Balantangilila ba yaweh!

I am here but for the grace of God and I mean that literally and figuratively:-) Jesus certainly has the wheel in this joint coz eeeiiish man!!! My life is a saga and then some! So friday, we ended up not doing sushi due to some scheduling conflicts, but half the gang and I went out for dinner, and partly through someone else called to say we needed to go out for a drink...so needless to say we whined a little about it at first, then we got used to the idea and finally after ice-cream we went out to a bar in the area.... i know where it is, but i have no clue what it's called... but I have certainly found the spot where people my age go in the area! Oh and talking of ages... I feel great being older...I just feel so mature, it's awesome! FYI- I am still 21 and will be that age till my first child turns 21...:-) But I digress... too many lights in the room and I can't concentrate:-) So any way, we had a fun night, I danced till my muscles hurt and for the first time in my life... i think i got into bed and was knocked out! Okay i remember getting into my home ALONE and checking my email at 3am (who the hell does that?) then something pissed me off online, then I went to pee... then i have no idea what happened. All I know is that the alarm woke me up at 5 am, coz i forgot to turn it off, and i was under the covers in my birthday suit with the lap top open on the bed...and i'm thinking dear God I hope I didn't respond to any emails...and dear God I thank you for putting me to bed....and dear God I thank you that I am alone!!! Needless to say I was feeling quite "ill" all day saturday, and I didn't leave the house at all. Not even when I had a craving for eggs. I simply settled and ate half a pack of bacon! hey... I'm older now, so i CAN do what I want! Oh and i have some new strange mens numbers in my phone which i need to erase. I rarely call people I meet in bars, but I take their numbers any way especially if they're buying us drinks! lol- sounds skanky, but it's the way of life:-) I do NOT want to be Sixty thinking "WHAT IF?", I am doing my best to make sure that before I meet my maker I can say "I had fun and atleast I tried my best." Today I spent all day in George Town... it was quite enjoyable actually. The weather was awesome-- tell you what, if winter never comes, it really wont bother me one bit! I hate winter!!! Which is a wonder why I didn't move south to say... texas or Florida...ummm. Any way we had lunch at a place I can't pronounce at the water front and dinner at papa razzi...and I had the most glorious mangoe margarita:-) Then we got home and my aunt had 2 cakes from whole foods and some protocolo wine. So my birthday celebs officially end next friday not by my choice ofcourse;) I thank you all my wonderful friends and family for the BEST birthday ever...I think. Though I'm not sure because 1995 might have been better...but who asked me right? lol!

Girls wanna have fun!

I am sooo tired of eating!!! I have been to dinners and lunches every day this week and i feel bloated!!! Yesterday I met up with my vixter!!!! we were sooo excited to see each other we were jumping on the pavement and hugging each other and screaming like we hadn't seen each other in a few months!








We spent time eating and catching up on life issues like and stuff, she was the highlight of my birthday and i am sooo happy she's moved back










Do you ever get days when you walk out the house and people of the opposite sex are starring at you? I get those days when i get so self conscience because too many men are looking at me and i know i'm conceited, but even I know that kind of attention isn't normal... so then i check myself to make sure i'm dressed coz i feel naked! Today was one of those days and what's funny is that I didn't even heave the twins hanging out today, they were well covered with my fancy work shirt!!





Friday is sushi night for my birthday so it's free for me:-) I have many plans for what i'll eat!

Universal Holiday!!!

yes indeedy it's that time of the year that we celebrate the marvelous day I was born!!! bring out the fireworks, the cavier, finest wines and champagne!!! do cartwheels and celebrate that you know me coz that's like special in itself:-)


lol! I absolutely need to get over the fact that I was born, but it's proving difficult! So far my mummy remembered my birthday-- she's such a good girl! My brother also sung me a bday ballad and I have opened the many presents that I received yesterday...(okay so i'm not patient and I opened them yesterday itself)


I feel so special...it's like the one major day of the year that you actually matter to some people! So my actual celebrations started last month:-) but don't worry they will be over by Sunday (that's when they have a "surprise" in D.C for me) So I promise you wont here squat about my birthday after Monday:-)


Any way Sunday was nice and quiet, then monday I was sent home from work and quite bored, then my friends kidnapped me for pizza night since i wasn't working tuesday, then I went out to meet my birthday mate R for the evening, then i came home and now I'm on the computer, then i'll go to sleep again, then I'll meet Vixter for lunch and i'll come back an talk about it, then i'll go to sleep and then, i may go to work later in the day tomorrow. I was asked to come in coz i guess they'll have cake:-) I absolutely REFUSE to work on my birthday... another reason I love my job coz i can do that!


So again thank you various provices of Zambia, south africa, holland, china, Luton (i'm still waiting), Kimmy and Mike- tsk squared!!! Tisi- and C-- I still cried...sorry:) The rest of you are tardy... her royal highness is not amused!

The Joys of understanding

I am so happy today because I finally ujnderstand something that I was having trouble grasping...and it hit me like a ton of bricks, but I feel so much better with the new knowledge. I infact feel like a new woman!

Any who... I was reading 'saving fish from drowning' by Amy Tan (let me just say, i am a big Amy Tan fan- that's pretty much where I get my information on Chinese culture...pathetic really, but I can't afford to go to China although if I did, I have several friends I can stay with for free), The book is about Burma/ Myanmar and the monks...etc, but what was eerie was that I was watching the news this week, and I saw the conflict in Myanmar on telly, and i was like OMG!!! I'm I reading the book or is this real life? it was rather strange... but you know certain conflicts never end!

In more 'blow my own horn' news- this week I witnessed clients fighting to get me... that was like a WOW moment! I mean I know I'm good at my job and shmoozing people, but that was an eye opener! I was soooo tired but they insisted they had to 'get' me and my head was so big by that point I was forcing myself to work over my limit! So ofcourse I tried my luck and asked for a raise and they shot that request down quickly because "you are already costing us too much money because you're not staff". So there goes that dream:-) I also went to negotiate a contract this week, and we did get it, but the money was bull crap! So I turned that offer down.

Lets see... what else did I have to say today... Oh that's right! I'm I the only one that feels the southern African region hasn't given Zambia the proper recognition for all it did during the "struggle" for independence? It hurts me when i read certain historic texts and there is no mention of Zambia ever having assisted most of these countries. My big disappointment is Nelson Mandela (i think he's overrated if you ask me! ddid I ssstutter?) He hardly mentions zed's help except to say he was unhappy that Kaunda believed the other party...i mean c'mmon! talk about petty! Debate me if you like, but i aint altering my decision!

So the PGA tour is in my little neighborhood! Fancy that? I might get to see Tiger Woods who knows! but ofcourse I was the last to know. My friend called to ask if I am going to the golf club down the road...dumb question really coz i don't play golf... so he quickly explains to me that that the tour is in town...and when i was driving home I finally saw what all the new signs read! 'welcome pga tour'... i was like I'll be damned! the bugger was right! I argued with him by the way because I figured the socialites would have informed me if we're to have hunky chunky golfers in Nenaland!

Oh and talk about a sheer waste of time! I was giving my friend a lecture for about 30 minutes before we figured out I was mistaken about the content of the stuff she told me in confidence! that was sooooo funny! I was ranting and raving about how she'll regret her decision and giving examples of stuff I had done...and oh boy! I was sooo far off the mark it was hillarious! She ostensibly got the gist of my explosion... as it applied to the real situation. Gosh I'm such a drama queen!

Why are there a hundred channels of nothing on cable? oH great a law and order marathon tonight and tomorrow! awesome!!! I don't even know why I watch it coz it sometimes frightens me!

Oh and this romance-in-a-book thing is really working out for me! I have a supplier now so i have 6 new romance novels to indulge in:-)

I am starved...and my wine is chilling in the fridge...so taataa! Don't forget you have 4 days to my birthday...woohooo!

International day of peace and prayer.

According to my employers.... today is the international day of peace and prayer. So make sure to pray for peace and for me to get that thing that I want:-)

Shame on me!

Okay... so I know I vowed like a million times I wasn't getting my hair braided ever again after the trouble i had taking the braids out last time... but here I am with my tail between my legs off to Adele to do my hair! I can already feel myself pissed off tonight coz adele takes a loooooonnng time to braid sometimes, but i like her coz she does an awesome job and entertains me in the mean time with movies and her Francophone-English!
I am proud of myself though because I haven't done single braids in over a year...now that's a real achievement. I do cornrows, but never braids, so today I think I can handle it:-) besides, there are few things that I have no self control over. This is one of them...and the others: i'll tell you when you're older!

My mummy makes me feel soooo special sometimes and then she messes up in the same sentence! So she tells me she's just sent me my birthday present (yes!!! my first pressy of the year!!! and it's money!!!! (tears!, cartwheels!, fireworks!!! Oscar award performance!) So then she goes "buy yourself something special" (now any one who knows my mum knows that she's had a bit of finacial stress the last few months like most Zambians, but she's the kind who- if she has the money, she shares it with us, and when she doesn't we're out of luck...so I am very humbled and grateful that she's done that) So just for good measure... I asked her when my birthday is- because I know she always messes up! and she calmly responds "October 4th".... see this is why I am convinced I am adopted. Moments like this (sniff, sob..) Well, I guess she's getting closer now because 10 years ago she claimed I was born on the 5th, so i suppose it's fair to say in another ten years she'll finally get it right!

So incase you were having trouble following me... you have exactly 12 days to that glorious universal holiday...aka my BIRTHDAY!!! OCTOBER 3rd 19...yeah right! like a lady ever discloses that kind of info!!! You all conveniently ignored me when i made a list of gifts that i want...but (deep breath)... I forgive you, for you knew not what you were doing.

Oh and I have several stories for you, but if I don't quit typing now, i'll be late for my hair appointment and that will be a great tragedy because I don't look so Nenalicious at the moment. I was just trying to make sure no one emails me a stincker about updating my blog:-)

Oh and sister has left for Zambia today....bet you didn't know i had a sister did you? I bet she's adopted!!! but you know what... i just realized my mummy probably forgets about my birthday and remembers the other two coz my head is smaller than my sibliings... so i wasn't as traumatic...and that's why she forgets! (that actually makes me feel sooooooo much better!) It takes so little to make me happy!

My mum wont admit I'm her favorite, but I'm sure sending her a few brochures from nursing homes can fix that little error:-) aahhhh... the duties of a good daughter never end:-)

Splendid Isolation!

The new week is about to start... the last just ended:-) duh!
well my new mantra is 'you are not stupid, you're strong!, you're not stupid, you're strong!' I am trying to stop being stupid about something that I really just have to be strong about...:-(
So yesterday we went to the Carroll County wine festival instead of the one in Virginia... becoz we figured Carroll county was better. I was such a glutton! I ate crab cakes, butterfly potatoes, kettle corn, FRIED cheese cake...wow! Then we walked over hills and stuff, so i figured i had burnt all the bad calories... Then we went out to our fav sushi spot... where i stuffed my mouth with sushi, then ate chocolate cheese cake!
Then we went to miss p's house to see her matches on match.com! it was sooo much fun! I was banned from laughing at people's profiles! We also found 2 people that I didn't expect would be there... one was this one guy that I used to work with who claims he's like ten years younger than he really is coz h3e wants to find someone he can have a baby with:-) The other was for me to know and for you to find out...waaahhhh!
So miss p. suggested they get me a match profile for fun, then adds..."oh by the way, one lady met someone on match.com in florida and he raped her", so i'm like so you want me to get attacked too? lol... but really, i think i only liked one prifile of the 200 or so that I saw, and aint no way in hell i'm I joining and paying $30 to meet one person... because 30 bucks is 3 or 4 bottles of wine from cranbrook liquors! lololol... I am sooo funny aren't I? No seriously, I think I'm waayy past doctor Phil:-)
I have 2 places that I need to be at next weekend and I am uncertain which to do. The life of a social butterfly is not easy I tell ya... not easy!
So we all know I'm not good at therapeutic conversation at times right? this dude walks in and starts crying because his dog died and it's his 'best friend' and they just have to cremate and sprinkle the ashes in his favorite place..by this point I burst out laughing! I had to get someone else to take over! I really don't get this strange pet love. It's a PET, not a PERSON...aarrrgghh!!
Also you've all heard about the little madison kid that went missing in portugal right? seriously, why didn't they hire a baby sitter for the few hours they were out eating tapas? or even just bring the tapas over to the room and eat them there while the kids slept? hmmm...
the other thing of concern is that G.dabya has let me down! his new "bail the losers on variable interest rate loans deal" really sucks! In a recession, what you want is people to spend money... that little idea doesn't encourage people to spend money! He could have also suggested that the mortgage companys keep rates as is... such as if your payment was $2000 a month before interest rates went up and is now $3500, let them keep you back at $2000 (or a little over)which was the rate you could afford before. That way less houses get repossessed...less damage done.

In other news... zambia has started a loan system for people buying houses. That will be interesting as an experiment. Zimbabwe here we come! Oh and zimbabweans are also now serving chopped doggie for dinner! they have officially joined Nigeria and China in that cullinary delight! splendid!

Oh and I bought myself a mills and boon/ harlequin/ silhoutte novel! I am sooo excited! I will have few hours of romance! totally awesome!

Happy pre- birthday!!!

Happy Birthday to my aunt Linda... well her birthday is actually tomorrow, but because of the bad vibe September 11th has, she prefers the 10th or the 12th!!

Oh guess what song is playing: You're nothing but
A liar, a cheater, a deciever, heart breaker
And I wont let you back in my life
So I'm takin
The house, the cars, the kids, and the dog
I want it all

Oh and the womens world cup started today with Germany winning 11-0 Agentina... lol that was so funny:-)

Love is patient,

Congrats Angela & Dave!!! The cutest couple I know got married yesterday, and we had great time. I had my shoes off for most of it, so i'm gonna have to check for splinters... maybe later.

I looked amazing as usual. I don't mean to blow my own horn, but really- why fight the truth???:-)
They had really done a great job with setting up the ceremony and the reception. I loved the fresh roses and the free wine ofcourse:-) the food catering was great especially the steak... I am having flash backs and need to make a steak today:-)
then we danced...


till we we're sweating...

and we got to take home personalized wine bottles and wine glasses... and I had to take a picture with my new best friend...

My pumpkino is dead!

my pumpkino Luciano has gone to heaven to sing with the angels!!! He wa smy introduction to opera and I fell in love with him when I heard Nessun Dorma... You can see and hear how passionate he sounds. He actually got me to want to know what he was singing there by learning a word or two in Italian, as taught to me by my CD covers...lol. My only regret is that i wasn't wealthy enough to have seen him in concert.


But alas... there is a call for an encore with James Brown...Addio maestro luciano. Riposa in Pace!!!

Ron Paul wins again...

Well, I still think Ron Paul is the best republican there is on the panel. He seems very sincere... and hillarious... He seems to be very knowlegeable about international policies. So I would like him to win though I know he wont because most republicans seem to be well you know...
Rudy did well in response to his question about his "family values"... but your "personal" life does impact your "professional" life...ask not-gay-Craig.

I think this time the debate was a little more fair with letting most people get their voice out... though Romney seems to have received more air time than others. He seems kinda shady... I am sooo not feeling him!

McCain has such a calming demeanor... if he won too I would be okay with life:-) He is very detailed and "honorable"...

Brownback...still as strong as ever... "sanctity of marriage" spoken like a true catholic...the pope would be proud!

Also is Thomas Friedman like the Republican bible? I heard his name praised too many times. I would also like a republican in cyber space to tell me why republicans insist they are pro-life... but want everyone to walk around with a gun which is not a prolife tool...it sure booogles my mind.

Yesterday...

...all my troubles seemed so far away...lol
No really, yesterday we had a celebrity politician at work and he really thinks Hillary's going to win. Oh and he liked my hair... he thought it took me hours to do and i really didn't want to break his heart with the truth...so i just agreed with him:-)

What is it with people leaving millions for their dogs! that Helmsley lady that just died left quite a bit of money for her little dog...and here I am only needing a fraction of that to pay off my house...hmm...hmmm...hmmm! On a more hurtful note, she left 2 of her grand kids out of the will...family drama!

Talking about other drama... this is important information for ladies. If you're planning on having a child but aren't married, pick a lousy dude with 4 other girlfriends or something. I am serious! Bare with me for a lil' bit as I explain my reasoning. Useless men are quite useful. They don't bother you when you have to make plans for your kids because they don't care (men with commitment issues tend to have issues bonding with their kids). Men who care want to fight with you about what time the kid eats, sleeps, takes a poop, who you can and can not have over for ahhh...coffee around their kid...that's too much drama! I saw something today which leads me to believe that I would rather have a dead beat baby daddy fo sho'! Just send me the baby-daddy cheque or whatever it's called and we'll call you...do not call us...:-)

In more news of things that could kill us, we're not allowed to smell microwave popcorn (the butter kind), and the dar gon muslims almost blew up Germany and made in China...is a fashion no no!

On a funny note... my cousin who is a high school drop out and pretty much a dead beat dad once told me many years ago that "to men, all women are beautiful in the dark" how about University researchers just figured it out that men are not very selective about who they take to bed??? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6975794.stm

OOOH and guess who's birthday is coming up??? now I'm not one to push for pressy's, but in case you were wondering, I changed my mind and I don't want the iPhone any more, I want the ipod touch... and also I want the new mercedes benz that parks itself... You all have enough time to save up for that big day..so *tears* make me proud!!!

i have been watching FOX news for an hour now and O'reilly is on telly... he's kinda crazy... he seems to think America will be safer once all foreigners... excuse me "aliens (legal or illegal)" are chucked out! Pardon my french, but dude's an ass hole... he's been cutting off all his guests when they speak...so why have them over if you're the only one talking???!!!

LOL!!!

Oh Hillary is on c-span talking in New Hampshire...politicians are amazing. When politicians speak it feels like a good story book:-) I am from a country where those that are honest with themselves know that Zambia pretty much runs itself regardless of who is president. So it's amusing to hear Sen. Hil Clinton speak making all those promises which probably wont get delivered because I don't see how she'll achieve half the things she's promising in 5 years as president. Well I guess as the Tumbuka say, "a journey begins with one step". She sure makes some great promises though. Cheap colleges, more jobs, green environmental policies, a better 'no child left behind' policy, better care for veterans...blah blah blah...
Any who, the weekend is going super... I am still thinking whether to go to DC today, I haven't decided. I initially wasn't going to, but the boredom and i guess the guilt has set it (i promised to go).
I got this really funny video from someone yesterday... i suspect it was from zurii, but i'm not sure:-) watch it carefully. It's from an Australian T.V show about how dumb people are sometimes. The interviewer goes round asking Americans questions about the world such as what country begins with 'U' and they have no clue and yet they live in the United States of America!!! then they have a questions 'what religion are buddhist monks' and they all look blank! Or my favorite 'what is kofi Annan?' and the response is....drumroll please...."a drink!" lololol

OMG...Tina Turner is on telly... I need to go now... taa:-)

hmmm...

I have become a night owl for some reason and was home at one last night! I am usually in bed by 9 on a good night...and i think i am fatigued:-)
Well I'm sure you've all heard about the senator Craig business by better writters than myself so i wont dwell on that...lol Tony Snow is on C-SPAN talking about the same trash...well trying not to answer questions from the press:-) he's rather cranky... I miss Ari Fleischer...
Oh wait the ADHD kicked in and i lost my train of thought... Oh that's right! On the Sen. Craig thing, why are rich people so dumb? Craig could have driven/flown to Mexico or Canada and found himself a secret "boyfriend" there right? Or even Bill Clinton...why not find a discrete girlfriend in a third world country that preferably doesn't speak english? have security fly them in every now and then and you're all set! It sure beats soliciting in a toilet, or having someone show up with your DNA on their knickers! I am by no way encouraging people to cheat on their spouces...but if i had that kind of money and was tempted to do something as dumb as that... I would be doing a whole lot of travel to south America to see my hot latino Heysus (jesus)!
And what's with gay people always trying to push their gayism on the rest of us? I try to be liberal, but seriously, you can't just go around gropping each other in the hall ways...it gives me heart burn! My bedroom and I have a las vegas policy... "what happens there, stays there" It's private and confidential. Besides I really don't know what colors straight people are supposed to wear, or what day is "straight peoples" day...when do we march???

Moving on. I bought the perfect dress for my friend Angela's wedding. It's in a week so i'll show you pics then...but I can assure you that I'll be looking gorgeous:-) I also finally purchased Carols daughter mangoe souffle...I get home and find out its only for my body and not my face!!! It's a $31.50 body creme...who the heck pays that money for a body lotion??? I paid for it so i could use it on my face... and i'll tell you another thing; I better look like a cross between will smith/ jada pickett and mary j blige because the ad's promise me something like that!!! and Okra..oops, Oprah also sings high praises of the nice smelling lotion. So it better make me look pretty! Oh and Luton don't worry aunty got you a bottle.
I was watching cspan earlier and they had a conference or whatever on 'understanding foreign culture' and they had panelists from Kenya, Brazil, Egypt and Bangladesh. They are all here on a fellowship to American news agencies i guess through an organization called http://www.ourvoicestogether.org and it was very interesting to hear various views regarding how the media portrays things. I liked how the Egyptian Amr Emam said something like "if Islam is the enemy, shouldn't you (Americans) learn more about Islam so you can better understand the enemy?" and the Kenyan Musumo Munene stressed that Kenyan's do not hate Americans, but we're kinda mad about America not acting appropriately after the bombing of the Embassy in Kenya.
Also on a sad note for Zambia, Chafwe Nsofwa the Soccer player died in Isreal. If you don't know of him he's the guy that scored one of the 2 COSAFA game goals. See BBC for rest of the story. Also Madilu system died last week and I should probably write more than this one line about him...but I'm a lazy cow:-) but enjoy my fav song of his... r.i.p king of rhumba!

In Memory...

In memory of my daddy... MHSRIP August 26th 1998

tukachala nabani e, fwebabula abalongo pano calo...fwebo abalongo- fwebo abolongo baliya kuli lesa e. yelele mayo, balongo bena lesa e."

Gambling novice

Woo hoo! I went to my first slots machines type place this weekend. Being the "i have to try most things at least once" type person I am, I was dressed in 2 minutes and out the door when my friend planned this spur of the moment thing last night. The choices were West Virginia and Delaware... I picked Delaware!
I vowed not to use more than $50, but the good news is that I spent $30 and won $50... and the bad news is that I put it all back in the machines:-) I don't get how people get addicted to slots...coz ummm...yah...I don't get it:-) I didn't take any pictures coz i was dressed like a skank :-) well I was only given 2 minutes to get ready and it wasn't planned... and the only tops I had available were skank mama type things.
It was too bright and busy for my liking... i like more quiet activities so that was a tad different. We had a great time any way and we didn't get in till 3 in the morning...and it was quite pretty.
I also got to visit my grandmother's little sister this week in D.C. which was fun because we cooked together and told stories, played barbies with the little girl and just bonded :-)
Well I have to go feed my phone addiction....
ciao:-)

Amnesty International sells out.

Amnesty Internationals moto reads : "working to protect human rights." They are supposed to be the voice of the "voiceless" so why have they sold out and opted to approve of abortions? They say it's abortions only for women that were raped and those that have complications...hey while we're at it, lets let mothers that change their minds and don't feel like being mothers any more exercise their reproductive rights by chopping the kids heads off! hey who cares if the child is already 15... you gave birth to her and you have changed your mind...off with her head!

I don't get the whole "when it's in the mother's body it's not really human, it's like a body part of the mother" thing. In utero the zygote (or whatever makes it feel less human to you) is dependant on another human for survival...after birth and for a few more years the child is still dependant on other humans for survival, so what's the difference?

Now forgive me for not seeing it from the point of view of a raped woman that ends up pregnant... or from a pregnant single woman with 5 others kids that now has to make a decision whether to have her sixth child and die... or kill the baby and live to be with her other 5 kids. I understand those are very tough choices...but please call a spade a spade, don't give it a new name to satisfy your conscience. Think about it this way: if you abort the one child today so you can take care of the other children... what happens if on the next day you're hit by a bus and perish?

Life is a maze. What looks like an obvious turn today, may not be so obvious tomorrow. N'est pas?

I am trying to write to Amnesty International to give me back the $2 I donated...:-) I would rather buy a soda than be misrepresented...lolol!

Shamwari!

Hey, how about yesterday in the news this woman in Australia died because the camel that she got for her birthday tried to have sex with her...lol okay it's not funny but it sure cracked me up!!!
in more funny news...the picture at the bottom is circulating in zed world and apparently came from thorn park...!

Then, my friend calls me frantic last night because she receieved a "personalized" letter from this one group that claims they "carefully" selected her, and would show her how to make money and get anything she wants following their method. She she was scared, tried to call her husband nad hears his phone ringing in the house because he left his mobile at home. Poor baby thought a cult was stalking her... i laughed soooo hard when i googled the group because they're scam artists. But i really wish I could have seen her face... it was hillarious!

Also if you would like to send something to Lusaka from the Washington DC, look into Miss Lombe Kasonde's website- http://www.geocities.com/lkasonde/DC_to_LSK_Shipping.html

Why do men have a harder time than women to let go of baggage? I was "conversating" with my friend tonight and we we're discussing this one guy that we know who was hurt by this one girl years ago...and up to now he acts like a wounded buffalo in relations! I was thinking, get over it dude!! really!!! life is too short to die loveless because this one person hurt you years ago. In fact, I have more examples.

And another thing... I'm I the only one that thinks Tyler Perry isn't THAT funny??? Oh and don't you just love the new examiner.com ad's? especially the one with the guy and gal in the elevator and he goes what's up...and she tells him about the stock market and everything else then finally she asks him if he's works in blah blah department, he agrees and she tells him... lay off tomorrow! hahaha!

Sappy movie

hey there!
aaarrrgghh! The weekend is almost over and i sat there watching this one sappy harlequin movie. I LOVE to laugh, so anything that has the potential to amuse me is always welcome :). So any way, in the movie this one lady is looking for a man. So she goes shopping for one online. The guy she finds is really hot, smart and has a job. They go for dinner and the dude starts to talk about his ex and how they dated for 8 years and cheated on him with his best friend...and he burst into tears!!! I laughed so hard!!! WTF??? in a restaurant??? on a first date??? She also meets another guy that stalks her & tries to hit her coz her neighbor is always at her house...psycho! Any way she finally ends up with the scruffy neighbor who is going through a divorce(quite risky!!!). Her business partner is the type that gets engaged on the 4th date andd falls in and out of love instantly... really funny stuff.
Well my friends and i have a standing joke-- if i'm not married with children by 35, I will marry one of my 2 friends- depends on who bids the highest. Well they both need greencards, and they promise to be successful by then. So we'll go to Massachussets- coz they're female. Then I'll go to a sperm bank and pretty much live off my friend and travel the world:-) ey...it's a capitalist world:-)

Yesterday was great. Lots of laughter. I feel too lazy to put up the pictures. Any who i'm off to do my hair :)

I love fridays!!!

Just got off work and I'm knackered!!! but NOTHING can piss me off on friday's. I refuse to let anything get my knickers in a twist on fridays! I got home and immediately threw a bottle of pouilly-fuisse in the fridge and i am eager for it to get to the right temperature:-)

This song always makes me want to dance... it played at work today and i got up and had to remind myself that i was at work and not in a dance hall. Wait a minute my wine is ready, i'll be right back:-)...oh my God... it tastes sooo good!

LOLOL! i just had a good laugh with my friends yesterday, they told me they missed me tremendously... one kept sending me text messages during the month and she says i blew her off... she's so funny. I really didn't notice that she was only trying to get my attention! seriously i am a really dense person... i don't do "sign" language. The general consensus is that I have had too many "manena" days and i have been neglecting the "circle". So i have been summoned to sushi night next week and no excuses!!!

I have a craving for pastry of some kind... with cream or something... i am not sure exactly what, but when i go to a pastry shop tomorrow i will certainly figure it out! I have a house warming in the afternoon, then i'll have another 'manena' day... then back to work.

Oh miss P. Nsamwa Lungu, thanks for your response. You helped me prove my point:-)

So really...

I had this moment today when i was thinking what's the point of praying when God already has a plan for you? okay like if he's already determined that you're never going to be rich, is there a reason to pray to become rich?
Then it clicked that Jesus himself said "father take this cup of suffering from me, but never the less, let your will be done." Okay the issue is, I was praying and praying for something... then i started to ask myself questions coz father Matt is gone now... then lucky for me a good response came:-) It reminds me of a hymn we used to sing in my Zambian church.."I believe in the sun, even when it isn't shinning. I believe in love, even there's no one there. I believe in God even when he is silent" Well God really needs to work with me for a little bit here. Okay this is me just talking to myself...so please no wanna be theologians responding with verbiage that I will not understand...comprende?

Oh and I finally had the balls to watch 'Blood diamond'...ahhhh... there are some things in life which are better left to the imagination because it's too painful when you can not do anything about them. Faith is tested again when Danny Archer says "God left Africa a long time ago"...very profound.


Oppsy!...it's bedtime...taataa:-)

Economic monsters

I'm I the only one a little scared about the economy right now? A lot of people seem to be very relaxed about things... but really I don't believe Bernanke... it's his job to say all is well.
We all know a lot of states are having finacial difficulties, and the housing market is kinda crazy, and credit card companies i.e capital one are raising interest rates, gas prices are high, electric prices went up in Maryland this year yet my salary has stayed the same. That don't sound too good!!!

Big companies are closing down, meaning a lot of people will be jobless. A lot of those people have houses...meaning they might default on their loans... so houses will become cheaper... but what will those people do?

How much damage to struggling private economies will this do? can i still be able to afford sushi and good wine? where's Greenspan any way??? He and I need to talk man to woman!

Reunion

I have spent nights in 5 different beds this week... don't ask! So for that reason, I gave myself 4 days off this week to bond with my house:-)
Any way, I had a great time this weekend and saw my cousin who for logistical reasons I haven't seen in about 10 years!

We also sat and chatted and watched family videos that were done 20 or so years ago! I was such a cute child...and it seems Half the people in the videos are dead now, but it was pretty cool to see them all having fun at the popular family parties we used to have. My dad is on one of the videos singing songs and i hadn't seen any moving footage of my dad since his death...so that was pretty neat!
I got to cook some nshima after a zambian bridal shower...


The little girl made us some dessert... her own creation. Yum!

Tipping...

I was reading MSN articles today ( i know right? how bored I'm I?) any way, it says that the new tipping % is 20!!! It also gives these guidelines:-
Waiter/waitress
15% to 20% of pre-tax bill

Bartender
$1 to $2 per round or 15% to 20% of tab

Wine steward
15% of bottle's cost (less as price rises), clearly earmarked on bill

Room service
15% to 20% of pre-tax bill (if not already included)

Valet parking
$2 to $3 when car is returned

Taxi driver
15% plus $1 to $2 per bag

Hotel doorman
$1 to $2 to hail cab; $1 to $2 per bag for help with luggage

Hotel bellhop
$1 to $2 per bag

Hotel maid
$2 per night, paid daily, clearly marked 'Housekeeping'

Skycap
$1 to $2 per bag, $2 minimum, in addition to any fee

Hairdresser
15% to 20%

Manicurist
15% to 20%

Spa services
15% to 20%

Food delivery
10% to 15% with $2 minimum

Golf caddy
$20 or 50% of the caddy fee, whichever is greater

My issue is that I believe you should only tip for service above and beyond! why can't restaurants pay their workers minimum wage? if i am paying the hair dresser 20%, what is the other $150 for? why is the maid in the hotel paid the $2 by me? surely the hotel is responsible for that fee! if i am responsible for tips, do i have a choice to say I will order my own food from the chef and pick it up from the kitchen myself and get my own wine from the fridge--to save on the tip fee right? After all, the reason I go to the restaurant is for the food and not for someone to walk that food to my table coz i can do that myself!!! How about tipping cab drivers who 70% of the time have no clue how to get to where i want to go? shouldn't they tip me for knowing directions? c'mon now!

You can not call something a TIP if i am REQUIRED to pay it, and you have given me guidelines on how to do it.

I really think American businesses have a crazy way of doing stuff. Why aren't taxes already included in merchandize we buy? if we already know that there is a 5% sales tax on all products in Maryland... why isn't it calculated into the price before you get to the counter so that you know exactly how much something costs before you get there??? why aren't the waiters fee's calculated into the entrees?

Aren't you misrepresenting the product price if you are telling me an entree costs $30, when in actual fact I have to add $6 for the tip and $1.50 for taxes, so it's really $37.50 and not $30 correct?

I know you'll argue that they can't precalculate the amount because they don't know how much you're going to order and it's actually 20% of the final bill... blah blah blah... but how does it work in England? or even poor little Zambia?

If Tipping is the norm du jour (gosh I''m so creative!), why aren't we allowed to tip health care professionals?

Ithaca, N.Y.

So I am back from my little trip to Ithaca...rather nice actually! The city itself is nice and small...population 30 000 or so, and apparently-- well according to out guide, Ithaca has many wonderful wineries and Cornell pretty much owns most of Ithaca. Our guide was a really nice young man who is getting married in 2 weeks. He is sooo lucky my brother was with me coz i would have made him forget her for me...lolol, that's a joke people...really I'm not in the habit of man snatching, i have my own market..okay?

Any way, we ended up going by train then bus. We went to New York City first (Finally), but i didn't take any pictures there because we had bags, and we weere walking very fast and it was hot...but I think the parts we visited reminded me of London.
We also went through Delaware (which by the way has a big Barclays bank...exciting!), then we went through Philly and New Jersey...and it was pretty cool coz the train goes through town, so you get to see a lot more. There were more boarded up houses than i imagined there to be... but i also saw beautiful houses on the path.

I also think I have an annoyingly friendly face... i just had all these weirdos wanting to chit-chat with me and offering me things...hmmm, okay so i took to the magazines...and the candy bar (which i threw out because i am paranoid about eating things from strangers even if they are wrapped).
The road to Ithaca though is rather green I must say. It reminded me somewhat of Zambia...not sure how to explain it, but it was quite nostalgic.

Oh and my brother supposedly lives 15 minutes from the University, but it's uphill...and I have not exercised in ages. We met an old foreign white man (ithaca is full of foreigners!) and it was so funny because we told him we were looking for the Law school and he goes... "oh you're criminals, it's on the left..." we laughed so hard! His English was quite bad coz he sent us in the wrong direction...so did the otherr loser we asked for direction. So at some point, I stood at the intersection of some roads that I can't remember and declared I wasn't walking any more and I was calling cab!

I saw many people crying at the station on my return. As i was almost approaching home a lady got on the bus crying while 8 of her family members stood bawling on the platform...I too burst into tears! You would have cried too! She had about 5 kids an older woman and two men standing there and they were in tears... and I just got an Oprah moment and cried!

Well maybe i was crying coz i knew I would be lonely at home now that my bro's gone. It's so funny how we quickly get used to people being around us. The neighbors definately knew that I had guests over... I was more friendly towards them than usual :)
Well we're back to the real world now. Things will somewhat be back to normal.

what shall i call this one?

i have been having a bit of fun, so i have been neglecting my best friend bloggy!

Any way, to fill you in... this last weekend we saw Hairspray, I really thought it was funny...and no it has nothing to do with my baltimorean biases...Oh and Kelly Ripa and latifah are soooo pretty! Travolta did well representing the round and luscious...and well... overall it was fun.


Then we went to the harbor and had a fun time watching baltimore from the trains.


Then the kids and I saw The simpsons movie...ummm well it was okay, but i think they are right in the beginning when they call us suckers for watching their movie!

Then this morning i went to the oral sugeon to take my wisdom teeth out like my dentist said... but the surgeon took one look at my x-rays and said "don't bother them if they don't bother you" and I kissed him! I am such a cow! he wasn't even cute, but i was sooo happy he sent me home without surgery! He made me promise to return if they ever bother me though... so i will be a good girl!


I also finally learnt how to do a sew in... girls know what i'm talking about! Oh and about new york, I think we're gonna have to rent a car and drive there... I was hoping for a nice relaxed trip there, but it seems complicated to take the train and the bus to Ithaca... so my lazy ass will either have to drive there, or we'll fly.


Oh wow... they are finally taking down khmer rouge! those little punks looked very scary in 'the killing fields"!
WOAH! Zim has a $200 000 note! what the heck! I hope the rest of Africa is taking notes on what not to do...! It seems like only yesterday when we used to feel posh by taking a vay cay in Zimbabwe!
I also don't understand the United States logic to not joining CEDAW...
Why did I think Ingmar Bergman was dead like a while ago? turns out he just died! I guess it's the way the movies look...:-) strawberry fields... oh wait that's the beatles....! well the one i saw had the word strawberry somewhere:-)
oh and which dummy doubted that Star Jones had surgery??? dude get your eyes checked!

Dem Debate

Okay, so i ended up watching the debate anyway...
Gravel at first seemed just well...senile, then he sort of started to make sense when he said "follow the money!" I also felt sorry for him, what's the point of being invited to speak in a debate when only a few people are chosen to speak?

Richardson scared me when he didn't seem to respond honestly to the question about traveling in a private jet...what he didn't know the difference btwn a private jet and united airlines??? urrrgh! politicians!

Obama:- (Sometimes I wonder if I'm watching the same program as other people!) when they asked him about soldiers dying in vain... he responded by saying that "they are doing what has been asked of them"...and also the other question abouut meeting with cuba, venezuela...ect and he said that talking to those countries is better than not talking...but someone said that he didn't respond to the question... well english is my third language so i probably didn't understand him, because to me the statement means if they are doing what is asked of them, then they have not died in vain, and yes trying to find common ground with the "axis of evil " Over all I think he did a pretty good job.

Clinton:- Edwards was right... the jacket was a no no for a presidential debate! It had a... kim Jong-Il effect...I wasn't feeling it! I also think she did well in the debate... the sme fluff and buff they say... but well thought out responses... i.e the question about talking to cuba et.al...

Dodd:- oh heeeellll noooo! how does that man have a kid in kindergarten?

Talking about aging people and children. I got my social security benefit explanation...or whatever it's called. So on what part it tells me I'm eligible for benefits if something happens to me and so are my kids and my husband. My parents would definately be screwed if i died...coz they get nothing! I do not understand why the American family is defined as 'husband, wife, children under 21.' Even jobs give youu benefits for only husband, wife, children...not for your parents. It doesn't make sense especially since many people take care of their aging parents and there is a high divorse rate in the country! Why can't I sign up for benefits for my parents at work? To me, immediate family includes parents no matter how old I am. When we age, we become like children and need someone to look out for our needs. The nursing home isn't family. Seriously. Okay I'm knackered, but you get my point innit??

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy...

ola!
Okay, so seriously, I didn't notice that I haven't posted in a week or so:-) and yes I have been receiving your messages to update...but i was just too busy...my brother's here...so we're bonding:-)
This past weekend we were in the Washington DC area and we also went to Virginia. We ofcourse went shopping and did the American thing on Sunday morning...IHOP! gosh I felt like a glutton! Tonight we're doing pizza...
Oh wait, I strained/ sprained my back at work friday...and my job depends on a good back, so pray that i heal fast okay? I asked for the day off tomorrow and left work early. I am such a foolish girl because i hurt myself friday (ironically I was working in pain management), and was playing about saturday and sunday knowing full well my back hurt. I also took my new contact lenses out for a spin...and silly me, i kept them in too long and my eyes felt funny:-) Come to think of it, i am not happy with the world being so clear...i miss the faded version i used to see without vision correction! in fact when i look in the mirror now, i am not as impressed as i usually am when i have no glasses on...but i'm still hot though!...lol!

Any way, the democrats are debating soon, hope i remember to watch it...well it's coming on at a time 2 and a half men will be, so i am trying to think what will entertain me more:)

Talking about politics... I seriously do not understand why health care for the poor is so mismanaged! I have been offered a case management job and i think it will depress me if i am not able to get funding for kids that can't get dental care or eye glasses and stuff because medicaid doesn't cover this and that...blah! I think it will do me a world of good to do it so i can learn to be more mindful of things.

Hello...can you hear me?

Congratulations to the new lawyer in our family! wooo hooo!

Any way last week was rather interesting, I was accused of being bossy twice which i really don't understand.

And I have the bestest friends in the whole wide world!!! Thanks T for the wonderful package!!!

I also almost forgot about Dr David Kelly...you know... the guy who doctored up the "saddam is dangerous" report! http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/18/newsid_3430000/3430065.stm

Someone please call 911!

Someone please call 911, tell them i have been been shot down...and the bullets in my soul, and it's piercing through my soul...feel my body getting cold!



okay tonight we went to a winery, and i am drunk but not sleepy yet! It has been an interesting week...so to end it on a good note i went out to the usual boordy's winery and got drunk..yaay! So any way, the song is a dedication...you know who you are...Mr. Special!

Some wonderful stuff happened to me this week..well and some not so cool stuff. Well on a good note I am officially a co-owner of a LLC!!!! how cool is that??? more details to follow...but really...I came to this country with $200, and I am damned if i leave with that amount! It's called determination..and I have enuff for my village! ah tumbuka muli huli? enisha baby!!! woooh!!!

Oh wait...i was also employee of the month 2 months in a row... which makes me wonder..coz i really didn't put too much effort into my work...and if I did, I would probably own the world!!! I feel like a nerd...oopsy!
oh no... the wine i was drinking tonight has watermelon...how disgusting is that??? I hate watermelon with a passion!!!

Donate Blood Save a Life!

I forgot to mention to those of you on the east coast...or more likely people in the MD-DC-VA region that there's a blood shortage at the blood bank and the red cross needs your help. Check out their website for blood drives and stuff.

Although I can not donate blood for the reasons listed below, I still encourage those of you that can to do it. You never know when you or your family will need blood...and it wont be available.

So here are some reasons why you shouldn't waste your time lining up to donate blood because they wont take it if:

• you have HIV/ AIDS


• hepatitis


• have lived in or visited malaria prone areas. You need to wait atleast a year if you have visited a country with malaria, or wait 3 years if you have lived in a country with malaria.


• if you lived in the United Kingdom for atleast 3 months from 1980- 1996, you might have variant Creutzfeld-Jacob disease (vCJD)...aka "mad cow" disease. So you will never be able to donate blood until further notice!...yaay!!!


• were born in, or lived in, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea,Gabon, Niger, or Nigeria, since 1977.
  since 1977, received a blood transfusion or medical treatment with a blood product in any of these countries, or
  had sex with anyone who, since 1977, was born in or lived in any of these countries. You might have HIV-O.

I found out the hard way... after feeling guilty one year, I walked myself to a blood drive, and after screening, I was told I couldn't donate blood because I had lived in England in the 80's for way more than 3 months. Also initially when i went those sheets used to state that if you had lived in or around the Congo...you couldn't give blood. I am not sure why, but I gather it has to do with Ebola or maybe just the hiv-O. So automatically I was ruled out for two reasons. Okay so the whimp in me was really happy:-), then the lady goes ati...'oh, but you can donate bone marrow'...I was like 'oh hhheeeeellll nooooooo!'

So there you have it! Donate blood and safe a life.

Dentists and Opticians

I have a stupid fear of medical facilities when I am the patient... and yesterday i decided to traumatise myself with seeing the dentist and the optician.

DRUM ROLL PLEASE: I have perfect teeth...no cavities, no gingivitis..nada...zilch! I went to a new dentist and as with others before him, he wanted to know if i had worn braces as a kid because my teeth are perfectly aligned...i was like 'no sir, just great genes!" I don't go to the dentist often...only under duress, and I have been told i need to remove my wisdom teeth because they will move all my other pretty teeth... but I have never had a tooth taken out and i have never had dental work...so i am understandably scared!

My vision wasn't that lucky! I got a new pair of glasses...waaahhh!

So since I am a whimp...I took myself out to dinner to celebrate how good I was! uuummm sushi!

Well my blogging is probably going to be a bit slow for a while or not... i just need to recharge my internal battery. Besides the east coast is so hot, it's hard to concentrate on anything other than the heat! Thank God for whoever created air conditioners!

So why...lol...any way, never mind...I will discuss this issue later!

aahh...?

I found this nice video on Mwabi's page and 'borrowed' it for my own. I am one of those who has given up on trying to understand what the rules of "football" are. Many have tried to teach me and many have given up...:-) indeed I am that dense when it comes to football. You can read back to all my previous posts about the game if interested.
Another fun video is:-


It fits in splendidly with the news on the BBC ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6267754.stm ) about strained relations between Zambian mine workers and Chinese investors. I guess we're back to the WENELA days! If you're from the southern African region and have no clue what Wenela is...shame on you!
I am in the process of reading Animal Farm again. Yes. I am one of those annoying people that can watch the same movie and read the same book over and over again. I feel like books and movies have a different meaning if you read and watch them at different stages of your life. it's pretty cool. It's been 10 years since I last read Animal Farm, but I still enjoy it. George Orwell...aka Eric Blair was a fun writter.

Today

So Monday night i was in a pissy mood, then Tuesday the comcast employees pissed me off further. They were supposed to fix my internet connection and it wasn't fixed and i called to inform them and they said it would take 6 days for the wireless connection to start. I put on such a great performance I guess because by evening they had fixed everything I asked for. I had screamed at one of the guys so bad I felt sorry for him later...but he caught me at a bad time and suffered for everyone else's mistakes...oopsy! It's really pathetic that businesses wait till they push you hard against the wall before they do what they are supposed to.

So that was my little victory for the week. I was also glad that they let what's his name from the BBC out. It's funny that Hamas helped get him out...!

Oh and remember what I said about the ZIALE students? They will finally be allowed to write the bars. Nothing has really changed, thank goodness they will get to write.

Oh wait...does anybody out there love God? okay then can you buy me an iphone pretty please? I am not sure what it does...but I want it!

oh what fun!

okay, so my blogging has been slacking lately, but that's because my internet access at home died for some reaosn which i do not understand and so far neither do the technicians at comcast. I my internet access through comcasts broadband...or whatever they call it, I really don't care so lng as it works! well, they told me they can only come out on tuesday to look at it because they are "very busy this time of the year"...take note that I called them on Wednesday!

Any way, It has been a very, very nice weekend. Yesterday we went to a bridal shower with the gang and we had a great time! After a few adult drinks, I was quite happy by 4pm! Then we were off to boordy's winery for wine and salsa...AWESOME! It was just what I needed after a long week. To be honest I really wasn't tired this week because I mostly worked 9-5 for 3 days only...and on one of those days this little cute old lady tried to force $100 on me for the great care I gave her...it was really sweet!, but i would be fired on the spot and lose my licence if i dared take her up on the offer!

Any way, back to the winery...I have a weakness for latin men (or those that speak romance languages) so you can imagine how I felt in a room full of them! I was totally over joyed! I also like people that know how to have a good time and join into dancing even if they don't know how... and there were plenty of baaadddd dancers on the dance floor! I don't remember much of my trip back home...but i apparently led us home in the dark woods...and no, my companion was not drunk driving... just had a bad sence of direction! What was a little odd was that it was salsa night, yet they served crab cakes, pitt beef, pit turkey and italian sausages??? que pasa??? no entiende!

This morning...I went to church to pray for my sins from the past week and to say farewell to father matt (sob, sob), he's going away to another church and you could tell how great he is because the immaculate conception was filled to the max at his farewell mass. I also got to see the famous Knights of Columbus at mass in their full uniform...yeah... feather hats and all! I was silly to have left my camera at home because they looked sooo exotic!

Okay I need to feed my tummy...if i do not post by independence day, I wish all of you in America- or Americans happy independence day and you better believe I will be eating all your hot dogs...and benefiting from your victory! You know how us immigrants like to take over everything! viva independence!