Awright . . . now MY head hurts

Where do I start?

I once started reading Heidegger's Being and Time (Sein und Zeit) some time ago, but from somewhere in the middle (like all good mathematicians: start in the middle and work toward each end). It was appropriate at the time as I was working with hermeneutics and "the Uncanny" (Das Unheimliche) in relation to literary texts and the section of Being and Time associated with notions of uncanny-ness is toward the middle of the text. But I always (already) knew that sooner or later I would have to read Heidegger's text from beginning to end, given adequate time.

Well, today I stumbled over a re-release of what was once THE translation. I hate going into a Barnes & Noble with no particular text on my mind. And I bought the book (even though I have a hard cover of the original on my shelf at home; or, perhaps, because I have an original hardcover on my shelf at home and I am an interactive reader who freely marks up his books). And I have started to read AT it by reading the "front matter."

In the foreword, it is suggested that the idea of "being" is about both everything and nothing. And, it is a notion unlike many of the others which occupy a similar grammatical position. The example used is associated with water: we can say "water exists" and we can say "water boils" and at the grammatical level they seem quite similar statements. But, and here is what makes my head hurt (today): we know both what boiling and non-boiling water is; but just WHAT is non-existing water?

What does it mean for some thing that is to not "be"?

My head hurts . . .