on saturday i’m off to tanzania to reprise my first trip. this time i’ll be in dar for a lengthy two weeks, which should provide plenty of time for database hacking, hands-on training, and poolside relaxation.
watched blue velvet and the pilot for twin peaks with jean and marianne tonight. weird stuff. just like mullholland drive. i’m looking forward to getting all wrapped up in the twin peaks mystery (when i get back), which seems more about secret lovers than a secret murder.
we cooked in stages tonight, and ate whenever anything was ready. corn on the cob cooled down and buttery…ate it. tomatoes, basil, and mozzeralla drizzled with balsalmic vinegar…ate it. jean’s cresent-roll/maple syrup/brie surprise…ate it. herbed broiled tilapia…ate it. it was fun to just sort of nibble and eat rather than plan and plate.
for the record: i use three sheets of ultra quilted northern at a time. i fold it in half and wipe once, i fold it in half again, and wipe a second time. i repeat this process 1-2 times. so if i use 10 sheets of toilet paper a day (which i think is a fairly liberal estimate), then four 300 count rolls should last 4 months. in reality i think 4 rolls last me about 5-6 months.
my dad left for austin today. he started his journey last wednesday (june 25) driving from texas and arrived the following thursday night after a total of 22 hours in the car. while he was here we went hiking with betsy and jean, had ice cream with jackie at maple view farms, drove to washington dc, and moved me into a new apartment. i miss him a lot.
i just got back from washington dc. went to two meetings and walked around with my dad, talking about programming, problem solving, and lots of other stuff.
the first meeting was fun. i got to look at an intranet (essentially a web database/content management system) built by some folks at the futures group. (secret goal for the month of july: build the measure evaluation proto-intranet)
the second meeting was at USAID where catherine and I presented the PIMS database we’ve developed and deployed in kazakhstan, cambodia, and tanzania. the usaid folk all seemed really stoked about our solution to one of their prevelant information management problems. does this mean i’ll be heading to bolivia or nepal any time soon? who knows.
on the way back dad and I stopped at ikea which was very cool. sort of post-dorm chic, but that didn’t stop me from buying a kitchen table and some other odds and ends. once the new apartment settles down a bit, i can’t wait to go back. (can we put ikea on the LoC trip?)
lastly, nicole mentioned that davy rothbart of found magazine will be on tour in durham and chapel hill july 9th and 10th. i know next to nothing about found magazine, except what can be quickly intuited from the title, but on several occasions recently it has come up (i must say that i feel i owe a debt of gratitude to npr’s this american life for enriching the lives of my friends and thus mine by association) so i’m definitely interested in checking this out.
and this weekend: the eno river festival, july 4,5,6: “100 of N.C.’s finest Craft Artists over 100 performers on 5 stages, all on the banks of the fabulous Eno River.”
today i was trying to remember something. i remember it because as compared to recent housing/car frustrations, it provoked a rare bit of hope and happiness. and i remember trying to remember it and vicariously experiencing that little rush of happiness. but i can’t recall what it was that made me feel that way. funny.
i had the best pizza in the world today. large pepperoni from amante’s. jean, marianne, and i could have *easily* put away an extra-large.
how novel to say something to friends that they find completely novel. i owe that reference to david whyte. i owe david whyte to teri watson, perhaps better known as mrs. watson, my 10th and 12th grade high school english teacher.
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