@Reddwerks

So here's the last piece of news coming to you all the way from the city of Austin, TX: I'M HERE!!

That's right! After a year of sporadic partying, light random course-taking, a couple of lightning love affairs, excessive MSN chatting, and mostly watching the world pass me by in Guatemala, I got a job at Reddwerks in Austin, TX, flew over here on Sunday, and am just finishing my second day on the job right now. (It's 8:45 PM already, but I don't have a car or the apartment keys yet, so my exit time is my brother's exit time. And unlike me, he's got stuff to do).

I've decided to start a blog, separate from this one, to narrate my adventures, as a Guatemalan newcomer, in this famous city of Austin, TX. I wonder how it'll be like - it's meant to act as a kind of newspaper to anyone who for any reason would like to know about my whereabouts and how-abouts.

There were many people in Guatemala with whom I still maintained some kind of relationship at the time I left. In order of remembrance, I think of these the most:

• Daniela
• House family (Elisa, Manfredo, Heidi, Josue, Daniela)
• Rosa, Flory & Lucero
• Rest of the family
• Aunt Violeta (the most visibly attached person to me) & family
• All uncles, aunts & family
• Scarleth & family
  
• Paola
• Ivania
• Mimi
• Maia
• Marcelo
• Bidkar
• Richard
• Kira
• Pablo Mazariegos
• Norma Gonzalez & Maria Socorro
• Sergio de la Roca
• Pedro Morales

Hmm, they turned out to be less than I expected.

I said goodbye to most of them just before I left, but none of them struck me as much as Rosa did. She is almost always perfectly calm, and takes things the way Life brings them - for good or for bad, she seems to take everything with a smile and wave it away, a cool observer of life. But on Sunday she entered my room, as always, and talked to me as she always does - jokingly calm. But at one moment she opened her arms to hug me, so I hugged her goodbye as I had done so many people in the last few days. And then I heard something for the first time in my life: her breaking voice. In eleven years of knowing her, living with her, I had not heard her cry, and just two days ago I heard her cry because of me. I grasped her tight and lovingly for as long as she would allow, and then she wiped her tears and sadness away and went back to her Sunday activities. I eagerly look forward to visiting you, Rosa. Mazatenango, Chicacao, San Bartolo. I'll never forget.

Scarleth wasn't too emotional about it. She said goodbye, wished me luck, and gave me her cellphone renewal form for me to give to my sister. Paola didn't even want to see me. I told her I wanted to hug her goodbye, but she said she was sick and "indisposed" at the time. Daniela... I guess I jumped over her fence too quickly. After I mingled with our "friends" status, she just cordially evaded and bounced my messages back all the time. Too bad, I really liked her as a friend. I still hope, though.

Mimi - I saw her at the airport! That was a nice touch of Fate... thanks Fate! I've noticed she's also very fond of me, so I'm looking forward to sending her a nice, long email with lots of details about my trip, thoughts, feelings, and stuff. She's such a cool girl ;)

Maia - I haven't seen her in a while. I couldn't say goodbye properly, oh well... we didn't see each other that often, anyway. Though we ARE close.

I was able to make a flash stop at Bidkar's residence to hug him, Wicho, and Henry goodbye. He won't be getting rides back home from me any time soon...

Ivania - I wanted to pass by her place on my way to the airport and drop off a couple of PCMCIA cards for her laptop, but I was already late for my flight. We talked about a month ago, and it appears I am important to her. Not ultra-important, but important is already a lot. It feels weird to be important for someone else. I've liked her ever since I met her, and I owe her a lot, but we hardly ever talk... she's a highly-esteemed friend I have to be careful not to lose.

Richard - oh, we saw each other the day before my trip. He's doing fine - girls all around, sex every now and then, new job and new master's degree coming up... he's living it.

Pablo Mazariegos - he makes me feel guilty about leaving Guatemala. He and his wife hold me in such high esteem - I believe that's because few people ever go and visit them, but still, I feel I should return such noble appreciation. He sent me a really heartfelt voice message on my cellphone on New Year's Eve (I was in Cancun and couldn't answer the phone) telling me that he and his wife loved me very much. I hardly ever visited them - maybe three or four times in total - and they're old. I want to visit them again soon. He also happens to be a master guitar player. Maybe I'll go visit him for a complete week and do nothing but learn guitar. Yeah, that sounds good.

Kira my abacus teacher - she doesn't seem too emotional or anything, and we didn't really say goodbye, and we won't really miss each other (I think), but I hold her in very high esteem. She's such a rightful person.

Pedro Morales - he's a good friend and everything, but my leaving is not a problem with him. After all, he flew just one day after me to Waco, TX, and is staying there for the time being - less than 100 miles away from me!

Elisa and Manfredo. Though brother and sister, they're not that close to me. I'm more emotionally attached to Elisa's virtual version than to her real self, so it's not that much of a problem. I hope THEY'RE not too attached to MY real self, though. Heidi... she's a nice person, though not much of a quintessential relationship for me. Josue and Daniela - THEY I will happily remember. I hope they don't miss me too much - I hope they don't forget me either.

So now I'm in Austin, and I go back every night to Marcos's apartment, and in the morning I go to my job at Reddwerks. I'm not really working these days - I'm mostly setting up this computer I'm blogging on right now with the dev apps, configuration, and all that stuff.

A noteworthy fact is that right now I'm blogging inside a barber shop. Yeah, my new laptop computer actually includes a Verizon wireless 1X/EVDO network card. Isn't that awesome? It achieves speeds of half a Gbps out here, and that, considering I'm indoors. Just a while ago I was in the car, and the responsivity was quite impressive. It's almost just like being in the office. Except I'm not.

So Marcos just got a haircut, and I guess we'll be leaving soon. So I'll post a sequel blog to this one afterwards. For now, bye...