People read this?

So I'm slowly coming to the realization that people read this. I don't mean people I know outside of Sri Lanka, which is why I write it, but people here in Sri Lanka. So now I need to come up with a plan of action. I was freely writing about whatever I wanted, but it was nicely pointed out by someone that these words could be used against me by coworkers or worse, future employers. So my question to the blog world: have you ever not gotten a job because you complained about a former employer on your blog? I'm not super worried about my coworkers because I am a fairly open person -- if I have a problem with you, you know it.

Speaking of which, remember those pots I requested because I didn't want to die from cancer? Well, we received them yesterday and I tried to make tortillas today. I've become something of an expert in my tortilla production here as I make them quite often. So I dropped my three drops of olive oil into the pot and turned on the gas. I turned around to get my already rolled-out tortilla and as I was preparing to drop it in the pan I saw the smoke. Yes, the oil was on fire! This has never, ever happened to me. I blew it out (because though it created a lot of smoke, three drops of oil doesn't create a large fire) and immediately knew this did not speak well of the pot's quality. My tortillas ended up tasting like crap. They were burnt on the outside and raw on the inside. And before you say anything, the gas was on the lowest setting. So great, Mr. Aruna bought the cheapest pots he could find and I can't use them. I just don't understand why one would purchase something one knows is cheap and poorly made forcing one to replace it more often. There are now three sets of useless pots in this house!

Tomorrow we are supposed to have a meeting about the housing. I think Mr. Aruna is just going to complain that we (meaning those of us residing in the "foreigner hostel") are way too needy. [This belief was actually put into my head by Manurie as she had a conversation about the meeting with Mr. Aruna.] Yes, I'm a terribly needy person because I've complained that the roof is leaking in several (now many) places and all of the cooking pots in the house are chipping Teflon. If Mr. Aruna does call us out in front of everyone else living in Sewalanka housing (because apparently there are several other hostels), I'm going to call him out! I'm so tired of things not being done and then being done poorly. I was told housing was provided with necessities -- a roof and cooking utensils are necessities in my book.

O.k. I feel a little better now that I have that off my chest.

Secretly I hope they decide it isn't worth keeping the house (I've recently learned that Sewalanka does not own this house -- they rent it) and start paying us enough to rent our own places. I hold this desire as I'm not very good at living in the burbs and I'm desperate to get back into a city.

And onto another riveting news item: I stayed home today to work. I got a lot done too. I've never had to share an office with more than one other person and I only did that for a few months. It is crazy how having 6-10 people in your office can distract you. We all face each other with no partitions. Makes you wish for a cube. I'm lucky because we have wireless in the house and I have a laptop -- Aya and I are the only two with this "work from home" option. I wonder how the others get any writing completed. Oh yeah, they just ask me to do all the writing.

Finally, I have to take a moment to send out mad props to Jodi: Congratulations on finishing the Colombo Marathon! I don't ever want to hear another person complain about the hill at the end of the Marine Corps Marathon because they don't even close the roads for the Colombo Marathon. That is right, you are running more than 26 miles with traffic! So Jodi deserves an enormous amount of praise for this accomplishment. Yeah Jodi!

I don't think I've ever written a post with so many exclamation marks.!.