Hooray! It's a commentary fiesta!!

No comment.

No comment.

No comment.

That's what some of you have been complaining about with this blog - that you can't comment. Well, to open it up to the masses and to show the world that Brat and Kat aren't just exclusive friends that only care about people with registered friendship memberships (yes, you all do know that you've signed up for the annual friendship membership, don't you?), we've (well, that's me more than Kat) opened up the comment section so you can post a comment just by typing in some little security comment. I think I may have disabled anonymous commenting before because we had some guy called Jimmy (ala the Killer Prawns variety) claiming to want to fix our disastrous meal experience at "his" franchise. Whatever. You can all comment to your hearts' content now (that includes Jennifer Kruger... woohoo - you've got your name on the internet and it's on GOOGLE now).

That's a commendable performance, don't you think?? (get it? commendable... commentable...)

Home!

Yay I'm home, I love being back in the land of plenty where there are endless food options, my lovely bed, transportation, internet and of course, Bryan!

I totally pigged out on dairy loaded food almost as soon as I touched down in Jhb - started with an iced coffee, then cheese and crackers at home, lazagne and salad (with dad's salad dressing..yum!), mugg and bean club sandwich the following day and then ended the reign of dairy with a large American iced coffee...then I felt horribly ill and had to forgo the dairy again :(
It was great though :) !!!!

Back at work and struggling with all the same work issues as before, but thanks to everyone who followed my trip and sent comments and encouragement and prayers!

update on day 6

Okay for all of you stressing away...I'm absolutely fine...we bypassed all the bad stuff by hiring a plane to fly us from Mbarara to Entebbe airport for a vast sum of money! But we were strongly advised to avoid Kampala and seeing as you have to go through there to get to the airport it was a choice of stay in Uganda in the south until the unrest died down but with no guarantee this would happen or fly out today.

So we make the safe option and are in a hotel near the airport and travelling to the airport tomorrow morning at 5am!!! for our normal flights.

So I have seen none of the action apart from the newspaper and the American team that just landed for the week basically did a U-turn and flew out tonight so we are gonna follow their example just to be safe.

But totally fine - thanks everyone for prayers and concerns! xoxo

Uganda - Day 6 and all chaos breaks out!!

So there I was this morning up early, showered and ready for the 5 hour trip back to Kampala with my suitcase packed and ready. Riots broke out yesterday in Kampala so I was watching the news this morning to see what was happening but the news was pretty useless. We stopped at the office to join their study meeting and then got in the car to drive the long 5 hour trip to Kampala. Half way there we heard that the road to Entebbe has been closed, 5 buses have been burned and it was too dangerous to continue. So we literally did a U-turn and have come all the way back to Mbarara.

We have spent the last hour drawing massive amounts of money from our personal banks to charter a flight into Entebbe airport so that we can bypass the closed roads and shooting police and rioters so we can get on that flight home tomorrow morning.

I am assured that riots like this haven't happened in the past 5 years so it's just one of those freaks things. The lady collecting wads of cash for our flight to Kampala seems pretty unreliable so lets hope this isn't an indication of the pilot's skills!!!

I hope you are all praying that we make it home safely cos it has been an adventure so far and who knows what could happen next..Pray for peace in Uganda please, I'm quite keen to get home to my hubby :)

Bryan nobody reads our blog on weekdays :(

So nobody has commented on the great Uganda trip since Sunday - it's very disappointing - if you are reading at least drop me and email or a comment so I know my friends and family are still alive!

Uganda - Day 5

I didn’t sleep well again – think am missing Bryan next to me and it is getting hotter and my stomach has not been handling all the fried food. It was quite cool tho last night cos we got fish and chips and coleslaw last night but the batter on the fish is so greasy and weird…keep asking for grilled fillet but I don’t think anybody understands.

Not much happening today, but a good surprise was that we got picked up from University Inn so we didn’t have to trek up the road. We got dropped off at the hospital to visit the study blood draw clinic and see how they do things there. Was quite impressed by their laptop/printer/label printer setup where they were printing out necessary forms and labels in real-time as patients arrives and they also were updating their database with information. I got some ideas about how I can improve my own scheduling database and it was really great to see how efficient and organized they were.

I brought a jersey with me in case of rain but I suspect today is just gonna be super hot…I was very relieved to have brought a tuna snack pack with me so I had some lunch and I also dug into the chocolate bar I brought with – didn’t think I could handle any more Ugandian food at this point. Poor Huub only managed to get a cake to eat for lunch because we are sitting waiting for cars to take us on home visits. For those of you who have been on mission to Moz, these are not the usual home visits, they are surprise visits to check patients are taking their medication and count the pills they have left J

So right now the Research Assistants are drawing straws for who gets to take me or Huub and then we are going out to the homes.

Okay have just come back from the house visits – it was pretty cool. We went to an old 75 year old lady who could hardly see and she had been taking her meds a bit wrong because she couldn’t see the bottles which was not good. She looked okay though and apparently only doesn’t take her meds when she doesn’t have food because they make her feel sick on an empty stomach. The next lady we visited way out in the bushes (the 4x4s shock absorbers were gone so it was a bumpy ride on dirt roads but fun) had 5 kids they were sooo excited to see the 4x4 and were very cute. This lady is quite young and she and her husband are on treatment and she was taking her meds almost exactly at the same time each day. They have bottles that electronically record each time they are opened so we could see she was opening the bottle of meds same time each day. She ran out to give us a bunch of bananas just as we were leaving. On the way back the 4x4 either got nails in the front tires or stones cos we heard them chinking all the way back. Thankfully you can withdraw Ugandan shillings from ATMs here if you also have a Visa card so I got enough money to pay the hotel. 200 000 shillings = R792.44 today!

It’s pretty hot and I’m all sweaty but yay nearly home, have enjoyed the visit though. Tonight we are going Lord's Bar...sounds like some dodgy dive but luckily we are going with a local!

Msungu = white person

Uganda - Day 4

Restless night because the Mosque kept yodelling all night and then bells were ringing ..was all rather bizarre. Also my bath mat has disappeared and a towel...maybe they only have one and move it to new people's rooms :P

My tummy is grouching because I had hot milk with my breakfast (used my stash of mueseli) but we had quite a nice lunch at a place called City Top (an Indian food restaurant) where I had a toasted chicken sandwich..it only had 3 bones in it.

So we went through all the data management stuff for the day which I have to suss out about whether it is a better system than others...quite a tough task but it was impressive to see how well established they have their processes. I finally got a picture of the ugly bird called a Maribo Storka and we had rain again this afternoon which was nice and has cooled the place down (apparently we have hit the rainy season).

Everyone seems very nice and friendly and I even met someone who is considering a masters in Medical InNformatics at UKZN and people all know Chris Seebreghts, who Bryan studied with, cos he developed a system called OpenMRS which is being used at the HIV clinic.

Otherwise a nice sedate day and I'm not sure what we will be doing this evening ...it's always a challenge to find good food. Will post picture of last night's supper and Huub's (he ordered Irish rice which turned out to be Irish potatoes, rice, two types of pasta and that was it! a all starch white plate meal :P)

Anyway, here's hoping we get something edible - I wonder if it will be safer to crack open a tin of tuna and my carefully preserved slab of chocolate for such a situation!

Am pretty tired but also it's pretty boring here - could do with an x-box!!!! Would love to fight some zombies or play a computer game!

Byyeeee

Uganda - Day 3

Alright so this is still pretty early in the day but I’ll fill you in on the day’s events so far. I had a really good sleep last night after we were taken out to dinner to the best restaurant in Mbarara at the Agip Hotel. It wasn’t too fantastic but I guess it’s good food for here and I didn’t get ill so all in all a good experience. We did talk work till 9pm with Nneke the director which was cool but also after such a long day it was exhausting…entertaining watching the mosquito’s buzzing around like a halo above Huub’s head…think they liked his hair for something…at least it kept them away from me!

I was so happy to see my bed and have a shower that I slept pretty well and after being offered an opportunity to move to a nicer hotel 5 minutes away – I was happy to stay where we are. It’s clean and they had closed my windows and shut my curtains before I got back so no Mozzies and a comfy bed. Only problem was pillows..ended up sleeping without because they were overstuffed.

So I woke up at 7:30, had a shower and washed my hair cos I have a sneaking suspicion that damp hair my attract the mozzies at night and had breakfast. It was pretty decent and I even got a fried egg on toast..have learnt to take bananas to go so that I have food when I need it because there is no telling where you get food next…like now I’m waiting for lunch but without transport it can be a bit of a pain.

We were picked up at 8:30 and taken to the HIV clinic linked to the Mbarara hospital called MUST and given a tour of the clinic and explained their systems…I was quite excited to see their MS Access databases in the pharmacy and reception and then their 15 data capturers upstairs capturing all the data. They have an internal network and internet connection, 2 servers and are capturing in Open MRS for the clinic. It was quite impressive although I wondered about their servers in such a hot room full of people. The hospital was pretty bad in comparison, it seemed somewhat clean and orderly but at the same time was overflowing with people, smelly and obviously almost bereft of any equipment and medication which was really sad.

All over the place are these hideous birds with huge beaks called Mbora (or something like that) that eat garbage and bones…think they are basically scavenging vultures..must take a pic and post it although I can’t seem to get the pics online at present.

This afternoon Huub is presenting about the study that will be started at Prince Myisheni hospital (which I have to get an internet connection set up for and a database program in place). Then hopefully a quiet evening where we get a decent meal and I can go to bed early and read my book J

Okay so day has ended at 6pm – had a really late lunch of chicken (non-discernable pieces) and meeting ended now.

Battery ran out and because Bryan and mom organized me a charger, I’m able to finish up by describing supper…not the greatest..I asked for potatoes and fish and veg. Got fried twirls of fish (at least no bones), ”Irish potatoes” (normal boiled potatoes) and cabbage and carrots. Yet to find a great meal in Uganda! At least there was some entertainment at supper: a group of people (young internationals) travelling through Africa met with a big speed hump driving their truck/bus too fast and the driver sustained bad neck and back injuries…the result was the British Embassy sending a helicopter to airlift him out to Nairobi and a whole pack of students staying at the University Inn…they’re noisy right now ..have taken up all the rest of the rooms and some are camping in the grounds in front of my room. Can’t find my three pieces of papar that I wrote all about today on so am hoping I can find them tomorrow!

Image for the day: A boda-boda (motorbike taxi) driving past with a guy on the back holding up both hands with a giant long fish in them! Couldn’t get a pic in time because I nearly got run over…no rules on the roads!

Uganda - Day 2

Okay so Day 2 of the Uganda trip…equally exhausting…I had to get up earlyish for the next stage which was a drive from Kampala to Mbarara in the South West of Uganda. I tried to save money by having a piece of toast with peanut butter and jam and a juice and banana but it cost $5 (R40 for that!!!!). During the day Bryan is racing around trying to figure out whether to put a purchase in on a house back home so we have rather haphazd sms’s going back and forth between us…which I notice are disturbing our driver who must be wondering who in Uganda I already have a connection with.

Our driver Herbert (I discovered that’s how you spell it even though he pronounces it Hubbard) must have stoked up well on breakfast because it took over 6 hours to get here and all he did was buy a bunch of bananas for sustinance. We crossed the equator earlier in the day which was exciting but I suppose we must have crossed it when we flew in anyway…but we stopped at a café there on the equator and had black tea “with spices” (which meant ginger…good for the stomach) and fried ciabatta chips (like pasta chips) and guacamole. I bought a pretty scarf but was disappointed that an American before me bought the best one L

The roads were pretty horrendous and under construction most of the way, a terrible accident ahead held us up (4 children killed in a bakkie which went off the road due to a truck carrying sweet potatoes…the awful thing was seeing it being towed away and what looked like a child’s body still in the squashed bakkie). L uckily we had a 4x4 because the potholes got worse and worse, we saw zebra, buck and cows which huge horns on the way and finally arrived in Mbarara where I then paid $220 for the trip!!!! Eeek!

I was at the point where I couldn’t keep my eyes open and we had just been shown to our rooms in the University Inn when we were told we were due for a meeting at the site and had to jump back in the 4x4 to get there. I’m currently typing this up while at the site because I probably won’t have internet later tonight and anyway I’m preparing for an early night and a battle with the mosquitos in the very basic accommodation in comparison to the Protea Hotel. Photo’s may have to be posted at a later stage!

So we are waiting for a meeting with the clinic team and I’m wondering where my next meal will be coming from…I may have to crack open a can of tuna and crackers. The good news is that we get breakfast and we can recover from the road trip for the next 3 days. I’m dreading the return trip…I’ll be bagging the back seat for a snooze back I think.

Here are some Ugandan words I learnt:

Agandi - hello

Nyahoo – I’m fine

Omigati - bread

Webare – thank you

Kat's first day in Uganda

Hey everyone, so I landed in Entebbe airport about 3 hours ago and am totally exhausted but my first look at Uganda was beautiful. Evening was falling and the sun was setting over Lake Victoria and there was mist over the lake and all it was all grey merging with the grey lake with glimpses of a big cherry, red sun between the mist. I took some shots from the plane as we were flying in which I will try add in. The we is Huub and I....Huub is a doctor who has just joined HPP.
After some confusion about getting to Kampala (we discovered a driver "Herberb" had been sent for us and he was standing waiting with our names.."Huub and Katherine") we took ages getting in because there was so much traffic. It was amazing to see so many shops open at night with neon lights or flourescent lights on ...apparently they stay open till late...I think these Ugandans must work hard. Traffic was pretty similar to driving at night in Mozambique except there were fewer potholes.
Luckily I got dropped off first at my hotel cos I was yawning away in the back of the car (think it was a bakkie/jeep/landrover)...I love the hotel. Am in the Protea Hotel in luxury waiting at this moment for room service to deliver my hawaiian burger cos I'm too tired to go sit in the restaurant and use up my complimentary voucher for a free bottle of wine.

Super stoked there is wireless complimentary here so I can chat to Bryan and everyone else but looking forward to a good shower and then a long sleep. We are driving to Mbarara tomorrow - a 4 and a bit hour drive so that should be fun...sad I will be leaving the lap of luxury :P

Missing my hubby but after some sleep I should be able to get excited about this adventure :)

Left3Dead

Simon Clur's back in town.

For a bit of catch-up, we've organised a few sessions of 4 player co-op Left 4 Dead (L4D) madness, with the three core being Kat, Simon, and me, and whenever he's available, Oltman would make up the 4th. Last night we chose to indoctrinate a n00b into our survivor squad - WezFlash.

Sunday saw Simon enjoying a meaty triple-stacker Debonairs pizza with me, and some co-op L4D together at the Bothas' (Simon's confessed that he has a soft spot for them). Sadly, Debonairs spoiled our evening a bit by either refusing to make the pizza we wanted, or refusing to deliver the pizza (two separate branches). In the end we had to drive the 3.6km by road to pick it up ourselves (I make a point of this since their terms say 5km radius). This is not the end of this argument and I am already chasing it up with customer care.

Last night Simon, Kat and I enjoyed a nice dinner at Chez Nous, and then a late night stint of Left 4 Dead.

It was good to catch up and reminisce over the good old (young?) days.

Our apartment in Westville

Have some of you wanted to know what our troublesome flat looks like? Well, it's troublesome in the sense that we have had to deal with some super greedy foreigners and some super stupid (and incompetent) estate agents who just don't seem to understand anything about the expensive product they're marketing... "agents" is a very loose term for some of these idiots.

Anyway, enough ranting, here are the photographs of our flat (click on the title to go to the original FLICKR post of this picture for download options, etc. although I don't know why you'd want to download them :)):

Our Bathroom:


Main Bedroom:


Second Bedroom:


Lounge:

There is such a thing as free chocolate after all... And it tastes like Toblerone :) :)

Well what a pleasure!

Tonight Kat and I went to Woolworths to pick a nice meal for date night, and stumbled upon some real bargains!

Free chocolate, free strawberries, and R33 rotisserie chicken!

I must say, the chocolate was a bargain and very tasty. I recommend the bubbly one and the mountain one :)

Sayonara Sushi Sam the Psycho Siamese Samurai

We came home tonight and I took my traditional look at Sam's sunken sanctuary, only to discover Sam no looking so good.

Sam was very still. Very, very still. And a bit upside down.

"Uh oh. Kat. I think your fish is dead".

After the initial shock wore off, we took a brief recount of Sam's life with the (NEW) Johnstons;

Arrived December 2006 @ 767 Old Main Rd.
Moved to 3A River Drive while we were homeless ca. February 2008.
Moved to 25 Romax Court ca. July 2008.
Moved to our current home March 2009.

He's been around with us almost 3 years, which according to most websites is the average lifespan of these fish. He had a good life (and a near miss when we first got him, but we managed to save him from any fungal rot, but not from a swim bladder disorder).

S. I. P (sink in peace) Sushi Sam. You were a fun guy, and we didn't really realise it all the time :)

60s slideshow

For posterity's sake (the main gadget slideshow will change over time), here is a slideshow of some pictures I dumped on PICASA for now so you can get a taste of what fun we had at our 60th birthday party. Click to play the slideshow.