life postponed

This is Eric Hobsbawm, one of the world's most important (caution! not "leading", I hate this term) living historians. He is also one of the few people that I classify as "idols", or -more moderately- role models. I started reading his books at that golden age, when at the end of your college years, you realize there are things that matter much more than daily repeating the same electrophoresis assay at the biochemistry lab. Over the last decade I have read most of his main works, including his autobiography, without stopping being surprised by the insight, with which he reflects on most of the modern issues. A guy who is 91.

And who was here in Barcelona, less than a month ago, when this photo was taken for the purposes of an interview in Vanguardia. By that time I was too busy running control tests on some microarray data and meeting with journal editors. By the time the interview was published last Sunday, I was reading about html code and web servers. And by the time I decided to write about this on the blog, yesterday, I was revising a manuscript to be submitted -hopefully- next week. It seems that lately life has been being postponed and everyday has slightly shifted out of phase.

As I rolled down the Port Vell, coming back from the lab once more after 9pm I listened to Nick Drake getting right to the point "When the light of the city falls, you climb on the city walls".

Only there is no wall to climb on and over this, past the place where trivial working issues keep distracting you from opportunities to meet your idols, or read the books that are piling up on your desk, or watch the films you have lined up only to never make it to the cinema on time...

At least there are mp3 players that keep working on the background of all that and headphones that allow you to bear it in the company of your favourite sounds. But you just wish a new invention would come up that would put work in the background just for once (or maybe twice).