Vaccinations

Well, a few things have happened since I last wrote. The day after I got back for Christmas holidays (19th) I had a trip orientation day. I met most of the team members, and they all seem really nice.

The Team:
-David Moore: Executive Director of ACTS. He's the trip leader. 65-ish. Well-developed sense of humour.
-Bern and Nancy Cassidy: Retired couple - Bern was an engineer, so he will likely be guiding the engineer interns. Nancy is a retired teacher. She's going to be overseeing the education program. She says she loves babies, which is good, because I don't. Both in their mid to late 60s I should think.
-Melanie: I don't remember her last name, but she's an engineer intern. About twenty-five I reckon and a second generation Chinese Canadian. She seems very nice. I think we'll get along well. 
-Tim Folkman: The only non-engineer besides me. About 60 or there abouts. A cheerful sort of chap. He used to be a Forensic Chemist working with the police, which I think is cool... it'll give us something to talk about on the plane if I'm sitting next to him.
That's it so far. I haven't met the other two engineer interns, Michelle and Matthew, but I'm guessing they'll be close to my age. They're from Ontario, so we're going to meet up with them on the way.

The Flight: Departs January 15th. Vancouver Island to Vancouver, Vancouver to London, London to Entebbe, which isn't the capital of Uganda (it's Kampala), but it's a major town in central Uganda. Then I think we'll be in Kampala for a couple of days while we get our visas sorted out. Then we'll probably be off to ACTS' compound in Mbarara, which is in the south of Uganda, near to Rwanda (so I'm desperately hoping that I'll be able to hop across for a few days to sniff around the historical sites and museums... if I can drag some of my team members with me, that is...).  We're going to be living in tents for most of the time, which will be interesting. 3 months of camping does seem to me to be a long time, but I'm sure it'll be fine.

Other Info:
-I've got most of my vaccines already - rabies, flu, polio, and meningococcal. I'm also taking typhoid medication orally, and then I'll be on to the malaria meds - fun stuff.
-Animals: Gorillas!!! And chimpanzees. Hippos, crocs, leopards and lions (although the big cats are mostly in parks, as are elephants). As for reptiles, there are snakes: rock pythons, which are supposed to be the biggest snakes in Africa (fortunately, there aren't supposed to be many about), and the nastiest are the black mambas - the longest venomous snakes in Africa. They do also have a lot of rather horrible looking spiders, which upset me more than the snakes, but oh well. On the plus side, there are a lot of very interesting looking birds. Must make sure to borrow Mom's binoculars for the trip.

That's about it for now! Merry Christmas everyone!

Blog Revamped

So... I haven't been too consistent with blogging since the summer mainly because of school busyness. But now, I am happy to report, that I've finished all my courses for my BA (I finished my last exam today). I won't technically graduate until April, but I'm pretty much done.

On January 15th I am leaving for a 3-month trip to Uganda - should be fun. To be perfectly honest, I don't really know what I'll be up to once I'm there, but there will be more details to follow in a couple of days as I have a trip meeting on Monday.

Anyway, the main point of this post is to say that as of now, my blog will become a travel blog. I don't know how much internet access I'll have in Uganda, but hopefully I'll be able to post news often. 

That's about it for now - Happy Christmas!

Birthday Post

Well, today's my birthday (twenty-one; it sounds very grown up... It's supposed to be the 'becoming an adult' birthday or something. When does one feel like an adult, I wonder?), and so I thought I would commemorate the occasion by adding another post. What have I been up to lately? Well, working at the Comox Medical Clinic, mostly. I get to do eye tests, pregnancy tests, and urine tests, but predominantly I'm responsible for filling rooms with patients. With older patients, these trips can take an enormously long time - it's like a wedding march down the aisle (or perhaps more of a funeral march... hehe). I've also got some shifts working at Panago- a pizza place, for anyone who hasn't been there before. It's quite fun working with the dough (no tossing the dough up in the air, though- I think they had problems with dough getting stuck to the ceiling).

As for writing, I found an interesting site (http://www.filmscriptwriting.com/samplescripts.html), which has posted links to various movie scripts, such as an early version of Pirates of the Caribbean. Script writing- now there's something new, I thought to myself. And so, instead of doing all the sorts of things I should have done (dishes, cleaning, etc.), I started experimenting with different sorts of scenes. It's tremendous fun playing around with dialogue- I've started my own movie script. Of course, I'm not planning on doing anything with it, but I'm learning a heck of a lot from it... and have not been able to stop dissecting the movies I've seen since I've started this project. 

But while I've been fiddling around with scripts, I've not forgotten the silly poetry collection. This is my version of Ruth, which I mentioned in my previous post. I'm still not happy with it, but am putting it forward for criticism.

Ruth:

As winter’s icy handgrip breaks,

Springtime comes and love awakes.

From desert plain to rocky bluff,

All sorts of creatures strut their stuff.

Squirrels jump from tree to tree,

While gazelles prance with giddy glee,

Camels kiss, snakes slither,

As the young ones court, all a dither.

Even old folk grab their sticks

And hit the streets in search of chicks.

Sometimes bachelors, on a rare occasion,

(who’ve resisted all previous persuasion)

Unexpectedly give love a try

When the right match catches his or her eye.

Such was the case for Mr. B,

A farmer of good salary.

Even he, a lover belated,

Was soon to become ‘twitterpated’.

One day, while men brought in the barley,

Mr. B zoomed up on his Harley,

He did his rounds, wincing slightly,

“Feet still hurt?” Asked a friend politely.

B’s sandals, blue with pink threads,

Had rubbed and ripped his feet to shreds.

But though B was greatly pained

By blisters and sores, he ne’er complained.

At around three, while inspecting the yields,

B spotted a girl out in the fields.

Toned and tanned with eyes of bright green,

She was the prettiest girl he’d ever seen.

“Who’s that?” He asked, in utter awe.

“That’s Naomi’s daughter-in-law.”

Replied the foreman, a trifle glum.

“She’s back?” Asked Mr. B. “How come?”

The foreman sighed, his hands on hips,

“Her husband has cashed in his chips.

Her sons, sick and weakly guys,

Have also met with their demise.

But Ruth, a dear and faithful friend,

Has sworn to stay to the bitter end.”

So, impressed by the girl who slaved away,

B made her work easy so she would stay.

Ruth worked all summer by the plough,

And brought home tons and tons of chow.

Pleased with things, Naomi made a plan.

Said she, “A pretty girl, a wealthy man

–      what a match!” Then, lips a-smacking,

That crafty yenta sent Ruth packing.

“Go pay him a night rendez-vous.

To find out if he’ll marry you.” 

And so, wearing a light perfume,

Ruth entered Mr. B’s bedroom.

Her heart thumping and skipping a beat,

She lay down quietly at his feet.

Soon, B’s tetchy tootsies twitched

And, thinking that his footsies itched,

Ruth gently rolled the covers back,

Revealing soles both blue and black.

Hours later, at around midnight

The man sat up with a fright.

“Who are you?” Asked Mr. B.

“Your servant Ruth. Will you marry me?” 

Said he, “I’m number two in line for you,

But tomorrow I’ll see what I can do.

I’ll go to see my cousin Bill;

If he won’t wed you, I sure will.”

In the morning, ‘round half-past eight,

B met Bill near the city gate.

Bill, sporting a beavertail hat,

Sat down beside B to have a chat.

“Naomi,” B said, “is selling her land.

D’you want it?” “Boy, that’ud be grand!”

Replied Bill, rubbing his bald patch.

“Sadly,” B said, “there’s just one catch.

To gain the land you must unite

With Ruth, the barren Moabite.”

Bill hummed and hawed, then shook his head.

Elated, B said, “I’ll do it instead!”

So the deed was done, and to make it square,

B flung his flip-flop into the air.

They wed the next day, and dined on pheasant,

Then B received his favourite present:

Holey soles, with love from his wife,

And B never got blisters the rest of his life. 

So there you have it- rough and messy in places, but the general gist of it is there. The next one is going to be about Jonathan and his armour bearer's excursion into Philistine territory as described in 1 Samuel 14.  

So it begins... again

So. I started a blog a week-ish ago, but it got shut down for some reason (I think blogspot was malfunctioning or something, unless of course someone has deemed my blog offensive in any way. Let me assure you, this is not my intent- if someone doesn't like what I've written, please disregard it as idle silliness and nothing more). Anyway, I wrote a lovely, slightly sarcastic introduction, but of course, I didn't save it. So, new readers, you'll be getting the short version.

Why am I starting a blog? Partly as an outlet, but mainly as place where I can record my creative writing and receive some feedback/criticism. My current project is a collection of poems. I've never been terribly good at writing poetry, at least not the beautiful, serious kind, so my poetry collection is going to be silly. I've modeled the first one after Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes (if you haven't read his poems, you should). But instead of changing fairy tales into funny poems, as Dahl does, I intend to use Bible Stories. My first one, which I'm re-posting, is about Ehud. Yes, it's rough, but the general gist of it is there. If anyone has any suggestions for improving the rhythm or the rhymes, please don't hesitate to post them.


Ehud

As any college kid will know

It’s not nice being out of dough.

The leading role in our story

(which, in fact, is rather gory)

Is Ehud, one of Gera’s sons,

Who lived off cucumbers and buns.

And why was Ehud’s life so lame?

Why was he poor, who was to blame?

Eglon! – hater of the Civil Rights,

Who overtaxed the Israelites.

For every year, some time in May,

The brute squad took their cash away.

One day, finding his cupboard bare

Ehud’s temper began to flare

“If I have to eat one more cuke,

Said he, “I’m really going to puke!

It’s time to change the status quo

This Eglon chap has got to go!”

So the next year, in latish spring,

Ehud took gold to the king.

With a dagger strapped to his thigh,

He smiled at the guards and sidled by.

King Eglon sat upon his throne,

Bald and wearing too much cologne

He looked a lot like Jabba the Hutt

With rolls of fat spilling from his gut

The king snatched the money away with glee

“Taxes, taxes, all for me!”

And emitting several girlish squeals

The humungous pig kicked up his heels.

While the king continued to gloat

Our left-handed champ cleared his throat.

“Wot?” Asked the king (yes he was thick)

“If you’ve got something to say, then say it quick.”

Ehud bowed and polit’ly replied,

“I’ve got info, and it’s classified,”

King Eglon, somewhat pacified,

grunted and shooed his men outside. 

“Right then,” began the oafish lout,

“What’s the news? Come on, spit it out!”

“I’ve got a message from the Lord.”

Said Ehud, and stabbed him with a sword.

And, as inward slid the silken knife,

The tummy seemed to come to life.

And, as quick as spreading scandal

It swallowed point and blade and handle.

To the fat, E said “it’s all yours.”

And stepped back as slop splattered the floors.

(I won’t say what poured from his belly

only that it was rather smelly).

Our hero grabbed the king and, with a groan,

Dragged him to his other throne.

With that, Ehud quickly ran,

And escaped down through the royal can.

Meanwhile, the servants stood outside the john,

Wondering what was going on.

They waited and again they waited,

“Perhaps” said one “he’s constipated.”

“Perhaps he simply likes the loo.”

Said another, shrugging, “I sure do.”

But, after an hour – or was it three?

One of them fetched a key.

Though shocked at the macabre display, 

They agreed they’d never liked him anyway.

So, when Ehud’s troops came to the gate,

They all began to celebrate.

Moral: if you are a trifle hefty

Never trust a starving lefty.

That's about all I have for now. I did write another similar poem this week about the story of Ruth, but it didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. I think it was mainly because that particular story wasn't as easy to poke fun at (no gruesome bits). I'm hoping to start another one shortly, once I've picked a more suitable story. I might go back to the Book of Judges to see what I can see...