California. Cheers and thanks again Digs!

Damn skippy, guess who's back! Mabuhay you POS's! It's about freaking time I joined the revolution. Digs, thanks for hooking this up... I knew I saved your live in Colombia for a reason. :)



From Santiago with love, yours truly!