Tuesday, April 3, 2012

What They Don't Tell You...

This is my last week at work. It's been a somewhat weird last couple of months, knowing my job will soon be over. I like my job, not love, but like. I have had it for 5 years and that's fairly significant for me.
My true love is cooking, baking, etc...so while life events are taking longer than I thought to process, I felt the need to look for a part time job.
Where does one look for serious, high quality job possibilities? Why, Craigslist of course!

I found a few here and there. Bakery, bartending, server, hostess...you get the picture.
I thought I had stumbled on a perfection when I found this:

Small Bed & Breakfast is looking for reliable help with breakfast and some occational room cleaning. Duties include helping prepare & serve breakfast for up to 4 couples.

Mostly weekends 7:30 to 11:30 A.M. with occational weekdays during the summer months. This is a permanent position with opportunities possible for the right person

Fun place to work with a relaxed atsmosphere

I noticed there was an email address with the name of the bed and breakfast attached. Perfect! I could check it out online!
 It isn't located too far from me, about 20-30 minutes. I was pretty pumped about applying until I read the line "...clothing optional".

Wait...

What????


A job fixing breakfast for a nudist bed and breakfast? Is clothing optional for the chef as well? Would YOU eat food fixed by a naked person?

I've seen some pretty crazy things on Craigslist...but this seemed legit, innocent, fully clothed...

Guess it's back to the drawing board...


Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Happy 55th Birthday Ghana!

Ghana.

The name evokes so many feelings, memories, loves:

Cups of hot tea with sugar and evaporated milk
Fresh Ghanaian breakfast bread with jam
The way the sun rises and sets so majestically that it simply takes your breath away
The call to prayer in the morning and evening (I don't care for it any other time...)
The bright colors of tie & dye lined up inside a shop
School children carrying pencils on their head as they walk to school
The sight and smell of banku being stirred
The politics of the market women
Enjoying a Star with the sounds of Reggae and Highlife music blaring around you
The beeping of motos weaving in and out of traffic
Seeing a family of 4 smushed together on said motos
Being able to buy a soccer ball, kuli kuli, gum, or calling cards all from your car stopped at a traffic light
Hearing the phrase repeated just about anywhere you go: Pure water
How suffocating it gets right before a big rain
Being laughed at when you try to dance or speak like your friends; knowing they are laughing with you
How community is more important than schedules
Dancing at weddings and funerals
Omo tuo with groundnut soup and goat meat
Bargaining my way from the tourist price to a "local white lady" price
Arriving at a new place and having people tell you "you are welcome"
Coming back from a journey and having people tell you "you are welcome"
Long, bumpy, dusty roads
Cheesy Nigerian movies any time of day

The list goes on...

So Ghana, today I am thinking of you. Missing you. Remembering you. Thank you for fighting for your independence; it has helped make you who you are. But you have always been strong: a true "Warrior King."

                                                                                       (photo by Mona Hewitt)


Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Piles...

I sometimes feel like my life is reduced to piles.
Let's face it; we all have piles of dishes, piles of laundry, those piles of important papers you are going to file............tomorrow  next week.

I have even managed to pile things such as friends (this friend goes in this category, this one goes in that category).
I have piles of things that need to be boxed, piles that need to go to the storage unit, piles that need to be organized (yeah, right...), and piles of recipes that need to be made.

And until recently I was able to keep my job out of the "piles" category. *Sigh* Until I was reduced to back scanning all eight file cabinets at work.That is right; removing staples -lots of staples-, paperclips, binder clips, and figuring out why we kept this or that paper for the last 18 years. One month down and another (or so) to go...and I find myself creating.....


                                                                           piles.