So Much More...

this weekend i got dstv installed. so watching tv will take on another dimension. with over 50 channels on offer and only 9 of much use the stress on the thumb is reduced. you only have to flip through nine locations not fifty. i think dstv should have a configuration where you can weed out channels after you must have chosen a bouquet and paid for it. making the decoder yet another piece of furniture. the sitting room is taking shape soon it will have real chairs and sitting room.

last week my landlord installed a pay as you use electrical meter for me. instinctively i started turning off all my lights. i am learning how to conserve power. the rules my dad tried to inculcate in me and my siblings many years ago came very naturally. i guess when you are doing the paying you become more conscious of waste. turning off the lights after leaving a room became the most logical thing to do. i even leave the lights in the sitting room off given that the dining area gives enough illumination and the tv too. in 5 days i have used up only 5 units and i got 133 units worth do the math! i expect a slight increase though when i get the air conditioner installed.

the valentine week had an intriguing but sad story on the news. some guy who had participated in a talent hunt show was in hospital in critical condition from attempted suicide. the story goes that ‘some people’ (parents i presume) didn’t want him to marry his five month pregnant girlfriend. i didn’t know people still thought of dying for love. i thought that concept might have ended with Christ. i wouldn’t want to go into the rationality of his actions but i think suicide was a bit extreme. i mean the girlfriend is pregnant what about the kid?

on saturday i finally got to use an atm. i didn’t quite need the technology prior to now. my ‘money management’ skills are highly advances so i never really needed to own one. i think now that i’m still settling in with the flux in the ‘management’ system i guess the atm is handy as yet. once i’m done with the capital expenditures i will revert to the working system. the atm charges are crazy!

If you are single wear Red, be at the Aphrodisiac on Thursday

this is a valentine's special.

the caption is from something i overhead on the radio. singles were asked to wear red and show up at the aphrodisiac on thursday evening. non-singles were to wear blue. i guess aphrodisiac was a night club and it was happening there. no i wont be there, i have no clue where aphrodisiac is and i usually prefer resting in front of the TV (yes I did get one - one more piece of furniture). besides why couldn't valentine's day land on a friday?

i have given up finding problems or issues with this country. i guess when you come from a place where nothing really works (yeah throw the missiles) and you are faced with a different place where things seem to work, the difference is clearer than seven up! i hear that in the north there is violence. i have overheard news of clashes over chieftaincy titles,corruption amongst politicians, a drugs problem amongst others. but regardless the country has that westernized feel about it. things work despite everything.

this morning i had a lesson 101 on driving. i learnt to wear my c.o.a.t while driving. concentration, observation, anticipation and tolerance. there was an interview on tv with a road safety guru. he was publishing a book on defensive driving. he spent a couple of minutes describing the c.o.a.t process and i came to understand why ghanaians are such good drivers.
there is something about this country that gets into your system. the calmness and the politeness of the people is infectious.

the nation's cup is finally over. i want to now see what the real ghanaians are like without the nations' cup fever. i have a feeling that there wont be much difference. i have watched over six music videos and heard more songs about ghana and the nations' cup over the radio. the people just love being ghanaian i daresay more than i love being nigerian.

i wish you all a happy valentine.