El que se fue a Melipilla, perdío su silla. (He who went to Melipilla lost his seat).

This is what we say in Chile when you get up in a place where there are scarce seats and when you come back someone else is sitting in yours. It occurred to me several times at the doctor’s office this morning, as I kept on having to get up and do something, go somewhere, have a test (all routine), etcetera. And then I would come back, and someone would be sitting in “my” seat. Of course, in a public waiting room, anyone’s blue vinyl seat is anyone else’s blue vinyl seat, but in the second subbasement at the clinic I go to, there are drafty spots and poorly lit areas. I was trying to read a book I got from a twitter reader who took me up on my book giveaway offer, and (surprise) brought me a book, and was pretty into it, so having to keep on finding a new seat was a little annoying. It’s Touching the Void, because my love for explornography will never end, and thanks @nemorenok. If anyone else reads this kind of nonfiction, and either wants the book when I finish it, or has something similar to trade or lend, talk to me.

And now back to Melipilla. Now you know little Chilean expression about losing your seat. I have, in actual fact, been to Melipilla once. It was on the way to Pomaire (land of abundant terracotta, which we call greda) , and I wrote about it here. I’m sure it’s lovely, but I didn’t see much of it, though I would have liked to see more. I wonder what they say about snoozing and losing your seat when you live in the town itself. Do they choose Bobadilla? Ercilla? Placilla? (cheatsheet, names of the Chilean towns on Wikipedia, here.

Or how you talk about getting super lost, if your name (and rank) actually are Teniente Bello (Más perdido que el Teniente Bello means extra super irreparably lost), do you choose some other person who got lost and never found their way?

The good news is, with all these thoughts swirling around and this book in my hand, I didn’t even get close to being bored, which is good, because waiting at the doctor is mas fome que la chucha (fig: boring as sheet (as a native Spanish speaker might pronounce it)).

And that’s a threefer. I’m outtie.á