Trouble with the Interwebs

Bad news.

This isn't actually my laptop, but you get the idea. Thanks to Senegal's wildly unreliable power grid and all the recent lightning storms something went horribly wrong while I was charging my computer and now it doesn't so much turn on anymore. *sigh*

Luckily there is a somewhat-clunky-but-totally-functional house computer at the regional house, and other volunteers (especially Sully) have been unnecessarily gracious about letting me monopolize their laptops to upload photos and e-mail and everything.

This trip into town has had pretty sparse internet access for everyone, though. The wifi at the house has been sluggish and choppy (slower then cold molasses, one might say...) and frequently unplugged, due to the thunderstorms and lightning strikes that come with the onset of the rainy season.

So, until I can get a replacement laptop or netbook sent over (in a Diplomatic Pouch, doesn't that sound fancy and important?) I will not be able to Skype/e-mail/etc as much as I would like. O well, I suppose.

Nostalgia for the Relatively Recent Past

Another fun thing for those of you not on Facebook: Last Christmas I made gingerbread houses, one for my family in Berkeley and one for the kids I babysat while I was in California. I got pretty into it, melting LifeSavers into little windows and everything. I haven't baked anything as ambitious since I was living the Swiss Life...

When we were little we would decorate gingerbread houses during the holidays, and then my brother and I and our cousins would use a toy tool set to break them into gnaw-able chunks. It turns out that smashing a gingerbread house is fun for grown-ups, too, and I finally uploaded the pictures into a Picasa album. I think it's fun to watch as a slideshow set to the fastest setting, like a virtual flip-book.

Swearing In Video

For anyone who missed it on Facebook, here's a little video of our swearing in ceremony ~