Beginning with my June 2008 post "It's Been Five Years," the following is the continuing story of my travels from the United States into Micronesia ~ Pohnpei, Guam and Saipan ~ and my life since June 2003.
Thursday, October 09, 2003 ~ Pohnpei
It's been yet another week since I wrote last. Writing helps me process, but sometimes I just need to absorb, and not process.
Gnats, little ants, tiny little mite-like things crawling on my computer screen at the office and home. Unavoidable. More of the mite-like things at the office than here. I worry they'll fritz a connection inside the computer one day. Ants are incredible here. Leave some food on the floor for ten minutes and they're marching to it, to carry it away. Things like dead spiders too. If anyone comes to visit, and wants to stay at my house, ants are a fact of life. Haven't seen many cockroaches, a few small German variety is about it. Nothing like what we used to see on Kwaj, or that I used to see in Montgomery.
But I was musing yesterday that this place is really something in terms of poisonous or dangerous flora and fauna. The only animal species to be wary of are centipedes, which I've never seen, and the toads or frogs ~ which come out like a plague at work when it rains. No other indigenous animal life that is poisonous or bites, other than maybe the mosquitos, which isn't a problem at my house as there's good ventilation and not much standing water, as there is at the villages. Nothing like poison ivy or poison oak. Just about all the flora is edible or medicinal.
My household goods arrive tomorrow morning, my time. The ship came in yesterday. I notice new fresh food and different items in the store too. Must be from the same ship.
I don't know where I'm going to put the stuff that comes in. I've really gotten used to living even more spartanly than I did in Montgomery. I should have left my washer and dryer and bought them or a smaller version here. I won't be able to get them through the door of the little storage shed where the hookups are, and the landlord's not crazy about enlarging it. Also, I think this place has termites. Which will eat everything of wood I have. I was planning on leaving everything here when or if I leave, anyway.
I can see Mars with the naked eye here. It was supposed to be very visible about a month ago, but a couple of nights ago I saw a red star or something not far from the moon. Seemed stable, not twinkling like a star would. Could've been a geo-synchynous satellite.
I think we're going to get a T-1 line and Westlaw, the legal research database, for the office, which will bring our office into the 21st century, and really give us an advantage on the Law side and Litigation side. The Law side could use U.S. statutory exemplars. The Litigation side could use access to case law precedent from the U.S., which is used when there's not FSM law on point. And there's a big absence of that. Our online dial-up time for 8 lawyers-lawyer types, only five of whom can access it at a time as we share phone lines in pairs, averages $1100 a month! One shared account we all access. A T-1 for the whole office would cost $390, and we may be able to split that by halving it with another department in our building. Westlaw will cost about $400 a month for six account passwords. And I may have figured out some other ways to add to cutting costs, which will hopefully serve me in good stead with the acting AG.
Very passive-aggressive, these people here are. Say yes, do no. And the mehn why (Americans, not the Australians, who are quite like us, but have their own quirks) pick it up in short time. Say "sorry" enough times and that's supposed to cut it, and I'm learning to do that when things get confrontational. Getting frustrated, and showing it, trying to do so gently, with certain people piece-mealing me to death. Someone asks for a ride home ~ no problem, it's on the way, there's only one road that circles the island ~ then keeps you waiting at the last minute, or want to drop by some store on the way. Locals and mehn why both do it. I go to pick up Lynn and she asks me at the last minute to run favors ~ take a $2.00 bag of rice to her brothers, get this, do that. I don't like to say no, but I do like to plan my time, and have personal expectations of where I'm going to be when.
I should be going to Chuuk (Truk) soon. Probably early next month. Planned to go next week, but Congress is coming into session and we need lawyers around.
I got desperately sick the night my stuff came came. Woke up hyperventilating, sweating, shivering, skin painful, weak, no balance. Couldn't drink enough juice. Tons and tons of it. Was a little better Friday during the day, then at night and all Saturday it started up again, just couldn't move. Weak, couldn't sit up by myself. Threw up twice. Once when Lynn gave me some Tylenol, another when she tried to administer a local remedy of some local plant in steaming water that I was supposed to inhale with a towel over my head. It was too hot and steamy. I've never felt that way. Must have been some island flu. Feeling a little better now as I got some sleep and rest last night.
Not much else to write about as I've been dead to the world the last couple of days.
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