Sew, What Shall I do Tonight?

My plan was to go into town this evening and use the internet. After bugging him for a couple of days in a row, the owner promised me he’d buy more credits and have it back up and running by 3:30pm or 4:00pm today. I planned on heading in right after work, spend a two hours there, and then enjoy a relaxing and happy evening, knowing I’d sent out a million email and hopefully uploaded a few posts. Unfortunately, my plans were foiled by yet another giant rain storm. So, I decide to venture in after dinner instead; I start my trek into town around 6:40pm. It is just about dark by this time, and I don’t like being outside in Africa (or anywhere, for that matter), after dark. This must tell you how much I really wanted to use the internet. I’ve been without cell phone (my town ran out of phone cards last Thursday, the supplier still hasn’t come) or internet for a week! After almost hitting a couple of people (dark people wearing dark clothes are hard to see in the dark!), I arrive at the Business Centre only to see that he had closed up shop early. Darn that rain! Everything closes in Africa when it rains. Sigh, I rode into town for nothing. I contemplate do a bit of shopping, but realize I am quite deflated and just head home.

As I venture down the road and get closer to where I think my apartment complex is, I realize I can’t find the path from the road to my building. Did I miss it? Is it further up the road? No one was home, so there were no lights on: I could only sort of see the building. 

I scan the ground with my flashlight (whose batteries were dying, of course) and decide to off-road it. Somehow I manage to make it back to the building. My mountain bike skills are definitely coming along very nicely!

Once safely inside I realize it’s only 7:10 pm. Now what? I don’t really feel like watching a movie or reading, so I look around my apartment. Nope, nothing to do. Nothing (good) to eat. I need to do something! I decide to make hot pads. We (I share my neighbor’s kitchen, I don’t actually have one) don’t really have anything in our kitchen that is useful for lifting hot pots. Fortunately, I happen to have a small stash of fabric in my apartment. With a few scraps, a Swiss Army knife (note to self: buy scissors) and a small sewing kit, I begin my evening fun.

Two hours later, and after a couple of good laughs about at what I was actually doing, I have a beautiful pair of hand-crafted hot pads.