Critters and Spectacles

if you don't play "no woman, no cry" you suck, mon

What a lovely, gorgeous night. I drove home tonight after a meeting with the sunroof open, all the windows down, music blasting, wind in my hair, honeysuckle on my breath, blissful with the world. I miss my convertable. Summer days (and oh yes, summer is here with a vengance) can be unbearably hot, but oh those summer niiiiiiiiights. So beautiful and comfortable and lovely. Caresses of warm air against your skin and you can feel it when you drive into a spot that was shady during the day.

As I turned into the driveway, the radio started to play the first few notes of "No Woman, No Cry" and I had to laugh. First of all, I love the song, its sorrowful/hopeful melodies and tones. "Everything's gonna be all right" indeed. But at the beginning of sophomore year, my college had a reggae party with a band in the amphitheatre of our campus. A friend who typically didn't drink had gotten himself liquored up good. We found him standing in the middle of the amphitheatre, rubbing his belly and yelling, "If you don't play 'No Woman, No Cry' you suck, mon." Hi-freaking-larious.

It's been a while since I last posted, and a lot has been going on. We've signed a contract on a house and we'll be moving to Old Greenbelt, MD at the end of July. The couple that's selling is wondful and has made the whole process as stress-free as possible. We're sad that Ryan & Ann are moving away, but we're already making plans to visit them in WV. My parents were here in May and we were on Capitol Hill when it was evacuated. We ended up having a nice meeting with our Georgia representative under the trees in a nearby park. Not too shabby. Work is busy but good, but frustrating when it comes to making travel arrangements for a Cameroonian to fly to Brazil via Johannesburg and Paris. It doesn't look like it's going to work out, which is a huge disappointment after all the hours that I've invested in it. C'est la vie.

On the horizon is another hugely busy weekend (can't complain too much about that!), a July baby shower for my best friend from home, packing, moving, settling in and enjoying our new home. Our first. We're very blessed, very grateful, and very, very deeply indebted. Both to the mortgage company and to everyone that is looking out for us. Thanks be to God (and not at all in an ironic way).