It's been awhile!

Hello! Are you out there? I haven't gotten emails from many of you folks for awhile.

I haven't updated this due to: lack of time and technical difficulties with the blogger system. Now all is well with the tech part! Lack of time continues to be an issue!!

We're into the dry season -- hotter, but we can usually leave our umbrellas behind. Except two weeks ago when something that felt like a hurricane came through -- took out electricity, phone lines, burned some laptops and DVD players and Satellite receivers and transformers and ... made a lot of frustrated people more frustrated.

My laptop survived fine 'cuz when the storm hit I unplugged it. Jim's had problems -- it was back in his office and plugged into a surge protector so he thought it'd be fine. Well, the surge through the network cable line fried his network card, so ... trouble. All's well for him, now.

Jim's off golfing with a friend. I chose to sleep in. Yes, there's a golf course we can now go to with security arrangements. 'helps that it's the military course!! 'maybe (just maybe) it's a little safer. It's Sunday. We still don't have security clearance to go to any church. Too hard to protect us in a crowd and the church we'd want to go to is not in the "green zone" of safety!

I get so used to all of the versions of English around here that it takes me back when someone doesn't understand someone else. It's getting easier for us to understand every mutilated version of English. But, imagine a new guy who speaks Portuguese trying to interview a gal I sent him to see if she could be his maid. She speaks her tribal language and pidgeon English. So, in desperation, he emailed me something like "Sharon, Thanks you arrange maid interview. me talk maid but trouble have. She no understand. What do?"

'gotta run. Just got a call from a friend who's going away party was last night and he's on his way to his new location. He thinks he left his passport on the counter in his house. Always something to keep me hopping!