Journal, February 16, 1977 PM

<It’s been a week since I wrote, and looking back on the last lines I wrote, I reflect that Sofia was cariñosa {affectionate} Wednesday night and even more so Thursday when she came to my apartment chaperoned only by one of her oldest sister’s sons.> {some text not transcribed}

Thursday night I rode my bike to Heredia. Friday I washed & waxed it, and Saturday I rode it to San Antonio {de Belén} “para marcar en bicicleta {to visit the girlfriend on my bicycle},” as Enrique Villalobos put it. From San Antonio to Heredia the slope is all towards San Antonio, so riding there was easy. I made it in half an hour. <I arrived at 7:20, in time to catch Sofia heading out to exchange a coverall the family had bought her.>

The pill is having its effects. <Saturday Sofia said she had felt faint & almost passed out the night before, and Sunday, when we went bowling with Jaime & Pilar, she got almost unbearably irritable at one point. The common wisdom is that on the pill the body thinks it’s pregnant, so this is a preview of what Sofia will be like in the early months of pregnancy.> Oh boy!

<Monday, Valentine’s Day or Día de los Enamorados, Sofia was going to prepare me supper at the apartment, but some little bastards (local boys on vacation from the colegio {high school}, surely) teased her (she was alone) and came & sat in front of the apartment.> She got scared and left. So I went to San Antonio, feeling like a true bashful beau with flowers & a gift. I only lacked the slicked down hair and ’57 Chevy!

She received me very warmly, wearing her new coverall (“mono”, a present fad) for the third straight day. Last night I made a super vegetable & rice soup, and washed pants. <Today Sofia will bear up and go to Santo Domingo again.>

I’ve been reading an introductory computer science text at work last week & this to fill abundant idle time. I think I’m in chapter 5, learning about algorithms to formulate problems for computer solution. The logical nature of computer programming appeals to my order-loving mind, but the redundancy and general drudgery of setting up problems for a half-wit machine doesn’t appeal. It’s essential that I understand programming, but I don’t really think I want to write too many programs.