I caught yet another mouse during the night; that's number three. I am getting fed up doing my neighbours' job; after all, they are their mice, not mine. I have to wait until all the neighbours are indoors before I go out to let them loose. So far I've been told to think about getting "Bounce" (which I may find in the supermarket but then I can't read the labels), peppermint oil and dish-wash liquid, and mothballs.
There's a gentle rain falling as I write this. I was told this afternoon that Thailand is expecting a tropical storm so I hope this is all we are going to get. I'm enjoying the cooler weather as I don't need fans whirring away all day.
I watched a young lady in an enormous black car trying to do a many point turn in the middle of a major boulevard. The car was new enough to have no license plates. It was a Bentley. I wish I had access to a fairy who could zap all these arrogant, cheating people and get them off the roads. Nowadays, I tend to walk with the traffic coming from behind. I have decided if I do it this way, then they have to watch out for me. I'm fed up facing traffic and having to do the weaving in and out. I'm taking the attitude that I'm old, white and uninsured so I should be all right.
I had the bright idea of buying the blender a few days ago. Today I was having lunch with Cina and family and I pointed out that I'd bought the same blender they use. "But we've got two more that aren't being used," she said. "We were given them free of charge with the fridge in your apartment." There's no refund or returns here so I'm stuck with it. A least I'm happy I picked the same brand they got as I'm told it's a good one.
Have you heard the rap song, "This is America"? It's by a well known black singer. It's satire on what is happening in the USA from the black perspective and it's scathing and nasty in parts. It has been viewed 458 million times. I heard on the BBC that it's been copied by many countries so you can now listen to "This is Iraq", "This is Nigeria" etc. Americans won't like the Iraqi version as it has US soldiers killing local people and marching Iraqis around in orange jump suits. The Nigerian one bothered me as it sounds as if nothing has changed since I was there in the early 80s. The main punch line is "This is Nigeria and everybody's a criminal." There's a bit where two or three Muslim girls, wearing hijabs, are doing some modern cult dance. Boko Haram threatened the writer to take the video down from YouTube but he wouldn't.
Even if one wants to be honest, it was often hard to do. When I was in Nigeria I had to renew my driver's license so I joined the queue in the office. A young man came to me and said he would deal with the matter and I could come the next day to pick up my renewal. I asked him where I should meet him and he pointed to a tree and said, "Over there." I went the next day to collect it; he handed it to me and I turned to walk away. "Hey! What are you doing for me?" I said, "Don't you work here?" He said, "I come here to do things for people." Here I was, thinking he was on staff. People keep telling me I'm naive, which may be true, but I like it better than being cynical about everything.
