Some Electricity and Packages

There are some days when it's unbelievable difficult to motivate yourself. Today was one of those days. I had no problem getting up or going for a run, but I could not force myself to leave my compound this morning. I actually had electricity for a while this morning so I had to plug in everything and catch up on news which greatly decreased any slight motivation that I may have had to leave. And, even though I had a good day yesterday and nothing bad happened, I knew that I couldn't face someone being mean on the street. It seems like the name calling and general not nice-ness on the street has increased since WAIST and today I knew I couldn't handle it and needed a break so I took one and streamed NPR while reading People.com... aka living the good life.

The news that I wasn't leaving this morning spread quickly even though I didn't tell anyone. 10am is usually the absolute latest that I ever leave my house so at 10:01am Jeenaba promptly knocked on my door and handed me Abdou who was sleeping so I was a little confused why she just didn't lay him on a bed somewhere, but we listened to NPR together in peace. I was also asked to make change several times, find a mango from the tree to make mango sauce (I'm apparently a competent mango peeler), and went to the boutique to buy soap for Jeenaba. The blissful period of time with power lasted almost two hours before it cut for the next eight, but I got a lot done even with Abdou in tow.

After lunch everyone took naps because there was no power and I decided to actually leave the house (the hottest part of the day means there's less people on the street), and run some errands. The plan was to build confidence with easy transactions at the post office and paying my internet bill and then working up to Madame Ly. I successfully paid my bill, but was waylaid at the post office because I had three packages!!!

SHOUT OUTS:

Shirley - Thank you for more amazing letters. I got two today!

McKeown Family - Thank you so much for everything! I did not know that there are varieties of Trader Joe's trail mix that I have yet to love, but apparently there are and I'm currently trying to decide which one to open and devour. All of the magazines are great. I've been reading everything in sight since I never have electricity anymore. I'm seeing a bunch of friends tomorrow and a couple have already made New Yorker requests. The water rocket is currently hidden in my room, but Ahmed is going to LOVE it when I bring it out this weekend! Thank you so much!

Aunt Lu, Uncle Scott, Ana, and Kyle - Thank you for the package! It's great. I seriously needed another pair of pajamas! I was wearing shredded boxers that were too inappropriate to live my room in! The Clif Bars, hundred calorie packs, jelly beans, and Fig Newtons all look delicious! And I've already started reading the People year in review - you really know the way to my heart! Thanks!

Mom and Dad - Thank you so much for another great package. I ate my last homemade apple sauce this morning and shed a silent tear so I'm happy I have a couple more for a rough day ahead. The salty snacks stash may or may not be already significantly depleted and the InStyle will be looked over many, many times! Thanks!

While I never did make it to see Madame Ly (carrying all of the packages there would have been impossible), I did sit around with my post office friends for a couple of hours which is always nice.

Back at the house I've come to a very important decision: I think Awa is pregnant. I'm making a public announcement since it was highly embarrassing that I realized Jeenaba was pregnant at 7.5 months. Awa (Ziabata's wife) has a ridiculous body that I envy. She's totally ripped, but still slender and has washboard abs. Last night while she was cooking I noticed she had a tummy and then today she was wearing a pretty tight outfit and I saw a bump. Reconnaissance will take place until I know for sure!