Advancing Autumn

It's cold here. Really, really cold.

JLB tells me I'm crazy; it's not as cold as I think. But then I stick my icicle fingers down her shirt, and her screams let me know I'm not crazy after all. It's cold here.

But, I'm trying to cope. I wear layers. Usually 3, and a 4th when I go outside. My jeans have been enough so far. I should start planning for Winter, though, when I'll be needing more.

I'm trying to embrace it, too. Go outside, enjoy the sun. Take walks. Drink extra coffee. Take hot showers. Appreciate the colors of the leaves as we drive around with the heat on the lowest setting.

Today, for example: JLB has a thing for apple picking. I like it enough, but can't remember doing it since I was a Girl Scout (in other words, about 15 years back). We got the info and made a dash for the orchards today, one of the last good weekends for picking apples.

What a treat!! We went to Hawks, in Millbury, and the place was great. Small, not very busy, super nice people working there / owning the orchard. We have big eyes, and each demanded a half-bushel bag to take out. The bags are half-priced when you pick the ones off the ground (which I thought would be gross, bruised, wormy, etc.). They were stellar! In the end, JLB & me got...

You wanna guess?

Go on, guess how many pounds of apples we picked!!

Ready?

45 pounds!

Swear it to ya! We have forty-five pounds of apples in her garage right now, waiting for us to bake, boil, mash, and dry. It's going to be F-U-N!!

So, if any of you out there have an especially tasty recipe for freshly picked (or, collected, rather) apples, send it my way! Just post that recipe right into the comments box.

Go out and get your own, before the season turns too cold!!

Staying Here

So, like I said, I now live in Mass. The objective now is to stay here. Meaning, find a job, find some money, find a school, find some purpose. If I'm going to be a waste, I should go back home where I can be a waste for free. JLB will be expecting rent soon, and that's not going to be cool if I don't have an income.

I did apply to some jobs here. 2. I interviewed for one of those jobs and would LOVE to be hired. It sounds fabulous. Personally, I felt the interview went really well. It seemed like they did, too. But, who knows? They said they will call within the next 2 weeks to let me know. ack.

I'm waiting.

I know I should be applying to other jobs now. And I will! I just... don't want to find.. and maybe get.. a job that would keep me from saying 'yes' if this job calls me back. In the meantime, though, I wait.

I have a ton of things to do to keep me busy and my mind from overanalyzing every moment and every questions, deciding what was good, bad, ugly, and what may be the factor that keeps them from loving me. I have to clean up the paint supplies from my room and move in. Unpack clothes, unpack kitchen things, desk things, bathroom things, etc. Clean my mess from the house. Wash clothes. Buy food. Etc, etc, etc.

Study for the GRE so I can actually go to school in the fall (next fall, not this one, there's no option for this one. And, NO, I don't know what school) and not be a complete waste.

Find a school so I can answer people with something other than a snarl when they inquire.

Get a couple of jobs so I can afford to go to the school I've selected and applied to (NO, I don't know which schools!!!).

Goddammit. I hope they call me. I hope they hire me.

I need that job!!!!!!

Getting Here

I moved.

My new residence is Spare Room #1 at the home of Ms. JLB, Worcester, MA.

It's nifty. I painted is brown with a spring green stripe along the upper border. JLB is buying material for curtains this week, which will be a help. Then we need to drag home a bed for me, so I can stop sleeping on the floor. Maybe get a floor rug, too. Then it will be a cozy little nest for me. :)

I arrived a week ago now, on the 24th. Hugo and me made the drive out here. 12 hrs by car. It was good -we left early in the morn, crossed into Canada without a problem, and just aimed East.

The roads were awesomely smooth and, once we got out of the civilized area, gorgeously wooded. My only regret is the season; if this were a month later, the colors would have made me drive the speed limit, gasping all the while. In reality, I relied on my ignorance of conversion to the metric system to permit reckless speeding. Sorry officer! I'm American. You don't expect me to understand this, do you?

We stopped in Niagara for cheap food (it wasn't) and Canada's best Fish 'n' Chips (it wasn't). Also, of course, for a glimpse of the big falling water. I was more impressed by the numbers of foreign tourists than the water itself. As we struggled to leave, we wondered at Canada's genious for circular road signs that would never let us leave the country vs. Canada's idiocy for marking a path on their otherwise friendly roads. In the end, we made it to New York.

New York sucked. Sure, it was pretty, and the roads so glossy smooth my tires sang in joy, but the speed limit was 65 and you had to pay tolls the whole way. And, it lasted 4-Ever. New York state is, apparently, Huge. Seriously Huge.

Eventually we arrived in Massachussetts. Hoorah!! We only needed to get to exit 10A, do some twisty-turny-manuevering and we'd be there!! But Massachussetts is evil, and it's traffic system designed by a.) a moron, b.) a really mean person, or c.) someone who's never driven before. Exit 10A was about 100 miles into the state. The milage between exits 10 and 10A alone was 12 miles.

I don't remember when we arrived. I do remember my bladder being in the midst of a tantrum, my butt being too numb to help, and the darkness laughing as we missed roads and took unneccessary detours.

But we arrived. I am now an unofficial resident of Worcester, Mass.

Get a Job!

Right-o kids, here we are again.

I'm home and I'm surviving. Not so bad. Me and Hugo have had a good time catching up, drinking beer, planning our future. My future, on the immediate, consists of a trip to Chicago and Madison before I head east to MASS. Longer term, gonna get a job. Where? Who knows? What? Don't know that either. When? ASAP my friend. Even longer term? Grab a ticket and get in line, I'll let you know as soon as I do.

In the meantime... There's been discussion of a spin-off blog. I have fantasies of being the next big Dr. Ruth or Dr. Drew. And people, you people, who, yes, are mostly family and paid readers, seem to enjoy my writing, so, I figured, why not? And, someone who can use 8 commas in one sentence deserves a little glory, right?

Now, the question - - - and I DO expect you all to contribute an opinion, so I can have some guidance. I got a buddy who's a really good writer, too (and doesn't pay me to write this), and we were chatting up the idea of a collaborative page. Sex & Politics. But, you know, with a catchy title. I'd talk about sex and answer questions, he'd talk about politics and make us laugh.

What do you say?

No, really, what do you say?

Not out loud, you fool!! Type it in the comments box!

...sheeesh...

So it Goes

I'm back in America now. It's not vacation, it's a semi-permanent change of venue. Doubtful to improve the quality of articles on this page. Bummer for you.

Most of you know the {full/true/real} story, which is cool; you're family. There's certain privileges with that. Briefly, though, for the rest of you, here's my story, and I'm sticking to it. I suggest you do the same and don't ask annoying questions {about details/validity/witnesses}.

Essentially, I felt the need to apply all of my leadership and activist training I received at University. Having a group of active, strong women at my fingertips, I felt the time was ripe. So, we rallied together to have a big protest. It was amazing, beautiful, powerful, {topless} and loud. I don't remember what we protested, but I do remember feeling SO proud of my mamas. I mean, we had the whole district involved! Thousands!

Turns out, though, the Kenyan government wasn't so proud and enthusiastic. Might've been the content. {Or the partial nudity.} Whatever. I was kindly asked to leave the country and not return.

Broke my heart. I cried my eyes out, an activity not supported by the native women. I got two men to nearly cry with me, but the women seemed offended just by watching me. I had an entire year of service left and a lot of things to accomplish. I was asked to leave right in the middle of dinner, knowing what was for dessert and knowing I wouldn't be able to have any. Majorly shitty.

Here I am, again. I leave the nest time and time again, but just can't seem to stay the hell out. Gonna try again. In the next 4-6 weeks I plan to relocate to the East Coast. In the region of AJ and my dearest Jeffners. Work, school, and life to follow...

{Edits} inserted by author 23/8/07. Seems my deodorizer was so strong people couldn't smell the bullshit. Pole sana, wote. Better noses next time.

I Feel the Earth Move, Under My Feet

I can't believe I forgot to talk about this in the last post...!

Amongst my long list of "Firsts" for Kenya, I can know include 'Felt an Earthquake'. How cool is that, eh? Very cool, thank you!

The first time, we were at the Mara, sitting in the lounge, having some drinks, and quizzing poor Lobo. I felt this rumbling, like the floor was loose and people were jumping, or like something heavy was being pushed along behind us and we could feel it catching on the cracks and bumps in the sidewalk. Because I'd had a few drinks, I passed the whole thing off.

A few days later we saw a newspaper that was talking about how Nairobi was experiencing earthquakes due to an exploding volcano in Tanzania. They went on to say that almost no building in Kenya has been made to withstand an earthquake. I think the actual wording was more like, 'very few buildings have been professionally designed', but I'll have to look up some sources on that one.

Then, again, last Thursday I was lying in bed, doing nothing while entranced by the devil, when I felt it all again. The long rumble, the shudder, that odd feeling of vibration that makes you sure you're just in the midst of a schizophrenic episode.

Sure enough, it was some aftershocks to the eruption. Damn cool! I've been in an earthquake! I mean, I'm sure there are plenty of people in California who would love to argue that their earthquake experiences way outdo mine, but, for a midwestern gal, this is one heck of a First!

The End of Safari

Well. It's all over. The guests have gone home, the beer's been cleaned up, the tab's been paid. I'm not really sure by whom, but, hey. No one's knockin' on my door, and that's really all that matters, eh? right? Yep.

In my book, it was a damn good time. Here's kinda how it went....

I got up at 5am, to leave by 5:30am, to be at the airport in time for the arrival of the wageni. Turns out, there ain't much traffic at that hour, so I arrived with an hour to go. Add on the hour delay, and boy was I sorry I didn't dress warmer. Stupidly cold Nairobi. Finally! Mum and AJ meander through the doors and gaze about. Here I am! Here! Right here!! The one in the mohawk! Yes!! Me! They come over, we hug, they stare and my head, and we make like rugs and beat it.

Do these ladies want a nap? Nooo!! Let's go out and see the world!, they cry. And we do. We squeezed in the Elephant Orphanage, the Giraffe Center, and the Nature Walk, all in one day. I think the highlight of all that was the up-close-and-personal experience with Muilla the Cheetah. A damn close second, Bob/Phillip and Elizabeth, the pygmy hippos.

That night we trained to Kisumu, leaving late, arriving later. Had a groovy time of it, though, with mum taking about 400 pictures on the way. In Kisumu we slept at Kiboko Bay in this platform tent thingy that was super nice. Highly recommended. Also: we highly recommend you bring your own CDs for the barman, unless you happen to be a rockin' ABBA fan (and who isn't, deep down?). We rode the bodabodas, the tuktuks, we ate fish at the carwash, we shopped at Nakumatt, and we went out to see the hippos. Yahoo!!!

From Kisumu to Kakamega, by taxi. It was bad from the beginning - we left late, the tuktuk driver was too busy trying to get in my pants (in front of my mother, for Pete's sake!!!) to do his job, the KEEP was way further out in the boonies that anyone prepared me for, the road was worse than shitty, and so on. But! The mamas were all Soooo happy to see us and cooked a monsterously large feast. The food was all super tastey, then they sang a bit and the kids performed some drama. I think it went really well, and I hope everyone else agrees.

KEEP itself was pretty cool. We did two walks -one just normal one, in the afternoon, whatever, and then the sunrise walk where you leave at 4am and greet the sun 2 hours later. Try to do that one in the dry season, eh? It's a little... wet... otherwise. It was still groovy. Ask for Gabriel, too, as he is a great guide. Mostly just a fun dude who was super nice.

From the West, we went East, by bus, to Nairobi. Bus sucked, of course. Not much choice, there. But we found ourselves at the right place at the right time. Hot showers, flushing toilets, comfy beds and electricity. All the more appreciated after our 2 nights at KEEP! In the morning we were picked by the one and only Lobo (actually, there's at least 2 others, since he's got a dad and brother, but, you know. Sounds better.). He was our safari guide from Base Camp Travels. Poor fellow!

We started north in Samburu park. It's up across the equator and into dry, white sandy soil. We slept at the Samburu Sopa Lodge for 2 nights. Beautiful!! Great food, great staff, comfy rooms, nice architecture, . . . . what else? Lot's of animals to see. We 3 were the only ones, so that was really a nice thing. We'd do early morning and late afternoon drives to see the critters. Then we went south to Mt. Kenya, to sleep at the Castle Hill Lodge. Built for some dude named George. It was pretty and old and COLD. Too cloudy to see the mountain itself, but mum and I took a hike to see a waterfall. Again, try to go in a dry season. Back south across the equator to Lake Nukuru. Slept one night at the Sarova and it was one night too many. Overcrowded, understaffed with not-so-nice people, food mediocre... rooms were nice, though. It was cool to see the flamingoes up close and realize exactly how many there are. But, even the park felt too crowded with people. South again, into the Maasai Mara. We paused in Narok for tea and toilets, and I ran into K and her parents. Yay!!! I saw the Shanzu bags and thought, wonder if that's PC? Then I realized it was a familiar bag, attached to a familiar person! They were on their way out, to go raft in Uganda, and told us how much fun they had. What a nice surprise to see her!

The road into the Mara is at least as bad as they say, but fear not- the government has begun roadwork to smooth the situation. I think I saw an estimated completetion for some date 5 years from now. :) The park itself was really good. We saw some of the juicey bits of safaring, quite literally. There was a pride of 6 female lions chomping away on a zebra, then some hyenas cleaning up a day later. Saw some cheetahs working on a gazelle another day, their faces all pink and dirty. My favorite? The river full of hippos, where Lobo actually let me out of the vehicle to go say hello! I think I counted 24 of them!

Once it was all over, we were sad to say good-bye to Lobo, though I'm sure that wasn't mutual! It took him most of the week to start teasing back, so we felt like we were just breaking him in. Most of our too-personal questions had been answered, although more soberly than planned. I'm sure mum and AJ have a completely different version of this, but that's just because all the Aunties are afraid I'm on the edge of Old Maid status. Their vision is a bit blurred.

Finally, the last leg of our trip. We travelled like queens, flying through the air, to arrive in Malindi and mere hour after we left Nairobi. Our last hotel was the Turtle Bay Beach Club in Watamu. It was all-inclusive, even alcohol, so we lived it up. Nice rooms, nice service, good food with plenty of veggie options, ... on the ocean, with a big, clean pool, ... My only problem is that it is well-known for being kid-friendly. In other words, it was Full of little people. ack. Still a great place, but, I should take that into consideration in the future...

So, now I'm back in Nairobi. I'm stuck here on some personal bullshit. That's all working out okay, I guess. Nothing new anyway. I miss work and can't wait to get back. It feels really weird, though. All that time travelling and living rich has almost made me forget what country I'm in, especially having mum and AJ here. Now that they're gone, it's back to reality. *sigh* Not so sure I like that... But, hey, I gotta get some work done here and one more year should be just the right amount of time.

Proud to be...

It's that time of year again. That time when we drag out the grills, skewer a big, dead animal, and roast away, all the while consuming carbonated, alcoholic goodness.

Ahh, yes, the Embassy Picnic!

It's amazing to think it's be a full year now, cabisa, and to remember what little twerps we were at the Picnic last year. Sooooo much better this time around!!

After the picnic (Saturday), we had a toga party at a hotel in town. Good fun! There was a DJ, lots of people, beer, dancing, all those good things. I think I stayed until after 3 or 4am, but I'm not really sure. Never saw the time, and I certainly don't wear those wristy time-teller ninis. ha!

I had some business on Monday at the office, and now I am just killing time until Friday when mum and AJ arrive. My days are spent hunting for affordable food (which, last night, was a little piece of Eden with A-Mazing indian food at a new restaurant with the oh-so-lovely classification of "pure vegetarian"). This city is so expensive! We just got paid on the 23rd and I'm essentially broke already. Cool, eh? Yea, not so much....

In other news... I have a new hairstyle. Told my J the details, and mum will be the first to see it live, but I'll get a photo up soon. I dig it. Lots of people do, too. I'm too sexy for myself.

Met some JICA volunteers and was dismayed to, again, realize how the Japanese are so able to take our good things and make them way better. They fed us yummy Japanese food, though, so that made it all okay again.

I just recovered from a sinus/upper respiratory infection. That was a lot of fun. My annual illness, apparently.

Right. Well. I meet the wageni on Friday, and we are off for a major safari throughout Kenya. I'll probably not post while we are together, so look for the end of July/beginning of August for all the delicious details and possibly a photo or two.

Later, alligators!