5:30 on a sunday morning and lady click-click is pacing in stilettos. Something shall be done about this. I can't take it any more!
posted from Bloggeroid
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
it never rains
it really pours.
I have TWO job offers I'm fully torn between
The tiles on the floor of the study have started to detach and... tent? the upstairs neighbor, who works in construction and had to do this to his own floor (see earlier post - guess it wasn't Lady Click-Click's fault after all) says we need three or four full days, one for each step of the procedure. And we're supposed to be hosting a guest (apart from my parents) in this room in a week and a half. Of course the longer we wait the worse it gets...
my phone fell in the toilet today
The driver of the rental car we've arranged for wants to do some car-switching at the border to Togo. Put him and the four passengers inside a bigger car with Togolese plates and driver to "avoid headaches" from the police. I don't know if that's really necessary for a single night's stay.
I'm supposed to head to a BBQ with some local volunteers and young cool folks but I just feel so overwhelmed that I want to go to sleep. When I tried to call the guy who helped us arrange the car, to see if this car-switching was normal, his phone's turned off.
The guards say it's totally normal but I don't know. I'm going to a car rental place tomorrow (and call a few others) to see what they would recommend - and how much they'd charge. I didn't commit to this driver, after all.
And then our internet is down every 5 minutes or so, for about half a minute. Which is just annoying when I'm trying to, well, do ANYTHING.
I'm headed to this BBQ, because none of the other problems will get sorted tonight.
At least today I: went for a run, picked up my German certificate (273.5 of 300 ain't shabby!), bought fruit, picked up bagels for my parents' visit, paid the housekeeper, went cleaning-product shopping, talked over my job options with choir buddy and 15-year resident T, and got estimates/summaries for the driver and the floor.
very overwhelmed.
I have TWO job offers I'm fully torn between
The tiles on the floor of the study have started to detach and... tent? the upstairs neighbor, who works in construction and had to do this to his own floor (see earlier post - guess it wasn't Lady Click-Click's fault after all) says we need three or four full days, one for each step of the procedure. And we're supposed to be hosting a guest (apart from my parents) in this room in a week and a half. Of course the longer we wait the worse it gets...
my phone fell in the toilet today
The driver of the rental car we've arranged for wants to do some car-switching at the border to Togo. Put him and the four passengers inside a bigger car with Togolese plates and driver to "avoid headaches" from the police. I don't know if that's really necessary for a single night's stay.
I'm supposed to head to a BBQ with some local volunteers and young cool folks but I just feel so overwhelmed that I want to go to sleep. When I tried to call the guy who helped us arrange the car, to see if this car-switching was normal, his phone's turned off.
The guards say it's totally normal but I don't know. I'm going to a car rental place tomorrow (and call a few others) to see what they would recommend - and how much they'd charge. I didn't commit to this driver, after all.
And then our internet is down every 5 minutes or so, for about half a minute. Which is just annoying when I'm trying to, well, do ANYTHING.
I'm headed to this BBQ, because none of the other problems will get sorted tonight.
At least today I: went for a run, picked up my German certificate (273.5 of 300 ain't shabby!), bought fruit, picked up bagels for my parents' visit, paid the housekeeper, went cleaning-product shopping, talked over my job options with choir buddy and 15-year resident T, and got estimates/summaries for the driver and the floor.
very overwhelmed.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
bing < /3 SSA, and FNM < /3 GH
Here's why I haven't been receiving my Food Network Magazine lately:
They don't ship to Ghana.
Or Nigeria- the rep mentioned that, too.
I guess that's in case I decide I'm fed up of the small fry and want to move on to the big 419 scams?
I loved getting that magazine. I even got published in it, with a letter to the editor praising the Jewish-themed recipes. Now I'm being unwillingly cut off.
Who's willing to take a shipment of magazines, and deliver them when and wherever next we meet? This is a serious bummer! FNM brought so much joy and I was so looking forward to it. I think I'll write back to Kim and let her know that even though policy's policy, I am quite let down.
They don't ship to Ghana.
Or Nigeria- the rep mentioned that, too.
I guess that's in case I decide I'm fed up of the small fry and want to move on to the big 419 scams?
I loved getting that magazine. I even got published in it, with a letter to the editor praising the Jewish-themed recipes. Now I'm being unwillingly cut off.
Who's willing to take a shipment of magazines, and deliver them when and wherever next we meet? This is a serious bummer! FNM brought so much joy and I was so looking forward to it. I think I'll write back to Kim and let her know that even though policy's policy, I am quite let down.
Bing has no love for SSA...
So, I just noticed Facebook's throwdown. "Facebook Places" are using Bing maps instead of Google. I found it in the States, in Ireland, in New Zealand.
I checked out what Bing Maps has for Accra.
Three (and a half?) motorways and a railroad track.
I appreciate that some of the neighborhoods are labeled. But that's it, really?
I looked at Lagos. Much the same.
Nothing doing in Nairobi, either.
Rabat, Johannesburg, Casablanca and Cape Town, I am happy to say, had roads marked and usually labeled.
What gives, Bing? You've got the top and bottom of the continent covered but the rest is inconsequential? Are you working on it, at least?
In the satellite view, I'm surprised to learn that my house lies in the Bight of Benin. Not even kidding.
The kicker? When I searched Bing for "maps," Google Maps was the first result... Bing's own service pulled in at a paltry seventh place.
I sent some feedback to Bing - meanwhile noting that their feedback box is kinda crummy. I don't know the word for it, but when words are too long for one line, Bing splits the word rather than moving the entire word onto the next line.
It's not only family bias that keeps me sticking to Google. That's all I'm sayin'.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Let's Go, Man!
Two Saturdays ago marked the celebration of the Chale Wote festival of alternative art, brought to life by Accra [dot] alt. There have been some disagreeing voices from local bloggers about the outcome; while Graham at Critical Point proclaimed it a success with some potential to grow into, Holli's Ramblings shot it down as, essentially, whites imposing 'culture' onto the inner city where it was neither appreciated nor welcome.
 |
| the cliffs of Jamestown... garbage, oil drums, and the sea |
My take on it? As soon as I got to the first “plaza” of events and saw the scale and scope I was in for, I threw any expectations out the window, and had fun.
The maps could have been a lot nicer – a six-piece Venn diagram describing sites that are all along the same street in a line was really confusing!
 |
| Roller Boys preparing for a jump - on a busy side street still in use! |
Other than that, it was fun to wander around, I didn't feel unwelcome, and I loved seeing all the kids get involved, be it in dancing or face/body painting! We heard that kids were the focus during the day while the evening was the block party for adults.
 |
| friends watching the brass band (yellow shirts) |
Yes, the scope was pretty small - let's say ten vendors, two artists in the "gallery," a gaggle of kids dancing in the plaza. Yes, I felt that some kids saw it as an opportunity to beg some extra goodies from the rich obronis. In particular there was one adorable girl who attached herself to my knee as soon as I'd bought my jollof rice, and disappeared as soon as it was finished.
But there were just as many kids who were happy to get attention, interact with the friendly visitors and play with paint on their arms and on the sidewalks. Adults wandered past, bemused, or stopped to watch, intrigued, and were all smiles.
 |
| "Beware of Mosquito" |
My take-away? I'd do it again! There's gotta be a first year for everything. There were glitches, there were sidelong glances, there were doubts. But now that they've pulled it off once, I think more people will be interested next year. This thing can grow. And I'm looking forward to it!
More photos available on my Picasa album.
food blog is up!
hey y'all, hop over to and then I cooked... for foodie goodies! first post is already up!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
dangerous linktrails
I don't know how it is for visitors to my blog, but when I'm signed in, I get this Blogger top bar on the top of my page. On this bar is a link to "Next Blog," any other randomly chosen Blogger blog.
Well, from the (probably) 50-100 other blogs I've browsed in the past two days, here are my conclusions:
95% of them are families
80% of those families are religious Christians (when I say that, I mean they mention praying, Our One True Father, church - as having an influence in most of their entries)
3% are teens
2% are Other. A vegan and a Tea Partier (who also fit into the Christian category)
And probably 40% of every one of those blogs had as the latest entry "It's been such a looong time, and I PROMISE I'll be better at posting from now on!" Most of the time, those entries were a year old.
Fingers crossed that I can keep up my own commitment!
When we moved into our third-floor apartment, we thought the distance between us and the ground would separate us from the noise. We wanted a quieter house, removed from street sounds.
This is not so!
It turns out that sound waves travel upwards really well. So we hear the squatter neighbors' chicks as if they were chirping on our own balcony. Funerals from three blocks away sound like they're just down the street. And I have yet to describe a Ghanaian funeral!
It lasts a full weekend. On Friday they stay up all night singing and playing highlife music: the "wake-keeping." Saturday starts early and goes a full day of music, food, drinking and socializing. Sunday starts around 7:30 with a worship service, then continues until the afternoon with more music and socializing.
Streets are shut down as celebrants erect big tents and rent hundreds of plastic chairs to house the participants. The music speakers are huge. Announcements are put up all over the streets announcing: "Home Call," "Obituary," "At Rest" and so on. People dress in black/brown combined with red, if the person died young, or white, if the person lived a full life. These parties can totally disrupt your life if they happen on your street, and get in the way of traffic as the tents stop cars from going through. The more people you can afford to host, the better. It's quite the production.
The weather lately has been cooler (around 25-28C, 75-80F) and nicely breezy so I've relied on the A/C much less often and instead keep the big doors and windows open. Earlier in the month it was overcast without raining for days at a time, but now we are getting sun, a bit of rain (like this morning) and cooler weather. I like it!
Well, from the (probably) 50-100 other blogs I've browsed in the past two days, here are my conclusions:
95% of them are families
80% of those families are religious Christians (when I say that, I mean they mention praying, Our One True Father, church - as having an influence in most of their entries)
3% are teens
2% are Other. A vegan and a Tea Partier (who also fit into the Christian category)
And probably 40% of every one of those blogs had as the latest entry "It's been such a looong time, and I PROMISE I'll be better at posting from now on!" Most of the time, those entries were a year old.
Fingers crossed that I can keep up my own commitment!
When we moved into our third-floor apartment, we thought the distance between us and the ground would separate us from the noise. We wanted a quieter house, removed from street sounds.
This is not so!
It turns out that sound waves travel upwards really well. So we hear the squatter neighbors' chicks as if they were chirping on our own balcony. Funerals from three blocks away sound like they're just down the street. And I have yet to describe a Ghanaian funeral!
It lasts a full weekend. On Friday they stay up all night singing and playing highlife music: the "wake-keeping." Saturday starts early and goes a full day of music, food, drinking and socializing. Sunday starts around 7:30 with a worship service, then continues until the afternoon with more music and socializing.
Streets are shut down as celebrants erect big tents and rent hundreds of plastic chairs to house the participants. The music speakers are huge. Announcements are put up all over the streets announcing: "Home Call," "Obituary," "At Rest" and so on. People dress in black/brown combined with red, if the person died young, or white, if the person lived a full life. These parties can totally disrupt your life if they happen on your street, and get in the way of traffic as the tents stop cars from going through. The more people you can afford to host, the better. It's quite the production.
The weather lately has been cooler (around 25-28C, 75-80F) and nicely breezy so I've relied on the A/C much less often and instead keep the big doors and windows open. Earlier in the month it was overcast without raining for days at a time, but now we are getting sun, a bit of rain (like this morning) and cooler weather. I like it!
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