so.tired.

cant'.even.think.

sister.has.been.sick.

please.don't.let.me.get.sick.

i.can't.believe.this.is.happening.again.

Oh, LORD, I need Your strength!

Driving to work just now I heard a commercial on the radio.  It was advertising some sort of business or something, I was not paying that much attention. But then the directions to find this place caught my attention. 

Now let me translate that, but before I do, please remember that this is in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, and a pretty big city:

Focusing just on the second part of the directions: 'up' cannot mean north, because that is what "towards the lake" means, so what does 'up' mean?? It means east.  How do we just know that?  Because 'abajo' or 'down' means toward the ocean, as in down in elevation.  The ocean is to the west, so 'up', or 'away from the ocean', clearly means east!

Now for the more interesting/confusing first part of the directions: "From where the such and such building was..."  How in the world is anybody supposed to know where that building was unless they have lived here forever?  Don't worry, you are in luck: if you so happen to get into the general proximity of where a currently nonexistent building still holds authority through it's directional purposes, there may very well be a wall with the words "This was the such and such building" painted on it, and from there you can direct yourself around. If you know where the lake/ocean is in relation to your totally turned around world at this point That is only if you are lucky enough to stumble on the historical site though!

Life in Managua sure is interesting! But it is kind of comforting to know that even if a business moves or a tree gets cut down, people still remember what is was and where it was in relation to the rest of the city; and, in memorial, I believe, use it to give directions in the future. 

I love life and it's adventures!

Happy Thanksgiving,
~KathrynMichael

As I have mentioned before, my office "building" has a courtyard which all of our offices face.  I love seeing even just a small glimpse of nature every time I look up from my compy. 

The dry season has started.  That means w*a*r*m temps and no rain for months.  So we decide to water the grass in the courtyard.  Starting at 10am.  [cringes]

After working maintenance for a year and becoming very familiar with the sprinkler system at Kuyper, I cringe when I see people watering during the day - the hottest part of the day - knowing that most of that sprinkled water, will just evaporate...

sigh.

~KathrynMichael

p.s. Going up to Jinotega this weekend! Yay for weekend adventures