After 4:30 or so, I'll be very dark grey to dark until Wednesday. Hubs is having minor surgery on Monday, and I'll be taking care of him for a day or so.

In breaking news - I'm still not dead, although continuing to be a darker shade of black. Still in Cairo, still working, still enjoying self, still got v. erratic internet access (curses) and very little privacy when accessing same. Love to all and apologies for scarcity of group emails. (Anyone else wanting added to list can email me at nomdesouris at yahoo dot co dot uk and I'll do so - but my epistles have been few and far between.)

Recent events (within the last 48 hours) include setting up a bank account with the Bank of Oman, friend & colleague getting her money stolen from her bag, hitting Cairo to have haircut (FABULOUS new bob) and pedicure and manicure and chiropody for the glorious cost of eleven English pounds, followed by hours of getting pissed in the company of friends courtesy of a colleague who's a blackbelt, a former formula one driver, part-owner of a pub AND related by marriage to one of the most famous (or infamous) wealthy families in Saudi Arabia, and who is presently teaching Year Two (six year olds). Then yesterday we had a big kerfuffle about the arrival of the President of Egypt to the school, although it turned out to be some other bloke in the end - it was a real Schrodinger's President moment, though. Mad.

Have continued to develop taste for smoking Sheesha pipes and am working on learning Arabic - not fabulous by any means, but getting there.

A week and a half ago we had a long weekend, during which some 14 or so of us went up to the coast and stayed in a hotel on the beach - truly gorgeous. En route we visited the war cemetery at El Alamein - depressing as hell, all the more so because my grandfather was a Desert Rat out there himself. Now it's Half Term, and tomorrow I'm heading off into the White Desert with two friends and a guide - we'll be spending three nights in the desert, hopefully without too many encounters with God's more venomous or pointy-toothed creatures. It looks spectacular around there & I'm v. excited about it all.

Sorry if this is out of line - it's not Apocalyptic by any means, I know (healthma and congratulations to all as applicable, btw - this thread really is a blessing for catching up on the important stuff) but I'm painfully aware that I've vanished off the face of the earth and there's no way that y'all know that I'm okay rather than eaten by monsters/sold into slavery etc. Um. So - not dead. And missing you.

About to leave for the airport for a two week trip. I hope to be able to check in, but I will probably be pretty dark while I am gone. If you need to get in touch with me, about SF plans or anything else, emailing is the best bet.

Have a good two weeks.

Hi all - I'll be dark grey for a while, as I'm building a cemetary in my back yard ("Honey, there be dead people in de *back* yard") for Halloween. What with the board wonkiness and all, I'm not sure how often I'll be able to be here.

Miss you guys!

Buffista vibes requested for my dear friend, Lee, who will be burying her mother today.

Requesting some jobma. I really really really need to get out of my job. I am following up on a couple of things that I was working on before work got so extremely busy a couple of weeks back.

Still not dead. Western Desert absolutely fabulous. There are two things you should know about the Black Desert: one, it's a desert; two, it's black. There are three things you should know about the White Desert: one, it's a desert; two, it's white; three, it's one of the most phenomenally beautiful things I've ever seen. Really. Surreal, Star Wars-ish landscapes of astounding loveliness and weirdness, and I never wore footwear whilst we were there - the sand was exquisite. We slept under the stars, and the moon was so bright it cast shadows. Vividly. En route to the desert we stopped off in the oasis of Bahariya (not spelled like that, I expect) where Rosie acquired a lovely rug, Alex acquired some very nice baskets... and I acquired a dishevelled white kitten. Um. What can I say? I had an impulsive moment of gallantry, or stupidity, or something. Besides, it was all so very Sandman, with the whole desert thing, and very Soft Places-ish... and then there was this scruffy white kitten crying and filthy and pathetic... and now I've adopted it and called it Daniel. It's quite cute, although undoubtedly pissed off with me, as I've just spent a bloody long time out of the flat - we went to the Cairo Museum and saw heaps of things including the Tutankahmun treasures, and then we went over to Khan A Khaleili, aka The Souk/Bazaar. I have been shopalicious, have had numerous offers of marriage, and have turned every head in Cairo, male and female, because nobody seems inclined to wear great big straw hats covered in flowers these days except for me. More fool them.

Er. Again, not really apocalyptical, but - not dead! And now available with added cat! (Called Daniel, it being a good Sandmanish name.) Love y'all.

Happy news -- some of you may recall me asking for vibes for BIL ( DH's BIL) and SIL -- who were having some bad months with a difficult pregnency. Happily -- our nephew was born today - 5 lbs 6 onces -- and 19 inches long. It is too bad they are all the way across the country in a cold and snowy state - not sure when we will get to see him in real life. But it is very exciting...

I'll be dark this weekend as I'm going to OVFF .

(Ohio Valley Filk Fest, if anyone cares)

So! I know I haven't been talking about this, but my SO & I are starting our own nonprofit to do the work we've been doing under an umbrella organization. We're splitting off from them as of January, and it's been very nervewracking and confusing and filled with copious amounts of paper. For those who don't know, we do a traveling music school -- we go from place to place on the Navajo & Apache reservations here in the American southwest and teach music to kids who might not have access to music programs in their schools and communities.

Anyway, that's not the news. The news is that last night we got a phone call, and we have been awarded a major grant that will cover all the program expenses for next year! Our first one! Whohoo! We're so glad and relieved that we hardly know what to do with ourselves. We weren't even supposed to find out until December, which pushed it pretty close to our January changeover date, but our friends at the granting foundation were all excited and got permission to let us know early.

We are happy.