Back on Track?

Dioss' atelier was filled with small children covered in paint this morning. He's been hosting a bunch of French high school students recently, but today he had little kids and it was obvious that he'd met his match. My walking in the door was his signal to leave the mess and the children with their nanny and Issa, his friend and business partner, and to retreat with me into the main house to sit in front of a fan and talk about bank accounts. When faced with small children Dioss is much more open to discussing routing numbers and the like. I may have to take advantage of this weakness and start bringing Ahmed to my meetings with Dioss!

The catalog is still in limbo because the funding hasn't come through yet and it's very hard for Dioss to multi-task and think about exporting his cards. He's obsessed with the funding even though it's out of his hands now and all he can do is wait. Pauline having to leave in early August just adds an extra layer of stress to the situation. I actually ran into her this afternoon and she didn't seem overly hopeful about the funding arriving in time for her to see the finished product. Fortunately it seemed like Dioss got some sleep over the weekend, probably because it's been so nice and rainy, and we had a good talk about opening the bank account and next steps for the cards. Hopefully the bank account will be open and ready for business by the end of the week and I'll have samples of the new market scene cards he's creating. That would be an incredibly productive week and put us on track to meet our deadline at the end of next month.

From Dioss' I ran into town to meet Katherine and Jackie for lunch. They were in town doing some banking and I caught wind that we were having one of my least favorite lunches so I took the opportunity to hang out with my friends and not get harassed by my family for not liking fish balls. The three of us conjectured about the Peace Corps, gossiped, and planned our Christmas vacations home like only we can. Once they left I stayed to do some computer work I've been putting off. It was a surprisingly productive afternoon so when I came home I helped peel sweet potatoes in a corner while pretending to be Scar...