Junie's Online Thoughts
Saturday, September 27, 2003
Today we are over at Chris and Stacy's, helping with the garage roof. (Actually, before that, we ran to Nichol's dress fitting, then back here, then to my dress fitting at David's Bridal (strapless apple red dress), then to the Dollar Store, then back home before ordering pizza.) We'd helped lean the already-constructed roof forms (I forget what they are called) on the walls this morning. As we left, Roy, my folks and Lisa were helping stand up the roof and move down the line. We came back around 1, and helped for a bit. I got tired of holding a ladder that didnt need to be held, so I went inside to read. CRASH! A gust of wind hit the farthest part of the roof and all the rest of the standing roofbeams fell down like oversized dominoes. Sad!! Four hours of work for nothing. Chris had been wedged in between the beams so he got clocked pretty hard. (Hopefully, no hidden injuries.) The second time around we knew better how to reinforce the beams and how to attach the first one square. Unfortunately, as we attached the sixth beam, we learned we were 1/4th of an inch off on one side and 1 1/4 inches on the other. Third time's a charm. I couldnt take the endless chatter of their nosy neighbor, so I came inside to email.
Yesterday I spent all day running around for shower details and gifts for Chris. He sold me his car at a ROCK BOTTOM price, so I switched over the title and plates. Its a decent car (91 Pontiac Grand Prix) and I've already named him Earl. Only bad part is his blinkers work for crap and he guzzles gas like a hog. At least he's reliable, and thats what matters most to me. He's got to get us from Wisconsin to Boston to Atlanta without more than an oil change and the four tires Im putting on him in a few weeks. Im hoping for the best. I believe in Earl. Earl even has a CD player! And a sunroof! Whooo hoooo!
I bought Chris some gift certificates as a thank you, drove all over creation, bought a strapless bra and support undies for the wedding and arrived home in time to throw together dinner (not so good....Jeremy is the expert on sauces and I can never make them taste right. Mom thought the peanut butter marinade was okay, although she picked out the tofu and peppers and carrots, but I missed my boy.) Then we drove to Cheryl's, the lady hosting the bridal shower tomorrow, to drop off non-perishables and the BBQ. Then we drove home (nearly hitting four raccoons) and I watched three more episodes of AMerican Idol.
Yesterday at the mall, I wondered aloud what the normal GHanaian would think of all the stores, all the merchandise, all that space dedicated to crap we really dont need. Most Americans have no idea how much wealth they have, or how much waste they create. Its sad. Im very aware of it, mostly because in GHana, I keenly noticed my priviledge each and every day. Even when I wanted to fit in, I knew that I was different because I was so much richer than most the folks around me. Its a weird thing to know that in my hometown, Im lower class (especially now with no job and no savings) and in Ghana, Im a millionaire.
But I see it.....The stores keep expanding, the prisons keep spreading, and meanwhile there's a lack of affordable housing, lack of money for schools, lack of dependable income for farmers, lack of affordable health care and child care. And yet....people buy and buy and buy. I catch myself buying and buying despite myself. The advertising and consumer culture is SO SO STRONG. Its truly amazing, and not in a healthy good way.
Anyway, I also noticed that fast food is a little different. Most places now accept checks as well as credit cards (Im assuming this is everywhere and not just Wisconsin). And Burger King offers a veggie burger value meal. What hasnt changed is that even if you are sitting at home, there is something inherant in fast food that forces you to eat it as fast as possible. Why? And why are all the sodas "red"? (Sometimes cherry flavored and sometimes an indescribable flavor.)
Portions are bigger, too. Things that should cost more, dont. I wonder where those costs are going to. If you pay only 49 cents for a hamburger, and you need to ship that meat all the way from Asia or South America or wherever that cow lived, and add preservatives and flavorings, shouldnt it cost an awful lot more? On the flipside, things that shouldnt cost a lot, cost a fortune. Tofu is $2.49 here. Produce is way more here. If I wanted to eat only organic here, my grocery bill would reach the double digits. Why is it so hard to eat healthy foods?
Anyway, besides my griping about social ills, my family is great. Havent seen any friends yet, but theyre coming after the shower. Everyone has been so cool to me since Ive been back and being home is a little nutso, but really really fun. Whoooooooo hoooooooo!!!!!
Thursday, September 25, 2003
My lord. My head is about to explode. I have not had a single moment to sit down and write, and when I do have a few minutes, Im usually so damn tired I cant even keep my thoughts together. I meant to mail Jeremy oodles of stuff by now, but havent done any. I havent written emails. I havent gotten to start training. I havent unpacked more than messy piles on the floor. I havent scheduled my friends to see them. I havent done anything but run and run and run and run and run. Ack.
Lets see. Lets start with the wows now. In Kohl's, one of the mannequins was in a wheelchair. There is so much stuff in the stores. TV programming sucks. Why do flourescent lights hurt so much? Its cold and Im freezing my butt off (right now Im wearing long underwear, jeans, a t shirt, a long sleeved shirt and my friend Angies courdoroy coat.)
Here's a quick recap: Sunday I had dinner with Trish and Chris and Taylor and Deanna and that was great to catch up and hang out. Monday I met up with Angie to help babysit our friend Julie's twin daughters. We went for a walk to a nearby coffeeshop, and then entertained them for another hour. For a while, Angie went to get lunch and I was alone with the kids. Even a year ago, I would have been freaking out the whole time, worrying that I would screw up, wondering what I would do if they cried, feeling overwhelmed. But this time, I felt fine. Relaxed even. No troubles, no crying. Angie came home, followed by Julie. When the girls laid down for a nap, we ate and then left to pick up Angie's daughter, Haley. Shopped at Unique Thrift (bought some black cords and a sweater and three records) and then she dropped me off at a coffeeshop to meet up with Vicki.
A few minutes later, Vicki arrived with Aidan, the happiest, cutest baby ever! We drove to meet Dave, who had lost tons of weight and looked AWESOME!! We ate dinner, and then I accompanied Vicki to her school's open house (she had double booked and I still wanted to hang out with her as much as possible.) We came back to their house and I learned all about her pregnancy, breastfeeding (including breast pumps!!), being a mom and just sharing space with Vicki (one of my few friends who have surpassed being just a friend and have moved into the realm of Forever Family.) I slept over there, but was too wound up from all we talked about to fall asleep before 2 am.
Woke at 6 or 7 am and Vicki offered to drive me to Jeremy's Dad's (Mike's) house. Unfortunately, my organic and inaccurate knowledge of how the Cities' streets hook up made us completely lost. Vicki also didnt know about the area we were headed to, so we landed way over in Northeast, then by Nicolet, then downtown, before finally figuring out how to get to Franklin.
I met up with Mike, who looked great and sounded even better than the last time I saw him. We had a leisurely lunch at True Thai (YUM!) and walked to the park down the street. It was great to see him and catch up. I caught a bus back to Trish's for a few hours, before meeting with Susan for dinner. I hadnt seen her in ages and that was wonderful too, to just chat and eat and trade stories. Then I said goodbye to her, Trish worked on opening the energy lines in my feet, and I went to bed.
THe next morning we left at 7 am for Chippewa Falls to meet up with my folks, who would take me the rest of the way home. The drive was fun and I got to talk with Trish about life (Thanks Trish!! That was great!!!) We all chatted a bit in Burger King, then said goodbye to Trish and hello to Wisconsin.
Mom and Dad were happy and fun and we drove home much faster than I thought we would. We ate at Perkins (when did their food get so blecky?) and then dropped off my stuff at home. Grandma was waiting there and I got to see her too. Hooray!!! We dropped off my soon-to-be-brother-in-law's truck, bought some plantains and chiles at a Mexican grocery store (the man behind the counter spoke Spanish and the only thing that came out of my mouth was Oui! instead of Si! He said Mom looked like she was a Spanish speaker, which is quite funny), then ate dinner, went for a walk and got ice cream.
Grandma slept over and I sorted my three paper bags full of mail. WOW! I finally worked out this morning, said bye to Grandma, talked to Marta on the phone, then drove with Mom into Appleton. (Isnt this exciting??????!!!!) My last 13 rolls of film are getting developed right now at Woodman's, and we stopped at Shopko, Kohl's, the Dollar Store and then my sister's. Whew!!!!!
THe race continues, at least until the first hump is over. The bridal shower is on Sunday, with many preparations before then.
Originally, I was a little tweaked that everyone had the advantage of knowing everything about my life for hte past year, but I didnt have the same luxury with their lives. Im getting to the point in the trip where Im grateful for my blogger, so I dont have to keep telling the same old stories over and over and over again. Now I just answer whatever questions they have, show off my fabrics and live in the here and now. My poor bubbling brain cannot hold anything more than what is directly in front of my face. Grr.......I long for the peace and slow mellowness of my days in Accra....I wish I could transport that energy here because I just grow more and more busy, more and more anxious as I lose a handle on all my details. Im not good at this stuff anymore!!!
Anyway, I cant make any promises as to when I will blog again.....it might not be until after Sunday. Wish me luck and smoothness and wish the same for my sister. Life's a little stressful around here lately and we need all the mellow we can get.
Monday, September 22, 2003
Good god, Im busy. Wow. Its a pity....all these great people in my life and I can only spend a finite amount of time with each of them, instead of multiple visits with field trips and dinners and more than a rushed catching-up.
More observations: Houses here are HUGE and extravagant. You can leave food out on the counters for days and there are no ants. In fact, there are no visible bugs of any kind. (Its a little cold, I guess, but its still weird not to have rivers of ants crawling everywhere.) If you put your dirty clothes in a big metal square and push a button, in thirty minutes your clothes will be clean. WOW! Mushrooms are tasty. It is soooooo easy to buy things here; things I know I dont need or dont want, but yet I feel compelled to consider throwing them in my basket and buying buying buying. There are tons of tabloids, with lots of mostly naked women on the cover or in their pages. Watching the EMMYs was weird, mostly because I didnt recognize half of the nominees (Whats "Monk"? Im so out of touch.) I dont have to carry toilet paper in my pocket with me everywhere I go. I can technicallly drink straight from the tap, but it feels really weird. Um...that's it for now.
Im sorry to those who are expecting emails from me today. Too busy to write more than this blogger. Jeremy, Im sleeping at Vicki's tonight and will email you tomorrow night. Everyone else, I'll email you then, too.
