Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Burkina Faso, you Fascinate Me.


It seems D.C. can't take a thunderstorm. I was already at work in the gym, clear and free from the impending storm that I had no idea was coming when I got to work around 3 p.m. I came out of the gym around 4:15 and it was storming and the sky was dark. And when walking home I noticed all the trees had shat leaves and twigs all over the ground and by McPherson Park and down Tunlaw Road the earth had melted into mud and onto the sidewalks. And don't get me started on the humidity.

I actually, finally, struggled at work tonight. You see, in reality there are three editions and zoning in most of those. There's the regional and the suburban. The regional has a Virginia and Maryland version and then the suburban has Virginia, Maryland and D.C. versions. This means there can possibly be about five different versions of a story because of how we zone. Usually it doesn't get hectic till around 9 p.m. when you find out your story is in all three versions of the suburban with different specs and all. I got frustrated. I don't know my deadlines (because no one told me) and it seems that everyone is too busy when I ask questions. Two stories I read, but I end up writing six different headlines.

Before I got either of my stories, I found myself reading about Somalia, which I've become obsessed with as of late. I then was reminded that the African Union frustrates me and that colonialism ruined Africa. So I was reading up on African nations I know little about. I happ'd upon a place called Burkina Faso, which is near Cote D'Ivoire. I realized after reading the little bio that in a way, Cote D'Ivoire is to the U.S. as Burkina Faso is to Mexico. Evidently all the Burkina Faso folks head to the Ivory Coast to work and send cash money back home to Burkina Faso. It's a big deal; there are millions of folks from Burkina Faso living in the Ivory Coast working and sending money back. Interesting, nu?

Listen. These days I feel like crap. There's a lot, really, that can account for it, but I can't seem to fill the empty moments long enough to not think about it. Partially it's this place and the quiet and isolation, I guess. I was better at this last year. Then again, Denver was beautiful and fresh. I felt alive there. D.C. makes me feel like I'm aging really, really quickly. Fountain of youth, it is not.