Ran my second best time ever in my 8.5ish miles. (after not working out for 2 weeks and eating a Snickers bar the night before) The only time I did faster was the day I messed up my knee. Knee is a little stiff but not very painful right now.
Visited Jon Blanchard and think I might have found a contractor for my Biogas reaction tank. Don't know where community contribution is going to come from now.
Met my new counterpart. Things aren't great at work but this is a step in the right direction.
Lows:
Broke a big tall bottle of soy sauce
Can't describe any one event, but I'm starting to accept now that I've just been in a funk for a while. I'm just unhappy most of the time. Its related to work, life here, life back home, the stock market, the national debt, and unknowns. I've been short with village children and irritable around friends.
There is a phenomena we talk about here called the Peace Corps time paradox, where the days seem to go by slowly but the weeks and months go quickly. This had been true for me for the first 9 months in Uganda. But the last 2 months have been rough. Every month seems like a year. I'm not really excited about anything in the future anymore, other than leaving, which is still a long way off.
What I Did:
Bought a hanging scale, visited Jon Blanchard's water tank operation using ISSB technology and think I can adapt his design for a Biogas digester. Had a 7 hour meeting with my new counterpart where almost nothing was discussed. Spent some much needed time in my pajamas last Sunday.
Met with my Peace Corps program manager about switching sites. We are going to check in and see if I have made any progress at the end of August. If my org continues throwing me bones with no meat she seems on-board with supporting a site change.
What Is On The Agenda:
VAC meeting, malaria training, and then off to the Sesse Islands for the weekend. Long term plan includes using that hanging scale to weigh some poop.
Ugandan Annoyance of the Week:
On the street you are surrounded and harassed by boda drivers when you don't want a boda. People hold food you don't want in front of your face. If I walk down the street wearing sunglasses it doesn't stop the counterfeit sunglasses guys from trying to sell me a pair. I get out of a taxi and I am mauled by people trying to help me and sell me crap I have shown absolutely no indication of interest in... but if I got to a restaurant with literally more servers than customers, it still takes 10 minutes to get a menu, can't get them to take my order, can't get my bill, can't get change.
Observation of the Week:
The traders strike was amazingly successful. I came into town on Thursday to check in at hardware stores for a tape measure and hanging scale and Masaka was a ghost town. I've never seen anything like it. Museveni cut a deal, but with more and more strikes lining up after one another I'm starting to question the stability of country again. I thought once Walk to Work turned into Honk Your Horn that the serious resistance was fading. For the near term it looks to be back and strong.
What I'm Reading:
Finished Carrie by Stephen King. It is my first time reading King after a long reluctance. Growing up Stephen King was in the height of his reputation as a guy who writes too many books of often variable quality. The impression stayed with me and I always stayed away from him. Now I'm tackling a few of his classics before I start on the Dark Tower series, his apparent Magnum Opus.
Started James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans. It is putting me to sleep. I may abandon it soon or take 2 months to read it while knocking out other books.
Funny Story:
Walking through Masaka one day I got hit square in the head by a very firm falling mango. It hit me where it was still the front of my head, but high enough up the arch that it didn't roll off at all. Complete impact and bounce. Felt woozy for a minute or two but was fine after. Later that night, I'm watching the West Wing on my netbook and a lizard falls off my ceiling and lands on my face. Bad day for falling objects.
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