List Maker

Hmmm...so October 14 was the last time I posted? Coming up on a month ago? Kai, that's not doing so hot. So perhaps you're sitting out there in Internet-land thinkin, "Hey, stupid, you better toss up some more of your mindless dribble on this sorry excuse for a blog, my attention is wandering!" To which I must cordially reply, "You're a jerk! This blog isn't for you anyway, if that's all the nicer you can be, Mr. Doody-Head!"

And now, Mr. Doody-Head, you're going to feel really guilty when I tell you that the reason that I haven't really been able to post for my last few weeks in Africa is because me and a couple of friends were the victims of an armed robbery and, tho my laptop was fortunately not stolen, we were moved out of that compound with its luxurious amenities such as wireless internet, into a number of other places where the access was not quite so accessible. Almost like what you'd imagine Africa to be. But not really. Now perhaps you are all curious about said robbery and wanting all sorts of explanations and details. But I am currently in Charlotte, debriefing from the whole missions experience and the robbery in particular and I pretty much feel like I've talked about the whole damn thing until I'm quite blue in the face. So giving all you anonymous masses who surely devotedly read this blog the details is the last thing I feel like doing right now. That you know that it happened is enough.

I OWE YOU NOTHING!!!!

Okay, now I need to muster up something else of interest to talk about. Well, currently, as I said, I am in Charlotte, where the leaves have postponed their beautiful fall peak colors for my arrival in order for God to vindicate his existence to me and where the coffee is abundant and delicious and where I have finally caved and am listening to Jack Johnson of my own volition, crooning from my very own computer, for the first time and he is unfortunately making me fall in love with him already, or at least wish I was in love with someone. I'll banana your pancakes, Jack, O yes. And now I present this:

Things that are nice about America:
--Fall Leaves
--Coffee
--Power that doesn't go out periodically and, therefore,
--Food in the fridge not going bad
--Mexican food
--Ready-made clothes
--Ready-made lots of thing, for that matter, like granola bars
--Television (it's evil, but I love it)
--Coffee (also those fancy creamers that go in coffee)
--Grocery stores
--Cheese
--Smooth roads
--Water pressure in the shower
--Being able to drink alcohol moderately without having others think you're a sinner (well, most of the time), which brings me to,
--Margaritas!
--Public libraries so you don't have to depend on other people's collection of Francine Rivers novels for reading material
--Dancing with the Stars!!!
--Being able to rinse your mouth with water straight from the tap (you have no idea how huge this is)
--No more mosquito bites (until next summer)
--Not having to be afraid to swim in bodies of water that aren't swimming pools
--Missing dry season and Harmattan

This list is not exhaustive, just my first impressions on being back in the States and feeling like I should be grateful for what I have here. I could make another list about all that I miss about being in Nigeria, but that would make me sad. In other news, Hatian church this morning, which was really cool. Went out to a West African restaurant the other night (misleadingly named "Kilimanjaro"...get it, because Kilimanjaro is in...never mind) and an Ethiopian restaurant the night before that. Other than that, just hanging out, freezing my butt off because Charlotte in November is a lot colder than Nigeria in November and because all the clothes I have with me are for Nigeria in November.

Big question now is what to do when I get back to Houston. Anyone?