Week 48 - Starting to build again.

Feb (23) Monday

I worked again on the software design and Kensley is off to vila for a few months. Really quiet at the office. At the end of the week I start working on Nandiutu. I think we will remove a wall and start painting.

That's all it's mostly very boring week. Soon we get paid then I will try and get my bike tire fixed. I miss being able to ride my bike. These chinese tires are so poor that its a miracle they lasted as long as they did.

Oh one last photo from last week at the beach... these kids man they followed me around and swam with me. Funny kids.

Luckily we did get paid... that was nice seeing money in my account again.

(24) Tuesday

Man today I had a bad case of sit sit water... sorry being blunt. Hurts a bit feel nausea. Taking it easy today. I was planning to get a new tire for my bike but I am not sure want to walk into town and deal with that now.

Potatoes help thank god. Not a big fan of rice or toast.

Could not sleep my stomach was tossing and turning, well I think I will sleep a bit and go from there.

I miss all my friends back home. I got a long message from my friend Kat Reese... she is so kind. She's one of the best writers I know. She sent me some of her poetry and it's amazing. And I miss volunteering at the Soap Factory Art gallery in Minneapolis. They have so much work for me to do that I never feel bored or wanting for things to do. The people there are so terrific I can't wait till I can return and build things daily and install artwork meet interesting people, laugh and be thoroughly entertained by the crazy things we do. My parents are awesome too. I have dreams about being with my family eating food, real food man... I miss turkey and baby red potatoes and real butter, pork roasts and telling stories and making them laugh. Man there is so much going on back home that makes my mind feel active like painting and working and seeing art or music things that just don't exist here. But I gave it all up to try something different. Who knew that Minneapolis was the best place on Earth? Well I do now. Except the cold. Cheers to all my friends back home. I miss you guys.

(25) Wednesday

I was feeling pretty sick this morning. But I managed to walk over to work and do some stuff. I am going to head into town now and try and find a new tire tread and tube. it would be nice to make my bike work again properly its been 5 months since I did not have to mess with the tire daily.

The products in the country are so inferior its almost like they should not bother selling them. It's only smoke and mirrors.

I am a little sick today. I hate being sick. But I managed to get a new tire... drop off the spices and big bowl to mr. Thomas... he liked them, then I swung by my old school and gave them office 2010 for the N-computing server. That made them happy. Next week they want to continue with the Alma Student info setup. Hope that happens. It was a long process to get them to buy into the idea. Funny how nothing happens when I am there but as soon as I am gone they get it. hehe. They got a new truck too for the school it was really nice riding up the hill in it to my house.

(26) Thursday

I woke up in a nice pool of sweat today... I think maybe the fever broke. I was wrapped in a blanket I was actually cold it was cool last night too 81 degrees. Cool compared to the average 100. I had to cancel my project start tomorrow and reschedule for next week. I was so looking forward to doing something. Now I have to wait a week. Hopefully I feel 100 percent next week. Sucks. Oh well. I decided to rest and get better. With no counterpart at the office and no one to work with for two months it's mostly pointless going anyway. My internet at home is as fast as the junk at work and there is no one there to work with. I have been left to myself again. heh. oh well.

So... then I made some mashed potatoes with my parents masher they sent me... only the second time I used it here... it's a shame but It worked great, they tasted decent... thank god I had some real butter.

Watched the skeleton twins and that cheered me up, we are all fucked up aren't we?

I cleared my kitchen table and spread out my paints which I have not used in over a year and 3 months. I have 5 baby canvases but thats ok I have only a half tube of white. Who can paint without white. I could work like 5 tubes of white 1 blue 1 red and a black... oh well. Friend of mine is working on a poetry book and needs an illustration asked me to submit one... maybe I can do something with this limited set of options. Might have to go into town and take some photos to get some ideas. no easel to work with either. Grr..

There are two babies here that just cry non stop day in and day out. Why? Why? Man I kind of hate babies. Why don't they make muzzles for them? I think we are overdue for that.

The next door mormons are singing... they are kind of annoying. I think I will play some Marilyn Manson or Jesus Lizard... that will drown them out.

The noise and the sickness are making me annoyed. I think its best I take a shower and walk into town and take some photos and chill. That's the plan man.

3pm

I was in town for few hours mostly sitting at Attar Cafe. Had a cream shortcake first then a club sandwich. They make weird club sandwiches... bacon, egg and carrots and beets. I am like come on... its not a club without chicken that is the like the rule... so they made one with chicken for me. It was ok. Their fries were better than the club because the bread is very hard to chew. Leather bread. Oh well I digress. 

While I was sitting there it was pouring buckets of rain for about 2 hours. Sitting at the table I watched the people around me. In the big room, next to the outside sitting area, there was the local cult leader and a few maybe new inductees. His cult is pretty weird...

apocalypse cult for sure, world is ending and all that. They brainwashed some twenty something girl into being their "eve" to repopulate the earth once everyone is dead outside their compound. I remember seeing this documentary of their cult... the leader was big shot airline owner who got ran out of town by the big airlines. Then he got all weird religiously believing his purpose was to save the world by forming a survivalist camp, preaching his version of god and such. They eat no meat... and try not to kill a single living life form... not an ant or a bug or even an infection... they think all life is sacred even if that influenza kills you it is sacred life so they take no medicines to save themselves. Really logical and all. Saw them. The man is very old looking and frail looking they eat only certain kinds of plants. and you can tell if a strong wind blew he'd fall over. I wonder why they are allowed to eat plants.. those are alive too until they ate them. Oh well using logic on the completely illogical is not going to work.

I saw Jerry, Mike Hawkins's good friend. I sat and watched him eat a huge pile of rice and boiled chicken.. Man how can people eat that day after day. Really nice guy though. Told me some stories about Mark and Mikey... two guys that are well kind of crazy. Likeable but nuts.

After sitting through that show for a few hours when the rain let up, I went to get some soup at the grocery store LCM and then went to the post office.

Then I took cab home and read a little Dune series stuff and listened the the sweet sweet sound of that HORRIBLE baby screaming its brains out for two hours. Ahh Vanuatu... its never gets normal.

(27) Friday

Still sick... was hoping the worst passed yesterday. Guess it was smart that I cancelled going to work on Malo today. Sad that I can't use my skills to do some meaningful work. I have been waiting for this for 6 months. Stupid time to catch a head cold. I like that joke I heard once... if it weren't for my bad luck I would have no luck at all.  I think it was from a movie. 

Guess it's time to make some soup and hack and cough and sweat for another day. Eh... not that big a deal lots of people here get sick all the time. Everything here is a petri dish of bacteria waiting to make us ill.

10am
I was just listening to Nirvana and the I thought I wonder what it would be like to have a conversation with Kurt Cobain...man he died in feb 1994... so long ago now. Well since he's dead sort of hard to talk to him so I found an interview him in rolling stone Jan 1994 4 months before he kills himself: kurt-cobain-the-rolling-stone-interview One of his last interviews... pretty Weird how normal he sounding. He jokes around about so many things and yet you can see his life flashing before him. I like the character he makes of himself in the story. He'd be 48 if alive today. He died at what 28. I bet he'd be really funny. He could have written an animated tv series like Rick and Morty.

2:00pm
For not sleeping at all and dripping in my sweat I feel ok. I made some soup and mashed potatoes. Man that masher from the USA is a winner. Fourth mashed I have had this week... I can survive anything with a good potato and butter a splash of milk and that masher. The masher works best in the old pan from the 70's its sort of its counterpart... the thing I mash in here is a shiny shallow pot it has tiny handles so I can really get a good spin on it when I crash the walls. Oh well. They were still decent.

I have done pretty much nothing all day except cough and talk to friends on the computer. Its back up to 91 degrees even though it is cloudy and flirting with rain. I might finish part of my twin peaks story. I have been dragging my feet on it. Or I can go into town and find some more stuff to eat. Another can of the potato and leek soup... or pass on that and do it tomorrow. It's not all that exciting to go into town same old same old. Nothing really to see. There are temptations like the baby docs. I don't really bother making friends with the new baby docs anymore. Not much point even if they are cute and fun and stuff. They are gone in a blink of the eye so then you just wasted your time and you miss them and that is worse than not talking to them.

I need to consider getting some laptop speaks to drown out all the noises. When my laptop plays music non stop and I can wipe out all the crappy human noises and animals its almost pleasant being inside.

4:44pm
I made a quick trip into town taking one of the local buses. It's the cheaper option 100vt, one buck. It was totally packed and when the kid opened the door the little liner fell off. We fiddled around with it for a few minutes putting it back on and around the door. The busses are basically Toyota's that look like big eggs on wheels. I like taking the busses because you can listen to people gibber gabber and stuff about whatever. Always at the end of the day people pack in tons of junk boxes and fruit and coconuts and you name it they shove in those buses. And also they usually have the most round about way to get to where you want to go. This one one made stops before it hit mine.

I got more than enough stuff to last for a while. I kinda wanted some steaks, they call them hi filets. They really are filet mignons. A facebook friend told me to boil bone and make a broth of it because it is good for flu's

Dammit an ant, tiny little guy, just crawled in my vent of my mac pro. I am sure it fried itself inside on some hot component. each one is like another blip closer to frying the motherboard. The bugs here crawl in your shit and kill your electronics. I always put my laptop inside an air tight box. Probably why its lasted a year here. It's almost kava time for the locals. They are just milling around my place waiting for it to start.

When I got into town I tried to get money out of the ATM but it was down so I wanted in line at the bank with 20 other people. Another amusement sort of. Some guy there knew me and shook my hand. Might have been a teacher. Who knows. Everyone remembers me I remember some.

I feel almost human at the moment. Lets hope the stupid coughing fits are over for a bit. I have a long night of listening to men clearing their throats of kava making an virtual orchestra of hacking spitting and mind numbing throat clearing that could make anyone in the state gag. There must be a river of spit flowing down the block. Heh... well they might use the spit catch thing.

Tonight a band is playing at the kava bar in front of my house. The band is called "Fantastic" heh. I met the singer in his cab the other day. He sings in French, English, Bislama and language. I said that is great and smiled this HUGE smile. heh. He was funny. Very sincere. But I am going to get an earful all night of his band. I probably will be going insane from it inside.

(28) Saturday

Facebook reading done, NPR reading done, eating soup done... so next step blog a bit. Then who knows nothing.

I spoke with Rich for a while on the confuser (slang my brother made up for computer) and then took a shower... must now immediately play music again to cover up the noise from annoying screaming child next door. She or it... only can speak in screams. Low drawn out screams for being "happy", high pitched horrible for everything else.

Let see sleep again or read? I think reading wins.

It was not a reading day a mostly talk with friends on facebook day. Which is good. I am excited about all my friends adventures back home. I am looking forward to see them again. I have some pretty great people back there. Mr. Mitch is one. He's like a brother to me. Soap Factory family. Not popular with some of the basement folk but only because he was always the bearer of bad news, telling people why this or that won't pass fire code. And artists don't like doing stuff over very much. I miss hanging out with with Mr. Mitch because he has this serious side and he scares most people, but when we hangout he can be really goofy. I mean we were rocking to some terrible 80's big hair music and lip syncing last year while building fixing shit in the haunted basement 2013... it's hilarious. He is a cool guy if you get to know him.

Today I made a baby easel for painting on. And I took off the retarded door from my bathroom and will work on putting it on the right way. They hung it going inside to the tiny tiny bathroom it bangs into the toilet... when it was logical to hang it doing outside and there is a huge wall that would give it plenty of clearance. So I will do that tomorrow? Paint maybe. I need to paint. Also I will visit college luganville on monday and work on their SIS app... for recording grades.

They are playing childrens music at the nokemal near my house... it sounds like something on barney or a childs tv show doo duum da do.. doo dum da do... over and over with some overly dramatic pan flute to give it really sappy sounds. Barney and crew... you should make a road trip here you'd be the biggest hit ever.

March (01) Sunday

3:13 am... good time for a pack of stupid island dogs to bark their heads off as any time. They are night time creatures for sure. I am sure a person had to take a piss and made one dog barked and that caused the neighbor dog to bark and then the next and the next and then 30 dogs later the whole place is lit up with them barking. And it's normal occurrence. I am supposed to not hear it and sleep right through it like everyone else. NOPE. Not buying it. If it were in the USA I would either go outside and club them all their owners death or call 611 or something and report a shit dog barking and after 3 or more complaints they mail them and tell them to correct the issue or a fine will be imposed. Of course the first idea is just a delusional dream while the latter is the actual action.

Yeah I like sleeping. Sleeping it never happens here. Like never. Almost every night is some annoyance, roosters or dogs or a cockroach crawling on me, or a centipede in my hand... in my HAND.. or always something mostly dogs and roosters. I need some speakers to play music 24/7 then I can make the world outside disappear. How do the others in Peace Corps in the remote places handle it?

9:00 am

Back to facebook... Lillian is online. She is one of the great ones from my hometown. She had her tonsils taken out. I remember doing that. But I was a kid when it was done. Hurt worse when you are an adult I hear. Lillian was the vol coordinator and then program manager at the Soap Factory. I loved volunteering for her. She always made you feel important and gave you meaningful and luckily for me endless amounts of work. If I am bored like I am now, its not good for me. I should always be working.

Guess I can make some food. and write and read some more after.

Pretty much a quiet day again. Went to Bryan & Kate's and ate some curry... watched some terrible movies. Wow... just terrible. When I got home I heard the neighbors argue and fight sounds like someone got punched. When men and women here fight they go for hours yelling over and over the same thing, with an occasional fuck or wanem. Not fun to listen to. Speakers tomorrow.

Week 47 - NDMO, Nandiutu plan, and more.

FEB (16) Monday

Slow start to the day because my counterpart is in Vila. I said I would go to College de Luganville to help them fix a computer... which means they just walk away and expect me to fix it and continue to learn nothing. Not very exciting to dig in the sand and watch it fall back in.

But I can hope they actually sit and watch for the first time ever.

I hear that Angie is back in Michelle Wong's old site. and the new Vols G27 are on the island viewing their site. I might have to check out Saracata for a minute. That's the only location in town that had a new vol the rest are a long ways away.

Guess its time to eat some breakfast. It won't be as nice as the Ratua food...  I sat with near the kitchen. A nivan lady was showing us a music video that she loved on her phone... she showed us twice she was so proud of it.

So I went to ultimate frisbee and ran around and sweat and had a little fun. Met some of the new baby docs, one is very cute. But they are gone before you even get a chance to know them.

(17) Tuesday

All last night I tried patching my bike tired I put one on tested if it had any leaks... found another and then another and another 6 leaks... I am working on the 7th patch now. It has more patch material than original tire almost. Ten patches. And I bet there is another. After I get it back on my the rim and ride it for a day I bet it springs a few new leaks in a matter of days. They have the worst tires and replacement parts for these tires in the world. They should just sell solid rubber tires with no air just to save is the grief of trying to fill them, it's hopeless.

After walking down to the office and working on a design doc, I noticed my counterpart is not back from Vila. He said he'd be back today. He is not. I went home and continued to patch my tire.

5:00pm

Ten patches later I finally have a tire that holds air. Woohoo Victory. I hope it holds over night. We shall see.

(18) Wednesday

Working on disaster program again today. Making some progress section by section. Designing an application from start to finish mostly by myself is a strange experience. Usually I have a group of programmers, DB folks, testers, UI designers, business people and an architect or two.

Omelette potatoes and onion sausage and garlic with pepper and salt and hot seasoning... plus a sprite. that is lunch, that is breakfast, that is dinner until get paid. Next week probably.

Rained. Tire went flat... patch 11 will go on tonight. Maybe that will fix it. If not patch 12 and 13 and 14 and how ever million more I need to put on before it hold air.

Guess there will be ultimate Frisbee hmm. Don't really feel like running around.


(19) Thursday

Late start but I am at the office alone working. Patched my tire again but it became hopeless. I had to swap it out with the less ideal tire because the air stem is short barely fits in the rim for me to inflate with... but it held air. Makes everything more difficult get to and from without a bike. So I am lucky this one is working for now. Fingers crossed.

Tonight we are eating at Attar cafe. I have no money. So I will go on credit with them. They seem to lend me during my last week of brokenness.

Probably will go swimming with Mr. Thomas this weekend. He is a quite animated and funny. Should be interesting.

(20) Friday

Went to work and saw Kensley for the first time in a week. He told me he is going back to Vila next Monday and won't be back for two months. So basically I am on my own for a while. With the Nandiutu project kicking in next week it is fine I will be basically busy building a computer lab/library and that will keep me busy.

Later today the PC's in town are meeting up at Harbor Master a kava bar and chilling for a while.

Tomorrow I think we might go to a blue hole, Mr. Thomas offered his truck and that is excellent because it will save us money and he is fun. Looking forward to RiRi again. A blue hole to swim.

(21) Saturday

Skyped with my parents a bit. My brother is visiting my fam, wish I was there too. They made plans to have a summer in DC with my brother, parents and Mila. I hope she can go visit DC for 3 months to get away from my brother crazy ex-wife and their insane way of treating her.

Today I might get a chance to go to a blue hole with the peace corps vols. We shall see.

couple photos from yesterday at Riri blue hole with the new vols:

Left to right: Myself, Hannah, Gabrielle, Bryan, Kate, Caroline, Cole, Jeffrey

(22) Sunday

Its hard to believe another week is ending. Well next week the Malo project begins. I am excited to be building something.

I went to the beach with Thomas at Million Dollar point and swam for a bit way better than sitting around at my house...

Couple photos...

Then I went to Daria's and had some great food excellent company and met the new VSA vol.

Week 46 - Back to work in Lunganville

(09) Monday

I did not think my counterpart would be back until the 11th but he came back early. The good news I got my computer back the one I should have been allocated from the start, he received a laptop in Vila. This is good news.

Managed to get some groceries and cook another amazing steak for lunch. The internet is super slow at work so slow I cannot make a connection to gliffy.com, which is where I put all my design documents. First 5 are free then you need pay a membership of either 5 bucks a month or 7.

here is something I made a while back a little art.

(10) Tuesday

Back at work, freshly shaved and showered... oh yeah good start to the day. I just skipped breakfast but besides that I am feeling ok.

Working on designs again and I found a backlog program online at https://agilebench.com/ which offers a 30 trail to use their product. I am hoping the NDMO will pay for the license and that way if we find a programmer I will have all the artifacts logged described with images and point values into each iteration for beginning our sprints to code up the program.

(11) Wednesday

I forgot to write yesterday. Not much to tell really worked and ate and slept. Oh i forgot I went into town and had a chicken wrap sandwich... so good. I skipped frisbee night again but I was fine I am learning you don't need much when you have nothing but yourself.

(12) Thursday

So today I made some more progress on the software design layout the database section but before that I ran into town and paid my electric bill and water bill twenty bucks I don't have but so it goes.

Bryan and kate came by and we went to check out a market for banana's and sorry we have no bananas today. So now its back to doing what I do best just reading a book and sleeping.

The sunset was so golden, lighting up the the tall blanket of erratic clouds like a messed up untidy bed. I watched it turn purple and red and then fade into grey and black like a punched up bruised boxer ready to retire forever into the darkness. I watched this on and off while a read kurt vonnegut uplifting tale of slaughterhouse five. Uplifting because his story of that miserable soldier Billy Pilgrim, in WWII, he is more pathetic than anything I have heard before. I laugh at it because you know... so it goes.

Then I thought about the strange request I received my landlord, George Vira. He asked me to turn off my internet to test his satellite TV.. he believed oddly enough that my signal was interfering with his. I can't believe it.. but they use the same frequency and one can cancel out the other. It seem to be the case. So he will have to move his dish to a different location. I said the only thing I could Aw Wo... Sory. One of the few bislama phases that makes me laugh.

Then some random stranger requested a friendship on skype only to discover that it was someone that wanted to know if I would like to see their Whooty... all i could say was hooty hoo. She appearently wants to show me her butt. I could care less... hooty hoo. And then there was a series of even odder questions that repeating her same scripted lines, like I did not register them the first time. I think she cannot speak a word of english she only has phrases to copy and paste into the chatline. I asked her if she ever read kurt vonnegut and she could only again plead for me to click on her porn website. I said no thanks I am reading a good book. You should try reading it. Then we could have a conversation. Hooty hoo.

 I guess a whooty is a White Girl with a big BOOTY!  and she says, i wanna show u mine.  I will Pass. Thanks. and so it goes.

The heat is penetrating. It blasts into every pore of my skin, and even if I shower three or four times a day I stink like an animal. I don't even smell it anymore but I feel like others do so bought some cologne to cover it up a little. I hope that it works. I can't smell that either. so it goes.

I wonder if time is like the rocky mountains all laid out to see at the same time all at once, that's how it is for the alien race in the book, for the tralfamadorians, they see all time at once. I wonder if that means we are forever because they believe life never ends because you can just leap back in time. I like that idea because it means my best friend David Potosky who died of brain cancer in February 2012 is still alive in time. He was was the kindest more interesting man I ever met. I can't hardly believe I will never get to make him laugh at my adventures again.

We were going to do things together. Make all kinds of money building a new unthought of web application, built on my once upon a time, inventive genius. I had an idea of a web concept recently. It came to me in a dream. Something about it faded a bit so what I recall is less glorious than the dream was. But it was about a program that could collect stats about everything and put them into reality. Those stats were thing such as polls or news feed about how much money is spent on the arts or foreign aid or where our money goes from taxes and such because in reality we are pounded to death by supposed facts when most of the time they are just invented to support someones ideological truth. It would be nice to have an actual source of truth to be able to call upon to know what is really going on. But of course such a web app would be corrupted by powerful forces and then it would be destroyed by advertisement. so it goes.

I miss the twin cities like mad. I miss seeing bands like Dessa play and the way she came over to my table during their brief break and she talked with me saying something like I was the most sincere fan she met and she then insisted on autographing my small poetry book that i used to scribble in when at a concert. I read her books of poems she published and brought one with me here to read, and her signature in that book is right next to the page where joe biden signed his name when I met him at a rally in the railroad station by the third avenue bridge. he has the worst hair plugs you could ever wish to see. Why did he do that. Just just bald man. But you know... I should have been on the road with Dessa after their van was raided by thieves and his camera was stolen... I could have taking photos of her concerts better than that dude I bet and helping them set up for a show. so it goes.

Tomorrow I am going to have dinner with bryan and kate, tacos or pizza something amazing for sure. I would be lost without them. They are the kindest most glorious Minnesotans you could ever hope to meet. They just give without thought, thats amazing. I try to do the same. They have no idea how important they are. They're just nice. If you read this you two... thanks a million billion.

Oh I just recalled another idea I had... some kind of program that would require an implant in your  brain... it would capture all your thoughts and record them all and put them into text or some media we don't yet have to allow you see and understand the person it recorded. Then after you become someone important or perceived of as important, later generations of fans could look at your mind history up, and really know who you were as a person, know what you felt and thought so they could have a clear picture of your person. I dated a girl once a greek princess  who studied historical figures like jane austin and wanted to know wierd facts like, what did she dress like or what books she read and or how she navigated life in a time when women could not be famous writers...  I would record my mom and dads minds because there is so much to know that time does not allow to know and the use of oral communication cannot possibly capture with words. Then I would know what my somewhat slowly speaking, dad was thinking or what he experienced in life, the same of my mom except she is like me, a talker, which is nice. I ask questions all the time but it comes to slowly. You ever wish you knew what people were really experiencing? I do.

(13) Friday

Work was sort of challenging. The internet was down. I needed to do some research and that was not possible. I wrote a bit on the design docs but had to wait to get progress done until another day because I could not get a page to load. We need the government internet which it like 10 times faster than what we have now.

The good news is that I am going to get to work on the Malo project... which means I will get to build again. I have approval from the director and the SG and my counterpart. This is  HUGE plus because at my last site the principal said I was his property. Yeah freedom to work. Thank you NDMO.

After a long day of internet frustration I went to bryan and kate's and has some freaking great tacos and we watched a weird ass movie called BIRD MAN. Pretty ok.

I sat on my stepout outside my oven, I mean house, and looked at the stars because it was a clear night and I saw orions belt and a bunch of other formations... the stars are incredible. They just burst in their brightness letting me know there is something so much more amazing out there to see than gecko's and cockroach bodies laying on the floor that I should sweep in the trash but I like them on the floor. They are like a open cemetery... beware jerks... if you enter you will get killed. They are big as boxcar's lumbering around slowly crashing into your leg or the under of foot. They don't even try to hide the shame of their existence.

I spoke with my Mormon neighbors. They ask me so many questions. I never ask them anything. I don't care. They want to know what America is like. They are from Samoa. The Mormons I knew in America annoyed me but these guys are more interesting... they seem sincere. Not trying to get me to join their nonsense religion they just want to know why I don't date a nivan. I said I don't have anything in common or to talk to with them about. I would not want to hurt their feelings. I just try my best to say they are nice... but I am going back to America. So they say "America has everything" I say yeah but we have problems, we have poverty we have more poor than rich... 1% with the money and 99% with enough to make it to the next paycheck. It's because our rulers are just as corrupt and selfish as the ones here or in any corrupt system of rulership... I think thats why we cannot get it more equal. It s only in the last few decades that we became ruled by evil. If only we could have more investment in doing good things instead of killing people in foreign wars. But things might change. There was once apon a time that people could make changes. When time comes and it will one day there will something new.

(14) Saturday

...Just returned from town got some more of that amazing meat they call it high Filet. We call it Filet Mignon. I love this shit. With some potatoes onions garlic and olive oil some red hot chili pepper, salt and lemon pepper cooked medium with a tender red middle bloody and juicy. It is so good. I have a cast iron pan too that is KEY. Without that you can't even call it cooking. I pity those who don't know what I am talking about.

At LCM there was a new group of baby docs... I never asked if they were such but they screamed it with their thick accents mostly ozzies the brits are way cooler sorry. They are. Oh well. They come and they go in three weeks usually. Not much point in trying to make an effort because they are in the throes of being here like a pack of animal herded with linked arms, together skipping around yeah. Who cares. I have awesome steaks. And Kurt V. to keep me company.

(15) Sunday

I was a out at Nandiutu village on Malo to do a site visit and see what the new plan was for the computer lab and library. It was chaotic. We marched up and down down all over the campus looking at this building debating its merits. We seemingly settling on one being used as the lab, even though the tin roof on it could not possibly last more than a few year then trying to find a place to store the 3000+ books for the new library.

Would we use the middle section of the big building, and have no tables and quiet areas for the kids to study? Just check out a book and go with it... no, yes, no. Would we use the big classroom and build a partition and have both computer and library in that, yes, no, yes, no. And after being confused and turned around for an hour or two I think they made their decisions. I mostly listened. They mostly spoke French.

After all that was done I went back to Ratua and had 3 tender juicy sirloin steaks, a huge plate of perfect crisp fries and a white russian. All free and part of the kindness of Isabelle. 

Next week I will go back and start building the lab, smashing in walls and gutting one room, painting it and then put together tables and hanging bookshelves. I can't wait to start building again. The Rauta Bar is great.

Week 45 - To Vila and back

(02) Monday

It been a nice day relaxing reading... tomorrow Kensley arrives and we can try and figure out this laptop/PC problem we are having with work.

Time to go find some lunch and or watch the superbowl.

2:45pm
I sat and watched the super bowl at the brewery with a few peace corps people and this kiwi guy. The kiwi guy sat and talked to me for like an hour which was nice. He was a Seahawks fan. I personally could care less which team won. I would like it if it was a draw.

I enjoyed watching this woman across the street hauling a large suitcase on wheels up the staircase pulling it up each step one by one as it locked in place. There was something satisfying about how it clicked into each step.

After the point hit where I was too low in money  to continue with the group I went to jungle cafe and had a burger/fries and a thick chocolate shake. It was perfect I just wish it was not twelve bucks. Oh well.

Sunset on Efate inside Chill restaurant:

(03) Tuesday

Added a little more details to the basic design of the app I am making for NDMO.

(04) Wednesday

I made it back to Luganville Santo today. Met up with Byran and Kate and his brother. They are playing ultimate frisbee I am vegging out playing FTL. Not much else going on.

The heat at this house is so bad I can barely think. I forgot how terrible the summer is here.

(05) Thursday

I went to riri with Bryan and Kate and Bryan's and Brandon, Bryan's brother. His bike (Rich's old one) had a nasty blowout flat tire, so we decided to take a taxi. He paid for it the whole thing... man that was nice. Thanks man. I took some photos:

I feel like I did in high school where most of my friends were giants. I was always teased for being a midgit and I am 6 feet tall.

After swimming in the blue hole we had small movie night. Watch hmm... nightcrawler. Creepy show.

(06) Friday

Today  get my laundry back from Deco stop, I am looking forward to seeing how this turns out. I am looking forward to clothes that don't stink. Downloaded a new album by Haim.

Time to make some food. Omelette time.

(07) Saturday

I live in an oven... it's 95 degrees near 100 percent humidity it feel like 110 and i cannot move without being drenched in sweat. I can barely think. It is so shocking to my Minnesota body temp I don't know what to do. I shower every few hours to get the stink off my body and to cool off. This house man... it's like a death camp.

I made some food few times today but that added extra heat... almost regret eating.

I look forward to the night when the sun goes down and the concrete walls start to cool off, they are the evil that bakes me all day and the tin roof. Whoever made this house should have seen the results by living in it. No shade, all concrete and the sun hits it all day long. I am praying for rain to knock the temps down. But its been dry for days.

(08) Sunday

It is just so hot I can sleep its not 4:30am and when the mob of annoying dogs barked for two hours straight I decided it was best to read the news and analyze stocks and such. Go Pro stocks and Amazon... hm. There are lots of cool advances in robots too.

A storm is starting to light up the sky now if only it would rain non stop for like all of February it might knock the temp down a degree. It is nice listening to the thunder booming and being ominous...
it took 2 more hours before it finally resulted in a short burst of rain. The temperature dropped to 85 degrees, a 20-25 degree change from a few hours before. Now its 8:23am and the temp is rising again back to 88 degrees 72% humidity. I am happy I have this digital temperature gauge.

11:30am

Then something weird happened and unexpected call and before I know it I am on my way out to RIRI blue hole. It was a good thing to be getting out of the oven and to a place that has cold water to sit in forever.

There was so much analysis of what had occurred that I am not sure I can recall half of the possibilities. Was the man confused about the identity of my friend or was he just trying to make a new friend? But then why invite someone to go swimming but then never end up bringing their family to join us at the blue hole... was he trying to make a new friend or a new "friend"? Then why tell her about the wife and kids... but also why pick her up first and not the family? Wouldn't the wife be suspicious of who this unknown woman in the car is... of course they would.

So it was like that for a while... we are not sure of what the answer is actually. Well we can to a conclusion (he was confused) as we starting walking home and then we were wrong as his car pulled up 45 minutes late and then... he drove me into town to get money, then to the Daming store to get steaks... then to drop off the friend... back up to my house where i slept for a bit. He did not charge us a dime for all the driving. That would have normally ran 5,000vt or 50 bucks.

After all the head spinning mini drama ended, I made the best steaks and french fries with cheese and spices and such... that even skeptics (who now have tried said dish) said oh my, "god that is delicious! I had no idea." All that is true. And the reason for all the actions that came to be may have been of ill motivation but can to completely beautiful fruition in the end. Sometimes
bad * bad = good like -1 *-1 = 1.

Then the clouds changed and it hard to hard for about an hour but these kids man they don't care they continued running and jumping into the water it wouldn't matter if it was a solid state of rain or not.