the bags under my eyes are bigger than my venti latte

I have already travelled 45 minutes by taxi, waited 4 hours in Entebbe for a delayed departure, flew 3 hours to Addis, sat on the runway in a hot plane for an hour, flew another few hours to Dubai (landed at 2 am), navigated myself through Dubai transfer area, slept 4 restless hours on the floor of the airport, and found a Starbucks to take a bit of the edge off. As I sit at my departure gate awaiting boarding for a 16-hour flight, I am conscious that I am only about 1/3 of the way home. Times like these, I ask myself why I live so bloody far away from home?

Death by Giant Cattle or Agama Lizard?

I think my animals have death-wishes. Today I took a walk with my dog. It is not unusual for us to encounter a wide array of animals as we walk the neighborhood: goats, chickens, birds, squirrels, stray dogs and cats. Benvolio likes to chase chickens and tests the power of his leash if a goat gets within pouncing range. However, he is usually smart enough to leave the cattle alone, especially the cattle with horns that are longer than any of my limbs. Not today, though. We were walking by a few grazers when suddenly, Ben decides to initiate play…. with a 1,000 lb cow! Luckily I was able to ward the cow off and get my dog away before we got mauled. Gee whiz! Who know walking could be so treacherous!

Check out a picture of a typical Ugandan cow (stolen from Wikipedia):


My cat also seems to want to die. This week she took on an Agama lizard and lost a chunk of her nose in the process. I understand when she chases geckos, but Agamas are half her size. Well maybe not half, she's a tubby cat. At least, proportionately, the lizard was a better match for her than the cattle was for my dog.

An Agama lizard sunning at ISU: