TOP TEN & UPDATE May 28, 2008

May 28, 2008

TOP TEN

You know crime is bad when. . .

10. No one buys cars with radios. And they remove radio faces every time they leave the car.

9. Poor people blame other poor people for crime and use the word “poor.”

8. When you are in a country of majority Black people, and you can still scare some

white people when you try to ask directions.

7. You’re safer in a rough, poor neighborhood than in an affluent, rich one.

6. Rich people who were born in Cape Town have never heard of the name of your

neighborhood or suburb.

5. People from destabilized countries with on-going wars would rather be back in their

country.

4. Women are allowed to run red lights after 11 at night to protect themselves.

3. People ask you how many times you’ve been mugged or carjacked or robbed, not

IF you have been mugged or carjacked or robbed.

2. While you are being mugged or carjacked you have a conversation with your

mugger about how his day is going and about how yours is.

1. While having a pleasant conversation with your mugger or carjacker about both

of your days, you actually say yours was pleasant and great even though you are

being robbed.

UPDATE

Not much going on here. I’m just either writing, making a solution, or grading an exam, a test, or a project. Other than that, I forgot to mention I started a choir at my church?? What! Yeah, it’s been great for me. I don’t care about busy; it’s been something I needed. I have no instrument at all here and I used to play an instrument every day (it’s a part of me). So it’s so nice to get back into music—and conducting at that! What a powerful experience. And that’s just with a mediocre choir that is not used to following you. Imagine conducting a group who so closely follows your very movements (partly through good practices and rehearsal) that you actually do interpretively control the output of the choir. It’s both humbling and awe-inspiring, just beautiful.

It’s strange being away because sometimes you feel far from people and sometimes you feel near. It was really wonderful to talk to a friend, Terrell via Skype. I still have yet to get my mother to use it, so for now, I still call. But one day. . .! I have two girl friends who have boyfriends about whom I have heard through other friends; in other words, my two girl friends did not tell me about their boyfriends which is a bit weird or interesting. To be fair, when this was first written, one hadn’t told her sister, mother, or father, either.