Spring and Things

I had the interview at the college. They called me back for a walk through of some of the building and laboratories I would be working in and around and with. I'm calling it a second interview. I was informed that I'm the top candidate for the position. That's a wow for me. It's a job I think I could like. The whole process is a little long and drawn out. I submitted my resume at the beginning of March, got my first interview at the end of March and if everything checks out I'll have the job by the end of April. Two months to get a job. It's a little more condusive to someone already working and living here. I'm lucky I'm in the situation I'm in.

It's springtime. I know mostly because of my allergies but also because of the show of flowers here and there and the occasional warm day. Last week there was a day I had to be outside. I decided to have a picnic lunch and sit in the sun and allow my skin to feel its heat. There is a park behind my apartment. It's a long skinny park with several playgrounds, some large boulders and patches of daffodils. I found a sunny grassy area behind a large boulder still in site of the road and maybe 20 feet from a playground. While still enjoying my lunch and listening to some tunes a man approached me and told me I needed to move. I was in a very dangerous area where men do crack. It was very dangerous. I actually did see some men go down the hill behind me and thought they were likely involved in drugs but I also was aware of the middle school kids going through the area I was sitting, the young man who thought one of the boulders would be ideal to sit on so he could write in a notebook and the little ones with their adults on the playground 20 feet away. Was it enough for me to be aware of my surroundings in the middle of a warm sunny day?

Some friends are coming into town this weekend. We're going to a couple shows including Sizwe Banzi is Dead. I find out what's going on around town when I listen to NPR and found out about this show while listening. Though I never read it while I was in The Gambia I know this play is part of the West African Exam Council's curriculum and I remember one of my Peace Corps friends teaching it to some of the grade 10 kids. I'm really looking forward to seeing this play.

For a month or two I was aware of a mouse coming to visit the apartment. He left his evidence in some of the drawers and on countertops as mice do. Late last week his addiction to peanut butter got the best of him and he was caught. A week or so before he was caught it was evident that the air mattress I've been sleeping on since October was no longer suitable for sleeping on. I realized Saturday as I was folding up the mattress and realized that it was likely the mouse who lead to the end of my days sleeping on an air mattress. I think he wanted to burrow into my bed. It came a little earlier than expected, but I'm finally sleeping on a real mattress, not even a futon. It really is just so nice. I'm not so happy that a mouse visited my apartment but maybe I am happy about it...