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!