otium sanctum, Latin for "holy leisure", is my attempt to give a glimpse into my life. All subjects and topics may appear, from Payuer to peanuts or quantum mechanics to Quebec Lima

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Surreality best describes a three week detour...


on the path of life. Our (Steph and I) adventure in Zanzibar was transitioning into a three day safari to Maasai Mara when disaster struck. Nairobi is notorious for car jackings, and unfortunately Steph and I got to see this a bit closer than we would have wished...actually 30 eternal minutes closer. Many of these incidents can end badly, and since one punk was brandishing a pistol I feared the worse. Shock, anger, fear, sadness, anger, shock, disbelief, denial, anger, shock all seemed to float through our minds on a regular basis for the first week after the incident. The second week found us sitting at the feet of a trauma counselor in Edinburgh. It was all a bit fairy taleish (surreality is the word I invented to describe it all), as we were roamed through a large castle that was part of the property. And it was also a bit odd to be back in Edinburgh (my fall 2004 stomping grounds), hanging with friends at the Pear Tree pub, having tea with flat mates, attending my church, chatting with former professors. After 4 weeks of the high life, hell, and holistic counseling, it was sad saying farewell to my partner of a crime, but I departed south to the comforts of the Mercy Ships mansion overlooking Lake Geneva. A week there recharged my batteries, plus provided retail therapy to replace items knicked in the car jacking (mainly my watch...I'm now a proud owner of a Swiss one).