one year later..

wow, i've now been in sa for a year (and a bit)! i dunno, for me it definitely does not feel like its been a year. i still get lost a lot (like just this afternoon). i still can't understand when people talk "african" to me (tho i've learned, whether good or bad, to simply reply with a good and crisp "sharp sharp"...). i still introduce myself as the new guy; the recent transfer, etc. time flies.

wow #2, i actually started this blog more than a week ago and haven't really been able to finish it for one reason or another. i have a couple hours before i leave for the airport now and i figured it was a good time to try and finish it. actually, i scraped most of my initial idea and am going to try something new. it may feel like preaching, but i really hope its more open and raw than i usually am. (forgive me if it ends up sounding a bit preachy)

2 things kept running through my mind this afteroon. the first: i had a little get together/braai/ bbq yesterday and one of my friends facetiously asked me if this had been the best year of my life. i brushed it off with some joke or another and said something to the effect of not looking at my years in that manner. everyone has things they can look back to each year and be really excited about or really sad about. so no, i don't really qualify or rank my years as best or worst. that question also actually evoked in me thoughts of all the bad and frustrating aspects of the past year. not exactly sure why, but thats where i found my mind wondering; there's my car, my work, adventures at the bank, my stolen cell phone, my expensive internet, my family and friends i left back in the us, etc...i mean with all those things this couldn't possibly have been my best year, right? those thoughts remained with me till today, particularly this morning at church (which btw, was a struggle to get myself up to go to this morning, but so glad i went...otherwise this lovely blog entry would not have been created).

so this brings me to the 2nd thing that crept up into my thoughts this morning/afternoon. a while back i was talking to a friend on gmail and i wrote something really spontaneously and then later realised that i actually meant it. i said that i had full intention to ensure that my stay in south africa (however long it will be) will bring about a radically new, improved, and mature me. I really felt (and desired) that i would be changed in a good, disciplined and godly way. now that process is not a quick one, im learning. and it can be painfully slow at times, and definitely hasn't happened yet, but i'm still pretty optimistic that it will happen.

now what the 2 things have in common is a bit obscure i know, but for some reason, putting those 2 together today, i came to the conclusion that actually, this has probably been my best year so far, in the sense that every successive year has been better than the previous. but this year especially i've learned so much, been exposed to so much, and had a chance to meet different people and experience different places and ideas than i normally would have.

since this thought came about at church, i can start with my experience at church. it took me a while to really find a church that i liked. and even when i had been attending the one i attend now, i was unwilling for several months, to commit, as there were loads of things i wasnt too confortable with or wanted different (this is pretty similar to my experience in chicago when i first got there). anyway, something made me stick to the church and im really glad that i did. at this church ive had the opportunity to:

• get a feel of a truly integrated environment. to be sure, this is NOT at all common in "the new" south africa.
• experience people that are open and real about themselves, their faith, and their struggles. and become comfortable (a bit) with sharing about mine.
• understand the true meaning of affirmation. usually my worst times at work are when we do annual reviews cuz then the manager gets to tell you things that u do well and what u can improve on. i love the constructive criticism; its the good part that always makes me uncomfortable for some reason. so when talk of affirmation comes, i've always dismissed it as unnecessary. but i can say with confidence that us guys NEED affirmation (don't even try to deny it). over the last couple months or so, ive met someone whos a mentor, friend, brother (from another mother), father, guide...all rolled up in one. and ive been so blessed not only by his wisdom and our breakfasts, but also his affirmation. god seems to provide this for me everywhere that i go, but its not until now that i'm realizing the tru value. more on this later.
• be in community with some awesome people doing awesome things. involvement in the community is a huge thing at this church. even this morning the senior pastor, to the initial chagrin of the preacher, got everyone up before the guy started preaching and asked us to fill up food boxes that was to go to zimbabwe cuz they just got a whole bunch of food and they were worried how they would pack them all in time. it took us like 10 minutes, and it was chaotic, but it was "holy chaos", as the senior pastor (black, btw, in a white church) described it. at the end, every one was so blessed and many shared how that touched them.
• speaking about community, there just so many quality people at this church, always trying to get me to be involved (very un-vineyard-like!), and coming up to me just to chat or whatever.

my friends here have made this an amazing year. ive learned so much from them. one friend teaches me all the time about issues that i would not have thought about or discussed cuz i used to be on the opposite spectrum of such arguments and would not listen to people like him. another close friend challenges me on my stance (very american or un-african, she calls it). this same friend has taught be so much about being a good/caring friend and how to treat women. but isnt me, myself, and i enough?! this same friend also has contributed to the affirmation aspect i talked about above. to hear someone tell you that you know how to be a good man, etc, is more touching than most things (take note girls!). these are just examples, but all my friends have contributed to my "learning" in some way or another. and of course are loads of fun.

finally, my adventures have been incredible. most of the pictures, i've posted here or on my picasa page. i admit im not the most adventurous person (and south africa is really good for reallly adventurous people), but the little that ive been able to do have been great. how can adventures in uganda, drakensberg, pilanesberg, cape town, and of course jo burg not make this the best year! theres lots more places im looking forward to going to next year, so probably next year will be even better...

now on to things im looking forward to for next year; sort of my new years resolution, a couple weeks early (and anyone can hold me to this):

• do more random trips to random places
• go safari-ing
• be more involved in community
• take the gmat; get my mba
• find ways to enjoy my work
• eat more mangos
• there's probably more, but my ride is now waiting for me, see y'all on the flip side...

random thought #354106756: i was reading thru some of my very early blogs just now and i noticed a couple things:

- my blog entries have gotten significantly longer. i think that might have something to do with the fact that i write less often, so more to say i guess. or maybe ive just learned the art of rambling a bit more. probly the latter.

- and whats up with me and obama?? its like this guy is the 2nd coming of the saviour!

merry christmas.

things i'm thankful for

well, its thanksgiving day in the U.S., normally a big family (and football) affair, but this year i'll spend what i believe to be my first thanksgiving away from any kind of immediate family. nevertheless, i'm with them in spirit and i'll be there in a couple weeks anyway, so not feeling too bad about it :P i thought i'd dedicate a post to the things i'm thankful for, in the name of thanksgiving.

anyone who scoured this blog a bit ago would've probably noticed that i tended to complain about a lot of things that didn't go as planned (banking, phone contract, car, electricity, work...). and even in one of my first blogs, i attempted to write about my likes and dislikes so far and, although completely unintended, my dislikes list ended up far greater than my likes (in number tho, not necessarily in magnitude). its now been almost a year since i've been in south africa and i will attempt to do a similar thing as i list what im most thankful for. Now, of course, there are times when i still get frustrated (tho i try not to dwell on those times), but thank god i have people in my life to remind me by asking "does it raise the price of bread in my home?" or tell me "welcome to africa". leave it to my dad the other day to remind me as he very often (and in perfect timing does): "Don't stress yourself with work and never loose your focus". thanks paps. ok, on to my thankful items, in no particular order.

1. The weather, especially the sun. i'll be the first to admit that im not a huge fan of hot hot weather. but the weather here is not intensely hot yet (its getting there i think). for most of the year tho, its been absolutely beautiful weather. sometimes i just sit outside in the cool, breezy evenings and think if i came to south africa for nothing else, this would be it! now, as much as i love the weather and the sun (when its not too hot), i wish someone would do something about the sun rising at 5AM. i tend to wake up with the sun and its no fun having my body force me to wake up at this crazy hour!

2. Melodous (south) african music. i like all sorts of music, but traditional south african music is probably the most beautiful sound you have ever heard. it incorporates all the sorts of tones, languages, pitches, etc etc. and the dancing! one day i will learn proper traditional dancing. its lovely.

3. uncle obama's victory! ok, i couldn't help it; i had to put that one in. after following the rise of this man for 4 years diligently (like every day, 4 times a day...), im glad its over. or at least the campaigning side. and glad it ended up in a resounding victory for obama. and a resounding victory for the civil rights movement. and a resounding victory for good thinking and progressive americans.

4. getting a chance to go to uganda and meet some really awesome people, pray with random people (tho not strangers), and see awesome things and get to milk an awesome cow...

5. back to sa. the scenery. mountains, deserts, game... try to tell me that that's not beautiful!

6. palm trees in cape town.

7. learning words like "yoh" and "sharp" (or "chap") and "china" (no not the country, and pronounced "chauna") and "boet" and "dumeleng" and "eta" and "howzzit" and "just now" and "chap chap" and the list goes on and on.. also realising that say many of them all wrong.

8. guava juice. i used to love these guava fruit as a child and then i think i forgot about it until now. along the same lines is fanta orange (also buy it all the time). yes, fanta is in the states, but oh, my young padawan, its not the same thing.

9. MAngos! ive been in mango withdrawal for a months now bcuz theyve been out of season, but now theyre coming back as its getting warmer. plus i think i might just go back to the scary "adams family" guy to get them. theres just something about that voice and look that says i will devour you limb by limb that u just cant stay away from...

10. mugg and bean muffins. they are close to matching up to starbucks in my book. tho instead of having muffins and coffee from mugg and bean every other day, ive cut it down to every saturday (or at least i try; sometimes i go through withdrawals during the week and i just cant help myself).

11. realising that i live in a country with 11 official languages! a source of frustration at times (much harder to pick anything up than in a monolingual society). but more often a source of amazement and awe.

12. friends. really good friends. some who make me realize that im not such a good friend at times, but thats a good lesson to learn. some who challenge me in words, actions and thoughts. i had little expectations coming here, but ive been pleasantly surprised by the quality of friendships that ive been able to develop. these guys and gals are like family to me here. which brings me to my next point.

13. family. my family in the us never let me forget that theyre still there, even when i go MIA for some time. calls, emails, skypes, etc. my (indirect) family in sa never letting me forget theyre still there, even when i go MIA for some time!

14. god. indescribable. uncontainable. untameable. incomparable. unchangeable. amazing. you see the depths of my heart and u love me the same...ok i stole that from a chris tomlin song, but all the same. amazing.

There's so much more to be thankful for, but i'll stop here. maybe pick up another day. btw, in case anyone is interested, more pics at this site: link.

Happy Turkey Day!

cape town

I just got back from a mini-vacation/ roadtrip to cape town and it was lovely. the driving was a bit hectic, 18hrs to (had to detour), 15hours back, but we made it in one piece, mostly. cape town is an amazingly beautiful city with lots of scenic views and mountains and beaches, etc. i'm in a rush now and don't really have time to write much, but check out the pics from the picasa link below (pics are usually better than my words anyway). enjoy.

link: http://picasaweb.google.com/okunadef/CapeTown#

thoughts on election night/morning

Wow what an awesome ending to an awesome night/morning/campaign! so i watched the election night at this restaurant/bar in jo-burg with anywhere b/w 50-100 people which was really cool. i must admit tho, while watching the results, listening to music, groaning as the dstv(cable) kept shutting off and back on, i grew a bit jealous. cnn kept showing grant park in chicago all night, where barack obama would hold a rally later in the night. they showed a huge stream of people there early, just to get a good view point. but while watching the crowds fill up downtown chicago and then make a mad rush into grant park as they opened the gates, i had my first real moment (i think) where i genuinely missed chicago and wished that i was there. i hope y'all that went took some good pics.

i must say i was completely unprepared for the way i would feel if/when obama actually won. this is probably due to the fact that i never expected him, a black man, to actually get as far as he did. yes, i've admired and followed him since 2004 when he made his speech at the DNC and captured the whole nation with his brilliance, eloquence and idealism. and when he committed to running, i was fully behind him. but still, i couldnt see how a new face on the national scene who hadn't "put in his time" could go on to win the democratic nomination. i liked and respected the clinton, not so much for bill's foreign policies or personal endeavors, as much as for the same qualities that i saw in obama - the ability to motivate, inspire and lead. because of bill, i figured hillary was unstoppable. even after obama won the democratic nomination, i could still see a clear path the defeat, given the republican attack machine or the democrats amazing abilities to screw things up majorly. so all this to say that when john king on cnn could not map out a way for mccain to win, even in the early stages of voting results or when they started passing out the champaign and glasses at the restaurant, i vehemently rejected the notion, claiming it wasn't over till the magic number (electoral votes) said it was over (regardless of what the "magic wall" said).

and when, around 5:30 or 6AM south african time, cnn announced the california had closed their polls and the state (obviously) had been put in the obama column, pushing obama past the magic #, i was simply stunned. i think my first reaction was silence for about 2 seconds. then silence turned into jubilation as the screaming reached fever pitch and people grabbed whatever they could to make some noise and let all the neighbors know that "amerrricans were in da haus", and everyone started hugging each other. then the jubilation, for others, turned into tears of joy, of hope. that's when i decided to leave; i figured i had just enough time, if i left immediately, to make it home and catch obama as he made his acceptance speech. i dont think ive ever made it home from this part of town as fast as i did this morning.

as i drove home, i listened to some radio commentators speak about the election and heard some of mccain's concession speak (and regained respect for the man, after a nasty as hell campaign). but there was still something missing, i had no emotion attachment to it. this was a black man, just elected by white people to lead them in one of the most trying of times. to be the leader of the "free world".

getting home i immediately tuned on to cnn minutes before obama began speaking. i saw a couple cnn commentators, black, recount what this means to them. they of course invoked names such as frederick douglas, rosa parks, martin luther king, and many others that had paved the way for something like this to happen; barack obama's name, regardless of what he does as president, could now be included in that list. i watched as they couldnt finish their sentences and the camera panned away to avert too much embarrassment. then obama began:

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer."

The camera panned to the audience. white, black, latino, asian, men, women, children had one thing in common (probly more than one actually): they were mostly crying. then the screen went to the ebenezer church in atlanta. most people crying. then the camera found oprah. she was crying. and finally it rested on the rev jesse jackson. he was weeping. never mind what jesse jackson has become lately, but from the 60s to the early 90s, he was a champion for civil rights within the us as well as outside (as one of the staunchest us critics to the then sa apartheid regime). i am a grown man (well at least sometimes), but i'm not afraid to admit that that frame of jesse jackson did it for me. I could no longer hold back the emotions. i felt tears running down my face. why this emotion? was i witnessing the second coming of jesus or something? absolutely not, i realized at that moment that i wasn't tearing for the man. i doubt many people were. i hadn't adamantly followed his campaign because of him. rather, it was what he stood for and what he meant. in obama, the candidate, you could not only view the prospects of tomorrow, but also the pains of the past. this is why i think jesse jackson was weeping.

i cannot claim to understand what slavery or institutionalised discrimination or separation or apartheid was like. i never went through any of those times. i only know from what i've read and watched and heard people speak about. that 40yrs after mlk was assassinated and segregation was outlawed and only a bit more than 100yrs after slavery was made illegal, a black man could be chosen to lead a white nation - a nation with the most influence on earth - was something i never thought i would see - simply an act of god. i think obama tried to play down the historic aspect of this election, but it was clear without him saying a word. u saw it in the faces of those old enough to remember, those who had never voted because they didnt think it would count, because they believed they would be shut out cuz america doesnt care about the black vote, and those who couldnt look their children in the eye and tell them they could truly be anything they wanted to be, because they didnt think it was true. now they know. the past pains have brought us to this moment, when americans of all races can be confident that with hard work, the sky really is the limit. now, im not so naive to think that this is the end of institutionalised barriers for people of colour, but my goodness, what a giant step in the right direction!

in obama, i saw not the man, but what he stood for: the embodiment of what so many fought for (not to be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character), the promise of the future, the future of children, the future of america (the immediate impact and improvement that this election made on the world stage cannot be under-emphasized), and the hope that though there were still real and difficult challenges to face, americans were (for one night at least) united (at least 52% of them!), inspired, and motivated; ready to be challenged yet again to seek what they can do for their country and not simply what their country can do for them. obama will disappoint. he will fail, at least once. but we should never forget the impact that this election (whether in the symbolic sense or in the practical sense) had on whites, blacks, browns, peaches, beiges, and tons of foreigners.

president barack obama...thats gonna take a while to get used to.

back from haitus

well its been a very long time since i last posted, and unfortunately/fortunately this one will be short and sweet, with hopes of long and sweet posts to follow shortly.

- first, i've come to the realisation that i have been a junkie for US presidential politics for almost 2 years now. i've always been a fan of politics (esp US and 'african'), but this period has been even better/worse (however you look at it). I wonder how much worse it would be were I actually living in the states and inundated with 24-hr polical coverage and robo-calls. hmm, i really wish i was still living in stl right now, actually. there was a nyt op-ed about a week or so ago in which the author lamented the fact that she didnt live in a "toss-up" or "battleground" state, and therefore was not privy to all the robo-calls and visits and negative campaigning and polling calls during dinner, etc. i feel the exact same way. shame. maybe one day. I'm also very proud of ST. LOUIS for showing such a huge sign of support for b-obama, coming out a record (at the time) 100,000+ strong to a rally held in one of the most beautiful spots in the city - the lawn of the Arch.

- second south african politics is no less exciting these days either. since 1994, sa has been effectively a 1-party state, belonging to the African National Congress (ANC). sure, there are other 'opposition' parties, but not nearly strong enough or black enough or 'comrade' enough. but in the last few weeks, scores of people have been resigning from the ANC to potentially form another party soon in time to contest for next years elections. this party will be a bit strange (in my opinion), because essentially they are billing themselves as the 'real' ANC and their name will probably be something like South African National Congress (SANC), and their charter will be very similar to the ANC and their history will be shared with that of the ANC, save the breakaway part. so in essence, they are the tru followers of the freedom charter. lots of educated blacks (and whites) that i've spoken to are actually pretty pumped about this new breakaway party. for the 1st time since '94, it has the potential of giving black who are disappointed with the way the ANC is currently being run and the crazy personalities currently running it are behaving. one of my role models, desmond tutu, has clearly stated that he may not vote for the anc next year. and i cant imagine that former prez mbeki and reigning idol, nelson mandela are too thrilled with the way the party is going. it's unclear that any of these individuals will actually vote for another party, particularly since the party has played such a huge part in their lives and their making; however, it is also clear that they appear to be disgruntled by the current leadership and the direction towards which the party is heading. mbeki himself publicly (in a letter) just disassociated himself with any party politics (esp the ANC) in the near future. i can;t blame any of these guys; its difficult to be proud of a party that has behaved like the ANC has recently with 1) the current pres still trying to settle criminal charges lobbied against him; 2) the sexual assault/rape accusation still lingering over the president's head (even tho that case has been closed); 3) uneducated, thuggish hooligans running the ANC youth league threatening to "kill" for zuma and seemingly attempting to take on a more prominent role in the future of sa politics; and the list goes on... so in a sense, the breakaway party will provide citizens that aren't happy with the current ANC, but are way too afraid and suspicious of any other (read: white) party (a very legitimate concern) an avenue to turn to. stay tuned.

3rd. these next 3 points are exciting times for me. on tuesday, im going to an all-night party. woohoo. starting at 10pm and ending 6am wed morning. yes i have work to do on wednesday, but i'll get lots of sleep when i'm dead, right?! plus theres much more important things than sleep. like the celebration or mourning of an obama victory or loss! this party is for "americans in africa for obama"! and is an election night watch. basically cnn and wine/champagne/beer and friends and free gifts and raffle stuff all night long. should be good times and heres to hoping it ends well! an aside, people outside of the US are pretty sure this election is a foregone conclusion. i think thats because outside the US (much more so than within) the media and people have gone ga-gah over obama and thats all u hear. me, i'm not so sure this election is fore-gone anything. i do not underestimate the power of americans to screw things up and make wrong decisions, like they did in 2004. plus there are way too many factors involved, not the least of which being race ("did u hear that b-obama is black?...well, kinda...more importantly, he's not like us...")

4th, in 2 weeks, i'm finally gearing up for my trip to cape town. I've been meaning to go for so long and now am finally making the trip. but this trip is no ordinary trip. its a ROAD TRIP. btw, it takes about 18 hours to get to cape town by car from joburg (2hrs by plane), so we're a bit nuts, but whats a trip without adventure?! plus i'll be accompanied by 3 of the best people in sa! ill share lots of pics when i get back.

5th, i finally bought my ticket for xmas to the states. i'll be there from 16dec to 7jan, so if you're around, hit me up or let me know (cuz i may have a different #, my old phone was victim to pick-pocketing!). so ye, excited about that. i'll be in chi-town and stl for sure, and maybe some other places.

6th, this is a last minute add-on, but i thought this was interesting. i've been meaning to write more about nigerian politics, cuz im kindof a junkie for that too. but a read this article not too long ago that a couple individuals (just normal people) that blog about nigerian politics and all the shit going on in the country that few outside hear about had been detained when they tried to enter the country, for no reason other than the fact that the run anti-nigerian government blogs. thats a bunch of kak in my opinion. but im not at all surprised; a 'civilian' nigerian government finds it hard to shake off the old habits of the 'military' government we've known for so many years. anyway, thats not really a deterrent for me, but i thought it was interesting. to all the nigerian authroites reading this (and im sure they number in the millions!), i don't have anything against nigeria, very few nigerians do. we love this great country more than most people love their countries. we simply long for the day when the rampant corruption is reigned in to an acceptable and workable level (it will never be eradicated, but it can be brought down to a level where ordinary citizens are not deeply and daily affected) and where civil liberties are obeyed and laws lawfully enforced. thats all we ask!

right, so that was longer than the short and sweet promised, but hopefully it was worthy reading. cheers and lekker dag.

edit: i forgot to mention in my earlier post that i moved this weekend. it wasn't a big move (or at least i thought in the beginning), simply moving inside the same complex but different apartment. but like i said the last couple times i moved, i'm never doing that again. it turned out to be pretty hectic. i was supposed to have movers to do most of the work, but then they left before they did a lot of the work. and cuz i relied on the movers, i hadnt told many people that i was moving so had no help. ended up moving most things by myself (and there were a lot of little things, cuz i didnt pack properly, no surprise). luckily towards the end, i was able to get some good friends to help me out and actually help me set up in the new place after i was completely spent. these guys/gals were awesome. i owe you big time! now i'm at a new place which looks a lot like the old place anyway...

thoughts on us prez debate 2

yes, i was up between 3-5AM to watch the debates live. cuz, u know, its just not the same to watch the recording on cnn or youtube or wherever, cuz then you're not among the first to hear/see the action. it aint so fresh n clean no more. so i made sure to get it fresh from the source at the time of production, or something like that.

-- in my post below, i ripped a bit on mccain's health care plans, cuz i dont think it should be deregulated or privatized. to be fair, though, i do believe that health care has become a huge overhead cost for businesses and the ones that suffer the most are usually small to medium sized businesses. so something has to be done to reform this. something other than privatization. this brings me to my criticism of b-obama's healthcare plan as well. this criticism is actually about his tax plan, but over the past few weeks, b-obama has been trying to link his tax plan directly to healthcare, so i will endulge. b-obama wants to provide a tax cut for something like 95% of americans, he says, people making under $200,000. thats great. now, the problem lies in the fact that he also wants to use a similar threshold for small businesses. he claimed in the debate that this will only affect a "few" businesses as most small businesses make under $250,000 in revenue. as a firm believer that small and medium size businesses are the buffer and core of economies i disagree strongly with this. i hope someone smart tells b-obama that there are quite a bit more than a few businesses considered small to medium sized that make more than $250,000/yr in revenue. businesses with revenues of $2mil, $3mil, even upwards of $25mil are often considered small to medium sized. any economy needs to encourage these businesses and not stymy them with taxes. the healthcare part in this comes in the fact that more and more of these businesses are going under because of the evergrowing, sky-rocketing costs of healthcare. taxing individuals that make a certain amount is fine. taxing businesses that are at the core of economic growth at the same level as individuals, i dont think is wise. not knowing too much about the tax code or even healthcare, i would suggest that there be a tax code with threshholds for indiduals which is distinct from the thresholds for businesses. it only makes sense. at least in my head.

-- another problem i had with b-obama is he was given a golden opportunity to live up to his rhetoric as i mentioned in the post below: "to tell americans the hard truth, what they need to hear, and not just what they want to hear." The moderator asked both candidates if they are ready to admit to the public that things will get muh worse before they get better. americans aren't stupid. well at least most of them. or maybe just some of them. but regardless, smart people know that the economic "down-turn" in the US has not yet reached rock bottom and it's bound to go down before it rebounds. neither was man enough to say that, but simply begged the question with some lame response of something like we can skip the worst of it and the good ole days are not too far out in the future.

-- I enjoyed mccain pointing to b-obama and proclaiming him as "that one". bring a bit of debating back to debates. US debates in the last several cycles have seriously watered down the idea of debating. i enjoyed when b-obama used the age-old trick of using the opponents words against him ("...Well, you know, Sen. McCain, in the last debate and today, again, suggested that I don't understand. It's true. There are some things I don't understand.I don't understand how we ended up invading a country that had nothing to do with 9/11, while Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda are setting up base camps and safe havens to train terrorists to attack us.That was Sen. McCain's judgment and it was the wrong judgment.When Sen. McCain was cheerleading the president to go into Iraq, he suggested it was going to be quick and easy, we'd be greeted as liberators.That was the wrong judgment, and it's been costly to us..."). simply brilliant. thats debating.

-- finally, moving away from the US a bit, there are now rumors (pretty substantial ones) of a breakaway party forming in SA to provide an alternative to the ANC. I sincerely hope it gathers strength and is formed on a basis of more than just anger and greed. cuz it'd be nice to talk about meaningful debate in the run-up to SA elections, rather than this "the prez is already decided 2 yrs in advance" business...

chin chin.

election rant - 1mth/7mths to go

the US election is less than 30 days away, the SA elections are about 7 months away, and we are full fledged in the midst of "silly season" in politics, as b-obama calls it. in fairness, it's hardly never silly season in politics. so in that light i think i just wanna offer a few thoughts, mostly on the us elections.

1st, apparently guilty-by-association is back, with sarah palin (who now reads the nyt) accusing obama of palling (nice choice of words) with terrorists. since they dont seem to be winning on substance, the idea is to convince americans that b-obama is not who he really says he is; that his character should be questioned and not trusted; that he's "not like us". by that, i can only assume they either mean that he is an alien, or that he's black.hmm, maybe both. and i dunno if you've heard, but u know, u can't trust those blackies. they go to churches where the pastor decries the government's treatment of minorities and the poor state of poor people in poor slums. not only that, he's also an elitist. cuz, u know, he's educated, and likes to eat healthy, and can actually put nouns and verbs and adjectives together to make a sensible sentence (take note gov), and plays basketball (wait...oops, thats not the elitist argument, thats the blackie argument)... maureen dowd from the nyt put the elitist argument nicely:

"We could, following her strenuously folksy debate performance, wonder when elite became a bad thing in America. Navy Seals are elite, and they get lots of training so they can swim underwater and invade a foreign country, but if you’re governing the country that dispatches the Seals, it’s not O.K. to be elite? Can likable still trump knowledgeable at such a vulnerable crossroads for the country?"

I would suggest that that happened around the time that g-dubbs convinced everyone that nuclear was pronounced nu-cu-lar. which brings me to the scariest thought. i'm almost sure that mccain-palin will win this election now. why? listen to the way she pronounces nu-cu-lar...she's obviously learned the lesson to winning US elections.

2nd, this 700billion dollar bailout/rescue/screw-u plan that was just passed. 700billion. i can type that and not feel anything, cuz i seriously have no idea what that kind of money feels like or looks like or means. btw, 700billion is twice the GDP of south africa, and then some. to be sure, i was actually in favor of this plan; something had to be done to save the essential institutions of the nation. but, this only confirms by skepticism of gov'ts when they claim they have no money for x, y, or z program. if its enough of a priority, you have the means. esp in the US where you can just print money apparently and it has little short term effects. who cares about long term, thats for our children to deal with... this is also a problem that, for some reason, the sa govt has been able to convince people here about. "oh, ARV's are much too expensive, these western firms just need to lower their prices." or in the us: "public education has become too expensive and ineffecient, lets just get rid of it and send everyone (who can afford it) to private schools." stuff it. then, stuff it again. the money is there. prioritize. if the education of your kids are important, u do like many africans do, like my parents did, like my parents' parents did, and you sacrifice other things because it is a priority to ejumacate your kids. if keeping you peeps from dying from HIV, depleting the workforce, or providing affordable healthcare, or improving security, etc are priorities you make it happen. in the words of napoleon dynamite, gosh!

leads me to 3rd...interesting article in the nyt (promise, its not the only newspaper i read) about the difference between b-obama's and mccain's healthcare proposals. my good friend will probably disagree with me on this, cuz he worked for a company that's trying to get people and employers hooked on buying your own healthcare type thing. this is basically mccain's proposal: to allow companies to not provide healthcare for their employees and have people buy healthcare directly from the insurer. hmm, sounds good and will be cheaper for people like me, who so far (knock on wood) rarely go to the doctor and are not a health care "risk". however, those who are sick often or older or have multiple condictions will find that buying healthcare themselves will be very expensive. market-related bullshit. so, to address this, mccain will give individuals a 2500dollar credit and families 5000 to use to buy (subsidize) healthcare; never mind that the avg health care costs are around $12000 for the avg family. so mccain solves the problem of govt/employer provided and subsidised healthcare and cuts costs, but its dangerous in my view to leave sick people without the healthcare they need. what the hell is the role of government if its not to protect citizens, keep them alive, and keep them healthy. this nyt article concludes:

"I agree: the McCain plan would do for health care what deregulation has done for banking. And I’m terrified."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/06/opinion/06krugman.html?ref=opinion

btw, i have these same issues with the sa govt. they are just now getting serious about combating HIV and now there is a new Health minister that seems to have real plans other than eating herbs and taking showers to cure HIV. there is still no evidence that crime is seen as a real problem and is attacked head on on multiple fronts (this includes police salaries, the judicial system and process, and possibly the adoption of the death penalty). education still ranks ridiculously low in terms of priorities in my view. it also doesnt help that the govt heaps out money (not enough but ok) for education and for the past few years, the dept ends the year with millions left over. what do you they think think theyre running? an exxonmobil? a govt dept's responsibility is not to produce a profit at the end of the yr, its to spend all you have and even what you dont have and request more. but spend it wisely. currently the sa govt in terms of education is not spending nor is it spending wisely.

so far, i've ranted on and on for a while. i am, in spite of all, still an optimist and i am waiting to see president b-obama, for example, live up to his promise to "tell americans what they need to hear and not what they want to hear". so get rid of your gas guzzlers, petrol price will now be $10/gallon, because without that there will never be an incentive to invest in renewable energy- type thing. i'm looking forward to continued progress in sa as far as infrastructure, job creation, and investment in education (from early childhood on). and of course, i'm looking forward to the first world cup on african soil. people, esp white south africans, are too quick to lament to plight of sa and then pack up as quick as humanly possible to head to their paradise, aka australia. me thinks thats just silly. understandable in some cases, but silly. the glass is still half-full for sa. they just need more kicks in the rear (a strong opposition party, maybe...). as a SA newspaper put it this weekend, in 20 years, ill be proud to tell my kids that, yes, i was there.

random post #2345609: in case anyone was wondering, i had another terrific weekend (hopefully thats the case for a loong while) and for all those that often describe me as a perfect specimen (which is pretty much everyone), i would like to let you know that you were/ are...absolutely correct. i got confirmation by a very reliable and credible source this weekend that theres hardly anything wrong with me (except for one minor "thing" which of course will be dealt with in time). i would simply like to affirm all of you who believed in my perfection even when i didnt. watd'yaknow, u were right all this time!

another reallllly good/not-so-good wknd

i'm getting kinda lackadaisical about posting now. its been a hectic month. finished my first "real" project experience in a flurry; 2 weeks of very little sleep. and then i was shipped to another project where it's basically just me and on a tighter-than-it-should-be schedule. so for the first couple weeks of this proj i barely saw my bed. now the project is nearly over and i'm beginning to realise that they don't pay me nearly enough to be spending sleepless nights up working my ass off. for a while there, i thought i was back at varsity, when days kind of just meshed into one another and there was little concept of bedtime until the body just decided to crash on its own, without warning. anyway its all good now.

except for the weekend before last, the past couple weekends have been pretty darn good and fun. this past saturday, i threw my first braai (bbq) at my place. the initial plan was to start out at my place and then move on to the picnic area in the complex. but things didnt go like that. we had everything at my place which turned out really good. got to spend time with some quality/fun people (including one especially one very quality person), grillin, chattin, jokin, and jistin. it was good times. lesson one from braai #1: throw the braai the week before the maid comes, not after. there was a huge pile of dishes that i just demolished tonight. it was a mission, but i couldnt just leave it for another week or so till the maid came. which brings me to lesson 2 from braai #1: don't throw another one!...well, not for a while i guess. unless i figure out a plan to use all plastic and paper material that can be easily cleaned and if i can have it somewhere else that i dont have to bother cleaning! all things considered, i had a blast. click on the link to see pics:

first braai

sunday was another awesome day spent with an extremely awesome person. i decided to cheat on my church and go visit another one. so that was in the morning. the church service wasn't that great, but there were some good parts, and i might go back soon. but ill go back to my old church now and hopefully they wont be too upset that i ditched them for a week! spent the afternoon lunchin'....then the sucky part came: having to wake up on monday morning.

tho this weekend was great for me, it wasn't exactly the best for south africa. the ruling party decided that they were going to pressure the president (a member of the ruling party) to resign. and he did. another win for the idiots and thugs that are threatening to take over the party. i felt really bad for mbeki, but not overly bad. he really brought it on himself when he tried to emulate the former nigerian prez (obasanjo) and both ostracize his veep and try to stand for a third term as party leader and ultimately as prez of s. africa. that was a silly, unconstitutional, and divisive move and it backfired. and now he's paying for it. but also allowing factions that think out of their asses (literally) to control the party. anyway, he announced his resignation on sunday night and until monday afternoon a replacement was not announced (cuz his deputy also resigned). and that got me excited, cuz there was essentially no sa prez for that period and i thought/expected/hoped i'd see something crazy happen. cuz...u know...theres no president...well nothing happened. shame. and one guy at work actually put it nicely that having no president is still much better than having george bush. at least zero is better than negative. how tru. next couple months should be interesting.

random post #952325: i like that it took a lengthy survey for people to realize that race does play a factor in the american elections. so people now know the answer to all those questions of why obama can't "close the gap". its cuz hes black. and white people are still scared of black people. and will believe anything that "whitie-i-will-now-change-my-position-however-is-popular-mccain (see republican calling for regulations and populism. wha???) campaign spews, whether explicitly (hes a muslim) or subliminally (he's not like u) or subconsciously, or through proxies (community organising is code word for "i am the antichrist"!!). im in the wrong line of business im sure. anyway, enjoy the article and ejumacate yo-sef:
Poll: Racial misgivings of Dems an Obama issue

more mandela and asa (a--sha)

the last 2 wknds have been pretty amazing. last weekend, i went to a concert celebrating mandela's birthday in town. yes, this was yet another mandela birthday bash. its really become a birth year now. and they'll keep celebrating it for the rest of the year, i think, as long as it gives people an excuse to sing and dance and party. and see mandela. i kind of feel bad for the guy who's pretty old now and still appears at many of these celebrations. but not too bad, cuz i was as delighted as a kid in a candy store when he made a suprise appearance at the concert last weekend. i guess it wasnt so much like a kid in a candy store, it was more like you were in the presence of something that was holy and precious and super. what an honor.

mandela didnt speak, but he got on stage and sat down. pretty much everyone was quiet and still when people were speaking about him and reminiscing on his life. everyone, except for some guys that i was with. so i ask them, jokingly why they werent respecting the presence of god on earth! one of the guys replied with the, almost expected, response that a legend is always much more respected outside his home that within. pretty much the locals know him, his good side and his faults, too well to think of him with the same reverence as the rest of the world. i dunno if i buy that entirely, but i'm sure its true to some degree. i forgot my camera at home so i have no pics for y'all; i tried to take pics with my phone, but i gotz a crappy phone.

as some of you that stalk me on facebook might know, i have fallen hard for a lady with a brilliant voice, thick nigerian accent, and ability to hold her own on the guitar. her name is asa (pronounced aaaa-sha). i got to meet her finally this weekend. ok thats a lie. i saw her from about 100meters away this weekend when she played at this jo-burg jazz fest. she was very good. even better live. and better than i expected. there were a couple other artists that were pretty good, like ringo, and this weird, but good, traditional singer. see the pics below.




this pic shows 2 of the 3 people i went with; but all 3 of us in this pic are named fiyinfoluwa. even stranger, the boet on the left also has the same middle name as i do. hmm, i think our parents had an evil plan...

oh and finally, of course, congrats on b-obama's historic nomination. brilliant speech also. im beginning to believe that one of the good and progressive aspects of south africa, is that the people are not afraid to talk about race and often times confront it head on, no matter what difficulties or emotions may arise (cuz nothing can be worse to going back to how life was..). i think this is something the us still hasnt got. race is still very much a taboo thing that no one likes to speak of, but black people like to pull often whenever they're offended; or likewise, that white people like to ridicule, citing the savior, b-obama as evidence that they no longer need affirmative action or that they no longer have to watch what the say, do, or behave (im generalizing quite generously, but hopefully u get the point). anyway, check out this article and it will highlight some emotions brough about from b-obama's nomination: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/opinion/30herbert.html?ref=opinion

2nd finally: shout out to my sis and her hubby. happy 1yr anniversary guys!

roomy, etc

hmm, it's seriously been a while since i've posted anything. well, truthfully there hasn't been much excitement in my life since the last time i posted. i go to work usually before the sun comes up to try to avoid traffic. 1.5hrs later (if im lucky) i'm at work. and then i leave well after the sun goes down to avoid traffic. 1.5hrs later (if im lucky) i'm at home. day over. this actually brings me to a story from last week actually. the HUGE trade union federation here, COSATU, decided to have a national stay away and organize rallies in many big cities around the country. i don't know the number, but i think many people did decide to stay away from work for that day, including the ubiquitous taxi drivers. that day i left a bit later than i usually do and was prepared to stranded in traffic all morning. instead, i got to work in 30 minutes. that day i left work at peak hour, also mentally prepared to be sitting in traffic. instead, i got home in less than 30 minutes. THIS seriously was the best day of my life. i dont know what they were striking or staying away from (perhaps some global problem that no one in sa really has any control over??...) and i dont really care. but im firmly advocating now that COSATU or anyone with any pull call for at least one stay away/strike per week. and im not being selfish here. i do this because i care about workers right. viva!

on to bigger news. i finally got a roomy. he is p-eter from p-oland. well kind of. he's sort of a mutt: polish-canadian-south african. its been very interesting living with a flatmate after going so long without one. i didn't realize just how much i'd grown accustomed to doing my own thing and how interesting it would be to adjust back to having a roomy. well, its taking a bit of adjustment. plus he's a huge house music fanatic. huge. also a dj when he feels like it. so he's trying to get me into house music. it hasnt worked that well. tho im tryin, cuz ~98% (to put it modestly) of sa-ans love their house music. i like house when it doesnt all have the same beat and they change it around a bit. no, ive actually heard some/a few house beats that arent too bad. think im just too stuck on my hip-hop/blues/jazz ways. anyway, if u see p-eter from p-oland at ur local house club, say hi to him and welcome him to chez folu.

finally, you avid ubuntu-adventures readers (all 2.8million of you. congrats.) will appreciate this. a few posts ago, i mentioned how the bathroom at work has a stall that looks like a stall with a stall door, but when you open it its actually 2 very closely placed urinals. when i wrote the post, i said it was weird, 1 to have a stall door (do u open it or lock it) and 2 to have 2 stalls that close to one another. i now believe that there someone at work reads my blog (welcome), cuz now they have removed the stall door. solves one problem. bt theres still the fact that the stalls are close together. well u can't ask for transformational change to happen too quickly i guess. but this is one change i can believe in.

speaking of change, i read this column a couple days ago that laid into clinton and her supporters for still creating problems for the democratic party and wanting to hi-jack the DNC. The op-ed ended by stating: "A woman who wildly mismanages and bankrupts a quarter-of-a-billion-dollar campaign operation, and then blames sexism in society, will dampen the dreams of our daughters." yikes! best part, this was written by a very popular female columnist. yoh!

till next time.

happy b-day madiba!

this post is whole-heartedly devoted to Nelson Mandela. he celebrated his 90th birthday on friday and you couldnt turn on the radio, tv, open up the newspaper, or have a casual lunch without hearing or talking about mandela. even this morning, the radio stations were still all over the man's birthday. i felt truly blessed to be here and get to share the moment with south africans; you could tell that they are extremely proud of their madiba, and rightfully so.

a couple months ago during the height of the most recent "xenophobic" violence, i remember talking to several south africans who were completely ashamed of their country and countrymen for perpetuating such heinous crimes against fellow africans; some even apologized on others behalf. well, this weekend, rather than being ashamed, south africans truly have a reason to be proud. of their country, country-man, and fellow africans. what madiba was able to accomplish after 27 years in prison and the way he was able to inspire africans of all kinds and bring out the best in all, is truly something to cherish. so many people shared their experiences of meeting madiba or shaking his hand, and even people that had never met the man spoke of how their lives had been touched, nonetheless. i wished i had my own memory of mandela. i only know that were it not for him, and his courage, hope, and perseverance, i probably would not be here at this time.

my only concern, amidst all the hype and praise and celebrations is that, while south africans are proud of their living legend, they are rapidly forgetting what he stood for, what he worked for, and what he was prepared to die for. I'm reminded of another defining moment of my (and lots of people's) lives. 9/11. after the attack on the WTC, i remember students everywhere searching for meaning and what lessons to take from this. how to move forward. i remember writing a paper about it, but im not sure i came up with any conclusions. we looked for guidance, but were only told to go shopping. i hate shopping. 7 years later, i'm afraid we've taken very little if any lessons away from the disaster. all of his life, and particularly after he was released from prison and subsequently became president of the republic of south africa, mandela reminded all people that "true reconciliation does not consist in merely forgetting the past". he said: "Our daily deeds as ordinary South Africans must produce an actual South African reality that will reinforce humanity's belief in justice, strengthen its confidence in the nobility of the human soul and sustain all our hopes for a glorious life for all." i wonder how he really feels when he surveys the political and social landscape of south africa today. i am concerned that the country risks losing the dream espoused by madiba. i am concerned that i've missed the lessons.

i'm just gonna end this post with some of my favorite madiba quotes:

"Let us never be unmindful of the terrible past from which we come that memory not as a means to keep us shackled to the past in a negative manner, but rather as a joyous reminder of how far we have come and how much we have achieved. The memory of a history of division and hate, injustice and suffering, inhumanity of person against person should inspire us to celebrate our own demonstration of the capacity of human beings to progress, to go forward, to improve, to do better.

"There is enough reason for cynicism and despair. But then we should take heart from our own experience and performance. Let us refrain from chauvinistic breast-beating; but let also not underrate what we have achieved in establishing a stable and progressive democracy where we take freedoms seriously; in building national unity in spite of decades and centuries of apartheid and colonial rule; in creating a culture in which we increasingly respect the dignity of all.

"In a cynical world we have become an inspiration to many. We signal that good can be achieved amongst human beings who are prepared to trust, prepared to belief in the goodness of people.

"Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity of being the skunk of the world.

"Let freedom reign.

"The sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement!

"God bless Africa!"

well, momma okunade left earlier this week and all i have to show for it is a clean flat, lots of good food in my refrigerator, and peace of mind while i drive (my mom, who's normally tense when others are driving, was even more tense, cluthcing on to the brake for dear life and probably holding her breathe the whole time; promise i'm not that bad a driver). thanks mom.

the week was really busy, so i didn't get a chance to take time off and hang out with mom, but during the weekend we did find out where humankind originates (right here in the caves of jo-burg!...) and where humankind asserts its domination over all other species (at carnivore, the meat/game eaters' heaven). in other words, on sat we went crawling through the cradle of mankind caves and museum (my mom did it in a dress and heels...impressive):

and then we went to have lunch/dinner at this restaurant called carnivore, where they just keep bring you all kinds of meat until u put ur flag down. we had crocodile, antelope, kudu, ostrich, alligator, and the boring ones, chicken, beef, pork, etc. i was soo disappointed cuz people told me about having zebra and i was really looking forward to it, but they brought out no zebra. and when i asked them they told me they had none. too bad, i'll have to go back soon. anyway, we were both pretty full for the next 2 days:

check out the rest of the pics: here

in other news: i don't normally follow british politics that much (except for occasionally watching the absolutely hilarious british parliament session on c-span), but i just have to comment on the british foreign minister, david miliband. this dude must be one of the stupidest guys around, in my opinion. i say this on one basis only. he's here in sa, basically trying to drum up support for his zim solution. btw, he's pretty much alone in this solution he's preaching. this solution includes the following: disregard the run-off elections (fair enough) and recognize the march election, declare morgan tsvangirai as the president of zim and depose bobb mugabe (hmm...). this is stupid. thats the best way i can put it. here's the issue: if you legitimize the results of the march elections, then you MUST legitimize the rules under which those election results were received. the rules of the elections say that a candidate must get higher than 50% to win the presidency, otherwise there will be a run off. now im not defending bobb by any means (neither, btw, do i think morgan would be that great a person/leader), but i'd like to defend rational thought. now a better position would be to reject both elections and results as flawed and call for new elections or some kind of unity government. but accepting the results of one election, while making up new rules by which these results should be judged doesnt really make sense, does it. thank britain, once again, for your strong and useful insight into african politics.

back to the us: apparently b-obama is anti-dumb. check it out:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/opinion/10collins.html?hp

also, what's up with all the craziness about b-obama moving to the centre? this is politics 101. plus he never claimed that he wanted to be president solely for lefties (see his 2004 convention speech). i like how the economist put it: (along the lines of) The real issue is that barack has not moved far enough to the center..."Mr Obama needs to embrace centrism as a matter of conviction rather than flirting with it as an instrument of political expediency."

f*** the po-po

first the good news:
- happy 7th month anniversary to me. i've now been in sa for about 7months, and this is only significant because i meant to post a happy 6th month (1/2 yr) anniversary to me and i forgot, so this will have to do. 7 months seem like a long time, but it really hasnt felt that long, and i still consider myself a newbie.

- mama okunade (i.e. my mom) is coming to visit. tomorrow. so looking forward to seeing her and getting some good home cooking. finally. um, not that thats the only reason i love my mum. don't be offended, feminists!

- congrats to madiba (i.e. nelson mandela) on being 90. well, he's not really 90 yet, but the celebrations are under way. the huge one in london was very good, it was broadcast here as well. looking forward to seeing whats planned for when he's back here. on a tangent...sometimes its sad to look back at the man/icon and see what he's been through and accomplished, and then look at where sa seems to be headed now. im holding out hope tho. another tangent, kudos to madiba for rebuking bob mugabe (i'll get to him later); take a hint, mbeki.

now the crazy stuff:
- back to mugabe; or bobby as i say, cuz we tight like that. congrats on the sham election. the man is ancient anyway, he's gotta decay soon, ne? you know some "christians" apparently were all upset that he said that only god can remove him from office. now why would you be upset at that. first, you have to ask which god he's referring to. then instead of crying foul, tell u what you do: get on your knees, arms in the air, and pray day and night that mugabe's wish comes true, and that god does remove him...and, i mean, this can be in the form of a sniper, or the nigerian style "heart-attack slash food poisoning slash old age". god works in mysterious ways, i say.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/opinion/29kristof.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin

- a wk ago i filled up the tank in my tiny car. it cost me 500 rand. thats close to $70. and thats after the guy tried to top me off and i had to stop him at 500. 500! even in the US, 70 bucks is a lot of money. but this is south africa. average incomes are about 50-60% of the avg in the US. and we're paying so much more for gas. further, its been announced that prices will go up again on tuesday or wed by 12-15%. moh-fugga wha??! so yea, quit ur b**ch'n americans and go ride the damn bus/train.

caveat: this post has and will likely contain more french. I want to apologize now. I'm only foul when I'm pushed to it!

- last week wednesday, some people here decided to hold a protest/strike on the highway in johannesburg central, where i work now. this protest not only disturbed the flow of traffic at the time people got off work, it actually completely halted traffic on the highway and on some of the local roads. so here i was heading home, feeling pretty good, cuz u know, i was done with work for the day. all of a sudden i notice that what is supposed to be the on-ramp to the highway that i take has somehow become an off ramp and i can't get onto the highway (in hindsight, it was probably very well that i didnt, as traffic was stopped for 3+ hours on the highway. completely stopped, not just slow).

problem #1, the highway is the ONLY way i know how to get home. seeing that i couldn't get on, i decide to do what i've learned to do now when i'm lost: follow the car in front of me. so i did that for a bit. then decided to call some people when i realized i had no idea where i was. that helped for a bit (like a block and a half). then more traffic. in about 2 hours i had managed to move about 2 blocks away from the office building. when i managed to look up and see my office building i decided to just go back to the office and wait the stupid thing out (esp. after hearing on the radio that everywhere was packed). getting back to the office, 1 block away took me another 30 minutes, and that was that short because much hated and antagonized taxi drivers actually got out of their taxis and helped traffic along in the streets of town.

so on my way up the elevator from the parking lot, i, very coincidentally, ran into my client, who had been on the top floor of the office building apparently planning is route out of town. after unsuccessfully describing to me how to get out of town and skip the protests by using some route through the infamous nigerian, drug-dealing district, we decided that i would just follow him. thankfully, he eventually got me out onto another highway, free from protests and i got home. throughout this adventure, i must admit i went from thinking this was pretty funny (haha onramp becomes onramp, ladiladi-har), to being kinda frustrated, to being utterly pissed off and wanting to get out my rifle and go shooting some game (sorry, animal-lovers, but as a card carrying member of the NRA, i have my god-given rights!).

here's a pic of what the craziness looked like, but this doesnt really do it justice; it was much worse than this:



so who were the perpetrators of this bedlam? the f**king police. thats who. the decided to protest their salary by holding up traffic, like kidnappers holding down their hostages. now, i used to really hate protest, but my stance has softened a bit. and i do realize its a way of life in places like south africa or france. and i can understand u demanding better pay (don't we all). BUT, what the hell, do I have to do with you getting a pay raise. my point is, a protest/strike must be well planned out, well target, and well executed to be fully effective. why piss people off that have no effect on your situation. there were people that urgently needed to get home or to their kids, or people like me who had no clue how to get around that were stuck on the highway or in the streets of the city. why not go hold up your employees in their offices? the people actually empowered to make these decisions. and their actions created such madness in the city. criminals could go wild, cuz the cops weren't gonna stop them; they were busy doing their own criminal acts. at one point another police unit was dispatched to quell the craziness on the highway, so they decided to use rubber bullets to scatter the cops that were protesting. and what do the protesters do? they bring out their real guns and start shooting. hah, this is almost comical. if it wasn't so bloody ridiculous.

my argument i guess is kind of moot, as now the protesting cops have reached an agreement with their bosses which im sure includes some pay raise. still, im pissed off.

random post 328950: today, my church announced that one pastor was leaving the church and that another one would take over. the importance of this is the one taking over is a black african (s africa has made me reallly color conscious, sorry). this is really an interesting move, as this church is mostly white and trying really hard to get involved in the black community. this black guy is an awesome guy tho and now he will be heading the leadership team at the church. he's been at the vineyard for 20+ years and preaching at this vineyard on and off for something like 3+ years and very much respected by all members (as far as i can tell). i cant help but wonder tho: how many whites are gonna start leaving the church now?...

politics and condolences

well, i tried to keep my mouth shut, but it was way too difficult. i have to have a thread congratulating b-obama for his victory as the democratic nominee for us president (i also congratualte myslef for successfully turning my us-citizen parents away from hillary-inevitability to hard core obama supporters; pat on the back for me!). its really an extremely historic and important moment for america, no matter what happens next. even the entire world (definitely here in africa) are going crazy over this accomplishment. it's also highlighting the exceptional nature of the US - the part that most people admire and love and have easily forgotten about the last 7 years while focusing on the bush-man foreign policy of the current administration. the day after b-obama won the nomination (even with hilary's "i'm making no decision's tonight" speech) all the major newspapers here had obama on the front page, countless op-eds were written about it, and radio stations were going crazy. thomas friedman, of the new york times, wrote an excellent piece highlighting the moment in the context of egyptian society today, again re-iterating the fact that in many parts of the world, a story like barack obama's can never happen. an excerpt:

Yes, all of this Obama-mania is excessive and will inevitably be punctured should he win the presidency and start making tough calls or big mistakes. For now, though, what it reveals is how much many foreigners, after all the acrimony of the Bush years, still hunger for the "idea of America" - this open, optimistic, and, indeed, revolutionary, place so radically different from their own societies.

Whether he does or doesn’t, though, the mere fact of his nomination has done something very important. We’ve surprised ourselves and surprised the world and, in so doing, reminded everyone that we are still a country of new beginnings.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/opinion/11friedman.html?th&emc=th

point # 454: after being severely disappointed at clinton's speech the day b-obama won the nomination, the night of the last primaries, i was just as pleased at the excellent concession speech she gave a couple days later (even with her fuzzy math relating to # of votes she got). my beef now is passed on to the ultra-feminists that say they refuse to vote for b-obama, but would rather vote for mccain. heh, explain this to me please...u'd rather vote against all ur beliefs (abortion, equal rights, etc) than vote for someone who is more aligned to ur beliefs but just happened to fairly beat your candidate. sorry to be heartless, but this seems like some of hillary's supporters are the sorriest losers around. i can concede that there were some elements of sexism in the campaign, however, how much of this was obama's fault (shouldn't we look at the media or american sentiment or even john mccain, who when he was asked, "so how do you beat the bitch", he made no gesture to correct or repudiate the questioner). i don't really see the complaint here, b-obama followed the rules by taking his name off ballot in michigan, didnt campaign in florida and realized the game was a delegate game (and not a # of votes game) and he won by the rules. clinton tried to bend the rules at the end, and even with obama conceding some votes in mi and fl, she still lost. good fight fought. there can only be one winner. there was. and there were losers. time to move on. consider me heartless, but don't hate the player, hate the game.

point 8973: the fist pump between b-obama and mrs. obama was probly the best moment i've seen in politics in a long time. that was pretty cool. and it showed that political couples can still have fun sometimes. with all the fake and orchestrated smiles and appearances its too easy to see political couples as nothing more than arranged marriages and to see a couple do something spontaneous like that makes it look like they at least like each other. plus its hip. com 'on.

point 54732: what a terrible speech by mccain. i used to like this guy but couple things ticked me off. first, i dont really remember him congratulating b-obama and the moment that just passed. i mean, even g-dubbs (president george w. bush), not thought of the most amicably in the black community, congratulated b-obama and the historical moment. mccain, however...who advises this guy. first u cant compete with b-obama in making speeches (or reading off a telli-prompter, for that matter). 2nd, the few times the camera showed the audience, this was just sad. forced claps, smiles, old white people (not that theres anything wrong with this group; i like y'all), but a speech like mccain's would not have been as severely criticized, if it was not juxtaposed to that of obama's an hr later. it was just not a good comparison. sorry johnny.

point 347: as many of you know, i like us politics. one reason: it takes my mind off of african politics (for at least 2 seconds). in nigeria: well, its nigeria. violence still raving, who knows how long the president will live (health reasons) and the jury is still out on how effective he can be even after a full year. in sa: the president is lamer than a lame duck. i think his actions now are just to spike his opponents. in the near future, JZ is coming to power, with his what 6 wives and corruption charges pending. and ahh, in nearby zim: ole boy bob mugabe warned that his staunchest supporters were ready to take up arms rather than let the opposition triumph in a June 27 election. this is after several beatings and killings of opponent tsvangirai's supporters; tsvangirai's deputy is currently in jail awaiting trial for treason. this really troubles me. the zims that i've met are some of the nicest, smartest people i know. they are also calm people (in general, minus mugabe and his drugged up army). i doubt they will take to the streets or perform a kenya still revolt if (i should say when) bob wins the upcoming run-off. so im pondering when should we declare silent diplomacy and civil disobedience a failure? i'm all for civil disobedience, don't get me wrong, but a part of me knows that something drastic has to happen in zim; the situation is just way too dire. but as the population continues to be subdued by mugabe and his guns, what should the citizens do. just sit there and hope? too often many africans have tried this to their detriment. south africa certainly will do nothing. the un has been allowed to monitor the elections and i can declare right now that they will report that the whole thing was a scam (plus most except for the absolute bravest of the opposition supporters will not show up to vote after being intimidated). then there will be a outcry, but the un is powerless to do anything. so the world will just wait until the situation is no longer on the front page, while civilian atrocities continue in the country. god help zim.

finally, point 9346034: my ultimate sincere condolences to NBS broadcast journalist, Tim Russert, who suddenly died yesterday. I'm really saddened by this. The guy was one of the best and my favorite tv journalist. he did the sunday morning meet the press (also one of my favorite shows) and asked some of the toughest questions ive ever heard an american journalist ask. his death was sudden and unexpected and he will be greatly missed. RIP Tim Russert.