Alas, the lovely weekend has ended, and it’s back to work again. We had breakfast, and then drove to our base camp as usual to restock our bags with supplies. I started the day with my second post-exposure rabies vaccine, due to that dog bite I received last Thursday. Ironically, the dog bite I received saved me a little money…
A juvenile book with clichéd subject matter, boring characters, and an idiotic premise and plot. The big plot twist halfway through the book was unimpressive. The main character, Flynn, became more irritating as the book progressed; by the end, I really didn’t give a damn about what happened to him. The quality of the writing was just abysmal. After I…
After a busy (but fun) week of vaccinating dogs, we were rewarded with a bit of free time. Originally we were going to do some horseback riding on Saturday and then drive into Kumasi to see the huge market, but we were told that Sunday was probably not the best day to see the market, as this is a very…
I’m a huge Monty Python fan, and Cleese has always been my favorite (just edging out Michael Palin). Last year, I read his autobiography, and I loved it. In 1999, Cleese became a professor-at-large at Cornell University, and was so popular that he secured a permanent position as the provost’s visiting professorship. In this role, he has given talks and…
Today marked the end of the first week. I woke up this morning with my bite wound looking great. There was no oozing overnight, no swelling, no pain, nothing. I shaved and showered, and put on a band-aid, and that was that. Tomorrow I don’t think I’ll even need a bandage on it. This morning at our base, we stocked…
One of the things I had to get used to when I retired was not having a regular routine. My workday used to be pretty structured. When I retired, it took me a while to formulate a new routine. The fact that Mark had to still wake up every morning at 5:20 a.m. dictated the start of my day. I…
Last year I read Chee’s book, How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, a collection of essays. I enjoyed some of them, and wasn’t crazy about some others. I thought I’d give him another shot and read his first novel, Edinburgh, which received good reviews. The book was pretty intense, tackling the heavy topic of pedophilia and sexual abuse and the…
I’m sure we’re in for more stock market volatility. For example, I checked the MSNBC app last night, and stock market futures were plunging. The Dow was down 900 points. As I type this, however, the Dow is up over 400 points. That’s a huge swing. If the market closed with a 1000 point gain today, or a 1000 point…
Hear the science behind uncommon female orange tabby cats and the extremely rare tortoiseshell or calico male cat. Question: I have heard that all orange tabby cats are male, and to find one that is female is rare and worth up to $1,000. I also have heard that calico cats and tortoiseshell cats are female and to find a male…
Like everybody else, I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around our crazy new world. Every day brings more dire news, increased fears, and new adjustments into our lives. I’m trying to avoid the television except for an hour in the morning (Today on NBC), and a half hour in the evening (NBC news with Lester Holt). The rest…
After meeting at the base camp, we packed our bags and headed out fully stocked. Again we detoured at the little market, and I got to see Avocado Lady again. It’s my morning ritual. Today was a strange day. I was initially told that our group would be heading back to the static point clinic that we operated on Tuesday,…
I go through phases where I don’t think about the movie Harold and Maude very much, and then I become obsessed with it again. It’s my favorite movie; I find the humorous bits hilarious and the philosophical bits poignant and uplifting, and whenever there’s some kind of crisis (like 9-11 or the current corona pandemic), I find myself immersed in…