Modes of Communication

I just got off the phone with Andrew in Ethiopia. It was a terrible connection. I could hear only about every third word he said. We were trying to talk about some Very Important Matters, so it was frustrating not to be able to converse easily. But what do I expect? It is the other side of the world! So I asked him to write to me, by email, the Very Important Details so I will be entirely clear about what is going on with him. "But I want to talk about them," says he.

This exchange was related to the rest of my family and then following conversation occured:

"Yeah, that sounds like me and X."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, given the choice between talking in person and talking on the phone, X would rather talk on the phone."
"Really? Hmm, given the choice between talking on the phone and writing an email, which would X choose?"
"Email."
"Really? Hmm, given the choice between email and not communicating at all, which would X choose?
"I get your point."

Found, parts I and II

That which was lost, has now been found. Do I get a finder's fee? No, I get to go shopping. Old Navy, here we come.

And there was a good conclusion to this lost story, too. The store manager from JCPenney's phoned the next morning saying he had found her keys. The car was still there, and my friend left for China as planned.

Hotel Rwanda

Today was kind of unusual for me, different from my usual routine. It started out the same, went to work and R. went early with me too. (She's been working during her Christmas holiday to make some spending money for next semester when she won't be allowed to have a job.) We decided yesterday to go to a movie today which is in limited release called Hotel Rwanda. The only theater it is showing at is on the north side of Dallas, but it is located just feet away from one of the light rail stations. So we drove 8 miles and parked the car at the nearest mass transit station, then paid $2.50 for an all-day pass, and rode the train to Mockingbird station. After we bought our movie tickets we ate lunch at the Noodle Kitchen. R. is not an adventuresome eater, so she had a chicken sandwich! I had something called Thai Pad Ew, or something like that, which was fried noodles with broccoli, sprouts, and chicken. It was good.

The movie was very intense, very good. Some of the movie was easy to relate to since we have lived in the third world. But we never had to live in a place where there was so much killing and tribal hatred. The most moving point of the movie was when the UN peacekeeper had to tell the story's hero, "We think you are dirt." "Pardon me, who is we?" "The west. We don't care if you kill each other off. Our governments have told us to pull out."

Tonight we carpooled to Bible study in Waxahachie, and on the way there I volunteered to tell about the movie I had just seen. The point of the movie was reinforced: the people in the car with me had never heard of the Hutus or the Tutsis, though it was only 10 years ago and a million of them were killed.

Annual Painful Pancake Test

I had mine today. They bring a mobile unit right to our work, so I was there after a five-minute walk, and it is mostly paid for by our insurance. Except for the misery of the test itself, it couldn't be easier.

That reminds me of once playing Taboo with a couple in their early 70s. Carl was trying his best to discreetly describe the word "mammogram" only to discover that he had misread the Taboo card which said "monogram." Pretty funny.

Don't Know What an Autoharp Is?

I've already had a random twenty-something admit that he didn't know what an autoharp was. Here is a random photograph
of one from the internet. And here is a random website that tells about them.

Really, they are not a beautiful sounding instrument, IMHO, but they are useful for school music teachers who can't carry a piano around with them to class.

Autoharp

Remember those fine instruments? In the midst of my somewhat bad mood and complaining about shoe shopping and losing things, my husband said, "We can be a hillbilly band--I'll play the hammered dulcimer, and you can be the autoharp."

Shoe Shopping

isn't quite as bad as shopping for bras or swimsuits, but it is painful, nonetheless. Especially when the feet that need to be shod are size adult 5.5W or children's 3.5W. Over the space of this Christmas holiday, I honestly think she tried on 50 pairs of shoes in 7-8 stores. Two pairs were actually purchased; one for $90 and one for $10.

Lost, part II

I was watching a Firefly* episode tonight when the phone rang. My friend had lost her keys. Either locked inside her car or lost inside JCPenneys. She doesn't need this hassle right now; she leaves for China day after tomorrow.

*a western set in the future, on TV for awhile, before it was cancelled

Lost

One of the shopping gift cards has gone missing. I think we've already spent $50 worth of our time looking for it.