4:59 AM, Circle Closing, Hawks, Brain Fart

4:59 AM

 

A few minutes before five in the morning, I heard Wolf Blitzer project Virginia for Barack Obama.  I was drifting in and out of sleep on the floor of the living room with my back towards the TV.  Obama had over 200 electoral votes before the Virginia projection, and another volunteer in the room sat up and said aloud he won the state, making sure I was paying attention.  I looked at the screen, saw he had over 220 votes before the California polls closed, with its 50-plus votes, so that's when I knew Obama was president, a minute before five in the morning Cameroon time.

 

John McCain gave his best speech of the campaign – his concession speech – and then an hour or so later, Barack walked onto the stage in Chicago with his family, Jessi Jackson was crying, and Obama proceeded to own the place.  At some point when we all fell back asleep, I received a text from Yotti that said, in English, "I Love America."  Obama winning is a BFD beyond belief.

 

Closing Circles & Running Water

 

Election week was also site visit week for the trainees that are replacing my group.  (It's been that long: the circle is closing.)  I've met a good many of them over the last month or so in Pitoa and Garoua, and I hung out with a few of them this week because they were tagging along with Michele.  I actually had a spur of the moment site visit, as well, even though I'm not being replaced.  There have been security problems in Yagoua, so the SED (Small Enterprise Development) PCV there, Laura, might have to move posts, and since Lagdo is on the SED post list, she might move here.  (Yagoua is a big town in the Extreme North a few kilometers from the Chadian border; I went there in June for the weekend.)  She's choosing between Lagdo and a couple Anglophone posts – or admin is choosing for her – or maybe not – or maybe she's just going to stay in Yagoua.  So no one really knows what's going on with her living situation, but in the mean time, here's something that could convince her move to Lagdo: the water came back on! 

 

We were about to walk down to the lake late Friday afternoon to check out Djippordé and its environs.  I was in the bathroom getting some sunscreen minding my own business, and I hear the familiar sound of water filling up in the toilet.  Not believing it, the water has been out since June 2007, but getting really excited because I believed it, I looked in the tank – the tank cover has been broken since the Truman administration – and, lo and behold, l'eau!  I turned on the sink faucet, and it burped out built up gas until water sprayed out.  I walked through the house and told Laura as I passed her that the water was on and went outside the front door where a faucet and cement basin stood attached to the wall to turn it on: this would be the final evidence of running water.  It did, although there was a lot of built up dirt in it, and I rejoiced and called over the guard, who rejoiced as well, and Laura and I went to the lake.

 

Hawks Prediction

 

I've forgotten to make my completely uneducated sports prediction for the Atlanta Hawks.  I want to say I was pretty close to right last year, so you can bank on this: 37-45, first round loss to the Celtics – this time in six games.

 

Brain Fart

 

I just realized that I posted an incomplete thought in my last entry, and I realize I just left myself wide open for "your entire blog is an incomplete thought" jokes.  Under the "I will not be able to…" section on the comments for not tipping, I meant to write that