Sylvia's Journal

Last week Axel went to a session at the conference from an Indian business school professor that was called ‘Taming the Monkey Mind.’ I didn’t know that the frantic mind that hops from one thing to another is indeed the monkey mind. I love the image. My mind was already swaying from tree to tree but now it is even more frantic as any change – even a little – accelerates the monkey’s movement. A big household change like the one coming up for us has much potential for speed and error. Thus, the message is slowing down –not one of my strengths – something to cultivate in the next 3 months.

Yesterday, during and after Quaker Meeting we both tamed the monkey and sat for hours just reading Sunday newspapers from two large cities. I had intended to bring some order in my very messy office but I let it slip – it could wait.

We played with our grand-dog and walked her to town and back. When I go into the barn where she lives with Tessa and Steve, I find her splayed on the bed with this sad look on her face that seems to ask, ‘when are my mommy and daddy coming back?” We are not doing quite as much of the roughhousing that she is used to with Steve. She lets me know this by putting a plastic bone in front of me and pretending to snarl, and then picking up the bone in the hope I chase her. We did this a few times around the kitchen. She’s like a toddler who wants the same activity over and over, while we tire or bore quickly.

In the evening we were invited to a salon-soiree or soiree-salon – a dress up event with intellectuals who radiate around Diane and Curt, many with connections to Harvard. I have never been to such an event and learned that the idea is to connect with interesting people and hear them talk about something they are doing. I was glad that I did not have to stand up and talk because I am in between doing interesting work and more focused on the mundane things such as, when can I come on home leave and how much vacation will I have. I think I can be much more coherent a year from now when the project is about the end and I should have something accomplished.

Back home we watched television programs about television programs, a closed loop of informationals that tell us we can no longer watch TV on our analog sets – this is abundantly clear as there is nothing else. A grainy picture with the vague outline of a man says “If this is what you see you have the wrong TV.”

This transition from analog to digital has been in the works for a long time but the country was not ready in February so the deadline got postponed to June 12. Apparently, still, some 10% of the population (predominantly poor, rural, old, minorities in particular) was caught by surprise. We watch in astonishment the army of TV advisors who march into people’s homes and explain what just happened to incredulous and ill-informed people – some in shock (‘what? we have to get 4 new TVs?”). I imagine the landfills in this country filling up with old sets once people get out of denial; some of these sets maybe quite new, sold not long ago (a steal!) by unscrupulous salesmen to clueless folks.