Hump Day!

Wednesday - July 21, 2004

Most of today, I spent preparing for the Measles Partnership call. There was a minor drama concerning that, as well. Annick did not read the proper context into Steve Sosler’s report from Chad, and felt that the lab was being blamed for delays in the Chadian measles campaign. Far from it, Steve was only mentioning that no one knew how to work or install a new ELISA machine, and until they did, there was no way to know if the machine worked properly. Annick’s first language is French, and she does OK in English, but struggles with it. Especially when you get into subtle nuances of meaning and context. I warned Steve about it before the call, so he was ready. It’s kind of fun being a “spy” for CDC while here. I was the first one to notify CDC of the measles outbreak in Eritrea, even though a fellow CDCer was the one who told me. I suppose permanent assignees to WHO really do shed their CDC skin for the most part. Not me! My salary is paid by the people of the United States, and my loyalty remains with them. If I find useful information for CDC, I will pass it along. I may do it quietly, but I will do it. J

I had to prepare the 2005 proposal for immunization campaigns in Africa today as well. I managed to send it to a bunch of CDC assignees at different agencies. We really do control this initiative ultimately, it appears. I finished it on time, as Casey had done most of the preparation work. I had to rework the format from Robert’s instructions, but we are moving forward.

The measles partnership call went well. I had received a late update from West Africa (big surprise there), so I had to give it verbally. Otherwise, things went smoothly in the call, and it ended in 45 minutes, which was a record for brevity. I received an email from CDC telling me that I’d done a good job preparing for the call, and that they were hearing positive things about my work here. That makes me feel really good. I knew I was going what I was supposed to, but it’s nice to have some sort of feedback. My main goal coming here was to not embarrass myself or CDC. It looks like I’m on my way to accomplishing that goal and surpassing it.
Went to the gym after work for a quick workout and shower before Yinka and Moffat came over to Pet’s for dinner. I always feel better after having gone to the gym, especially getting a shower. I ended up talking with this British guy in the sauna who works with non-profits. Very interesting fellow. Apparently, his wife sent him to the gym to lose some weight and work out his frustrations from work. He said that they didn’t have water at all, so things could always be worse for me!

The dinner was fantastic. Pet went all out. We started with a soup that was just like what we had on Saturday for lunch. Very good soup. It reminds me of a thick Rahmen noodle soup. We then had spaghetti, meatballs, rice, ox tails (exactly what it sounds like), and a meat that I wasn’t sure what it is, but it was good so I ate it. I tried the ox tail, but I couldn’t stomach it. They literally chop the tail off an ox, and you just suck the meat and fat off the bone. At least that is what everyone did but myself. I tried the meat, and it reminded me of roast beef. There was so much fat and stuff that I couldn’t continue. Yinka and the others literally stripped their tail bones of all attachments. They all loved it. I like everything else though, and ate a couple of helpings. For dessert, Yinka had made these toffee brownies, which were DELICIOUS. By then it was 9:30pm, and it was time for everyone to depart.

I read a bit, and then watched the start of this soft porn movie that was on the TV. I couldn’t believe it. Obviously, Pet was not up watching TV! It was called “Bare Betrayal” or something like that. It was about this radio talk show host who sets up dates on the air. Well, her boyfriend/manager is meeting these girls, having sex with them, and killing them. All in an effort to boost ratings. Every 5 minutes, there would be this explicit sex scene with women who had fake boobs. It got to be too much, so I turned it off. Now I’m ready for sleep.