First off, I’m throwing out an invitation. Would anyone care to join me for a little run?
C’mon, it’s not
that far…just the half-marathon. And it’s in Morocco, one of the coolest places to visit! If
my goalie non-running brother can do it,
you can….
I’m totally serious.
Speaking of brothers, this entry is just a shout out to my family. You may be tired of reading about them, but I’m not tired of professing their coolness. Besides, my relations are the target audience for my blog, and I think they will be entertained by what follows.
Most of you know that I can get mail pretty easily here in Senegal, but that privilege does carry with it a few restrictions. One particularly annoying one is the lithium battery limitation. They aren’t allowed in the mail, and thus I can’t get critical pieces electronic convenience such as the iPad, cell phone, and digital camera. I know, my life is so tough…
But still, since losing my blog camera, I have had to make due with an almost inoperable backup. The shots all come out blurry, and I’m missing out on some great candid opportunities as I make my way through each day.
So, in order to get a new camera from America (the land where everything is cheaper), I had to order myself one and ship it to my brother. Then, I had him remove the battery, send the battery to someone who was coming to Dakar, and then have him ship the rest off to me (I hate burdening people with a bunch of junk to bring back from the States).
John’s a great brother, and he went above and beyond his instructions to hook a sister up. As promised, I received the camera body in the mail, and I excitedly set about to testing my new toy. Little did I know, my brother had already done that for me. What follows is evidence that only family and your closest friends know what you really want in a care package: a little bit of home.
Yes, this is the kitchen. On special occasions, we actually use it to cook disgusting things like meatloaf and
cheese sauce. At first look I thought Dad was building another toilet…but I don’t think that’s it. It must be something for the doghouse.
No not that kind of doghouse. This kind of doghouse. Looks great so far (probably because I’m not helping with the bricking this time…).
The fridge. Covered with stuff that kind of gives you a window into my upbringing. I was serious when I said I was raised by a prior military hockey-loving pirate. I’m just scared to find out what is growing in the freezer…
The white board. Complete with the a hand scratched note to see the “DOKTUR”. I also spy an expired Old Navy coupon and a five flagged salute to Ronald Reagan. Dad must be so proud that he hasn’t raised a conservative daughter…
The backyahd looks great- the house is freshly painted and I want to jump in the pool.
I think my brother wanted to demonstrate how good my new favorite camera is with close up shots. And also piss me off that I’m not going to be eating any of these outstanding tomatoes that we’ve got growing. They are brilliant on their own, with just a little sprinkling of kosher salt. I eat them like apples.
You know what’s nice about the summer season? No, not the heat- but rather the fact that John airs his gear out in the front driveway, rather than inside the house. (And look, there’s my old car in the background!)
He’s being dramatic. He’s long-since lost his faculty for detecting sweaty hockey gear.
It’s nice to get a window into life back home, and I can only thank the bounty of affordable technology that makes living so far apart not seem that far at all. The other day while I was at my computer
spacing out doing research, my brother called me up on Skype. The video connection was pretty good, so he twisted the camera around so that it pointed out the window and I could watch my Dad working on the lighthouse. I could hear birds chirping, and it was almost as if I was just upstairs, and checking out the window to see what was going on. He left the Skype connection on, and I continued to work away as I listened to life on Cape Cod for a little while.
Might sound silly to you all, but I love how thoughtful my family can be in keeping me close to the fold. (The next time the Skype camera is on mind you, I fully expect to be a front row spectator to some quality sibling battle royales out in the backyard.)
That’s it for now, I kind of need to pack….
