Just Because You Asked, Sis

I've had a request from my beloved sissypoo for more bloggage, so I'm going to play a little game of stream-of-consciousness speed blogging. Here are the rules: Write about all the things that are on my mind. No more than 4 minutes writing about any one topic. No editing allowed.

It's after 10 p.m. I leave early tomorrow for Dakar with Brian and his friend Jen, a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia. On Friday, we'll head to Cape Verde for a week. I should be packing, but I'm not. What can you do? I haven't yet had the time or presence of mind to get excited about this trip, although I think that it will be lovely. I mean, it has to be, right? I'm leaving the desert to spend a week on some beautiful islands. What could possibly go wrong (cue menacing music)?

I just biked back from Barkedji, where I spent Tabaski with the family. It was so nice to be back in the village. The family sacrificed two rams, and I was reminded of all the reasons I don't eat meat. Ann Marie and I dressed up in our holiday finest. We looked ridiculous, of course. My outfit, a present, was made out of shiny white and neon green fabric that had the texture of pajamas. It was also full-on bedazzled. I'm talking those big, tacky fake jewels that they sell at craft stores in the U.S. I got many compliments, of course. The tackier the better, I guess. I have plenty of photos to share later.

I finished my first two grad school applications this week. I should probably feel relieved, but I don't think I'll be able to fully breathe until I send in the last ones in January.

I know it's still more than a month away, but I'm suffering the Christmas doldrums more than last year. I'm a masochist, so of course I've been "curing" myself by playing the King's Singers and the King's College Choir and all those Christmas albums that we play at home around the holidays. It's suddenly getting colder here--I put on a sweatshirt for 2 minutes when I stepped out of the shower today--which isn't raising my spirits. It just makes me want to be home for the holidays. I never thought I'd say this, but I actually miss Wisconsin's crisp cold right now. I also miss Christmas decorations. And warm cider or hot chocolate. And baking Christmas cookies. And cooking a Christmas Eve feast. And shopping for gifts. And Christmas music. My family tends to rail against the mass consumerism of Christmas (every year, we decide to have a simpler Christmas, with mixed results), but a part of me even misses that disgusting excess.

I listened to This American Life podcasts during my bike-ride to Barkedji. I had already heard the first, but by the time I realized it, I was already too engrossed. The theme was "Life After Death," and it included stories from people who felt guilty about their role in someone else's death, even if they were blameless. One particularly affecting story was about a man who when he was 18 hit a girl with his car, after she swerved in front of him on her bike. The girl, who died in the hospital before her parents got to see her, was one of his high school classmates. I won't go into too much detail; I think everyone should just listen to the show (click here). But it really made me think about the things that can happen to us that are ostensibly out of our control, which can fundamentally alter our lives. I mean, we all have plans. Dreams. Visions of where we want to be, what we want to be doing, and who we want to be doing it with in the future. I don't think that any of us includes inadvertently killing someone on our to-do list.

That's it for now. Off to shower and pack.