More Odds Than Ends

A lazy Saturday morning was scheduled. Fortunately, someone in the neighbourhood realized that a sunny Saturday was not to be wasted so they began their musical offerings promptly at six. Happily, the water is running again after almost three days of absence. So, storage buckets are filled, sinks, dishes and other things cleaned and there is time to listen to CBC radio and have some warm tea.

I brewed some tea with honey and had the mug sitting on the small table beside me. After a few minutes of working on a puzzle (thank goodness for Jigzone ) I reached out for the mug only to find that the sugar ants had discovered it with a vengeance. Unbelievable how quickly they find something like that, cover the distance, climb the “mountains” and get busy harvesting. A small stop to run the tea through a strainer and into another container and all is well. Hopefully I won’t feel too many protein bits as I swallow.

One evening this week, I was in one of the Internet Cafes in town which also offers photocopying and other office type services. I noticed that one of the customers was asking them to connect her to a 1-800 number (they offer phone services as well) but kept on with my business. Several minutes later, the lady in charge came over and handed me the phone and asked if I would listen and translate the English message they were getting. Imagine my surprise and bemusement when the number happened to be some sort of live sex chat room. We quickly got offline and things went back to the usual. Of course, now I wonder where or how this lady got the number. Was she going through her husband’s trousers before washing, looking down an old phone bill that got sent home by mistake, mistakenly copying a number for a televangelist or what? Those thoughts are almost as amusing as the situation.

On Thursday we had our first attempt at typing tests. I made up some paragraphs for testing purposes and we had two minute time writes. Well, the results were as expected – catastrophic. Still, everyone realized that our expectations were indeed serious and their practice needed to be done in earnest. My demonstrations showed that I am still in good shape speed wise. Thank you Miss Carrol for such a great foundation .

Yesterday I traveled to San Pedro Sula to check out prices and availability of various things. A man in Canada wants to use the used printing plates from the newspapers to construct solar cookers. I had sent a young fellow to inquire about them but he had no luck. With me in tow, doors opened much more easily. However, we found, not surprisingly, that these plates are sold to a middleman who, in turn sells them to customers for various uses. So, the paper would not tell us a definite price less they ruin the bargaining process for their contractor. But, we now know where to go.

As well, I had the unpleasant task of tracking down a former employee who has used false information to secure a position with another aid organization. This person is currently facing charges for theft and sexual molestation stemming from his time with us. Obviously such information did not appear on his current resume. The guy had, very cleverly, made sure that he had people set up to answer each of his phone numbers and give positive referrals. I am not good at stuff like this at all.

On the way home last night, I sat beside a woman who had, as nearly as I could count, four children in tow. The youngest were two and three years old and the other two weren’t significantly older. As dusk settled in as we left the terminal, both of the two youngest fell asleep. So, I got to hold one of them and the mother held the other. Late Friday bus and late Friday traffic made for an hour longer trip. Part of the beginning part of the journey was spent “off-roading” bus style as we, along with other buses, headed down alleys, byways and dirt streets to bypass the traffic jam. New scenery before darkness fell.

Tomorrow I head out to travel with two board members in search of more composting worms. It will be an adventure just getting there I am sure.

TTYL
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