Note to Mom

Hey there. Mom you have made another very busy day end on a happy note. "A lush and a pothead" I am smiling and giggling all the way out to the gin cabinet.

Gin, called Captain, my Captain, is cheap and not a whole lot more intoxicating than water. But it fits nicely in the colonial attitude that we seem to suffer here at THEM. Way too many folks here are so driven as to forget that we are here to ASSIST and not TAKE OVER. Yet daily I listen to people condescend and command and complain about the things they see and the things accomplished (or not accomplished) by our local staff. I hate it but it is something I have to 'suck up' so to speak as there is no purpose in destroying relationships so early in my mission. Do what we can do and then let the rest go. This is how I speak but it is not returned. To those people I say "pick another agency, a development agency or learn to leave alone 'sustainability'."

Work here is 0800-1700 hrs Mon-Fri and 0800-1100 Sat. Effectively this translates to 24/7 as we live on base and well...can always be found when the shit hits the fan. The hospital and clinics work every day and so sometimes things happen on a Sunday for example. I have remained steadfast in my demand for respect for my work hours and have been known to wave people off during non-work hours (I have learned that emergencies are mostly not really emergencies and that things often work out fine without my help. Remembering that someone's emergencies are not my own is important as we all have different thresholds and definitions of the work we possess (often described as "passion" and often used to judge the amount of work and passion in others. To hell with them I say, I do my work and do it well.))

Everything is fine and all works out well. No problom mon!