Busy

At the start line in Byblos



The ladies on the right don't know it yet, but they're standing already in their finish order: from left to right, with #31, finishing first, Lea Iskandar, #1 in second place, Aregu Sisay Abate and #2 finishing as third, Sonia Wansa.



 

The last couple of weeks have been incredibly busy with all sorts of nonsense, none of which was inspiring, nor interesting enough to publish. And if it was inspiring and interesting, I did not have time to write about it. Excruciatingly frustrating, especially since there are so many exciting things going on in town. Maybe it is time for a career change; I’d love to get back to full time writing again. I’ve been reading a lot of John McPhee lately, and there are a lot of things you could do like that in Lebanon, so many projects and people to write about, not enough time, so that’s in the works. I need to get into other people’s business again.

 

 

 

Meanwhile I have to organize my life around the various social events that my daughter organizes with friends & co, further complicated by the fact that both hubbie and I have been invited to the same social event, by different people, and thus we are to either sit at different tables (adding fire to the many rumors that undoubtfully circulate around town), or one of us has to give in.  Who will it be? Let’s not reveal his track record of victories. I might keep you posted.

 

Don't you love it how the main subjects have somehow disappeared to the back?

 

Respite is on the horizon however, with the start of Ramadan in some 10 days from now, when work slows down. Summer holiday is also almost here, slowing this society even further down. There are some vague speculations favoring the opinion that this will not be such a quiet summer, with border issues in the south and the north, north-east. Some say our eastern man won’t be able to hold on the power much longer, although I thought 3 years ago already he was a goner, so he’s proven to be a lot more resilient than expected; no need to keep you hopes high for that one.

 

2nd, 1st and 3rd prize

 

We still have no president; I think that may account for the peace in town, we should do some research on that. Others say we’re in a downward spiral. I dare say they’ve been saying that for the past 10 years, and look, we still haven’t reached rock-bottom yet! A friend of mine likened life in town to a vortex, and we happened to be in ‘the eye of the storm’. What I love about this society is that – despite our Doomsday approach to life – it doesn’t seem to bother anyone. So what if we’re all going to hell; doesn’t mean we’ve got to get depressed over it!

 

 

Red Cross taking care of her

 

I did go to Byblos this morning to cheer for Aregu Sisay, our housekeeper, who was a favorite for the 10K. I should have run myself, but somehow that plan slipped my mind. Last year she won first place; this year she had her doubts because she fell on the balcony last week (no, not off, just on), and experienced some pain. She did fine for a bit, but ended up limping over the finish line. A visit to the hospital showed she had a fractured right fibula, a so-called ‘stress fracture’, common in runners, so running with a fractured fibula and making it to second place is very respectable indeed. Not sure whether she started out with a fractured fibula, or whether she acquired it during the race. She was complaining she couldn’t ‘run on her fingers’, as she calls running on her toes. She’s a great believer of the forefoot striking technique, and so she was thumping over the course, like an elephant, she said. She could have picked up that fracture then. Either way, she’s in an ‘air cast’ now, and no running or sports activity for at least three weeks. So no more runner stories this summer.

 

Waiting for the X-ray. It turned out to be a fractured right fibula. The door man at the hospital said: "What's this? I just saw you on TV, and now you show up in the hospital?"

 

A good sign is that there was at least on other Ethiopian girl, also a housekeeper, and possibly a third one, running in the race. She's been a good role model.

I am not sure what to say about this picture. It has an endearing quality to it, yet a high degree of Gene Wilder at the same time.