A Post Scriptum to my previous post

I changed the dog. With one that does not have a tail. So, no more tail biting. My flight is booked, I will get the visa and I will go. The comment I made on the "visa issue" was only a second degree thing which made me smile. Of course, my employer has to assure that I have all the necessary documentation to be able to take up my job.

I was just impatient. Because I am anxious to go. And I soon will.

Struggling with a dog biting its own tail.

I have worked for two giants in the humanitarian aid. For close to 9 years. My agency, SDC, has paid my salary for this period.



In all the projects I was involved, we spent millions of dollars. And I think, seeing what we left behind, we spent them well. A true giant in humanitarian aid.

And then they decided to "lend" me to this other giant:



We did not only spend millions of dollars, but we fed (and still do) millions of people in Darfur. WFP is the world's biggest humanitarian agency. Very efficient in getting food to people. They are feeding, worldwide, about 80 million people per year. A true giant in humanitarian aid.

So, working with giants for 9 years let me go into retirement with the impression of having achieved something. As an individual, but being part of and a link in strong chains. As everyone said, a well deserved retirement.

It just so happens that WFP would like to hire me for a certain time. To further develop a small management system I have started for a particular issue and to introduce and train the new guy my agency is lending to WFP.

Considering that I am retired, they made me a very good offer. Which I have accepted. And I am supposed to leave on 15th of November. Which is tomorrow. But I can't. Because I have no visa.

The Sudan Embassy tells me that I have to bring the copy of my flight ticket to issue the visa. If I don't have a ticket, I will not get a visa. And WFP tells me not to buy a ticket unless I have their official notification of appointment. And to issue the notification, they require a copy of the visa. Which I don't have because....

The dog is biting its own tail. Perhaps I cut the tail by just buying the ticket at my own risk. And then hopefully leave around the 25th of November.

Well, in my life I had to sort out many things. I will sort this one out too. And of course, I understand that rules and regulations have to be followed.

About me, more (and again)

As I am a good blog things "stealer", Dr. John is again a victim of a theft. Without further addoo, here is a meme I "took" from him.

Were you named after anyone? I don’t know.

When was the last time you cried? 3 weeks ago, when I left Sudan.

Do you like your handwriting? It looks like celtic runes. Not really, because runes can be decyphered.

What is your favorite lunch meat? Meat balls.

Do you have kids? Two.

If you were another person would you be friends with you? Perhaps.

Do you use sarcasm a lot? Never.

Do you still have your tonsils? They were taken out when I was seven.

Would you bungee jump? Never.

What is your favorite cereal? Honey bars with maize/wheat mix.

Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? No laces

Do you think you are strong? No

What is your favorite ice cream? Pistaccio.

What is the first thing you notice about people? They way they look at me.

Red or pink? Green.

What is the least favorite thing about yourself? I tire when I have to listen to useless talk.

Who do you miss the most? When I am not around, my wife.

What color shoes are you wearing? Black and brown.

What was the most recent food you ate? Risotto al funghi.

What are you listening to right now? The noise of cars bringing people to work.

If you were a crayon what color would you be? Green.

Favorite smells? Freshly roasted coffee.

Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? The plumber.

Do you like the person who sent this questionnaire to you? I snatched it from Dr. John whom I admire a lot.

Favorite sports to watch? Football (Soccer).

Hair color? Brown.

Eye color? Hazel.

Do you wear contacts? No, but fancy titan glasses.

Favorite food? Züri Geschnetzeltes and Röschti (hi hi, now you wonder).

Scary movies or happy endings? I could not watch “Shining” to end, I was scared and I have watched “Pretty Woman” three million times.

What color shirt are you wearing? I only wear T-shirts. Of all colors and with different decorations.

Summer or Winter? Autumn.

Hugs or kisses? Both, in that order.

Favorite dessert? Saint Honoré gateau.

What book am I reading now? “What you need to know about Islam”.

What is on your mouse pad? I don’t use a mouse.

What did you watch on TV last night? "One against one hundred" on SF1 (Swiss TV)

Favorite sound? Silence and soft background music.

Rolling Stones or Beatles? No, Pink Floyd and Deep Purple.

What is the farthest you have ever been from home? South Africa.

Do you have a special talent? No.

Where were you born? Berne, Switzerland.

What more could I possibly tell you about me? A lot.

I voted too (Some Swiss Politics)

Of course, I did not vote for a new President of the United States of America. Because I am not a US citizen.

But I cast my votes (by correspondence) for some questions raised, both at the Federal and at the State level. I wrote about it before and explained that in Switzerland, we not only elect the members of Parliament every 4 years, but that several times per year we have votations where we have our say: YES or NO.

On 30th of November, there are 5 Federal subjects to vote about. And every time when there is a votation, States also can put up subjects to be voted on. In my state, Vaud, there are 3 of them.



On the national level we will vote on "opposition law". This law permits people to oppose many things. Like the construction of a new football stadium which could lead to nuisance. If you happen to live close by.

There will also be the issue of a flexible retirements age. If accepted, it should be possible for people to retire at the age of 62, with a full government pension.

The new law on drugs (I wrote about it, but made a mistake by saying the vote was on 30th September) should permit to legalize Marihuana. With good Government control. Two questions have to be answered on this issue.

An important one is an issue on "child pornography". It is about time of prescription of such crimes. Right now, prosecution expires 15 years after the event. However, if a child is a victim at the age of 10, it might, for many reasons, not be in the position to file a legal case. The modification of the law will have as an effect that the prescription period will start at the moment when the child has reached legal maturity at 18. Which means that at the of 33, the victim can still sue.

At State level we will decide if judges for the insurance court are appointed by the State Goverment. Up to now, the appointment was made by the court.

We will also agree, or not, to a credit of 350'000 dollars for the planning of the construction of State Museum of Fine Arts at a new location.

And finally, we will have to decide whether smoking should be forbidden in all public places in the State. Full Stop. Or whether smoking areas (like in restaurants) should be allowed. These smoking areas would be separate, closed and well ventilated, so as not to disturb the non-smokers. Let's hope (I hope) that this will be accepted.

As you can see, none of world changing issues. But we have our say. And that is democracy. In the real sense of the word.

Is the election of Barack Obama a world changing issue?



Perhaps yes, we will see. But, as our little Swiss votes show and always have shown that Switzerland is (sometimes) ready for a change, the election of the new President of the United States has shown that America is ready for a change. And is willing to change. And that is great.

Jazz on the 5th, Nr. 6

The new President of the United States of America will have a huge job to do and there will be times where he will have to struggle very hard to get out of the "molasses".

You, long time readers, know about my favorite musician, Woody Herman. So, I will not say much about him; I posted several times about him in the past. Here I just would like to reminisce on how he became my favorite musician. And just to say, I like any kind of music (with a few, very few, exceptions).

I was 16 years old and just had started my commercial apprenticeship in a small family enterprise, run by the father, the son and the son in law. The latter invited me once for dinner and I went. We sat together after dinner and enjoyed a beer whilst his wife was preparing dessert. He proposed that we listen to some music and asked if I would like to listen to some jazz. Fine with me. He put on a record and immediately I was enthralled by what I heard. It was Woody Herman. I commented on it and when I left, they gave me the record for me to take with me. And to keep it.

And that was the start. By the time I was 30, I had a collection of about 30 of Woody's records. Vinyl long play's. And where ever I moved, they came along with me. One day, when I was moving from one country to another, I packed my shipment and I sent it to my new destination. A week after my arrival, civil war broke out. That was the end of my belongings, they probably had arrived or not. But I had lost my collection of records, not only Woody Herman's. A big loss.

But the world had progressed and still does and always will. And soon the age of CD's came. Well, since that age started, I slowly built up my collection again and bit by bit Woody's records were edited and published on CD. Today, I own around 70 CD's of this fantastic musician.

The video you are going to see is from the 60ties. At that time there was this beautiful TV show "Jazz Casual" by Jackie Gleason. Woody Herman and his Swinging Herd are playing "Molasses" (for the new President of the United States of America).

It was difficult to make a choice. Woody has been around with a band for 50 years. So, in the future you will get more of him, from the various decades and his various bands.



Next month, we are going to listen to the beautiful voice of an outstanding lady.

R * E * T * I * R * E * D ......................?

Hot! Myspace Comments

That is what my bosses said, when they called me.



There are many important days in one's life. Like the day of my birth. There was not much I could do that day. It just happened. But, as I was growing up there were many things I could influence. And these things, good ones and bad ones, had an impact and an influence on my life. Those of you, who are following since long, know about it.

And today, again, is a day where I cannot do much about. I AM RETIRED.



Comfortable chairs are inviting me to sit down and read books, for instance. I have many books to read. And probably will, among many other things to do. Time to relax, enjoy. No worry about bosses, mortgages and paychecks. I will get retirement benefits.

I am retired!!

Am I? Well, it just so happens that WFP would like me to go back (with their contract) to Khartoum until end of January 2009 to setup a contract management system. And about three weeks ago, my agency sent me an email saying that they consider to integrate me into their "Rapid Response Teams". As I am retired, they would be able to call me at a very (very, very) short notice to go to some place for 10 to 21 days, a few times per year, when a emergency occurs, somewhere in this world.

I am retired. Well, perhaps not completely?

Memoirs 8: Swiss/Belgian Interlude

I came back to Switzerland in June 1967. After having been in the bush, cut from the world (really!) for 2 years. On my arrival at Zurich Airport, the whole (extended) family was there to meet me. About 20 people. With a lot of questions they asked once we had settled in a restaurant. But very soon (and I resented that), their interest cooled down and they started to talk about their own worries.

So, I settled in, I moved around and I rediscovered Switzerland. I did buy a lot of things. The music casettes just came on the market. I bought a casette player and my first casettes. There was a little café I went to. At that time, the cafés had jukeboxes (today you don't find them anymore). And I spent a lot of money to listen to hits. One marked me (and I still listen to it today):



"A whiter shade of pale" by Procol Harum. One went to 5 cafés, it was played 5 times. Or 20 cafés, you did here it 20 times. It was a great hit.

I had though problems getting adjusted again to this life, after my frugal two years in Rwanda. And I needed somebody who "understands" me. About a week after my arrival I called my friend Peter, who I felt must feel the same way. And indeed, he did. The good thing was that he lived about 20 minutes away from me, in Langenthal. We spend a lot of time together, practically everyday. And we had a lot of fun. But not much money. I said that our salary was 100 dollars per month. But the Swiss Government had put every month 200 dollars in a savings account for us. When I came back, I found to have some 2'600 dollars (with interest). Quite a bit of money at that time. But just a bit. Because we had plans. In Rwanda we made so many friends from Belgium (as Rwanda was a former Belgian colony) and they had invited us to come and visit them.

Peter and I said that we would go. And we needed money. So, we went and searched for work, for a month. And we found. As laborers at the "Sunlight" soap factory in Olten. The factory belonged to the Unilever concern and I don't think that today it still exists.



They produced "Vim", the famous cleaning powder. And they had (at that time already) publicity actions. You buy a Vim, you get something else for free. So there was a chain with ladies sitting on each side and Vim came down the line. And the ladies attached with Scotch tape some little bottle of another cleaning stuff to the Vim. And Peter and I stood at the end of the line and put the Vim's into cartons. 12 Vim's per carton. And 10'248 Vim's per day. I never forgot this figure for the rest of my life. And Peter remembers it also, I asked him a few weeks ago. And we did this 41 years ago!! The job was terrible, but we stuck to it and the money we got was quite good. And it permitted us to go to Belgium.

If I remember correctly, I left a few days before Peter, because he had still some things to do. He would join me later. Now, except for my travelling to Africa, I had never travelled out of Switzerland before and I would certainly discover extraordinary things. And I did.



Like the ship elevator in Ronquières on the channel between Charleroi and Brussels. The channel is about 35 kilometers long and, before the elevator was built, had many locks to pass the difference in altidute between the two cities. This was a very lengthy process. When the elevator was built, the time was one hours to cross this difference. Amazing to see that up to 4 barges would go into this "bac" and drive up or down on rails.



I discovered cities like Ostende at the Belgian coast and this was the first time in my life I saw the ocean.



I found my friends, and I was always warmly welcomed. But one day I had a problem. I was still travelling around in Flandres. It was just a few days before Peter joined me. I was looking up two friends, but both of them had gone for some vacation. The night was coming, no place to stay. I could have gone to YMCA, but I did not like the idea because you had to be "turned in" by 10 pm. I was driving along the coast and then I saw them: Abandonned bunkers from World War II. I looked around a bit and I found one where I could get in. It was full of sand on the floor, a perfect bed. I settled there and slept quite good. It was though a bit weird.



A few days later Peter joined me and we continued our journey across Belgium. We met practically all our friends. We had a great time with them and their families. And what concerns me, their families were more interested in me than my own.

We discovered beautiful cities like Gent. And we stood in awe in front of



the Atomium, Brussel's landmark built for 1958 World Fair.



We visited the "Cinquantenaire", its park and many several interesting museums. We enjoyed the many varieties of Belgian Beer and we got used (and loved) to eat the two Belgian "national" dishes "Steak, Frites, Salade" and "Moules (Mussles) et Frites". Our time (one month) in Belgium came to and end and we were heading south to visit our last friends. In Namur. The last evening we were invited at a party. The next day we were leaving for Switzerland. But Peter left alone, I stayed behind. A dramatic change in my life happened.

(Memoirs continue next month).