Healthy days are here again

Great news! I spoke with my father this weekend and he is back home and is recovering well. Of course he is still is a bit sore, but I can tell by his voice that he is doing quite well. He has already been walking around a fair bit and it seems as though the circulation in his legs is noticeably improved. It was such a relief to hear him in such good spirits. Great job dad! Im so proud of you for going through with the operation. I know it was not an easy decision.

Also, it sounds like Hetal and Doug (my kidney swapping friends) are also quite peachy. I am so relieved!

Ok, now no one else is allowed to have any major medical issues until after I come back, got it?

All this news comes on the tail of a great weekend. I really needed a break and decided to go to Colombo for the weekend. Although this is a common occurrence as I go to Colombo every few weeks for one reason or another. This trip was purely for selfish and therapeutic reasons. The whole weekend was jam-packed with social engagements (read: dinner, party, dinner, party…and maybe a bit of sleep). On Friday we went out to a club and danced until the wee hours. Then on Saturday, there was a great Halloween party at one of the UN peoples house. It was really fun and everyone dressed up. I had a great idea for a Halloween costume but was not able to pull it together in time. It was Steve Irwin, the Croc Hunter. I know, it is in extremely bad taste, but I could not resist. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending how you look at it) I could not find the props needed to make it work. So instead, I was just the naughty/sleazy devil guy who is always whispering bad ideas in your ear. The party was a blast and the music was really quite good for a change. J

So now Im back in Trinco, hard at work and trying to keep this project going. As most of you know I am coming back to the states for the holidays and cant wait to see you all. I will post more details about my plans in a later post. Ms Kitty (faye), Ms Devil (Jo), Pothead, missing his pot (Tom), Fairy (Jodi), Giant Munchkin (some strange dude), Indian Princess? (Michelle), Sleezy Devil guy (me). and yes the pencil stashe is the real deal... There is a better pic coming from another friends camera that I will post later.

Happy Halloween!

The Hardest Thing...

The hardest things about being away from home is not being able to be there for your family and friends when they need you. In so far as this point, this week has been a tough one. Last Thursday my friend Hetal in SF had kidney transplant surgery and received a healthy kidney from our friend Doug Held. And now, as I type this entry, my father is having surgery to install a bypass tube from an artery in his chest to his legs to supply blood as the main vessels are 100% blocked to his legs.

The good news is that both Hetal and Doug’s procedure went smoothly and they are making surprisingly seedy recovery. It’s truly amazing what medicine is capable of these days.

I’m hoping that my father’s procedure goes as smoothly. My sister and her beautiful girls are there in Milwaukee with his wife Polly. I’m stuck in Trinco in this pond called Sri Lanka and was unable to come there to be with my Dad. Even calling is not easy due to the 11 ½ hour time difference and the piss-poor reception I have at my house.

I know my father was not looking forward to this procedure, considering that 9 months ago he underwent open-heart surgery. But he was strong and made the decision to go ahead with the procedure so that he would be able to enjoy all the things he loves like working outdoors at ‘Hawk Ridge’, snowmobiling, and being able to stroll through the beautiful woods of northern Wisconsin in which he makes his home.

So, all I can say or do is say ‘hang in there guys’! You are all in my thoughts and I really wish I could be there to give you my love and support. And thanks to my sister Michelle for picking up the slack for her baby brother while I am on the other side of the world trying to work this adventure out of my system.

I wish a speedy recovery to you all and am so sorry I can’t be there with you. I can’t wait to see you in December/January.

Much peace and love.

Back to the field....

Things are progressing nicely on our housing construction project, at least for the time being. we will see what the rainy season has to say about that. Our proect is on track to be completed in March 2007, a date that I am looking forward to for sure! I have been making several trips up to the field and thought that I would share some recent pics.

One day I showed up at the site and the my field manager informed me that the local government agents would like me to attend a meeting they were having to organize the local Community based Organizations (CBOs). We will work with these CBOs for implementation of our livelihood project in the comming months. We will be providing trainings and livelihood inputs (read: seeds and cows) for the CBOs. Of course the meeting was conducted in Tamil and I didnt have a clue what they said...


We completed nearly all 100 foundations and are noew constructing the first few homes. Its great to see some above-ground progress!

Working out issues in the field... Note the OSHA approved footwear. 

More Oddities

Well its time for another installment of oddities that I have observed in Sri Lanka.

I found this stick bug while I was near trinco buying a bunch of fresh prawns and crabs (13 lbs for 13 USD!) Last night I saw a praying mantis while we where having dinner, but I didnt have my camera...

This spider was living outside my old house. If you look closely, this guy looks like he has Felix the cat jumping on his back.

This is one of my friends little kitty. She is pretty cute. Puppies and kittens are ubiquitous here as NO ONE gets their animals fixed and they all roam the streets.