notebook entry
reminiscing
I spoke to him last night. I sent him a text, he replied he was a tad busy but that he would have called me back later if I was ok with that. I said: of course! Well, it was 8pm here which meant it must have been 8am there when he called… anyway! We spoke. And it was nice. He asked me how I was feeling about starting tomorrow… my 8am on MON ie. his evening on this same day… I told him I felt ready even though a bit tense, of course.
HOw can you teach Paleoph to someone when it is so… embodied! in you?! It’s a methodology, yes, but it’s also me… it’s like journaling or meditation : you have to do it, you have to experience it, you have to live it. YOu have to get bored of it, you have to get lost, hate the whole thing and then come back to it, with a spirit that’s renewed. You need to meander and read about things, other things, different things. One day you will remember that long ago, while at the hairdresser, you have read about the different shades of colours of clams on a magazine someone left there and you will make a connection. YOu might not have needed that knowledge then, but you needed it now. Like is all a wonderful series of synchronicities intertwined with curiosity, and that’s how you do research. Is there something that’s more valid than other? Maybe yes, for your specific research, but your role might be to pass some “useless” knowledge to someone else. YOu are collecting bits and bobs along the way, use them, try them, test them, and then pass them on.
He said that he missed our face-to-face conversations and that part of him wanted to be there / here, with me. I paused and said: yes, wouldn’t it be nice? I told him I remembered when he brought extra coffee and socks and chocolate and that i was still very grateful for his attentiveness. He asked me what I needed, and I said that I don;t know if someone, tomorrow, this week, this month will get me as fast as he did and that I was missing that kind of connection. Then I said immediately that I was sorry, that I didn’t mean to overstep [but did I, instead, wanted to test the waters?!]. I could feel him smiling and he said : I know what you mean.
Anyway, it was time for me to go to bed and for him to go to work… so, we said goodbye. He asked to be kept updated, I said I would. He asked if we could maybe chat again tomorrow / my eve so I can tell him how he went, maybe have a dinner / breakfast online? I replied that it would be lovely, and thank you.
addendum :
On Tue, right after lunchbreak, I received a parcel. It contained coffee, chocolate, and another pair of socks. And just a card with his initial.