the final days of vacation

Okay. So it has been three months since I've legitimately worked. It's about time I return to the real world... what better than to do that on a Friday?

September...has been interesting. Far too much time to nest, and then even extra time to indulge in fun things like nights out in the 'hood, or concerts in Getafe, or a five day weekend exploring some East coast livin' in and around the beaches of the Costa Brava. Fun, interesting times.

And of course, with too much time, it's hard to be productive. I came back to Madrid, blindly, at the beginning of September thinking I could get started on private classes to make some cash after a pricey summer. But as it turns out, September is actually still summer. Hard to believe, I know. That going-back-to-school month that rings in fall for so many of us..well we're gonna take it easy here in Spain.

September is holy, because although qualified as autumn, it practices so gradual of a transition in Spain that the changing of lifestyles that comes with the changing of seasons is even more graceful than Mother Nature herself. The kids enjoy half days of elementary school, as well as grandma's home cooking in many cases. The employed (which for the moment is only about 80%!!) choose to take vacation in September to avoid big crowds, while others escape away for a weekend to take advantage of the lasting warm weather. Then there was a big fail of a general strike in Spain today (which I won't comment on now because it's a long story and the truth is it's really quite silly.. and furthermore, I hate politics) but either way, many sacrificed, on average, 80 Euros of their salaries to skip out on work. The ones who went, went with slight and in some cases lazy caution.

Basically, everything has been floating, and to me, it feels as though just this week it's all being gradually pulled back down into Earth's gravity. I use passive voice here, because I have no idea who is doing it. Little effort seems to be put in on the citizens' part, myself included, to help out on the endeavor. Viva Septiembre!

And I just started last week...taught two hours of private classes. Well-done. October 1st, first day of colegio, come to me.