My Corner of the World

My Trusty Pack

2008-06-27T09:32:00.001-07:00

My Trusty Pack, originally uploaded by peggydaly.

FoosBall in Senegal

2007-10-07T09:57:00.001-07:00

SENEGAL 2007027
Originally uploaded by peggydaly

i'm getting my cross-blog skills honed. i don't want to have to upload pics to multiple sites, given the limited band-width i may have available when i travel, so i'm linking my Flickr photo site to this and my travel blog so that i can be more efficient. This photo (since i mentioned the foosball playing in senegal) is actually hosted on the Flickr site.

Dakar, Sengal

2007-10-07T09:11:00.000-07:00

I didn't post many thoughts on my trip to senegal, did i? i must admit it's a little overwhelming to try to capture a place in words. especially a place so very different, where one absorbs so many sounds, sights and smells that to decide what to write down becomes daunting. it increases one's respect for gifted travel writers!

then a little while ago i ran across a music video i had seen before i went to senegal. i watched it again and it amazed me how well it captured dakar, the capital city of senegal. it's amadou and miriam's "senegal fast food" with manu chao. watch the youtube post below and you'll get a really wonderful glimpse into things that define dakar - from the white goats kept at each house for good luck, the colorful fishing pirogues, the way the children dance, play marbles or foosball, the donkey carts and car rapides (blue and yellow buses), djembe drums, people on the roadside selling all manner merchandise, long queues at immigration offices, tea, dust, color and music, color and music, color and music.

it made me feel as if i were walking the streets of dakar again. what a great way to get a mini-vacation!

Senegal Fast Food

2007-10-07T09:09:00.000-07:00

video amadou and mariam ft. manu chao

preparing for travel...

2007-09-29T20:03:00.000-07:00

yes, it's getting closer. leaving my job for 5 months in central america. well, the leaving the job part is indefinite but the CA travel is defined. while traveling i'm going to have a separate blog, to keep travel material separate from my personal blog thoughts. so please visit my travel blog and i'll have a link to the right as well.

i will post my progress and some pics at
peggy's travel blog
and i will be posting my pictures on flickr at
peggy's travel photos

i'll post more specific links when my travels begin in december.

so stop by there as most of my activity will likely be travel related for the next 6 months. i will try to pop in here occasionally to post more general thoughts. cheers!

"vents and black smokers in the mid-oceanic rift" circa 1979

2007-08-19T21:47:00.000-07:00

this was the title of first report i recall producing. it was for a 7th grade earth science class. i loved that class. at the time, reports of these "gardens" around deep-sea thermal vents were exciting. before then it was assumed that life needed the sun's rays to flourish - but now we know this incredible diversity existed without access to the sun's rays. however we still cling to the traditional belief in strictly carbon-based, oxygen-dependent life forms. what if life has evolved in a COMPLETELY different way on another planet just as life around those thermal vents have? how much we don't know!!!

i see you. you see me

2007-07-29T21:50:00.000-07:00

st louis, senegal. near fishermen's beach.

funny smiles

2007-07-29T21:41:00.000-07:00

more toubab dialao children excited by the toubab. how i wish i had more to offer them.

senegalese tea, beach in cassamance, senegal

2007-07-14T21:35:00.000-07:00

road - oussouye, cassamance, senegal, w. africa

2007-07-14T21:30:00.000-07:00

A Texas Grand Dame Lost

2007-07-13T15:02:00.000-07:00

the ranks of remarkable Texas women are smaller now. Lady Bird Johnson was one of the last of a generation that has suffered some terrible losses in the past several years - Ann Richards and Molly Ivans being among the greatest. and like those women she had a way with words (like only a texas woman does). A nursemaid described her as “purty as a lady bird”, giving birth to her nickname. Of that nickname she said “I was a baby and in no position to protest.”

But she also contributed to LBJ’s work. Of her role as first and second lady she said “My role was to be an extra pair of eyes and ears for Lyndon.” She made many trips to explain her husband’s programs like Head Start, the Job Corps and the War on Poverty.

not to mention her trailblazing as a conservationist. her contribution there was all her own and all home-grown. the lady bird wildflower conservation center is lovely if you are ever in the hill country around austin, TX.

we don’t get enough of this sensibility today. certainly not out of our current first lady.

filters OFF!

2007-07-08T21:17:00.000-07:00

san antonio, tx - circa 1974. how i love this pic. always have. this is, from left to right, julie (my older sister), david (my cousin and nemesis from day one), sharon (cousin and younger sister of david), ME - peggy. now, i'm not sure why julie is poking david so severely, but i love her dearly for it. look how peaceful and comfortable she is! he clearly deserved it. david and i would have battled to the death had we been allowed...from the moment we entered the playpen together. how can i deny inherent repulsion? and then why not inherent attraction?

oh yeah, and at the time this was my favorite dress. of course the cowboy boots were mandatory. man i loved ruffles but that didn't mean i couldn't wear my boots.

LOOK!

2007-07-04T23:13:00.000-07:00

view across big sur at sunset

(Fire)Crack-Ho

2007-07-04T22:48:00.000-07:00

happy july 4th americans! this is my first july 4th in my perch over lake merritt. wow! this city really cracks on july 4th. i never quite had this vantage point and i can see berkeley and marin's fireworks as well. all but the biggest of SF's are hidden by downtown oaktown. so after several years of spending july 4th with "those who do not like fireworks", trying to not seek them out, i must finally surrender to the fact that i like fireworks. it's not only the colorful blooms in the sky; it's the near simultaneous eruption of celebration that happens across my community. this is readily evident in the explotions of light and sound across the landscape. when else do you have a "visual map" of people all across an entire region celebrating a holiday? i see south SF, and all the eastbay/northbay "crackers". hours after the first of them started i can still hear them echoing from end-tp-end of oakland. it's moving :).

but then i see a local news-cast interviewing people at a local parade. talk is of the iraq war and supporting our troops. no disrespect to our troops but july 4th is not about iraq. it's about why and how the united states of america became an independent nation. it's about the values we thought were important enough to fight for (throughout time). and we won our independence!!!! so today i think we should consider what the US has fought for thoughout our country's history. and what we can do to see that these standards are being upheld. fight-on!!!

cheers!

The Sacred Baobab

2007-06-10T21:37:00.000-07:00

a stark contrast from the lush evergreens of the russian river, but a classic west african vista. the sacred baobab.

Russian River High

2007-06-10T21:18:00.000-07:00

it was a lovely weekend in the russian river valley. what an amazing place! the occasion was wendy's bachlorette party, held at an old railway baron's former retreat. not posh by any means, but as remote as you can get in the russian river valley. it was beautiful but i think i enjoyed the drive more than anything - off 101 to river road to cazadero highway, then up/down a dirt road thru fern-laden valleys to a house on austin creek, a feeder to the russian river. i felt so lucky to be driving in my cool car thru such beautiful places! and then to drink wine and have fun with good friends and crash and awake to the same beautiful scenery the next day. wow!

for anyone considering wine tasting north of SF, consider the russian river valley. it is more beautiful than napa and sonoma and less crowded. but i don't go for fancy buildings so i speak of good wine and friendly people. that doesn't mean there are no beautiful wineries - there are!

so i'll be off to TX next week, where i will spend time with my family during our annual weekend at the TX coast. Port A to be exact. i always love going back to this timeless place, as my previous posts will attest. and we have the whole fam back for the occasion. yay!

so i hope you enjoy your home as much as i enjoy mine.

cheers!

River Life, Senegal

2007-06-02T11:47:00.000-07:00

My Dialog About God

2007-05-29T20:43:00.000-07:00

this past year i received an email plea from my mother. i don't have 100% recall about the context, but she pleaded that even tho she knew i no longer attended church, she was certain that i still believed in God and "couldn't i just do" such-and-such. i'm pretty sure it was to attend church for some holiday.

because the assertion was delivered via email, it was not necessary that i respond. she clings to the belief that i still believe in God and i'm in no rush to dispell that myth. but were i to be asked in person, i know i would have a hard time denying my beliefs. just as a Christian is instructed to not forsake their belief, their God. were i to deny my beliefs i would truly be declaring a "false God".

as i face a visit with my family in june, i inevitably day-dream about potential conversations. i like to be prepared. with a matter as important as this i want to be able to intelligently articulate my position. i have an internal dialog, but i want to be sure i possess what equates to my spiritual "talking points". is that crazy?

so i decided to attempt to document this. i'll be working on this entry and will try to post it soon. insha allah.

oui, si....yes

2007-05-29T19:05:00.000-07:00

aparently i have 2 language settings: speaking english and speaking "something else". that something else is determined by where i last vacationed, so currently i can only speak french when i determine that english is not the language being spoken. and it's compulsive. that's not to say i can speak french but i'm talking about the basics like yes, no, how-much and can-i-have-the-check. those are the words that are formed instinctually

so today is when it struck me that i have no ability to assess the language needs of those with whom i am interacting. as i entered my building i was confronted by several asian, non-english speaking folk looking for the on-site property manager. they pointed to an envelope with the name and address and because i knew his office was inside the building they were having problems accessing, i wanted to indicate that "yes - i will take you inside to the office". the central part of that statement being "YES".

and this is where, while fumbling with my keys, i fumbled verbally..."oui...si.....yes" even though clearly none of those languages was ideal. i should have reverted to my default setting of english - but that didn't happen. all i knew was that english wasn't being spoken and out spouted the "oui".

how wonderful it would be to be seriously multi-lingual. but for now i fumble with what i got and can only take comfort in the fact that i try.

TOUBAB!

2007-05-14T20:49:00.000-07:00

funny story. this pic was taken in the fishing village of Toubab Dialao on the coast south of Dakar. as i walked alone down to the village fishing beach i was surrounded by children shouting "toubab!". i totally knew this meant "white person" but somehow filtered out this fact and attributed it to "hometown pride". hehe.
toubab, from what i hear, is the word for doctor and is of arabic origins. it is used thoughout west africa to describe a white person. much like mazungu in east africa. it's always kinda good to know that stuff when one travels. and good to ignore it occasionally as well :)

wondering...

2007-05-14T20:19:00.000-07:00

...how yesterday's post about bbq morphed into a ramble about the absence of a "vested" relationship in my life. some of it had to do with a visit with a friend who is going thru a nasty divorce and is in complete denial. i talked to her about solo travel and it prompted me to extoll the virtues of these adventures. and all the while i am preparing myself for my biggest solo venture to date. it will be divulged over the coming months, but i suppose i'm trying to convince myself as much as anyone else that this is a reasonable thing to do! and i must admit that it demands my attention for one big reason: so much is riding on my departure from the day to day world i know so well now. unwisely, i'm sure, i've identified this as some opportunity to transform my life. but deep down i know these drastic changes, like my move from TX to CA, often result in fewer changes than one anticipates. either way, i hope it will be a wonderful escape.

Captain

2007-05-13T22:59:00.000-07:00

i can hardly keep from smiling when i see this pic, so this is what i am ending the evening with. this was our able captain in cap skirring. he navigated the mangrove swamps with skill. eventually i will have his deats on my virtual tourist site. see link at right.

2007-05-13T22:35:00.000-07:00

lone cap skirring cow - making the trip to the beach, as the flies are not there during the day.

a treasure recovered

2007-05-13T21:08:00.000-07:00

i'm a big believer in simple pleasures. for years i found pleasure in cooking over a fire. i'd come home after work, light a small charcoal fire, and cook up my dinner on the back porch. one of the few losses i suffered when i moved to CA was the space in which to do this. but i'd noticed a small grill on the front fire escape...undisrupted...and figured i could do the same on my even wider back stoop. so after a very hot week in the bay area i was incented to find a way to cook my dinner and keep my kitchen cool.

i bought a portable grill and acquired a small second-hand table from a&b to make my set-up complete. a charcoal grill - to be clear- as this is the only self-respecting way to grill. i did a decent job stacking and lighting the coals considering how long it's been. the skewered shrimp and yellow squash were as good as i'd thought they would be and lo and behold it satisfied something deep inside of me. i was in the fresh air, blowing on the coals, looking out at lake merritt.

but just now it struck me: god i miss my backyard in new braunfels. it was a stunningly natural spot. birds en route to points south during the seasonal migrations found it attractive, the neighbor's roosters poked around back there, the slope to the house and railroad track below was covered with wild chili-pequeno and any other plant ready to grip the unwatered hill. oh my it was lovely.

well, something has been awakened in me. it will be interesting to see how it manifests itself. my constant restlessness amazes me! what in the world am i all about? that i still believe that is a question worth asking amazes me! and yet i'm unwilling to yield to anything less me than "me". essentially that leaves me with me - and the birds that i love to watch, and the food that i love to grill, and the books that i love to read, and the places around the world that i love to explore. it's at once a very full and very empty place.

how long will it be before i believe that someone else is better company than me, alone? how long before i believe that the potential joy that a person brings me is worth the potential misery this person may bring me? there are so few relationships out there to admire and aspire to. there are so few relationships i see that i think would be more satisfying than my status-quo.

the cutest girl in the world

2007-05-07T21:48:00.000-07:00

coy while her mother undoes her braids with a porcupine quill. the heat of the day. nothing much else can be done, that is understood. aaaahhhh. perfect way to complete my transisiton to vacation

baye fall

2007-05-07T21:31:00.000-07:00

i wanted to do a happy pic. these are baye fall friends that i made. i'll post their origins later. summary: they fit into the structure of the muslim mouride brotherhood that dominates senegal, without all those pesky pillars of islam :). resourceful is an UNDERSTATEMENT. well, i suppose that is true for most senegalese. raw capitalism that would make a neocon blush.

dragging myself back....

2007-05-07T21:08:00.000-07:00

....into the land of the gainfully employed. i loved my trip to senegal. i just find it easier and easier to be away and think of home less and less. i don't know what this means.

sure, i'm in a self-imposed purgatory at work. working from home separates me from society more and more but my "plans" keep me motivated. but that makes the purgatory analogy even more real. this limbo in some ways makes it harder to motivate myself - due to what i consider the transient nature of my existence: "oh, i'll do this and this what THAT changes". not healthy.

gasp! what a sad sack i am. but when i'm out there i find things that make me marvel. so now i get a burst that allows me to post some senegal pics. the western most bit of west africa. my sister margie lives in dakar. don't know that i could have done it without her as my host. no. i know i couldnt' have. i'll need some serious french coaching to ever do so solo.

i give a qualified endorsement to my photos. after getting home, working my pics and separating the wheat from the chaff, i realized how important time and place are when photographing. it's hard to get good morning shots (and be where one needs to be) when one is out till 4 am. but my photography was not the dominating goal of my trip, as it was in india. and so i have some lovely memories to go along with the shots that did end up in my "favorites" bucket. and i have 3 weeks with my sister. i hope you enjoy what you get. the posting will come soon.

worlds collide

2007-03-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

how strange to consider our place in the world: us and the people we love, the people we know, the people we see but don't know, the people that live right next to us or below or above us, but we don't know. i think about this as i listen to someone who lives adjacent to me, someone i have never met and rarely hear, who is clearly having a very traumatic experience. i've only ever heard music (and bass for that matter) coming from his world. even that wasn't very often.

odd how in an apartment world we orient and classify neighbors in a 3 dimentional way. there aren't just neighbors next door - there are neighbors above and below and sometimes in front and behind. and like this neighbor, who is below, it's not unusual that because he lives on another floor i've never met him.

i know he had a academy award party. i heard his guests murmur, laugh and clap along with the ceremony i was watching one floor above them. and now i hear his pain, his sobs. how can i be so close to his pain and yet so removed? and i also think he would figure me crazy for going down there and asking if i can help. is that true?

i hope he has access to the people he needs. i hope you know who those people are in your life. i hope they know how important they are to you. if you doubt that - tell them.

eyes on you

2007-02-24T12:34:00.000-08:00

i looked closely and realized all eyes are on me. but what first struck me was the color tucked away inside the truck. all that color hidden in the grey surroundings. as usual, click to enlarge and get the full effect. look at the faces in the truck.

2007-02-23T22:33:00.001-08:00

and now for something completely different

2007-02-23T22:14:00.000-08:00

gawd! i had to tolerate that post all week while in VA. my pc doesn't like the new blogger much but now i'm home on my mac. and i'll be pleased to not have a post about THAT at the top of my blog. not worthy. soooo....

but it may not be all giggles and grins in this post. the DC suburbs are annoying. i have to get a few things that annoy me off my chest:

those "people movers" at Dulles airport.
roller bags in busy places. they take up space where at LEAST one other person could walk.
dirty snow.

ok - that's really it. but they dealt me an inordinate amount of grief today. i think i was just ready to be home. aahhhh.

i picked up the tickets for my next holiday. woohoo! 3 weeks in senegal visiting my sister. how cool is that? it's awhile since my last trip to africa and i'm looking awfully forward to going back. and you'll get to see something other than my pics of india after that. but not yet :)

happy friday!

sucky day

2007-02-15T20:08:00.000-08:00

despite the fact that it was my Girl Start day and that usually leaves me happy, it pretty much sucked. i was almost convinced i'd put my (last) disastrously failed relationship behind me, but today it snuck in and left my heart in my throat. literally and VERY unexpectedly. well at least it felt that way tho i'm sure a dr. wouldn't have found my heart there. and it just made me sad. this person turned out to be a terrible person, turned out to be selfish beyond belief and i didn't see it. how did that happen? if i've wanted to be anything, it's to be rational and smart. these are important qualities to me. so to fail completely at that has left me shaken. i've tried to console myself and say he just lied (VERY well - i mean he'd win the Lying Olympics). but gawd, i should have known. i mean, i look back and KNOW that. it doesn't change the fact that i daydream about grabbing his hair and pulling his head down as my knee smashes into his nose. yeah, that image comes to me frequently. so i just had to get that off my chest. you see, if the anger subsides i'm left with the shit. please, let the anger come back.

size matters

2007-02-14T20:49:00.000-08:00

hello! i've been meaning to tell you to click on each pic to see a large verison. it makes a TON of difference. i was reminded on my taj mahal post. gosh, it is amazing. please do view the large versions. and the ones in pushkar are quite worthy as well. cheers! ok. should i post another? lemme look quick for another.

love takes many forms....

2007-02-14T09:47:00.000-08:00

....but few of them are as breathtaking as the taj mahal, built as a mausoleum by the mughal emperor shah jahan for his wife, mumtaz mahal. so here is my photographic tribute to love!

happy valentines day!

2007-02-13T21:05:00.000-08:00

no surprises, but some the best v-day gifts ever! yeah, from me to me but that's irrelevant :). i ordered an engraved iPod and downloaded a ton of music. i ordered some Van's, too. woohoo! it may sound a little juvenile but i say "pah-shaw"!

well, we all know iPods are ageless. but the van's also brought a smile to my face. i graduated from highschool in 1985. we wore Van's with parachute pants and sleeveless T's (which didn't make my v-day list). but who in my generation doesn't wax nostalgic (side note: what does that expression mean?) for sean penn's character jeff spicoli and his van-wearing character in fast times at ridgemont high?

who can argue with insights like "So what Jefferson was saying was "Hey! You know, we left this England place because it was bogus. So if we don't get some cool rules ourselves, pronto, we'll just be bogus too." Yeah?" yes, jeff, that would be bogus!

anyhoo - hope you have a nice 2/14. just make sure you are enjoying life.

Darwin and iPods

2007-02-08T17:30:00.000-08:00

i get a kick out of the recent efforts by Carl Kreuger (Senator, NY) to ban the use of iPods and other "gadgets" while in crosswalks. he seems to be under the impression that people are walking into buses, cars and each other while in a state of iPod oblivion.

Michael Stickling at "The Moderate Voice" centrist blog discusses the merits of this argument but also has an observation that is spot-on. From his post:

"Besides, isn’t there something Darwinian about this? If human evolution now means the absorption of technology into the human form, that is, if it means the leap from human to techno-human, shouldn’t we rely on natural selection to weed out those who aren’t able to survive the transition? If you can’t walk down the street listening to your iPod without banging into other people and walking into buses, you may not exactly be a prime candidate for this evolutionary development. You’re making an effort, I know, but perhaps your time has passed."

Hear, hear michael! read the entire post at http://themoderatevoice.com/science/technology/dont-run-over-carl-kruger/

but on the subject of "checking out" with one's iPod: i'm about to acquire my own (yeah, yeah - have i been in a cave?) and i plan to walk the delicate balance between enhancing otherwise tedious experiences (e.g. air and bus travel) and tuning out at times when one should be engaged with one's environment.

for example? i love catching snatches of conversations as i pass by all different kinds of people. it's fun to finish their conversation in my head, to complete their story using my imagination. and i have heard disconnected "ramblings" from a homeless person, a conversation with who knows, that has made me pause and think about that person's life, their experiences and what brought them to that spot. these are things that we need to do so we stay in touch with the world.

you don't get to pick the soundtrack for your life. it will be much more interesting, varied, and intelligent if you let the world around you heavily contribute to it. ok, you can choose the music for the intermissions and credits :).

and a smile is the simplest act of kindness

2007-02-04T11:45:00.000-08:00

some times a smile, at the right time and from an unexpected source, can warm my heart so much it brings tears to my eyes.

the kindness of strangers

2007-02-04T11:10:00.000-08:00

yes, i believe there is a source for humanity's desire to do good, to come together with our fellow man and BE good. to others it is religion or God or for those who aren't sure or are too afraid to say they don't believe in God; "spirituality". i'm not afraid to say that i think it is an trait acquired through evolution and is critical to the survival of man. it made and MAKES us human. doesn't doing something good for someone else make you feel better than just about anything? and it LASTS.

so why don't we do it more often? i know i occasionally fall victim to isolating myself too much. and i look around and see others who have done so even more than i have. we simply need to be kind more often. that point was driven home today as i read the preface to a compilation of travel stories called "the kindness of strangers. this preface was written by the dalai lama. it begins....

"if we really think about it, our very survival depends upon the acts and kindness of our parents; later in life, when facing the sufferings of disease and old age, we are again dependent on the kindness of others. if at the beginning and end of our lives we depend on upon others' kindness, why then in the middle should we not act kindly towards others?

"anyone who considers himself or herself, above all, a member of the human family should develop a kind heart. it is a powerful feeling that we should consciously develop and apply. instead we often neglect it, particularly in our prime years when we experience a false sense of security.

"kindness and compassion are among the principal values that make our lives meaningful. they are a source of lasting happiness and joy. they are the foundation of a good heart, the heart of one who acts out of a desire to help others."

-the dalai lama

a wise man indeed! i'm ready to be kinder. join me?

and here we go!

2007-01-28T23:27:00.001-08:00

i ran into this truck at fatehpur sikri and MAN were they excited about their journey. i believe we were all on our way to pushkar. i liked thinking we were all on the same road. i look at every face each time i view this pic.

how often does he think about his "journey"?

2007-01-28T22:40:00.000-08:00

my thoughts on this topic are such a luxury. the product of an unbearable lightness of being.

and now for the next act...

2007-01-28T21:17:00.000-08:00

ay, there's the rub. today i was talking with a dear friend about recent, life-changing events in my life and i realized i'm in much the same place i was when i moved to CA nearly 7 years ago. since moving here i have always felt like i was in a state of transition. i've felt uncertain of my future, like i would soon find something, figure something out. oh man, was i wrong! i'm only left with more questions.

i've learned tons, yes. but in so many ways i still feel like that girl who in 1986 had too many gin and tonics at fast-n-cool in lubbock and went into the alley to get her head together. i remember it so starkly. and i still have moments that feel exactly the same. moments where with clarity i look at me, the people i know, and consider the "me" they know and wonder "is THIS is reality? is THIS what it is all about?" because reality is VERY subjective. yes, that is one of those things i've learned :).

and then i think about all my much-loved quotes about "the journey" like my previously noted Matusuo Basho quote "every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home". god forbid the journey is ended now, yeah?! but do most people have a better idea of what their journey will be like at this point in their life? probably. all i can do is embrace and feel excited by the fact that i have hardly no idea of what the next 40 years will bring. i suppose it this will be clear at the "true" end of the journey but as of yet i'm in no rush to get there. another good sign.

and that is quite enough philosophy for a sunday evening. tomorrow is monday and the journey continues.

more smiling faces to make YOU smile

2007-01-26T21:10:00.000-08:00

actually, when i look more closely their expressions seem more complex. but i remember that after i took the pic they asked me for chocolate (not unusual) and all i had was an apple, which they somewhat happily accepted. then they lost interest in me and were consumed with the question of how to divide the apple between the 3 of them.

2007-01-26T20:46:00.000-08:00

he's neither bleak nor noir :). what a smile on this young man at a mosque in mysore, india!! now that is the way to start a weekend. come to think of it, i have another mysore smile pic to post. see next!

bleak film noir

2007-01-26T20:34:00.000-08:00

OH COME ON! it's friday night!!! i have a lovely weekend ahead of me: hiking, wine tasting, sushi, bowling (!). but tonight i want a glass of wine (my first of the week! no more week-day wine for me) while i relax with a movie. but my GAWD - do you know how many "bleak film noirs" there are out there? maybe we are not well served by digital cable, where we get a lame synopsis.

still, there seems to be more bleak, scary, psycho, depressed, blah, blah movies- than ever before. in our world of non-stop instant access to "reality", don't we need a pleasant place to where we can escape? not according to movie-makers. they keep pumpin out the bleak film noirs.

hhmmm....i'm gonna look for a happy-ish photo to post. cheers to friday!!

damn...nearly 8pm and still in my jammies

2007-01-24T19:36:00.000-08:00

.....actually, i didn't wake up in them. i sleep au naturale. but i was in them asap after i woke up.

this morning i didn't hear the usual clang, clang, clang of the radiator. i was hoping i'd just missed it (not likely - it's LOUD) but by 7am i was sure it wasn't going to come. so i lie in bed a little longer and think "what if i actually had to get out of bed at a certain time?" That started my reflection on working from home. i mean, i can take my 5:30am calls from bed and where i go from there is very loose.

so it's FREEZING and.... i rush out of bed and into the coffee-themed long johns my sister got me for christmas several years ago. oh, and a curly fleece jacket i bought from campmor recently. and an fleece scarf for around my neck. socks and slippers of course. then under a blanket on the couch with my laptop. one of the few times i appreciated the heat put off by my laptop. but i'm still in my jammies now!! i made breakfast lunch and dinner in them!! yikes!!

this is my schedule. a mixed bag of blackberry in bed, laptops on the couch, speakerphones at the dinner table and an occasional stint at the desk. and everyday when i wake up i SWEAR my day will include a walk around the lake, but lately that has been harder than usual. too much work. but my biggest enemy: inertia. a body at rest remains at rest (or at least remains in a cozy apartment). damn! i am battling one of newton's laws of motion!!

yeah, lame excuse. ok - so i'll keep working at that. and i'll remember that when i need to throw in a load of laundry i need not wait until evening. that i can work from ANYWHERE actually. and everything will be ok. i will NOT be found one day with foot-long fingernails, surrounded by jars of urine.

something to smile about

2007-01-05T18:09:00.000-08:00

This woman in a jaipur market made me smile! she smiled and laughed all thru the conversation neither of us understood. i think she understood when i said "bollywood" while taking her picture. that cracked her up :). i think she's beautiful.

Happy New Year!!

2007-01-05T15:48:00.000-08:00

well, the holidays are over. it was a nice christmas back in TX. it is so hard to imagine that last year my nephew was having a bone marrow transplant at christmas time. now he is happy, healthy and doing all the things little boys do (including annoy his aunt :).

and then onto new years in tahoe. 4 americans, 3 germans, 2 austrians, 2 swedes and lots of techno music. actually, it was pretty nice. but it's hard for me to call new years a "holiday". it is a reflective time. i think about the year behind me and wonder about the year(s) ahead of me. it doesn't really seem like the best time to get piss-drunk. i joked with my family that i preferred christmas for that :). then there is all the pressure to find the perfect way to ring in the new year. well i'm thru with all that and here is my plan from here on out: wine with some good friends.

so, what will the year bring? what i know: a trip to senegal, africa in the spring, more work than i'd like before and after that (assuming i have a job, which one can never assume), and then 100% vesting in the fall :). hhmmm - then what? that round-the-world trip i moved out here to save for (and have long since had the means to take)? one never really knows what the year will bring, but some people do more than others, barring the occasional disaster. but i really don't know and haven't known for years!

i'm not great at resolutions, so i won't "resolve" to do this, but i need to embrace that "unknown" and make the most of it! it's a new year! and in the immortal words of the counting crows "maybe this year will be better than the last". ok, their words may not be immortal and maybe last year wasn't so bad, but it's nice to think this one will be better. i'l post a pic above that makes me hopeful.

salute to an inspiration - james brown

2006-12-26T22:41:00.000-08:00

oh, to have one's influence be greater than one's actions. it may sound like the dream of a lazy man, but james brown was no lazy man. did he grasp the influence he had on the evolution of popular music? oh, i suppose he anticipated how his obits would read.

but what if the visionary does not gain such acceptance? oh! how that must torture! or does the nature of such an artful soul ensure said torture? quite often, i'm sure.

here is a pic that hopes a simpler art will satisfy... yes, a shameful ploy to post more of my pics, but with no less of a dedication to mr brown, i assure you!

CLICK...and the lock unlocks

2006-12-26T22:20:00.000-08:00

it opens. eyes gaze, question, welcome. i'm drawn into another world. one day i will explore it more thoroughly. that is the only horizon i see.

a quickie

2006-12-14T22:13:00.000-08:00

just doing his thang.

lovely days...

2006-12-02T21:23:00.000-08:00

....and today was one! i expected to return from holiday to cold and rainy days. i never have gotten the hang of the "weather calendar" here in N CA. i know there is a rainy and sunny season, but beyond that i completely forget when they start and stop. i've always lived in a place with the extremes of hot and cold, but never dry and wet.
.
today debbi and i took a hike in the marin headlands and a had drink in sausalito after. what an amazingly clear day it was! a highpoint of my week.
.
so - i'm going to try to post a bit each day. well, i'm traveling to VA next week so that won't happen. but i will post more regularly. what is the pic i will post today?
.
ah! i like these two - taken from the jama masjid in delhi. i took some of my favorite pics there. the jama masjid (the name of prinicpal mosques found other cities as well - a reference to "jama" or 'friday" prayers - the most holy) is in the center of old delhi but offers many serene scenes. it was most welcoming, too. i consider it a highlight of my trip to delhi.

The Family

2006-12-01T19:31:00.000-08:00

i'm partial to this pic because it catches a glimpse of an intimate group - there are the 2 men that see me, a man re-tying his turban and a boy, probably glad to be doing the work of a man. he looks proud. then there is the classic mela ground scene behind them, at the pushkar camel fair. it's early morning and we are all getting into the swing. click the pic to enlarge it and get the full effect.
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what a wonderful morning.

India - Through the Lens

2006-12-01T19:18:00.000-08:00

So my travels thru india were photo-centric. i have so many pics to share i am not certain where to start. do i have an absolute fav? i don't think i do so i will start no where in particular. i just want to share them regularly, with a few insights peppered in.
.
on another note my annual (7th annual!!) christmas tree decorating party is shaping up nicely. another good crowd is gathering. what in the world did we do before evite?
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here's to the holiday's and the spirit of giving.

Oaktown, You're Breakin' My Heart

2006-11-30T18:29:00.000-08:00

i like to think i'm in touch with my town. i don't segregate myself, i get out and about, but i have no clue what is causing the incredible escalation in crime here. it is a world apart from my own.
.
in case you don't know, there were 88 homicides in oakland in 2004, 94 in 2005. so far in 2006 there have been 140! i haven't been as in touch with my peeps lately but i resolved recently to change that and hung out in one of my old downtown haunts late on my birthday night. i just have this need to know and understand my community. oakland's diversity is what drew me here and at times like this it is so important that we not draw away and think that as long as we can isolate the violence, everything will be ok.
.
so i have no insights here. just want to harken back to the poem i last posted; "narrow domestic walls" manifest themselves in many ways. be diligent. work to tear them down, but in the mean time find a door thru them and see the other side. your life and your understanding of the world will be more complete.
.
this is one reason international travel is so important to me, but i shouldn't do this at the expense of knowing my own community. i'm sure there are many "travelers" who know less about the "other side" of their hometown "tracks" than they do about remote corners of the globe. also, how many times do we find "charm" in something abroad and then come home and be condescending and judgemental when we face it at home? that is a delicate balance. should i think that gathering poop and making fuel-patties is an acceptable job here? it certainly is common job in parts of india. the tide goes both ways.
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i don't have the tenacity to tackle this in more depth tonight. i am struggling to get my india pictures processed and posted. expect some of those in days to come! it's good to be back but at the same time i realize i wasn't really ready to come back and face my life here. more on that later, too :). i have good friends, tho. thank god for that.

Mind Without Fear

2006-10-23T19:12:00.000-07:00

Where the mind is without fear
and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free,
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection,
Into the heaven of freedom, my Father,
Let my country awake.

(Gitanjali 'Song Offerings' 1912, Nobel Prize winning collection of poems)
by Rabindranath Tagore 1861 - 1941

it's in our hands

2006-10-23T19:10:00.000-07:00

Into India

2006-10-23T19:00:00.000-07:00

i leave tomorrow evening for india and will be there for nearly a month. it's a very welcome vacation and i am looking forward to immersing myself in the experience and improving my photography skills.

it has been a tough week. i suffered a great personal loss, not through death but deception. i've been robbed of my "reality". so the respite in india is doubly welcomed. i hope to come back invigorated!

i am posting an amazing poem i uncovered in my research of india. it was written by Tagore and is part of a collection that won him the Nobel Prize in literature in 1913. it stuck a chord with me in today's political environment. our country's struggle doesn't have the drama of india's fight for independence, but it is still important that we fight for what is right. i early voted and hope you will vote too. i hope to find that everyone unhappy with the deception and incompetence of the current regime in the US will kick their asses out! get out and vote!!!

cheers!

honk if you....

2006-09-24T20:03:00.000-07:00

...oppose the war. honk if you.....want peace. well, if you live in oakland and spend any time near the lake, you will know that every sunday there is a small, dedicated cadre of folk that circle the lake with protest signs overhead urging one to honk if one opposes the war, or wants peace, or something of the sort that always make me honk when i cross their path.
.
there are maybe a dozen of them. by now they seem timeless but as the years pass and our country strays ever farther away from values that i understand, i always feel that i honk alone. but today i realized that i was driving past them, not standing with them, and that i could not hear the honks that lay in front or behind me.
.
today, after a day of avoiding the sunday talk shows that depress me and doing typical sunday things, i reclined on my couch to watch mindless tv. my new place is so peaceful, with it's lovely view and, unlike my last apartment, no major interstate out the window................
.
..........and then there came the honking. i was reclining, right? so i thought it was an impatient bumhole waiting for someone to cross lakeshore ave (or one of the many events that cause honking) so why should i bother looking? but here came more honks. different honk tones. more and more. what the hell was going on?
.
my bum is dragged off the couch......... and there they were! surrounded by glorious honking!! everyone, it seemed, honked! honestly, as i saw this ragtag band of brothers and sisters, the ones that before now made me wonder how they could go on week after week in the face of an increasingly incompetent US foreign policy, it all made sense. it made me tear up. one thought made it all make sense: i am not alone. nor are they.
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now lets get off our bums off the couch, get our acts together and change this mess. VOTE!!!

piggy tails in sea breeze

2006-09-24T19:57:00.000-07:00

a new view for me and for you

2006-09-24T19:49:00.000-07:00

out my window - lake merritt, oakland, CA

i've been a bad, bad blogger :)

2006-09-24T18:34:00.000-07:00

is the summer over? amazing! has it been a busy summer? it must have been. was it a good summer? well, if the adage "time flies when you are having fun" is true, it was.
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i had a lovely family trip to the TX coast (port A dude) but the pics are so similar to last year's, that they are hardly worth posting. i moved to a new apartment. to anyone who knows me, that will not come as a surprise :). it's not that i enjoy moving (i'm no psycho masochist) but i do keep thinking the next place will be better (paging dr freud! ok - i'm not sure that was his specialty :)). but i do have a STUNNING view of lake merritt now. pics will be posted above.
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i have a trip planned to india; that makes me happy. i bought a new camera; that makes me happy. my company is RIFing the hell out of my division; that doesn't make me happy. my nephew is healthy post-bonemarrow transplant; that makes me happy.
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but i knew something would get me blogging again. you know how some friendship-indescretion (a forgotten party, birthday, etc) calls for an apology that you don't follow thru on promptly? and every day that passes magnifies your culpability exponentially? but finally something happens (if you are lucky and the person is a valued friend) to break the logjam? well, that didn't happen but blogging is kinda like that. something happened today to make me want to write.
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that being said (unnecessarily - but isn't that what this is all about?) i will post the experience that moved me to write after a post a pic or 2. CHEERS!

HIBISCUS JEWELS

2006-07-08T23:00:00.000-07:00

home is where the hibiscus is

2006-07-08T22:10:00.000-07:00

i have a beautiful hibiscus. it belonged to my dear, departed grampa daly. actually, it's from a cutting of the original plant. that original plant was given to me, by him, raised to a nice big stature and then died in a central texas freeze. this one has survived in temperate northern california, tho it's periodically infested by aphids and i am constantly aware that i'm in possession of what anyone in my family would consider "a family jewel". my sister julie recently sent me an article about a family "jade tree" with a personal note about my obligation. :).

i mean, just look at the pics above that i have posted! gem, mineral, vegetable - could anything be more beautiful? but have we attached some sentiment to this flower that goes beyond any sentiment that my grampa ever felt for it? i am quite sure we have. tho he and my (since departed) gramma had this plant in texas, i can't help but think that it reminded them of their early retirement days in florida.

i visited florida recently and saw flowers like this on plants the size of trees! they retired to florida from chicago when they were (really) alive and had (alive) friends. they lived on the canals and fished and spent weekends in bimini. grandma told me that once she ate so much conch she invoked some latent allergy to shellfish and became bright red. i've seen pictures of these people and heard stories told of (and by) them - this version of my grandma and grandpa. i didn't really know them.

so - find out and much as you can about your parents and grandparents and lovers and friends. share as much as you can about yourself with the people you know. because memories are precious and they enrich life. they can even make plants more special. even if i never own one of my mother's kalanchoes i'll remember that she often had them on the porch and that we learned, together, that our pronouncement of the plant's name was quite out of the main stream. when i see nandina i'll remember that it's one of the only things in my parents yard that the deer didn't eat.

so what will make people remember me? wow! i wonder. well, whatever it is i hope it makes them smile....

oakland hula

2006-06-18T21:37:00.000-07:00

summertime...and the living is easy

2006-06-18T21:26:00.000-07:00

aaaahhhhh yes. what a nice, warm, summer-y weekend it was. i had a nice sunday taking advantage of my urge to purge (closets). and yesterday i enjoyed a lovely bbq at amy and brian's. i find i don't have a ton of friends with kids but i was fortunate enough to have spent the evening with several well balanced parent/kid combos. you know, parents that don't allow their kids to competely run rough-shod over all adult activity. the best kind of parents. and i find, these are the best kind of kids, too. happy.

soooo, here is a fun pic (from the bbq above). maybe with parental consent i will post some max and theo pics. the pic is of the eternal letson-waters bbq center-piece. many thanks to amy and brian for the lovely summer evenings.

Bocas Futbol

2006-06-17T14:11:00.000-07:00

World Cup

2006-06-17T13:54:00.000-07:00

each series i get a little more into it. so far today has been a saturday in front of the tube watching futbol. it's a sport that a person with like me can get into. see, i have the attention span of a gnat these days so endless timeouts, commercials and general lolly-gagging are an invitation for distraction. watching football would go something like this:

oh, i'll just pop in a load of laundry between plays (or time out or one of the million other reasons there seems to be for a break in football). well, now look at that.....i need to put these clothes away. while i am in here i should.......

futbol doesn't allow you that. not to mention the guys are better-looking.

so i rooted for ghana this morn and they won! good for the US hopes, since they beat czech republic, to whom we lost earlier. i would have rooted for them anyway. can't resist the reggae flag :). and then onto the US game against italy. well, the crazy ref calls won't do much to ingratiate soccer with more americans, but the US did well all things considered. tied.

so above i am posting my tribute pic to futbol: a game that you'll find in just about any corner of the globe, being played by kids on whatever patch of ground they can find. cheers!

laundry day

2006-06-16T16:44:00.000-07:00

Life in Bocas

2006-06-16T16:13:00.000-07:00

water taxi

big wheels keep on turning

billiards over water

cruising "around" bocas

Bay Area is Sizzlin!

2006-06-16T15:36:00.000-07:00

it's a lovely, warm day in the bay area. unusually warm! and i just noticed that the last pics i posted were gray pics and they don't match my mood or the weather so i'm focusing on Bocas Del Toro, Panama today! a lovely archipelago in the caribbean. the batch below are some of the natural wonders i found. next i'll post some of my favorite people pics.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Starfish Point

2006-06-16T15:02:00.000-07:00

Near Drago Beach on Isla Colon in Bocas

Red Frog Beach

2006-06-16T14:08:00.000-07:00

this little guy is found only in Bocas on Isla Bastimentos
(on the aptly-named Red Frog Beach)

A Gray Day

2006-06-10T20:00:00.000-07:00

i traveled this week to savannah, GA and DC. savannah is a lovely place. DC would be cool, if i didn't have to work in the suburbs while i was there. spring is here, though! too bad that i came home to a gray oakland :(.

the sky outside reminds me of some gray, spooky pictures i took in panama recently. ships anchor outside of the panama canal, awaiting cargo or passage. i took these while on a ferry to isla taboga, off the pacific coast of panama, near panama city. they looked like ghost ships.

Ghost Ships

2006-06-10T19:40:00.000-07:00

Low Rider

2006-06-10T19:28:00.000-07:00

Before War....Expect Haditha

2006-06-10T12:28:00.000-07:00

The recent revelations about the actions of marines in haditha are tragic on so many levels and will certainly harm our objectives there. One cannot imagine justifying or condoning such behavior. There have been parallels drawn to atrocities in other wars. In news stories one sees haditha now commonly referred to as “Iraq’s My Lei” in reference to the massacre of hundreds of villagers in Vietnam.

I started with an assertion that there can be no justifying the purposeful killing of civilians because the most important lesson, I believe, that should be learned from this is not about the nature of the soldiers who committed this crime, but on the nature of war itself and I want to stress that this is not an acceptance of the soldiers behavior. I do not, however, believe that we can underestimate how often war results in such tragedies. War is brutal. And in all wars terrible things happen to innocent people.

And this is precisely the reason that war, in every case, should be a last resort. When war is undertaken it should be because the brutality and atrocities that will certainly ensue as a result of war will be less brutal than what will certainly ensue if war is not undertaken. Preemptive war can never meet this criterion. Consider iraq: it is now clear that the death and destruction resulting from the war in iraq is far greater than any harm saddam could have inflicted on the US if even the most modest of precautions were undertaken.

How could the makers of our war Iraq ever have been certain that the brutality it created would be less than were saddam contained some other way? The makers of this war needed to have assumed that such acts would occur, as they always have, and that this was necessary to prevent what is CERTAIN to have been far worse.

What kind of “culture of life” is this? I marvel at how much Bush has damaged our country, its people, and its perception abroad. It truly is astounding.

Bee Buzz

2006-06-03T18:13:00.000-07:00

i thoroughly enjoyed watching the spelling bee. NBC carried the bee in primetime, hoping to ride a wave of popularity created by a best-selling book and upcoming movie about the subject. apparently, the ratings were low but i thought it was really fun to watch.

you can't imagine the words these kids must spell! these are not words in our everyday venacular. it is a lot of fun to learn new words, like the word that knocked out runner up Finola Hackett:

weltschmerz - (from the German meaning world-pain or world-weariness) is a term coined by the German author Jean Paul and denotes the kind of feeling experienced by someone who understands that the physical reality can never satisfy the demands of the mind.

i don't know about you, but i'm occasionally a victim of weltschmerz and am pleased to have a word for it!

i was also struck by the demographics of the winner, runner-up and 2nd runner-up: 3 "whitish"chicks! i've posted a pic below. there are more and more stats showing that girls are outperforming boys at all levels of primary educations these days, as well as attending college in larger numbers. interesting!

looks like the hopes of the US remaining competetive in the world market will increasingly rely on women. Now if we could just get more women elected and bring some sense to our government!

Spelling Bee Finalists

2006-06-02T12:02:00.000-07:00

Left to right:
runner-up Finola Hackett, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada;
winner Katherine Close, Ashbury Park, NJ;
2nd runner-up Saryn Hooks, Winston-Salem, NC.
Courtesy Scripps National Spelling Bee.

weltschmerz!!!

2006-06-01T22:14:00.000-07:00

expect my post on this spelling bee stunner tomorrow!! this is MY american idol!! girlz rule!!

zzzzzzzzzz.......

2006-06-01T13:51:00.000-07:00

while lying in bed last night i thought of an idea for my next post. but i don't remember it today. was it about my camping trip to big sur? it was a lovely weekend but i can't think of a topic i would have blogged about. i am awaiting the delivery of a new laptop, this one being wiped clean already, so it will be a bit before i have access to pics to post.

well, that kind of reminds me of something. what is it about camping that enhances one's senses? things taste better, sounds are more thrilling. i mean, a chili-dog is better than any haute cuisine in san francisco while turkey gobbles and fox yelps are more enchanting than any concert.

if you haven't camped lately - do it. and find someplace where it isn't all motorhomes. find a place where you can get away a bit from your neighbors and just chill. don't play any music in your campsite, but instead listen to the little sounds around you. let me know how it goes!!

Oakland Over 880

2006-05-24T21:50:00.000-07:00

Here and Now

2006-05-24T20:44:00.000-07:00

one of my all-time favorite books is bertrand russels's "conquest of happiness". i found it refreshing tho i was a little disappointed that i needed to be reminded of things i used to find so obvious. bertrand russell was a scientist AND philosopher and promoted what many have called the "creative and rational life". what a wonderfully fine line that is. i didn't know this about russell when i read the book, lent to me by a colleague ali ishtiaq, but knowing my own tendencies it makes sense.

i've recently been trying to rediscover "zest", one of the important ingredients in russell's happiness. not zest in the abstract or even far away places: zest in things we encounter everyday. isn't that a great recipe for happiness? but if we spend a lot of time in a place, we often fail to find the "zest" in it. we overlook it. in honor of this i am posting (above) a view out my window that entranced me for so long and lately i have not appreciated.

i think this excerpt from russell's "conquest" amusingly captures the gist of this.

"there was once upon a time two sausage machines, exquisitely constructed for the purpose of turning pig into the most delicious sausages." ...(mmmm...sausages)..."one of these retained his zest for pig and produced sausages innumerable, the other said 'what is pig to me? my own works are far more interesting and wonderful than any pig.' he refused pig and set to work to study his inside. when bereft of its natural food, his inside ceased to function, and the more he studied it, the more empty and foolish it seemed to him to be." ............"the man, therefore, whose attention is turned within finds nothing worthy of his notice, whereas the man whose attention is turned outward can find within, in those rare moments when he examines his soul, the most varied and interesting assortments of ingredients...".

(bertrand russell, Conquest of Happiness, 1930)

ok, the non-italicized homer simpson sausage insert was mine. but this goes beyond appreciating the same things you see everyday. It means finding new things in everyday experiences. I am challenging us all to do this. Cheers!

Market Day at Torodi, Niger

2006-05-24T10:58:00.000-07:00

Africa Round 1

2006-05-24T09:45:00.000-07:00

back in 1997 i caught the travel bug. i recently added a sidebar link to my Virtual Tourist page in case you are in the market for some travel tips on places in this blog (and more).

my sister Margie was in the Peace Corps in Niger, Africa and I decided to visit. it was a truly amazing experience that started me down this endless path. "an endless path?" you say. can that be fun? well for me it is certainly the jouney, not the end that matters. just now i recalled a quote to that effect that i couldn't quite remember so i googled the parts i could. i found another quote that tied today's topic so amazingly well with my musings yesterday about "home".....

"every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home"
Matsuo Basho

Wow. maybe i should write a book on "self-psychology using google"! i swear "home" makes so much sense to me now. anyhoo, back to Africa.

after my trip i wrote a letter to several other peace corp families who were planning trips to africa. it made it's way onto a PCV website. not sure long it will stay there so i decided to post a copy here (minus some less relevant info). it brought back some wonderful memories for me.
**********************************

October 24, 1997
My trip to Niger was an unequivocal success! No health problems, no airline problems, just lots of heat. Niamey is a big desert ghetto but the people are friendly and I didn't find the smell overwhelming at all. I always felt safe and with a PCV, getting around is easy - there are always plenty of taxis. Be prepared to be up close and personal with the people you share a taxi with. As a matter of fact, during your trip to Niger abandon all your preconceived notions of "personal space".

The next step out of Niamey is usually the Bush Taxi. Picture a shell of a VW van with 25 people crammed inside and screaming goats strapped to the top. If there are only 2 of you, buy the cabin for an little extra and you will have a view and a little more leg room. Sometimes someone has beaten you to it - you can try to buy them out of it if you really want it. Again, don't have expectations of convenience and you won't be bothered. Don't be in a rush to get anywhere and you'll stay sane. It's easy when you're in the hands of your PCV. You'll probably find them getting more anxious than you because they are worried about how you are handling it. Reassure them alot.

Margie's village is a 5 mile walk from Torodi (where the bush taxi dropped off). There was a hostel there and any time you can take a break at the hostel - it's a good thing. The three that I visited offered a "refuge" from the onslaught to your senses. We did the walk to Margie's village at sundown and a few days later - the walk back at sun up. When I left Texas it was still in the mid-90's, so I thought I would be semi-acclimated. Nothing can prepare you for the fact that it's HOT and there is no escaping it barring the shady spot under a tree. Don't plan on doing anything in the afternoon. This was a good time for Margie amd me to hang out and talk about whatever came up.

The villagers were so warm and friendly. They want to watch and comment on everything you do and you would never believe that you could be so entertaining! Just scratch your nose and you're a hit. Get used to being laughed at - laugh at yourself. I was not concerned with physical contact - they liked to shake my hand. It's just dirt and there is plenty of that without touching a soul. I even ate village food numerous times and that was the only time dirt bothered me (because it was in the food and quite gritty). I didn't know how often I could expect to bathe so the fact that I got a bucket bath every night was a luxury. I loved the bucket baths after dark because you bathed under the stars and heard the village sounds and remained relatively comfy in your clean body for the remainder of the evening. Practice squatting.

The hostel in Niamey was a good launching spot for our expeditions. We snagged a ride with a Peace Corp vehicle to Kirtachi. A real coup since it's 3 hours with 2 of that on a very bumpy dirt road. The highlight of my trip was the bird survey on the Niger River with Katie and Margie. We got onto the river early in the morning and skimming along the water was the only time the temperature was comfy. (I understand it's just about to cool down a little, so soon it shouldn't be as bad)

Almost the entire west side of the river all the way to Benin is a park named Park Double'Ve (that's W in Fr.) because of the W the river makes at that point. We saw Hippos, Vervet monkeys, Baboons, an unconfirmed Lion (I know it was), Bush buck and a Dueker (a very small hoofed animal). And I can't even say enough about the birds. I was a bird watcher before my trip so what a tremendous opportunity.

Boscia, the village Katie stays at when doing the survey, is nice. The most remarkable thing was the man who does prayer call. It will take your breath away! Absolutely beautiful. It's worth sticking around a couple of hours for if you're just passing through. I had my most pleasant village food experience here. Along the river people have more access to rice so I did not have to eat the traditional pot & sauce (something I didn't take a liking to..it's the equivalent of grits or cream of wheat only w/ ground millet) Anyway - a villager fixed a rice and pumpkin dish that I loved. Great Thanksgiving idea.

If you are on the boat take sunscreen - since there is no escaping the sun. Yes - I hear there are all sorts of things in the river but at some point I ceased caring and doused my straw hat in the river for relief. We took a bush taxi back to Niamey and although we secured the cabin, the truck had no windshield. Nothing a pair of sunglasses wouldn't take care of. There are few vehicles on the road so it's not like we were eating anyone else's dust. While waiting for the taxi Katie gave me a "tattoo" using the liquid she squeezed out of a tree's fruit. It was very good. I gave her one, too and she was very gracious when she didn't laugh and wash it off immediately.

I spent my last day buying souvenirs. The PCV's know where to go and be sure you go with someone who speaks Zarma. Margie's language, Fufulde, is not spoken widely in Niamey so the 2 of us trying to get anything done alone in Niamey was pretty much a joke. Like when we tried to cash in travelers checks at the bank and they insisted on having the receipts (make a note of this - you will need them if you plan to exchange for cash). I feel like I got some outstanding deals. Bring an empty bag to bring back goodies. Or better yet, bring a bag full of goodies for your PCV, and return with it full of goodies for you.

Another tip - don't eat in the airport! It's the only place that upset my stomach. In Niamey there were numerous "Western" places to eat. I recommend the Nims (little egg roles). Oh well - Margie and Katie are doing great. They seem extremely healthy. Of course mentally there are good days and bad days. It's a difficult place to exist and I give them a tremendous amount of credit for the work that they and all the volunteers do.

Cheers!

Kuna Woman in Portobelo

2006-05-23T19:10:00.000-07:00

No Monopoly on Melting

2006-05-23T15:25:00.000-07:00

what is the right recipe for a proper Melting Pot? i live in a place that has pulled it off smashingly in some ways and not so well in others. Oakland breaks down something like this: black 34%, white, 31%, hispanic 24% and asian 11%. i think we get along quite well. but in other ways, like when one looks at the lack of integration in our schools, something has gone seriously wrong.

in Panama there is incredible diversity. again, everyone seems to get along great! but there, too, is something deeper that causes the skin to noticeably pale as one looks higher up the socio-economic scale. sure we can't waive a wand and cure all the ills of history: colonialism, slavery, etc. but where is the intelligent dialog about how to deal with problems that haven't gotten better or

we have some evolving to do. the recent hubub in germany as the world cup approaches make that perfectly clear. over how many hundreds of thousands of years has our little xenophobic gene been making itself at home in our bodies? i'm a firm believer that enlightenment can curb the influence of our instincts. it's harder, but it has to be done when society changes. it's really still evolution - and those that adapt to these changes will be successful. those that isolate and fear and hate will ultimately fail. the world's landscape is littered with ruins of walls that are a historical curiosity.

below are some pictures from panama. they are kids so comfortable in thier skin and they makes me smile.

oh to be comfortable with everyone's skin.

Portobelo Peeps

2006-05-23T13:39:00.000-07:00

Easter Inscense Merchants :)

2006-05-23T13:11:00.000-07:00

So Happy Together

2006-05-23T10:38:00.000-07:00

monocots, dicots and man :)

My Botanical Twin

2006-05-23T09:28:00.000-07:00

what makes a place home? i struggle with this as a single person/renter with no ties to bind me other than the friends and family i have strewn across this globe. but this leaves me with no easy geographical definition of home.

i certainly love oakland but every time i travel, as i did recently to panama, i find myself wondering why i am going "home". why is the place i am returning to "home"? now that i work remotely (no office to attend) i find myself with very shallow roots. like my beloved palms, a monocot shooting roots here and there rather than branching from a single source.

i haven't answered this question yet (if it is answerable beyond "home is where the heart is"). but maybe finding my botanical twin will help me come up with a recipe for health and happiness - quit looking at the dicots and wondering why i am not like them.

Ciudad de Panama

2006-04-23T10:07:00.000-07:00

as seen from parque Metropolitano

A Gringa en Panama

2006-04-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

Many different peoples have come to Panama for many different reasons: gold, transit, jobs. Some came as slaves. And many different peoples have made this their home. This struck me as i walked the streets of Panama City, my "home" for a month. The vast diversity of peoples. And it goes way beyond the mestizo and afro-carib typical in central america. It's chinese and indian and indigenous and white, too.

But these are just the observations of a gringa. I've been here 3 weeks now and want to take my final week to capture some thoughts while they are still fresh. There is still lots more to see of Panama and certainly will have to continue my adventures in another trip, but i've gotten to soak up quite a bit as well.

jungles, diablos-rojos, birds and more birds, cheap taxis, ropas viejo, ships, beaches, the canal, sancocho, seco and more!!

2005-11-12T20:24:00.000-08:00

mucho gusto

2005-11-12T20:22:00.000-08:00

playa spirit

2005-11-12T20:10:00.000-08:00

what an interesting work experience i've had since i moved to CA. i moved from TX to CA after having spent 90% of my life in TX. i've always moved to job i "unlike less". but when i identified some here-to-fore unknown talents in "technology", i decided to parlay that into a move to CA, and hopefully an early retirement.

i'm kidding about that last part :). i only hoped to dig up some roots, save some money, and travel the world for a spot. i'm writing this 5+ years after that move to CA. i had a job that fully engaged me (if it didn't ignite a passion) and was surrounded by people who were at the top of their game: really effective, interesting and smart people. Did i think that only because they were more like me? hehe. quite possibly. our mobile-nation is facilitating self-segregation, and hence polarization. that will come as no surprise to anyone at all familiar with US election dynamics these past few years. disclaimer: TX is home to some of my best friends, and i miss them a lot. TX is not full of people who vote for trent lott. unfortunately, it's full-enough of them.

but i digress. i am now employed by the company that bought that company that engaged me. hey couldn't be more different. and not being able to bear the thought of a move to suburb DC (new corporate hdqtrs), i accepted an offer to "work from home". and i love my home. i've always been a "nester', but frankly my nest became my prison. oh, so i am prone to the dramatic tonight. regardless, i decided i needed to make this job work for me for awhile longer, and go work from someplace more interesting.

that is why i am in playa del carmen, Q Roo, MX, for a month. i got a "cheap" condo with internet access, and i work in the day and explore MX by night and weekend. i am so glad i did this. i won't bore you with the details of how this was accomplished with little cost and a good internet connections. let me just say "times, they are a'changin". no longer must we be slaves to technology, we can use technology to free us. all in good time.

so now onto my MX entries that i will try to keep regular now that i have the groundwork set. mucho gusto!

2005-10-08T00:05:00.000-07:00

poke her!

2005-10-03T21:34:00.001-07:00

tanzania bush

2005-10-03T21:34:00.000-07:00

dhao on zanzibar

2005-09-30T09:37:00.000-07:00

Cormorants at Golden Gate

2005-09-27T22:15:00.000-07:00

looks like peace