He's Just So Into Ro and Drew

He's Just So Into Ro and Drew

I had a date tonight with my favourite princess and a half-blood prince.  RoRo finally came out of the bush, and it was a pleasure to have her on my arm as my date for the evening.  Even suffering from a cold, which she jokingly/seriously thinks is H1N1, she is a dazzling beauty. 

We went to see the latest installment in the Harry Potter series—no picnic before hand, not as creative of an outing as the one BMac slept through, but we did meet for juice, coffee and cinnamon buns before the show.  Two friends me us for the show, but one had never seen any of the other Harry Potter films, nor had he read any of the books—no better place to start than the sixth one.  He was lost and did not have a very high opinion of the film.  I, on the other hand, really like this film; it was one of my favourites in the saga of Harry Potter so far.  My other two favourites are The Prisoner of Askaban and The Order of the Phoenix.  My least favourite is The Goblet of Fire.  The Half-Prince installment was quite dark.  Of course, it would have to be with the death of a main character.  The actors are maturing with their characters and are becoming better actors with each film.  I appreciate how the Harry Potter films have relied more on story and characters to drive the film more than special effects as the series has progressed.  The first two and the fourth films were too eye candy heavy for my taste. 

Tuesday is half-price movie day at Cineplex, so I also caught the 2 o’clock showing of He’s Just Not Into You.  Yes, some films take a lifetime to arrive in Kampala; HJNIY was showing in the UK when I was there in February.  However others, like The Half-Blood Prince, open here at the same time they do worldwide.  HJNIY received mixed review, and my review (if I was giving one) would be just that:  mixed.  Some parts of the film were great, but I did find myself checking my watch for the time, which is not a good thing.  A positive statement:  I think this is the first film I ever enjoyed a character played by Ben Affleck.  I got a little choked up when he was washing the dishes.  Ginnifer Goodwin is fantastic.  The reason I decided to see this film… Drew Barrymore.  I’ve expressed my admiration of drew on my blog before.  I love Drew.  I think she is amazing.  She is a beautiful creature.  I’m really looking forward to finally seeing Grey Gardens, which just came out on DVD.

By the way, her directorial debut, Whip It, is scheduled to be released on 9^th October.  Drew+roller derby+Juliette Lewis+Eve+Jimmy Fallon=A MUST SEE!!!

Groove is in the

HEART

This is proving to be a very quiet weekend for me. I did the Kololo Run Friday afternoon with some people from school, 10K up and down Kololo Hill. I came home and passed out on the sofa around 8:30. I woke up around 10:30, took a shower and tried to watch an episode of Will & Grace on my laptop, but ended up dozing on the sofa again. I gave up and went to bed.

I was up before 7:00 Saturday morning. It was once again time for my monthly Saturday Bank Hop: going to three different banks downtown before they close at mid-day to take care of my monthly bills. It begins at Stanbic Bank, then I hop over to Standard Chartered Bank, and I finish off by the Parliament building at dfcu Bank(or as Kristen used to call it: da f*ck you bank).

I did begin a great book yesterday: Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation: The Definitive Guide to the Evolutionary Biology of Sex. Don’t let the name put you off. It is quite an interesting read. The author, Olivia Judson, has taken a very complicated subject and written an excellent non-biologist-friendly book. Dr. Tatiana is a Dr. Ruth-type figure who responds to letters written to her by different creatures of the Earth, such as lions, fruit flies and fish. I’ve found myself laughing out loud at least four times since I began reading, and I’ve not even reached page 100.

I started to read the book at Katch the Sun around 5:30pm, and I did not leave the place until 11:50. (Yes, I was home by midnight. Another early night for me. However, I did stay up for a while after reaching home. I even did a load of clothes.) I wasn’t reading the entire time. After an hour or so, I was joined by my friend, Amelo. We ended up ordering dinner there. I had the roasted goat, muchomo, followed by the chocolate cake (so, so good!)

Sunday? More clothes to wash. Plus, there are floors to mop. I scrubbed to tub yesterday. I wanted to run, but my running partners stood me up... again. Maybe I’ll go for a jog tonight. There is a film festival in the city sponsored by the European Union. They are showing Life if Beautiful at 4:30 this afternoon. I think I’ll go there.

This has been a musical weekend for me. I’ve only had soundtracks playing on my iTunes: Fame, Wicked, Reefer Madness, Aida, Sideshow, and Ragtime. That movie meme I posted Friday really influenced my weekend. Drew Barrymore and musicals (some Broadway, not movie), a pretty good combination. Drew’s even done a few musicals: Babes in Toyland (with Keanu Reeves and a dubbed singing voice), Everyone Says I Love You (Can you believe I’ve never seen it?), Olive, the Other Reindeer (animated, made-for-television), and most recently, Music and Lyrics. I’ll decline to comment on her vocal ability.

My Weekends are not always this exciting. Sometimes I can even find myself in compromising situations.


Groovy!

Who knew an iPod and mini-speakers could be so much fun! !
X-TINA, you so dirrty,girrl!

Easy. Breezy. Beautiful.

Easy.  Breezy.  Beautiful.

I've always had a thing for cover girls, and Cover Girl cover girls have really done it for me in the past.  My two favourites being

Drew Barrymore

and Niki Taylor,

in that order.

Ok, so Drew's stint as Cover Girl is still in the present, but isn't she lip perfection personified?

This month, October 2011, I add one more cover girl to my list of favourites:  Becca Schwartz.

Oh, WorkZine, you just became exponentially more welcomed in my inbox each month.  Thanks to this exposure, I'm sure Becca will attract quite a bit of attention, and she might have difficulty selecting only one guy among the many who will want to be her suitor.  Well, lucky for us, Becca has put thought into polyandry.

Imagine the law made it mandatory for you to marry four husbands and each had to be from a different country, which countries would you choose from and why? 

US - being American, I’ve found that it’s usually Americans who share the values and beliefs of mine that matter. Plus my mother has informed me that if I have her grandchildren and keep them somewhere in Africa, I will be dead to her - this way, my American husband could keep the grandchildren in the US, close to Jaja. 

Senegal - It’ll give me a chance to work on my French and Wolof skills and (assuming I also get citizenship in Senegal with the marriage) free travel within ECOWAS - important for business. When I lived in Senegal, I was proposed to at least 3 times per week so it may be good to actually take one of these guys up on it someday. To be clear, it wasn’t really that I’m all that, it was that I may hold the key to a magic visa/green card for them. Also, Senegalese men tend to be quite tall and handsome. 

Sweden - I’ve got the dark and handsome with the Senegalese fellow so I’ll even it out with light and handsome from Sweden, you know the model type. Plus the EU passport will come in handy. 

Uganda - I’ve lived here too long not to include one of you guys. I guess maybe you’ve grown on me :)

Isn't it so cute, the way she is able to speak using emoticons?  Not only is she cute, guys, but she can probably out sing all of us in a Rent sing-a-long, and she's an expert in solar power marketing.  She can light up your life.

Easy.

Breezy.

Beautiful.

Cover girl!

That's enough about Becca ( I gush, I gush).  I want to give a bit more credit to WorkZine.  I began receiving it around edition 28 (Becca's issue is 37).  I really like the concept and the platform they give to writers (seasoned and those learning the ropes, yet have something to say).  Check out their website:  www.theworkzine.com.  You can also listen to a podcast of an interview with the managing editor of WorkZine, Abid Were.

Sign O' the Times

So you know how I'm into Drew.  And I must say she was a vision in tulle a the Golden Globe awards... 

I concede that the hair was a brave choice--a bit high, perhaps channelling a hair hopper--but Drew has a way of rocking it, keeping it fun.  What I do find disturbing are the wrinkles around her eyes.  Those are more than smile creases.  Come on!  She's only 33.  So.  Am.  I.  After seeing this photo, I had to run to the mirror in the bathroom to check and make sure I was not in an equal situation.  Still safe. 

(Even with the wrinkles, she is still beautiful.  Look at that smile.)

In the end, it could be worse.

You could run, but judging from her track suit, she'd probably run after you, and with those legs, she'd catch up.

Tickets!

Tickets!

Right this way!

Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times. The first movie that I can say that I definitely saw more than 10 times is The Wizard of Oz. I used to come home everyday after school and watch it. This was in 1991, so I was, like, 15. I lost interest when Kim Davis, future homecoming queen, included “collecting Wizard of Oz memorabilia” in her list of hobbies. For some reason, I really didn’t like her much; Oz lost it’s appea. Those fickle teenagers! Other 10 timers include: Little Shop of Horrors and Breakin’.

Name a movie that you've seen multiple times in the theater. It is rare for me to do this. The last one I can remember is Moulin Rouge I loved it so much when it came out, that I wanted all my friends and family to see it
.
Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a movie. Drew Barrymore.

Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a movie. It’s a tie between John Travolta and Tom Cruise.

Name a movie that you can and do quotes from. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. My sister used to have the entire film memorized.

Name a movie musical that you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs. All the lyrics? Hmm… Little Shop of Horrors, Rent, Reefer Madness. I love movie musicals! I wish I could live in one.

Name a movie that you have been known to sing along with. Rent. Ok, this one was made for television: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More With Feeling. I know it’s annoying, but I cannot help myself.

Name a movie that you would recommend everyone to see. I think Whale Rider is fantastic.

Name a movie that you own. Spice World

Name an actor that launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops. Mandy Moore. She surprised me in A Walk to Remember, was fantastic in Saved, and I loved her recently in Because I Said So.

Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, what? I remember seeing two films at a drive-in: Clash of the Titans and First Blood. I know I saw others, like some early 80s Clint Eastwood film, but I don’t remember their names.

Ever made out in a movie? Sadly, no. However, it’s on my ‘to do’ list.

Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven’t yet gotten around to it. Psycho.

Ever walked out of a movie? No, but I intentionally fell asleep during American Pie II. I really didn’t want to be there. I went with a friend while on a visit to Miami. I hated it, but couldn’t leave her behind since I was staying at her place.

Name a movie that made you cry in the theater. Crying in movies is easier for me to do than crying at funerals. Strange, huh? Big Fish had me bawling.

What’s the last movie you saw in the theater? Dream Girls. Loved it! Loved Jennifer Hudson!!!

What’s your favorite/preferred genre of movie? I love musicals if they are done well.

What’s the first movie you remember seeing in the theater? It was eitherE.T. or Empire Strikes Back. I think.

What movie do you wish you had never seen? All of the Faces of Death. I made some stupid choices as a teen.

What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed? Donnie Darko. Still not sure if I get it.

What is the scariest movie you've seen? Jaws. I can’t ever be completely comfortable while at the beach. It’s a shame.

What is the funniest movie you've seen? This is the most difficult question for me. The most fun I’ve ever had in a theater while watching a film was at a showing of Drop Dead Gorgeous. I laughed so much I almost peed my pants. I’ve never sat in a theater where an audience laughed and enjoyed itself so much.

Therapy

Therapy

Retail therapy for me is usually counterproductive. More times than not, I end up more high-strung than I was before I began. Even when I have a budget, and I’m well within that budget, spending money stresses me out. But when it’s all over, and I’ve had a chance to breathe and unwind, I sure do like the things I bought.

As Drew said in Ever After: Just breath.

Or there’re always margaritas.

I’ve been very conservative with my purchases since my arrival to the US last week, but today was my big shopping day for this trip. I was supposed to go on Tuesday, but plans changed. While I was unable to get everything on my shopping list, it was a very productive day. My favourite purchases of today were Travel Scrabble (yes, Sibyl, once again I’m copying you—so Single White Female), Nike running socks and season 2 of Popular (Ryan Murphy’s late-90s masterpiece—long before Glee!).

The biggest surprise of today (a positive one!) was Gnomeo and Juliet. Like some of you, I’ve been questioning my choice of movies recently. To be honest, I never would have selected to see this film, but my 8-year-old friend was set on seeing it, so see it we did.

• Pleasant surprise #1: The soundtrack of the film being Elton John classics and not-so-well-known gems.
• Pleasant surprise #2: Dolly Parton providing the voice for a bootylicious Daisy Duke-esque gnome delivering the rules for a Rebel Without a Cause-like lawnmower race.
• Pleasant surprise #3: One of the gnomes expressing his enjoyment of going commando.

Sadly, this is a horrible time to go to the cinema; nothing fantastic is showing. However, with the right company, Gnomeo and Juliet provided 87 minutes of good fun. We practically had the theatre to ourselves and fully enjoyed the songs and thought nothing about how loudly we laughed out loud. Seeing this film with friends was the most effective therapy of the day.

The most disappointing part of the evening was not being able to buy Adele’s 21 from Target. I want the Target version because there are four bonus tracks. I tried. I really tried. I went to the two Targets in the Panama City area, and neither one of them had it. Both of them had display signs up for it in the music department. Both of them did not have a single copy of the CD to purchase. I hope that is a good sign for Adele, and her CD is selling well.

…There’s always Tallahassee.

Sunday,


but too much to do to be lazy.

My weekend so far has been full of diverse activities. I’m lovin’ it. I got an early start yesterday—beginning with a yummy, homemade pancake breakfast; and including everything thing from money transfers, photo developing, an embassy rummage sale, washing my whites—and I didn’t make it to (my own) bed (alone) until 4:30am! It was a fun night. The Uganda Cranes finally didn’t disappoint their fans and defeated the Nigerian football team, and last night was a night of celebration around Kampala. I was on Kampala Road when the supporters made their way back into town from Namboole on the back of boda-bodas tooting on their yellow plastic horns. The screech of whistles was on-going; traffic police didn’t stand a chance in the excitement. As much as I hate to admit it, I’ve inherited many of my fathers preferences and dislikes. As infectious as the enthusiasm of the revellers was, the crowd and commotion made me nervous. I was the proverbial long-tailed cat, and the party downtown was my room full of rocking chairs. I quickly made it to the restaurant where some of my friends were meeting for dinner.

I had planned an early night, and was making my way home at 12, but I was intercepted on Bandali Rise by two friends I had not seen in several weeks. Of course that means I climbed into the backseat of the car and was off to Kololo and several hours more of a good time. Despite all the noise and the crowds, I really enjoyed the next four hours. Surprisingly, some good conversations were had with a few drinks and some dancing.

Sunday morning: I got up when planned. 11:30. Feeling great. I really like a good breakfast, so I try to cook at least one big one on the weekends. It’s always better when there is someone to share it with. I plan to make a good pot of soup later today. Fingers are crossed for uninterrupted electricity.

I’ve taken advantage of the early afternoon to get into a new book: A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian. When I first saw it on the shelf at Aristoc, the name drew me to it. I opened the book and read the first paragraph: Two years after my mother died, my father fell in love with a glamorous blonde Ukranian divorcee. He was eighty-four and she was thirty-six. She exploded into our lives like a fluffy pink grenade… I was hooked. Who could say ‘no’ to a book that starts off like that? I just didn’t have the 24,500 shillings to buy the book that day, so I convinced a friend that it was a must-read. She bought it, and it’s been passed on to me.

I really have so much to do that I do not want to do. I’ve go reports to write for school. I have five more to do. They are due on Friday, but I want to break my habit of procrastination, so I want to get as many finished today as I can. You can tell how much I want to get them done. I’m making this post, using my brain juices, when I could be describing how well so and so’s understands and is able to apply the conept of fair test. I’ll never finish something I don’t begin.

I hand-washed two big towels today. I'm gonna be sporting two massive forearms if I keep this up. That should be the maximum amount of work anyone is allowed to do on a Sunday.

Trust

Trust

Who is the person that the majority of Americans trust to deliver them the news?  Katie Couric?  Charlie Gibson?  Brian Williams?

No.  It's John Stewart.

That's right folks.  John Steward, host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central (and co-star of the 1997 straight-to-dvd Drew Barrymore film Wishful Thinking), is the most trusted newscaster in American--the Walter Cronkite of 2009.  At least that was the finding of a nationwide poll conducted by Time Magazine.  

As you can see from this map of the results, 44% of Americans put their trust in a comedian to deliver them the truth over more recognized and formal newscasters--even the good folks of Texas.  What does that say about the state of journalism in America?  

Did you catch the last episode of So You Think You Can Dance this week?  Oh my goodness, Melissa and Ade's performance about a woman with breast cancer nothing was less than amazing, so beautiful, so moving.  I don't think anyone who watched that performance got through it with dry eyes, especially if they have ever known anyone who has battle cancer... and won... or lost.  I've watched it over and over again on YouTube.  Please, if you have not seen it yet watch it:  

This is an example of the amazing power of performance, the way dance can really create a picture with no paint and make a statement with no words.  The trust between the dancers was powerful, the lifts and the leap Melissa makes into Ade's arms were all very moving.  The Maxwell song that provides the backdrop is also beautiful and fitting.  I had to go to iTunes and download This Woman's Work after watching this performance.  Melissa, Ade and Tyce, you have touched this non-sentimental, often cynical heart of stone.  I need moments like this.

Expensive Diversions

Expensive Diversions

I never really realised how expensive my running pastime was until I restricted myself to a very limited budget.  I run.  I'm training for a marathon.  I assumed that after covering the biggest training expense, the shoes, running would be pretty cheap.  

One word:  hydration.

I blew 9,700 shillings today on rehydration/refueling alone.  Then there was the expense of getting from the ending point of my 21km run back home.  I did public transport, took a taxi, and that cost me an additional 1,000.  So just over 10,000 shillings, my maximum daily budget, was spent before midday today.

This really got me thinking.  If I'm spending this much money on simply keeping myself healthily hydrated, how is the average teacher in Uganda able to keep a healthy diet?  There is a BIG difference between filling one's belly and being properly nourished.

In only the four days I've been conducting this experiment, I've caught myself cutting back on or skipping meals entirely in order to keep my daily expenses low.  I'm discovering that it is exceptionally difficult, if not next to impossible, to eat adequately on the salary that the teachers are currently earning.

So, it's been reported in the paper that "the government, beginning tomorrow, will use its head teachers to roll-call all its teacher" and that absent teacher are to be punished.  But who's going to roll-call the head teachers?  From my own experience, I'd expect it to be more likely to not encounter a head teacher at school than there be absent teachers.  I worked at a school where the deputy head teacher pretty much only showed up on the first day of school and never appeared again, yet he still drew his salary every month.  There was another school I worked with where the head mistress missed 13 out of 20 school days, repeatedly.  I won't deny absenteeism of teachers also being a problem.  However, many times when I'd discover the whereabouts of teachers who was not at school, I'd find them digging in a garden.  Hmmm...  I wonder why?

I must be honest and confess that I splurged tonight.  My friend, Barbarah, is in town from Malawi.  I've not seen her in over a year.  Another friend from Uganda who lives in the US is also in town, so we all got together at Katja's Kitchen in Bugolobi.  How could we not, right?  Yeah, my budget for the next week is ruined.  I spent 25,000 on my meal and drinks.  Yikes!

A summary of today's expenses:

9,700 UGX for hydration
1,000 UGX towards transportation
25,000 UGX for dinner splurge
6,300 UGX for milk and tomatoes

Total:  42,000 UGX

Remaining with 214,600 UGX

Tip for those low on cash flow:  stay away from restaurants of any form.

Waragi Laughing

Waragi Laughing

I have now completed the round trip journey from Kampala to Jinja and back. I am relieved and pleased to announce that I did not hit any children darting across the road; that is my biggest fear when passing through the trading centers along the highway. It happens sometimes (I've never had a personal experience, nor do I want to), and it's tragic.

Thanks to Stacy's continued birthday celebrations, I was motivated to:

1. finally buy new tires for my car;
2. get out of Kampala for a weekend.

When I was in South Africa last month, I commented on how picturesque it was. Sometimes it is easy to forget how beautiful it is in our own back yards. Uganda is an amazingly beautiful country. With all that's been going on lately, it has been so easy to get distracted and focus on the negative characteristics of the country. But I have to be careful and remember that I am very lucky to live where I do and make an effort to also enjoy simple and complex pleasures and natural wonders that abound.

So the reality check that Stacy's continued birthday celebrations provided allowed me to enjoy:

1. the pleasures of the amazing views from the bank of the Nile River;


2. being a wordsmith during an intellectually stimulating game of Scrabble with worthy, genius opponents;


3. developing new massage techniques during impromptu twilight therapy sessions.

All views were not pleasant. The hooks along the wall of the shower room were eerily similar to hooks I once saw along the wall of another type of "shower room".

An uncomfortable film could be filmed in this room.

I arrived home early enough today to enjoy a lazy Sunday in my Flat. I popped in a DVD of No Strings Attached. Peter Travers, whose opinion I usually trust and agree with, wrote that the plot of this Ivan Reitman film starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher "has been recycled since cave dwellers first drew pictures on walls." I agree. However, the script left me hysterically laughing out loud frequently for an hour and forty-five minutes. I cannot guarantee that the ease at which I was induced to laugh was not facilitated by a few ounces of waragi. All the same, I give value to this "generic piece of plastic."

Samples of my favourite lines from No Strings Attached:

• It seems kind of like carefree.
• It's like a peanut allergy, like an emotional peanut allergy.
• Don't dress up your penis, ever.
• I can't focus on my porn with all this real sex going on around me.
• Did you make me a period mix?
• We're sluts, Emma, we're dirty, dirty sluts.
• No, we don't need her; make her leave.
• You look like a pumpkin, bitch!...
• Ring! Ring! It's the pumpkin patch; they want their pumpkins back.

We're not pumpkins!

We're ladies!

Well you're so orange!

Hey, someone call Charlie Brown! We found the great pumpkin!

• That hole is my bitch.
• That's why they call him Bones.
• Because he loves Lil' Wayne, ok? You don't know everything about your dad.
• I think I'm gonna do it all the time. It's gonna get weird.

I know, the lines are out of context, so they may not immediately spark laughter. Just watch the film. You'll see what I mean. It won't be wasted time. Oh, and a few ounces of waragi might help.

What
I'm reading
now:



I finished The Schools Our Children Deserve two days ago. The most applicable command I acquired from the book is "Prove it!" This can really stimulate great classroom discussion. However the most valuable lesson that I learned that I'm trying to pass on to my students is: "Mistakes are our friends." Yep.

Giving non-fiction a rest, I selected Hoot from my classroom library because the author, Carl Hiaasen, was recommended to me by my South African co-teacher. Hiaasen is a fellow Floridian, but I can honestly say that I did not know who he was. Apparently, he's written some quite popular books for adults, but he's also had success in the realm of children's literature. I remember seeing advertisements for the movie version of the book earlier this year. I remember reading or hearing somewhere (correct me if I'm wrong) that Jimmy Buffet did the music for the soundtrack. This week Jimmy has been on heavy rotation on my iTunes. Cheeseburger in Paradise, Margaritaville, and (my personal favorite song at the moment because it is very relevant to events in my life) The Asshole Song. I think it was Hoot's connection with Jimmy that finally drew me to it. So far I'm lovin' it. It's gonna be a quick read, so I'll let you know more of my thoughts in a couple of days.

Cheers!