No more philosophy; back to facts. Or at least things I imagine.

The city was screaming and groaning a lot last night. There must have been a football game on. And by football I mean soccer, not American football. The past week has been fraught with bad ideas on my part. I would like to report that most of those potential disasters never made it past the thinking stage. For those of you who know better, please refrain from reporting my fall from repute here. I'm sure there are whole message boards reserved for such things. And no, I will not be answering any questions regarding a grey sock, a bag of tofu squares, and a chicken. I'm just glad that I wasn't in the range of cameras when the little rogue cut through my belt. I hadn't realized that I'd lost so much weight here. Mom, I need a new grey sock. I don't need that grey cloth belt anymore. I learned that chickens in fact don't sink when you throw them in water, they just get angry and grow poisonous talons. The weather here got cold almost overnight. Truthfully it took two nights. One day it was mid 70s. The next it was 40s. And a cold wet 40s. Humidity sucks. Cold humidity is just so freakin chilling. It's like living in an ice bath. But at least with the cold weather I get to wear warm clothes that don't reveal my emaciated body. It's not that the Vietnamese food isn't good, it's just that I don't trust my chicken, cow, pig, and fish impressions combined with the shaking of my head is enough to inform the restaurant owners that I don't eat meat. So I have to cook for myself. Let me just say that when rice burns, it doesn't all burn at once, and I can usually salvage the top inch or so. I convinced a girl to read me The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I'm excited. And when I say convinced, what I really mean is that she hasn't said no yet. I'm not sure that she's actually had the opportunity to say no. Basically it'll be a surprise. I mean, it won't be a surprise to me; I'm the one who planned this in the first. I'm finally to understand my work here. It's a lot of meeting with people and government officials (who are people too, except for that one meanie that served a very strong and bitter tea that I politely sipped (because I'd feel embarrassed to have a cup full of tea sitting in front of me), but apparently i sipped too much because the guy then refilled my cup, and the whole process started anew). Still, it's pretty cool to ask governments for $500,000. I hear I'm getting a roommate tomorrow night. All I really know about him is that he's Congolese (I'm not sure which Congo he's from), but I've decided that his name is Chris Turk (or maybe Cal Turk) and that he's going to medical school with me next year. Speaking of medical schools, I got my first interview invite. The double L. Yeah boy. Someone tell Erik Nielsen hi for me. Danielle, maybe call him or something. Or at least get me his email address; I seem to have lost it or never known it in the first place.