Novemories & Rwanda

November was busy and went by in no time. (Hence it being Mid-December before I even get to my November write up.)

For Thanksgiving, I went up to my Mom's in Myersville. She is selling that house and packing up for a new home in North Carolina. We spent a lot of the time packing and taking trips to the dump and Goodwill. It was fun to see the nieces (Kate and Lindy) and say goodbye to that house.

The previous weekend I had my first house guests in the south. (It only took me 10 months...) It was great to see the Stouts who swung through C-ville for an evening. We had a fun dinner and mini-pub crawl as well as a trip to my favorite diner for brunch the next day. Jen & Brian continue to be a shining example of people making a difference and doing meaningful work (for the Gates Foundation & US AID). I am hopeful that one of them will need an intern at some point. Check out the view at a nearby apple orchard:

Earlier in the month, I had a chance to get up to NYC for a weekend and went to a fun birthday dinner in Brooklyn:

Happy 30th Erica!

I also got the chance to go for a run on a glorious fall day in Prospect Park:
I miss the park. I haven't found anywhere that beautiful down in Virginia yet.

Thanks to everyone in NYC who swung by the bar in Brooklyn where I watched NFL all day. It was great to catch up with everyone during my 'office hours' and you almost cheered me up from another dismal Eagles loss.

My big news at this point is that after Christmas, I am going on a trip to Rwanda! I am flying in to Kigali and heading to the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village. I'll be volunteering there to teach English to high-school aged kids in the orphanage. I am looking forward to the trip because I know I'll learn a lot and hopefully improve conversational English for some kids who could be future leaders of Rwanda. The village is an amazing response to the orphans left after the 1994 Genocides. Check out more details on the charity here. I'm honored to volunteer for them.

I've never been to Rwanda, and it takes a fair amount of preparation. I've been getting shots for Yellow Fever, Polio, Hep A, Hep B, Typhoid and the Flu, all of which makes me cranky and sore (more evan than usual.) While I'm there, I'll take anti-malarial pills. I'm taking art supplies to donate to kids who paint in the village as art therapy.

I always enjoy travel, so I'm sure this trip will be interesting but a few points in my preparation manual stand out and make me particularly enthusiastic:

"Non-biodegradable plastic bags have been banned in Rwanda, and any found on you at the airport may be confiscated and replaced with reusable cloth bags for a small fee."

Rwanda is aware of the environmental impact of plastic bags and is taking this strong stand to get in front of the problem. I love it!

The only thing I love more is this programming announcement:

"There is one television station, Television Rwandaise (TVR), which is state-run. It airs English news at 2:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. There’s a chimpanzee show at 10:00 a.m. and an African soccer feature at noon."

My only concern at this point is how to sneak out of teaching every day at 10:00 AM. I'll let you know how that works out.

Coming soon will be the 2011 Holiday letter. To get you in the mood/up to speed here's a refresher of from last year: 2010 Happy Holidays: With a Little Old Driver So Lively and Quick...

We on award tour with muhammad my man...

Hey. I am in North Carolina. It is good to be back in the states. I have been dealing with by overseas cravings for Strawberry Pop Tarts and Little Powdered Donuts. Thirst quenched.

One night in NYC was waaaaay to short, but it was great to see Jesse, Ben and Caitlin and Curtiss. I had a proper brunch on my way out. Look out NYC. I'll be back in July.

Then I spent some time with my family in Oak Island North Carolina. I got to see my much much much older sister (love you Lynn) have another birthday and also her now teenager-in-training daughters Kate and Lindy. It was good to sit on the beach and play in the sand.

Now I am at the Grandover Resort at Jen and Chip's wedding in Greensboro. I lived here from aged 2-4 or so and it is all coming right back to me: the nightlife, the wooden furniture...

I've had a pedicure, a back yard barbecue at Jen's parents' beautiful home and a night out on the 'town' with the bridal party where we made Jen do body shots off strange men and then we shook it all night to Bell Biv Devoe. Oh yes. That girl is poison.

We've had a rehersal brunch, and next is the rehersal and the rehersal dinner. Sunday will be the primping, photos and wedding. Look out.

I fly back to Melbourne on Monday morning but I don't arrive until Wednesday morning, so you go twice as hard on Tuesday for me, since I won't be having one.

Kobe is no Magic so don't tell me that again. Only Paul Pierce can save me now.

An Ode to Brunch

It’s hard to explain why brunch is one of my favorite things. There’s not much that I enjoy more. Brunch is best after a big night. Brunch should be around 1 pm and should be part of a mild hangover cure. It’s best to pick up a coffee on your way to brunch so that you can wait patiently in comfort. You can’t mind a wait for brunch, as you’ll be lingering over your eggs as long as you want and for that privilege you need to be patient of the lingerers who came before you. My favorite brunches combine the sweet and savory. I like a biscuit with jam and eggs Oaxaca. Alternatively, I like some pancakes or French toast with a side of bacon. Whatever you choose, massive quantities are a must. Even more crucial is a veritable buffet of beverages. Coffee is essential and fresh OJ or grapefruit juice is advised. Probably my single favorite thing about brunch is Bloody Marys. I like them as spicy as possible with fresh horseradish and not too much salad garnish in my way. Some of my best days in (hazey) memory are those where I started out with a few bloody marys at brunch and drank them straight through to bed.

Brunch requires long and senseless conversation. You can review the breaks in last nights events and summarize the week’s happenings while you wait for your eggs to arrive, but the topics should quickly move to very mild super powers, the outcome of a hypothetical 1 on 1 between Moses and Carl Malone, or Moses Malone and Moses with the stone tablets, and things of that nature. Brunch in NYC typically involves eating in close quarters, so it’s a good time to break out the lies for the benefit of eavesdroppers. “Yes, I just interviewed for that job in the marketing department at NASA.” “My yoga instructor is offering a new underwater class for those with Scuba certification. I’m on the waiting list.” “I was at Butter last night and I saw Jacob Dylan throw a drink on Rachel Dratch,” “Yes, they served the antiviral salad dressing with the Yak meat.” "I've saved half of what I neeed to get those calf implants." You get the idea.

Brunch is a time for gluttony, and lengthy casual meaningles conversation. Done propely it consumes the better part of a day and prepares you for a golf or football nap.

This blog seems a kindred sprit and has given me plenty of ideas:
http://thebreakfastblog.blogspot.com/2007/01/best-breakfasts-2007.html

Tomorrow I’ll be having brunch with 6 or so of the gals from Team Box. I can’t wait.

In other news, I set up my wireless access in 301, so I can now blog from anywhere in my spacious apartment. Look forward to dispatches from my couch.

I’m watching TV right now and the sports announcer for the AFL game I am watching now just said, “One of the teams is going to lose in all probability anyway…” I suppose it’s comforting to know that sports casters worldwide are mathematicians.

On another channel is Crocodile Dundee 2, which doesn’t inspire the scorn here you would expect.

I went to see the Black Keys this week. The show reminded me of the last time I saw them, where I came to the conclusion that they suck. Unfortunately, I forgot that until I was reminded when they came on stage at the HiFi this Tuesday. It was crowded, hot and boring.

In other news, I still cannot find anyone here who can do my hair. My last attempt took up four hours of my Saturday and resulted in my hair being about an 1/8th of an inch shorter in some areas. After 3 hours in the chair and no noticeable result I was reluctant to ask more of my terrified stylist for fear she would cry.

Mail report: Thanks to Mom for the long lost package and Mara for another postcard. It’s not too late to get recognized here for sending mail. Get in the game!