Akwaaba

It's that time of the week - injecting a little geographic exploration into an otherwise sedentary life.

***************************************************

I haven't done one of these posts in a long time (and it's not Wednesday - so sue me) but since I'm on the road I thought I would post a travel story.

I'm currently in Ghana for a few days. 6 days to be exact. Hardly enough time to see anything and considering I'll be in meetings the whole time I don't know that I'll have much to report on besides the inside of conference rooms.

I arrived here this morning and walked off the plane to the lovely smell of West Africa. It's not so much a bad smell as a very distinctive one. Something like burning peat. Not too different from rural Ireland.

The most shocking things to me so far have been the safety issues - or really lack thereof. Given my recent trip to Haiti and my future trip to Nigeria (returning to both places again later this fall) I am so used to being on guard walking through the airport. I plain forgot that I could even wander outside the hotel without an escort while I'm here.

Weather is hot and humid - not unlike DC. The upside is that we get ocean breezes. Helps keep the mosquitoes at bay.

Looking forward to a fun week!

Oh, how I wish I could sleep...

IN

For more Singular Saturdays go visit Jenn in Holland.

I'm Lost

This post brought to you by Soccer Mom in Denial - posting every Monday on a different musical memory.

***********************************************************

I have been completely out of it. After a brutal week a couple of weeks ago, I spent last week vegetating. My husband was away and I had all these little projects I was going to work on. hmmmm...best laid plans.

I did manage to feed the cat and water the plants - although managed to mess up each of those on separate days. But at the end of the week, everyone was alive! Victory!

I flew up to VT on Friday afternoon to join my husband for a music festival he attends every year. An incredibly relaxing weekend to end a blissfully confused week and to kick off another round of back to back flights.

Alas, I have no soundtrack. Other than the explosively loud music I played to drown out a particularly turbulent flight last night, I have no musical memory to share this week.

Will you help me? I'm going to Ghana, Denver, Haiti, and Nigeria (and some twice) in the next 3 months. What music do I need to add to my iPod? What tunes will I associate with these trips? Something to bring me back to that 11 hour flight over the Atlantic? The interminable layover in Miami? The roar of the crowd at Mile High Stadium?

All recommendations appreciated!

Some Positive Affirmation

This post brought to you by Soccer Mom in Denial - posting every Monday on a different musical memory.

***********************************************************

I had one of those weeks at work where I thought I was going to get fired several times. Not having actually done anything wrong, but feeling under attack.

A book I'm reading right now about how to deal with difficult co-workers recommends releasing physical stress through exercise - walk your dog, take deep breaths, go for a run. As a matter of fact, they recommend running a lot. To the point where you wonder where people who are under such stress find the time. But I digress.

On Friday I was walking to a meeting I really dreaded. Just had a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. I pored through my iPod looking for something to calm me down. Tried slow stuff. Listened to tracks for my fear of flying (nice guy talking in a sweet voice). Hmmmm, somehow listening to someone talk about plane crashes wasn't really helping.

I finally gave up on the soothing stuff and decided on something to get my positive energy up.

Gotta love these women.

The meeting went well. Stood my ground and was surprisingly polite and composed. I'm very happy with my performance.

Support All Faiths

I'm writing this at the request of SMID - who is sadly mourning an attack on her church because "they support liberals and gays".

Well, come on over because I can't recall a time when my Presbyterian home didn't open its doors wide open to people of all faiths, persuasions, colors, addictions, and convictions.

There were the usual summer services where we swapped houses with the Episcopalians down the street - believe me, we all may be Protestant but those JV Catholics lovely neighbors always had me confused. Nevermind, I finally caught on to the Book of Common Prayer... by late August. Today, I attend a local Episcopalian church because the reverend is a woman (love the gender neutral text!) and the congregation is predominantly gay.

The other thing I grew up with in my Presbyterian home were the presence of gay people. Let me rephrase that, the tolerance, abundance, and love of gay people. When the leadership of the church (not our local house but the big people in some capital place or somesuch) wanted to exclude gays from the clergy, all of our ushers wore pink triangles during services. Every single one. Imagine getting a glimpse of that when they passed the plate around.

Finally, our church preached against hate, nuclear weapons, and Ronald Reagan. Against poverty, discrimination, and well, Ronald Reagan. These were my Sunday stories. Couldn't tell you what the proverb or reading was. But I surely understood the lesson.

The Plucky Stuff

This post brought to you by Soccer Mom in Denial - posting every Monday on a different musical memory.

***********************************************************

Several years ago I went to a concert with my (yet to be) husband. On the program was the Ravel String Quartet in F Major. I was completely entranced by this piece. After the concert I said to my (yet to be) husband - "that sounded like something from a movie" which is to say I liked it, I REALLY liked it. The second movement had this wonderful vitality and eeriness.

Recently I went to a concert in a small (tiny tiny) French village with my sister. On the program were a Dvorak piece and a Brahms piece. Afterwards I asked my sister what she thought and she said "I like the plucky stuff". Exactly! That's what I like too - exactly what I heard in that Ravel piece years ago.

So here it is - pizzicato - aka "the plucky stuff"

Ravel String Quartet in F Major - 2nd movement "Assez Vif; Tres Rythme"
performed by the Hagen String Quartet

My uninfected, rehabbed, cleansed computer is like...

NEW

For more Singular Saturdays go visit Jenn in Holland.

By The Sea By The Sea

This post brought to you by Soccer Mom in Denial - posting every Monday on a different musical memory.

***********************************************************

We took a drive out to Arcachon yesterday - one of those lovely (if sometimes a bit tacky) European seaside towns. A moonbounce, ice cream, sunbathers, and ticket kiosks.... they had it all.

Reminded me very much of that song from Sweeney Todd - our day had quite a bit less gore and psychosis. It was lovely.

and check out Looking Into for some interesting hood ornaments