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Nicaragua Day 3

I´m going to post my photos only on facebook, here is a link for you to see, and i´ll caption them better there.

 

Today was our first day working at the orphanage. Lyndon, Clayton and I rotated through shovelling backfill into a wheelbarrow (one long shovel, one short shovel), and tying rebar. The ladies painted the office building at the entrance a nice minty green. After one ten minute stint with the short-handled shovel, I coulldn´t do any more shoveling, it just about wrecked my back. So i helped with the high painting parts.

 

It was pretty hot this morning, the occasional breeze helped but it was still pretty humid. The girls were hanging around us at times, some of them helped to shovel and they all wanted to paint (but werent allowed to). We wore name tags (both the team and the girls) and that was very helpful.

 

We had lunch with the girls and they are starting to warm up to us. We sorted all the stuff we brought to give away this afternoon – the morning heat and work took quite a bit out of me, even with a 20 minute nap I felt pretty bushed for an hour. Darlene said that I´d feel better if I got up and did something, and sure enough, she was right. I did a bunch more tying rebar and some painting, then after our lemonade, we went to visit Christina and Chepe and Marisol in the bario. It was nice to see them again and fun to play with Chepe. I got Christina to smile with her dimples for a picture too.

 

We are a pretty tired bunch tonight. Tomorrow we are painting in the morning, then off to Masaya in the afternoon, to the market there and the volcano. What kind of shenanigans will we get into with Clayton and Judy along? (And five of the girls from the orphanage.)

 

I´m missing everyone back home, but I´m not missing the weather! Hahaha

 

Mike

 

Nicaragua day 1 and 2

 

 

This morning: Juanita, Olferts maid from way back, came for breakfast. She gave Lyndon a jar of chileros!

Managua: little girl selling bags of water at an intersection

The group of us in Sunday school in Managua.

These are footprints in volcanic ash or mud, from about 6000 years ago. In Managua.

We went to the outdoor auditorium, Clayton did a "Taylor Ave Boys" trick and found a way onto the stage. The acoustics were great, I sang the refrain of "Because He Lives" at center stage, it felt like a studio. Then I took a bow for the Managuans in the passing truck.

We also got a tour of the national concert hall too. Nice place too ‘ sits 1200, the RWB has performed there.

Our driver Pablo, wife Amanda, and little Pablito

At the orphanage, the girls demonstrated their Nicaraguan dance skills

 

 

And one recited her peom she wrote on "the importance of love".

Lyndon and his two greatest fans.

Me and my two greatest fans.

Lester and I talking on the roof of Doña Normas guest house at dusk (before supper, about 6 pm).

Sunset before supper

I experienced joy and sadness both today – sadness in knowing that there will be some of the kids from last time here I wont see, joy in seeing the girls at the orphanage, and how they just wanted to be teenage girls. They loved Baileys curly blonde hair. And they saw Bens long blonde hair in the pictures I brought and thot he was handsome too.

 

I was trying to get text messages through to anait since landing at the airport last night. Turns out I was sending to the wrong number last night (780 and not 781) and today she was receiving but we were not getting back responses. So I was missing my family connection a lot. And I know anait has a lot on her mind while I am away, i wish we could share that together, and this experience together too.

 

Its hot in Managua, but not as hot in Diriamba. Bailey is taking care of me, telling me when to sit down and when to get out of the van. And the earplugs she gave me a really comfortable, so I slept really well last night.  And in turn, she walked with me to the cyber cage tongiht, and she stayed close to "El Gigante Mike". So I was able to take care of her too.

 

Now I am IMing with my family: A and I have a running joke about camels, and she just asked me:

are there camels in nigadagrwa?

Good night all. I will post again tomorrow night I think.

 

the Three Quiz

I haven’t posted in forever, and today I decide to answer a blog-tag quiz here, of all things.

I was tagged by Swivels.

THREE SCREENNAMES I GO BY:
xhead
xhead_ca
xhead.ca 
(boring, I know)

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: (not necessarily in that order)
I consider myself shy.
I cheer for the Toronto Maple Leafs
I’ve met Stephen Harper. 

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS I LIKE ABOUT MYSELF:
height
(work in progress) 

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS I DON’T LIKE ABOUT MYSELF:
weight
posture
speaking voice

THREE PARTS OF MY HERITAGE:
German
English
Scottish 

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE ME:
Not that I’m fearless, but I can’t think of anything

THREE OF MY EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
morning shower
morning coffee
cell phone

THREE THINGS I AM WEARING RIGHT NOW:
long-sleeved shirt
khaki cargo pants
wedding ring

THREE OF MY FAVORITE BANDS OR MUSICAL ARTISTS:
Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass
Diane Schuur
Manteca 

THREE OF MY FAVORITE SONGS:
Climbing Higher Mountains (Diane Schuur/Count Basie Orchestra)
Anaconda (Manteca)
Discipline (Bobby McFerrin and his father)

THREE THINGS I WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP:
trust
friendship
laughter

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE PREFERRED GENDER THAT APPEAL TO ME:
two are in the front, one is in the back. All the other parts are good too.

THREE OF MY FAVORITE HOBBIES:
hobbies? I have hobbies?
Robotics, playing bass, singing

THREE THINGS I WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
spend less/invest more
win the lottery
reduce stress across my personal sphere of influence

THREE CAREERS I’M CONSIDERING  / I’VE CONSIDERED:
high school band teacher
technical magazine writer
cruise ship musician/singer 

THREE PLACES I WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
someplace warm and un-touristy
UK/Europe
Washington (because anait wants to take me) 

THREE KIDS’ NAMES I LIKE:
Ben, Emily, Anni, Omi
(ok, that’s four, but they’re MY four)

THREE THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE:
go back to Nicaragua
see my kids grown up and happy
stop worrying/thinking about money, so I could give more away

THREE WAYS THAT I AM STEREOTYPICALLY A GIRL:
I think my speaking voice sounds effeminate.
I like shopping for clothes (not so much for me)
I cry easily.

THREE WAYS THAT I AM STEREOTYPICALLY A BOY:
I like mechanical and construction stuff.
I like to drive fast.
I like to watch "This Old House"

 

A survey (call me crazy…I know)

This came from Tiana and Emily…

1. Were you named after anyone?  I don’t think so, but my Great Uncle Scott always claimed to be my namesake for my middle name.
2. When was the last time you cried? Watching Extreme Home Makeover last Sunday.
3. Do you like your handwriting?  What handwriting?
4. What is your favourite lunch meat?  Ham or roast beef
5. Do you have kids?  Yes.
6. If you were another person, would you be friends with yourself?  This is one of those bad recursion questions you shouldn’t ask a programmer. (Shampoo, rinse, repeat… it’s a wonder I make it out of the shower)
7. Do you use sarcasm a lot?  No, no, no, not at all, never. And never in a million years would I use hyberbole either.
8. Do you still have your tonsils?  Yes.   
9.  Would you ever go bungee-jumping?  No.
10. What is your favourite cereal?  Stuff with nuts and fruit and oatmeal.
11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?  No.
12. Do you think you are strong?  Strong like bull. Smart like tractor.
13. What is your favourite kind of ice cream?  Well, it’s not ice cream exactly, but green apple gelato from Nucci’s.
14. What is the first thing you notice about people?  I prefer not to answer this question on the grounds that I might incriminate myself.
15. Red or pink?  Red.
16. What is your least favourite thing about yourself?  I am much better at starting things than I am at finishing them.  
17. Who do you miss the most?  The kids I met in Nicaragua.
18. What colour are your pants and shoes right now?  Blue shorts, no shoes.
19. What was the last thing you ate?  A teensie spoon of mango ice cream.
20. What are you listening to right now?  My son singing Lego Racers game music.
22. If you were a crayon, what colour would you be?  Not sure which, but it would be a ONE WORD colour like Red, or Blue, or Black or White. Not some namby-pamby colour that can’t stand on its own without a bunch of adjectives.
22. Favourite scent?  Tiana
23. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?  Emily.
24. Do you like the person who sent this to you?  Absolutely.
25. Favourite sports to watch?  F1, curling, hockey, CFL football
26. Hair colour?  Uh.. what I notice is the grey. But it’s still mostly brownish.
27. Eye colour?  Blue. Just blue.
29. Do you wear contacts?  I used to, but I can’t hack flourescent lights with them.
29. Favourite food?  Lamb, a good steak medium rare, garden veggies like peas, carrots, beans, corn, potatoes, spaghetti squash. 
30. Scary movies or happy endings?  Happy endings, they kill me.
31. Last movie you watched? The Bourne Supremacy. 
32. What colour is your current shirt?  White.
33. Summer or winter?   Hm. Winter, mostly.
34. Hugs or kisses?  Both.
35. Favourite dessert?  Fruity stuff. 
36. What book are you reading right now?  Blue Mars (one ahead of Tiana)
37. What is on your mouse pad?  Don’t have a mouse pad.
38. What did you watch on TV last night?  Didn’t watch TV last night (which is unusual).
39. Favourite sound?  People laughing.
40. Rolling Stones or the Beatles?  Beatles. No, Rolling Stones! (aaaahhhhh, Mike falls into the abyss)
41. Farthest you’ve been from home?  Beijing.
42. Do you have a special talent?  Singing. Being funny.
43. Where were you born?  Boissevain Hospital.

Veggie-truck

Last October was the last time I picked up used vegetable oil for my truck.

 

It turned out that batch had more water in it than I thought. Even though I let it settle for a couple weeks, my truck complained fairly bitterly when asked to burn that fuel.

 

I pumped it all out and went on diesel for a time.

 

A long time, actually. I didn’t have enough time to go back to the same place and get more bad fuel, or find a better supplier.

 

And I had to replace the water pump and glow plugs (and wiring harness) to the tune of $1800 last fall. <shudder> I should have bought the parts on eBay, I would have saved myself at least $500. But unless you buy them ahead of time, you usually can’t wait. (Now I know – I have already bought six fuel injectors, for ~$800CAD total, they are $450 each from the garage).

 

Anyway, I have been driving the truck on diesel since about Thanksgiving last year. And paying for it.

 

About a month ago, I looked at the oil I had pumped out last fall and saw that it had settled out well over the winter and spring, so I pumped the top 75% of the containers back into the truck and ran it on that. Which worked ok, but my auxiliary fuel pump doesn’t have enough oompf to give enough fuel pressure at highway speed. So it’s back and forth between veggie and diesel.

 

Now I just got a call from T, she has just pulled up to the driveway and the transmission shifter is not working (there was a clunk apparently). Sheesh.

 

 

 

So this is what it’s like to be 40

A week after my birthday, and I’ve figured out what being 40 is like.

 

I’ve lost my tech voodoo.

 

I’ve found myself on a Saturday morning at somewhat loose ends.  I decided to watch Harry Potter: The Prisoner of Azkaban on DVD while Tiana takes the little girls to their grandparents for a week of camp.

 

I turn on the DVD player under the TV and put in the disc.

 

Nothing.

 

We have an XBox connected to the TV too, so I look around and see if only one of the two can be connected at the same time. Then I realize that likely Emily or Ben can get the DVD working faster than I can.

 

So Ben comes up and gets it running in about two minutes.

 

This whole 40-thing is starting to sink in.

 

So I sit down with my morning coffee and start up the disc.

 

I’ve got the wrong disc in – it’s the Special Features disc. But it takes me a bit to realize it. I change it to Disc 1. It starts up.

 

Apparently I’ve got the wrong disc in again. I am seeing the open titles for The Polar Express, starring Tom Hanks. I’m looking at the DVD case for the phone number for Jay’s Video where we rented this from, so I can ask them to look in their Polar Express case for the Harry Potter disc.

 

Just as I am ready to call the video store, another movie starts – the Will Farrell Elf movie.

 

I’ve been watching previews on the disc.

 

Sheesh.

 

Hi, my name is Mike, I’m forty, and I’ve lost my tech voodoo.