Catch-22
Hey you,
how you been? How was your week?Miss me yet?
I was thinking this week of how much I miss rollerblading. We should definitely go when I get back. Only 596 more hours until I leave (if you're reading this on Monday. Don't ask how I know that 24 x 24 is 596 so quickly).
I had a bizarre week.
First, last Saturday I went to go play basketball only to find none. This put a damper on my weekend as I really wanted to play. I wasn't even allowed to go onto the court to shoot hoops. Needless to say, my shot is going to need quite a bit of work when I get back.
So that afternoon I went to town where I was approached by a kid asking for change. I took him to lunch. Here's the kicker, he remembered me as feeding him a while ago. It's nice to know that I'm not seen such as just a Daddy Warbucks. His name is Joseph Kamau. Then after my own lunch (I don't eat with the kids b/c of stigmas that may get attached to the kids, i.e. Michael Jacksonism), I went to get some ice cream (more on that in a bit) at the grocery store, and a kid approached me to ask if I worked for WDGA or JA b/c he was at the conference where I spoke and enjoyed what i had to say about their responsibility to demolish poverty (his words not mine). So no one's here to toot my horn, so toot toot.
So Tuesday I lost my cards: bank and credit. This still hasn't dampered my magazine purchasing habits, which means I could soon find myself having to beg for change on Kenyatta Avenue. But the good news is that the lady who works at the store where I buy most of my magazines said she'd toss some change my way. I may have to take out my own microfinance loan to continue to fund the Jacob Foundation.
A new VISA card is on its way to me - hopefully by Monday. I've arranged for credit at the hotel where I live so I'll still have clean clothes and one of the restaurants where I used to eat.
I've gone vegetarian - not for ethical or health issues but financial. For 80 ksh i get a delicious bowl of bean stew and rice whereas the beef equivalent - 150. Cha ching. That 70 shillings can get me two (2) soft serve ice cream at the grocery store.
Yes that's right I now can get soft serve ice cream here. I prefer it to the hard kind b/c of less fat. Woo hoo.
Wednesday I went to play basketball for the first time in a week. The power of the ball is amazing. A few months ago I met this school kid named Victor - very smiley kid. We shot around on Wed. Little kids are great to have around b/c they can get the ball when you make your shot. Anyway, I had him start to do lay ups - I'd pass him the ball as he's running and he'd lay it in. Then another kid joined us, then a third, then I had them form a line. Next thing I know all the kids on that half of the court were lining up for the mzungu to pass them the ball. I've always wanted an army of loyalists, just I'd prefer one that I can use to storm the Bastille, not a sand castle. Ah well, something to work on when I get back to the T-dot.
So after putting the kids through lay up drills, we broke out into teams of 4 to play tourney style. My team, all short, and could not stick to their men on D for their lives. Every team we played had at least one guy open near the net. I was superpissed. If the kids were not in their school unis (yes they ran layups and played ball in their unis) i'd have made them run suicides and do pushups. I run a tough camp.
This past week what did I do for work? Went to interview garbage collectors (the organizations that provide the service) to find out how well prepared they are for source separation when it comes into play. This job would've been much better suited for someone who is interested in city planning, waste management, or the environment. But I'm making do. I really should've pushed to do more work with the microfinance arm, but I didn't want to come across as a pushy Canadian. Oh, there may be a crimp in my travel plans depending on how the budget (Canadian not mine) goes. IF an election is called for April 30, my return date, I'm going to forego London and Vancouver and come home for the 20th to spend the 10 days campaigning. London and Vancouver will still be there. The election not so much. Then again, if there's an election this year it will be the third one in Canada in about 3 years. African countries have more political stability, albeit, they are run by dictators some of them.
A trip to Vancouver in the summer would be ace. One of my friends and his wife are coming to Victoria this summer and I haven't played ball with him in ages.
Either way, I know I'll for sure be in Vancouver in 2010 and in London in 2012 for the olympics - participating baby! Just haven't figured out in which sport(s). I'm thinking of 2-man luge for the winter, as long as I get to be on the bottom so I can use the other guy as a buffer against the ice in case we fall off. As for the summer sport, I'm thinking something to do with walking. I'd be perfectly content to warm the bench for Team Canada's basketball team, but I think that team has enough slow white guys.
I did write out a column for this past week but it got dropped. Space issues and sucking issues. I'm working on a better one. For those who think this is easy, it is very hard, especially to have to tie it to a theme (working).
I'm hoping to get some more freelance gigs when I get back. I'm trying to find the contacts of editors of magazines for which I'd like to write.
Remember how I was so proud of the deal I struck for the additional wares? WelL I got jacked. The vendor finally got the wares to me and then said his supplier wants 150 ksh per item (11 items). He was supposed to give me all 11 for only 1000 (I asked for 10 and he offered to toss one in for free. I'd hope so - grand total I bought from him: 51). I said forget it. He asked for an additional 200 and I figured it was worth it to get him out of my life.
The other vendors, I've had to be more direct with them and tell them no I don't want/need cards - not today, not tomorrow, not ever. I'm just going to have to ignore them from now on, but I"m thinking I may have to kill one of them and stick their head on a stick as a warning to all those who dare to trespass me.
A sort of homecomingHomecoming game is either May 6 or May 27. Please get your nominations for Homecoming Queen and Homecoming King. Voting begins for the King and Queen in the next couple of weeks!Looking forward to seeing you.
Miss you!
Jacob
how you been? How was your week?Miss me yet?
I was thinking this week of how much I miss rollerblading. We should definitely go when I get back. Only 596 more hours until I leave (if you're reading this on Monday. Don't ask how I know that 24 x 24 is 596 so quickly).
I had a bizarre week.
First, last Saturday I went to go play basketball only to find none. This put a damper on my weekend as I really wanted to play. I wasn't even allowed to go onto the court to shoot hoops. Needless to say, my shot is going to need quite a bit of work when I get back.
So that afternoon I went to town where I was approached by a kid asking for change. I took him to lunch. Here's the kicker, he remembered me as feeding him a while ago. It's nice to know that I'm not seen such as just a Daddy Warbucks. His name is Joseph Kamau. Then after my own lunch (I don't eat with the kids b/c of stigmas that may get attached to the kids, i.e. Michael Jacksonism), I went to get some ice cream (more on that in a bit) at the grocery store, and a kid approached me to ask if I worked for WDGA or JA b/c he was at the conference where I spoke and enjoyed what i had to say about their responsibility to demolish poverty (his words not mine). So no one's here to toot my horn, so toot toot.
So Tuesday I lost my cards: bank and credit. This still hasn't dampered my magazine purchasing habits, which means I could soon find myself having to beg for change on Kenyatta Avenue. But the good news is that the lady who works at the store where I buy most of my magazines said she'd toss some change my way. I may have to take out my own microfinance loan to continue to fund the Jacob Foundation.
A new VISA card is on its way to me - hopefully by Monday. I've arranged for credit at the hotel where I live so I'll still have clean clothes and one of the restaurants where I used to eat.
I've gone vegetarian - not for ethical or health issues but financial. For 80 ksh i get a delicious bowl of bean stew and rice whereas the beef equivalent - 150. Cha ching. That 70 shillings can get me two (2) soft serve ice cream at the grocery store.
Yes that's right I now can get soft serve ice cream here. I prefer it to the hard kind b/c of less fat. Woo hoo.
Wednesday I went to play basketball for the first time in a week. The power of the ball is amazing. A few months ago I met this school kid named Victor - very smiley kid. We shot around on Wed. Little kids are great to have around b/c they can get the ball when you make your shot. Anyway, I had him start to do lay ups - I'd pass him the ball as he's running and he'd lay it in. Then another kid joined us, then a third, then I had them form a line. Next thing I know all the kids on that half of the court were lining up for the mzungu to pass them the ball. I've always wanted an army of loyalists, just I'd prefer one that I can use to storm the Bastille, not a sand castle. Ah well, something to work on when I get back to the T-dot.
So after putting the kids through lay up drills, we broke out into teams of 4 to play tourney style. My team, all short, and could not stick to their men on D for their lives. Every team we played had at least one guy open near the net. I was superpissed. If the kids were not in their school unis (yes they ran layups and played ball in their unis) i'd have made them run suicides and do pushups. I run a tough camp.
This past week what did I do for work? Went to interview garbage collectors (the organizations that provide the service) to find out how well prepared they are for source separation when it comes into play. This job would've been much better suited for someone who is interested in city planning, waste management, or the environment. But I'm making do. I really should've pushed to do more work with the microfinance arm, but I didn't want to come across as a pushy Canadian. Oh, there may be a crimp in my travel plans depending on how the budget (Canadian not mine) goes. IF an election is called for April 30, my return date, I'm going to forego London and Vancouver and come home for the 20th to spend the 10 days campaigning. London and Vancouver will still be there. The election not so much. Then again, if there's an election this year it will be the third one in Canada in about 3 years. African countries have more political stability, albeit, they are run by dictators some of them.
A trip to Vancouver in the summer would be ace. One of my friends and his wife are coming to Victoria this summer and I haven't played ball with him in ages.
Either way, I know I'll for sure be in Vancouver in 2010 and in London in 2012 for the olympics - participating baby! Just haven't figured out in which sport(s). I'm thinking of 2-man luge for the winter, as long as I get to be on the bottom so I can use the other guy as a buffer against the ice in case we fall off. As for the summer sport, I'm thinking something to do with walking. I'd be perfectly content to warm the bench for Team Canada's basketball team, but I think that team has enough slow white guys.
I did write out a column for this past week but it got dropped. Space issues and sucking issues. I'm working on a better one. For those who think this is easy, it is very hard, especially to have to tie it to a theme (working).
I'm hoping to get some more freelance gigs when I get back. I'm trying to find the contacts of editors of magazines for which I'd like to write.
Remember how I was so proud of the deal I struck for the additional wares? WelL I got jacked. The vendor finally got the wares to me and then said his supplier wants 150 ksh per item (11 items). He was supposed to give me all 11 for only 1000 (I asked for 10 and he offered to toss one in for free. I'd hope so - grand total I bought from him: 51). I said forget it. He asked for an additional 200 and I figured it was worth it to get him out of my life.
The other vendors, I've had to be more direct with them and tell them no I don't want/need cards - not today, not tomorrow, not ever. I'm just going to have to ignore them from now on, but I"m thinking I may have to kill one of them and stick their head on a stick as a warning to all those who dare to trespass me.
A sort of homecomingHomecoming game is either May 6 or May 27. Please get your nominations for Homecoming Queen and Homecoming King. Voting begins for the King and Queen in the next couple of weeks!Looking forward to seeing you.
Miss you!
Jacob
posted by kacob at 7:42 AM
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