So sayeth the venerable Julio, as he posed for me in his Sunday best, describing the chief challenge in his path toward slimness. This particular Sunday best happened to be several suit-sizes too big for our more narrower Julio, however, who attests to the power of a particular diet book (whose name he was unable to remember) that requires its adherents to exercise immense willpower to achieve weight loss. Julio proves the efficacy of the system, having halved his weight in two years (I gather). He is very proud of his self-control, and ticks off on his fingers (uno, dos, tres...) the things that he perpetually resists: drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, eating more than he needs to survive or doing any drugs. To be honest, he is not uninspiring, but he tells of his personal achievements with such a goofy sense of self-satisfaction that it's hard to look up to Julio so much as it is to laugh with him.
Nevertheless, these pictures betoken a different side of Julio. They show a man who has written a book addressing the issues of corruption and forgotten values of his native Peru, which is, actually, exactly why these pictures were taken. He hasn't had his book published yet, but he's written it, and he needed some professional-looking shots of himself to grace the cover. I think these are pretty good, actually; have a look for yourself:
(I admit that, of the dozen or so pictures I took, I only uploaded the four that make me smile the most, not necessarily the four that best represent "serious Julio".)
So today is my last day here! I am leaving tonight, will probably call a cab at around 10 p.m., hopefully will be checked in well before midnight, and will be taking off no later than 1 a.m. tomorrow (fingers croix). I am sitting in Kaladi Brothers right now debating what precisely to do. I've had my athletic spurt for the day (courtesy of that same giant pile of snow from Christmas day in the parking lot):
I still have to go buy presents for my family. I'll do that now. I also have to do some work. I'll do that before. I have to go to the bathroom. I'll do that first. Here is a video I recorded of Peter. I figured you guys might want to see what the guy with whom I've had the most dynamic relationship here was like. This video shows that, as I said in my first post, he's incredibly blithe. But trust me, he's incredibly interesting:
(my camera cut off the end, but I was saying "I'll probably forget about him by tomorrow.")
Here is a picture of the building that I have used as a landmark for all of my travels. You can see it from every part of town that I've been, and it's been extremely useful in orienting me. My favorite bagel restaurant is right across the street from it, and it is lit up at night so I can still see it then. Hooray!
Here is a silly picture that made me laugh; you have to click on it to read the sign:
Here are my final thoughts:
Goodbye, Anchorage.
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