Another mouse went flying through the air this morning. I have to be careful because the balcony below is wider than mine so I have to watch that I hold the trap far enough away so the mouse goes to the ground. This particular one made a very loud splatter noise but it still got up and ambled off. I have to watch for the road sweepers as they arrive just as I'm getting ready to jettison another mouse. Nobody here has heard of "raining cats and dogs" so "raining mice" would be an amazing phenomenon.
I had a cheery message from my walking gadget people. They told me I'd walked 4,115,790 steps in 2018 which is equivalent to 2,857km. I'm going to have to look at an atlas to see how many countries I could have crossed. I burned 417,700 calories, which doesn't mean a thing to me but I did understand when they said it was the equivalent to eating 1,814 scoops of ice cream. They didn't say if it was low fat.
Thornin phoned. The poor lad has been driving back and forth between Battambang and Phnom Penh on a regular basis, and then driving into Kandal Province to meet someone from the Ministry of Health. That person makes promises which are never kept so often it's a wasted trip for Thornin - a 7 hour drive. He finally got the papers and took them to the main Ministry of Health office. There he was told that another letter was needed from both Battambang and Kandal Provinces. This is not only impossible as the group arrives on Monday but the Provinces are refusing to issue them as they said it's never been done before. Thornin, reading between the lines in the discussion with a certain lady, came to the conclusion that some money would solve the problem. We sometimes give a $10 phone card as a thank you but Thornin suspected she wanted a large amount of cash. So now we are stuck.
Without this final approval we can't go to the customs people to get clearance for the equipment and I can't get into the airport to meet the group. This is the first time in 15 years. I've sent messages to the 15 in the group that they pick up their suitcases and equipment bins and come out as tourists. The flight comes from Taipei and it's always full and the passengers return here loaded with enormous boxes. The customs people say nothing so I don't think the dentists will be taken aside. The one big problem is that they love to wear their team t-shirts when they meet in Vancouver so they can bond. This year they are bright red, emblazoned with logos. I've told them this is a clandestine operation so they should be a bit more subdued. I feel a bit of a maverick and it's going to be fun. We do have permission to work; it's just that we don't have permission for the tools etc.
I had a call from a Canadian Cambodian friend who had arrived today in Phnom Penh. He wanted to see me so he arranged to come to the apartment at 5 or 6pm. Close to 7pm he phoned to say his brother hadn't picked him up and, when he did, they'd have another hour drive through the city. I tried to put him off but he was determined to come. He finally arrived at 9pm. I went downstairs to meet him as it's hard to find my entrance. "Where can we eat?" I told him a place but his brother said it would be closed; it wouldn't as this is a tourist area. I offered a coffee shop just a few minutes away but that was declined. Our visit ended up as a five minute chat at the side of the car. I wasn't too concerned as I didn't have to eat late in the evening, I didn't have to drink coffee (which is not on my bucket list) and I didn't have to bring him here to entertain. He's been in Canada for over 20 years so it's a perfect example of the fact that you can take a Cambodian out of Cambodia but you can't take Cambodia out of a Cambodian. My rule of "absolute flexibility" continues to work.
Before going to bed I checked the trap and found another couple of mice. Off I went to the balcony. Others might find it quite exciting but it's becoming a mundane operation for me.
