Christmas post...:-)

This post is especially for "anonymous". I am sorry I was unable to post earlier, but hope this will suffice:-)

Last week was sooo busy and I left town to be with family, so I had no internet access. I am also having a semi-crisis... well really it's self imposed so don't feel sorry for me at all. It will also cause me to be very busy for all of January... I am really dreading January! But I am a lioness and can get through anything!

Any way... Santa was AWESOME!!! This year. I can not even begin to express my gratitude to "santa".... I am truly blessed.

Also I am in the process of reading 'a long way gone: memoirs of a boy soldier' by Ishmeal Beah which was one of my christmas presents. Will update when I finnish reading. Lots of blood so far. Tell you what though... I thought it was a little disturbing that I was given that book for christmas... it says a lot about how morbid my life is I think...lol!

Lets see news wise:- I still haven't a clue what I'll do for new years eve. Problems with being a social butterfly is that you get tired at times-- and this is one of those times. I am going to dinner with friends tonight and tomorrow, so I can decide what sounds better then. It's sushi night tomorrow... wrong day I know:-) It's also Michelle's birthday, so that's why. Gaza/ Israel-- is that really news???? Uganda church massacre??? Italian island of Lampedussa? There actually wasn't any real news other than the Somalian president stepping down-- that's like so rare in Africa:-)

Oopsy... phone call ... gotta run:-)
~ciao

Passport Saga

I forgot to say yesterday that it's now 3 months since I sent my passport for renewal to the Zambian embassy. I had initially been told it takes three months for processing (I have the email to prove it), yet I received no receipt or anything telling me they had received my information. I only know they got it coz I fedexed it and had someone sign for it. So any way, I decided to practice patience and waited till the time had come before I called them.

Manena: I was calling to inquire when my passport will be ready and sent to me. It is now 3 months and I have heard nothing from you.
Lady at embassy: You will be getting something in the mail very soon. The prices have changed and so have the passports, so we need to send you a new form.
Manena: I sent the extra money, so can I download the new form and send that to you?
L @ E: No, we will send you the form and you can fill it and return it to us.
Manena: So in theory, nothing has been processed in the last 3 months with regards to my forms?
L@ E: That is correct. In fact, we haven't touched anything that came in after July. So now we're starting the process.
Manena (controlling her mouth obviously-- coz she's major pissed off!): So Then it will be another 3 months before I get a passport?
L @E: Yes. It will be 3 months.
Manena: So altogether it will be probably 6 months to get a passport.
**************************************************
In short-- They are forcing me to find someone to bribe. When you bribe passport officials, getting a passport is less than a week... even one day. The legal route takes 6 months or more. Why? to keep bribery going I suppose.
******************************************
So I ask thee-- what good is the Zambian embassy to me? Really. When people are sick, or die, or are in jail, other Zambians from Zambian associations donate money and time. The embassy doesn't as far as I know. They can't even get me a passport, so really...what can they do for me as a Zambian? I am not being funny or anything-- maybe there's something I am missing. I seriously don't know how it can help me.
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any hoo-- on another piss Manena note, it turns out you can sue good Samaritans in California. So the story is that a paralyzed woman and her friend go out drinking on the drive back, the para. woman has a car crash and her friend (driving behind her) runs to pull her out of the wreck. In doing so, the para lady sustains injuries and sues her friend. The court says good Samaritan laws only apply if you administer medical assistance to someone. So like if the friend had put a band aid on her, that would have been ok. How crappy is that???

Raison d'etre

Okay... holidays are approaching and I have been a tad busy... also hurt my back at work..... so I was sort of recovering from that:-) I think I am all shopped out, unless someone wants to dump a whole lot of money on me then I will certainly recover and go shopping again;-)

Yesterday, I had a craving for some pad thai, but I was in denial to go downtown and buy it from a good place, so instead I went to Jesse Wongs kitchen. I must admit, I was very excited that I could order my dinner online and also that they called me within 2 minutes to confimr everything and to let me know that it would be ready in 10 minutes. They also gave me 10% off for ordering online for the first time. I ordered pad thai, vegetable spring rolls, chicken satay and shrimp something rolls.
Can I just say disgusting??? OMG!!! I mean my first clue should have been that I was ordering Thai food from 'Jesse Wong'... but I figured that maybe the chef knew his thang. He didn't. I ate half of my dinner, but really the pad thai had a nice spicy kick to it...but it was vile. The shrimp rolls?... I couldn't do more than two. The chicken satay-- nausea. If I ever go back there, I will probably stick to something simple like fried rice or steamed vegetables.

Moving on-- Okay here is the funny story about Blagojevich... I had never heard his name until the day he decided to halt business with Bank of America. For some reason I get Chicago news on my cheap cable. I laughed when I saw Blagojevich coz he looked weird...and so imagine my surprise to hear the same name the very next day on the radio...after he had been arrested by the FBI...!!!

Talking about secret service-- I found the dabya-shoe-saga sooo funny I thought I would pee my pants! Now why didn't secret service remove dabya from the scene when that nonsense happened? What if other shoes started flying in the room? I.D.K-- thought they were a little on the slow side.

Ok... If I post nothing by Christmas...y'all have a grand time and don't forget the real meaning of Christmas. I am distracted at present.... tv:-)

Elongation of Labia Minora- Zambia

I was browsing the web today and just now found out that elongation of labia minora is classified as Genital Mutilation type IV (where have I been?). So of course after my initial shock of "oh my God! I am mutilated!!!" abated... I had a few minutes to think and I have come to a conclusion on the subject. The researchers have erred.

History and Commentary:

Let me start by saying that the information contained herein will most likely upset/disconcert a lot of Zambians because we have trouble talking about our sexuality or sex in public places. Ritual/ traditional sexual matters are discussed in private among friends or at gender restricted traditional ceremonies.

The reason I feel strongly to speak on this subject is that as Zambian, we sometimes have a tendency to accept western standards as the norm, shunning our own cultures without much investigation other than the fact that it seems primitive. We often forget that when anthropologists come in from other countries to "study" us, they are not highly familiar with the language for a start, and the local people are not comfortable explaining everything or have trouble translating things to English. The evidence is clear in Chisungu: A girl's initiation ceremony among the Bemba of Zambia by Audrey Richards.

Yes there are a lot of inconsistencies and traditional teaching that has been done the same way for ages that we have no idea why it's done that way other than-- it was passed on by our forefathers that way. You could say the same for many religious practices too. Unfortunately, unlike religion, our history is not written, but passes on through fables or partially true stories, through dance and song or a village elders romantic view of the past.

Traditionally, young Zambian (and other African- Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Uganda, DRC...etc) girls are taught at puberty to elongate the labia minora for the enhancement a man and woman's sexual pleasures.

I recall receiving this information from our house maid when I was 10 or 11 years old. We had just returned home from a particularly trying game of Zambian 'rounders'. She approached my cousins and I and somberly informed us that if we did not pull on our labia minora we would not get married and hence would have no children. That was enough to scare us into sitting down with her on what would become our many "bathroom" sessions.

No. I never got them to the desired/ recommended length because I grew bored and my cousins and I decided to just screw the move and never get married. As it turns out, you CAN get married without altering your labia and...oh wow! You can have kids too!!!...lol.

Defense Motion:

Mutilation or maiming is an act or physical injury that degrades the appearance or function of the (human) body, usually without causing death. So technically-- the body part is altered when you elongate the labia, but you are not altering how anything feels down there. They also say that women with elongated labia tend to have more bladder and vaginal infections than others. Probably true for others... but not for me and women that I am close to, so I can not confirm or deny that.

The thing is Mutilation has really negative connotations. To me it's the cutting of the clitoris and other female body parts in a way to keep a woman submissive and violate women's sexual rights. If we use the original definition listed above, that would be assuming that a woman getting a hysterectomy is also being mutilated... which is in fact not true because the surgery is not done negatively or that women who choose to get hoodectomies to enhance sexual pleasure or labiaplasty to make their genitals look pretty are mutilating themselves right? See be very careful with evaluations of culture done by the western world.

So because elongating the labia is for positive reasons (pleasure) should it be considered FGM surely? The only weapons used are fingers, herbal oils, mango stems (really!), or clothes pegs in serious cases. Of course as with everything, some women get abused in the process such as those sent back from their marital homes because they didn't have elongated labia, or those abused during initiations ceremonies (which I wont get into today).

I mean I just don't see see how someone who thinks lobola is the buying and selling of women while they encourage the purchase of expensive diamond rings can tell me I am mutilated.

I am the proud owner of elongated labia minora and they have not caused me any mental or physical problems.

I am Manena-- and I approve this message.

World AIDS day

This is in memory of all that have lost their lives as a result of HIV/AIDS complications. There is nothing left to say that hasn't already been said.
You can view the stories I did in 2006 at the links below...

http://manena20.blogspot.com/2006/11/when-i-met-hivaids.html
http://manena20.blogspot.com/2006/11/delay-of-arvs-in-africa.html
and of course-- last years post is pasted below...


I would like to start by asking you all to pause for a minute in memory of all the victims of AIDS that are deceased.

Next I would like to applaud all families taking care of the 'orphans of AIDS' and to those taking care of patients with AIDS/HIV related complications. You guys are magnificent people!

It's amazing that years after the discovery of this 'new disease', things seem to have worsened and not improved. Just the other day, news reports said that estimates of AIDS cases have risen in America. In years past, the misconception was that Africans we're too stupid to understand the cause and effect of unprotected sex and that was why the cases were increasing there. I can attest to the fact that this was not so.

By the time I was in high school in Zambia (mid-late '90's), we had representatives from various NGO's that would come in and talk to us about HIV and show pictures of sickly men, women and children. We saw pictures of penises oozing with puss and vaginas with various stages of decubitus wounds. We saw sketetons or children- reminiscent of the Ethiopian children in the 'we are the world' videos. There were countless numbers of billboards screaming out 'prevention is the cure' or something in those lines.
The message was loud and clear: Abstinence or Condoms was the key to a life free of HIV/ AIDS.

A few months ago, I found out that my cousin is HIV positive. My cousin is TWO DAYS older than I am. We saw the same billboards and heard the same messages. We knew almost the same people, including those that had AIDS.

Yesterday, news stations were abuzz with the story of the Zambian reporter Kenneth Gondwe that was recently circumcised. While I commend him for bringing this story to light. I fear that we will go back to the days when circumcisions were perfomed enmass and the same tool was used to cut the foreskin of the men in attendance. Most of the people in rural areas can not afford the $50 needed for the circumcision. In addition, if the message isn't sent out right, there will be a growing number of people that will assume that because they are circumcised, they will not get HIV when they fornicate sans condoms. Also, i can imagine a growing number of penile infections due to people performing their own circumcisions in the privacy of their own homes for lack of finances.

So any way, that's my little sermon for today.

Driving etiquette

I wrote this the day before thanksgiving and forgot to post it oopsy! Hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving and that you told the people you are grateful for that you love 'em and all that mushy stuff...

Okay... this has been pending for a while, but I thought I should talk about this seeing as it's thanksgiving weekend and things will be major busy...and traffic will be a mess and I will be enraged!

1. Please follow the 3 second rule religiously!


2. The space between the car before me and my car is not so you can squeeze in, it's to allow time for me to deal with emergencies moron!!!


3. If I am coming at 80 miles and hour...do NOT by any means possible pull in front of me on the highway while driving at 50 miles/ hour.... that is an accident waiting to happen.


4. If you're lost and holding a cell phone... please stop the car at a 7 eleven or something and take down directions from there or buy a flippin GPS man!


5. There is a reason hands free sets were invented, please read up on that.


6. Use your indicators/ turn signals-- they were purposely put there.


7. Makeup while driving??? Are you for real???
8. Why in the world would you all be driving at the same speed in all 4 lanes on the highway when there is no traffic jam?? I mean one of you needs to move out of the way or slow down to create room for others to pass n'est pas?

Jazzmatazz

For the first time in years...I took a nap in the afternoon! Imagine that! I am not sure how I'll be able to sleep tonight:-) I've got work tomorrow...I know it's one of those rare mondays:-) The truth is I am only working 2 days this week, so I am not complaining about going in on a monday. Recession says I should go more often... but alas!

Went to see the new Bond movie...quite nice actually. Well it's pretty fast you feel like you have ADHD or something! I don't want to ruin it for those that haven't seen it yet, but then again if you haven't seen it, then you're probably not a true fan and I can tell you about it innit? bwah haha!

I am very fond of Jazz, and used to go to Twins Jazz http://www.twinsjazz.com/ and still thinkk it's the best Jazz place I know. They have open mic jazz night which is just fantastic! You get to hear unknown and up and coming artists just doing their thang and it's awesome!


Any way in my denial of most things D.C... I went to try and find a jazz place closer to me and ended up at Coco's butter http://www.cocosbuttercafe.com/ which is a jazz, wine and Chocolate cafe. All my favorite things! How delightful! It's located in Columbia and sort of looks shady from the outside because it's near a warehouse and one would tend to think you're lost as you approach the place for the first time. As you walk in you're greeted by pictures of jazz stars and instruments on the wall. Sweets displayed in the glass enclosures beckon endlessly for you to taste them. The room is small and inviting-- not bright. The down side is that you have to go to the bar to purchase everything. Last night they had a band called 'Nex lev'l' I thought they were great...the percussionist was totally entertaining! I didn't like the wines I had-- a South African rosé and a Pinot Grigio... The chocolates were...hhhhmmmmm. I didn't like the look of the cheesecake, so I didn't bother eating any. The hot chocolate was mediocre.


Talking about hot chocolate, winter is here and I HATE winter!!! It snowed the other day and I had to walk through the damned flurries!!! I think this is going to be a bloody long winter!

Also the recession as I figured is now affecting wine purchases. I have been to several wine stores and I can not seem to find agood bottle for less than $10 like I used to. It seems most wines under $15 are like 2007's and a lot of them are too young to be drank now any way which is screwed up!

LOL... the economist has the most ridiculous research done http://www.economist.com/science/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12630193&source=hptextfeature basically they are saying that those who wash with soap and water are morally corrupt. So I guess to maintain my moral integrity I will probably stop taking baths...lol.

Also, I will have not family this thanksgiving and Christmas. So If you think your life sucks... think of me and how I will be alone for Christmas...and know that someone else's life sucks worse than yours! I will be a freeloader... as usual... just haven't decided which houses will be raided. I may go to Texas again for Christmas if things play out right... though I have discovered that it's cheaper to go to Ohio... so I may visit my peeps there instead. Dunno yet. So many plans so little time:-)

En attendant Godot

I don't remember the particulars of waiting for Godot... but at the moment I think I am having such a situation...and it was so funny when I put two and two (of the situation) together mentally-- I got the story of Godot! I can not go into the particulars, but have you ever felt like a song was written for you... or that a movie or book is about your life??? It almost shows you how connected we are as a human race I guess.

More on TV: How about the girl that killed herself after Paula Abdul? C$ and I were having a dicussion about how people don't know the difference between TV life and real life! Ok so she said I am from Venus and not earth and that's why my views are a little out there at times... but she said that she wanted to be Aaliyah for the longest time... and I don't think I have ever wanted to be a movie star-- that's not to say I don't wonder why I wasn't born looking like beyonce/ jenn lopez/ naomi/ oluchi... but I certainly don't imagine being them in a stalker way or nothing you know?

My passport is still not back... we're getting close to December... maybe one day:-)

Hey I was thinking about Zambian words yesterday-- you know, words that were introduced to the country by traders and stuff:
Insapato (bemba)- sapato (portuguese means shoes
Ifinanazi (bemba)- Ananas (portuguese) means pineapples
umuswaki (bemba)- Meswak (common in Arab world- not sure of origin)- tooth stick/ brush:-)
Fuseki (bemba/ nyanja)- voetsek (dutch/ afrikaans)- get lost/ bugger off...

okay i'm on a phone call ... major distracted

Proposition 8

ok....so if you voted no to proposition 8.... you might wanna skip this post and read other stuff unless you really want to know what I have to say about it.

Civil Rights state that all men are equal...I don't see anything about men sleeping together in that statement...and truthfully, I don't see anything about women sleeping with men either. So I don't see how this can be used to fight for the rights of gay people.
With that said, I would like to discuss Civil rights Vs Homosexuality because I'm tired of the gay community stating that they are denied their civil rights because they can't get married!!
Civil rights to me, apply to protecting things that one can not change. I can not change my skin color(bleaching doesn't count! and anyone can see that Michael Jackson is still black!), and I can not change my sex. Gay people however, can be gay today and straight tomorrow! I have seen some people do that. It's only a sexual preference-- a life style, social statement if you will.

Asking "why doesn't the black community support us knowing full well that they were denied their civil rights too" begs the question of understanding. Does the person asking that question understand that blacks and whites were not allowed to marry because whites were "human" and blacks were "sub-human" (somewhere under dogs and horses) and so the two were not allowed to marry for that reason.

Allowing/ protecting same sex marriage because its "genetic" will also be leading to a leeway for polygamy, pedophilia and serial killers...for they too claim their condition is "genetic" and shouldn't their civil rights be protected too based on the same argument?

If a mans sexual preference is for really young girls... i'm talking 14-ish, should he be allowed to marry a 14 year old because its his "civil right"? isn't homosexuality a sexual preference? Some men have a sexual preference for more than one women at a time... should they too be allowed to marry more than one wife?

Frankly I am quite put off that with all the savvy lawyers available to fight for gay rights they couldn't come up with a better argument than the "civil rights" comparison for marriage.
So if Gay people want to get married, could they kindly find another argument? They can not compare their plight to that of slaves or dehumanized people... it just isn't right!

Ummm

Okay, my dementia kicks in once in a while and I forgot what I came here to say often:-) I guess I wanted to talk about the book I just finished reading "don't lets go to the dogs tonight". Very interesting how white and black Africans live in the same country living such parallel lives that rarely cross...and having such dissimilar experiences. Had the author not had the last 2 pages explaining stuff I would have sent her a stinker for most of what she wrote. It was an okay read especially if you want to know how muzungu's viewed independence and stuff like that.

Any way moving on.... I told my muzungu friends that as a member of the now ruling race I am in charge of all decision making. That didn't go over too well I'm afraid. They called me a nut and some other rude words I can not repeat here.... so I am planning on writing to UNCLE Obama (based on his teeth looking a lot like mine... I think we might be related!) and I will ask him to have them (especially Peggy) deported to Germany or Ireland. I am sure I can find proof that their family trees extend there:-)

On a sad note Mirriam Makeba bid as farewell this week...

Also, The weekend was fab....ate some bad sushi at one joint though... but washed it down with delicious key lime and white chocolate raspberry cheesecakes (I ate both!) from the cheesecake factory....which really has sucky food. I am sorry to say to all the die hard fans, I have eaten there 3 times now and the food always sucks. The cheesecake I can not complain about because it's awesome! But the food leaves much to be desired. I mean who messes up scrambled eggs???...okay probably my cousin who also burnt the dish cloths after boiling them for too long. That doesn't count.

I am going to go on a long rant about Gays and "civil rights" in a bit, so stay tuned.

OMG!!!!

I am a part of history.......... I have seen the first black president of America!!! OMG!!! I have no more to say on the subject.

The count down...

Nerves, nerves, nerves, nerves!!!!

They already know I'll be late for work tomorrow because I will be up for a while tonight!
Everything looks very tight so far.... Who knows????

I'm still here!

hi everyone!!!! *wave*

I am sooo happy I just finnished all my course work for the last 10 weeks and I will not have too much work for a little while!

So any way-- Zambia goes to the polls today... may the best man win! I really have no loyalties, so I don't care who wins. It aint like they'll share the wealth with me any way....so hey! I have an aunt in the race so.... I hope she wins.

I am sooo mentally tired at the moment though. Tisi and I went our Friday night....it was unforgettable.... we had organic vodka....which I swear is the equivalent of kachasu!!! It was totally lethal. I really don't remember much of the night, but I have vowed to drink very little from now on!

Saturday, we had two parties to attend. The first was my buddy vixter's 30th birthday, which was a lot of fun. We ate some goat, greens and roti. It was really good. I also ran into a guy I haven't seen in gosh like 15 years or so. The world is small.

Later we went to get down in DC at the park at 14th for mi pana's friends birthday bash. It was awesome. We were totally tired from the night before and too scared to drink. We were at a VIP booth with drinks over flowing and all we had was orange and cranberry juice. I HATE cranberry juice!

Sunday I took Tisi to see the whitehouse and a little more of DC in the day light. Then we got home to B'more and just crashed!!!

Monday I had a job interview which lasted 3 flippin hours....and they had me sitting in the cold. I was soo sick later in the day. My whole body was tired, muscles hurt....hmmm. It was hectic. I have since felt a little on the way to recovery... but man.

So any way... now I have more time and can write alittle more often than I have been doing in the past few weeks. I have also vowed to tone down my weekend escapades. I need a rest. There are a few halloween parties for the weekend... but I see myself skipping those. I want to be really low key.

Who's excited about the elections next week ey? Any hoo, I am off to nurse myself...:-)

Happy Independence Zambia!!!!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish Zambia and it's people a very happy independence!!!! I was going to celebrate it at the JK concert tonight, but I'll pass on that:-) I will be doing something else though!

My friend Tisi flew in from Florida this week, so I am having a heck of a time with her, and we'll be sure to paint B'more and DC red...

Before I forget, I had the chance to watch Jacob Zuma at the council of foreign affairs while he was in the USA. He seems to have a lot of backing from people in the USA who would like to see him become president.... he is also quite an eloquent speaker...and makes some funny jokes... but there is something very shifty about the guy. I think he answered all the questions on investment, hiv/aids, ANC policies...etc ... well by insisting the policy of the ANC is different from the policies of presidents and ministers etc. The only thing is-- he really did't say what the policies of the ANC are.

Any way...I am off to deny that we're in a recession by greenspanning it in some clubs or something....:-) haha

Ichidunu chilalisha....

The weekend has been swell! I am a little tired and probably wont be able to write much.

Friday was happy hour:- Didn't stay long...but after that I went into hiding because I wasn't in the mood for a late night!
Saturday, went to my aunts and we went to see to see 'The secret lives of bees"...fun movie. I cried several times because I am kinda emotional at the moment and I don't want to ruin the movie for those of you that will see it.
Sunday: Mi pana and I were supposed to go play golf ( I know...I really can't play but he was going to teach me)...we ended up playing pool instead...and i sucked at that too because I hadn't played in 10 years!!! Then we went to see "W"... interesting movie. I laughed through most of it, but they made Condoleeza look like a retard.

So any way...will be back tomorrow with more stuff....

Tonights debate

Let me start by saying I am disgusted by McCain tonight. I thought he was better than that! I can see asking heavy questions... but that was uncalled for. He was more into making Obama look bad than answering the debate questions of what he would do.

Again: On the issue of health insurance... I'm I the only one listening? People that do not understand the Obama plan have not spent enough time in the hospital. For one thing, there are a lot of people that do not have coverage and over use the emergency room. It also sort of insures that everyone will have coverage. The only problem I have with it is that it is government run...which is problematic, but can be done as we have seen in other countries. I think health care should be a basic right. Every Tom, Dick and Harry should be able to afford it. It should not be decided by insurance companies.
Health care in America is one of my pet peeves. I do not understand why it costs so much and how one of the wealthiest countries in the world can have that many people without coverage and in debt because they couldn't afford it. Who pays for that then...aha! You the tax payer!!! yay!!!
McCain's plan is commendable-- give money to people and let them decide how they will use it. LOL...seriously give me the $5000 and I will buy myself something nice or ....I don't know... pay off some debt? Many people will not pay for health care with that money. I understand the fear of having government run things... but really, majority of 'joe the plumbers' will most likely use the money elsewhere.
**********phew! Off my soap box!!!*****************

On abortion-- I will forever be pro life... but I do respect Obama's stance. Abortion is not an easy decision to make and we should really be encouraging people to practice safe sex...and to think of adoption.
Immigration?-- Nothing really said. Disappointing.
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any hoo... I have a conference tomorrow morning and I should go to bed:-)

Fuego!!!

So I know I've been slacking--what else is new right?

I sort of had a very good and very bad week...and I am sure I just confused y'all, but really, I had several very good things happen and several really bad things happen. I wont fret about it though because I am still standing innit?

Crazy though: you know how I am always saying probability is like my enemy? Well this man that annoyed me 2 years ago walks in and is my client... now for real???? I was sitting there like God you can not be serious! Okay I think I amuse God and that's why s/he pulls stunts like that.... to see my reaction:-) Don't worry...I didn't go all ghetto on him. I was very professional and only said what was minimally required and asked my co-workers to do the bulk of the work.

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I think I mentioned that over a month ago I sent my passport to the Zambian embassy for renewal right? So any way, no one has ever responded to say they got my information and whether it is sufficient and all. So being goody two shoes, I emailed (coz no one ever answers the phone), and I got a lovely email informing me that a) It takes 3 months to get your passport back and b) The prices have since gone up since I sent my stuff in and it's now $100!!!.

So my thing is... if I hadn't written in, how would I have known all that? Also, if my application was sent in before the price change, shouldn't I be grandfathered into the old place? I'm just saying ka?. It doesn't make any logic for me to mail more money when I'm not even sure they got my stuff and if processing has began!

I will keep you posted on the passport saga. My fear is that they will loose my passport. They lost my cousins one and they also lost my friend Natasha's one... so that's 2 people.

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Friday I went out for a drink with a newly broken-up-from-her-boyfriend person... guess what happened at the place we landed at first? They had 3 weddings in the building, and they band was playing love songs....LOLOL... I was like...ummm, lets get out of here I think! The next place was like all twelve year olds with fake ID's or something... then the last place in Fells point kinda hit the spot.

Saturday... my lovely mates took me to http://www.woodberrykitchen.com/ It was really awesome. Will post pics later. I loved the steak I ate...and the ambiance. Apparently it's a really popular spot and one needs to make reservations early...which we did and still couldn't get in till 8. The food is all organic. The portions European sized-- or shall I say upscale restaurant size. So you really do have room for appetizers, main dish and dessert. The only problem was out waiter has absolutely reeking breath!!! I mean... he could kill rats with that stuff!!! We all gave anyone who asked him too many questions at our table the 'look'... we were like just eat whatever...don't ask the dude any questions! By the end of the night-- we gather someone told him why we kept laughing when he came over...and he got some mint or a drink. Whatever it was.... it sho fixed the problem!

Sunday is a blurr--- I was recovering from Friday and Saturday and didn't achieve much.

Monday-- I felt like a princess...:-)

Oh and I see news week is just now addressing whether Catholics should vote for Obama or not. Like for real? I broke that story months ago!!! www.manena20.blogspot.com/2008/06/confused-catholic-voter.html I should be writing for a big paper or something. I seem to way ahead of them. A catholic nun who is 106 years old is voting for the first time since 1952 or whatever...and she's voting for Obama:-) That's cute.

Sarah Palin is pulling all the stops this election and will on TV talking about what it's like to raise a child with Downs Syndrome. I had more faith in her ability to steal the show... but it's like shadow fell over her...and now the palinator doesn't seem to know how to aim her guns!

McCain had promised a clean campaign... but oldielox seems to be pulling out his dentures and forgetting to change his diaper! I liked him better in the republican race. He was even tempered and seemed as experienced as he is. Now he's just a big baby.

I however I'm concerned that I do not hear anything about immigration from the two presidential wanna be's. Hopefully they will address that tomorrow night. In the republican race McCain was logical on the subject... I hope the fear of loosing hasn't distorted his vision by making him say strange things now! Obama-- I do not recall what he says on the subject at all. I may read on it at some point. Too lazy at present.

Any way: I will be getting lied to by politicians for a few minutes: tomorrow-)

Na leloline mayo...

I had a fabulous few days as expected. I went to Woodmont grill in bethesda for dinner (the food was devine!) on friday, then went out to a club in DC to drink and get down....

I also had family in town from England, Holland and Zambia...so i feel even more special now-- as if they were here specifically for me:-) LOL... My highlight was spending time with "Nina anina" she is such a joy...major hand full! But so sweet and cute. It surprises me that my quiet cousin and her equally quiet husband produced this non-stop-talk-till-I-drop diva!!! She even says "it's pretty like me"...lol! She's like a mini me:-) I absolutely love that!!!

Saturday, I over exhausted myself... went to a lunch cooked by the lovely Melissa, then we sat on her rooftop drinking wine and watching the city go by...the sun was soooo relaxing, i was almost asleep when I got home. The drinking spree continued. Then it was family time and shopping for all of Sunday and Monday. I came home with makeup I didn't need. Okay it looks cute... but I didn't need it:-)

Tuesday, I had lunch with one group of people-- California pizza house (or whatever), then after that went to meet another group of people for happy hour and another group for dinner in fells point-- El Trovador... the life of a socail butterfly! I can't even keep up with myself! Tell you what, a year ago, I would never have driven to fells point... but I think my Garmin gives me false confidence! Wait till she looses me down town in another city!-- talking about re-calculating...!

So any way: Yesterday, I had to sort of console two people having men trouble. I wont bash men at this moment coz i have something more important to discuss in my next post.

Enjoy Yom Kipur. I did.

Happy Birthday Manena!!!

It's my birthday today....yeepeee!!!! I am very happy I have made it this far.... I feel soooo loved today:-)

I've had phone calls and texts every hour from midnight... I am blessed to know so many people who actually care that I'm alive:-)

I have a few activities for tonight and the weekend... so I am excited. Will Post pics when they are available.

Will also discuss debate later!

ciao~ and hope y'all have a drink for me!!!

Only 2 days remaining!

excitemundo!!! I have 2 days to my b/day...well actually it kicked off monday, and will probably last the month:-)

Oh and if you miss the debate tomorrow... you will be very upset with yourself! hey maybe you can catch it on youtube ha! I am going to a place with a huge plasma TV and lots of alcohol... that's the best way to watch comedy i think:-) I am looking forward to great laughs and giggles! I mean... the first Palin debate? woo hoo! Okay in her favor-- expectations are low, so she can only impress and not disappoint. They say she is good at debates-- not knowledgeable, but she just tells stories that have people clinging to her every word and stuff. I am also looking forward to seeing Gwen Ifill:-)

Also based on today's breaking news news:news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7646255.stm I am inviting all Congolese historians to investigate the link between humans and apes in the Leopoldsville area. It's aaaalwayyyys the fault of the Africans!!!! Very soon they will be finding a way to blame Africa for global warming! Like the little braziers and koloboi lamps started it all!

in more latest news http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7638566.stm it appears Al-Qaeda is not weakening in the war on terror. Imagine that! With Afghanistan only half covered and lots of fertile countries that can grow ripe al-qaeda who would have thought the would remain strong? We should have listened to Ron Paul on this one! Protect the home ground first.

Who is looking forward to Bill Maher's movie Religulous? opens October 3rd... my birthday...lol. So any way I will be watching it for the entertainment that is Bill Maher-- who knows I might be a heathen at the end of the movie, I haven't decided yet:-) I may either watch it now, or wait till Mr Tyrone can hook a sista up..nuh mean?

On the Zambian front-- Zambia has said it will insulate itself against the global financial crisis. NOt sure how possible this will be. Also our Esther Phiri will be fighting for a title this weekend:-) good luck to her!

Wassup...

I am very excited to inform you that my birthday will be friday... woo hooo!!!!! I have a few things planned for that weekend... and I think I will be well fed and very happy.

So any way... anyone watch the debate? I watched the whole thing and found it entertaining. McCain was acting like a big baby..."I am more experienced!"...ummm dude like for real? You're like 110 years old....you better be more experienced! I wasn't thrilled about Obama saying "JOhns right" every 5 minutes...

Any hoo... They are going on and on about the bail out. I am just mad that it took this long before they decided to fix things. This has been going on since the Clinton era and before... I guess it's no time for blame and we should be really looking at a solution before we're homeless.

On the one hand, It's going to be good if the bail out plan is successful. It will save a lot of jobs for many people and also keep the market somewhat stable. I know many people feel that the people that caused this should suffer the consequences... but the truth of the matter is that they wont. They are multi millionaires who wont be sleeping hungry either way. Their little employees will be out of a job , and people will lose their homes coz they have no money...etc

I am working tomorrow so I can get Friday off... I feel so tired because I was out in DC last night. Went to Penang for dinner-- The food was fabulous! Then went to the Improv to see some comedy... most of the comedians had been on last comic standing and were quite funny. We sat in the front...and two comedians said I'm sexy...LOL... oh and the gay waiter hit on me kinda sorta... that was hilarious! Afterwards mi pana and I went to Indebleu to dance. Didn't stay long coz I was tired. I was home by 2am...I know...i'm lame:-) I drank wine, beer and some questionable liquor... surprised I am still standing, but I did have a major headache this morning.

Okeedokee... I am off to bed now so I can be fresh for the morning.

Notes from my death bed

As I lay here dying today, I dozed off and was awoken by the sound of an African voice on telly...I thought I had either died or was in Africa somewhere. It turned out it was Thabo Mbeki's voice and he was resigning from his position as president! I am still slightly in shock because although I saw it coming, I somehow managed live in denial and think it wouldn't happen.

That is very disheartening news for the southern African region and Africa in general. This will definitely lead to a period of instability in South Africa during the election process. Any way, like I said, South Africa will eventually be Zimbabwe if they are not careful. The signs are there.

Then Ehud Olmert resigned--- wow. What is going on in the world?

So as you can tell, I am dying. I have a bad cold and I can not breath right. My voice was gone Wednesday and then it came back, then cold got worse. Instead of being a good doobie and staying home-- I went out to D.C to play and watched 'the women'. It was a highly enjoyable chick flick and I will update you when I have the strength:-)

aawww gaawwwd the economy is a mess...where will all the laid off people go? Okay I am going back to nursing myself... woe is me

Oh and I really suck at lying! I was telling a white lie to my manager about why I wasn't going to work on Tuesday... and I almost got away with it till she called back to ask a multitude of questions about other stuff... then she hit the nail on the head and instead of defending my "doctors appointment" I burst out laughing... so now it looks like I will be working on Tuesday:-) how sucky! lololol... i need to work on my lying skills...

Quickie

Was in Bethesda friday:- Happy Birthday to my aunt Linda and Little Mikaela:-) We had soooo much to eat and drink and went to bed at almost 4am... then we were up by 8am or so because Mikaela wanted her daddy and wanted to go home...lol...gosh little girls and their daddies!

Then Saturday...we took la familia to the airport and I went on to meet friends in Baltimore. We had a nice early dinner at Don Pablo's... okay nice because of the conversation... the food was mediocre for Mexican. Then we went to Barnes and Noble for dessert... yum cheese cake.

Later that night mi pana and I went to meet friends in DC at Indebleu and Zaitinya. I had a great night, tried to keep mi pana company on the drive back... but I fell asleep. We didn't get home till like 4am or something like that. I was walking dead the next day. Lousy lunch at carmine's... sucky pasta!

So Zimbabwean's are about to power share...hmmm... it sounds like science fiction. Then the stock market went down...hmmm... and gas prices went up...by hey...I feel beautiful:-)

Sarah Palin pro's and con's

Yeah... I've been slacking..and I know you're all thinking why in the world did she only say one line on Palin? Well honestly... Gustav got in the way of the convention and I lost track and got bored with everyone "being so caring" please gag me!!!
***************************************************
Okay talking about hurricanes (ummm yummy drink!):- If you LIVE in a flood zone.... what will happen when there's heavy rain???? So if you knew that, why in the world are you expecting FEMA to pay for your mess using tax payers money?? I'm just saying. That's all. Enjoy the beautiful Florida keys!
but, I digress...
******************************************************************
So back to Sarah my new friend... I do not believe that was McCain's best choice, but he did good in his selection and this will make for an interesting election. I know people say "we don't vote for vice presidents, we vote for presidents", but really, if McCain drops d.e.a.d by say... I don't know... next spring? Well that will make her the first female president. So yes, a V.P is very important! I believe after this choice, I can confidently say McCain will win. Not because he's a better candidate or whatever, but because a lot of people wont see the Palin move as calculated as it was. They needed a woman to get the 'sisters of the traveling pant suits' on board and they got her.

A gun totting runner up beauty pageant contestant from Alaska, who's husband is a blue collar worker, and who's teenage daughter didn't get the memo on abstinence. The real American dream team.

Pro's in my eyes

• She is pro-life
• She refused to abort her baby even when informed he would be born with downs syndrome even though 90% of women given this news chose to abort.
• Her son will be in Iraq
• She's a woman
• The christians will eat her up like manna from heaven
• She believes doctors should manage health care and not bureaucracies
• Lowering taxes here and there

Con's

• Guns. I hate guns.
• She has nothing on immigration
• She would sign the death penalty bill
• She is not a friend of the environmentalists
• Has nothing at all on foreign policy

Now for the evaluation. I think the 'deep down yonder' republicans needed a reason-- any reason to stand by McCain and this was it. It's not so much that they think Palin is the worlds greatest, but, they needed a reason to vote for their candidate. To start with Palin smoked weed when it was legal in Alaska (might be a closet smoker now), her teenage daughter will have a baby daddy (totally a no no for holier than thou republicans because it kills their little abstinence is important thing), She has little experience to manage world issues and has only traveled outside the USA like maybe twice? If America is a super power shouldn't it's leaders have knowledge of the rest of the world to maintain that position?

I resent that they keep saying her lack of experience is like Obama's. That is total crap. Obama graduated magna cum laude from Harvard law school and was a senator. She graduated from colleges with no entry requirements with a degree in journalism and is a governor of Alaska. It doesn't take much skill to be elected in your home town for anything. Dude, this is the same trick that was being investigated for firing her ex brother in law for custody issues! Abuse of power?

I think the reason a lot of women are lapping her up is because there are a lot of bitter Hillary supporters...or rather feminist groups that are ready for change, but want a woman to make that change. To them it really doesn't matter who the woman is so long as she has a vagina.

As women we should be really upset that this is the choice. Of all the educated and savvy women in politics, this is really the best that McCain could do? Where is Condoleeza? Heck... they could have asked Hillary if it was like that!

It wont surprise me when the enquirer has breaking news about her secret life. Just like they took down Edwards! Okay I wrote too much and I'm too tired to read it... hope it sounds logical.

Texas

I am so fatigued:-) I just got back from an exciting trip to Texas it was awesome!!!

The city itself is great, lots of land, big beautiful houses, tall wonderful buildings with mirrors, steaks, steaks, beer, steaks... OMG

I also got to be a God-Mother... yeah you better respect me now. I am holy and sanctified. That's right...and it aint over yet. I will be a God-mother again at the end of the month in Iowa! Okay, so i've had a revelation and have to make better judgements in my life because these kids will be watching me and stuff... but you know what? At the moment they are too little to understand the situation... so I figure I have a few more years of 'stoopid' before I have to change my ways and act right:-)

I drank so much beer... I think I have a beer belly now... well it's growing:-)
My big disappointment was South forf ranch- a.k.a J.R Ewing's home from Dallas. OMG... it was sooooo small and not impressive at all. I was going to ask for my refund because I was not happy with it. They had to explain to us that TV adds ten pounds...and the swimming pool was made to look big by having everyone pretend to swim fast and stuff... I have lost my faith in TV. Not that I was ever a big fan of TV, but that was not cool man!

Monday night goes out to Yummy Gummy...:-)

I am sooo not looking forward to going to work tomorrow.

ok... the pics are not in order coz I am too lazy to put them in logical order, but enjoy them anyway:-)

DC United 2- Charleston 1 lucky shot!

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS MY FRIENDS...PAM BAM BAM...AND WE'LL KEEP ON FIGHTING TILL THE END.....pam bam bam

DC united missed a lot of good shots, Emilio wasn't playing, but that's no excuse. We won, but they really could have done better that what they did today. Great defense. Charleston is full of big babies... they fell and "couldn't" get up several times. I was like just suck it up and take it like a man you whiney punks!

Oh the game was soooooo cool!!! Seriously... We had extra great seats...well we stood for most of the game coz we had to sing the whole time. My voice is so hoarse...never sung that much in my life...ahhhh we sang stuff about being the greatest...shitting on charleston...and something about puta's and vamos esta noche... and now I smell like beer and bonfires! They lit smoke thingy's and they spilt beer on us when we scored and when people felt like it... my hair is a mess. I had fun. The beer was $7 for a cup of miller lite, and $4 for bottled water. If that's not highway robbery, I don't know what is!

Calling all soccer fans in the area!

Okay tomorrow is DC United's big game and if you live in the area it would be great if you could come out and cheer or do whatever you guys do at games:-)

I am a member of the tailgaters/cheerleaders/beerdrinkers of the football team, so it is my duty to invite you all to participate...and hope we win:-)
DC United is playing Charleston Battery (South Carolina).
Charleston has been pretty sucky the last few games http://www.charlestonbattery.com/stats_results.asp.... so we might stand a chance! This is the Open Cup so it's a pretty serious game...I am giddy with excitement:-)

So any way, if anybody is free around 7:30pm....go to the game or send some positive vibes...

Exactry fye ifyo fine!

So McCain picked Palin...I think it's on and poppin now!

I had a great time this weekend! As usual.... friday I met up with the girls for sushi, shopping and drinks. This went on for the whole night. I didn't get into bed till midnight... then my mum called just then. Then I went to bed, and some idiot called me at 7am to play a song for me from their car....no you don't understand....I have no clue who that guy was, but I picked the phone up twice and he was like hold on...and played some stoopid song. So the third time, I let it go to voice mail, then I guess he figured out he had the wrong number... then the calls stopped. I would have cussed him out if he called again and I was ready!.

Saturday morning, I was at the mall as soon as it opened to find a dress for my friend's wedding...I know, I'm a slacker... was born that way:-) Well I went to several stores starting with my fav cheap stores... because I'm cheap:-) I went to Filenes basement and Burlington. After I had no luck at those stores...I went just about everywhere else-- nordstoms, bebe, limited, express, some shady looking store-- Then finally, Eureka!!! White house black market. I found the perfect dress and the perfect accessories.
This is how perfect it was: when my "date" (lol) came he said "wow, you look amazing". Then the neighbour (the lady I got mad at coz she asked me to turn down my music) she said "you look gorgeous!", then I got to the wedding and a million people who I don't know said I looked fantastic. I was on cloud nine thinking I was about the combination of Naomi Campbell and Oluchi!

My elation continued when we went to 13th floor belvedere...and got almost the same reaction from strangers. Any way...enough about me. I iwll post pictures when they become available. I bought a small camera to fit in my small purse, but like they say-- you get what you pay for. It was cheap for a reason. I took one lousy photo after another. So I will wait till the other's post pictures and "borrow" from there.

BTW The view of the city from the Belvedere is breath taking! it's just so amazing-- not more than me of course, but a great beauty nonetheless:-) lol

Oh and to the Zambian's, I am sure you have all received the Cynthia Kanema email by now. All I can say is...WTF??? why do people feel the need to involve other's in their spats? so what if the Folotiya dude and other's are tapping her ass? I mean get over it! If she's a ho, so are the men!!! If the lady seriously thinks about it, she will see that her husband is probably bad mouthing cynthia coz he either couldn't get any or was turned down for round 2. As much as I find those emails entertaining... it's a bit much at times.

Any hoo, I have casualties of war aches and pains from Saturday. Serves me right though, and I aint complaining:-) I feel like I experienced Bosnia and Vietnam all at once. I have to go soak my body for a while and see what happens.

Oh and guess who isn't working tomorrow??? that's right!!! me:-) I am also planning to be in Texas this week, so I am hoping Gustav, Hanna and Ike don't get in my way! So keep me in your prayers. I really want to go. They say EVERYTHING is bigger in Texas and a sista's gotta check it out for a herself! I also want to see J.R's ranch and some other texan stuff:-) G.Dubya's there at the moment-- hey, maybe we'll link up:-) What happens in Texas gets deleted from all cameras:-)...just kidding. I will be a perfect role model.

I watched "there will be blood" today and I was not amused. What the hell was that? the movie is as bad as 'monsters ball'... I was really disappointed because of the great reviews it had. Sometimes I am not sure if I am seeing the same thing as other people.

BTW...I wonder when the elections are in Zambia...I just might stand for president:-) LOLOL. Start my own party and stuff...and you my loyal readers can be nominated as anything you want except president because I said it first.

Adada

Dear Daddy...
I can not believe it's been 10 years already!
They tell you tears dry, and you get over it... yet every year feels like the first year.
They tell you you will forget the pain yet every year it feels like a scab pulled off a wound.
May you be waiting for me at heavens door when I get there.

My love is eternal....

DNC opening

Okay my hormones must be all out of whack!!! I watched the whole opening and I cried several times...OMG!

Things of note:- The dems can sure throw a party!
Edward Kennedy: This is a die hard Democrat and I cried when I saw how much public service he has done. The health care professional in me though was cringing every time he shook hands with people because of his weakened immunity at present.

Jim Leach:- This is a die hard Republican and he is passionate about his country. I enjoyed the brief history lesson. I loved that he said "country comes before party." He has issues with his party at the moment, but knows it's about the progress of the country and not the little issues they may have in his party. Impressive.

Michelle Obama:- I cried several times. She has really become a butterfly. She was controlled, calm, collected and didn't sound as 'black panther-ish' as before. She definitely has a coach and the coach is doing a good job! The only issue I had with her is that as first lady, you must know how to pronounce things and the word IRAQ is pronounced eerak and not I- raq. She really did try to fix her husbands faux pas about the blue collar workers. The babies are just devine:-) The little one is a smarty pants-- so cute!

I can not wait for the rest.... 88th anniversary of women being able to vote-- excellent. All in all the speakers inspired me to feel like I can do more. One day at a time:-)

Dem convention and other news

Anyshway-- The dem convention started off with a bang...Billary spoke--and I got nauseated just listening. I swear I used to like the Clintons...but I am now questioning myself about that. I suppose it's the way her supporters are acting and the things I have heard said. Can you believe that there are people that will not vote for Obama because he short listed Hillary then didn't nominate her for VP??? what kind of doodoo is that? It's either you belong to the party and believe in it's values or you belong to the party because you love Hillary in which case you are not a true democrat if you can easily change your skin because the leader is not the one you chose. Total bullshit! If I were a party leader I wouldn't want wishy-washy supporters like that any way because they do not believe in their party.

This is what I admire most about the republican party-- They can be mad as hell that the wrong dude won, but they will stick it out and pretend they sort of love the guy because he is one of them. Dubya is a great example. You all know billy bob would have prefered someone more Republican than dubya...but they still voted for him when it was time. They didn't all of a sudden become democrats!

'A true member sticks by his party so long as the core values of the party and the personal beliefs of the man have not been changed.' (Sensei Manena- 2008)

I was just listening to some pro-life chick at the convention and she too has just made me nauseous. LOL... can someone sensible take the stage please????

Frankly like I said before, Biden is a good pick for Obama-- he could have done better, but this will be okay. HIs choices weren't that good any way! It was like dumb or dumber? McCain has better choices, so I hope he doesn't mess up!

Oh and I always knew Edwards was a slime ball!!! What the hell was that???? While your wife lay dying you were out making mr happy very Happy??? I seriously don't understand how men have been in control of the world this long! (oh that still doesn't mean I like Hillary!)

Any way, at this point (and things could change), I believe McCain has the presidency in his hands. He will only lose if he messes up pretty badly-- in which case this better be the last time he stands!
For one thing, people are tired of hearing about Obama: negative or positive. For another, Obama's party has MAJOR unity issues and they will be his downfall.

Okay I am off to watch the "real" convention it's 9pm:-)

Tantra and such

It has been so busy lately I run out of time to do stuff... I have promised myself to slow down once winter pops back around... so I hope I can hold steady until then!

Well, friday I went to the Maryland state fair and ate myself silly... and this was my first time at the state fair... so I was walking around like a country bumpkin observing all the lights and stuff.

Saturday was my buddy Heather's bachelorette and we went to her friends house for pre-party appetizers and martini's, then we picked up the guys-- then it was ON and poppin in D.C! We went to Indebleu/ Tantra lounge and just had a blast! We had a VIP table and danced all night. We didn't get home till 6am-- then the men decided they would make us breakfast...and the one girl started throwing up...and I was like OMG...I am going home! Okay I was a party pooper and went home instead of staying the night as planned:-) The high light of the noght is that our bill came to $1500...and the "big baller" in the group said "I gat this!" I was in awe. The guy didn't even bat an eye when he paid. It was like superman in the flesh!

Sunday I ate everything I could get my hands on, and went to Annapolis for the afternoon. I was soooo tired I slept by 8pm and didn't wake up till my alarm went off... and surprise surprise-- guess who worked on a monday? YES! ME!!! It was rather strange because I haven't worked on a monday in a long time... but i planned it that way because Tuesday is the 26th of August and that's one of the days I never work per year.

R.I.P. President Mwanawasa

Yes...this time it is true that President Levy Mwanawasa is in fact dead. You could tell this morning the international media was tentatively announcing the news seeing as last time R. Banda went off on them when they made an error! Funny though, I don't feel as emotional as I did last time, I guess because now the news isn't news any more. Dunno...

My condolences to the Mwanawasa family and to the citizens of Zambia. May we transition smoothly into whatever party takes over.

I will definately have a drink for him...and will pour some outside for our ancestors! hhhhhmmm come to think of it I think Zambia breweries will make some major money this week as will Duncan Gilbey and Matheson!

C$ and I were lamenting over Mwanawasa and were talking about how in our life times we have seen many things already... first prez of Zambia to die (and to die in office), first lady to get that far in American politics, first negro to get this far in American politics, Venus & Serena, pope dying, saddam, nine eleven, Zimbabwe's downfall, the rise of South Africa... the list goes on.

So any way...we have 7 days of national mourning.

P/s: I am generally not a fan of fox news...but I was very impressed with the coverage of the Mwanawasa story as opposed to the few lines on BBC and CNN. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,406042,00.html

Amor Fati

I watched 'Tropic thunder' this weekend because it had good reviews. Well it was funny, but not that good. I should have seen 'Step brothers' instead. I think. Well... I went to redbox to make up for my loss, and then watched some comedy thing hosted my Cedric the entertainer and We are/ were Marshalls'... hmmm. Then I went to a festival.

Oh and Baltimore's own Michael Phelps did it!!! 8 gold medals!!!

OMG!!! we also finally got news on the president of the republic of Zambia! The BBC reports his condition is "worse" but that surgery was "successful". How many weeks has it been since the last news? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7569193.stm
Talking about Zambia-- I sent in applications to renew my passport yesterday. I will be amused and keep you all updated on how long the procedure takes...and whether or not they lose the application or something. I will be impressed if the process is short and uncomplicated.

Also Musharraf finally stepped down...yippee! *short applause*
and those evil son's of ho's that killed the newly weds on their honeymoon in Antigua have been arrested.

....a show off couple in Egypt had sextuplets!!! Who can ever doubt their fertility again?

Then according to the news today Greenspan is to blame for the bad economy...wow Einstein for real??? http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/ContrarianChronicles/NowGreenspanDoesntLikeBailouts.aspx

Oh I'm zoning out-- that 70's show is on telly and I can't concentrate:-)
Oh I also need to show you a clip of Howard dean erroneously calling the Republican party the "white party'...funny stuff...

Okay

Happy happy joy joy!!!!
Guess what happened today? I found a long lost cousin! This child is the daughter of my father's brother (MHSRIP) and I have not seen her since her father's funeral approx 18 years ago! Both her parents and her brother dies within a short period of time, and she went off to live with an aunt and that's the last I saw or heard of her. Well lo and behold... she invited my sister as a friend on face book... and this is my sister:
Sis: well I added her coz we had the same last name, but I wasn't sure who she was.
me: but her name is the same as grandma's and it's not a common name
sis: well, cousin dude said that's not grandma's name
me: please don't tell me you thought her name was mbuya (tumbuka for grandma)!
Sis: No. Besides I was worried dad might have had another child and this was her... I didn't want a new sister!
LOLOLOL....my sister needs major HELP
I loved hanging out at my uncle's house when I was younger...mostly because they were a fun easy going couple, and coz it was near my school. It sucks that they died.
Any way, I am going to have fun bonding with my cousin, we have many years to catch up on! She's in Canada...which works out okay, coz it's more feasible that Indonesia or something:-)

Also-- God needs to cut me some slack...for real! He knows what I'm talking about. Can I get a witness???

Reciprocity

Thanks to you know who for you know what:-) Next time I want the VIP seats though dawg! LOL

I had a fantabulous weekend!

Virgin Music festival was totally awesome...they had Kanye West, Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry, Foo fighters, She and him, Lil Wayne, Nine inch nails, Jack Johnson, Duffy, Stone Temple pilots, KT Tunstall.... the list goes on and on!

Kanye closed off the show...he was not late...and claimed he's never late, but dude had a whole preaching ceremony about how he hates the media (lights flashing!), and how great it is that the middle man is no longer getting rich off talented musicians because of technological advances...blah blah blah! Just shut up and sing like you were paid to goshdagit!

I think I am the only one in the world that understands the meaning of the word fatigue right now!

Also there were massive amounts of weed going around....and I was right in the middle and inadvertently inhaled the surrounding fumes. So then all of a sudden I was starving and couldn't figure out why because I had just eaten two hours before that.... then it hit me! I'm so fly no lie and you know this....!!!

I also drank a lot of strawberry margaritas even though a month ago I had vowed not to touch those suckers for a while....it was hot and that was the only frozen drink they were offering...so I took it:-) and enjoyed the hell out of it!

Ifwe tuli maluba...

Death has a way of showing us how fragile and short lived life is...especially when it's that of a "young" person... May Bernie Mac rest in peace. Here is a clip of my fav Mac 'Milk and cookies'


Olympics started...and our very own Baltimore grown Micheal Phelps won gold...no surprise there! That dude is a dolphin! People that have met him in the area say he's really nice too.
The opening of the Olympics was spectacular!

You know what's weird? when Morgan Freeman had his accident I had just come from watching the bucket list...so I cried! damned hormones!


Georgia...wow. Somethings are not logical to me. Ossetia is like...just a piece of land. Georgia only just recovered in the last few years, I can not believe they even had the resources to fight! Quite impressive really...even though they play very dirty..."cease fire!"...."oh wait! did we just throw a bomb??!!"

The International conference on AIDS just ended... I have no comment to make on that other than that the fight still goes on.


Oh my house painting went fabulous! I love my new color! I HATED every minute of painting and taking down that ridiculous window treatment...but I am soooo happy with the results and have my wonderful friends to thank for that!
We looked so tired at the party that night...we were all just deflated!

dang! It looks like rain...and I am supposed to spend all afternoon outside!

A very happy birthday to my cousin Kimmy!!!! Happy hundredth birthday luv! I love you and your new dentures:-) LOL...and If I don't call you at 3pm today..remember it's about how I feel about you on the inside, not what I physically do okay?

Also...C$...you are INSANE!

Videos

Oliver Mtukudzi


Nana Frimpong....


Loide...

China Visa issues

The news has been inundated with stories of how hard it is to get a visa to go to China and how the tourism industry in China is suffering. Americans not used to having to fill out tedious paperwork for visas are besides themselves!

This is my take:- 1. Okay so maybe Hu Jintao and his buddies are trying to keep out activists under the guise that they are tightening security, but look on the bright side...if there was to be a terrorist attack during the Olympics, at least the rest of the world wont criticize them for not tightening security innit?
2. Next:- Those of us used to applying and lining up for visas from "western/ developed/ what ever they are called these days!" countries are used to pretty much 'undressing' for immigration officials. They want to see your bank statements showing ridiculous amounts of money that majority of their own citizens rarely have, the bank statements of the person inviting you or acting as your sponsor, they want letters of invitation, proof that your family is still in your home country, letter from your job saying you can have it back when you return, proof that you have a car or a house, you have to be the right age for school...etc. Then at the end of the day, they reserve the right to deny you entry without a reason even if you have provided all necessary information!
So way to go China!!! Let the whiny babies in the west feel how we feel when we apply for visas, or when we get them denied for dumb reasons or no reason at all!
3. They say the rules are not all written down...duh! The USCIS (usa boma for those not familiar) has a few listed requirements but they are not extensive/ exclusive. For example, it wont tell you anywhere that they will require your bank statements or W-2 or whatever, but they do.
Schengen and Benelux are just as crazy! The British and Canadians seem to make the rules up as they go at times. So yeah...getting a visa depends on the mood of the immigration officer,your luck that day and how well you can tell a white lie:-)

NPR had the story a day ago...and I emailed them my comments on the issue:-) Y'all know when I'm moved by a story I attack it passionately:-)

Next on the agenda.....
The anthrax suspect dude Bruce Ivins commit ed suicide because the FBI was hot on his trail! See you've gotta love Maryland on the Baltimore side! Everyone says how boring it is and all sorts of things! All this drama fo yo mama was in frederick...very near by! So then one of the first suspects of the anthrax scare (after jihadists of course) was Steven Hatfill...(and Mr Hatfill sir if you're listening...I'm up for adoption) the dude was awarded $5.8 million to settle his suit!!! Dang!!!

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Tonight I am headed to a bar to unwind:-) looking forward to it. Probably dinner in Annapolis too...by the water. It looks like rain though...so that's sucky!
On closer observation... my bathroom doesn't look as sucky as I thougt...or maybe the people that have seen it are just plain nice and don't wanna hurt my feelings:-)

I promise to have the videos of everything from previous weekends posted this weekend...:-)

Man oh man do I have a craving for wings! That damned C$ had wings for lunch and told me about them...spicy honey bar-b-q and now I want them! How many more hours is it to dinner again????

Oh and where is the president of Zambia now???? I like how lax the country is. Now I know everyone thinks it's none of our business where our fearless leader is... but the day he chose to become our leader he lost his right to total privacy and as a nation I think we should be cordially kept abreast of how he is doing. I mean even Fidel Castro (a major dictator) came out and showed the world that he was okay. It's like knowing one of your parents is sick in another country, and no one ever calls to tell you anything about their welfare. It's totally absurd!
Any way...the people of Zambia are more worried about where their next meal will come from and not what's going on in the presidents life I suppose.