I've been wanting to get a bike for quite some time now. I got a used one on ebay and it came in the mail today. I've been getting so pumped about riding my bike to work. When the box arrived today I dragged it down the hall and into my apartment and ripped it open.
The bike was in several pieces. Not to worry, I thought. I had the same type of bike in the Peace Corps and that one came in a million pieces and I managed to put it together. I sat on my floor, on top of the cardboard box it came in, and started to assemble my bike.
As I'm sitting there, hands covered in grease trying to remember how I attached the breaks to the front wheel 9 months ago, I thought to myself, Damn I wish Justin were here to help me do this again. Justin was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali. He had been there almost 2 years and was a skilled "bike guy"and they had him come to help us with the mechanics of putting these contraptions together. He helped all of us clueless people put our bikes together and was very helpful.
Then I had a sad realization; Justin died 8 months ago. Just a few days after I came home from Mali. I barely knew Justin. The few hours he spent helping me with my bike was our only encounter. It didn't keep me from getting pretty bummed today. Most of my memories of Mali are bittersweet, happiness mixed with sadness. And now, as I struggle to rebuild my bike, I find myself grieving for someone I barely knew and it makes me miss my PC friends more than ever. Some are coming back to the States to visit this summer though... and I can't wait!
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
The Real Charlotte's Web
In general, bugs don’t bother me. They annoy me but I’m not afraid of them, worst case scenario, I will jerk my hand or foot back quickly if I think one is crawling on me.
In Mali, I had 5-10 large African cockroaches crawling in my hut every night. I ignored them for the most part. Now that I’m living in Charlotte I have a, more or less, roach free existence. It’s beginning to be bug season now and I live in a 120 year old, load bearing masonry building (meaning lots of cracks and crevasses for critters to get in).
So, I didn’t find it too shocking to see a cockroach crawling up the wall in my bedroom the other night. They might not bother me, but I’m not in Africa anymore so I don’t really want them crawling around me while I sleep. I went to do what most of us do when we see a big bug; I tried to whack it with a shoe. Unfortunately, he saw me coming and scurried up the wall. Damn! It was at this very moment that I realized the pitfalls of having 16 foot ceilings… they inhibit proper bug whacking. I’m a towering 5’ tall and have maybe an additional 12” when my arm is extended and this little bugger was high tailing it up my gigantic wall, far out of my reach.
My bedroom is practically one giant window. The window itself is about 8’ wide and 12’ high. The window is located on an exposed brick wall. At some point in the past 120 years the brick had been painted and had recently been sandblasted so some red brick is exposed through the off-white paint. This irregular coloring made it extremely difficult to find the roach when he wasn’t moving. The window starts a few feet off the floor and goes just about to the wooden ceiling. Right where the wall and ceiling intersect there is a hole. A brick is missing and just a dark void remains. My little roach buddy was taking his time making his way to this cockroach haven.
I rolled my bed (the frame has wheels and I have concrete floors… lots of fun when you are bored and like to bed-surf… right Jessie?) to the other side of the room and jumped up with my shoe and swatted again. Still out of reach. I ran into the living room and grabbed a chair and threw it on the bed and climbed up… Damn, still not tall enough! My little buddy was getting higher up the wall. I remembered the weird xmas present my mom gave me; a bucket of dishtowels, chewing gum and roach spray. (I don’t know why… weird gift giving is genetic in my family. I’m looking forward to doing it myself and am well on my way actually)
I grabbed the spray and climbed on my rickety tower and sprayed up the wall. Still not enough!! Damn, damn, damn!!! He was almost to the hole. Defeated, I put the chair away and scooted my bed back to its original position. I stood there, feeling very small and thinking that my sleep would be haunted by the creepy crawly feeling of a cockroach crawling around me. I looked up at the window and watched as my roach nemesis crawled into the dark hole. Right before I turned to walk away, the roach came running out of the hole. He was booking it as fast as he could. As I watched with puzzlement a HUGE spider came running out of the hole after the cockroach. The roach was trapped. The spider was behind him and a 12’ freefall was in front. He chose to jump. He landed directly at my feet and I was waiting with my roach spray. He’s dead now. I watched as the spider slowly crawled backwards into the hole. Thanks Spidey!!! Too bad though… he’s dead now too.
In Mali, I had 5-10 large African cockroaches crawling in my hut every night. I ignored them for the most part. Now that I’m living in Charlotte I have a, more or less, roach free existence. It’s beginning to be bug season now and I live in a 120 year old, load bearing masonry building (meaning lots of cracks and crevasses for critters to get in).
So, I didn’t find it too shocking to see a cockroach crawling up the wall in my bedroom the other night. They might not bother me, but I’m not in Africa anymore so I don’t really want them crawling around me while I sleep. I went to do what most of us do when we see a big bug; I tried to whack it with a shoe. Unfortunately, he saw me coming and scurried up the wall. Damn! It was at this very moment that I realized the pitfalls of having 16 foot ceilings… they inhibit proper bug whacking. I’m a towering 5’ tall and have maybe an additional 12” when my arm is extended and this little bugger was high tailing it up my gigantic wall, far out of my reach.
My bedroom is practically one giant window. The window itself is about 8’ wide and 12’ high. The window is located on an exposed brick wall. At some point in the past 120 years the brick had been painted and had recently been sandblasted so some red brick is exposed through the off-white paint. This irregular coloring made it extremely difficult to find the roach when he wasn’t moving. The window starts a few feet off the floor and goes just about to the wooden ceiling. Right where the wall and ceiling intersect there is a hole. A brick is missing and just a dark void remains. My little roach buddy was taking his time making his way to this cockroach haven.I rolled my bed (the frame has wheels and I have concrete floors… lots of fun when you are bored and like to bed-surf… right Jessie?) to the other side of the room and jumped up with my shoe and swatted again. Still out of reach. I ran into the living room and grabbed a chair and threw it on the bed and climbed up… Damn, still not tall enough! My little buddy was getting higher up the wall. I remembered the weird xmas present my mom gave me; a bucket of dishtowels, chewing gum and roach spray. (I don’t know why… weird gift giving is genetic in my family. I’m looking forward to doing it myself and am well on my way actually)
I grabbed the spray and climbed on my rickety tower and sprayed up the wall. Still not enough!! Damn, damn, damn!!! He was almost to the hole. Defeated, I put the chair away and scooted my bed back to its original position. I stood there, feeling very small and thinking that my sleep would be haunted by the creepy crawly feeling of a cockroach crawling around me. I looked up at the window and watched as my roach nemesis crawled into the dark hole. Right before I turned to walk away, the roach came running out of the hole. He was booking it as fast as he could. As I watched with puzzlement a HUGE spider came running out of the hole after the cockroach. The roach was trapped. The spider was behind him and a 12’ freefall was in front. He chose to jump. He landed directly at my feet and I was waiting with my roach spray. He’s dead now. I watched as the spider slowly crawled backwards into the hole. Thanks Spidey!!! Too bad though… he’s dead now too.
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