feelin eclectic!

Ok so the weather in DC is brilliant, going on holiday tomorrow morning, work is finished for the day, can I ask for more? Mind you I am slightly running around like a headless chicken armed with a list of things to do. I keep forgetting to do small chores like I'll write the check to pay my rent but walk past the apartment building office or I'll buy lunch but forget to pick up cutlery, sauces etc. I also got lost in Silver Spring yesterday for more than an hour! I was walking in the complete opposite direction to the one I was given. I have an uncle who works with me and suffers from a combination symptom I call bypolamnesia. I think he might be rubbing off on me.
Whilst I was running my errands though I noticed Americans are their own 'make-me-feel-good' drug. They shower each other with compliments even when there isn't a grain of truth in it. Like this woman who bumped into some folks I gathered were old acquantances and they were cheering and saying hi to each other. One of them tells her 'you look good though ,girl. real nice' and then you hear the other lot humming and nodding like background singers 'uhuh, aint she, aint she?' when this woman looks like the backside of a dog gave her the kiss of death! Honest! I had to do a double take, are these people serious?!?!
Another peculiar observation; A republican senator, Arlen Specter, who served as a Pennsylvania republican for almost 30 years announced today he's switching parties. He wants to be a democrat! politicans never seize to amaze me, did he trip and hit his head?
Speaking of tripping and hitting one's head, I've found a karate club that practises shotokan as well. This is good because Americans are much more into the other styles or a different type of martial arts. So I'm off to check them out, perhaps even join, today. God knows when I'm supposed to pack and get ready to fly. pff!Greetings from a bypolamnesia sufferer(in silence).

jump and wave!

Though still in pain I'm trying to liven up my spirits for TnT. I come into work with a smile on my face humming chirpy bird songs only to find out one of our main correspondents in Baidoa got captured by Al-Shabab and put in prison, the radio station he worked for got shut down. To top that we have health officials warning people to wear masks due to the swine flu sweeping the nation and the rest of the world!
I sincerely hope I can switch off my news gathering antenna or I'll just spend my entire holiday in a depressed state.
I spent most of my weekend indoors to recuperate but I did drift off to Adams Morgan on Saturday eve to check out this Mexican place. It was not too bad a treat, the food was well-cooked and bearably spicy. But the area was just buzzing with hungry men and women wearing cum-get-me outfits!! Jaw dropping I tell ya modesty has gone out of the window! And everyone was fair game, they were out in full force ready to pull regardless! I hurried my alien self home after I felt like my skin was peeled off my body with their hungry eyes.
It is a lively area with tons of clubs and restaurants to check out but the only way you'll survive there is to go with the FBI as your bodyguards!
Countdown to TnT continues... only 1 day to go!

take me home now!

I am exhausted. I been at work from 7am yesterday morning til 1am this morning only to go home and come back at 5am and I'm still here! Just finished doing the news recap. Being knackered is an understatement. But I am happy my crossfire discussions and the report I did for the CSI event last night are done and dusted. Somalia has become a permanent fixture in the world news lately. It's frustrating to hear all these issues constantly being discussed with nobody coming up with any real solutions.
On a lighthearted note at work, I was a guest again at Inquiry today where we discussed miniskirts! lool. How do Africans view wearing miniskirts? Go figure!
I am ready to go home and recuperate. I'm thinking of going to the cinema to make up for a horrible film I saw last Saturday.
A dreadful piece of film to watch, I was literally looking forward to the credits. The actresses were weirdly boring. Imagine old tapioca eating minnesotan women who had a culture clash with some redneck Texans! Blah!

a day of nothingness

Today has been literally a time wasted. Not on purpose as I planned to cover an event I was sent to but it turned out to be tomorrow instead. And I didn't go to the office this morning as I was meant to be working through the night. I went all the way to the venue only to be told 'sorry it is not until tomorrow evening'. Pff. I don't like it when my day's not productive. For some reason it has put me out of my usual sense of good spirit.
At work this week I was assigned to cover the 'crossfire', a daily discussion program that hosts two people with differing views on a particular topic. I actually enjoyed it. I'll be working on my last one for the week, which will cover integration issues concerning Somalis living in the Diaspora.

Over the weekend I managed to do my shopping in preparation for my TnT trip and I also finally bought some lamps for my living and bedroom. I can stop reading in the hallway now lol.
If nothing drastic comes up I'm planning on going home in August. I can't wait. I miss home so much. If it wasn't for work DC would be a lonely/boring place.

countdown to TnT has started!

I'm really excited about Trini; sun, sea and gorgeous beaches to unwind on, especially after the week I've had. Piracymania all the way, if I'm not preparing a report, interview or news item on piracy I was being interviewed for TV and radio on piracy. And even when I do clock off at work I still need to stay glued to the radio, TV and my google alerts just in case there was any breaking news on the matter. Phew! It looks like we haven't reached the end though as the plight continues on the shores of my country. The highlights of the week were when I was interviewed on VOA's In Focus, which is the TV section of VOA Africa, and when I interviewed Ahmedou Ould-Abdalla, the UN's special envoy to Somalia, both dealt with piracy.
What gets a bit on my nerves is that nobody is addressing the problem of which piracy is a symptom, the lawlessness of my country. The underlying problem of what has now become a worldwide phenomenon has been going on for many years and people were simply ignoring it but now that some Somalis have taken matters in to their own hand and businesses ferried by sea have been affected, everyone is all ears. Where was the world's media when international ships were illegally dumping biochemical, nuclear and biological waste on the shores of Somalia? Where were they when they were cleanig our coast from all its fish, leaving nothing for the local fishermen to live on? How were they expected to cope and feed their families with no government supporting them and no law defending their rights to survival? Were they expected to continue starving in silence? Piracy is an offspring of this problem and therefore the only solution lies inland, by bringing stability and security back to the streets of Somalia. The world can send as many warships as it desires, it will not solve the problem until the root cause is addressed. I do not support piracy by any means, whether it is off the coast of Somalia or Indonesia but I do condemn the world for watching people starve in silence and only come running when their livelihood is in danger. The local fishermen who have not turned to piracy are still being severely being affected by this crisis and ships continue to dump their toxic waste on the Somali shores, killing thousands along the way. Who's speaking on behalf of them? Yet pirates kidnap one American life and the world's focus shifts on him, like his life is more important than the thousands that die everyday on the coast of Somalia. They killed three pirates to free captain Richard Phillips and the surviving one is now destined to be tried in New York. Whilst the family of the captain has captured the world's sympathy and affection, no one is blinking an eyelid to the families who are mourning their sons' deaths whilst living in severely poor conditions. They did not send their sons to commit piracy activities and are suffereing just like any other family would suffer the death of a family member. Furthermore those boys, by the way, had little other choice but to turn to the path they chose as they lived in a country where there is no governing law or security and hasn't been over 18 years. There are no job opportunities, no education, no safety, no healthcare, nothing of the everyday things we take for granted. They are alien to a functioning country. Their lives were at risk everyday as the gun is the only rule of law that demands respect in Somalia. Keeping that in your mind, imagine what you would do if someone offered you a few hundred dollars to merely kidnap an unarmed ship when your yearly income is below that?
Anyway moving on to more harmonous topics, I just came back from a good run around my area and for some reason that has lifted my spirits. I look forward to a hectic week ahead and even more to the week following as I fly off to soak in some long-awaited sunshine and a dip in the seas of Trinidad. A break from piracmania! (Obama is there at the moment, wonder if I can catch him there lol.)

to share a thought

I just watched a documentary on the National Geography channel on Lesotho's national park. I learned some fascinating details whilst watching; Lesotho is actually a separate kingdom entirely surrounded by South Africa and had gained its independence in the 60's from Great Britain.
The guy who was doing the documentary had to drive 20 miles up the steepest and most bumpiest roads starting from South Africa's border with Lesotho to the heart of Lesotho. On the way he faced a breakdown of the car and had to change two of the wheels twice all whilst driving through hot sunshine that drastically changed for misty frostbite. But when he got to the top and walked through the national park, the view was simply breathtaking. The mountains and landscape were so vast and picturesque. It must be one of the very few naturally preserved parks in the world that highlights the African beauty.

a wee bit homesick

I've had a very restful Saturday where I spent most of the day with my books, diary and thoughts. My thoughts wandered past the Atlantic, via London and into Leicester. I miss home. I miss mum's cuddles and playfights with me teeny siblings. I realised how much I used to rely on my family's presence in my life as I picked up the phone or jumped on the train whenever they crossed my line of thoughts. It brought me a great deal of peace and joyful tranquility.
Maybe the universe is telling me to buckle up and face the world, adult! I guess I have to hold my own hand as I strive through the suppressing of my need to relinquish and look at the bigger picture that lies ahead.

ready to embrace a sleepathon weekend

Although I've been struggling to fall asleep for a while now, last night took the mick. I could not drift away at all. Needless to say I spent the rest of this morning functioning like a zombie on prozac! Mind I also had tummyache that didn't help.
I did go back to the office this afternoon to do the news recap but came straight home looking forward to spending a quality weekend with my beloved bed.
Though having said I might end up going in as I've started working on a 5 part series on the state of Somalis and Somalia for Africa News Tonight. The aim is to get it ready for air week commencing 20th of April. Each part will examine a different angle of Somalia's social developments. My first piece looks at the growth of the telecommunications industry in Somalia despite its long state of lawlessness.

This week has been dramatically interesting in the world of global affairs. The Somali pirates that hijacked the Danish-owned, American operated ship are still holding the captain of the ship (Richard Phillips) captive, asking a ransom payment in exchange for the captain. The fact that these pirates are still capable of hijacking a ship despite the international gathering of warships and militaries patrolling the area indicates they are adapting and are far more competent and capable than assumed. The complications of international law and each concerned country's laws is furthermore working in the pirates' favour.

I've recently been feeling the academic itch and I've started looking into beginning my PhD at some point next year hopefully in African Studies and conflict resolution (or something along those lines). I'm hoping the phrasebook will be done and published by then.
I'm not venturing outside of DC so if anyone has any recommendations on courses taught or universities in the DC area, do get in touch. Also get in touch if anyone knows of financial support, scholarships and fellowships providers.

the sky is the limit

I'm happy to notice that I am making significant improvement at work. Apart from the regular interviews and correspondence reporting I do for the Somali service, I am also doing interviews and reports for the English to Africa service and I'll be doing the news of the week recap slot for the Nightline Africa programme that airs every Saturday and Sunday. My first news reading went live today. I'm generally really enjoying doing the work that I've been passionate about ever since I can remember and that my talent and experience is being appreciated and put to good use. I'm having a ball of a time. I feel like my hard work over the past 8 years is starting to pay off.
On a more specifically work related note the G20 summit in London, Madonna's attempt to adopt yet another child from Malawi and professor Gandhi meeting with the French defense and foreign ministers to ask for help with strengthening the Somali military have been dominating the news. Now as you know Madonna's attempt has been rejected as the Malawi supreme court required her to be a resident in the country for at least 18 months. Apparently that is the general rule and this was bent the first time she adopted a child, David. Action Aid actually campaigned against her plans to adopt again and are still campaigning as her lawyers get ready to appeal against the court ruling.
I jus can't help but wonder if she genuinely wants to help poor African children or if she is trying to wipe the 'Vogue' image she created from her earlier days as a pop queen and at the same time deviate media attention from her failed marriage. She and along with 'Brangelina' seem to be on a rampage to become the next humanitarian gods of the earth. If they really want to help why don't they fund the hundreds of orphanage camps set up in many African countries and help the children to have a healthy upbringing whilst staying within their own cultures. Instead they're picking these children up from the most random places and just get ready to pose to appear in the front cover of the next editions of People, Hello and OK! magazines.
Moving on I have another rant regarding our 'still in learning mode' defense minister Gandhi. Him along with president Sharif can't help but beg for foreign aid but aren't doing bugger all themselves. They hop from country to country to swap one 5star hotel room for another. It's been a few months since the establishment of this government but Al-Shabab is still fiercely dominating massive chunks of the country and piracy continues to be a thriving business. Innocent people including women and children are dying every day from preventable illnesses, famine, lack of water, droughts and general lawlessness.
It helps when one can say I have done this so far, this is what we're working towards, what can you do to help us along? I suppose a statement like that would be difficult to make as the whole government is based on clan division and keeping warlords quiet rather than collective experience and knowledge to govern a country.
I had an interesting discussion with a friend of mine not too long ago. We know Somalia got introduced to civilisation as the world knows today such as democracy and rule of law fairly recently. The first government was only established after independence in 1960. The Somali language for example was only written in 1973. Before we could really get accustomed to that form of governing the civil war occurred and we've been a dispersed society ever since. So how can we expect this current government whose members have had a brief brush with civilisation but mostly stem from a nomadic background to produce a functioning government based on democracy and rule of law?

Moving on from work I am getting ready for my first holiday since the Middle Ages! Seriously it feels like I haven't been away for a very long time so I'm excited. I'm going to Trinidad with my girl Jen in tow ready to get sunburnt and tear the place down. We're going from 29th of April to around the 3d of May. It won't be as long as I would like but a few days is better than none.