It's another typical Sunday, which means I'm trying to relax as things slowly go wrong around me.
This week, it starts at 8am, after a luxurious 11 hours of sleep. A watchman calls me to ask if he can sign annual leave papers today. I am not his supervisor, and I am not working. I am not pleased.
I rouse myself, and stumble into the eating area for a leisurely breakfast. I have to unload and fuel a car at 10am to prepare for the departure of 2 team members for the end of their mission. I'm grumpy from the early morning wake up, since yesterday had a similar wakeup (three non-urgent problems demanding immediate attention before 8am). Now that I think of it, it was the same last Sunday, when the generator at the hospital failed. And the Sunday before that, and before that...
I can't remember the last undisturbed day of rest I've had. Vacation in Turkey three months ago?
After the final preparations, cash advances, food orders, and packages to be sent to the capital, the car leaves, and I dive back into my book. It's my one haven from the 100% French-speaking environment that I've been living in for the past 8 months. I've always been a reader, but I've been devouring books at an exceptional rate during this mission. I started keeping track in April, and am at 40 books read. Looks like my average is 6 books a month, or a book and a half every week.
My reading is interrupted by a driver who just lost his sister. He's seeking a ride to a nearby city, to get to the funeral in time. Unfortunately, the car going to that city left this morning. I offer two solutions, none of them satisfactory, and offer my condolences. As he leaves, I call a replacement to fill in for him tomorrow and the next day.
Back to reading, where I finish a book. I plunge on to the sequel, only to find that when I downloaded it a month ago (I'm kindle-only here in the middle of Africa--real books are a luxury I cannot access), my trickling internet access corrupted the file. Sigh. Back to find the internet modem, log on, spend a half-hour loading Amazon, then the next hour or two trying to download the sequel.
It's a good opportunity to take a break. Time for lunch. And probably for the next problem. We shall see what the rest of the day brings.
This week, it starts at 8am, after a luxurious 11 hours of sleep. A watchman calls me to ask if he can sign annual leave papers today. I am not his supervisor, and I am not working. I am not pleased.
I rouse myself, and stumble into the eating area for a leisurely breakfast. I have to unload and fuel a car at 10am to prepare for the departure of 2 team members for the end of their mission. I'm grumpy from the early morning wake up, since yesterday had a similar wakeup (three non-urgent problems demanding immediate attention before 8am). Now that I think of it, it was the same last Sunday, when the generator at the hospital failed. And the Sunday before that, and before that...
I can't remember the last undisturbed day of rest I've had. Vacation in Turkey three months ago?
After the final preparations, cash advances, food orders, and packages to be sent to the capital, the car leaves, and I dive back into my book. It's my one haven from the 100% French-speaking environment that I've been living in for the past 8 months. I've always been a reader, but I've been devouring books at an exceptional rate during this mission. I started keeping track in April, and am at 40 books read. Looks like my average is 6 books a month, or a book and a half every week.
My reading is interrupted by a driver who just lost his sister. He's seeking a ride to a nearby city, to get to the funeral in time. Unfortunately, the car going to that city left this morning. I offer two solutions, none of them satisfactory, and offer my condolences. As he leaves, I call a replacement to fill in for him tomorrow and the next day.
Back to reading, where I finish a book. I plunge on to the sequel, only to find that when I downloaded it a month ago (I'm kindle-only here in the middle of Africa--real books are a luxury I cannot access), my trickling internet access corrupted the file. Sigh. Back to find the internet modem, log on, spend a half-hour loading Amazon, then the next hour or two trying to download the sequel.
It's a good opportunity to take a break. Time for lunch. And probably for the next problem. We shall see what the rest of the day brings.
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