Maybe Miss Nelson's Car Was Carried off by a Swarm of Angry Butterflies

I spent hour upon hour over the past week setting up the school library in its new location--moving books, sorting books, shelving books, throwing damaged books missing more pages than they had left in them in the bin (the horror).  Our library is not so huge, so the task might not have been as large as you might be thinking when reading this.  However, for a small(ish) library, I was very impressed the the gems of books I found amongst the stacks.  One such gem I came across on Tuesday was Miss Nelson is Missing!  by Harry Allard and James Marshall.

I could not wait to read this book to the kids when they were finally able to return to school.  I think it should be mandatory that school-aged children be exposed to the great character, Miss Viola Swamp.

I mean, those socks, and those lips, "Sit perfectly still!"  Who does not like a book about a teacher manipulating small children into behaving the way she would like by treating them horribly while wearing a fabulous disguise?

As an educator today, I question the classroom management strategies Miss Nelson and/or her school employ as a whole in order for the kids' misbehaviour to get into that state, but that discussion would not be fun or interesting in a children's book, I guess.

In other book and butterfly news, a parent hunted me down today when I was hiding out in the administrator's office trying to get a time sensitive document completed by the deadline. I am glad she did.  She informed me that she had a book published recently, and it is available on amazon.com:  I Wish I Had a Pet Butterfly.  I am always in awe when someone tells me they have written a book and double awe to learn that it has been published.  I hope to get my hands on a copy soon, and I also hope we can get her to share here experiences as an author with learners in our school community.

I am not focused at them moment.

I am not focused at them moment.

Change is needed.

I know that.  But change still kind of freaks me out.  When I really need to have my eye on that proverbial prize, I just want to go to bed early.  Change makes us all a bit uncomfortable, granted some more than others.  In my delusion, I am a nester.  However, in really I cannot stay put--a hermit crab if you will, carrying the painting on my wall along with me.  Oh, but I'm no hermit.  I love my peeps.  A snail perhaps then.  I'll just get eaten.

The kids returned to school today.  Yay!  The risk of Ebola is there.  While the risk has significantly gone down, it is still there.  Hell, it reached America.  It was literally less than 600 metres from my front door at one time, but it seems to have burnt out in this area.  Who says it will not find its way back?  We hope it won't, but the number of hand sanitiser dispensers installed in the school and the hand washing bucket with a tap that is still outside the office of the Visafone shop remind us of the reality that it could.  We are optimistic.  Optimism come with a lot of responsibility.

I am really glad that the situation was contained as quickly and effectively as it was.  (Way to go team!)  There have been flaws and imperfections, but in the end something worked.  I guess that is how life works.  Fortune, luck, probability.  What ever works.

Risk.  We take chances every day.

On the Loose!

One of the first things I asked about when I arrived in Port Harcourt was the location of a good book store/shop.  I was directed to some place that shares the building with Silverbird Cinema; I don't remember the name.  It was sparse.  Then I was told to go to Chapters, which was ok and best of all in my neighbourhood.  

Back in December, some students at my school were awarded gift certificates to a place called Books on the Loose.  I was unfamiliar with this book store and decided it was a place that I must visit.   I had a few days off from work this week, so I decided to take a morning to find and explore this new-to-me book store.

The address for Books on the Loose given online is:  1st Floor, Riz Plaza, Plot 19 Stadium Road, Rumuomasi.  I almost had my driver turn around, thinking we had passed the place.  I looked up 19 Stadium Road on Google Maps and it indicated that 19 was in the opposite direction we were heading; however, then he saw the sign for Books on the Loose outside of Riz Plaza.  

My visit made me happy.  Here is a taste of what I found.

The African authors' section included Tropical Fish by Doreen Baingana!!!  Funny that I find it easier to find her book here than I did in Uganda, the author's home.

They almost had the entire Artemis Fowl series, all but the first one.

And how apropos was it that I was wearing this shirt when I bought the Dungeons and Dragons dvd set?

I got some prizes for some friends as well!

Is It a Globe or a Map: A Model's Brain

You know I love what I do.  I love the diversity of the tasks I have to perform each day, and I love the challenge of everyday being different and never really knowing what to expect because the people I work with are unpredictable.  There is never a dull moment, and while not always, the excitement is usually a lot of fun.  And after all is said and done, we can usually look back on the experience over a few drinks and laugh and laugh.

A conversation I had this afternoon made me feel like was was living an episode of Just Say Julie from over twenty years ago on MTV.  Remember the How To Be a Model episode?  (Google it!  It’s on YouTube.)  I was doing my best to help someone (not a child) understand that a globe was different from a map because one was 3D and the other was 2D.  I truly thought we’d find her brain on the floor resembling a wad of chewing gum after it exploded and shot out of her ear, kind of like the model’s.

I can never undervalue the head massage I receive from my barber after a haircut.  First there is the quasi-massage from the vibration of the clippers on my scalp, and after he finishes with the haircut, the barber really goes to town with his hands.  It is totally a win-win situation for me.  And after the “Model’s Brain” conversation I had this afternoon, I was in need of the stress and tension relief that comes along with the massages.

Since the barber is almost next door to Queen’s Restaurant, I popped in on my walk home for some unripe plantain porridge, or as we called in in Uganda: katogo.  

Perhaps just a bit spicier.

A Real Coffee and Cupcakes Kind of Day

My microwave oven doubles as a convection oven, and until today, I had never used that feature of it.  This Saturday morning seemed like a real coffee and cupcakes kind of day so I had to get the instruction manual out of the bottom draw and read up in order to fire put the oven and have Coffee and Cupcakes ready to open by brunch time.  

I found a fantastic recipe at:  http://www.anniesnoms.com/2013/09/17/back-to-basics-perfect-vanilla-cupcakes/, and got to baking.

I made the icing with probably the worst icing sugar I have had the pleasure (hihi!) to use.  Take note, people who bake in Port Harcourt, this is the guilty culprit.

Beware.  Sure, it is sweet enough, and in the end the icing was pretty good, but the rock-hard clumps of powdered sugar took some work to break up, and the consistency was a bit grittier than I would normally like to work with and made it a bit more difficult to get a smooth and fluffy icing.

After the cakes cooled, I iced those puppies.

The cappuccino was made and and an offering was placed at the Altar of Jessy.  She is a benevolent Queen and has never demanded such, but since I am living in a self-proclaimed colony of her Queendom of Fabulosity, I found it only fitting to do so.  

However, it would have been exponentially more fabulous if I could have offered a cupcake to her in person in my kitchen.  Wishes.

The deliciousness of the cupcakes inspired me.  After inhaling one… ok…ehrm…well…three, I was motivated to finally make my trip to the nearby fitness center and register.  From the look of things, 

my vist was none too soon.  I paid for a year’s membership to motivate me to actually go and get my money’s worth.  I also paid for the gold membership to have access to a personal trainer twice a week and massages twice a month.  Let’s see what happens!!!

Cupcakes Calming Corollary Consequences of Calamity

How do you top off a term of big changes:  planned changes, unplanned changes, sudden changes, changes galore?

You just dropped that bomb!

And then what do you do?

Not just any cupcakes.  Nope.  Cupcakes with the culprit’s face plastered on top of each one if them, an image which can be chomped, swallowed and digested.

When you are not left with many other choices because the situation is really out of your hands, you gotta make ‘em smile.  I have found this to work in many situations, from dealing with corrupt immigration officials at the airport to swaying the appetites of a meeting room full of unhappy lions who have just become hungry for a taste of someone’s blood.

On the topic of blood, I am going to sing the praises of Edward at Cinnamon and Sauces because his red velvet cupcakes are terrific. The are quite possibly the best red velvet cupcakes I have ever eaten.  Yes, I did just write ever.  (Notice I did specify cupcake.  There is no topping Grandma Hatcher's red velvet cake.)  If you are in need of fabulous cupcakes in the Port Harcourt area, give Edward a try!

The Status Quo and Vindaloo Possibilities

Last weekend was one of the most enjoyable and interesting ones I have had since I arrived in this city.  In addition to Thor with friends on Friday, there was the Diwali Mela festivities hosted by the Indian Cultural Association on Saturday night.  That is where

I won a vacuum cleaner, y’all!

Not only that, I rocked up on some pretty tasty Indian food.  How apropos at an even hosted by the Indian Cultural Association, right?  But the truth is, advertising is not at its strongest in Port Harcourt so you have to be in the know, know people who are in the know or accidentally rock up on things of interest.  Well, now I am one of those in the know now about Indian restaurants in Port Harcourt, and thanks to my phone camera, I can share their contact deets with you.

Ok, so I did not deviate far from the status quo with my sucky advertising.  The names of the restaurants were not captured in the photos, but the phone numbers are there, and I think that both restaurants are in the GRA area.  I have not yet visited the restaurants, but I hope to soon.  Judging by the food they served at the festival on Saturday, I’d say they are pretty good, and I look forward to having some more.  However, I’ve been off Indian food for a while.  I used to really love going out for Indian, then all the food tasted sweet to me which put me off.  We'll see how it goes… I could go for a vindaloo.