things coming together quickly

heart beating faster day

woke up and my heart was beating faster. was up til after midnight getting my flights and hotels sorted out for my trip to ethiopia. i leave tomorrow (saturday) til oct 26th!! fly into addis ababa sat nite and stay at the beer garden inn (an actual bona fide hotel...i can't make all this stuff up, folks). then sunday at 3pm i join the US donor team from NYC coming with charity:water and we fly north to makale. then it's mondo videography of donors seeing what fresh water wells they bought. and how they have impacted forever the lives of that village. real National Geo channel stuff. i thought it might be the trip they are doing with will smith, but not this time. i think will might come later this year.

airtel

the airtel spot went away. they changed the script into a green screen animation thing. not my specialty. but all is well. i really wanted to go to ethiopia, the cradle of life in my eyes. the oldest country on earth...or at least it should be. so wild. so ancient. and such an assignment. the flights in and out of addis are terrible. ethiopian airways have a monopoly on good flight times so the connections coming and going are rough. kenya airways isn't allowed to fly in on the weekends. at any rate, i have to stay overnight on the way up and the way back. otherwise, it's like departing at 3:30am to arrive at 5:30am and wait til a 3pm flight. useless. oh well, the beer garden inn sounds good enough. recommended by CW (charity water) so i'll give it a go. a buck fifty USD per night isn't cheap. africa isn't cheap. but seeing addis after hearing about it since 1974 when i almost did famine relief there is pretty cool. airtel is off the table but the CW shoot is on and i'll be gone for 10 days. a long trek. and total adventure. yippee.

vehicle problem solved

my indian mechanic friend Mandeep came thru in the clutch and found a cool 1999 turbo diesel toyota prado for me. i saw it yesterday and drove it and ended up buying it today. he had looked at 16 prados and liked this one the best. the diesel engine is clean, has never been opened, has 110,000 km on it (68,000 miles), and was 16gr USD. in the states it be worth about $7500. the roads are brutal here and maintaining a vehicle here is hard. the roads are dirt or dusty and it's just a battle to keep a car well. this one is a cream puff in comparison. suspension is good. interior is clean. paint is decent. the whole car is sufficient. not something i'd look for in the states, but a perfect africa car for ddm. and mandeep says it can go another 200,000 kms. my heart was beating faster cuz it's an all-cash deal today. imagine carrying around 1600 ten dollar bills. that's what happened but in kenyan schillings. i had to go to the bank. first the seller wanted dollars, then said schillings as the dollar is unstable with this inflation going on. so i got 1.6 million schillings in cash in my shoulder bag and stealthed around til we got to the used car dealer. felt like a drug deal. "you got the cash? yeah, i got the cash." like i was waiting for tony montanya to bust thru the door. hilarious.

then i had to get insurance and mandeep again to the rescue. hooking me up with his broker and finally getting all that sorted. so voila, vehicle problem solved. a decent rugged, ranger-style 4wd safari-ready Prado with a snorkel intake so i can forge the mara river when its window high. pretty stinking cool overall. my german friend manny will love it. a prime africa sled. and does the job. in less than 2 weeks, i have a good dependable off-road capable ride. i can drive to the mara or lewa or cruise the nairobi game park whenever you come visit. and it's a big relief to have it sorted. especially before i leave for ETH. car problem solved. mandeep will service it when i get back and maybe we'll throw a bull bar (cattle guard) on the front bumper to keep the mutatu's (taxi vans) from cutting me off. the bars look mad max scary. and work. plus i can push water buffalo out of the way. ha. yeah, fat chance.

lodging problem solved

the other thing is the place i found in hardy. a 3 month sublet. i took it. it again was good enough and for $200 a month (that's right friends, 200) it's quite a bargain. the ole pension is looking like it'll stretch a little further. the guest house is free standing, on a secure compound, has a veranda, and is small but charming. the bulbs are low wattage and the place is dark but some new brighter energy saving bulbs will cheer it up.

it has a good sized bathroom, lots of hot water, a clothesline in the side yard to hang and dry my laundry (thinking it's a hand wash deal. hmm)

and a single bed. the decision was based on a new policy i've adopted this year, including moving to africa..."why not?". seems kinda trite, but i'm looking at this place, i can't stay at chris & lindy's forever, i'm waiting for the primo 2 bedroom to become available in february, and this place is affordable and available and furnished and and and. so, why not? and if i can't find an answer, i go for it. move to kenya full time? why not? gee, i can't think of a good reason not to! so here i am. and here is the old cabin i'll be living in.

i confess, it looks bigger thru my iphone camera : )

it's a little daunting moving into a little place all by myself. living in DTLA is surrounded by restaurants and friends. total urban. this is beyond rural, as this is a separate compound. some brit guy named clive lives in the big house. he comes and goes. maybe we'll be mates and hang, but not likely. mark & su live fairly close. but let's face it, i'm abe lincoln in a lost cabin in the woods. make it thoreau. it's outer hardy. and dark at night. no tv. which is fine. it'll be interesting. a 3 month test. me myself and i. to maybe find out why i came here. it'll be an interesting introspective time. and the reality (gulp) of moving here is soon upon me. got a car, got a place to live, got some work, but the bigger thing still lurks. what i am here for? did god lead me here? do i have a purpose here? will i find my mate here? a life long companion? work? a mission? i'm so curious to see what it is exactly that pulled me here. some bigger call? or simply moved by boredom? i'd like to think there is something significant in the big scheme of my life and death. whatever it is, i am here to see it unfold. big or small.

misc.

been raining alot this week. ETH will be sunny but also cool. highs of 73 and lows in the low 50s. even 48. have to pack accordingly. also need to sig up for swahili lessons when i get back. really want to get into that. be able to talk to the locals. here are two locals that work at chris & lindy's. zippora and thomas. so lovely. zippy speaks so softly. they both do. and they are teaching me "kitchen swa" as long as i keep asking how to say stuff.

the other favorite around here is their english mastiff Wallace. so much personality. guaranteed to make you smile. such a character. they got him in tanzania.

he's huge. and very lovable and huggable.

wrap up

so, it's been a busy 2 weeks. everything is so different. every time you spend money the currency is different, the cars drive on the left side and driving today i confess i have no feel for left side driving. knowing how wide the car is on that side, how to steer, how to drive, it's all different and awkward. but i will adjust. and am slowing adapting everyday. but when you think it's one way you see it's another way. the culture is deep and the language is a constant reminder there are two separate worlds here.

the trip to ETH should be a very wild experience. we will be going to the very remote ends of the earth kinds of places. villages from the beginning of time. in remote country. i'll try to take stills (always hard to remember to do when i'm in video mode). i'm a little nervous. wanna do a good job. make some art. but i know once i get boots on the ground with my canon 5D in my hand, i'll know what to do. and scott harrison and his wife vik are old friends and real doers. it'll be an amazing trip. and an amazing time already being here. things have happened fairly fast. i'm getting settled and moving into a new phase. the next phase of settling in. own place. own vehicle. on my own. wow. a little scary. but all worth coming for. to find a new life. maybe to find me. might be my last blog for a while. for 2 weeks maybe. but i'll try. no idea what the wifi sitch will be.

love you all. thanks for coming with me.