Swamp
Confessions of an Academic Pseudo-Giraffe
18.2.05
A few things I’ve done since a week ago
- Gradually and painfully composed a little section dealing with “Auster’s Politics of Marginality” in my dissertation. It’s part of a chapter called “The Urban Downward Spiral”.
- Joined a gym, with the objective of breaking the unbearable pattern of physical inactivity. For a number of reasons, I’ve exercised less in the last three months than ever before since toddlerhood. The climate and environment make running difficult, I haven’t had a chance to play ball games… At this time of the year, I’d prefer skiing in pristine snow somewhere in the deep woods of central Finland. Hopefully the next three months are enough to repair most of the damages before I fly back north for the summer.
- Wiped some ketchup off Tuisku’s tail. He likes to observe at close range when we eat.
- Discussed the Bolshevik Revolution with a taxi driver. He was mostly interested in whether or not it really happened (this culture, it seems, really teaches you not to take any information at face value). It did, I said. If it hadn’t, I might be Russian.
- Read in disbelief that the local Media Council has forbidden the performance of Eve Ensler’s Vagina Monologues in Ntinda, apparently due to the title (I know, monologues intimidate some people). The parliament is being briefed on the matter. Last week, a minister declared in the New Vision that the play is part of an international conspiracy to undermine the pure values of Ugandans. For the record, this is a country where the death penalty and polygamy are legal, teachers “defiling” (raping) pupils constitute a wide-spread problem, and the level of corruption still wavers relatively high. No doubt the play poses a threat to all this moral purity.
- Sweated a lot. This has been the hottest week so far during my stay, with temperatures well above
- Sent a text message (“I’ll come for the shoes at six tonight”) to the wrong person, someone I barely know.
- Seen our Toyota RAV4 for the first time. And tested it this morning. The combination of left-hand side traffic, automatic transmission, and the Kampala morning jam provided an interesting way to start driving after a few months’ break.
- Heard from a friend that the LRA rebels, some of whom still continue their desperate warmongering in the northern part of the country, are sometimes generous enough to offer the people they ambush a chance to decide on their own fate. Three options: 1. death, 2. arms hacked off, 3. legs hacked off.
