Wow, haven't updated in a week. That's largely because I just haven't had that much time to myself, it's just been so busy here, both with work and with trying to develop a social life. But both things are going well, I think. Harder to tell with work, I'm still so new. And not only am I new, but my whole position and whole department are new.
Won't try to recap the whole past week, so here are a few highlights in no particular order.
Last night I went to a concert at a restaurant in F-7, of a cover band whose singer is a friend of a friend. They were not great but it was a fun atmosphere. Mixed expat-Pakistani crowd and I already knew or had at least met about half the people there. There is a guy, Tom, who like me is a fair, light-haired white dude with good bone structure including prominent nose and a beard -- many jokes made about us being confused for each other. Some of the people who were there I will end up being friends with. The people I went with were my neighbors, ZP and SRB. Since I moved in I've been over to their house almost every day, to the point where they've taken to calling me "Couch." I like both of them a lot so it's good to find friends so close to home. And "Couch" is a good-natured nickname, I think they like me, too. But I realized last night that (1) it can be too easy to fall into a convenient routine and miss out on building relationships with other friends, and (2) for the umpteenth time, I need a car.
Spent some time yesterday reading about the etymology of the word "fuck." Apparently its origins are mysterious, but it almost certainly comes from an older word that means..."fuck."
Last weekend was really fun, even with an unfortunately terrible hangover on Sunday. My friend TA was in town from Geneva. She and I go back five years now, since we first met in Afghanistan when she was running our DRR project there. On Friday night we went to a traditional dance performance. I'd been invited by two separate friends and was waffling on going -- TA and I had planned to just get dinner and catch up -- but then I looked it up and it turns out I'd met the dancer in DC! Her husband is a colleague, he runs a small NGO that does mapping for emergency preparedness and response. So we went, and I'm glad for it. She was wonderful, but the real highlight was the tabla-violin duet that came in between her numbers. They were, to put it mildly, fabulous. And they played Raga Malkauns! The Don Cherry version of which is one of my favorite pieces of music! I was in my happy place. Pakistani audiences, however, are rude as hell. Lots of mid-performance texting, flash photography, babies crying. And the professional or semi-pro cameramen are, as I'd noticed elsewhere but not really registered, pretty unsure how to do their jobs. One of them, at one point, when the house lights were down, turned his camera around on the audience and put the light on. That is, he shined his light right in the audience's face. What the fuck shot are you trying to get there, cousin?
Anyway, that was wonderful. Then we went over the neighbors' and hung out for a while, which was also lovely. TA hit it off famously with ZP, we played some fun music, lots of laughter. And the US Deputy Chief of Mission was there, JP. Very nice guy, knows Liz's brother of course. Lives in the neighborhood, unlike seemingly 95% of the Americans here, and he invited me to Thanksgiving at his place. Unforunately, I'll be in Gilgit with some Canadians on Thanksgiving, but nice to know I'd have a place to celebrate if that trip gets cancelled or postponed.
Saturday afternoon TR had a barbecue at his place, where I hung out for a few hours. Funny mixed crowd. He's 26 so the bottom of his friend-group age range is lower than mine. Then a few of us went over to the Spanish deputy ambassador's house, where there was lots of good Spanish wine and I got to speak in Spanish for two hours. Also, to impress an Austrian diplomat and her husband by correctly volunteering that he was Tibetan after we were introduced. Apparently I am the first person they've ever met who got his nationality right.
Sunday morning, I paid for the fun. I was drunk on Saturday but not hammered, had eaten plenty and drunk water. Nevertheless, hangover city. Forget if I've mentioned this on here before but a couple years ago I got frustrated with the complete unpredictability of my hangovers. Sometimes I can get very drunk and be fresh as a daisy the next day. Sometimes I can have 3-4 drinks and be destroyed the next day. And vice versa. So I kept a very detailed journal for weeks, of what I'd had to drink what I'd eaten, how much water I'd drunk, how much sleep I'd gotten. No pattern detected.
By Sunday afternoon I felt better so I met up and got that one-on-one catch-up time, first at my place, then the funny, weird bar at the Marriott (she wanted a beer), then at the Serena. It was nice in part to just be around another American after last week.
This week has been calmer than last at work because AI is in Geneva for the annual CEO meetings. I've started to work on the unit gender strategy, which is encouraging. Yesterday I went out to lunch with the three other directors, to an Afghan grill in F-7 that was absolutely delicious. Today things are obviously still a bit calm; otherwise I wouldn't be able to write this post. But on that note, I think I should conclude.
With a limerick that I composed in the bathroom just now.
"Limerick for the little vampires"
My mosquitoes, they constantly breed.
And to feed them, I must bleed and bleed.
I kill lots in the shower
But they keep all the power
'Cause they fuck just like rabbits on speed.
Won't try to recap the whole past week, so here are a few highlights in no particular order.
Last night I went to a concert at a restaurant in F-7, of a cover band whose singer is a friend of a friend. They were not great but it was a fun atmosphere. Mixed expat-Pakistani crowd and I already knew or had at least met about half the people there. There is a guy, Tom, who like me is a fair, light-haired white dude with good bone structure including prominent nose and a beard -- many jokes made about us being confused for each other. Some of the people who were there I will end up being friends with. The people I went with were my neighbors, ZP and SRB. Since I moved in I've been over to their house almost every day, to the point where they've taken to calling me "Couch." I like both of them a lot so it's good to find friends so close to home. And "Couch" is a good-natured nickname, I think they like me, too. But I realized last night that (1) it can be too easy to fall into a convenient routine and miss out on building relationships with other friends, and (2) for the umpteenth time, I need a car.
Spent some time yesterday reading about the etymology of the word "fuck." Apparently its origins are mysterious, but it almost certainly comes from an older word that means..."fuck."
Last weekend was really fun, even with an unfortunately terrible hangover on Sunday. My friend TA was in town from Geneva. She and I go back five years now, since we first met in Afghanistan when she was running our DRR project there. On Friday night we went to a traditional dance performance. I'd been invited by two separate friends and was waffling on going -- TA and I had planned to just get dinner and catch up -- but then I looked it up and it turns out I'd met the dancer in DC! Her husband is a colleague, he runs a small NGO that does mapping for emergency preparedness and response. So we went, and I'm glad for it. She was wonderful, but the real highlight was the tabla-violin duet that came in between her numbers. They were, to put it mildly, fabulous. And they played Raga Malkauns! The Don Cherry version of which is one of my favorite pieces of music! I was in my happy place. Pakistani audiences, however, are rude as hell. Lots of mid-performance texting, flash photography, babies crying. And the professional or semi-pro cameramen are, as I'd noticed elsewhere but not really registered, pretty unsure how to do their jobs. One of them, at one point, when the house lights were down, turned his camera around on the audience and put the light on. That is, he shined his light right in the audience's face. What the fuck shot are you trying to get there, cousin?
Anyway, that was wonderful. Then we went over the neighbors' and hung out for a while, which was also lovely. TA hit it off famously with ZP, we played some fun music, lots of laughter. And the US Deputy Chief of Mission was there, JP. Very nice guy, knows Liz's brother of course. Lives in the neighborhood, unlike seemingly 95% of the Americans here, and he invited me to Thanksgiving at his place. Unforunately, I'll be in Gilgit with some Canadians on Thanksgiving, but nice to know I'd have a place to celebrate if that trip gets cancelled or postponed.
Saturday afternoon TR had a barbecue at his place, where I hung out for a few hours. Funny mixed crowd. He's 26 so the bottom of his friend-group age range is lower than mine. Then a few of us went over to the Spanish deputy ambassador's house, where there was lots of good Spanish wine and I got to speak in Spanish for two hours. Also, to impress an Austrian diplomat and her husband by correctly volunteering that he was Tibetan after we were introduced. Apparently I am the first person they've ever met who got his nationality right.
Sunday morning, I paid for the fun. I was drunk on Saturday but not hammered, had eaten plenty and drunk water. Nevertheless, hangover city. Forget if I've mentioned this on here before but a couple years ago I got frustrated with the complete unpredictability of my hangovers. Sometimes I can get very drunk and be fresh as a daisy the next day. Sometimes I can have 3-4 drinks and be destroyed the next day. And vice versa. So I kept a very detailed journal for weeks, of what I'd had to drink what I'd eaten, how much water I'd drunk, how much sleep I'd gotten. No pattern detected.
By Sunday afternoon I felt better so I met up and got that one-on-one catch-up time, first at my place, then the funny, weird bar at the Marriott (she wanted a beer), then at the Serena. It was nice in part to just be around another American after last week.
This week has been calmer than last at work because AI is in Geneva for the annual CEO meetings. I've started to work on the unit gender strategy, which is encouraging. Yesterday I went out to lunch with the three other directors, to an Afghan grill in F-7 that was absolutely delicious. Today things are obviously still a bit calm; otherwise I wouldn't be able to write this post. But on that note, I think I should conclude.
With a limerick that I composed in the bathroom just now.
"Limerick for the little vampires"
My mosquitoes, they constantly breed.
And to feed them, I must bleed and bleed.
I kill lots in the shower
But they keep all the power
'Cause they fuck just like rabbits on speed.
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