Not Dead
on Phil Bradfield (The Gambia), 05/Jul/2010 17:41, 34 days ago
(Written 05/07/2010 16:45, La Parisienne Cafe, Fajara)First up, let me assure you all that I am not dead, injured or in any way incapacitated. I also apologise to those of you who noticed the lack of postings over the last couple of weeks (the rest of you obviously don’t care enough, so you don’t deserve an apology). It’s been a busy time: lots of visitors to the island, a couple of manic days at work, and that was all topped off by our internet access being cut off for the last four days of the month. For the second month in a row, we exceeded our downloadlimit before the month was out. When it happened, I was told that apparently the office’s wireless internet coverage extends outside the office compound to the schools and teachers’ accommodation next door, and we know that a lot of those teachers have the wireless password, so we reckon that’s where it’s all gone. It would have been handy if someone had told me about this last month after the first time it happened, but hey, these things happen. I’ve changed the network key now, so we shouldn’t have any more problems with our allowance for a while.If you were paying attention when you started reading this post, you’ll have noticed that I’m not in JJB right now, but back in Kombos. VSO’s Annual Conference is tomorrow and Wednesday, so I’ve travelled down to attend that. I wasn’t sure whether it was worth making the journey until a few days ago, but last week made my decision for me. Wasn’t the greatest of weeks: there were a couple of very pressurised days, and the fact that I was suffering a (self-inflicted, I admit) lack of sleep at the time made them seem even worse than they were. And simultaneous to this came the dawning realisation that my work plan may be fundamentally flawed, and oneof the major tasks which I set myself (at the urging of the Director) may actually be impossible, or at least way,waymore effort than the results would merit. If I feel like it at a later date, I may post more detail, but I don’t really feel like discussing it right now.So in the end, the conference came at a convenient time. A chance to spend some time in the Kombos, see some different people, get away from the McCarthy Island cabin fever, and think about something different for a while. I think in retrospect it may have been a good idea to have come down a couple of weeks earlier for a bit of a refresher. But hey, 20-20 hindsight and all that. I’m here now, that’s what matters, and hopefully I’ll be able to relx a bit and to get some clear thinking done now that I’m in a completely different environment.